This is the official thread for those applying REA to Harvard University.
List your unweighted GPA, any SAT /ACT scores, and ECs. What majors are you going into?
Ask your questions, the CC community is here to help!
My son was in your position last year, applying to various Ivies, near-Ivy private and top state schools and as well as target and safety schools…a total of 17. He applied to Penn ED but due to his initial advancement to the next round for a full-ride scholarship at a near-Ivy, he opted out of ED two weeks before the decision announcement and requested to move his application to RD, giving up his better odds of acceptance at Penn in the hopes of a full-ride scholarship. On a whim, he also applied to Harvard RD. Surprise of all surprises, he was accepted to Harvard! Even bigger surprise, he was declined from several “less selective” Ivies and even 2 near-Ivies. My initial theory of “if he were accepted to Harvard, he would surely be accepted to other less selective schools” was fully debunked! There is NO CORRELATION between being accepted to Harvard and being accepted to other less selective Ivies and near-Ivies!
If you have strong stats and can submit an excellent application by the REA deadline, choose Harvard REA. You increase your chance of acceptance. At the same time, you can still EA to top public schools and then RD to all other schools. Once you have all of your acceptances, REA is NON-BINDING so you can still shop the financial aid packages from other schools before committing to the best fit school! Don’t ED to a less selective school out of insecurity. If Harvard is your dream school, aim for the stars! You just may get in! Best of luck, everyone!
*** 1530 SAT; 4.0/4.75 GPA; Valedictorian / Strong extra-curriculars with leadership roles and quantifiable achievements; NSLIY study abroad in Taiwan; Congressional intern; internships in venture capital and real estate investment / Compelling essays that showed his personal characteristics through story-telling / Strong recommendations from teacher and volunteer supervisor. Planned Major: Economics
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This really isn’t accurate. Yes, the REA acceptance rate is higher than the overall acceptance rate, but it also includes ~200 recruited athletes as well as legacy and other hooked applicants. If you take those out of the equation, the REA acceptance rate is only slightly higher than the regular decision acceptance rate. REA certainly doesn’t double your chances. This is the case for Ivy League and other selective schools.
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Thanks. Noted and revised my write-up.
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I agree with this. REA is Harvard, Princeton, & other highly competitive schools does not help the unhooked applicant. REA is highly skewed for athletes, legacies and donor’s kids. If you are legacy then REA is your shot. That said, if you are interested in a top school, apply to ALL of them. I told my daughter NOT to apply to Harvard because we were unhooked, and I did not want her to be stressed over a long shot. She ignored me and got in RD. 1580, 5’s on 10 APs, leadership roles and exceptional recommendations. ie. , teacher said she was one of his strongest students in his 20 years of teaching. She was accepted to two Ivies and deferred from a few.
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Out of curiosity as a NSLI-Y student myself what did ur son put as the extracurricular description on common app? Also do u think NSLI-Y provided a significant boost to the application?
Has anyone received an interview yet?
My kid has not received an interview yet, but he logged into his portal today and noticed an interviewer had been assigned. There is an Alumni Interview Instructions Section now under the Materials Upload section. We’re from a mid-sized town, and it’s from someone in the nearest big city. To be completely honest, he has never done anything of this nature, and I’m sure he is going to be extremely anxious about the whole thing. It will be a good experience regardless of the outcome. I will update if he does actually hear from his interviewer and what the process was like. He has nothing big and spectacular on his application. He does have good grades and SAT 4.0uw, 1540, 790 Math for engineering but no international awards or even state awards, no founding of anything, etc. Lots of leadership and school activities/awards from a small private no-name school. He is not expecting an acceptance but giving it his best shot. I imagine they want an interview just to see if there is some special spark beyond the stats since they don’t know his school and he has nothing truly special on his app.
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Any International Student who got this section as well?
Academics:
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GPA: 9.07/10
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SAT: 1500
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Intended majors: Classics, Slavic Studies & Literature, Linguistics
Extracurriculars (10 ECs):
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Self-Taught Polyglot & Language Organizer – Mastered 8+ languages (B2/C1 certified), read 250+ original texts, hosted Discord practice rooms for 40+ peers
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Classics Scholar & Latin/Greek Tutor, Accademia Vivarium Novum (Rome) – Delivered lessons in spoken Latin; tutored 6 high schoolers
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Independent Researcher & Speaker – Wrote 25-page paper on Latin/Greek in language learning; presented to ~1,000 attendees at Polyglot Gathering 2025
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Ukrainian Refugee Support Lead & Italian Tutor – Taught Italian, translated documents, aided job placement
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Co-Founder, Incontri di Culture – Led multicultural programs for 30+ immigrant teens; organized dinners and tutoring
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Sociolinguistic Researcher, Lumiere Education – Published 30-page paper on cultural preservation vs social adaptation
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Founder, The Polyglot Classicist (YouTube) – Produced weekly videos on classical literacy; 5k+ subscribers, 200k+ views
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Multilingual Translator – Self-published 3 Italian translations of classics; translated Master and Margarita into Latin
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Classical Choir Member, Tyrtarion Choir – 25+ concerts, Latin/Greek repertoire, 3M+ views online
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Volunteer Coordinator, Mama Termini – Weekly meal distribution to 100+ homeless; led 15 volunteers
Awards (5):
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Passed 6+ official language proficiency certificates (B2/C1)
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Full-ride scholarships (x2) to Accademia Vivarium Novum
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Youngest accepted member of HYPIA (International Association of Hyperpolyglots)
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Lumiere Research Scholar – $3,000 fully funded linguistics research
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1st Place, Cultural Video Competition (2k+ participants)
Interview: 10/10, he said that I am the kind of candidate they look for and if I get rejected, that would be a great mistake on Harvard’s part
LORs: I think they all wrote beautiful anecdotes about me + I have also a REC from a Visitant associate Harvard professor who helped me publish my research
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What organization is this through?
local authorities in my hometown
Yes, participation in NSLI-Y definitely boosts an application to Harvard & other Ivies. There are quite a few NSLI-Y alumni at these institutions. The NSLI-Y application process was quite competitive so it serves as good vetting for Harvard.
Just following up on the interview situation that appeared in my son’s portal. He first noticed it on 11/10, but he wasn’t checking daily, so not exactly sure when it appeared. He still hasn’t received a phone call or an email. Not really sure what to make of it. It says it could take up to 4 weeks, so we’ll see. The interviewer’s profile is impressive and, by the looks of it, very busy. I will update again if he ends up hearing anything from the interviewer.
Is it possible for someone to get into Harvard through Restrictive Early Action if they don’t receive an alumni interview? I’m worried because those I talked to who got into Harvard all got alumni interviews. Additionally, all my friends at my school received alumni interview invitations. Is this a bad sign for me?
Follow up on interview experience. My son’s interviewer reached out on 11/20 to schedule a phone or zoom interview (he opted zoom) because she lives in a different town. They had it this evening, 11/24. He was pretty nervous but said the interviewer was very nice and casual. There were some questions about his favorite class and extracurriculars but overall it was just a friendly conversation. She noticed an NFL sign on his wall that was a nice ice breaker conversation and started the whole interview off on a laid back note. Overall, much more relaxed and less scary than my son thought it would be. It lasted an hour and 40 minutes. She explained that they have very little to do with the admissions process and she wouldn’t even find out if he is accepted unless he attends.
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I agree with your interviewer, I think you have a great chance. You are obviously accomplished, but also your interests are outside the norm, and Harvard needs more students in arts and languages.