<p>I understand that harvard doesnt have early admission or early action, but is there any advantage to turning in your app way before the deadline (like now=])?</p>
<p>There is no advantage whatsoever. Take your time on your application; after all, this is your future!</p>
<p>None. People have sent in applications like a couple days before the deadline and have beaten people who have sent them in very early. Harvard doesn’t care when you send them in.</p>
<p>I’ll be a Harvard freshman in two weeks. I sent in my app at 10 pm on January 1st (including the initial “information sheet” you’re supposed to send Dec. 1st). I got in, obviously. I sent in my Princeton app at 11:30 (I hadn’t written any of my essays until the night the applications were due…something I would not advise you to do). I got in there too. I didn’t submit my Yale app until 12:30 am January 2nd (it was due Dec. 31st) and got rejected (no interview either–I think my app was disqualified for late submission).</p>
<p>The moral of the story is, as long as you submit BY THE DEADLINE, you’ll be fine. What matters is your strength as an applicant. Even if yours is the 26,000th application reviewed by the adcom, if you stand out, you will get in. But remember, the deadline is absolute. Miss it and you miss your chance at HYP. So ultimately, it’s better to finish your app early in case you have computer problems the night of the deadline (like I did…that’s a whole other story).</p>
<p>Hope that helps!</p>
<p>^ Same. I submitted mine at the last minute, too. Makes no difference.</p>
<p>It makes a difference to the Admissions Office staffers who like to spread out their reading load, but makes no difference for you.</p>
<p>I read this article about how Harvard does its admissions process [Keys</a> to the Kingdom - Boston Magazine](<a href=“http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/keys_to_the_kingdom/]Keys”>http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/keys_to_the_kingdom/)</p>
<p>The article is kind of old, but the first paragraph makes it seem like the applications are just kept on shelves in alphabetical order until they are all submitted after January 1.</p>
<p>Wouldn’t be surprised. They just look at the application so they can arrange alumni interview.</p>
<p>@bubblebuddy - as you said, the article’s old since that was during the times that SCEA still existed. These days, with just a single date of submission and more applications each year, they realize that taking on all applications on one point is too difficult which is why they have the priority deadline on the 1st of December (the first day they start reading and they already have plenty at the point) so that they can actually allow themselves enough time to get replies ready for the 31 Mar/1 Apr date.</p>
<p>^ thanks, that makes sense. I guess I’ll submit most of my apps a month earlier 
. Do you know if they still arrange them alphabetically, or do they just do it by date now?</p>
<p>^The only thing I know about organization is that it will be sent to your (one of thirty five) regional admissions officer. From there, I really have no idea if it’s alphabetical or date.</p>
<p>i’ve read somewhere that you could submit the common app first, and later the supplement and stuff.</p>
<p>The point is not whether you get penalized for sumitting after Dec 1 but whether
you get an advantage by completing your file befor Dec 1.</p>
<p>I have heard there is a minor advantage since the files are read starting
Dec 1. The advantage could purely be the amount of time the reader gets to
spend with a file at the beginning of the cycle (Dec first week versus towards the middle).</p>
<p>Though I know that plenty of student are accepted who apply right down to the actual deadline (a couple examples above), I would assume that honoring Harvard’s request of applying by December 1. If nothing else it is showing that the applicant followed instructions. It also shows that the applicant is not waiting until after they have heard from their EA and ED applications before putting in the effort to complete the application and paying Harvard’s $75 application fee. They might feel that the applicant is slightly more serious. If there is any difference, I am sure that it is very small and that applicants like legacies, URM, athletes, regional distribution, or significant academic talent have boosts that are much more significant than anything gained by the submission date. I would guessing that it matters more for those applicants (of the many, many Harvard applicants) who are qualified but have nothing else that would give their application any boost.</p>
<p>In my D’s case, though Harvard was a last minute mid-November add-on to her list, she bumped it up higher in the order of applications that she was completing so she was able to honor the Dec 1 request.</p>
<p>Does the same go for UCs and other non-Ivy schools?</p>
<p>Submitting it now is only beneficial insofar as it takes a load off your mind, and they might be able to put you in contact with an interviewer sooner. In terms of helping your chances, it won’t make a difference.</p>
<p>EDIT: As I recall, I submitted mine ~Dec 10 or so. I was in contact with an interviewer that week, and had my interview the 23rd. I waited a bit longer on my supplementary app, though.</p>
<p>I submitted October 31st this year and got an email for an interview today.
By the way, on the pre interview resume, you put the highest sat scores in each section you ever got, right?
because Harvard superscores anyways.</p>