Thanks. That’s the first time I’ve seen the number published.
Please if you were deferred, don’t call admissions or have your guidance counselor call admissions.
Sorry, but this paragraph is such a turn off:
“If you’ve been deferred, you should do everything to get back on Admissions’ radar – have your GC call Harvard and find out if there was a specific reason you were deferred, address those concerns, write a letter of continued interest, send an update letter with significant achievements that you’ve earned since your application was submitted – and then move on, as if you have been rejected.”
Don’t be this desperate for any school. Just move on. You still have a 2% chance at Harvard. Leave it at that. There are a gazillion great schools out there. Harvard is just a school. It’s not the magical kingdom. Please.
@flautamagica Sorry you were deferred. Legacy conveys a benefit, not a guarantee. You still need stellar stats, accomplishments, and EC’s. Last year, 10 kids were accepted to Harvard early from my son’s HS (elite public). 7 were legacy. Avg SAT of those accepted early to Harvard over few years was ~ 2300 with GPA of 96+/100 (unweighted) plus significant achievements including multiple finalists and top 10 finishers in Intel, Siemens, USAMO, USABO, RSI participants, etc. Every student was accelerated in math, with those at the high end of the range completing multiple years of college math classes at an Ivy.
@compmom - Gibby will be the first one to tell you to focus on making your RD applications the best they can be, instead of obsessing over a deferral. The truth is that most applicants who are differed from Harvard (& other highly selective schools) are still very excited at the opportunity for a second chance, and I think it is this from this premise that Gibby made that statement. There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking action to put your app back in front of Admissions. That applicant might just be among the 2%!
I disagree. Obviously.
is it really 2%? That seems oddly low. Maybe the Boston Globe made a mistake
I don’t believe the Boston Globe made a mistake. That percentage seems realistic relative to Harvard’s regular decision rounds acceptance rate in the last two years of 3.5 and 3.2 percent. There are many students in the regular decision round who applied early to other highly selective schools and now are applying in the RD round at Harvard.
What Gibby suggested in the paragraph that compmom doesn’t agree with is quite similar to what our daughter had done at Harvard after being Wait listed in the RD round for the class of 2018. Her guidance counselor did not contact Harvard to ask why she had been Wait listed, but there was a packet prepared with a letter of expressed interest and the inclusion of information in regard to additional academic and extracurricular achievements that was sent to the Harvard admissions officer responsible for our geographic region. Any additional things of note that arose after this packet was sent were also forwarded.
We supported our daughters efforts but advised her to be of the mind set that is was very unlikely that she would come off the wait list to be accepted. She went forward with that sense of reality. She was very fortunate to come off the wait list to be accepted.
You don’t know unless you try. Why not give it every thing you can and accept what ever happens? Tact, sincerity and courtesy are paramount. You want to differentiate yourself positively.
I objected to having a guidance counselor call, or going to any great lengths to get in off the list. This is very different from preparing one’s own supplement in a situation where there is important new information to submit.
I don’t like the idea of kids from schools with guidance counselors with “connections” having an advantage, honestly. My own kid is a legacy but did not check the box. She wanted to get in on her own merits. Harvard is trying, with its financial aid practices, to equal the playing field for those whose backgrounds are low income or otherwise disadvantaged. There are so many things that counteract that intention, whether better schools in wealthier areas, more money for impressive extracurriculars, private college counseling and essay help. I don’t think parents need to add to that by urging their kids to use the privilege of connected guidance counselors in this way.
Your daughter didn’t need to check the box for Admissions to know she was a legacy. One look at the educational institutions her parents attended (a requirement of the Common Application) and Admissions would have known your daughter was a legacy applicant. Your daughter’s application was therefore treated as a legacy. She was admitted having a leg-up on the process whether she (or you) want to admit it. So, I’m not sure where all this altruism comes from about well-connected guidance counselors. Just saying . . .
There is no longer a “legacy box” to check on the Harvard supplement, @CompMom, though the information students are asked to complete on the Common App would indicate to the Admissions Office whether parents are legacies. This has been true for at least three years. Harvard has made it clear that it only considers legacy in the case of parents attending the College for HC admissions. There is a space on this year’s Common App for a student to indicate how applicants know about the College. It includes campus visits, school visits, current students, alumni, etc., but does not have a place to indicate legacy, at least not directly. This space did not exist three years ago. I’m not sure when in the past three years it was added to the supplement.
This doesn’t change my point. But good for people to know.
^^ So, it was okay for your daughter to get a leg-up in the admissions process because she indicated on the Common Application that her parent (or parents) graduated from Harvard, thereby allowing her to be viewed as a legacy applicant, but it’s not okay for another student who has a well-connected guidance counselor to make a phone call on behalf of that student and find out why they were deferred? “That seems very one-sided to me” he said while scratching his head. And that was my point.
Gibby, please reread. My daughter did NOT indicate that parent went to Harvard or that she was a legacy. She wanted to get in or not get in on her own merits. This is certainly consistent with my point about resisting the urge to get a leg up because your guidance counselor has connections.
Your tone here is uncalled for.
Compmom: I’m not misreading your posts. You are not understanding how the Common Application program works.
Your daughter could NOT have submitted her Common Application without indicating the educational institutions her parents attended. The program WON’T allow a student to leave the question bank, unless the student indicates their parents did NOT attend college. Is that what your daughter did? Did she indicate her mom did not attend college? Of course, not. She told the truth and Admissions thereby knew of her legacy status.
It’s right there on Harvard’s website: https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/application-requirements/application-tips#family
Once your daughter selected each parent’s educational level, the program asked for the name of the institution and the year of graduation. The Common Application cannot be submitted if a student indicates their parent went to college, but leaves the name of the institution blank.
Honestly, the point remains the same. And I don’t know what she put about her parents. I didn’t see it. I don’t remember that coming up back then.
Leaving my daughter aside, the point remains the same. What if every deferred applicant had their GC call?
And with such a low chance of getting in, I think it is unhealthy to focus that much on Harvard.
I was expressing an opinion. Your tone is inappropriate Gibby.
I thought I was being quite reasonable and respectful. However, I think we should just agree to disagree.
How do we send a letter of continued interest if Harvard doesn’t exactly publicize contact info for regional admissions officers?
You can upload a letter directly to the portal and it will be placed into your file, which your regional Admissions director will read when your file is re-read for the RD round.
@gibby It is shoo-in, not shoe-in.
Thanks for the correction.