Could the interviewer be looking for likelihood of commitment?

JHS
Tue, 13 Nov 2012 09:14:12 +0000

I don’t think the interviewer should have asked that question, but I wouldn’t worry about it much. Harvard is (justly) proud of its incredible yield, but it knows – everyone knows – that Harvard’s incredible yield is a function of the incredible strength and attractiveness of the university and its top-notch financial aid. I believe its attitude is, and always has been, that once an applicant has a Harvard acceptance letter in hand and compares opportunities rationally he or she is overwhelmingly likely to pick Harvard, no matter what the applicant thinks or says now. Harvard doesn’t need to indulge in yield maintenance to maintain its yield.

When you think about it, if Harvard systematically excluded the applicants most likely to turn down Harvard for another opportunity, it would be penciling out many of its very strongest applicants, the students it wants most.

So Harvard offers admission to what it thinks are the best applicants regardless of demonstrated interest, and lets the chips fall where they may. I am sure a considerable number of Harvard students – and a considerable number of applicants Harvard rejected – were offered meaningful, prestigious merit scholarships elsewhere.