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<p>At the Harvard info session we attended last month, the representative from the admissions office told us that Harvard had done a study on this very issue. They concluded that 60% of applicants could handle the academics at Harvard. She said that weeding out that 40% was fairly easy but getting it down to the roughly 2000 acceptance letters they sent out for approx 1600 freshman was not.</p>
<p>She described a five to six week period of time when the 37 member admissions committee meets five days a week, sometimes for 12 hours a day and votes on who to accept. She said that sometimes there were tears, arguements and that every year there are students they desperately want to offer admission to but there is simpy not room.</p>
<p>She concluded that portion of the info session by telling the students that if they wonder what rejection letter from Harvard means, it means they have 1600 beds. I thought that was a very nice way to put it.</p>