Is it OK to submit an additional letter of recommendation by myself because my recommender won’t be able to send it to my regional AO before May 1? I have a copy of his signed recommendation letter ( I have already waived my FERPA rights)
Harvard doesn’t ask for a deposit. So maybe the AO meant that the replies were down compared to last year?
I don’t think he was referring to an AO from Harvard, rather an AO from an elite northeast LAC (think Amherst, Williams, middlebury, etc). That could be an indication of what enrollment may look like, but it has to be noted that elite LAC, although great schools, tend to have low yields due to cross admits picking more prestigious schools. The enrollment issue maybe exacerbated at those schools, but it could also show enrollment may be down as a whole.
From my experience in a Yale admitted student webinar, a very large number of people raised the question about taking gap years, so if online learning continues yield will definitely take a hit. Also, Penn’s dean of admissions released a statement saying he fully expects for them to increase the use of the waitlist this year (the link is in the UPenn waitlist thread). It will be interesting to see how colleges respond.
@hockey731 Great insight. I guess it’s comforting to hear that from Penn, although I’m sure we all expected it.
Also saw that you were admitted to Yale, Columbia, and NYU Stern. Congrats! That’s a huge accomplishment and it looks like you have some amazing options. I’m just happy to be included among students like you on the waitlist here haha
I’ m not sure about that. Most waitlists relative to the yield rate and Harvard has the highest in the nation. BUT, I know that Harvard will waitlist a lot of legacies and donors families’ daughters and sons to serve as an “easy” rejection because of its age and history. So maybe including those who will most probably be rejected, the waitlist is a considerable size. BUT, if those kids aren’t included, I would say it is smaller than the usual waitlist.
I get what you’re saying, and it may be frustrating. But, every kid has the freedom to want something more even if there is the possibility of it. Maybe Harvard offers something that other Ivies do not.
So maybe if you are on the waitlist and you are not a legacy you have a good shot because they legitimately like you? I wonder
That is the interpretation I heard as well. They waitlist legacies and people from schools that they traditionally have accepted from in order to maintain relations with the school/family. This accounts for a good portion of the list that are less likely to be reconsidered, because the waitlist offer was to preserve relations. If they truly wanted to admit, they would have been more likely to do so right off the bat as opposed to off the waitlist. That’s what I have been told at least, but certainly isn’t an absolute as I am sure there are exceptions.
I don’t know if this is just me, but if I was a part of a donor’s family or legacy and I was waitlisted AND then finally rejected, I would be quite upset and annoyed lol.
Or in the case of a personal friend’s child in the 2018 cycle - he was a double legacy (parents met and started dating as Harvard undergrads!) 4.0 UW gpa, 1560 SAT - disappointingly deferred in the SCEA round then devastatingly waitlisted in the RD round. They all knew at that point, with two shots at consideration, that he was not getting off the waitlist, though he chose to remain on the list throughout the summer. He did not make it off the waitlist and he’s now living a great life at Cornell…which I guess is the moral of his story. I doubt the parents continue to donate to the alumni fund…
Sure. A pretty brief rundown of my stats:
4.529 GPA / 12 ap classes (all 4’s and 5’s) / 33 ACT / Rank: Top 3%
EC’s: President of 2 clubs (DECA, Brotherhood) / Student Council Senator / Digital Custom Content blog creator with 200,000 downloads / Freelance artist (raised money for non-profits) / Creative Writing Club / Volunteered with organizations such as Denver Nuggets and Allstate
Awards: Colorado Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction, Business Innovation Certificate at Yale, Outstanding Junior Achievement Award, Won multiple writing comps, Won multiple DECA comps
Accepted: Princeton, UPenn, Cornell, UMich, GATech, Carnegie Mellon, USC, UC Berkeley, Colorado College, Swarthmore
Rejected: Yale, Stanford
Hooks: URM
I definitely think my essays were what got me into a majority of these schools. I worked on them for months
I personally submitted a copy of an additional letter of rec. As long as it’s signed with the name, number, email, etc, you should be fine!
If there is any good year for getting off the waitlist at Harvard this would be it. With talk of online classes next year Harvard College could receive a flood of gap year requests because the many families do not regard the remote learning experience anywhere close to being the same as on campus. I imagine coming summer time when Harvard knows how many are taking the gap year many freshman slots would open up. This could create a huge squeeze in the following year admits as the number of freshman dorm slots is fixed at 1660.
I’ve heard that schools often waitlist legacies with plans to admit them so that the fact that they were admitted due to legacy affiliation is not so obvious.
From the patterns I have been seeing, most legacies that get wait-listed get z-listed.
how do you all feel about the z-list prospect? would that sway your decisions?
I think all of us would be so happy with the chance to go to Harvard that a year difference would not make too much of a difference. But I think it would ensue some hesitation.
I would happily accept a z-list offer. It is likely that they will offer z-list admission to fewer students this year though, because many freshman will be taking gap years and they need to think about space in Class of 2025.
Also from what I’ve heard, the z-list is generally reserved for very active donors and well connected families whose applicants don’t quite have the qualifications for Harvard (nearly half of students on the z-list are legacy). It seems to be a method for Harvard to discreetly admit these types of students while protecting their image.
I’d be very surprised if I was offered z-list admission, considering my family does not meet any of the “criteria.” I’ve had a great grandparent attend Harvard, but am not legacy myself.
personally, I would not accept a z-list offer. hoping to pursue graduate school in the future, I don’t wish to prioritize school reputation over getting started according to schedule. i also agree though that the z-list will be very sparing this year because of gap year requests. i hope that traditional waitlist use will be high and soon!!!
any predictions of when they might start?
The earliest I heard of the waitlist offer of admission was May 10th from someone I was talking to. Correct me if I am wrong but most people say there are waves of admission but I think they scatter the majority of offers through May and June. I would think that because of the current situation they might get to us sooner than we previously thought. Worst-case scenario, they approach us later than usual, but I don’t think that will happen given the circumstances. How is the virus situation in Boston by the way?