I applied to Harvard during Early Action and was deferred. My school counselor is advising me to write a letter to Harvard outlining my continued interest in their school and requesting an appointment with the admissions office. He said that I should ask to meet with them in order to discuss my interest in Harvard, what I hope to gain from a Harvard education, and most importantly, what I can contribute to their school.
Is this a good idea? Why or why not? What is Harvard’s policy in regards to requesting meetings with admissions?
In addition, I recently received an offer to study Law at the University of Oxford. Would it work to my advantage or disadvantage if I mention this to Harvard?
Thank you! Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
This is their [visiting info](Explore Harvard | Harvard) on the admissions site. They say interviews are Sept thru Nov. I couldn’t find anything else on visiting after applying, so I’d email them with a letter restating your interest and politely asking what their policy is on visiting now for an “interest interview”. I don’t know what mentioning Oxford would bring about, so I’ll let someone else handle that. Hope this helped at all…
Harvard does not weigh “demonstrated interest” in the application process, so a letter emphasizing desire will not help. If you have some new extraordinary accomplishment or award to enhance your profile, then do inform them of that in a letter.
And u think an admissions officer needs to hear it in person; otherwise, he/she won’t be aware that u and the thousands of other SCEA deferred applicants are interested in Harvard?
Sure, tell Harvard about your admission into Oxford. Harvard will graciously wish u every success at Oxford.
@GMTplus7 I don’t know but that’s what my guidance counselor told me to do. He said that he had a student who was initially rejected from Yale but eventually got in after meeting with the admissions officer. I’m slightly sceptical about the veracity of this claim, so that’s why I’m asking for advice on CC.
Would it hurt my application if I requested to meet with admissions?
Students seem to want to contact the Admissions Depoartment themselves, but I’ve noticed that the Guidance Counselors are better at getting information that could actually help a deferred student.
If you’re looking to be a lawyer, go to Oxford. You can always do a post-graduate training program at a large UK law firm, get a US LLM and thus be admitted in NY and a few other states. That’s cheaper than going to a US school for undergrad and for law school.
If Harvard is where you really, really want to go, you write the letter and make the case. It can’t hurt, at the least it puts your name in front of them again, and if you have matured since your initial essays (not unlikely) it gives you an opportunity to show that as well.
On the other hand, I agree that with all the posters who are saying that Harvard will not suddenly want you more just b/c another pretty girl/boy wants you- this is not middle school! That ploy only works when somebody has already decided that they really really want you. Harvard has made it clear that they aren’t 100% convinced yet.
My own view is a little pessimistic at this stage of the game. Unless you’re submitting something that’s objectively noteworthy, it’s noise to the admissions committee at this point. They have your essays, they have your recommendation letters. They want to limit that stuff because they still have 30K apps to work through.
This sort of thing comes more into play if you’re waitlisted after the regular decisions come out. Last year, Harvard waitlisted something like a thousand kids, and took a few handfuls off the waitlist as spring melted into summer. If you’re on the waitlist, then you’re not one of 30,000 but rather one of maybe a thousand. Then, things like extra letters, expressions of interest, etc., can play a role.
But at this point, they’re not looking for more minor data.
Only write a letter if you have something new to add to your application. Update them on your success, add in another essay about something they don’t know about you.
The sad reality is that only about 3% of deferred applicants will be accepted in the regular decision round, so if they didn’t want you the first time, there is no sense in waiting for them to come back around. Chances are, it won’t happen. If it does, just let it be a pleasant surprise, not something that you’re chasing after.
You also don’t need to let them know you’re interested in Harvard. 30 something thousand other people are too.
Definitely don’t mention Oxford. At best, “good for you…” At worst “Great, then you don’t need us, bye.”
I do encourage you to write the update if it will really inform them of things that aren’t already present in your application and if the update will not include anything along the lines of why you want to go to Harvard.
Yes, I do have important updates (i.e. results of international high school leaving exams) to submit to Harvard, and I’m planning to include that in my letter. I’m just wondering if I should follow my guidance counselor’s advice and ask them for a meeting as well.
I’m hesitant to disagree with your guidance counselor. I’ll ask, what’s your guidance counselor’s reasoning? Myself, I wouldn’t seek such a meeting at this time.
@notjoe I think that would be best explained by showing you the email that my counselor sent me:
"Get back to Harvard right away with a short email emphasizing that they are still your first choice school. Update them with academic news since your application and remind them of future accomplishments you expect to achieve next semester.
Here is a long shot that has worked for a few students in the past – even for a few who were turned down. Make an appointment to visit Harvard. Tell them you would like to meet with them in person and go over your interest in Harvard and what you hope to obtain from a Harvard education – and what they can expect from you in return if admitted. Some things are best discussed in person.
I know it is unusual to visit Harvard. However, if they agree to meet you with no promises or strings attached, you’ve won half the battle. Tell them you don’t expect any promises – just a chance to meet. To put it crudely, it’s like a hostage negation; the idea is to keep them talking and the more they talk the better it is for you, it can make an enormous difference. It deepens the lines of communication. It shows real determination on your part! Believe me it doesn’t happen that often. If they agree to meet, you are half way in!"
I gotta say, your guidance counselor, in spite of going against the received wisdom, makes a lot of good sense in that e-mail. However, without divulging stuff I shouldn’t divulge, it’s a little in tension to what I know to be true. Not in outright contradiction to, but in tension with.
I’d say this: if you’re the sort who makes a great splash in person, if every head turns when you enter the room, that may be the way to go. I know that the Harvard folks like to be wowed. They like things - and people - that break through the noise. But I assure you, they have lots and lots of folks who want to visit Cambridge and have a personal audience with an admissions officer. On its own, I don’t think that will get you far.
All that being said, since your chance of admission isn’t high, it may be a relatively-low risk opportunity with a small possibility of a big payoff.
To the OP: if admissions wants to meet you in person, THEY will invite you for a meeting. At this point, send them your updates and let your accomplishments speak for themselves. They don’t need to hear your sales pitch nor witness a big personality; your recommendations are more reliable indicators.
I think the likelihood is that the attempt by the poster to meet personally with an admission officer will be unsuccessful, and will avail little, even if it were to occur.
But I think the perspective of the poster’s guidance counselor is that even though it’s a very long shot, there is little to lose and everything to gain. It’s a Hail Mary pass. But if you look honestly and brutally at the odds of being accepted RD, you might conclude it’s worth the effort.
I don’t think this takes into account the perspective of the members of the admissions committee, as they want to be inundated with thousands upon thousands of requests for such meetings like they want 19 extra holes in their heads, but the dirty little secret is that sometimes, the admissions committees tell us things that are for their benefit, not that of the applicants.
