Hey there! I didn’t see a thread for this, so I decided to make one for all those Harvard waitlisted applicants out there! For those accepting their spots on the waitlist, what additional materials (if any) are guys thinking of sending?
Also, what schools are you guys thinking of committing to in the meantime?
I might send in an updated resume and another letter of recommendation, but I don’t want to bombard them lol. I am thinking of committing to Barnard, Rice, or UCLA.
How many people are waitlisted at Harvard this year?
Harvard has not released the size of the WL (and won’t, if history is a guide). My guess, based on historic WL numbers from Yale and Princeton, that the waitlist size is almost as large as the class size. So I’d say around 1200-1400 for Harvard
Is it my misconception or that more people are waitlisted this year than the last?
FWIW: I just posted this on another thread, but thought I should also post it here.
It doesn’t impact other admitted schools at all. Here’s what happens:
If you agree to accept a spot on Harvard’s waitlist, you let them know. Then, by May 1st, you must also accept an offer from a college that admitted you. In most cases – aside from HYP – the accepted student must put down a deposit by May 1st at the college they have agreed to matriculate to.
Harvard won’t know how many spots are available for waitlisted students until AFTER May 1st. So you wait. In the past, there have been about three rounds of waitlisted notifications starting around mid-May and going until mid-June.
If you hear nothing from Harvard, you do nothing. If Harvard calls (yes, they actually telephone you, they don’t email waitlisted students), you will have about a week to consider Harvard’s offer. If you accept Harvard’s offer of acceptance from the waitlist, you must immediately let the college you agreed to matriculate to know you are withdrawing your acceptance. In most instances you will lose your deposit at the college you initially agreed to attend. That’s the entire process. The college you agreed to matriculate to understands the waitlist process, as most likely they too have a waitlist.
You have no way of knowing. My guess is that the number on the WL is about the same.
Aside from Harvard, I’ve also been waitlisted at Yale, Columbia, and UChicago. If, say, I get admitted to Columbia in mid-May and accept, and then am admitted to Harvard in mid-June, would it still be possible to go to Harvard?
In that unlikely scenario, yes. You would, however, forfeit your deposit to Columbia (and presumably what ever other college you accepted prior to May 1).
I’ve been waitlisted at Harvard, Columbia, Cornell, UPenn, and CMU’s School of Computer Science. Right now, I think I have the best (although still a very small) chance of getting into Harvard off the waitlist out of those 5.
Can everyone share their stats? I’m an asian male from socal. 35 act top 1 percent with national awards. applying for econ major
The waitlisted are not ranked. It depends on who drops out. If a violinist Asian admit from socal gives up a spot it is more likely the spot will be filled by a waitlister with a similar profile from the same area. I saw that happen last year. The stats at this stage does NOT matter at all; its all about shaping the freshman class with waitlisters.
Question-
What are the odds of getting deferred EA then waitlisted RD? Is this a common thing, and does it indicate anything for the likelihood of getting off the waitlist?
My stats- White male from the Midwest. 36 ACT, 15 AP’s, national merit scholar, congressional app challenge winner, US youth senator, and a few other awards, applying for Political science + computer science
@jzducol source? weird to think that stats don’t matter
Will admissions call you if you did not get off the WL? Or they only call you to tell you that you did get off? Also, do people who get off the WL get a phone call earlier (say mid-May), than those who don’t get off (say mid-June)?
^ You have already been admitted, albeit on the waitlist. As such, there will not be another committee session where 40 people meet and compare different candidates records and vote. It all boils down to how they want the freshman class to look like. If they want more high stats kids they would have done that in the first go around.
The good news is that if last year’s pattern holds there would be a few dozen admits coming off the waitlist. Just make sure your phone does not block any number from 617 area code. If they cannot reach you in time it will go to the next candidate. Best of luck.
No. At some point, they will just say that they will be taking nobody else from the WL.
People can come off the WL at any time after May 1; there is no set date. If they are taken off the WL,they will be contacted right away.
It’s not that the stats don’t matter; it’s that they don’t matter at this point. Just getting on the WL means they think your stats are strong enough to succeed at Harvard,but at this point, they are just rounding out the class with what they need/want.
@skieurope Is it true that if admissions can’t reach you on time, they go to the next candidate? How many times will they call you (or how much time will they give you to call back) before they move on to the next person?
No. They will try all the phone numbers and emails on file, including those of your parents, and give a reasonable amount of time to respond, before they move on.
That said, if you know you’re going to be in the Amazon rainforest with no cell reception for an extended period of time, your outgoing message should reflect that.