<p>I’m sure a post likt this has probably been here before, so i’m sorry. I am applying RD to Harvard, but I needed more time, with finals and all, to work on my application. If I turned my app in after the fifteenth, would it hurt my admissions at all? Has Harvard formally stated either way? Thank You.</p>
<p>Plus the semester will be over, and I can put my new, higher, class rank...</p>
<p>If Dec. 15 is the recommended deadline and Jan. 1 is the required deadline (what I'm assuming, I don't really know), then there is no advantage to applying early or late. I believe Harvard has formally stated this before.</p>
<p>Edit: The real advantage to applying by their recommended deadline is not really in the decisions process but in the facts that:</p>
<p>i) If they/you mess something up, you can probably still fix it by the deadline.
ii) Your file gets filed earlier, which may be considered earlier, where you may catch adcoms in a better mood.
iii) You get your interview sooner.</p>
<p>The 15th is just the recommended. I don't think they'll absolutely hate you if you don't have it in by the 15th, but they do say you can just send in the common app and the supplement by the 15th and send the essays later. I think that's the safest way to go. But I haven't heard anything nayhwere where you get demerits for being closer to the deadline. 3 people I know (Harvard students, actually) all sent their parts of the app online at, oh, say between 9-11:59 PM on december 31st. Obviously get your counselor and teacher recs in to them at the appropriate time, but don't hurt your chances by cranking out half-baked essays to make the earlier deadline.</p>
<p>thank you very much</p>