<p>Hi, could anyone shed some light on the harvard admission process for me? Are all applications voted on? Do they all get read in terms of context? Is there a triage process? Am I asking a lot of questions?</p>
<p>I am not applying to Harvard but this is how it works as far as I know: the applications first pass through a screening process in which one person reads them to eliminate those who are totally unqualified (like failing classes). Then each application is read at least once by 2 separate committees of 3-4 people. I am not sure what happens next but I believe each committee writes a brief report on what they think of the application and the final decision is made by group consensus after a discussion. If you are in the running your application should get read by about 10 people in total.</p>
<p>Hopefully someone who knows the details more exactly can clarify.</p>
<p>Grape1 had it mostly right.</p>
<p>Basically at most colleges, probably harvard also, the regional director reads through apps from your region, sending all the blatant rejects to the assistant director for one last read through before rejection, and all of the stellar applications go straight to the director for one more read through before approval. The rest go on to the committee round. I think committees are groups of 4-5 people in which you are discussed and then a decision is made. That I think is the general process, the important thing to know is that there are many checks and balances and that your application will be read at least twice.</p>
<p>Thank you. So it is pretty unlikely(judging by some of the lower stats on the decision threads) that an application will be rejected by triage, especially if an area is geographically under-represented)?</p>
<p>Umm…anyone? chirp, chirp, chirp</p>
<p>Every single application gets an up-or-down vote in committee. For many of them, I’m sure, this is very quick, if the regional reader thinks that the student is actually unqualified. But if you’re anywhere in the range of admissibility, you’re going to get multiple reads, and you’ll be discussed by the readers in a larger group. Each officer gets one vote.</p>
<p>Thank you very much. It’s comforting to know what happens to my application after I put it in the mail. :)</p>
<p>Google is a wonderful tool; with the click of a mouse, you can find many articles on Harvard’s admissions process, and it’s much more reliable than asking strangers for information. Here are just a few articles that took me all of 5 seconds to find:</p>
<p>[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/)
[A</a> historic year for Harvard admissions | Harvard Gazette Online](<a href=“http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/04/a-historic-year-for-harvard-admissions/]A”>A historic year for Harvard admissions – Harvard Gazette)
[Admissions</a> process | Harvard Gazette Online](<a href=“http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/02/admissions-process/]Admissions”>Admissions process – Harvard Gazette)</p>
<p>Ouch, sorry. It was just a question.</p>
<p>The final part–the part after which applicants are admitted–involves a vote by a 35-person committee that consists of admissions officers, administrators, and professors. A majority vote is needed for admission. At times debates here gets contentious, with the personalities and nuances of applicants coming into play in a big way.</p>
<p>Thank you guys.</p>