I applied Early Action, submitting my application October 19th. It’s currently November 30th, and I haven’t gotten a request to interview. Should I be worried?
I received an interview notification two days after I applied from the President of my local Harvard Club. If you didn’t get a notification for an interview, it probably just means there’s not an available alumni or faculty member nearby to conduct the interview.
Every source- including from the college themselves -says that not getting an interview will really have no effect on the rest of your application, so unless you were on the edge, I wouldn’t worry about it. My guess is that if they really do need an interview an AO might want to do a Skype interview or something, but otherwise I wouldn’t worry.
Same here for me. I thought I would be decently completive being a URM with above average ECs. I also live like 45 min away from Harvard which freaks me out since I wouldn’t think availability is a problem. I’ve heard that an acceptance is practically impossible without an interview, it it true?
Any one knows that interview is must for early action in Harvard?
In the court document is says “it’s not a prerequisite for admission, but in practice, applicants are rarely admitted without one. Maybe ask someone someone more knowledgeable like @gibby, since I’m not expert.
true they all say its not prerequisite but factually there may be .0001 chance of admitting without an interview
I was pretty surprised I didn’t Get an interview since I’m a URM with a pretty good application overall.
So I got deferred… is there a chance I get offered one RD?
Can I see a source? I read through the admissions docs and didn’t see this anywhere.
@TeresaMead My son applied RD to Harvard 2024 in early November 2019 and was called by a local Harvard alumnus to interview in December 2019. I have read as many “Harvard interview” threads here on CC as I could find, and the claim is made that - based on data disclosed in the recent lawsuit against Harvard - Harvard does a quick read of RD applications, prioritizes applicants into “high priority” and “low priority” for interviews, and - except in cases where an interview is not possible - not getting an interview for RD means rejection.
First of all, good luck to your son!
I don’t think that your comment presents the full picture. This is my understanding:
The admissions office directly arranges only those interviews that are conducted on campus or by phone/video call with AOs. Alumni interviews are arranged around the world by volunteer Schools & Scholarship (S&S) Committee chairs, who are usually affiliated to some extent with local Harvard Clubs.
Names and contact info of applicants will be sent automatically to the S&S chairs (via their portal) almost as soon as the admissions office gets the application. AOs have the option of assigning an interviewer priority, but they do so only after a normal first reading (not after a “quick” read), and not all AOs assign priority ratings.
For domestic applicants, most clubs/S&S committees around the country have enough volunteers to interview all local applicants, and S&S chairs typically assign interviewers as fast as they can because the turnaround time is short. Chairs can see the ratings once they’re given, but it might be a couple of weeks after the application is submitted, and chairs with plenty of interviewers do not typically wait for the AO to assign ratings. I would imagine that those clubs without enough interviewers might wait for ratings to prioritize interview assignments, and in those areas, applicants who are not competitive might not get an interview. If the AO plans to present a candidate, they might ask the S&S chair to expedite the interview and/or report. Or, in unusual circumstances, the AO might directly interview the applicant. Under this system, almost all competitive domestic applicants will be offered an interview. A few applicants in relatively remote areas might be admitted without an interview, but it’s an atypical scenario.
I think that the system is similar for Canadian applicants, but I’m not sure.
For international applicants, there are not enough interviewers, so the AO tells the S&S chairs which applicants are competitive, and the chairs assign interviewers to them. If no volunteer interviewers are available or if the AOs have specific questions or issues they’d like to have addressed, the AOs might conduct the interviews (by phone or video call). International applicants who get interviews are in the running, but those without an interview will not ordinarily be admitted. For international applicants, no interview essentially means no admission.
RD interviews are usually not assigned until late November or December at the earliest, and the AOs don’t start reading the applications until December. AOs and interviewers are busy in November with EA applicants.
My comment is derived from the comments of several others here since the release of documents in the lawsuit against Harvard.
Fair enough.
My comments are derived my personal experience as an interviewer for more than 30 years and an S&S co-chair for many years in different states that I have lived in, as well as my attendance at annual meetings in Cambridge, where S&S chairs from around the world exchange ideas and share best practices.
Every region does things differently, whether it’s because of differences in circumstances on the ground or because chairs have certain preferences or whims. However, what I have described reflects what other chairs have told me and what I have seen my co-chairs (in more than one place) do. We don’t spend much time on prioritization. It’s hard enough to keep our heads above water because assigning interviewers to students is so time consuming, and it’s time sensitive. We can’t wait weeks (for the priority ratings) before we assign interviews… We do use priority ratings when the deadlines are near: we might ask interviewers to submit some interview reports earlier than others so that the applications can be discussed in subcommittee or full committee.