<p>I’m a bit of an outsider, since I followed interview discussions re MIT and Yale last year, but I have to imagine that the situation is similar at Harvard. On the list of factors that influence acceptances, the interviews are the least important (if they have any effect at all). IMHO, they can be factors in managing yield (I.e., a good interview probably inclines one to matriculate). </p>
<p>I hope the decisions won’t come out precisely on the 11th of December !! (happy birthday present for me hurray) </p>
<p>Also I had a question : I have sent out my SAT scores via collegeboard a while ago, but on the Harvard portal there is a red cross next to “official report SAT/ACT scores” (awaiting scores). What should I do ? Does it take time or is it another bad omen like my birthdate ? 
</p>
<p>muchas besos from Paris </p>
<p>@karabekian I just told her I hang out with friends a lot, who are quite different personalities, and that I do a lot of sports for fun, like downhill during wintertime, a lot of swimming and chilling at the beach when its summer. And I mentioned that I am miserable at playing the guitar, but that I love playing it for fun haha. Guess the purpose of the question is to see whether you have a life outside of school and your ECs(?) </p>
<p>@nomatterwhat I know that interviews aren’t given much weight in the overall evaluation of an applicant, but what I picked up is that they can only weaken an application if it is a really poor interview or just support the overall image of the applicant. Perhaps the only way in which on-campus interviews can be different from off-campus ones are that you are met with an AO who sits on the committee, if you get so far in the process. </p>
<p>@Ixnaybob They probably have more of an effect in terms of yield with respect to the RD round- the yields for EA are usually around 90% (from what I’ve heard, no evidence to support it). But obviously, I suppose that if you let the interviewer know loud and clear that it is your top choice, it can’t hurt. </p>
<p>Wait can someone answer the recommendation question though? I’m ready to submit but my recommenders haven’t finished yet… They don’t know how to use Naviance at all</p>
<p>@jellybae none of my recommenders have submitted yet but it still let me submit my app last night. Already got the app tracker login info too.</p>
<p>@Jellybae if you’re wondering whether you can submit the common app without your recommenders’ uploads, the answer is yes. BUT you have to have added them ahead of time before you submit. I transferred schools and my old school used naviance; from what i believe, you must go to naviance, go to ‘about me,’ then ‘colleges i’m applying to,’ then request transcript and it should show up somewhere on common app. tbh i accidentally ended up doing the right thing but i think that’s what i did lol</p>
<p>@AnotherPSEOKid whoa that’s weird, we answered at the same time 0_o It’s an omen aggh</p>
<p>@easycadence Haha hopefully a good one</p>
<p>Oh no I was wondering whether November 1 is the deadline for recommendations as well. I know Yale allows some more time for recommendations, but is Harvard that nice too?</p>
<p>@jellybae I’ve heard recommendations have a grace period of some sort. Need confirmation though</p>
<p>My interview was very informal and relaxed. If anyone is worrying or stressing about it, don’t. </p>
<p>Quick question – I’m planning on submitting everything on the 30th. I have to upload both a resume and a research abstract – but it appears that I won’t be able to do that until I’ve received a mystatus portal account. I’ve heard that it could take a few days to get that email – so my question is, do ya’ll think its okay if I upload my resume and abstract like two days post-early application deadline, as long as the rest of my application is uploaded before Nov 1st? Or should I email them?</p>
<p>@kwonman12
I was going to submit my research abstract and resume, too, and will probably submit everything around the 30th as well. I believe we only need to submit all the required forms by Nov. 1. It won’t hurt to email them, though…</p>
<p>I have 2 questions, everyone:</p>
<ol>
<li>How did you format your optional essay? i.e., font, size, double space/single space, etc</li>
<li>Should I write a short explanation in the Additional Information box if I am ranked 6/681 in a pretty ghetto public high school? Would they wonder why I am not ranked 1? If I do write an explanation, should it be short or in an essay format?</li>
</ol>
<p>
</p>
<p>You are in the top 1% of your class which is terrific. Harvard specifically states in their Common Data Set that they don’t consider class rank: <a href=“http://oir.harvard.edu/files/huoir/files/harvard_cds_2011-2012.pdf”>http://oir.harvard.edu/files/huoir/files/harvard_cds_2011-2012.pdf</a> . Can you imagine how much extra reading Harvard AO’s would have to do if every applicant who wasn’t ranked #1 wrote an explanation of why they weren’t? </p>
<p>@fairyfantasy I formatted the optional essay with Times New Roman font 12, 1.5 spaced. I 1.5 spaced it because I thought double space was too much, single space was too little, and I wanted to make it easy to read. Pretty standard imo. </p>
<p>Still wondering, how would/ did you guys answer “Why Harvard?” I hear you need to be specific for the interview…</p>
<p>Having my interview in three days! Kinda nervous…
@harvard00 did the interviewer ask u anything about any books u read or about ur strengths and weaknesses?</p>
<p>@PcollegegirlP No we just talked about the classes I took, grades/scores, extracurriculars. Then she asked me “why harvard” and that was it for questions. The rest was just an informal conversation answering my questions and telling me about Harvard</p>
<p>Thnx @harvard00 ! Wish u the best for December, when results come out!
Hope I do well in the interview now… </p>
<p>Good luck ^. And @harvard00 what did you say for “Why Harvard?” and how specific were your questions?</p>