<p>Unlike Stanford, Harvard does not outright reject most people from SCEA. Is there anything to be read out of such a rejection? Is it uncommon to be flat out rejected from Harvard, then getting into schools of similar caliber such as Columbia? </p>
<p>if you feel that you are a competitive applicant for top schools like Harvard and Columbia and you are outright rejected by Harvard, I would re-examine your essays and think about whether your recs are okay before applying anywhere RD. Typically, it is one or both of these two things that sinks a strong applicant.</p>
<p>^^ I agree. Last year, Harvard admitted 992 students SCEA, while deferring 3,197 and rejecting 366. If you have a high GPA (3.75+ UW out of 4.0) and good SAT scores (2100+) but are rejected in the SCEA round that indicates that your application was torpedoed by your essays or teacher recommendations. And if Harvard thought them inappropriate, chances are high that Columbia will as well. </p>
<p>Thanks, this is very helpful</p>