<p>Hey so yeah I'll be going over to Harvard and along with an actual interview I have a meeting with the dean of the whole college about my application. My dad worked at Harvard as a professor for 20 yrs before moving out west right when I was born to another university. I guess he has the connections. Problem. My weighted gpa is a 3.9 and sat is a 2120. Low gpa but I go to an extremely competitive school (top in the west). My question is: do connections like these make a difference? Or is my gpa just way too low</p>
<p>What is your rank in class? What GPAs did previously admitted students from your schools have? Check Naviance.</p>
<p>Like the point is, most kids who don’t have connections they get in with 4.2+ GPAs and no where near that haha just wanna know if this dean can do some magic </p>
<p>deans can do whatever they want in their colleges (including acknowledge their respect for your father and perhaps try to recruit him back to Harvard). But whether that will matter to the dean of admissions is another matter. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that this interview is about you. Wheels within wheels.</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone except the dean can no for sure what’s going on here. My guess is that the interview is a courtesy and implies no special favoritism.</p>
<p>Your numbers are in range. They’ll get you a second look. Possibly your connection will ensure a second look, but no more than that. Then it will come down to ECs, letters, essays, and how well that interview goes.</p>
<p>You’re meeting with Rakesh Khurana? Wow- it seems to me that Harvard is interested in you and is looking to give you a chance to shine and overcome your numbers. </p>
<p>Yes, of course they can make a difference. We don’t know what decision they will make, but does the existence of this meeting change your odds? Yes. A lot.</p>
<p>At the very least, as a sign of respect for your dad, it is unlikely that they will reject you; if they do not want you, they will most likely waitlist you.</p>
<p>^^ or Z-list you. This interview is most likely just a courtesy interview especially since Dean Khurana is new (unless perhaps he had your dad as a professor somewhere in his career). That being said, I think you should treat this interview as a great opportunity for the school to find out who you really are. Since this may be one of the first interviews that you are doing, try to do some mock interviews with someone who is experienced at this kind of thing. Try to have a clear sense of what you are passionate (overused word but hard to find a good substitute) about, what you would bring to the Harvard community and what you hope to get out of your four years at Harvard. Dean Khurana is a very relaxed and likable person. You will find him easy to talk to and so you shouldn’t stress or worry about this “chat”. Good luck!</p>
<p>While the interview is a kind gesture to your father due to his previous work at Harvard, you should view this as a courtesy visit. Do your best to make a positive impression, but know that Dean Fitzsimmons, and his committee, hold the keys to the front gate.</p>
<p>I see it as an interview for your dad to return.</p>
<p>The GPA at a very competitive private school in California is just a small part of the application. Once in the ballpark, the EC and essays make all the difference. Make sure you learn a LOT about Harvard to make it YOUR interview and not your father’s. Be prepared to show why you think H is a good fit for you as opposed to your dad’s current school. </p>
<p>Good luck! </p>
<p>Connections mean very little. Admissions officers can lose their jobs if they hire a bunch of unqualified students as a curtesy. In their eyes, your dad will get over it (it’s not like he is affiliated with the school anymore anyway), and the Dean will get over it because he doesn’t even know you in the first place. The average UNWEIGHTED GPA at Harvard is over 3.9. It’ll take a Hail Mary for you to get in. A weighted 3.9 is not too hot.</p>
<p>Ha! Admissions officers don’t decide on the application of a faculty child or major development candidate. This decision, whatever it may be, will be made above their pay grade.</p>
<p>“Connections mean very little”</p>
<p>Connections mean everything because if they didn’t there wouldn’t be “elite” universities. We’d all have an equal chance at everything. There wouldn’t be a need for affirmative action or needs based admissions.</p>
<p>Good Luck to OP. I hope it works out for you.</p>
<p>@menefrega Elite schools receive their status based on selectivity. Not necessarily the quality of education. If you drive down the acceptance rate of any college to below 15% and increase the average SAT score to around 700 for every subsection, you can become elite.</p>
<p>@Hanna, Im not sure where you got your info from, but it is false. Connections aren’t everything. More than 1/2 of Yale’s alumni applicants from the $1,000,000+ donor bracket get rejected. They honestly don’t care that much. If you aren’t qualified, you aren’t qualified. This OP does not appear to be academically qualified and his parent is no longer on the faculty. Getting a meeting with the Dean is great, but if you have a low GPA, it’s gonna take a lot more than having Daddy try to pull a few cards to get you in.</p>
<p>Where did I say connections were everything? I said in every post that we don’t know what the outcome of this meeting will be. However, a 2120 and 3.9 w at a Harvard-Westlake or the like makes the OP a plausible privileged admit IF they want him. He’ll be able to stay above water academically with no trouble.</p>
<p>The source of my info is being a Harvard interviewer for ten years, a student staffer in the Harvard admissions office for two summers, and an admissions consultant for 15, with regular attendance at professional development conferences where I meet with admissions officers from around the country. You can know that this is true because I use my real name and picture here, and there’s a link to my web site in my profile. What’s your source? And how do we know that you have access to the sources you claim?</p>
<p>“More than 1/2 of Yale’s alumni applicants from the $1,000,000+ donor bracket get rejected.”</p>
<p>So you’re saying that these connected applicants are admitted at around ten times the overall admit rate of 5% or so? That isn’t very good support for your argument that “connections mean very little.”</p>
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<p>students do interview with Dean Fitzsimmons of Harvard University in certain circumstances, it does happen. I think that this is a boost for OP, but its strange that it was scheduled with the dean of the college, and not the dean of admissions…</p>
<p>The Dean of the College, who is a tenured professor, hugely outranks the Dean of Admissions, an administrator. It’s not even close.</p>
<p>and for that reason, @Hanna, it’s possible that Admissions might resent the interference of College in his or her business. The College should ideally have little to say about the admission of one candidate. Who is it who has the expertise, after all?</p>