<p>900 admits, 3200 deferals and only 650 denials.</p>
<p>Roughly half the spots in the freshman class are now accounted for while 25,000 new applications are arriving as I write this.</p>
<p>Why did they decide to defer so many? It seems cruel to have the large majority of applicants keep their hopes up.</p>
<p>Am I missing something?</p>
<p>Maybe because they’re well qualified, and they have a decent shot during RD, but they don’t want to fill the entire class with early admits? I’m sure most of those who were deferred would rather that status than a rejection.</p>
<p>Assuming Harvard ranked the candidates (which I doubt they actually do), they took the top 900, to fill a portion of the incoming class. The bottom 650 they deemed wouldn’t be competitive against the pool of RD candidates they expect. The remaining 3200 are competitive enough that they do stand a chance in that pool.</p>
<p>The same argument against lower standards for EA applies - why accept a student that might not otherwise make it through RD, only to have to reject someone else, but also why reject someone who might end up being the one you want once you see the RD pool. Assuming they see similar numbers of applicants compared to last year, the RD pool should include another 30,000 applicants, so the deferrals only account for about 10% of the pool. Granted, they only expect to admit about 100 of the deferred applicants, but they don’t know which 100 at this point - that will be based on balancing out the class.</p>
<p>I just hope the 14% increase in early applicants doesn’t also translate to a significant increase in total applicants. But at least one school where D applies EA has indicated they also saw a significant increase in early applications - maybe EA is really becoming the norm.</p>
<p>If you got deferred, does that mean you made it to the Committee? And do you have to start the regular process all over again (with a regional officer) or do you go straight to Committee?</p>
<p>There are several rounds of meetings that occur during the admissions process for SCEA and RD applicants. Not all students make it to the full committee. At any point in the process a student can be deferred – by their regional director, in a regional subcommittee meeting, or at a full committee meeting. </p>
<p>“The area subcommittee chair advocates for the applicant, “as if he were at a trial and he were the student’s attorney, in a sense,” says Fitzsimmons, the dean of admissions.” </p>
<p>There’s no way of knowing when you were deferred in the process. I imagine all SCEA deferred files go back to the regional admissions director and begin the process again. See: [Don't</a> Touch That File | News | The Harvard Crimson](<a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2009/4/30/dont-touch-that-file-by-the/]Don’t”>Don't Touch That File | News | The Harvard Crimson)</p>
<p>@CTScoutmom - the problem that I have is that even if not a single person applies RD, then Harvard will still need to reject at least half of the applicants that they deferred. It is cruel to defer more than 1,000 or so applicants (the max number they could admit RD).</p>
<p>FWIW, I would rather recieve a denial now than deal with four more months of apprehension when my fate is already decided.</p>
<p>Being deferred is maddening – you’re not in, you’re not out. Deferred applicants need to be proactive. At the same time, however, deferred applicants need to move-on and start thinking about other colleges on their list. To quote Jeffrey Brenzel over at Yale: "There is only one good answer to make to any thin envelope you may receive: “Your loss, baby.”</p>
<p>[What</a> To Do If You Were Deferred - Application Boot Camp](<a href=“http://www.applicationbootcamp.com/2009/01/what-to-do-if-you-were-deferred/]What”>http://www.applicationbootcamp.com/2009/01/what-to-do-if-you-were-deferred/)</p>
<p>"If you are one of the applicants in this [deferred] pool, the odds of catching their eye in March are not great, but if you want to have any chance at all, make sure that you are an ACTIVE defer. Write a letter reaffirming that the college is still your first choice, send an extra letter of recommendation, make sure your grades go up and send your next round of grades, send updates about what you are doing in school — in short, be a PRESENCE. The only deferred kids who end up being accepted are those who make themselves into polite pests. Of course it depends upon why you were deferred in the first place, but rest assured that if you do nothing and send nothing, you will not be accepted.</p>
<p>More specifically, by the middle of February, draw up a one-page letter reaffirming your interest in the college, and then submit a bullet-point list of all the earth-shattering news/awards that you have won. Also, it can help to have senior year teachers send extra (not many – 1-2, no more) letters of recommendation to the school as well. Finally, your school should call on your behalf and push your case. That is about the only way a deferred candidate gets in since the odds are only about 5% depending on the school. In short, ACTIVE deferrals have a chance — those who do nothing will definitely NOT get in."</p>
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<p>I thought Harvard and its peers don’t consider level of applicant interest. </p>
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<p>Hmm, that’s interesting. Are there any Harvard freshmen here who were deferred then accepted in March? Could you all tell us what you did between December and March to help with your app?</p>
<p>FWIW: The advice is from Michele Hernandez, who was an Admissions Director at Dartmouth about ten years ago. She has also written several books on the college applications process, including “A Is for Admission: The Insider’s Guide to Getting into the Ivy League and Other Top Colleges” and “Acing the College Application: How to Maximize Your Chances for Admission to the College of Your Choice.”</p>
<p>rmlDAD: In Early Action, the admissions office only admits those who would absolutely be in if they had applied later on. </p>
<p>If the kids are not in that “absolutely in” category, they get pushed into the “Let’s see how they compare with everybody else who applies Regular Decision” category, or they are outright rejected.</p>
<p>The Early Action pool is pretty much loaded. A high portion of the athletes who are ultimately admitted (and had already received Likely Letters) are in that group. There’s also a much higher percentage of legacy applicants. That’s why such a high portion of the class comes out of Early Action, not because admissions looks more favorably upon those who apply early.</p>
<p>Somebody mentioned before the possibility of calling in and requesting to speak to your local admissions officer about why you got deferred. This does not work at Harvard right?</p>
<p>@Boondocks I agree with you. Your explanation sounds the most logical; let’s just hope there’s room for the rest of us in the freshman class!</p>
<p>@shelly318: Your guidance counselor might be able to find out why you were deferred by calling and speaking with your local admissions officer, but generally speaking, Admissions doesn’t release that information, if known, to applicants</p>
<p>popap15 - Your head is in the clouds, "let’s just hope there’s room for the rest of us in the freshman class! "</p>
<p>There are already 3,200 deferrals. Harvard can only admit another 1,000-1,500 applicants. Even without additional applicants from RD, there is not enough room. Oh, by the way, there are RD applicants, roughly 30,000 of them.</p>
<p>Again, if there are any Harvard freshmen who were deferred but ultimately accepted last year then PLEASE let me know what you did between December and March to affirm your interest in the college (if you did anything at all)</p>
<p>@runnerxc–It’s possible a freshman will respond soon, but note that they are currently in the midst of their first-ever college finals. I suspect they aren’t spending much time on CC at the moment (at least I hope my D isn’t).</p>