Harvard, C/O 2017, Applicants Thread (2013-2014) Forum

[esther0123]

Is there a consensus that there is a tendency for one interviewer to accept more candidates than another? Or is this another sign of neuroticism?

Some anecdotal evidence suggests yes

Such as...? who is the interviewer with greater acceptance tendency? and who is the interviewer with poor acceptance tendency?

[Gary]

Is there a consensus that there is a tendency for one interviewer to accept more candidates than another? Or is this another sign of neuroticism?

Some anecdotal evidence suggests yes

Such as...? who is the interviewer with greater acceptance tendency? and who is the interviewer with poor acceptance tendency?

It's the word on the street, idk.

[lawschool22]

Is there a consensus that there is a tendency for one interviewer to accept more candidates than another? Or is this another sign of neuroticism?

Some anecdotal evidence suggests yes

Such as...? who is the interviewer with greater acceptance tendency? and who is the interviewer with poor acceptance tendency?

This isn't true. Take my word for it.

[chicky]

Is there a consensus that there is a tendency for one interviewer to accept more candidates than another? Or is this another sign of neuroticism?

Some anecdotal evidence suggests yes

Such as...? who is the interviewer with greater acceptance tendency? and who is the interviewer with poor acceptance tendency?

This isn't true. Take my word for it.

ls22 reappears to lay down some truth! how ya been, guy?

Eta: so sorry about the dings!

[barrelofmonkeys]

Just got dinged.... 172/3.98... Js1 about a week and a half ago. Realy sad

sorry

also crud

[wealtheow]

Just got dinged.... 172/3.98... Js1 about a week and a half ago. Realy sad

so sorry!

your cute lil piggy icon makes this even sadder...

[Arrow4Christ]

Just got dinged.... 172/3.98... Js1 about a week and a half ago. Realy sad

I'm sorry!

Also...

[Gary]

Is there a consensus that there is a tendency for one interviewer to accept more candidates than another? Or is this another sign of neuroticism?

Some anecdotal evidence suggests yes

Such as...? who is the interviewer with greater acceptance tendency? and who is the interviewer with poor acceptance tendency?

This isn't true. Take my word for it.

Yeah trust ls22, I was apparently going off of outdated info.

[koalacity]

Just got dinged.... 172/3.98... Js1 about a week and a half ago. Realy sad

Wow. So sorry .

Also, your cute avatar makes this even more sad...the baby piglet is just so earnest and hopeful.

eta: I see I was scooped by wealtheow on that last point.

[NoDayButToday]

.

[drawstring]

So just two dings reported today?

[hellomellow]

Just got dinged.... 172/3.98... Js1 about a week and a half ago. Realy sad

Wow. So sorry .

Also, your cute avatar makes this even more sad...the baby piglet is just so earnest and hopeful.

eta: I see I was scooped by wealtheow on that last point.

Thanks you guys. This really made me feel bad, especially because over 70% of those who interview get in...My interview wasn't solid and I didn't realize going into it that the interviewer hadn't read or looked at my application prior to us talking. So, I was trying not to be repetitive and about 8 minutes in she said she got the impression that I thought she had looked at the app and she hadn't. She asked a lot of questions that I felt were more steered towards why Harvard than about me, so I guess my interview wasn't good but I didn't feel it was representative of who I am and my application overall. I'm clearly being sad right now..sorry.

Does Harvard usually suggest to reapply or is the rejection letter simply "we had great applicants and you didn't make the cut."

[jasper09]

Sorry to those who were dinged today- especially with such strong numbers (and cute avatars). Sending good juju your way for a fabulous rest of the cycle.

And hellomellow, that's tough- my interviewer also hadn't really read my application prior to the interview, but she at least told me that up front.

[Nonconsecutive]

Just got dinged.... 172/3.98... Js1 about a week and a half ago. Realy sad

Wow. So sorry .

Also, your cute avatar makes this even more sad...the baby piglet is just so earnest and hopeful.

eta: I see I was scooped by wealtheow on that last point.

Thanks you guys. This really made me feel bad, especially because over 70% of those who interview get in...My interview wasn't solid and I didn't realize going into it that the interviewer hadn't read or looked at my application prior to us talking. So, I was trying not to be repetitive and about 8 minutes in she said she got the impression that I thought she had looked at the app and she hadn't. She asked a lot of questions that I felt were more steered towards why Harvard than about me, so I guess my interview wasn't good but I didn't feel it was representative of who I am and my application overall. I'm clearly being sad right now..sorry.

Does Harvard usually suggest to reapply or is the rejection letter simply "we had great applicants and you didn't make the cut."

Sorry to hear about your ding, especially after a JS1

I looked over my rejection letter, no mention of reapplying, just the standard we have 12 billion applicants for 2 spots kind of stuff.

[Gary]

Just got dinged.... 172/3.98... Js1 about a week and a half ago. Realy sad

Wow. So sorry .

Also, your cute avatar makes this even more sad...the baby piglet is just so earnest and hopeful.

eta: I see I was scooped by wealtheow on that last point.

