<p>Hey guys! So, this year, I was waitlisted to Harvard's Class of 2017. Let me start off by saying, that I feel honored to have even reached the point where my application where among the 1,000 chosen for the waitlist. Harvard has been the absolute, #1, I-love-it-so-much-I-would-die-for-it, DREAMMMMMMMMMMM school (i hope I have made clear how much I love harvard). More than anything though, I love Harvard for its people, sense of community and belonging, and most importantly, its power to create and inspire a new generation of thinkers and scholars. </p>
<p>Now, as much as I would love to get off the wait list, I understand my chances are slim to none. Neverthleless, I do not want any regrets in the future for not trying my best to get into my dream school. So, I was wondering if anyone has any information at all on Harvard's waitlist over the years (I know that Havard is very conservative on releasing its waitlist statistics). I know the yield was over 80% last year, which is ridiculously high! But, anyone want to predict what they think the yield percentage would be like this year?</p>
<p>Also, if you have been waitlisted at Harvard or any other school, I wish you all the best in your endeavors. I hope all your dreams come true!</p>
<p>You’re asking the impossible. It’d be a guess upon a guess upon a guess. The factors that come into play for H’s yield are all over the board. Sorry but that’s the situation.</p>
<p>@Accept3d, I was in your exact same spot two years ago. I really don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade, but waitlisted students are basically hopeless. I was accepted to almost every single school I applied to (and eventually chose Yale, as seen in my username), but was waitlisted at Harvard.</p>
<p>I was happy to accept my spot on the waitlist, sent them a letter of intent detailing my interest and the fact that Harvard was still my #1, updated them with national awards as well as this national community service campaign that I had founded, etc. But the truth is that Harvard already knows who it’s going to accept/reject…all the spots (if any) on the waitlist is going to go towards legacies or people with any extreme hooks. Harvard just wants to avoid getting sued, so it keeps these students (close to 2000 of them) waiting in false hope.</p>
<p>So again, you can try all you want if you really think you stand a chance, but from my experience, it’s really not that worth it. You probably got accepted into great schools, might as well pursue those while you can. Good luck to you all!</p>
<p>^^ has no idea what he or she is speaking about-- just a bunch of sour grapes. Kids get off the WL–about 50 usually–sometimes a bit more and sometimes less. They are not all huge hooks. Legacies count for nearly nothing anymore --unless your name is Lowell or Weld or Cabot. </p>
<p>The list isn’t ranked–to be sure there are the “near misses” the kids that just were on the other side of the mark for whatever reason who the entire committee wants but couldn’t admit and hopes spots open so they can be taken. </p>
<p>But for the most part the WL kids admitted are kids who fill a need to round out the class (the “tuba player” is the hackneyed example) and/or who have shown something else that wasn’t there when he or she was considered for admission (the gig at Carnegie Hall just was booked for example…).</p>
<p>It is NOT window dressing and the Committee (I know bc a dear friend was a member for years) understands that getting a WL designation is in some sense less kind to a student than a rejection because it doesn’t permit closure–and for all but a handful that is what will need to happen.</p>
<p>So make sure that the AO knows of your passionate desire to attend, get your head/principal/counselor involved to call on your behalf if possible and keep the AO appraised of SIGNIFICANT changes–not just that you got 5 more merit badges.</p>
<p>Most importantly, fall in love with those schools that admitted you and forget those that don’t. You don’t want to be in the psychological position to be still looking at Harvard WL threads years later for validation.</p>
I have a friend (objectively a better candidate than me, really) at my school who was accepted to Harvard, but I know for a fact that he will almost definitely be attending Yale or Columbia instead. I think I’m the only person waitlisted at my school; do you think that might increase my chances of getting pulled off the waitlist, or is that just wishful thinking? (I know this isn’t really an entirely answerable question, but I figured it’s worth a shot.)</p>
<p>@etondad has no clue what he is talking about. Two years ago, I had been accepted to the best colleges. I had been accepted to Yale, Columbia, Princeton, Brown, and MIT, but I was waitlisted to Harvard. In order to get a chance of getting accepted to Harvard was sending my most recent national and state awards. Even after sending some of my first place national award from Science Olympiad, Harvard still eventually rejected me. My advice to you is to reject Harvard’s waitlist offer to you (@Accept3d) and move on to a different college. You might as well just stick to the other colleges that are interested in you. It is pretty much IMPOSSIBLE that someone from the Harvard waitlist will eventually get accepted. Go to Princeton instead. ;D</p>
<p>Harvard must have changed in the last 30 years. It’s a remarkable institution, and attending Harvard College is a life-changing experience. But I don’t remember a “sense of community and belonging” as one of its outstanding attributes.</p>
<p>Considering I got rejected from the other two Ivies I applied to (Princeton being one of them), I think my Harvard waitlist might be my best chance ;)</p>
<p>But really, I’m not too worried about it. If I do get rejected, then I’ll just go to McGill, where I’d be happy to be. I still don’t see a reason not to try to maximize my chances of getting off the waitlist, infinitesimal as they may be.</p>
<p>@PrincetonTigers LOL im in a real rut then. I got waitlisted at Harvard, Princeton, and UPenn. The feeling of being just 1,000 kids away from being accepted at my absolutely top choices is not that comforting and is actually quite frustrating. Nevertheless, for right now, I am Duke bound!</p>
<p>I don’t mean to threadjack, but this question is at least sort of related. I’ve been waitlisted and am a legacy. I’m wondering - was it just a courtesy decision, or might my legacy status actually give a better chance of being accepted off the WL or z-listed or what have you? (Hypothetically speaking, of course. I’m expecting absolutely nothing.)</p>
