<p>My letter of recommendation writer was contacted by Harvard and she was asked to set up a phone interview. During this interview, they asked more about me and pretty much just talked about me. What does this mean? I do not like getting my hopes up, but does this mean that I’ve moved on to another round? Anyone who has gone through this process, please give your input! Thank you.</p>
<p>After my daughter received her acceptance to Harvard, she emailed her interviewer to tell him and he told her they had contacted him a couple weeks before. He didn’t want to get her hopes up, so he never told her. I have no idea what it actually meant, though, but it can’t be too bad. Good luck.</p>
<p>I know from the experience of participating in a selection process with about the same selection rate as Harvard’s that anyone involved approaches the mountain of applications with the thought “How much time do I have to spend on the next application before I can recommend rejection in good faith and move on to the one after?” The 40,000 or so applications Harvard will receive this year represent about 15 person-years of working time just to log in and to read. So if people are going out of their way to spend more time on your application than just reading it, that has to mean that your candidacy is being taken very seriously. </p>
<p>It also probably means, however, that there are some real concerns, and that the paper record is not good enough for admission on its own. On the whole, I think this is really good news for you, but you shouldn’t be counting your chickens before they are hatched.</p>
<p>Did your recommender give you any details about the conversation, or was it confidential?</p>
<p>@keDIX1414 The first thing that they asked was how did I handle losing the student council election (something I wrote one of my essays about). They also discussed that I am a first generation applicant. It seemed to me that it was a deeper probing into my personality. </p>
<p>@JHS I have been constantly telling myself that I won’t get accepted to keep my hopes somewhat low. They seemed concerned about whether I handled “losing the student council election” well or not so well. In the end, my recommender said that they seemed pleased with her answers.</p>
<p>It seems bizarre that they would call about a student council election…well the good news is that Harvard must be interested in you or your teacher would not have gotten a call. Best of luck!</p>
<p>First gen with good scores and academics - sounds like they are making sure you are worthy.</p>
<p>My dad and brother are Harvard graduates. My dad was active in the local alumni association and I remember he occasionally interviewed candidates. It’s a good sign. Relax.</p>