Hey guys,
I’ve been reading a lot of these posts but just decided now that it would be worth commenting. I’ve been extremely anxious, especially after watching the dilemma of first quarter grade requests unfold. Can anyone confirm that by the way? And if it is true that admissions directors began asking for first quarter grades, would an applicant that wasn’t asked for his/her grades not be entering committee? Thanks, best of luck to you all!
@Pernix I’ve been going through scenarios in my head in which I somehow get accepted. Like, moving in day, peeing on the damn Harvard statue, etc., but I think the most important thing for me will be my mom’s reaction. She’s been praying for so long that I go to a world-famous university that I can’t stand letting her down. My success in school has always made her beyond proud, and the little girl wants to make her proud on Thursday 
You stay positive, too We’ll be waiting together in spirit. Hopefully our younger selves turn out right.
@xWadee We are unsure whether or not asking for first quarter grades signals a good or bad thing. Apparently this is the first year adcoms has done this, so it could really go either way. It seems as if some top-notch students have not received a request for an updates transcript; with that being said, only a few students in this thread have had their grades requested. If anything, adcoms could have just needed another supplement for one’s application.
@schroscat Such a superfluous gesture by adcoms haha. That’s extremely vague and confusing though, I mean wouldn’t they only want updates from those that they were considering? But then again I get that if a student has maintained perfect grades throughout the first three years then there would be little reason to question that student’s progress. That’s just my two cents but I guess we won’t really know until Thursday rolls around. Anyways, best of luck to you and thank you for the response!
@xWadee I completely understand where you’re coming from, haha. Again, we’re not too sure why adcoms would request these grades. In my own opinion, perhaps they were curious as to how an applicant is doing their first quarter. If anything, it means that said applicant has made it to committees, however, I don’t think anyone who has not received a request is out of the running. Many of us have not received a request, and I hope to God it’s not a hint that our application did not reach Cambridge. I could be completely wrong.
Out of curiosity, did you receive a request?
Best of luck to you!
@schroscat I wish that I was in the company of a few that did, but sadly I haven’t. However, one thing I would say that maybe some of us haven’t had decisions made yet and so our grades may be requested on Monday/Tuesday? Maybe that’s just my overreaching imagination but I need the extra hope at his point haha. I’ve already had closure on the issue, seeing as I’ve tried my heart out for the past few years and regardless of the decision I’m proud of myself. I guess that’s the beauty of college admissions, that regardless of where we end up - and I’m sure all of us here are destined to go to great places and do great things - we find out what our passions are and who we are as people.
@xWadee I haven’t received one either, so I’m on the same boat as you. But let’s look at this perspective: CC is the land of the most overachieving kids out there. If you look through this thread, you’ll see a plethora of intelligence and diversity amongst the applicants. I believe someone mentioned this before, but we could very well be the most committed to Harvard. Let’s be real here, we’re a bunch of strangers talking to each other for the past week about a school we have a slim chance to be admitted into; if that’s not commitment, I don’t know what is. For only a select few of us to have been contacted by adcoms seems like it is rather unlikely that ALL of us are out of the running. One of the applicants had expressed that their junior year grades were not the absolute best, so it very well could be adcoms just checking up on that particular applicant.
On another note, they could very well request grades within the next few days, but I honestly doubt they will. We should be proud of ourselves regardless of the decision–we applied to Harvard! If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. Admissions will know whether or not our applications are strong enough without mid year grades. After all, we were not notified of this “request” thing. I wouldn’t fret, and although it’s good to have closure, don’t lose hope. Although I may be one of the “lower-score” students here, I know that my scores are not a reflection of my intelligence and passion. We should all remember that because no matter how high a student may score, no matter how many requests a student can receive, we are much, much more than our application. It is my very hope that Admissions can see passion and determination with only a few pages.
Do you guys use Whatsapp
@schroscat If it makes you feel any better, I’m a relatively low scorer as well haha (34 ACT and no SAT II’s – I’m backing on being first gen and URM). But anyways, maybe I’m just too stressed with the whole process to assume that first quarter requests are not indicative of committee entrance. Also, does not being entered into committee signify automatic deferral/rejection? I’m not exactly familiar with the whole process since, once again, I’m first gen and haven’t paid much attention to the admissions scene.
I think people are overreacting. Let’s be realistic here - would Harvard reeeaaallyy subtly inform people of their rejection by not requesting grades? You would think we’d be able to find some thread or article online about it if they did that. I have received no request, and I have a 4.0. My personal theory is that for individuals who may have variation in their grades (like maybe they got B’s in physics and math junior year or something, but A’s otherwise), the adcom’s probably want a bit more information to see how they have faired this year so far. In essence, I HIGHLY doubt it’s a sign of admission or rejection or deferral in any sort of way.
Ciao
@cristina1225 I have an account
@xWadee I scored a 2130 on the SAT, not so stellar, haha. I’m also a first-gen, so everything I know is what I’ve learned through the Internet. My mother has absolutely no clue about any aspect of admissions; I’m learning as I go. In regards to regional admissions, I believe only those who are being considered for acceptance are sent to Cambridge. Otherwise, it may very well mean a deferral/rejection. So I would say that yes, not being sent to committee would signal a deferral/rejection. After all, I would assume that the committee would like to see the top applicants.
@cristina1225 occasionally, yes.
I agree with expertiger; why would Harvard care about your first term grades if you showed consistently high academic performance throughout your high school career? If admissions already has enough information to make a decision, there’s no reason for them to inquire any further. Although a first quarter grades request is a very good sign that a student is a competitive applicant, not getting one is not any indication that a student isn’t a competitive applicant.
@schroscat I scored the same thing! I only took the SAT twice so maybe if I took it once more, I could improve but the cons (if you can call it that) outranked the pros. A 2130 puts me in a good position for my match and high match schools and gets me aid/ potential for honors college for my safeties so I decided to save a Saturday and $40
@schroscat Did you take any SAT II’s? And is there word of anyone with no SAT II’s getting accepted?
Many seniors pack their schedules with advanced courses. The grade request is also to see whether an applicant is slacking off in senior year. Senioritis is real :((
@QueenN22 When I spoke to admissions back in October, they said that in the long run, it doesn’t matter whether or not you get a 2100 or a 2400. They understand they SAT scores are not a true testament to your ability as a student. Both scores are absolutely amazing (2130 puts us in the top 4% of the nation) and above all, there is so much more to us than a silly score.
@xWadee I chose not to send in my SAT II’s, primarily because when I visited, admissions said they really don’t care about scores anymore. Let’s face it, we have all done amazing in school; what difference will once score make? The student I was touring with said that even if I sent them in, adcoms would probably not even look at them.
@xWadee @schroscat My test grades/other academic stats are pretty average for applicants and my essays weren’t very good, so I’m basically counting on one major award to save my life xD
It would make sense that not entering committee signify automatic deferral or rejection, unfortunately. But I don’t think that changes anything in terms of who is more likely to get in vs. who isn’t.