Transfer Admissions Announcement

Colleges & Universities Harvard University
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<p>I am currently a college freshman and I have been a fan of these forums for a long, long time. I read them constantly during my admissions process, none more than this time last year. I had never really thought about posting, but I’ve never been this compelled to post before. I don’t know if I’m adding new information to the table, or just rehashing old stuff (if I do I apologize, I wasn’t able to read 18 pages worth of posts).</p>

<p>Last year, I applied to Harvard early decision. It, like many of you here, was my dream school. I loved it and imagined, for as long as I knew about college, of going there. After my batch of emails was messed up, I found out at 10pm on the early decision notification night that I was deferred. I will never forget the feeling of waiting up all night, just to end the evening in more uncertainty. I was then waitlisted when regular decisions came around. I spent every day from March to June checking this site. Whenever I heard that the next batch of rejection letters was “sweeping the country,” I would approach the mailbox with fear for days. And then, in late June, it came. A dream that had begun years ago, and officially started with the mailing in of my application in October, ended 8 months, one deferral, one waitlist, and several rejection rounds later.</p>

<p>I was fortunate to still have a bunch of colleges to choose from, and over what US News and my friends deemed to be “better” colleges, I bypassed the Ivys I got into and other good schools for my favorite: Georgetown. Even after sending in the money and being excited, I told myself I would definitely apply to Harvard as a transfer applicant next year. After all, attending Harvard was my dream.</p>

<p>And then a funny thing happened between last June and this March. I fell in love with Georgetown. It was not the top ranked school in US News. It carried prestige, but certainly not the same prestige as Harvard. Graduating will open me up to plenty of great jobs in the future, but certainly won’t open as many doors as Harvard could. And yet, it didn’t, and doesn’t, matter. I made better friends than I could ever imagine. I took great classes, joined great clubs, and currently serve as a tour guide urging other students, just like me, to come here. When I’m not doing work, hanging ou with friends, working out, or doing club activities, I’m exploring WashingtoN DC, a great city right at my feet. </p>

<p>When the time came around for applying to transfer in the winter, well, I didn’t even remember it. Reading this thread on College Confidential, a website I returned to for the first time in months to help give advice to prospective Georgetown students, was the first time I even remembered that transfer applications for Harvard were due. It’s quite a turnaround from the HARVARD OBSESSED kid I was a year ago.</p>

<p>But the point of this post is not about me (although after many paragraphs about myself it probably seems like it was … I apologize). The point is to tell people, as someone with - I swear - tons of experience feeling the deepest, strongest desire to go to Harvard, that it does end up okay. I am not saying everyone is like me. I understand that many people did not go to their college and love it. But the fact remains: you can transfer elsewhere and still love it. All I could think of this time last year was how to transfer to Harvard. The same time this year, it was the furthest thing from my mind … literally. And before you make assumptions that I didn’t want to go to Harvard as badly as you currently do now, let me assure you, I did.</p>

<p>When you boil down the facts, what does Harvard have that other colleges don’t? The prestige? The nametag value? The education? The location? I know there are thousands of great qualities Harvard has, but they are qualities that many other fantastic schools, schools that are accepting transfer applicants, have as well. College, while being what many call the best four years of your life, also acts at a basic level as an intermediary between your high school self and your real world job. So if you, somewhere deep down, partially want to go to Harvard because it will get you that great job or into a great law school (and that was a big factor for me), know that these doors are open to you from a multitude of different schools.</p>

<p>This post is not meant to recruit people to Georgetown (although if you came I bet you’d have the time of your life); it’s to let you know that there is life out there after Harvard. I am, in no way, endorsing this decision. It is an incredibly cruel and insensitive thing to do to students who spent not only months working on the transfer application, but years compiling the grades and accolades necessary to get into Harvard. Harvard has lost a good deal of credibility in my book, and I feel anger and sadness for all those affected (that’s why I’m writing here for the first time in what must have been a thousand visits to this site). However, as hard as it is to say, the situation is what it is. When I didn’t get into Harvard, I wanted to appeal the decision, go to the board, beg and plead. Eventually, I had to realize that the situation is what it is. It takes time, and I am not trying to rush anyone along, but take it from someone who knows, at least to a degree, what you are feeling. Once you are finally able to accept this decision, and harness your energy to finding another school that fits you best, I can promise that you will discover the joys of the “college years” that everyone is always talking about.</p>

