Harvard C/O 2019 Applicants Forum

barley · Post by **barley** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 8:44 pm

Thanks everyone!

JS1 went well - the lady was really friendly, and mostly asked questions about my resume. No why law or why Harvard, surprisingly, though she asked if there were specific clinics or programs I was interested in. There was time at the end to ask a few questions, and they also told me that they weren't planning on making decisions til after the new year.

dreamerchic19 · Post by **dreamerchic19** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 11:06 am

Seems like a steady cycle, they must be reading everything

ugg · Post by **ugg** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 11:15 am

Post removed.

Ensalada · Post by **Ensalada** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 12:10 pm

I'm clinging to the fact that on the (probably not recently updated) Admissions FAQs on the Harvard website it still says gems like "while a few applicants may receive decisions before December, responses to applications submitted for review before November are most likely to be sent during January" and "you can expect a decision anytime between December and May."

I'm also clinging to the fact that first decisions have been released around November 21-26 the last five years except for last year, and even then they heard back in mid-December. Why bump decisions a whole month or more later this year?

Wishful speculation. Not wanting to spend the holidays agonizing. Clearly already agonizing.

MatthewF · Post by **MatthewF** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 1:07 pm

Had an interview yesterday with Kelly McLaughlin. Same questions that have already been posted. At the end, she did say that I should not expect to hear anything "for a couple of months" and that was "totally normal." If you have not viewed their admissions process, you should check it out. After your interview, your application and information from the interview (no idea if it includes detailed notes or some sort of rating system), goes to professors for review. Professors have the Thanksgiving holiday, finals, and Christmas break. It is likely that everyone just wants to spend some time with the family before sifting through ten thousand applications. My two cents. Good luck to those who have interviews to come. If you read over the questions that others have been asked and practice your responses, it should make you feel more comfortable in the interview.

lebongenre · Post by **lebongenre** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 3:59 pm

cantorb · Post by **cantorb** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 4:46 pm

Hildegard15 · Post by **Hildegard15** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 5:27 pm

Unless you are posting about JS1 interview slots being open, stop bumping the thread til we have had this week's worth of JS1s go out.

ETA: I am joking, obviously. Just wishing more JS1s would go out.

QuentonCassidy · Post by **QuentonCassidy** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 5:32 pm

lebongenre wrote:Hi all! Recent JS1 checking in.

It seems that most people have reported being told (w/o asking) the projected timeline for admissions decisions. Did anyone else's interviewer not mention the expected response time? Mine didn't, and I'm wondering if it's a bad sign

Mine didn't, and I think my interview went really well. I certainly wouldn't worry about whether your interview did or did not mention the acceptance timeline, although given the amount of random things I make up to be worried about regarding my Harvard app, I realize that is easier said than done haha.

cantorb · Post by **cantorb** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 5:34 pm

benwyatt · Post by **benwyatt** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 5:47 pm

cantorb wrote:
Hildegard15 wrote:Unless you are posting about JS1 interview slots being open, stop bumping the thread til we have had this week's worth of JS1s go out.

ETA: I am joking, obviously. Just wishing more JS1s would go out.
You do realize you just bumped the thread for everyone else.

Hildegard15 · Post by **Hildegard15** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 5:47 pm

cantorb wrote:
Hildegard15 wrote:Unless you are posting about JS1 interview slots being open, stop bumping the thread til we have had this week's worth of JS1s go out.

ETA: I am joking, obviously. Just wishing more JS1s would go out.
You do realize you just bumped the thread for everyone else.

Yes, but somebody had to do it since y'all who've already gotten JS1s are muckin up the thread with JS2 talk. Hold your horses peeps.

cantorb · Post by **cantorb** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 6:27 pm

oliverotis · Post by **oliverotis** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 6:34 pm

cantorb wrote:On a side note: is there any way of knowing in advance who will be conducting my interview, or do we only find out when we see the name on the incoming Skype call? Is the name on the JS1 email (before you book a slot) an indicator at all?

nope! the skype name is generic ("JD Admissions"), too, so you wont know until you're talking to him/her. Seems like they're all very friendly though

good luck!!

