Did Harvard send out a separate email announcing when they are going to release their decisions?
@paradox15 I have not received anything yet
@hs19uni23 oh alright thanks!
Not that I received a LL either so it’s pretty much rejection for me already.
Officially an LL, or REA acceptance is the only shot of official admissions.
Idk if Harvard does diversity emails, but otherwise its all chill.
No other clues given by Harvard, especially in light of the lawsuit for sure.
Again, no LL doesnt mean rej. 95% of admits dont get one.
@TheGuy1 wow, ok. Didn’t know about that. Two friends of mine got LLs and I thought every accepted student gets one.
??♂️
Thats simply not true. Its been discussed a million times here, and is explicitly stated on the admission page’s website.
Lets say we tackle this logically. Do you think the school will let every admitted applicant know a month before the official release date? It makes no sense.
@TheGuy1
Yeah, I get it now. It’s just that I’m too nervous, already got rejected by some of my top choices.
i also have the academic work thing from mid feb. weird.
@cy9912, @toomanydonuts, @popcorn454, @chocolatehusky and others:
Based upon threads from previous years, the ACADEMIC WORK note that appears in February/March relates to the MID-YEAR REPORT, which is sent in by your guidance counselor.
As all high schools do not have the same academic calendar, it would also explain why the note appears at varying times from mid-February to mid-March.
How important are profiles and interviews in Harvard admission?
@Nonomom Idk what u mean by ‘profiles’.
But interviews carry a good weight if done by the app, unlike schools like Dartmouth and Brown, where they clearly state it as optional.
check the CDS of Harvard 2018-19 for more data.
@Nonomom: The competition for a spot at HYPSM is so fierce that to be accepted, a student must have “the full package,” meaning that if one element from a file is less than stellar or has a blemish, that student will usually be rejected. That includes the interview – so it’s an important part of the application, as are all other elements (transcript, test scores, EC’s, essays, teacher recommendations, GC’s Secondary School Report). See: https://www.advancingjustice-la.org/sites/default/files/%28419-55%29%20SEALED%20HARV00001392-1438%20Interviewer%20Handbook%202014-2015%20%28002%29.pdf.
The High School Profile, which is provided by every HS, details where a student stands in the pecking-order of his or her high school. There isn’t a standard format for the Profile, but it usually details the grading system, range of GPA’s, whether weighted or unweighted, average number of AP classes taken, SAT/ACT scores etc. As not all high schools have the same degree of rigor, meaning an ‘A’ at one high school may not be the same as an ‘A’ at another high school, it’s important because it functions as a rubric to allow AO’s decode the curriculum at each high school. Many high schools post their Profiles on-line, maybe your HS does as well. Here are are two sample High School Profiles: https://stuy.enschool.org/ourpages/auto/2013/3/7/37096823/Class%20of%202019%20profile%20FINAL-ilovepdf-compressed.pdf and https://www.bls.org/ourpages/auto/2013/5/24/55204166/School%20Profile%20-%20Updated.pdf
thank you @gibby 
I was worried earlier, thinking something was wrong
@gibby What counts as a ‘blemish’ for HYPSM? a non-36/1600 ACT/SAT? a non-4 UW/5W GPA? a non 800 SAT subj. Tests?
I dont get where they draw the line, since obiously ppl with a few B’s, or a 3.8+ UW GPA, ppl with 30-31-32-33-34-35 ACT and 1400+ SAT, 720+ SAT subj. tests get in to at least 1 of HYPSM.
And I’m stating no hooks such as URM, athlete, or any other wonky status (donor) here.
Lol what happened to “holistic review?” This “blemish” nonsense is ludicrous.
@LincolnsGF I agree, so is that a farce for HYPSM? or what? They say something else, but the ppl goin thru the app process say somethin’ completely opp.
I mean they do say they turn down 5x the class size worth of perfect-by-no’s apps, and the other part of the app is subjective to the adcom reader(s) anyways, so IDK what happens here.
Factually, Columbia and Cornell have a higher avg. GPA for admitted students. Harvard, yale and Princeton rank in the mids
Though regarding the AI (academic index’es, this is the sitch):
https://www.mka.org/uploaded/college_counseling/Publications/AI_Guidelines_Worksheet.pdf
Note: Keep in mind AI doesnt play a big role in admissions for non athletes, but its a statistic computed to help registrar data for a year of apps.
I think the admissions people do review the applications holistically. But there has to be cut offs somewhere, all these top unis rarely take kids with grades below a certain level, unless they have something else to compensate for their lack of grades. In recent years, its definitely gotten more difficult to get in because you have so many talented kids everywhere around the world, it’s hard to standout.
Doesnt this line imply some holistic aspects? “all these top unis rarely take kids with grades below a certain level, unless they have something else to compensate for their lack of grades”
Then again, what cutoff for grades (UW GPA, as weighting is done differently across schools and is non-comparable) do they follow? 3.8+ is A-OK? or is it 3.85? At least for scores, we can easily see by the middle 50% data point, and the lower and upper quartiles they give.
@Theguy1: Two of the most frustrating aspects of college admissions are: (1) Lack of transparency and (2) Lack of a road map. The recent lawsuit against Harvard shed a bit more transparency on the process, but there isn’t one road map for acceptance – it comes in many shapes, sizes and colors.
That said, this article from ten years ago, when there were half as many applicants, makes it pretty clear to me at least, that the “holistic approach” is used to make distinctions between the best of the brightest applicants and NOT for students that may have even the tiniest of blemishes: https://www.bostonmagazine.com/2006/05/15/keys-to-the-kingdom/
Thanks @gibby This article actually makes sense.