My friend applied columbia early Decision. He got an email ywsterday that columbia will release decisions on 15th dec 7pm . I guess harvard might just follow in.
Congrats on the awesome ACT score! Way to go!
To answer your question…and knowing that no one has a crystal ball, but this is based on lots of research…
One of the most important factors in admissions evaluations is whether the candidate pursued the most rigorous curriculum available to them at their school and what the performance of the student (grades) was in that rigorous curriculum.
In the world of admissions, Test Scores help a little, but the BEST indicator of how successful a candidate would be at a university is their previous performance (the grades they make in challenging classes). Then… while performing at a high level in this rigorous curriculum, were they also able to balance any combination of: leadership positions, special activities and talents, community service, a job, family challenges, etc…
Consistent high performance in a tough curriculum OR steady trending improvement to excellence in a tough curriculum is heavily weighted in the selection process.
So if, for example, a student’s school offered AP classes or a full IB Diploma, BUT the student instead chose to take the regular level courses. Even if they made a 4.0, and a perfect test score, they probably would have a slim chance getting an admissions nod… (other holistic aspects would have to tip the scale).
Likewise, if a student chose to take a full AP schedule, but then scored below 4 on the tests, this might also not get a nod…(other holistic aspects would have to tip the scale).
If a student makes all B’s and scores perfect on an SAT/ACT, there would be a very slim chance for acceptance.
Those are just random examples. I don’t know your other stats to even want to venture a guess.
Test Score is a small piece, but not as big a piece as Rigor Of Curriculum (that a school offers) and the grades made in that curriculum.
But congrats on the score–you definitely deserve bragging rights!
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It sounds like you have a tremendous amount of initiative and a thirst for challenges and continuous improvement!
Although nothing is ever 100%, I think it is terrific that you had an AO interview. It doesn’t mean you are a shoe-in, so temper your expectations, but from other comments on this site and others, it would seem to be a positive thing.
And for those concerned about not getting an AO interview, temper your anxiety about that because not many do. Many students are accepted without having an AO interview. The Super Moderator in this thread has already pointed that out.
The safest thing to do is always assume you did NOT get accepted and continue with life and college planning with that assumption. Always make forward progress!
I wish you the best of luck.
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Yeah. I only ask that because my school is in the middle of nowhere so no APs (but I was able to take a couple along with dual enrollment stuff, but not as many as these big-school people are talking about). But thanks, anyhow.
If you took the initiative to enroll in the more rigorous classes that were available to you (either at your school or outside of your school), AND you did well in those classes, then that is great!
That’s why selective schools have “holistic” review. Every student has an opportunity to shine and have potential to be a good candidate in the context of their own school, their own town and their own circumstances.
And remember… challenging yourself is not about doing it just to get into a selective college. Taking on these challenges is all about YOU and your drive to push yourself as an individual.
So no matter what happens with EA and RD at any school, if you are pushing yourself to take on challenges to make yourself a more successful person, you are going to be a Rock Star no matter where you go to school.
Good luck with the EA. I hope everybody on this thread gets accepted!
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Did everyone get an interview?
Nope!
Definitely; thanks. See, the way I see it (and y’all should see it this way, too) is no one is standing at the gateway to changing the world, ticking off the box of the world-changer having gone to an elite college–correlation isn’t causation.
Hi! I spoke with my college counselor who told me that the number of applications Harvard received REA went up between 50 and 160%. She said they will likely be more conservative on who they accept. What are your guys’ thoughts. How much do you think this will affect acceptance rates?
50-160 percent is weird. Is it 50 percent or 160 percent? They are not even close numbers. I guess what we can gather is that REA applicants are up due to no SAT/ACT requirements. Should be an interesting year.
Where did she get this piece of information from?
Last year Harvard received around 6500 applications for REA and if there is a 50-60% increase then they may have close to 10,000 applications this year. 
Last year they accepted 895 applicants from REA and if they go with something similar, then the acceptance is down to 8-9%.
This is making me more nervous…
They won’t. When things get back to normal, class size is limited by housing, since almost all students live on-campus.
I think it was just a typo and it was meant to read 50%-60%
I don’t think the top schools like Harvard were ever really worried about yield and filling their entering class. Their challenge has been deferrals and how you adjust teaching, housing and other campus resources with a big fluctuation in total student body size on campus (low this year but potentially much higher next year as deferrals are reabsorbed). They’ve also had to consider how to cover operating income shortfalls with the deferrals and students learning remotely (voluntarily or not) and not paying room and board, especially with the high fixed costs of running and maintaining the university plus the additional costs of trying to operate in a relatively safe Covid environment. How much faculty, staff and other expenses do you cut if you think this is temporary, how much extra do you draw from the endowment to cover shortfalls, etc…
The schools at issue are the marginal ones without a good endowment cushion. They were already facing questions of whether they were worth the cost vs publics, especially CC. Many have had to make deep cuts to survive which then makes them even less attractive .
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Do any of you guys think it’ll come out today? I know they’re big on releasing the second week of December on a day that starts with T (Tuesday and Thursday). They probably won’t release tomorrow given that it’s Hanukkah, and the difference of a weekend (if they were to release it on the 15) wouldn’t make a huge difference anyways. Not to mention that Harvard Business School releases decisions today…
She told me 50-160 percent but maybe she was misinformed. I didn’t ask where she got the information but I think it was likely from her counselor meetings.
I think it will come out December 15 - 17 like most of the other Ivies. They usually release an update on when admissions will be announced a few days before. Also, with an increase in applications they will need more time than usual.
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gotcha… we’ll know soon enough…
I think harvard will inform us by today ir max tomorrow possibly
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