<p>If you apply early or sometime in the fall, what is the most likely time to get a letter back ?</p>
<p>[Harvard</a> College Admissions § Applying: Freshman Application Process](<a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/application_process/index.html]Harvard”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/application_process/index.html)</p>
<p>Early action deadline is 11/1, reply by 12/13.
Regular action deadline is 1/1, reply by 3/28.</p>
<p>Note that if you apply early action to Harvard, you agree to not apply early decision anywhere, and not apply early action to other private schools in the US, unless early application is needed for scholarships:</p>
<p>[Harvard</a> College Admissions § Applying: Early Action](<a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/application_process/early.html]Harvard”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/application_process/early.html)</p>
<p>magic: most colleges have defined deadlines (as ucb has shown you). Some have “rolling admissions” with undefined notification dates. As a Harvard aspirant, I’d think it valuable for you to learn these basic facts before diving into your app</p>