Just came here to spread a little hope for some people. I applied Early Action and was deferred. I also was not contacted to get an interview. Today, I just received an email from a Harvard alumni in my area! Hopefully this means there is some additional interest in my application now! So don’t lose hope if you got deferred, there is still a chance!
It can happen b/c an earlier assigned person didn’t get to the student. It happens in my area too (for another Ivy)