Thanks you guys. This really made me feel bad, especially because over 70% of those who interview get in...My interview wasn't solid and I didn't realize going into it that the interviewer hadn't read or looked at my application prior to us talking. So, I was trying not to be repetitive and about 8 minutes in she said she got the impression that I thought she had looked at the app and she hadn't. She asked a lot of questions that I felt were more steered towards why Harvard than about me, so I guess my interview wasn't good but I didn't feel it was representative of who I am and my application overall. I'm clearly being sad right now..sorry.

Does Harvard usually suggest to reapply or is the rejection letter simply "we had great applicants and you didn't make the cut."

So sorry hellomellow... It sucks how a 10 minute interview can offset years of past achievement

[Quest4Knowledge]

Just got dinged.... 172/3.98... Js1 about a week and a half ago. Realy sad

[musharraf]

Sorry to those who were dinged today- especially with such strong numbers (and cute avatars). Sending good juju your way for a fabulous rest of the cycle.

And hellomellow, that's tough- my interviewer also hadn't really read my application prior to the interview, but she at least told me that up front.

Yikes - a ding in those circumstances is really tough. I'm kind of surprised to hear your interviewers hadn't read your applications - my JS1 was 90% about my application, and I basically had to squeeze in Why Harvard information in the Q&A session at the end. It was a friendly conversation, which is what's letting me hold out hope for a JS2 despite my numbers, but definitely not what I prepared for.

[chneyo]

...

[Nonconsecutive]

And hellomellow, that's tough- my interviewer also hadn't really read my application prior to the interview, but she at least told me that up front.

Is this a common thing? My interviewer seemed to be fairly familiar with me.

[bbkk]

And hellomellow, that's tough- my interviewer also hadn't really read my application prior to the interview, but she at least told me that up front.

Is this a common thing? My interviewer seemed to be fairly familiar with me.

I'm not too sure but i think it shouldn't be too common. My interviewer asked questions specific to my resume (she was holding it in front of her), and as musharraf said I had to squeeze in the Why Harvard info in some of my answers.

[jasper09]

And hellomellow, that's tough- my interviewer also hadn't really read my application prior to the interview, but she at least told me that up front.

Is this a common thing? My interviewer seemed to be fairly familiar with me.

Not sure- I mean she'd obviously read my resume, as she asked me to explain what a couple of my job duties entailed, but otherwise all of the questions were focused around some aspect of "why Harvard."

I think it puts us in a difficult position as applicants because we presume we've received an interview after admissions has reviewed our application (which I don't think is entirely unreasonable given that the interview invitation begins "We have completed our review of your application...").

[Nonconsecutive]

Yeah, I can definitely see the challenge there.

My interviewer had knowledge of my PS, whether or not they had read it or just had notes, they were familiar with it. There were also questions about the resume and supplemental materials. I don't think I had hardly any elements of "Why Harvard?" in my interview, nor were they pressed for.

I think it would be interesting to see if the "tone" of the JS1 interview has changed from the early periods of the cycle to the present, or if its just interviewer variation.

[bbkk]

And hellomellow, that's tough- my interviewer also hadn't really read my application prior to the interview, but she at least told me that up front.

Is this a common thing? My interviewer seemed to be fairly familiar with me.

Not sure- I mean she'd obviously read my resume, as she asked me to explain what a couple of my job duties entailed, but otherwise all of the questions were focused around some aspect of "why Harvard."

I think it puts us in a difficult position as applicants because we presume we've received an interview after admissions has reviewed our application (which I don't think is entirely unreasonable given that the interview invitation begins "We have completed our review of your application...").

But it's also possible your interviewer is not the person who actually reviewed your application and decided to give you a JS1, right?

[wealtheow]

Sorry to those who were dinged today- especially with such strong numbers (and cute avatars). Sending good juju your way for a fabulous rest of the cycle.

And hellomellow, that's tough- my interviewer also hadn't really read my application prior to the interview, but she at least told me that up front.

Yikes - a ding in those circumstances is really tough. I'm kind of surprised to hear your interviewers hadn't read your applications - my JS1 was 90% about my application, and I basically had to squeeze in Why Harvard information in the Q&A session at the end. It was a friendly conversation, which is what's letting me hold out hope for a JS2 despite my numbers, but definitely not what I prepared for.

this was my experience as well. no curveballs, none of those silly abstract "tell me about a time you pooped your pants" questions. hmm. weird. that would have definitely thrown me, if she hadn't read my app! it's short enough as is without having to provide a context for every response.

[Nonconsecutive]

And hellomellow, that's tough- my interviewer also hadn't really read my application prior to the interview, but she at least told me that up front.

Is this a common thing? My interviewer seemed to be fairly familiar with me.

Not sure- I mean she'd obviously read my resume, as she asked me to explain what a couple of my job duties entailed, but otherwise all of the questions were focused around some aspect of "why Harvard."

I think it puts us in a difficult position as applicants because we presume we've received an interview after admissions has reviewed our application (which I don't think is entirely unreasonable given that the interview invitation begins "We have completed our review of your application...").

But it's also possible your interviewer is not the person who actually reviewed your application and decided to give you a JS1, right?

Oh yeah, definitely. I have no idea if the person who interviewed me had seen my application prior to that point. If they had not, they must have skimmed it though, because there were questions about my PS (& DS) that were far, far from generic. I guess I just didn't get the feel that they hadn't at the very least looked over my application enough to feel comfortable asking me non-standard questions, which seems to be the case for a couple people.