<p>@Accept3d In my opinion, you should just drop Harvard, Princeton, and UPenn. If you are more interested in Duke, then that’s where life will lead you.</p>
<p>You won’t have a chance at getting accepted to Harvard. As I said in my earlier comment, I sent Harvard some of my most recent 1st place national awards from Science Olympiad and they still rejected me! I advise you right now to drop off the Harvard waiting list and choose another school. It will be too risky to stay on the list because the colleges that are interested in you might decide to not take you anymore since you are showing interest in Harvard instead. @Maulrus. Show all of your passion in Princeton instead. I’m sure you will get into Princeton for sure if you put all of your passion and effort into Princeton. ;D</p>
<p>@Pton, a Science Olympiad award is hardly a guaranteed in to Harvard, and anecdotal evidence from one person is hardly a definitive answer to my question. I’ve read that many people who get z-listed are legacies; I’ve also read that many legacies only get waitlisted as a courtesy to the alum parent. I’m just wondering which is more likely. I do plan on enrolling at another school, but I’m staying on the waitlist at H - you never know.</p>
<p>@PrincetonTigers: I’d love to, as Princeton was my top choice, but I didn’t even make it onto the waitlist there. In any case I’m secure with the other schools I’ve been accepted to, so I’ve really got nothing to lose by trying my chances at Harvard.</p>
<p>I do find it quite interesting that those who say they have “moved on” seem to be around Harvard WL threads years after the fact. And they spread their advice of impossibility around as if it is dogma. Each year there is some movement-- sometimes a handful sometimes more than a hundred. People get off–not many to be sure–but some. And the data suggests that at graduation there is no difference that can be measured between WL kids performance and those admitted straight off. If they were all hooks that aside from some special privilege shouldn’t have been admitted, the data would reflect that fact–but the data most definately does not.</p>
<p>My DS’s suitemate was accepted off the WL-- and he is neither a legacy or a jock–last time I checked there are no buildings in his family’s name-- he is just a smart and talented good kid. His only hook as far as I can tell is that he is artistically gifted and a major show of his work happened in late March–and he let the AO know. Now I have no idea if that was the tipping point–but I wager it didn’t hurt. </p>
<p>PS–several friends whose families are multi multi generational alums and whose kids are good and strong candidates got the R–not the WL–but the R. As I wrote in an earlier post–families are not stupid, esp those who have been around the game for sometime–they are not assuaged by a WL as opposed to a R and the AdCom doesn’t think that they are that dumb either.</p>
<p>Here is the key to the admissions schitck-- It iS NOT, NO WAY, NEVER a prize that is awarded based upon some measure of better past performance–it is not the post adolescent version of a gold star on one’s forehead. It is not a certification that one’s past life has been found somehow worthy or lacking in worth. Ad Coms use the past as a way to try to determine FUTURE performance–that is it. So the idea of a “better qualified candiate” is a term without any meaning. The Ad Com makes decisions based upon creating the best all around class it can with kids who it believes can best use the resources of the University and will be in a position to make contributions to the world after graduation–that is it. Admissions are not bc one has filled in all of the check boxes properly–there are many more 2400 kids and valedictorians with Rs than As or WLs. </p>
<p>That makes it seem unfair, and perhaps it is–but life isn’t fair. And the Admissions people–and especially your guidance counsellor–should have been telling you that from the beginning.</p>
<p>But hey, I have only been studying, teaching and advising at Harvard for 30 years–so I’m not nearly as informed as some kid who was rejected from the Harvard WL a few years ago, I suppose.</p>
<p>@etondad: As you seem to be quite knowledgeable about the nature of the waitlist, I have a question. I recently found out that my uncle, a graduate of Harvard Law School, wrote a letter of recommendation to somebody with clout at Harvard at some point without my knowledge. I wasn’t supposed to know this, but a family member let it slip, and now that I do my uncle has told me that he was thinking about going to see the person to whom he wrote the letter to attempt to recommend me more strongly. Do you think this is wise, or will it come off as over-naggy?</p>
<p>I really appreciate the realistic approach etondad is having with the whole WL situation. Thank you so much for sharing your past experiences. I agree that to completely give up hope on Harvard’s waitlist is unrealistic, especially because I have loved that school ever since I was a 7th grader. Being ever so close to my dreams is a comforting feeling, but whether I will be able to make the leap into a Harvard reality… well, only time will tell us the answer to that.</p>
<p>Maulrus, such letters rarely if ever have any influence and sometime can backfire. I would caution strongly. The AO hates having the feeling that they are being strong armed. But the person at Harvard to whom your uncle has addressed the letter and would meet is very very likely to know that and wouldn’t do anything with the AO that would hurt. More than likely the AO will be polite to your uncle and perhaps when he places his call just to see where things stand, much more than likely he will get a “he’s being strongly considered” line that, of course means nothing at all…</p>
<p>Much more promising is to get your head/principal involved if you can. High schools have relationships with particular AOs who cover their geographic region for years-- a strong recommendation to revisit the file might prompt the AO to take another look.</p>
<p>BUT for everyone-- the chances are still small–(although if you read the archives on CC every year people have gotten off…)–so fall in LOVE with one of the schools that accepted you. You have to have a bifurcated brain in which you continue to pursue the WL while becoming emotionally committed to being at XYZ University. Buy the car sticker and the sweatshirt. Join the FB page and act as if you are going there–bc much more likely than not, you will be. </p>
<p>But also don’t give up hope. Lightning does strike.</p>