<p>First, almost at the end of the school year I get a letter from Harvard just like every other college university in this country.</p>
<p>Then about 3 weeks later, the application arrives.</p>
<p>Then in July or whatever I got a call from Havard's financial aid office telling me that if I get in it would be completely free and asked me if I had any questions. </p>
<p>Then yesterday I get a call from thier minority recruiter, asks me if I have any questions and when I say no she gives me her number to call her if any questions show up.</p>
<p>Don't get me wrong, I don't mind all this attention from Harvard, it's just that Harvard has been the most persistant recruiter of all the schools that have ever contacted me. </p>
<p>So I guess with that said, if I'm going to help a school maintain such a low acceptance rate, it might as well be Harvard. Because I know for sure even though I would also get a free ride at Princeton and Yale, they haven't been as close as persistant as Harvard has.</p>
<p>Don't worry about it, I never got any calls or any special treatment and trust me the money is needed, so it's nothing bad, just keep going for it.</p>
<p>I agree - Harvard did the best job of any school that my D heard from in the recruitment process. In most cases, recruitment mailings are just marketing, but its a little different in Harvard's case. They have this reputation that they're unrealistic and inaccessible, and the tone of all their print and interpersonal communication does an excellent job of disspelling that assumption. My D wasn't planning on applying there until she got the mailings (BTW, we live in a county with low median socioeconomic statistics). She communicated with faculty in her intended concentration and got enthusiastic and encouraging responses, she visited and was treated as someone they valued, and then got very personal individual communication through the application process. She got in EA and they continued to recruit and solicit her. She came for the Prefrosh weekend and her admissions counselor knew her by name, knew her background, and remembered what she'd written. In the college research process, she hadn't originally considered Harvard because we'd heard its reputation was impersonal and sink-or-swim. My D was more interested in Yale at first, but her visit to her department of interest at Yale wasn't nearly as personal or accommodating, and once she got in at Harvard she never bothered to complete the Yale application.</p>
<p>^Wow, good to hear that. I only wish my mailings were more personalized, but again, I just never took the initiative. I'm wondering, though, what would anyone have to say to any school's faculty member? I love your inspiring work so please give me some advice when applying?</p>
<p>joannerz, why don't you give the student offices a call? The Undergraduate Minority Recruitment Program's number is 617-495-1514 and the Harvard Financial Aid Initiative Student Office's numer is 617-384-8213. Both organizations are more than happy to help answer any questions you may have!</p>