Official Harvard 2011 Transfer Thread

Transfer Students
141

<p>In the article that BostonCrmPie provided a link to, author Arianna Markel reports that “[Transfer student Markus] Besselle was one of 56 who transferred to Harvard in Fall 2005…”.</p>

<p>This makes me so angry and bitter! In 2011, Harvard will accept only about 15 transfer applicants. I think it is much, much harder to be chosen to be one of these 15 than it would be to be chosen to be one of 56 admits! I know that (supposedly) fewer transfer applicants are being admitted this year in an effort to reduce House crowding, but still, I am really upset that it’s so much tougher for any one of us 2011 applicants to get in than it was for applicants in the 90’s or early 2000’s. ::Sigh::</p>

142

<p>i heard several atheletes r getting in as sophomores…</p>

143

<p>Several? Athletes?</p>

<p>And finally, my application is complete! <em>sigh of relief</em></p>

144

<p>yeah, 2 friends of mine got recrutied by harvard for squash as transfers from trinity college. also i think harvard is getting some xc skiiers from england are they not? last year they got several transfer athletes from other ivies.</p>

145

<p>@exprep I think I read somewhere that faculty are on the admissions committee… currently trying to find the link (if I didn’t dream it up). </p>

<p>I totally agree about how ridiculous it is for transfer students. ([Transfer</a> Rejection Has Long History | News | The Harvard Crimson](<a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2008/3/31/transfer-rejection-has-long-history-each/]Transfer”>Transfer Rejection Has Long History | News | The Harvard Crimson)) I’m also a little bitter that transfer rates for community college students isn’t higher. We’re not in a position where we can even get a bachelors without transferring. </p>

<p>On another note, [Getting</a> Into Harvard Easier Than McDonald’s University in China - Bloomberg](<a href=“Bloomberg - Are you a robot?”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?)</p>

146

<p>^Would that explain mcfuggie’s handle? :-)</p>

147

<p>^ LOL. </p>

<p>It’s too bad Harvard doesn’t recruit for Quidditch. </p>

<p>And for anyone who’s interested, I dug up information on the components of the admissions committee. </p>

<p>

</p>

<p>[Guidance</a> Office: Answers From Harvard’s Dean, Part 1 - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/harvarddean-part1/]Guidance”>Guidance Office: Answers From Harvard's Dean, Part 1 - The New York Times)</p>

<p>In addition, Bloomberg Business Week reports…</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>[Online</a> Extra: How Harvard Gets its Best and Brightest](<a href=“Bloomberg - Are you a robot?”>Bloomberg - Are you a robot?)</p>

148

<p>@CrmPie:</p>

<p>Aren’t those descriptions of how Harvard’s freshman admissions process works, not how its transfer admissions process works?</p>

149

<p>^I see no reason why they would abandon their process. In fact they may even apply a more strenuous standard for transfers.</p>

150

<p>I remember asking a representative who said that the process is basically the same except for the timeframe.</p>

151

<p>Has Harvard contacted any of you to ask you to do an interview? Should I be worried if Harvard hasn’t contacted me about one?</p>

152

<p>^I haven’t been contacted. But I did send them a supplement on a DVD so it’s not like they don’t know that I’m dashingly handsome. ;-)</p>

<p>From what I’ve read – thanks to BCP – no mention of interviews for transfers anywhere.</p>

153

<p>Decisions come out in one more month… They probably don’t have the time for setting up transfer interviews. They’re just sorting then deliberating come May.</p>

<p>If it’s true that they recruit a lot of athletes also, then whatever contact the recruits have with the coaches are as good as interviews and matter more by far (as “hooks”). Normal admissions interviews are just supposed to be character assessment–something they can do with transfers through recommendations.</p>

<p>One more month! (approximately)</p>

154

<p>“From what I’ve read – thanks to BCP – no mention of interviews for transfers anywhere.”</p>

<p>By this, do you mean that Harvard doesn’t mention them on their website, or that no one’s mentioned them occurring? Because if it’s the latter, that’s not the case. I mentioned a few pages back that I was asked to do an interview. I did it last week. It was a very intensive interview… much more difficult and spontaneous questions about my extracurriculars than I’ve encountered in any other setting. Went well though.</p>

<p>I have almost no idea what causes someone to get an interview request though… so I wouldn’t worry too much about not receiving one. The Harvard transfer website states:</p>

<p>“We do not ordinarily schedule personal interviews for transfer applicants. If the Committee needs further information, you will be contacted.”</p>

<p>I’m pretty clueless/confused on this front too.</p>

<p>EDIT: BlueJMusik, your comment appeared just before I posted. Just thought I’d mention that I’m not an athlete… not by any stretch of the imagination.</p>

155

<p>I meant based on the news clippings BCP has posted I didn’t read anything about interviews. You didn’t ask them why they decided to interview you?</p>

156

<p>I asked the admissions office over the phone, but not my interviewer— thought the question might be awkward.</p>

<p>The admissions office said it was to “clarify the resume.”</p>

<p>But my interviewer said that he’s told to go into the interview blind, so he doesn’t get my resume.</p>

<p>…</p>

<p>Perhaps you can see my confusion growing.</p>

157

<p>^Interesting. I see two possibilities: Either they employ the interview because they really need more information or for applicants that made the final.</p>

158

<p>If only I knew which… Oh well. I suppose we have a month and a half left? I’ll find out then.</p>

<p>No one else on CC has gotten an interview request? Please post if you have…</p>

159

<p>^Deep down why do you think they interviewed? What in your resume would they have wanted to clarify?</p>

160

<p>Honestly, my resume was strong but straightforward. It mainly involves a number of different forms of participation in a single activity (debate). Most of our discussion was explaining in-depth each of these different activities… going into details as specific as how I was planning fundraising and recruiting staff for the nonprofit I run. He also briefly pseudo-debated me on an issue in which I said I was interested.</p>

<p>It seemed less about what I’d been doing than about trying to figure out how I think about things. I don’t really know what to make of that.</p>