<p>I was just wondering if Harvard alumni in Malaysia have already finished interviewing for the year - has anyone been contacted for interview / been interviewed as of now?</p>
<p>Thanks :)</p>
<p>I just posed the EXACT same question about Pakistan on another thread :O</p>
<p>Haha - waiting is murder isn’t it.</p>
<p>[Harvard</a> College Admissions § Applying: International Interviews](<a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/international/interviews.html]Harvard”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/international/interviews.html)</p>
<p>I highly doubt you’ll find the answer to that here. The number of applicants from both Pakistan and Malaysia are extremely small–so the chances of someone else also on CC is unlikely. The number of alum in those countries are probably not that large either. Don’t expect to get an interview; again, it shouldn’t negatively affect your app. It’s just a matter of not having enough volunteers.</p>
<p>Wind - But Harvard students on CC forum say that they haven’t met any international student on campus who was admitted without an interview. </p>
<p>Which means, for internationals from “limited interviewer area”, getting an interview is like clearing the 1st round. Isn’t it?</p>
<p>“But Harvard students on CC forum say that they haven’t met any international student on campus who was admitted without an interview.”</p>
<p>That’s entirely anecdotal, and probably only slightly more reliable than the astrology predictions in this morning’s paper. Think of how small the sample size is (i.e. the number of int. students an average student comes into contact with AND has divulged that he/she received than interview. I certainly never went around asking everyone person if they got an interview while I was a student…seems like a really random thing to do). Unless you go out and survey every international student on campus, or better yet, directly ask the admissions office, there’s no way to confirm. Frankly, even in the unlikely even that all current international students DID receive an interview before being admitted, that still does not prove that an international applicant who does not receive an interview cannot be accepted. </p>
<p>In the absence of any confirmation in the contrary from the admissions office, we’ll just have to give their official statement (i.e. there are places with few alum interviewers; we’ll do what we can) out benefit of the doubt. </p>
<p>Catch my drift?</p>
<p>Please see the post # 21. </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1085729-anyone-living-limited-interviewr-area-got-interview.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/1085729-anyone-living-limited-interviewr-area-got-interview.html</a></p>
<p>This affirms that interviews are like first round for these countries.</p>
<p>BTW I still agree with your second point.</p>
<p>At the risk of sounding like a broken record: </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Interpret as you will.</p>
<p>@Wind: Thank you for your posts. They helped me put my mind at ease, somewhat. Do you think there’s any harm (or benefit for that matter) in calling up Harvard Admissions in this regard?</p>
<p>Haha, WindCloudUltra, you have a point, but can you blame a girl for trying?</p>
<p>WindCloudUltra, you are right that in the absence of official confirmation all we can do is to rely on Harvard’s official stance.</p>
<p>For instance, Harvard states that “there are no quotas or limits for international students” and “all students are considered in the same pool for all places in the incoming class, regardless of citizenship or the school they attend.” ([Harvard</a> College Admissions § Applying: International Frequently Asked Questions](<a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/international/faq.html#25]Harvard”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/international/faq.html#25))</p>
<p>Yet, international students are held to a higher standard than domestic applicants. The only way to reconcile this statement with the actuality is to recognise that Harvard looks at a student’s application in context to the situation in his home country. Sadly, contrary to what we would like to think, Harvard does not have a perfect idea of every country’s educational system and opportunities. A personal interview would then help provide much needed information to the admissions committee. This is also why many international students from a limited interviewer area (me included) view an international interview from Harvard as the “cinch” to getting in.</p>
<p>Again, through verified anecdotal evidence, every Harvard applicant who successfully made it in from my country is indeed interviewed although I am in a limited interviewer area.</p>
<p>I hate to be brutally honest, but for international applicants from an area with limited interviewers, a lack of a Harvard interview does indeed mean what it says, that Harvard does not require any further information from you. In all likelihood that is because Harvard has decided that, based on your paper application alone and through comparison with those of applicants from your country, they would not consider you viable and therefore would not like to seek any “further information”.</p>
<p>There is an upside to this - the lack of an interview serves as a de facto “unlikely letter” for me. Since I was not called for interview I can start planning for the college/university that I will eventually be matriculating at.</p>
<p>^ I agree with each and every word said!</p>
<p>WindCloudUltra - I completely understand where you’re coming from, but I find it hard to believe that those offered interviews (At least international applicants) have not been shortlisted or put on some list.</p>
<p>In the link below, Mr Goh clearly states that the alumni in Malaysia interview a shortlist of applicants whose details are given to them by Harvard.</p>
<p>[Tough</a> decision](<a href=“http://thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?sec=education522&file=/2010/5/2/education/6138841]Tough”>http://thestar.com.my/education/story.asp?sec=education522&file=/2010/5/2/education/6138841)</p>
<p>This is the same line he’s been repeating over the past few years.
Unless the system has changed this year.</p>
<p>Your input is appreciated, please understand that I am not trying to undermine you, only to seek clarity on a rather foggy issue.</p>
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</p>
<p>Not from Malaysia but I’m an international too. Didn’t get an interview and I can feel my heart breaking. Sigh.</p>