<p>Best of luck to all … I feel your pain and will be thinking of you and hoping that you all enjoy your next years of college, wherever they may be!</p>

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<p>I could feel the emotion in your post. Thanks for sharing your perspective as someone who has dealt with very similar issues.</p>

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<p>If anyone is still reading this thread, I just wanted to say that I have a tremendous amount of sympathy for the transfer applicants this year. I applied back in 2006 and, not surprisingly, was rejected. I kept Harvard’s email rejection letter for months. I finally deleted it a few months ago and have been once again attempting to kick and take names at my current college since.</p>

<p>I think that, just by virtue of applying to Harvard, you are all exceedingly talented students who will hopefully do a lot of good in your lives. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but forget Cambridge, and if not, be a pompous grad school student there or worse, a professor or president!</p>

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<p>they just sent out another email, saying essentially the same thing.</p>

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<p>yeah. 1308 applicants!</p>

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<p>I don’t know if I feel any better reading this new letter.</p>

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<p>what is the significance of this follow up letter?</p>

<p>it is proof that harvard did not anticipate what impact suspending the transfer program would have - it shows that the decision was made hastily and without careful thought.</p>

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<p>gee, can’t believe this actually happened…I would be so ticked off to hear this news, if i applied. after getting rejected last yr by harvard and hearing this news, the sould of harvard admissions makes my stomach upset…Really, why couldn’t they have announced it sooner? This is an outrage.</p>

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<p>Sorry juenatics and transferapp07, what did the follow up letter you are referring to say?</p>

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<p>Yes, can someone paste in the text of the most recent letter?</p>

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<p>Here’s the message put up on the admissions website (I’d guess this is what was sent in the email as it’s entitled “A Message to our Transfer Applicants”). Not really much new in terms of hard information - other than that there was a record 1308 transfer applications. The gist of the message is that they’re sorry and that it wasn’t the fault of the admissions office, which was informed late in the game that they couldn’t admit any transfers.</p>

<p>[Harvard</a> College Admissions Office: Prospective Students](<a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/prospective/transfer/message.html]Harvard”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/prospective/transfer/message.html)</p>

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<p>Thanks for posting. It would have been far better if they had waited a few more days and sent the above message instead of sending the earlier apparently hastily-written e-mail that left a lot of questions and very bad feelings.</p>

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<p>Was the earlier email not as nice? This actually seems remarkably apologetic and well thought out…</p>

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<p>What I find absolutely MIND-BOGGLING is the fact that despite the very low admittance rate last year, there was MORE people applying this year…I don’t know about you guys, but I find that somewhat strange.</p>

<p>I would have thought people would be put off by the very low admitted students last year but I guess not.</p>

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<p>I want to email this to Harvard. I asked my son’s opinion and he said it was very sarcastic. I asked my wife to edit it (I never took an English course) and she emailed me back ’ are you nuts?’
Well, what do you think? I would appreciate all opininios and particularly some opinions from parents. Thank you and feel free to copy, modify into your own version and email this to harvard. Just do not use voulgar language</p>

<p>Re: No 2008 transfer admissions</p>

<p>Dear Sir/Madame,</p>

<p>My son, a 1st year engineering student in a top 20 engineering school, was applying for sophomore transfer to Harvard, because of your physics department’s reputation. He invested a significant amount of time in applying and he had to reveal his plans to his current teachers. He has an e-mail from a professor who plainly states that an undergraduate summer research position cannot be offered to him if he does not plan to stay in his current university. This response was despite the fact that he has an A+, 4.0 GPA and he officially ranks 2/169 in his year and department. So to refund his application fee, hardly addresses the pecuniary and non pecuniary costs of his Harvard transfer application. What a disappointment for my son and the 1300 or so transfer applicants was your unexpected ‘post-the-fact’, ‘post admissions deadline’ cancellation of transfer admissions for 2008… Furthermore what a lesson about life this is. I am not proclaiming that an unmitigated life altering catastrophe has happened here, or that the applicants will need long term therapy to alleviate the symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome. I save my pity and sympathy for all the victims of war, genocides, epidemics, starvation, and lack of opportunity to exist with dignity. </p>

