The data presented in SFFA v Harvard show that during the period examined, about 77% of applicants received alumni interviews and about 2% received interviews directly by admissions staff.
These data are for years preceding the pandemic and the relaxation of standardized testing requirements, and the resulting boom in applicant numbers.
The first two major hurdles an applicant to Harvard faces are getting out the docket (aka the subcommittee) and then getting past the first vote of the full admissions committee. Procedurally, for domestic applicants not from sparse country, it is traditionally preferred that an interview be in the case file before the first full committee vote.
It is unclear if this is still an achievable goal given the historic surge in application volume that Harvard and other highly selective institutions experienced last year and probably this year.
Thanks for the information. So will it be a fair assumption to think that applicants who do not receive an interview are not considered for admissions?
No, Thatâs not true, because in some countries where there are no alumni, no interviews will be held - but that doesnât mean applicants in those countries are out of the running.
It generally works like this, although there are always exceptions every year:
Applicants who are not interviewed fall into two general categories.
The first are those from areas where the alumni volunteer interviewer presence is insufficient to interview all applicants (although with virtual interviews becoming the norm, the dynamic has likely evolved.) If a case makes it out of subcommittee but no interview is in the file, an attempt to interview the candidate as soon as possible will be made before the full committee review. If an interview is still missing by full committee, such cases suffer no penalty for a lack of interview. (Alumni interviews generally have little effect one way or another anyway.)
The second category comprises applicants for whom no further information is needed. This can mean the candidate is overwhelmingly strong and is applying from an alumni club area that is strapped for interview resources. This can also mean the candidacy is weak and an interview is not thought potentially to improve the outcome.
There is no way to know into which category one falls for certain since candidates will not know what interview resources are available in the moment for their case.
Pre-pandemic, about four in five applicants were interviewed. The current percentage is not public, but with the substantial rise in applications versus no real increase in the number of Harvard alumni volunteers, it would be reasonable to expect the proportion getting interviews to have fallen.
My D just had her interview. Report from her is that it was very professional and the interviewer stuck to a firm end time. 30 minutes. She said he was very pleasant but challenging, asking difficult questions and follow ups. Very different from the other interviews she had, which were more casual with a conversational flow.
This was different from D1âs experience a few years ago which was at the interviewerâs house and lasted for two hours. (she was waitlisted and ultimately denied).
Good luck everyone.
my country is not listed on harvard website for an interview availability. But, as everything is going online, i thought i would have one. But, I have not received any email from them unfortunately. Do you know any international student who got in without an Interview?
Is there general guidance given in the interviewer handbook asking the interviewers to not respond after the interview is done? I am asking because I have done about 9 interviews (Harvard being one of them) so far and the quick back and forth emails prior to the interview stopped right after the interview happened. For example, when I send a thank you note, none responded back. All the interviews went well and I have proof (I can elaborate) that said that the interview went well, so it is not like the interviewer did not like to talk to me after the interview. Anyway just checking.
According to the rules of etiquette, no response is expected for a thank you. Otherwise it would go on ad infinitum. Thank you. No, thank you. So may respond back with a simple, "Best of luck " But read nothing into getting or not getting a response.