<p>Hey guys,
I was offered deferred admission to Harvard, so I'll be taking a gap year and then joining the Harvard class of 2017. I couldn't be more excited! I think it would be cool if all of us Z-listers could connect, maybe get a facebook group going, do some meetups, discuss gap year plans...ya know? So for anyone in the Class of 2017, feel free to post here or message me! :)</p>
<p>Hey I was zlisted too!! I’m really excited and I’m 99% sure I’m doing it! Once I know my financial aid I will be 100% sure. The facebook group sounds like a great idea. Just curious, what are you currently planning on doing?</p>
<p>Sweet, another z-lister! I’m probably going to minor in music…and I’m not sure what I’m going to major in yet. Maybe economics or english? Not sure. I’m interested in joining some business clubs and doing a capella and stuff like that. What about you?</p>
<p>Currently I’m planning on chemistry, but I’m considering switching to economics. I also plan on doing Model UN and prolly some business clubs. I’m thinking about doing club curling, but I might try some other “weird” sports too. Do you have specific plans for your gap year yet or no?</p>
<p>Hey, fellow Z-listers!! I feel like we are luckier than the kids who were admitted to the Class of 2016: we get a full year to figure out our lives, careers, and aspirations, and they… have less than 3 months to recuperate from high school. Congratulations to you all, and enjoy your well-deserved year of rest and preparation!
Just out of curiosity, are any of you guys legacies? I am, and I’ve heard that legacies are more common on the Z-list.
I’m going to take full advantage of the gap by working a lot, volunteering at Children’s Hospital, and hopefully traveling to Thailand through “Thinking Beyond Borders,” and to Spain and France! (Plans are subject to change; I still have to apply to various programs.) Any other exciting ideas?</p>
<p>I am… Not a legacy! Haha. I’ve read all the hypotheses online about who makes it on the list and I don’t feel like I fit into one of those. I just got really lucky that Harvard saw something in me!</p>
<p>What is a z-list?</p>
<p>I’m sorry guys! There was a misunderstanding and I’m actually in the class of 2016!! Best of luck!</p>
<p>Foodlover – The z-list is a practice Harvard has followed for a number of years of offering a few waitlisted students a guaranteed place in the following year’s class. So a 2012 high school graduate who is z-listed would take a gap year and start at Harvard in September 2013 with the class of 2017. I’m not certain how many z-listers there are in any year, maybe 50 or thereabouts? All of the (few) people I have known to be z-listed in real life have been legacies, although on CC there have been some non-legacies.</p>
<p>Until this year, I hadn’t heard of any other school doing this, but the University of Chicago just started doing a z-list, too. A number of schools will offer some people January admission (because more students tend to stop out or go abroad during the spring, there are extra beds available on most campuses then).</p>
<p>@Swimfreak001 - congrats on Class of 2016! See you next fall haha 
@hmwrkislyfe911 - I’m a legacy too! I had never really considered a gap year until I got z-listed at Harvard, and now I’m kinda glad that I did. I’m really excited for this year and the opportunity to do basically whatever I want! Waittt thats awesome, I really want to go to Spain and Thailand too. What are you planning on doing on Spain/Thailand/France?</p>
<p>Also, if any z-listers want to private message me your facebook accounts, that would be great! We could create a group of z-listers on facebook that hopefully other people would see and join, because I’m sure there are many more of us!!</p>
<p>Swimfreak, you already did but I guess you are no longer a z-lister! Good luck with next year though I’m sure you won’t need it!</p>
<p>How do they pick their z-list from the waitlist?</p>
<p>A wait lister in the letter to the Admissions Committee may say that he or she would welcome the chance to take a gap year-- a huge “hint, hint” to the Committee that a z-list offer will be welcomed by the student. If the Committee was interested in the student I should think that such a declaration might just be the final feather that makes the acceptance happen-- although I have no proof of this…</p>
<p>After I was waitlisted, I sent them a letter stating that if I was accepted off the waitlist, I would attend. However, I never mentioned to being open to a gap year. So I guess for some people, it’s random. (And I’m sure legacy helps a lot for the z-list.)</p>
<p>Haha sorry to come back on here, but I sent a letter and said I would be completely open to taking a gap year and I got accepted for 2016 haha. So much randomness in this whole process!</p>
<p>Do all wait listed students get this?</p>
<p>FWIW, my D is a Legacy. She applied RD and was WLed. </p>
<p>It seemed she might be a candidate for a Z-list spot; she decided that if offered a Z-list spot she would decline since she had several other excellent college acceptances for the fall. </p>
<p>As it turns out it did not matter; she was ‘released’ from the WL in the first round in mid-May. She was a solid candidate with excellent stats and ECs to match or exceed many of the admits I have read here on CC ; those who think Legacy is a ‘done deal’ should think again.</p>
<p>Hey guys!! Another class of 2017’er here. I think a facebook group is a great idea! I took a two-year deferral from the class of 2015 so I’m so excited to finally meet real future classmates. Congrats everyone!</p>
<p>@karenoona Welcome! Congrats on being one year closer! I was wondering what you did in your first year of deferral. Did you do any projects/travel that you would suggest? Some of us Z-listers might feel like we’re grabbing at straws for ideas. </p>
<p>Also, I have officially made a Facebook group! Search Harvard Class of 2017, request to join the group, and I will confirm you! It’s a closed group, so not just anyone can join, and only members can see posts.</p>
<p>Sweet! I just requested to join the group. To anyone who is searching for it on fb, it’s not the first “Harvard Class of 2017” group that comes up. I think you’ll have to do the “See more results” option and click groups, and then you’ll see it. It’s the one with the apple next to it…(I think).</p>
<p>Congrats to you both! And yeah some gap year ideas would be great! I’ve got some fuzzy ideas but nothing too concrete yet. What are both of you doing / have already done?</p>