<p>In a few days, a Harvard rep will visit my high school. What is it like to meet one? Does their opinion have any sway in the admissions process or are they here simply to provide information?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>i went to a visit a Harvard admin did at my school last fall and nothing exciting happened. he was the admin for my area. he talked about the college, but said stuff you may know if you looked through the website. he gave us each a viewbook and a few papers about financial aid, which were also pretty usual hand outs i think. and you could ask him questions afterwards, of course...</p>
<p>My daughter met with a Harvard rep (her admissions officer) at her H.S. She was admitted SCEA. Make a good impression!</p>
<p>From what I have read, he/she is the one who presents your application in the admission sessions.</p>
<p>That person is your regional representative and is in charge of presenting applications to the full committee. That person also does lots of traveling, and if you have an EA application in by the time that they visit, they will probably be taking a particular interest in you (though they probably won't show this directly).</p>
<p>Overall, however, what's most important is not making a bad impression. Frankly, they meet lots of people and from what I can figure out, it's unlikely that you'll be able to do something in an admissions session that would make you stand out so much that the adcom would be seeing you as a definite admit. However, it is possible to do something that would make the admissions officer remember you in a bad way.</p>
<p>This doesn't mean that you need to obsess about your ps and qs, but it does mean that this is not the time to ask deliberately stupid questions to make your friends chuckle. I know an outstanding student who did something like that. No, the student was not admitted. </p>
<p>Before the admissions officer comes, take the time to review Harvard's web site thoroughly so that you can ask questions that go beyond the superficial so you won't be wasting your time.</p>