<p>whoa! and you got deferred? my goodness, what is the world coming to...</p>
<p>Wow. Add another to the list of major awards/RSI/etc. who ended up deferred. Is there rhyme or reason to this madness?? hehe...seriously, good luck to all of you (us) deferreds come RD time. Hopefully we'll have some more happy faces then :)</p>
<p>*Decision: Deferred *</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I: 2390-- 800 M 800 V 790 W
[</em>] SAT IIs: 770 Lit 770 Math II 750 Spanish
[<em>] ACT: n/a
[</em>] GPA: 4.0 unweighted, 4.87 weighted
[<em>] Rank: 6 of 552
[</em>] Other stats: 5 APs junior year- 4 fives and 1 four; 6 APs this year
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Essays: I thought they were good: revealing of my passions, personality, etc.
[</em>] Teacher Recs: didn't read them
[<em>] Counselor Rec: didn't read it
[</em>] Hook (if any): good ECs, even better leadership in them. Much community service, as well unique activities that required dedication, etc.
[/ul][ b]Location/Person:[ul]
[<em>] State or Country: NC
[</em>] School Type: public
[<em>] Ethnicity: asian
[</em>] Gender: M
[<em>] Perceived Strengths/Weaknesses:
[</em>] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: I was always aware of the likelihood of being deferred, but I can't think of anything too glaringly specific.
[/ul]Other Factors:**
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc: Congratulations to all who were admitted, and good luck to all of the deferred applicants!</p>
<p>I know someone that got accepted that is completely devoid of personality. He is a textbook, a drone, and it's actually kind of scary. Seeing that just makes me realize how much the system has failed.</p>
<p>pengshi, adam, both deferred? I'm beginning to respect Harvard a lot less now...</p>
<p>I can understand the both of us being deferred (and possibly accepted in RD) on account of Siemens and RSI. Harvard doesn't want those to be seen as auto-admits. But pengshi has some crazy accomplishments that I just don't get, leading to a deferral...</p>
<p>Could it be that the descriptions of acomplishments that the adcoms may not have been familiar with were not worded in a way that conveyed their importance (or did they think it was just an attempt at making a not-so-impressive accomplishment look better than it really was)? I'm beginning to think that using sophomore teachers for both my rec letters was a mistake.</p>
<p>What NSM stated was absolutely correct.</p>
<p>harvard can admit IMO/RSI/Intel/Siemens/Other Olympiads in RD....</p>
<p>Losing respect for Harvard?
That's ridiculous.</p>
<p>Harvard knows what Siemens, RSI, and USAMO are.</p>
<p>Decision: Accepted</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I: 740M, 740CR, 800W
[</em>] SAT IIs: 800 Bio, 750 Math2C, 730 Chem
[<em>] ACT
[</em>] GPA: 4.0 (unweighted)
[<em>] Rank: NA
[</em>] Other stats: Intel ISEF (Phoenix) Best of Microbio, presenter at National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (San Diego), Finalist in Intel ISEF (Portland), Semifinalist in Siemens, president of 2 science clubs, Chairman on Exec. Board of SGA, a few 5's and a few 4's on AP's
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Essays: Wrote about Tupac (not very formal and didn't spend too much time on it)
[</em>] Teacher Recs: 1 great, 1 good
[<em>] Counselor Rec: great
[</em>] Hook (if any): Science
[<em>] Interview: Average
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[</em>] State or Country: Virginia
[<em>] School Type: public
[</em>] Ethnicity: white/asian
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Perceived Strengths/Weaknesses: see above
[li] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied:[/li][/ul]Other Factors:
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc:
At the end of November, an admissions officer sent me an email saying they wanted a scientific paper. I sent along with a reference from my mentor of two years (fantastic recommendation from high ranking scientist of the NIH)</p>
<p>Sorry to the other science people (especially spyder, zygote, guitar) who didn't get in early. I think performing as well as you all did at the major competitions merits immediate acceptance.</p>
<p>Congrats to eyesonharvard. I'm also applying to Stanford.</p>
<p>sr6622--I think he's saying losing respect because if they can accept these people in RD, why can't they in EA?</p>
<p>Decision: Deferred</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I: 2360: 800 Math, 800 Critical Reading, 760 Writing (10 essay)
[</em>] SAT IIs: 800 Math IIC, 800 Chemistry, 780 Molecular Biology
[<em>] ACT: 36: 36 Math, 36 Science, 35/32 English (9 essay), 35 Reading
[</em>] GPA: 4.0 UW
[<em>] Rank: School doesn't rank
[</em>] Other stats: 8 5's on AP's, 137 AMC 10, 10 AIME, 9 USAMO
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Essays: Above average?
