Harvard 2010! Forum

[allstarballer22]

Hey all! I just wanted to update everyone that they are indeed pulling off the waitlist. My JR 1 lasted less then five minutes...andddddd I'm IN!!!! Sooooo excited! Goodluck to all of you and thanks for the support and personal messages. All of you are truly amazing!

[ConMan345]

Hey all! I just wanted to update everyone that they are indeed pulling off the waitlist. My JR 1 lasted less then five minutes...andddddd I'm IN!!!! Sooooo excited! Goodluck to all of you and thanks for the support and personal messages. All of you are truly amazing!

Yay! Congrats!

[gp86]

I got a wrong number call from a 617 area code today. I have a Texas phone number. What are the odds?

[Stardust]

I'm on the WL - I just got off the phone with JR who told me I was one of the top waitlisted candidates. He asked if I would be definitely interested in attending Harvard, I said I can't make an absolute commitment to either yes or no but that I definitely still want to stay on the waitlist. He said thank you and hung up.

Did I just screw myself over?

[Sakura3210]

I'm on the WL - I just got off the phone with JR who told me I was one of the top waitlisted candidates. He asked if I would be definitely interested in attending Harvard, I said I can't make an absolute commitment to either yes or no but that I definitely still want to stay on the waitlist. He said thank you and hung up.

Did I just screw myself over?

Yeah, I would think so. At this point, wouldn't they want 100% committed people more?

[20121109]

I'm on the WL - I just got off the phone with JR who told me I was one of the top waitlisted candidates. He asked if I would be definitely interested in attending Harvard, I said I can't make an absolute commitment to either yes or no but that I definitely still want to stay on the waitlist. He said thank you and hung up.

Did I just screw myself over?

Yeah, I would think so. At this point, wouldn't they want 100% committed people more?

+1

Honesty may not have been the best policy at this point in the game.

[adameus]

I'm on the WL - I just got off the phone with JR who told me I was one of the top waitlisted candidates. He asked if I would be definitely interested in attending Harvard, I said I can't make an absolute commitment to either yes or no but that I definitely still want to stay on the waitlist. He said thank you and hung up.

Did I just screw myself over?

I would think he is less likely to accept you now, but you never know. What is your actual stance? Definitely wanting to stay on the waitlist sounds like a very weak commitment. I would be more likely to say something like "I would very likely attend Harvard, but since I have started making a commitment to XYZ school, I would just need a day or two to consider my decision." But I would only say this if true.

I think he is trying to weed out people who are just staying on the waitlist so they can say they got accepted at Harvard or whatever, which based on your answer to his question sounds like you.


If you truly want to attend Harvard, I would email him and re-state your stance.

[smov_operator]

I'm on the WL - I just got off the phone with JR who told me I was one of the top waitlisted candidates. He asked if I would be definitely interested in attending Harvard, I said I can't make an absolute commitment to either yes or no but that I definitely still want to stay on the waitlist. He said thank you and hung up.

Did I just screw myself over?

Yeah, I would think so. At this point, wouldn't they want 100% committed people more?

+1

Honesty may not have been the best policy at this point in the game.

+10 I think that was a pretty bad thing to say. They control their yield with the waitlist, so if you aren't sure that you would come, then they have no reason to admit you.

[blue5385]

I'm on the WL - I just got off the phone with JR who told me I was one of the top waitlisted candidates. He asked if I would be definitely interested in attending Harvard, I said I can't make an absolute commitment to either yes or no but that I definitely still want to stay on the waitlist. He said thank you and hung up.

Did I just screw myself over?

wait...was this during your JR1, if you had one? or did you call for a status check & get put through to JR somehow?

and if that's how you honestly feel, it's probably better that you said so (even though it may not have been the best thing in terms of how it affects your chances of getting into HLS off the waitlist ). as the posters above me said, they're probably looking for people who would make an absolute commitment to a) fill the open spot ASAP and b) protect their yield.

