Why was I asked to Interview at Harvard?

<p>I am a potential transfer student to Harvard. In the application instructions, it says that Harvard rarely asks for transfer students to come for interviews. Yet, I was recently contacted by the admissions committee and asked to come in at the end of April for an interview. Can anyone shed some light on this?</p>

<p>harvard interviews people to confirm their decision. from what i have been told, it is usually a good sign.</p>

<p>Care to post your current school and some stats?
Thanks and good luck!</p>

<p>so jealous. so, so, so burningly jealous of you, sportzen. and i second martini's request</p>

<p>if you read old posts, it seems that of those interviewed maybe half get in and half don't.</p>

<p>wow, that's a lot better than those who didn't get interviews...</p>

<p>wait, perhaps a stupid question, but does anyone who doesn't get an interview get in? what's the purpose of the interview? I thought it was if the committee needed "additional information"</p>

<p>i am pretty sure that people who are not offered an interview do get in. and i think the interview does give the committee additional information--for example, if they are on the fence about a candidate. unlike in freshman admissions, i think the harvard transfer interview can make or break you.</p>

<p>i feel vaguely compelled to call shenanigans, and i don't know why.</p>

<p>don't they only ask to interview you if you live in the area?</p>

<p>yeah, actually it does seem wierd that they would ask you to fly in from say, california, to interview.</p>

<p>actually, my former boss's son had an interview with harvard. he met someone for dinner. it might have been an alumnus because i don't think an admissions officer would fly to texas to see him.</p>

<p>this year, trace m?</p>

<p>yes. he is a freshman applicant though. i have no idea how the interview went or if he got in.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.collegeconfidential.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?57277/60196%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.collegeconfidential.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?57277/60196&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>= some info about the transfer interviews, if you scroll down a bit</p>

<p>and here: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=49167&page=6&pp=15&highlight=harvard+interview%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=49167&page=6&pp=15&highlight=harvard+interview&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>enjoy</p>

<p>an excerpt that i found entertaining:</p>

<p>I have made two one hour award winning (prestigious) documentaries for NPR about my past two summers in Afghanistan, being the first person to have had two hours on the Peabody-winning This American Life; I'm currently working on a memoir about my journeys in Afghanistan, the book will be published in Sept/05 by Bloomsbury (Harry Potter)and the advanced was six figures (not bragging, shows their level of interest); I have started an NGO in Afghanistan of which I'm the director, we have already worked on several projects and are in the bidding to recieve the largest reconstruction project given to Afghans themselves; I have been through numerous harrowing experiences that could be great essay topics, which include being ambushed for 20 minutes (and still recording, whoo hoo!) by Taliban fighters and being one of very few civilians to have witnessed the interrogation of a suspected terrorist and translating for him, and smuggling my way across the porous border of Afghanistan/Pakistan to follow the trails of Al Qaeda; I'm fluent in four languages; I come from a minority background...
my SAT score is only 1300 (but to be fair, I took my SAT's after finding out the night before that my father had almost been assassinated by a bomb placed in his governor's compound)</p>

<p>what is that an exerpt from!!!</p>

<p>lol, I actually heard him on NPR or PRI a couple years ago. I can't believe he's on CC. The documentary was good. Its funny because as I was listening I thought "I bet he's going to Harvard"...and he is</p>

<p>This board provided me with such a strong community last year that I figured I would drop current prospective transfers a note:</p>

<p>(1) I personally did not get an interview last year but was in the end accepted. So don't worry if you don't get one.</p>

<p>(2) Students here are nice, normal people. They are not superhuman, but they do work very hard. I know iT can be really intimidating seeing some of things people have done (ala the above Afghanistan example), but please do realize that you do not need to embark upon some bold international adventure in order to gain acceptance. I, for one, did not even leave the country until the summer after I was admitted.</p>

<p>(3) For those of you worried about the transfer transition, don't be. Harvard has an <em>amazing</em> transfer orientation program for transfers, especially the 50 entering in the fall (25 usually come in the spring, making 75 total). There is a week-long orientation program that introduces you to key campus sites and to attractions in Boston, like Fenway.</p>

<p>(4) For the lurkers out there, if you are considering applying next year and simply <em>must</em> leave your school, please do select some back-ups. Also, for rising freshmen who anticipate transferring because the college admissions process did not work as well as they would have liked, consider staying freshman year. Not only will you give the school a "fair shot," but you will also have more time to show your dream school how much you have grown.</p>

<p>Best of luck to all.</p>

<p>-Transfer 1O1</p>