<p>I'll give a couple of suggestions (Like xjayxm I was deferred and then accepted RD):</p>
<p>Sending a letter is definitely a good idea, around the end of January (you can send it whenever you want, but sending it in January lets you include some more recent accomplishments). It should be brief (probably around 200 words or less), and should do the following:</p>
<p>a)Mention any recent accomplishments that you've done.
b)If Harvard is your first choice, then you should say something along the lines of "Harvard remains my first choice, and if I am accepted in April, I commit to attending."
c)If you want to, you can add a BRIEF bit about why you feel Harvard is the right school for you (this is NOT an opportunity for an extra essay, it's just a chance to communicate a little bit more with the admissions office. Don't overdo it- keep yourself to around 200 words total!)</p>
<p>This letter might not do anything, but it can help to show your interest in the school. By the way, if you want to replace an essay from your original application, you can do that- just include a copy of it and let them know to put it in the file.</p>
<p>However, do NOT call the admissions office and bug them. Don't call and ask to be transferred to your admissions counselor, don't ask them why you were deferred, don't call and try to explain every weakness you're worried about... it's just going to bother them! If anything, it'll just hurt their opinion of you.</p>
<p>It will definitely help if your midterm grades are excellent (or whatever grades are sent in in between December and March, ask your GC since it might differ from school to school). This should be a no-brainer- work really hard on whatever grades will be sent in.</p>
<p>If you win any awards, or one of your extracurricular clubs or teams achieves something or whatever, you should certainly let Harvard know, but don't think that that's the only thing that can get you in.</p>
<p>My most important advice to everyone deferred, though, is to focus on other college applications. There are two reasons for this- one is that, of course, you want to get into those schools in case you're deferred. The other reason is more psychological- once you take a step back and look at how many other fantastic schools there are out there, you'll see that being deferred from Harvard really wasn't a big deal after all.</p>
<p>If I'd been rejected from Harvard in the spring, I wouldn't have cared because I got into half a dozen schools that I would have been nearly, if not equally, thrilled to go to. So the best thing for deferred applicants to do isn't to focus completely on improving their chances at Harvard, but to find other schools that fit them just as well- that way, you'll be happy in April no matter what.</p>
<p>So, in short- do what you can and send a letter, replace an essay if you want, whatever... but make sure you really work hard on your other applications.</p>