Text of Harvard College 2007 Admission Letter?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Harvard University
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<p>I've heard the question come up whether Harvard allows admitted applicants to decided to take a "gap year" before accepting the offer of admission. I thought I had read somewhere that the recent versions of the Harvard admission letter actually make the suggestion to take a gap year if the applicant so desires. William Fitzsimmons, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Harvard College, certainly makes the case for a "gap year" with his colleagues in the article "Time Out or Burn Out for the Next Generation" </p>

<p>Harvard</a> College Admissions Office: Prospective Students </p>

<p>posted on the Harvard College Admissions Office website. I've never seen a Harvard admission letter up close and personal, but did the 2007 admission letter indeed include a suggestion that the admitted applicant might want to consider taking a gap year? It is clear to people who attend Harvard information sessions that deferring enrollment for a year (and possibly longer) is permissible for an admitted applicant, because that is the consistent answer to this Frequently Asked Question. </p>

<p>Good luck to all of you applying this year.</p>

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<p>Tokenadult, buried deep in the bedroom closet… fifth paragraph:</p>

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<p>Thanks, mathmom. I thought I was remembering correctly that the gap year suggestion is now built into the admission letter, but that was an unfamiliar idea even to the last two (new) admission officers I mentioned that to. They probably aren’t part of the process of finalizing the wording of the admission letter. All the admission officers I have ever talked to, and the one student I heard asked this question on Friday, say that Harvard is perfectly fine with admitted students taking a gap year if the students think that is the most fitting plan.</p>

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<p>I’m surprised that they didn’t know all the same. It’s a very wordy letter though. </p>

<p>I had no problem deferring admission 30 years ago, so it certainly doesn’t surprise me.</p>

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<p>BTW, I just read in the most recent issue of Harvard Magazine that the admissions letter has been recommending gap years for going on 30 years. I don’t think mine mentioned the possibility, but I know there were no issues about getting permission to take a gap year back in 1973.</p>

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<p>I’ve never heard of the college saying no to a gap year request.</p>

<p>At the law school, I know of exactly one person whose request for deferral was turned down: he wanted to spend a year gambling professionally in Las Vegas. They said no, it’s now or never. (He enrolled.)</p>

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<p>Many people also take time off after their sophomore or junior years. It’s actually quite common.</p>

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<p>My freshman dean said that 25% of all harvard students take time off at some point in their harvard careers. It results in a lot of people graduating in january and, incidentally, getting strangely notated graduation years (like mine is going to be '11-'12 instead of just '11 or just '12 because I took spring semester off).</p>