[adameus]

I'm on the WL - I just got off the phone with JR who told me I was one of the top waitlisted candidates. He asked if I would be definitely interested in attending Harvard, I said I can't make an absolute commitment to either yes or no but that I definitely still want to stay on the waitlist. He said thank you and hung up.

Did I just screw myself over?

wait...was this during your JR1, if you had one? or did you call for a status check & get put through to JR somehow?

and if that's how you honestly feel, it's probably better that you said so (even though it may not have been the best thing in terms of how it affects your chances of getting into HLS off the waitlist ).

I just don't get why he/she wouldn't say yes. JR asks if he would definitely be interested in attending and he can't say yes or no, but please keep him on the waitlist. So you aren't even sure if you are interested in Harvard, but you want to stay on the waitlist?

[MeredithGrey]

Dear TLS,

I am thrilled to report that I received an initial decision on my application and was placed on the waiting list today!!

Thank you very much to this forum for all of your advice throughout this process. Being nearly a decade now out of undergrad, I relied on this forum for help throughout this process.
I was accepted to my dream medical school off the waiting list 3 days before classes started, so I know there is always hope! I will continue to do what I did then to convey my interest to HLS. I will be at HSPH in the fall to pursue my MPH. I have remained on the waiting lists of only the schools who will allow me to defer one year if accepted (after I pursue my MPH). So basically Harvard is my number one choice and I really want to pursue their combined JD/MPH program. I had to withdraw from Georgetown last Friday because in exchange for them granting my deferral they of course wanted a binding commitment for 2011. I had not yet heard from HLS at this point and wasnt comfortable making this commitment even though I felt like my sub25 LSAT made HLS a reach school, I kept dreaming. Now that I have a waitlist, I am just thrilled, because at least it keeps the hope alive. Is there anything I need to do besides let them know that they are my clear number one choice and that I would be willing to pack up and go at even the last minute since I'll be HSPH? How long after you received your waitlist letter did you send in your LOCI?

Thanks for your help!

[blue5385]

I'm on the WL - I just got off the phone with JR who told me I was one of the top waitlisted candidates. He asked if I would be definitely interested in attending Harvard, I said I can't make an absolute commitment to either yes or no but that I definitely still want to stay on the waitlist. He said thank you and hung up.

Did I just screw myself over?

wait...was this during your JR1, if you had one? or did you call for a status check & get put through to JR somehow?

and if that's how you honestly feel, it's probably better that you said so (even though it may not have been the best thing in terms of how it affects your chances of getting into HLS off the waitlist ).

I just don't get why he/she wouldn't say yes. JR asks if he would definitely be interested in attending and he can't say yes or no, but please keep him on the waitlist. So you aren't even sure if you are interested in Harvard, but you want to stay on the waitlist?

I was thinking more along the lines that it would've been unfair of Stardust to give JR a definite commitment to attend HLS over the phone if he/she didn't really mean it, but you're right that JR asking if Stardust was "definitely interested" in HLS is completely different than JR asking if he/she was "definitely committed to attending HLS" (and there would've been no harm in saying 'yes' to the former, because it is true if someone chose to stay on the waitlist).

[Stardust]

I had my JR1 back in November, I was on hold for about 5 months and was waitlisted in April. This was an unexpected call from JR.

I thought he was saying "withdraw from everywhere, right this second" so I panicked. I didn't sound like a complete dumb shit - I basically just said that I would love to attend HLS [for various reasons] but that it's obviously a major life decision, especially when it comes to finances, and I wouldn't be able to make that commitment right this very second.

[adameus]

I had my JR1 back in November, I was on hold for about 5 months and was waitlisted in April. This was an unexpected call from JR.

I thought he was saying "withdraw from everywhere, right this second" so I panicked. I didn't sound like a complete dumb shit - I basically just said that I would love to attend HLS [for various reasons] but that it's obviously a major life decision, especially when it comes to finances, and I wouldn't be able to make that commitment right this very second.

I think you are fine then. I don't know how he would expect people to do that.

