<p>So I had an interview with a Harvard alumna, and I told her I was accepted to Yale SEA. How would that affect my chance of getting into Harvard? Would Harvard be more likely to reject me to protect its yield?</p>
<p>To be completely honest, it’s a possibility, yes. Why else would they ask?
That being said, if you’re an exceptional applicant Harvard will most likely accept you anyway. Did you tell your interviewer Harvard was your first choice?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about it too much. In any case, Yale is not too shabby an institution 
I’m waiting to hear from both next week :S</p>
<p>I didn’t say Harvard was my first choice, but I definitely showed her how much I love harvard. I applied to Yale early so saying Harvard is my first choice wouldn’t be a smart idea lol. But I didn’t say Yale was my first choice either. I’m not too worried about this since I’ve already gotten into Yale, im just really curious if this info affects my admission chance. Good luck to you Hadiram!</p>
<p>It’s something your interviewer will definitely note in their report. Truthfully, it could go either way. Harvard would love nothing better than to steal one of Yale’s admitted students. Other the other hand, now that Harvard has SCEA, they might wonder why you felt more strongly about Yale and applied to them early.</p>
<p>When was your interview?</p>
<p>2 weeks ago</p>
<p>Obviously no matter how much you lie it’ll be clear Yale is your first choice.</p>
<p>If you REALLY want Harvard now instead of Yale, you might want to write up a letter stating why you’ve changed your mind and FAX the letter to Harvard ASAP.</p>
<p>@gibby do you know anyone who’s done that and gotten in? Is it too late to do that since Harvard has probably made all decisions?</p>
<p>I know students who applied to Yale early, who then updated Harvard about their Yale acceptance and were ultimately admitted to Harvard – but this was before Harvard switched-back to SCEA. But that doesn’t mean it can’t happen now. I suppose it all comes down to your reasons for wanting Harvard and how eloquently you express them.</p>
<p>One of the first questions my Harvard interviewer asked me was “Did you apply anywhere early?” followed by “did you get in?” So, obviously I had to tell him that I got into Stanford early. Is this a common practice with Harvard interviews?</p>
<p>^^ I don’t know.</p>
<p>Harvard and the other Ivies and top colleges want to protect their yield. If one is a legacy and has the stats to be admitted, they don’t stand much of a chance at another top college that protects it’s yield rates. Same if one was admitted EA to a similar college. But that isn’t always the case, and if you bring something to the college that they really need/want, maybe diversity, a certain talent, you live in an area and are the type of student they were looking for this year, etc.</p>
<p>It is possible that the interviewer didn’t mention it in their report, although it’s likely they would have. I’ve seen the report form Harvard alumni interviewers use (not sure if it’s the same in all areas) and basically the interviewers are just checking to make sure you’d be a good fit to the college, that you’re not (too) weird and would make a good roommate. They do write up their thoughts on the applicant, but the interview doesn’t carry much weight.</p>
<p>You may have expressed good enough reasons as to why you’ve decided Harvard is the best choice for you, and you don’t have the legacy connection to Yale. </p>
<p>Hopefully, you’ll be at Visitas in a month. (I think the Yale event is the week before.)</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Holocene ~ Re: Is this a common practice with Harvard interviews?</p>
<p>No, it isn’t from the interviewers I know, from Harvard and other similar colleges. Some interviewers ask touchy questions that make the applicant feel a bit on the spot, others stay away from those kind of questions. Because the interviews are run by the local alumni associations, policies seem to vary. The interview really doesn’t carry much weight, it’s mostly to see if you’d make a good addition to the community, and you’d make a good roommate (not too strange). Some interviewers have complained about not being important enough in the admissions process, but a 30 minute interview shouldn’t count much considering the rest of the application. It’s very common for interviewers to be very surprised at who was admitted and who wasn’t, there are just so many wonderful applicants.</p>
<p>Same thing happened to my son interviewer asked and he told him he was accepted scea to Yale. I guess we all find out in ten days</p>
<p>Sent from my HTC One X using CC</p>
<p>@gibby: Thank you so so much for sharing your son and daughter’s experience! This will definitely help me a lot if I have to make a choice between Yale and Harvard. And congrats to you on having your children going to such great schools! You must be a very proud parent :)</p>
<p>ilovefood123, I don’t know about Harvard, but Yale apparently didn’t care that I was accepted to Stanford REA. In spite of revealing my Stanford acceptance, I still received a likely letter from Yale. I don’t think you should worry because a lot of other people are in the same situation.</p>
<p>good luck @ilovefood123…
i’m dreading the interviews!!</p>
<p>for the record, I got into harvard!!</p>
<p>I’ve been a Harvard interviewer for about 18 years, and I can tell you that the interview DOES matter— a lot. I don’t know what amomhere is talking about. There is a reason Harvard continues this tradition-- it’s one of the only times that the applicant gets an objective review from an unbiased person. Every other evaluation Harvard gets is going to be from someone who knows the applicant and is on his or her “side”-- of course almost every letter of recommendation is going to be stellar. </p>
<p>It’s not just “mostly to see if you’d make a good addition to the community, and you’d make a good roommate.” I know from personal experience that a great letter from your interviewer can tip the scales for you in the positive direction, and a bad one can tip it in the opposite direction.</p>