I submitted my app a few hours ago and and am still not receiving any applicant code for the status portal. I need it because I’ve said I wanted to submit an art supplement, but it’s in document format (I’m going to submit a French writing) so I need to do it through the portal, not Slidenow. Does it usually take this long? When is the art supplement due?
Also, a few more:
How good does the supplement have to be? My talent is languages so I wanted to submit a literary analysis I wrote in French, about French novels, but is it appropriate?
Is there a way to cancel my “yes” about sending additional material? Help!! D:
Yeah, I got the email from Common App. I’m just worried about Harvard - they said I should get an applicant code for the applicant status portal on their site.
Wait, what code? All it says is that my application and writng supplement was successfully submitted to Harvard. There’s no code - and I didn’t seem to get any payment notification, either, even though CA says I paid.
Trying to log into the Applicant Status Portal on the Harvard website tells me that there’s “no application submitted for this user”. Is the system just slow?
Have you reviewed the instructions for “Supplemental Application Materials”?
Apparently, there are slight differences in the submission of supplementary materials, including an additional $10 fee if they fall in the class of “supplementary media materials”.
The website also notes “Electronic submission through our Slideroom account or the status portal is preferred. However, if you must mail your materials, please contact fileroom@fas.harvard.edu for instructions.”
When you paid your fee, you should have received an e-mail containing this language “This email confirms the successful payment of the application fee on Mo/Da/Year in the amount of $XX.00. Your confirmation number is XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX”.
@cerise4697: Only the required portions of the application (Common App/with essays and supplemental application w/essays) are due prior to the deadline. Teacher recommendations, transcript, guidance counselor Secondary School Report (SSR), high school profile, ACT/SAT official score report can dribble-in several weeks past the deadline. The same applies for supplemental materials – those can be added when the student receives the code for their applicant status portal.
To answer question 1 (about how good your supplement has to be):
I was recently lucky enough to be accepted to Harvard EA, so hopefully I can give some insight. When I was deciding what to submit, I carefully considered my competition among the other applicants. Not to scare you, but there are going to be some damn good artists, musicians, writers, etc…So you have to gauge your competition.
I’ve been playing piano for a pretty long time, and I’ve won some state awards, but I decided against submitting a musical recording. I figured that there would be many pianists who were much more passionate and talented in playing the piano than I am.
I did, however, submit a visual art supplement. Art was my first hobby, and it is my most significant strength. I’ve won awards on the local, state, and national level, but even if I hadn’t won those awards, I would’ve still been confident in my ability to impress Harvard with my art submissions. I know it sounds quite arrogant, but this is how confident you have to be in your ability. You have to be sure that only a handful, if any, of the applicants will be able to demonstrate a level of talent comparable to yours.
So anyways, I’m not trying to scare you, but you should only submit a supplement if you’re truly talented in something, not just if you’re good…if that makes sense.
@NinetyNeinProbs Thanks so much! Is there a way to cancel my request to submit a supp (if I ever decide to bail out)? I’m starting to get a bit nervous… :S
If Admissions is interested in an applicant from the required materials in a file, they will most likely have the supplement sent to the relevant academic department for review. If they are not interested in an applicant from the required materials, the supplement will not get reviewed.
@Cerise4697 Haha, I’m not trying to make you nervous. Just make sure that you’re completely confident in the quality of your supplement.
And I think you could call the admissions office and ask them to cancel your request to submit a supplement. Or there might be an option on slideroom (the site where you submit your supplemental material) where you can cancel your request.