[blue5385]

I'm on the WL - I just got off the phone with JR who told me I was one of the top waitlisted candidates.

well, if there's something to be learned from all this, it's not to trust everything they say in the WL FAQ:

IS THE WAIT LIST RANKED?

We do not rank the wait list. Rather, if spaces in the class become available, we review all applicants remaining on the wait list at that time and select some to receive offers of admission.

[adameus]

I'm on the WL - I just got off the phone with JR who told me I was one of the top waitlisted candidates.

well, if there's something to be learned from all this, it's not to trust everything they say in the WL FAQ:

IS THE WAIT LIST RANKED?

We do not rank the wait list. Rather, if spaces in the class become available, we review all applicants remaining on the wait list at that time and select some to receive offers of admission.

I think both things can be true. they now have spots on the WL available and they can rank the people they have selected to fill these spots.

[Sakura3210]

I'm on the WL - I just got off the phone with JR who told me I was one of the top waitlisted candidates.

well, if there's something to be learned from all this, it's not to trust everything they say in the WL FAQ:

IS THE WAIT LIST RANKED?

We do not rank the wait list. Rather, if spaces in the class become available, we review all applicants remaining on the wait list at that time and select some to receive offers of admission.

Please, if there's anything we should've learned by now, it's don't trust what they say

[blue5385]

I'm on the WL - I just got off the phone with JR who told me I was one of the top waitlisted candidates.

well, if there's something to be learned from all this, it's not to trust everything they say in the WL FAQ:

IS THE WAIT LIST RANKED?

We do not rank the wait list. Rather, if spaces in the class become available, we review all applicants remaining on the wait list at that time and select some to receive offers of admission.

Please, if there's anything we should've learned by now, it's don't trust what they say

lol, I never really put a lot of trust in the WL FAQ, I just thought the discrepancy was interesting.

[blue5385]

I'm on the WL - I just got off the phone with JR who told me I was one of the top waitlisted candidates.

well, if there's something to be learned from all this, it's not to trust everything they say in the WL FAQ:

IS THE WAIT LIST RANKED?

We do not rank the wait list. Rather, if spaces in the class become available, we review all applicants remaining on the wait list at that time and select some to receive offers of admission.

I think both things can be true. they now have spots on the WL available and they can rank the people they have selected to fill these spots.

so ranking the waitlist shortlist? (that sounds kinda funny.)

I know you're just conjecturing here, but if this is true I hope they release the rest of us.

[Core]

Congrats to those who got off the WL
Hoping they show us PRs some love soon!

[clintonius]

The existence of a few top candidates does not imply a ranked waitlist. I mean, if they admit someone, wasn't that person de facto the #1 ranked candidate? But you don't think of it that way. Perhaps they were a high-LSAT splitter admitted so HLS could keep its 75th LSAT after another candidate withdrew. If a high-GPA splitter had withdrawn, they would have pulled a different candidate from the list. What they mean when they say they don't rank the waitlist is that we aren't ordered 1-800 or whatever. But of course they are going to prefer some people over others. While in my situation I fully support JR throwing out acceptances pell-mell, that's obviously not how he does it.

[caribs]

Is anyone else considering living in the Gropius complex? I got a great lottery number, and was looking at the floor plans for the Gropius buildings. Is it me or do some of the bathrooms have no showers? It seems that the bathrooms (at least the male ones) in Dane and Holmes do not have showers. I'm crazy, right?

[MeredithGrey]

Congrats to those who got off the WL
Hoping they show us PRs some love soon!

Hey Core! What is PR? Priority Reserve? So Harvard has a priority waitlist over the regular waitlist? I think I am on just the regular waitlist.

[Sakura3210]

Congrats to those who got off the WL
Hoping they show us PRs some love soon!

Hey Core! What is PR? Priority Reserve? So Harvard has a priority waitlist over the regular waitlist? I think I am on just the regular waitlist.

Heh, no, he means Puerto Ricans.
*crosses fingers* And I hope so too Core!

[MeredithGrey]

Hey r6! Where are you? I am rooting for you! I finally got my decision. I am keeping my figers crossed for you!!