I am actually quite shocked that I am deferred though i was considering the possibility of rejection or deferred. I did not take any SAT2, my SAT1 was a 1450 with a 690 for reading/writing and my ECs were very language and arts related,
I am not a legacy, I had no interviews, I am an international student and have nothing impressive like Olympiads and awards. So i am not quite sure how I am going to go about strengthening my application. They probably deferred me because I told them about my medical condition and how I had to focus on my own country’s national exams, after which, I was immediately posted to mandatory military service. So i had only 2 weeks to prepare for SAT. Perhaps they are looking at me to submit better SAT scores. But I am not very sure. They have also said we are allowed to update what we have been up to. The idea sounds interesting but I am not quite sure how to go about doing it. Anyone has any clue.
P.S i guess weak applicant or not, all of us would have floated in the delusion of attending Harvard for the past couple of weeks. It’s normal, and now that the reality is facing right at our face we can just give it our all that is left and hope all goes well… Let’s do this!!!
Yeah, to be perfectly honest, the high deferral rates of Harvard and Yale (and basically everyone who’s name is not Stanford) in the highly selectives is kinda disheartening. Like I’d rather have immediate rejection, to have more motivation to throw myself into my apps.
I got deferred from Harvard today as well. There is still a chance so I would recommend uploading some sort of rec letters or extra things that have happened to boost your chances and help define who you are. It is kinda sad to be deferred but I guess its better than being rejected. Gl to all!
I feel you! I was sure I was going to be rejected. 1470 and 34 for SAT and ACT, and not amazing SATIIs. nothing incredible for extracurriculars- no national awards or starting a nonprofit etc. im from the midwest, not a legacy, not even top in my class. I am very grateful to have been deferred so i have the opportunity to fight for myself! I think I am going to submit more letters of recommendation and submit my AP Research essay when completed, but not sure what else would strengthen my app. good luck to all and congrats on deferral!
Try to look critically at your application and see where your strengths and weaknesses may have been in the eyes of your admissions officer. Admissions officers score applicants on various categories such as personal qualities, extra curricculars, academics, etc. (there are some Crimson articles about this and how students saw their application after being accepted and noted they were awarded scores in such ‘categories’).
For example, do you think your academics/awards/etc. were strong but your recs/essays may have let you down? Perhaps sending a rec from someone who knows you very well and can give insight into your character might help underscore your personal qualities - but make sure they can say something new about you. I would also recommend sending an update if you have any significant developments (prizes won, extra-curricular achievements/positions, etc.) Good luck everyone.
I expected a deferral, but I had a sliver of hope that I would get accepted. 1480 on SAT I. High 600s, low 700s for two SAT II’s. I want to go into the medical field- applied to University of Rochester’s REMS already and will apply to Brown’s PLME soon. Knowing that I might not get accepted by Harvard during EA, I worked on a couple RD applications before hearing from Harvard. I’m glad I did because now I have less applications to worry about completing. Wishing we all get the outcomes we want from Harvard in March!
guys, don’t worry!! it’ll all work out. I was also hoping to get accepted but to be honest I think being deferred is better than rejection because you still have that last chance to prove yourself which I think is worth it. Although, it still kind of sucks…
Everyone is talking about using this wait to improve their applications, but I have nothing else to add. I have no major awards because no one does those in my town and I’d never even heard of them before this site. I can’t change the color of my skin or that my parents went to college. I know that I’m qualified, but a lot of it seems to come down to luck. How do you choose between two exceptionally qualified applicants?
@fffddd Multiple things. First, I’ll send in my TOEFL test (score: 111) and my research abstract (proved the existence of the Higgsfield and Higgsboson theoretically). Also, I’m pretty sure I’ll win a medal again at the National Informatics Olympiad, so I’ll upload that too (if I win it of course…).
What do I personally think? I think they are a waste of time. One negative thing about Harvard: they know they are Harvard. So they have the opinion that of course Harvard is your first choice.
If you want to send a short LOCI reiterating how Harvard is your top choice, feel free; sending just one piece of info will not be “annoying.” However, if you do so, I would only do so if you also have a meaningful update with significant awards or honors since you first applied. Otherwise, Harvard has everything they need (other than midyear reports) to make the final decision. Many students who have been admitted after being deferred have maintained radio silence between the two notification dates.