<p>I have heard of some students receiving letters from Harvard telling them that if they apply now, Harvard will consider their application sooner than the Jan 1 deadline. Has anyone received this letter?</p>
<p>Yes, my son received a 3 page letter some time ago that strongly encouraged him to apply early (by Dec. 1st). I was quite surprised as my DD is a Junior there now and I don’t recall her getting any such letter.</p>
<p>Not to burst any bubbles – but Harvard sends thousands of these letters out. It’s a marketing ploy, which works in their favor: The more kids that apply, the lower their acceptance rate: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/942038-received-invitaztion-harvard-apply.html?highlight=letters[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/942038-received-invitaztion-harvard-apply.html?highlight=letters</a></p>
<p>It’s something like 50,000 applications a year that they send out isn’t it?</p>
<p>This was not just an application. This was a letter suggesting that the person apply earlier and they will start to consider their application.</p>
<p>No, they’re evaluating anyone’s and everyone’s application starting Dec 1st if it’s submitted already. </p>
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<p>[Harvard</a> College Admissions § Applying: Freshman Application Process](<a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/application_process/index.html]Harvard”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/application_process/index.html)</p>
<p>^^ Yes, both my kids received the same 3 page letter. My older daughter received the letter 2 years ago, my son received the same letter this year.</p>
<p>I am sure it is a ‘standard’ type of letter. It seems this year we are getting lots more mail from all of these schools. As I said, I don’t recall getting the letter 3 years ago, I know for sure my DD didn’t get all the letters that my son is getting from the Ivy League colleges. We take them with a grain of salt because there is no way to predict who they will select in the end! : ) Good luck to all!</p>
<p>LOL: marketing at its finest! Or maybe a Jedi Mind Trick (“These are not the droids you’re looking for.”)</p>
<p>Of course they’ll start evaluating complete files. What are they going to do otherwise? Eat bon bons? </p>
<p>Anyone’s file, that is complete, will begin the evaluation process. I’ll bet you some are being read at this moment.</p>
<p>Apply if it’s your heart to do so. But don’t be fooled by the letter – you’re not more coveted than the other tens of thousands of recipients of that same letter.</p>
<p>Harvard started doing this when they got rid of early action a few years ago. They request that people try to apply early, knowing that many will still adhere to the Jan. 1 deadline. That way, they do not get a tidal wave of applications, in January, and applications will arrive in a staggered sort of way. The point of the letter is just to make things easier for the admissions folks. It may be true that the earlier ones are looked at first, but they assure everyone that there is no advantage to sending an application by December 1st in terms of admissions (your child will get an interview earlier, though).</p>
<p><a href=“your%20child%20will%20get%20an%20interview%20earlier,%20though”>quote</a>.
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<p>I actually applied to Harvard in mid-September – quite early compared to the rest of the applicant pool – but I still haven’t received my interviewer’s contact information. I live near the Los Angeles metropolitan area (where I imagine a lot of alums live and work), so I’m sort of surprised that I haven’t been contacted yet.</p>
<p>I’ve gotten a handful of emails from some state coordinator, the admissions office and their asian pacific club equivalent urging me to apply. And some fun paper mail too. I feel so special. :P</p>
<p>I think it sounds pretty “special”. My son has not received any such letters or mailings from Harvard. Maybe they really are targeting certain students.</p>
<p>They get name lists from SAT and ACT.</p>
<p>I read somewhere before, that they sometimes send these letters to students who may not even be qualified so they can lower their acceptance rate.</p>
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<p>Not all students admitted will have received the commonly circulated invite.</p>
<p>Below is a related article published in August 2006:</p>
<p>[How</a> Harvard Gets its Best and Brightest](<a href=“Businessweek - Bloomberg”>Businessweek - Bloomberg)</p>
<p>“A Harvard representative contacted Sally Nuamah her junior year of high school in Chicago. Ms. Nuamah had good grades but an ACT score she describes as low. Her parents, who came from Ghana, had little money. As she welcomed the admissions rep into her living room one day, she was nervous. “I was like, ‘Oh, goodness, I don’t want to disappoint anyone,’ ” she says.” “…she applied. Months later, a rejection letter came.”</p>
<p>Recruitment often has very little to do with the admissions process. In fact the whole New York Times article is an especially good read about college recruitment.</p>
<p><a href=“College Applications Continue to Increase. When Is Enough Enough? - The New York Times”>College Applications Continue to Increase. When Is Enough Enough? - The New York Times;
<p>Sorry for kinda hijacking this thread to talk about recruitment…
but yes I did receive a letter encouraging me to apply early.</p>
<p>My son got the 3 page letter and although I do not think it means he would get in, it still means he they think he may be qualified. He has a great GPA and an ACT of 35. They would not waste marketing dollars on kids who are not in the running. This does not mean that kids who don’t have the letter, wouldn’t get in, but it does mean that they think certain students may be Harvard material</p>
<p>dopp23: congrats on your son’s achievements to date. It does sound like he’s qualified. However, don’t take that to mean he’s more likely to be accepted than the other 30K applicants – most of whom would be “qualified” to do the class work at Harvard. H and peer schools use many marketing tools – your son’s name must have appeared on one of many lists.</p>
<p>I think you’re aware that schools like H can really cherry-pick their entering classes. Having someone like your son apply only helps them, as an institution. As applicants and families , we should always be aware of this.</p>
<p>Certainly for anyone who applies, the rate of accept is painfully low. But the accept rate for those who don’t apply curiously hovers at zero every year! ;)</p>
<p>Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>I know and I will keep his please apply letter framed right next to his rejection letter! We are hoping for UPENN ED right now. Good luck to everyone.</p>