<p>rejected.</p>
<p>Sorry for such an abrupt post-- I’ve got a week (or more) of crying in bed to get started on, so I’ve got to go.</p>
<p>MIT- Rejected
Dartmouth- Rejected
Harvard- Rejected
Life is not fair for Int. Transfer!</p>
<p>exprep-Don’t feel bad. 12 students is a ridiculoulsy low number. My daughter was rejected also. Sad day yesterday:(. We cannot help but feel that it was all a bit of a sham. Did your friend who contacted professors at Harvard have any better luck? Everyone keep your chins up…prove Harvard wrong and go out and do something amazing 
!!!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>In what sense is it a sham? Last year’s data clearly shows 13 admitted, although the number applying was lower (probably due to the fact that some people didn’t realize that H was accepting transfers again):</p>
<p>[College</a> Search - Harvard College - Admission](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board)</p>
<p>The number admitted depends on the number of students that leave, and H has an extremely high retention rate. Apply, sure. Be ecstatic if accepted or disappointed if rejected, understandable. But to decry it as a hoax or hypocrisy is to be misinformed or delusional.</p>
<p>What was a sham was in 2007/8 when they opened transfer admissions and then decided mid-way through that they didn’t have room. They refunded application payments but not the cost of sending SAT scores and the Profile, nor the time and energy it took to apply.</p>
<p>Let me get this straight- people who asked to have decisions emailed didn’t receive an email, and people who asked NOT to receive an email got one anyway… Are we really sure we wanted to go to this school?! Lol I’m just sayin… Seems like shoddy organization to me.
(plz don’t berate me or call me a bitter reject, I’m merely looking for the humor in this insanity). </p>
<p>In any case, I think maybe what derbyday meant by sham is that it seems likely that Harvard maybe had some of those 12 predetermined, or at least, the ones who got in HAD an in at Harvard, if u know what i mean. At the very least I feel that he/she is implying that many of the applicants were amazing, but the reality is that most of us never stood a chance- even CEO’s of multimillion dollar companies! Lol. It just seems like there’s something a little hinky going on here and they probably could have shared it with us and saved us the money, time, and trouble- but why not act like everyone has an equal shot and rake in that hundred thou in app fees instead…</p>
<p>Just a theory, or maybe even just a “feeling.” im not at all surprised to have gotten rejected, but I AM surprised to see only 2 acceptances so far, one from a legacy/previous wait-lister, and one whom we know little to nothing about (but I’d wager there’s a similar story there- some sort of “connection” to Harvey).
Could be wrong, that’s just my input…</p>
<p>Wait, let me revise that by saying that’s not meant in any way to belittle the incredible accomplishments of the admits- I’m just saying that a lot of applicants were very accomplished- maybe an extra tie, of some sort, to
Harvard helped push those twelve just a little bit over the top… Huge congrats to the admits, though, of course- I’m absolutely not downplaying your achievement here.</p>
<p>Does anyone know the approximate size of Harvard’s transfer waitlist in most years? Either from last year’s thread or from pre-shutdown threads?</p>
<p>
I can all but guarantee that the application fees alone were not enough to recoup the costs of Harvard’s undergraduate transfer admissions program.</p>
<p>I worked for a time in an admissions program that accepts fewer than 1 in 20 applicants and charges an application fee in excess of $100. The vast majority of my duties were directly and immediately admissions-related. Over half of what I did was very basic file clerk stuff. I was working in an office with four permanent full-time employees: program director, assistant director, financial director, and secretary; all of whom were paid more than me and received full benefits. From what I remember, the personnel cost associated with my contract alone (no benefits, just my wage and agency fees) represented over 15% of incoming application fees. Even if the other four in the office cost exactly what I cost, personnel alone would eat up over 75% of application fees.</p>
<p>Then there’s the cost of supplies. Many hundreds of dollars’ worth of file folders and label sheets. I don’t even know how to estimate the yearly cost of promotional materials, pamphlets, mailers, and so on. Printing and mailing official decision letters to hundreds of applicants. Facilities costs associated with interviews. Then there’s the admissions committee, which was entirely tenured professors; they probably made more money in the time that they sat there going over the top applicants than we received in application fees for the entire year.</p>
<p>Geez bakemaster…I keep erasing what I write…Harvard didn’t even have the decency to give a decision date…promotional materials, pamphlets, interviews???</p>
<p>I have no idea whether Harvard College publishes any promotional materials or pamphlets specifically aimed at transfer applicants. The program in which I worked was graduate-level admissions and undoubtedly there are many differences in the process. Nevertheless, I would be surprised if costs were fully covered by the application fees at any school. Every app that comes in means more work—sorting, filing, tracking, reviewing, responding, and providing applicant support via phone and email. Computers may make some tasks simpler but for the most part this work is done by university faculty and staff who need to be paid for their time.</p>
<p>I’m not complaining or anything. I’M NOT! but…</p>
<p>From posts about this transfer round, I’ve read that people from H have said that (about) half the admits were athletes, and athletes are always predetermined. People at H also, apparently, said that (about) half of the transfers got interviews. I’m guessing this is the non-athlete half, meaning that we were applying for 6-ish spots.</p>
<p>All I’m saying is that, if I were given an interview, I would’ve shined too! If you say you aren’t giving interviews to transfer applicants, it would be professional of you to not give interviews to transfer students. </p>
