<p>I’m just curious: what state are you all from?
As for me, I’m from Massachusetts.</p>
<p>Texas. And if anyone- and I mean ANYONE- has a clue as to whether or not that makes my chances absolutely nil, I would be eager to listen.</p>
<p>Texas ^me too :O</p>
<p>Wow. Just got an email asking for a Skype interview with an Admissions Officer; with it being this late, I guess the interview will be the deciding factor…</p>
<p>Tripling the Texas count.</p>
<p>It says it everywhere… but here is an instance where it’s very clear: </p>
<p>The office concluded the preference was legal. It also found that although the preference contributed to a gap in the rate at which white and Asian applicants to Harvard were accepted, Harvard had “legitimate institutional goals” for favoring alumni children.</p>
<p>At Harvard today, Admissions Dean William Fitzsimmons says he personally reads all applications from children of alumni, which numbered 727 last year. He says the average SAT score of legacies admitted is just two points below the school’s overall average, and that legacy status is basically used as a tie-breaker between comparable candidates.</p>
<p>Harvard’s legacy students are becoming more diverse, reflecting the surge in minority enrollment in the 1970s. Still, only 7.6% of legacy applicants accepted last year were black, Hispanic or native American, compared with 17.8% of all successful applicants.</p>
<p>Asked how he defends a policy so little rooted in merit, Mr. Fitzsimmons says that the school’s alumni “volunteer an immense amount of their free time in recruiting students, raising money for their financial aid, taking part in Harvard Club activities at the local level, and in general promoting the college.” He adds, “They often bring a special kind of loyalty and enthusiasm for life at the college that makes a real difference in the college climate … and makes Harvard a happier place.” Therefore, he says, “when their sons and daughters apply, we review their applications with great care and will give a ‘tip’ in the admissions process to them.”</p>
<p>John Sedgwick, the father of Harvard freshman Sara Sedgwick, argues that legacy preference helps keep the past alive. The family’s Harvard ties go back to Ms. Sedgwick’s great-great-grandfather, Henry Dwight Sedgwick II, who graduated in 1843. Her grandfather played on Harvard’s undefeated, Rose-Bowl-winning 1919 football team.</p>
<p>“One of the salient characteristics of a college like Harvard is its history,” says Mr. Sedgwick, a novelist. “Legacy students are a visible representation of that history and make it real for the students who are attending.”</p>
<p>source: [WSJ.com</a> - Admissions Preferences Given To Alumni Children Draws Fire](<a href=“http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/Polk_Alumni.htm]WSJ.com”>WSJ.com - Admissions Preferences Given To Alumni Children Draws Fire)</p>
<p>Good Ol’ Virginia, here</p>
<p>Sent from my LG-P509 using CC App</p>
<p>@Persman :
“I think we should have a meeting on Skype or Paltalk on Dec 14. Just talk to each other in the spirit of human community, sharing stories, listening, supporting each other. And then another one at exactly 5pm EST, Dec 15, for the live reactions. I believe it’d be really consoling if we know other people are also rejected, live, at the same time.” </p>
<p>sounds like a plan. I’m 4 the Dec 15th idea tho. If I happen 2 get in (accepted), then I’ll definitely be in (the skype chat)</p>
<p>I’m in. Let’s do it.
Gonna be real late on the Dec.15th one though.</p>
<p>i’m in cali. dont know how i would join in on that one :P</p>
<p>Tennessee</p>
<p>(it’s GA on my CC info for privacy reasons 
)</p>
<p>California, just like my CC info location says.</p>
<p>Whoo! Go Texas!</p>
<p>hey pi? did you have power?</p>
<p>I gotta ask, for the other Texans in the room: anyone else from SA-town, or elsewhere in the Hill Country? My interviewer said we had a few applicants this year, but I’ve yet to meet one. No one else at my school went for SCEA :P</p>
<p>So I was just looking at my school’s website and found out that a Harvard admission officer/ rep is coming to my school in January. That hasn’t happened in the past. Could this possibly mean that my region is underrepresented? I know one kid from my school who got in 2 or 3 years ago and another one ~8 years ago. That’s it, though.</p>
<p>Also, I’m the only one applying early to Harvard.</p>
<p>I know it’s not likely that anyone will know the answer, but I’ve been thinking about it (and most likely over-analyzing the situation)…</p>
<p>I’d imagine that your app may have highlighted something for the admin office- which can only be good, honestly. To me, it seems that a visit is a definite recruiting measure, and if they saw something worthwhile (or indicating a possible trend in your school on the whole), they’d be wise to chase it in the interest of drawing in future applicants. Are you an URM, by chance? That might also be a reason for an extended dialogue between H and your HS.</p>
<p>No, unfortunately, I’m not an URM. My school does not have many people who fall within that category either, and the few who do are not at the top of the class, as far as I know.
I also don’t think there’s anything about my application that would be extremely impressive to admission officers who have seen the best of the best (basically, test scores < extracurriculars).
A Harvard admissions officer was also in town for an info session a few months ago, along with a few other top schools.</p>
<p>my regional admissions officer contact me for more information on my app…
what i am curious is what she said in the e-mail.
she said, “several application readers have reviewed [my] application…they are interpreting my app to show more interest in the sciences …clear understanding of this would allow us to most effectively advocate for admission.”
the officer also provided me with her office phone number or to email her. the e-mail was really lengthy…</p>
<p>that said, with nearly a week back until I get my decision, what does this mean for my admissions chances? how does the admissions process go?</p>
<p>jackomelon, it seems clear they were preparing to make a case for you before the full committee, which makes final decisions. They were definitely on your side. They probably thought an interest in science would be a plus.</p>