[</em>] Teacher Recs: Didn't read them, but probably good
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Didn't read them, but probably good
[</em>] Hook (if any): None
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[<em>] State or Country: MO
[</em>] School Type: Good Suburban Public
[<em>] Ethnicity: Chinese
[</em>] Gender: Male
[<em>] Perceived Strengths/Weaknesses: I thought math (USAMO qualifier) and my national science olympiad showing were strong; intangibles and uncertain strength of essays/recommendations plus the absence of a hook may have been weaknesses
[</em>] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: I'm likely a dime a dozen.
[/ul]Other Factors: I also qualified to nats in debate and had some leadership elsewhere- debate team captain, president/captain of 2 other clubs.
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc:
There seems to be a slight bias against math/science applicants. Maybe research/math/science awards are becoming too much of a cliche? Either way, it seems as if humanities-based students are having a much easier time getting in, even with lower stats. Congratulations to those accepted; I hope the "higher deferral acceptance rate" movement on this board is more than wishful thinking.</p>
<p>Tupac--Congrats man!! You made ISEF twice (I didn't make it last year, but my region isn't known for passing astronomy projects because of a lack of knowledgeable judges, and I went with a different project that just wasn't so great) so, even though you might not have performed as well in Siemens, or done RSI or USAMO, you're still a research elite ;) That they asked for your paper that late was a great sign. Now the rest of us are just hoping things will work out for us come RD.....</p>
<p>Snafu--Oy!!!!!! Another to the list of math/science students who should have gotten in and didn't. Good luck in RD.</p>
<p>Decision: Deferred</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I: 800 M, 800 V, 800 W
[</em>] SAT IIs: 790 Math IIC, 780 Chemistry, 770 Physics
[<em>] ACT: N/A
[</em>] GPA: 4.0 UW
[<em>] Rank: 3/339
[</em>] Other stats: High-ranking All-State F. Hornist (multiple times), very involved with multiple ensembles/orchestras/bands throughout the year, Captain of Science Olympiad Team (many 1st place medals at state competition), President of Math team, independent research over both summers, national merit semifinalist, ap scholar with distinction (5 5's and 1 4), only 2400 in my state? :P, 250+ hours in community service (Presidential Service Award)
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>]Essays: Research-based, well-written
[</em>]Teacher Recs: Excellent
[<em>]Extra Recs: One from research professor, one from horn professor
[</em>]Counselor Rec: Never read (probably generic, third new counselor in high school)
[<em>]Interview: Went well, interviewer said I would be a strong candidate for Harvard
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[</em>]State or Country:South Carolina
[<em>]School Type:Public
[</em>]Ethnicity:Asian-American
[<em>]Gender:Male
[</em>]Perceived Strengths/Weaknesses:High scores, great recommendations, independent research, passion for a more rare instrument than violin, from a not-so-great state/Asian-American, perceived cookie-cutter, too much state and not enough national recognition
[/ul]Other Factors:
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations,etc:Congrats to all those who were accepted! A lot of my friends said I wasn't the type to go to an aristocrat school (I'm a laid-back sort of person)...I guess Harvard thought the same!</p>
<p>I am losing respect for Harvard because it looks like they are abusing the system of EA. If they truly intend to accept students like pengshi and ARS in RD, but deferring for "political" reasons such as "they can accept them in RD and don't want Siemens/USAMO to look like auto-admits" is unnecessarily hurting students to make a statement. RSI has traditionally had at least a few deferrals, so I am not that hurt, but I cannot believe that two individual Siemens national finalists (I focus on individuals because at least we know for sure they did their own work) were deferred. Furthermore, pengshi got 3rd on the USAMO, which (if he did it before his junior year) is almost enough in itself to get into RSI.</p>
<p>Please differentiate this from my repsect for Harvard as an academic institution. I still believe it is the best university in the world.</p>
<p>heh, yeah, they can defer us officially and accept us in RD, but at least tell us now that they're going to do that!! :p We'll keep it a secret but it's killing us now, lol</p>
<p>it's dipset oh!</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <p>I am losing respect for Harvard because it looks like they are abusing the system of EA. If they truly intend to accept students like pengshi and ARS in RD, but deferring for "political" reasons such as "they can accept them in RD and don't want Siemens/USAMO to look like auto-admits" is unnecessarily hurting students to make a statement.<<</p> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>Wait a minute. Harvard has said no such things. All this business about accepting them in RD and not wanting it to appear to be auto-admits are the musings and speculations of members of this board - mostly a bunch of emotionally-charged high school students. These are not policy statements from Harvard officials.</p>
<p>If you want to abandon your respect for Harvard, find a real reason for it and not a bogus one.</p>
<p>He never stated that as fact. That's why he said "if".</p>