WinterComing · Post by **WinterComing** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 6:47 pm

JS1 tomorrow. Was feeling confident. Then I got a message through Skype that Harvard JD Admissions wanted to add me as a contact, and a giant rabble of butterflies settled into my stomach.

EDIT: Sorry for bumping this thread again with something other than good news.

cantorb · Post by **cantorb** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 7:00 pm

Aragorn · Post by **Aragorn** » Thu Nov 19, 2015 3:18 am

MatthewF wrote:Had an interview yesterday with Kelly McLaughlin. Same questions that have already been posted. At the end, she did say that I should not expect to hear anything "for a couple of months" and that was "totally normal." If you have not viewed their admissions process, you should check it out. After your interview, your application and information from the interview (no idea if it includes detailed notes or some sort of rating system), goes to professors for review. Professors have the Thanksgiving holiday, finals, and Christmas break. It is likely that everyone just wants to spend some time with the family before sifting through ten thousand applications. My two cents. Good luck to those who have interviews to come. If you read over the questions that others have been asked and practice your responses, it should make you feel more comfortable in the interview.

Similar experience here, albeit with a different interviewer. Same questions as already posted and felt more like a conversation than an interview.
Earliest in January was what my interviewer said (without me asking).

kjm1992 · Post by **kjm1992** » Thu Nov 19, 2015 9:37 am

Had a dream last night that I got accepted and then had to immediately sign paperwork with them or my acceptance would be voided. The person giving me the paperwork was Steve Carell.

pittsburghpirates · Post by **pittsburghpirates** » Thu Nov 19, 2015 10:19 am

Patiently waiting for Harvard to love me....

On a related note, good luck to all with JS1s coming up soon!

oliverotis · Post by **oliverotis** » Thu Nov 19, 2015 2:04 pm

MatthewF wrote:If you have not viewed their admissions process, you should check it out. After your interview, your application and information from the interview (no idea if it includes detailed notes or some sort of rating system), goes to professors for review. Professors have the Thanksgiving holiday, finals, and Christmas break.

Uhh...source?

schocolate · Post by **schocolate** » Thu Nov 19, 2015 2:45 pm

Post removed...

oliverotis · Post by **oliverotis** » Thu Nov 19, 2015 3:03 pm

schocolate wrote:
oliverotis wrote:
MatthewF wrote:If you have not viewed their admissions process, you should check it out. After your interview, your application and information from the interview (no idea if it includes detailed notes or some sort of rating system), goes to professors for review. Professors have the Thanksgiving holiday, finals, and Christmas break.
Uhh...source?
I'm not sure if this is what he was referring to, but this is from last cycle

http://hls.harvard.edu/inside-the-black ... s-process/

Ah, swell. Thanks!

WinterComing · Post by **WinterComing** » Thu Nov 19, 2015 3:05 pm

I was asked for a detailed accounting of my JS1, so here you go: The skype call came in right on time. The woman was very nice. She asked Why Law and Why Harvard. I went to a big state school for undergrad, so she asked me about my experience there. She asked me to explain a time I was part of a team and how I handled conflict in that situation. I work in a somewhat challenging field now, and she asked how I stay motivated, which was the only question that caught me a little off-guard. I stammered for half a second but then (I hope) recovered nicely. I asked a couple of questions at the end, and then after about 15 minutes, we were out of time. Overall, I felt really good about it. Good luck rocking your interviews!

linguafranca90 · Post by **linguafranca90** » Thu Nov 19, 2015 4:24 pm

I've calmed down enough to recap my interview as well. I had a guy -- call also came in right on time and the total interview lasted exactly 20 minutes. He started off by asking me specifically about my graduate dissertation, which I didn't expect but was happy to talk about. He then asked me about my current job, and then finally why the J.D. and why Harvard specifically. I asked him a few questions at the end, and then he told me that things were moving slow this year and they wouldn't be making decisions until closer to New Year's, so I shouldn't worry if it takes some time to hear back. All in all a good experience, although I was all nerves the whole time. Hopefully I sounded as intelligent and interesting as I thought I did at the time!

darthslughorn · Post by **darthslughorn** » Thu Nov 19, 2015 6:35 pm

How long do we go those of us without a JS1 invite wait before mentally giving up? Two more weeks? Three? I submitted early September, so every week I'm dying a little bit from waiting. I think it may be ogre for me.