@LeBirthdayBoss I do, but I mean, not like intel sci fair level
@LeBirthdayBoss I have a couple, but I’m unsure as to whether they will have much impact.
@LeBirthdayBoss ikr, it’s really stressful. Thanks a lot, I truly hope it goes well!
Thanks for the response! What sort of national awards are you guys talking about? Like are they science awards, business, olympiads, or something? @ecoearth @MaybeHarvard2022 @valkyries
@LeBirthdayBoss I do, although they’re not really ISEF level. I’m a USNCO Semifinalist w/Honors (so top 141 nationally), AIME qualifier, and when I was a sophomore I won the JROTC national academic bowl. I don’t think any of those meaningfully distinguish me from other Harvard applicants however.
Probably the award(s) I’m most proud of are my MUN awards. I’ve won Best Delegate 7 times at different conferences which IMO is pretty unique (never heard of anyone winning close to that amount). I know gavel is considered to be a mediocre award at best, but I’ve lived and breathed MUN for the past 4 years of my life, so I’m content with what I’ve got 
Dang that is impressive!
@valkyries and @factorialmark - have you been contacted for an interview yet? I am still waiting but losing hope.
@jpm1234 No I haven’t 
I looked at last year’s thread and people still go contacted in mid November so maybe we still have a shot? But yeah, I am feeling pretty hopeless now, too…
I also didn’t get an interview, but I kind of expected it, because there are very few, if any, alumni here.
@LeBirthdayBoss I got 4 national honors and 1 international honor. The national honors include winning a bronze medal, ending in the top 10 and being a prizewinner (I still haven’t opened the prize(s) lmao) (all three at different ‘major’ olympiads/national competitions) and being ‘just’ a finalist at a research competition similar to intel/siemens (as far as I know, all based on what I’ve read, it’s kind of similar). The international honor is just because of competing: I did not win anything, but it was fun lol. Oh yeah, I had/have another honor: I was one of the 20 people nationwide to be selected to ‘take a course/follow a programme’ where we were taught by profs from Stanford, Cambridge and a few other universities, which was also fun, but admissions were mainly based on previous achievements, so I didn’t really have to do a lot for that…
@valkyries No worries. Not everyone gets an interview and if you’re one of the people who do not get one, it will NOT affect your chances. Don’t worry if you don’t get one, because it’s not a sign of not being good enough. It’s all about whether an alumuns/alumna is available to interview you. No need to worry
@Tomas1355 your comment makes me feel better too! At this point I feel pretty dejected that I didn’t get an interview call I’m from India so interviews are selective and based on availability anyways.
I’m from a large public high school in the south and had never heard of any of these competitions or awards before browsing College Confidential…
Seems many of you are still unnecessarily stressing over not getting an interview. And it also seems ome feel that receiving an interview is a selective process. Yes, it is selective in the sense that the interview just picks (selects) a name out of many on a list, and it is purely arbitrary. It is certainly not because you were flagged by the admissions office as being a better candidate. If you are from certain countries, you may need to make a request for interview, https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/application-process/what-we-look/interviews . But stop fretting over whether you were contacted by the alum or not. For a recruited athlete, I heard it may be mandatory for them to have both an on campus interview as well as by an alumni in their region.
Also, since the deadline has passed for submitting the SCEA application, just concentrate on doing well in school and maintaining your grades. Don’t stress on things you can’t control or change, such as not having any international awards, etc. It is what it is, right now. Hope what you have submitted in the application will be suffice to impress the AO and get you admitted. Good luck everyone.
For those who have had a interview, has anything been uploaded to your application status portal?
@MaybeHarvard2022 Nope
According to my interviewer, Harvard informs them a day or two before decisions come out whether their interviewee was accepted. Not sure if @skieurope can back this up or not beside I’m a tad bit skeptical. Hopefully mines calls me on the 11th with good news
@MaybeHarvard2022 That’s weird mine says the interviewer is never notified of the decision and I should keep him posted.
@Tobster18 That’s why i’m skeptical, not sure if my interviewer might have been mistaken. But then again I doubt he would say that without previous experience of it happening.
This is from a Crimson article detailing the Class of 2019. There’s over 40 members on the full Admissions Commitee and half of them are faculty. I’d assume this list is still generally accurate.
“Members of the teaching faculty serving on the admissions committee are: Ali Asani, Ann M. Blair, Peter J. Burgard, Diana L. Eck, Edward L. Glaeser, Benedict H. Gross, Guido Guidotti, Jay M. Harris, Joseph D. Harris, Robert D. Howe, Thomas R. Jehn, Rakesh Khurana, Nancy E. Kleckner, Harry R. Lewis, Richard M. Losick, James J. McCarthy, Louis Menand, Michael D. Mitzenmacher, Cherry Murray, Anne C. Shreffler, Alison Simmons, Frans Spaepen, Richard F. Thomas, James H. Waldo, Robert M. Woollacott, and Amir Yacoby.”
Are interviews really chosen at random? I found this online in a Harvard chair handbook regarding interviews:
“In some areas, the increase of applicants we have seen in recent years has necessitated the development of new tools and processes to manage incoming requests. In an effort to aide S&S Chairs burdened by an increasing demand for interviews, we have developed the Interview Profile Number (IVP) system, which may be implemented at the discretion of the local S&S Chair and the corresponding admissions representative. Interviewers will not see the IVP of a candidate.
Admissions officers have the option to assign an applicant an interview profile of 1, 2, 3, or 4. The numbers correspond as listed below:
1 – Please have interview report in as soon as possible.
2 – Please have interview report in by the sub-committee deadline.
3 – Please have interview report in by December 1 (EA) or March 1 (RD).
4 – No additional information needed at this time.”
Does this make 1’s more promising candidates than 2’s, 3’s, etc. because their interviews are prioritized?
https://apply.college.harvard.edu/portal/docs/chairHandbook.pdf