<p>And for the people who were accepted, congrats! (Seth Meyers voice) But, admissions to colleges are at an extreme. Someone apparently had a non-profit organization for three years and was accepted. Really? A non-profit organization during high school? Not knocking it, but what is considered a non-profit these days - going around the neighborhood with friends and asking for donations? </p>
<p>Again, not knocking it but it seems that the less fortunate students are ALWAYS at a disadvantage. How can you start a non-profit when you’re the one needing a help from a non-profit? How can you get awards to things you haven’t even heard of because you were busy with more vital things?</p>
<p>@CollegeFreshman</p>
<p>Before I go off on a tangent, let me say right away that I do strongly agree that college admissions undeservedly privilege the already privileged. Nonetheless, the end of your post reflects what I think to be a dangerous attitude— that only those at the very top of the social hierarchy can be change-makers. I disagree.</p>
<p>I founded a nonprofit immediately upon graduating high school— it was actually founded while I was in high school, but didn’t start providing services until after I graduated. It’s a nonprofit debate camp that provides full scholarships to well over half of its attendees. This didn’t require ANY initial investment of resources on my part. All it took was for me to identify a skill I possessed and that others I knew possessed, and that we all wished to pass on to others.</p>
<p>From that point on, the internet provides an easy resource to find the necessary forms to start a nonprofit— principally, incorporation forms. Moreover, most law firms require their attorneys to commit to some amount of pro bono work. Helping a nonprofit get off the ground is a great example of such work, and many lawyers in your local area would be more than willing to assist you in doing good work for others.</p>
<p>We run our institute by having students who can afford the camp subsidize the cost of our scholarships, and by soliciting donations from businesses, law firms, and individuals. It requires work, but it does not require economic privilege on the part of those running the organization. While I am admittedly privileged, many of our top staff are far from well-off, and yet nonetheless have contributed to the organization’s functioning tremendously.</p>
<p>So for those of you in high school or in college who feel like you don’t have the resources to do something good by starting a nonprofit— prove yourself wrong. Find a skill you want to pass on to others. Did you do chess club? Debate? Speech? Math competition? Writing? Start a summer program for the underserved teaching that skill. Do the work to get your organization off the ground, and reach out to others. You’ll be surprised at what you can accomplish, even if it’s on a small scale. A nonprofit doesn’t need to cure a disease, end poverty, or stop war to be impactful.</p>
<p>I’m actually considering creating a website to help smaller, student-run nonprofits get off the ground, connect with fundraisers and one another, share tips and information about supportive local businesses… a linkedin + information database for young nonprofits, if you will. Let me know if you think that’s a good idea… I’ve been pondering it for a while now.</p>
<p>But seriously. Don’t doubt yourself. Even with limited resources, you can start a nonprofit and do awesome things. PM me if you want resources or advice on starting a nonprofit. Power to the people! Huzzah!</p>
<p>EDIT: Also, I agree that the mysterious interview selection process is frustrating. They should be straight up and tell people that they do or do not interview transfer applicants.</p>
<p>Congrats on the non-profit OutHere! I agree with the overall idea but to think that less fortunate students have enough time on their hands to do that type of work is a bit delusional. I’m not saying that those toward the bottom have no possibility of making a change, but rather that they don’t have the possibility to make a change that would get them noticed by an H admission committee. Those who do have enough time to do that ought to do that - - but if you have time to do that I highly think you can call yourself unfortunate (you in general terms). </p>
<p>Think a bit broader - just because there’s a possibility to do something, doesn’t mean that people, even those capable of seizing that possibility, see that it’s there.</p>
<p>Yeah, I’ll admit that what I said probably applies more to the lower middle-class or working class, and less so to those in poverty. If you’re holding down a job to supplement income or taking care of a sick family member, or worrying every day about gang violence… a nonprofit or some other major venture probably isn’t in the cards just yet. I do think colleges try to compensate somewhat for the problems associated with massive economic disparities… but obviously there are structural issues with the American economic system for which no school can fully compensate.</p>
<p>I just know that I wasn’t as proactive as I could have been in high school, and that lots of smart kids from all social classes that I knew were similarly less productive than they could have been. Just kinda wanted to post a little motivator for any younger ones reading this, to go do cool stuff.</p>
<p>Oh yea I know what you mean! I encourage everyone to do their best at whatever interests them, too! </p>
<p>In which state do you live OutHere? (I’m going to guess California or New York)</p>
<p>I agree with OutHere a lot on this issue.</p>
<p>I’ve been working about 40 hours a week this last academic year and it made doing other thing a little more difficult. I was still student body president and presided over a couple other clubs, but it was killing me and kept me from investing 100% into each area. Although I didn’t get into Harvard as a transfer, I still feel really good about all that I’ve done and happy that I’ve been able to contribute to my community here. I think if the reasons I did these things were explicitly for the sake of getting into Harvard, then I would feel a lot different about the situation.</p>
<p>I go to school in New York, but my home is in Texas.</p>
<p>I guess we all agree. I agree with goingforanobel and goingforanobel agrees with OutHere.</p>
<p>Well, this thread got slaughtered admissions-wise. I’m happy to see that we’re all taking it well.</p>
<p>Remember folks, there’s always grad school.</p>