Did anyone else get an email from an AO reaching out to ask if I could submit more supplemental materials relating to one of my ECs (in late January)? I feel like it might be a good sign??
I know a Chinese international who got in last year with a 1320 on the SAT. It was quite shocking! She went to a regular (below average) high school in a small city, had no SAT IIs, APs or TOEFL. Her ECs were good (organized a project to raise awareness to AIDS) but nothing major or mind blowing. She was rejected from Cornell though for not meeting the TOEFL requirement. The college consultant who helped her with her application said that it was her essay that got her in.
Before this, I’m always under the impression that Asians are discriminated against in process and that only URMs/athletes/legacies can get in with low stats. It’s still a shock to me.
Any thoughts?
@hehexd111 I didn’t. Looks like a good sign. Do you mind sharing what type of EC it is?
Has anyone gotten as an international from India without an interview?
An outlier, something you do NOT see that often As such, whatever happened doesn’t apply to 99.99% of applicants, so I wouldn’t concern yourself with the why’s as their situation most likely doesn’t apply to you or to anyone else.
Sorry, but that characterization is kinda off. From my kid’s HS Naviance scattergram, of the 5 kids who were accepted and shared their stats, 2 had 4.0 UW GPA, SAT’s were 1560 and 1570, one had 3.87 UW GPA and 1560 SAT, and two were waitlisted and then accepted with UW GPAs/SATs of 3.86/1480 and 3.81/1470. I can pretty much assure you that none were recruited athletes, since that is announced at the HS. So they were less than stellar and with a blemish or three, and they were still accepted, and I don’t think that they were the only 5 kids from the past years who were like this.
Good luck to all! I was in your shoes last year. About a week before admission decisions came out, Harvard contacted my counselor for more information on one of my ECs. I also was called for an alumni interview about 2 weeks before that. I ended up being waitlisted. I think they definitely have their list right now and finalizing their waitlist candidates at this point.
@ThanosPrabhakar U cant find data like this on the net. I cant estimate it hence. maybe some do get in, possibly living in remote regions, and maybe some get in who were strong enough to overcome the very slight -ve effects of no interview.
I agree with @MWolf Any opposing view is and sounds insane.
that article is extremely old…admissions at all elite schools has changed remarkably during the last 3-4 years and just having high/perfect stats clearly isn’t enough in and of itself. That being said, I do believe that AOs must find ways to easily eliminate large groups of applicants to make the admissions process fit within the relatively short time frame allotted…so “blemishes” undoubtedly come into play.
@vpa2019 What you say is true, but what classify as blemishes is the real Q.
Statistically about 5K of the apps dont have the scores or grades to thrive, which are easy to find. THe rest lie in the similar range of potential acceptance. Within that, I’m sure the lesser gpa or ACT/SAT scores arent taken out since its not hierarchial on only any 1 factor in any way.
Hence, how do they evaluate the full app within the presumable lesser than perfect scores and grades, since (many of them) they end up getting in anyways.
What blemishes exist in the holistic review to bring the app down so much as to remove them in the competition? What are they??? If thats answered with pointers, all of it makes sense to me. Definitely <1600 SAT and <36 cant be one. Harvard’s avg ACT is a 34. Even with GPA, he same applies.
I’d also add, for any concerned students with special circumstances (from this class or future classes reading this), on the topic of “holistic admissions” and “blemishes,” I was told by Harvard and many other top schools that they want to know about any special circumstances that may have prevented you from looking like the “perfect” applicant, and that they will take these into account. I had a lot of “blemishes” (one non-perfect, but not low grade; limited ECs; limited community service; atypical schedule) due to my disability, and I was told that they absolutely want to take these into account and that they aren’t going to be automatically disqualifying “blemishes.” The phrase I repeatedly heard emphasized by AOs was that they want to consider you within the “context” of your life and circumstances.
Obviously it’s not a guarantee that you’ll get in, but for context, I was deferred during Harvard EA (which given what I’ve been through and where I was 4 years ago, I consider to be a massive achievement), and I’ve been accepted at top schools like Northwestern and the USC School of Cinematic Arts, as well as mid to top schools like UW Seattle, UMD, Cal Poly SLO, and Northeastern (with merit scholarships at those last 3).
@vpa2019: Here’s a more current article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2018/10/21/dockets-ratings-tips-how-harvard-admissions-selects-student/?utm_term=.37bde01ba6c6
Based upon the above, if a student does not have 2’s in a majority of each rating category, they will be denied. Students receiving a 3, 4, 5, or 6 rating in each category get that rating because an AO feels their record is less than stellar, or is not exemplary enough, or has some sort of other blemish.
@TheGuy1 completely agree about the blemish question…from what I’ve seen on this website and heard from GCs it could be almost anything…that’s why predicting chances is so difficult. The Harvard lawsuit has provided some insight but as was mentioned previously there will never be perfect transparency nor exact specifications for admittance. Very frustrating to say the least.
@gibby WOW I read the document that you uploaded… it seems that there is a thorough review that is done by Harvard. I am sure that majority of the Ivy league implement such systems … these threads are honestly treasure… it will be a good idea to post them on separate link so that future cohort could benefit… i am honestly blown away… thank you soo much !!
But if nothing can be pinpointed, some things can be ruled out of being blemishes? IDK
@PianoWinterfell bio research!
@TheGuy1 it remains a mystery but good luck to you !
@vpa2019 Good luck to you too! Probably expecting a rejection lol, but we’ll see. Life is full of surprises.
When you say a Harvard interview, are you referring to the alumni interview or an interview at the school?
@gibby you said the Academic Work under Upload Materials relates to the mid-year report, but the mid-year report is under the normal checklist and is dated almost a full month prior to the Academic Work. Is it a glitch?