<p>However, the fact that these applicants are enormously more privileged and fortunate than a young soldier who suffered brain damage and multiple amputations, or a young child set to fire by terrorists, or another child orphaned by HIV, it does not excuse Harvard’s lack of tact and decorum here. Harvard College simply reneged on their contract with the transfer applicants to at least evaluate their submitted applications and decide if any should be offered admission. Nowhere in the application process is clearly stated that Harvard reserves the right to unilaterally break that implicit (some will argue that it was explicit) contract and be exonerated by apologizing and simply refunding the application fee. Even if there was such a disclaimer, it only discharges legal (and not always) but not moral obligation. I do not have a legal education, I am merely a retired MD, and I do not even propose that the transfer applicants should waste anymore of their valuable time pursuing such a lost cause. But I think that this incident (so uncharacteristic of Harvard’s past treatment of applicants and without a doubt a stain on Harvard’s stellar reputation) was perhaps the result of an ill-advised decision, irrespective of how much time and effort was invested in reaching that decision. </p>

<p>There were alternatives that Harvard could have afforded. For example, a few years back, when Ontario eliminated grade 13, a double cohort of students graduating from high school was created in the province of Ontario by 2003. The government offered Universities incentives for expansion of teaching facilities, new faculty hiring, etc., but did not fully cover all capital expenditures. The University of Toronto, which also has high admission standards and every year regretfully rejects many qualified applicants, responded to that social responsibility challenge and increased the freshmen class in all of its three campuses. However, although new residences were built (the University of Toronto, although a public university, guarantees residence accommodations for all first year students and also covers 100% of unmet financial need), the downtown campus in the centre of Toronto could not build fast enough all the residence capacity needed for the over a thousand extra students it agreed to admit. If the University of Toronto had planned as poorly as Harvard did in this instance or was as reckless with its reputation, it could simply have reneged; but it did not. Now, the University of Toronto is one of the best endowed public universities, but its endowment fund is less than a tenth of Harvard’s endowment fund. But that did not stop them from keeping their word. They went ahead and purchased a luxury downtown hotel, and transformed it into a true residence with dons, tutors and all that is needed for a successful residential experience. Not only they managed to accommodate all their extra first year students, but they increased their ability to accommodate large conferences in the summer months, banquet and catering capabilities, ball room facilities, etc. Furthermore, they hired most of the hotel’s former employees. This was a win-win investment for the University of Toronto, its students (Canadian and international) and Ontario. And yes, the purchased property has appreciated significantly in value.</p>

<p>The argument that Harvard could not have foreseen the present shortage of residential housing space is not acceptable, unless we are willing to accept and tolerate incompetence from those trusted with overseeing the management of such a National treasure as Harvard is for USA (and the world). Need I remind you that this shortage did not develop overnight through an act of god (Katrina hit New Orleans, not Boston or Cambridge) nor an act of war and terrorism? This shortage happened out of shear incompetence and lack of planning (or the wrong planning because of incompetence). Game theory would suggest that Harvard’s solution to the problem was perhaps the most expedient and least costly solution for Harvard College (the transfer applicants cannot inflict any significant punishment on Harvard, nor is there a second round of play). However, such an approach heavily discounts and marginalizes future costs. You see, the future societal cost is in the powerful lesson learned from the transfer applicants and the current Harvard (and other Universities) students who observe Harvard act in such an arrogant self-righteous, ‘might is right’ way and get away with it. Let us hope there will be no future Enron style industry leaders that will be inspired by Harvard’s current example of ‘bending’ ethics and reneging on a contract. Let us hope that one day we will not have yet another governor (or even president) who feels they can preach one thing and practice something opposite, and get away with it. </p>

<p>Harvard College, wake up! It is not too late to reverse this egregious decision and seek more positive and innovative solutions. If any freshman or transfer applicant had demonstrated such a lack of planning, mental and moral catatonia when faced with a problem, lack of respect for contracts and sensitivity towards others in their applications, they would be outright rejected. Equally, I think Harvard should reject their aberrant behavior in this instance, live up to their responsibility and reopen the transfer application process for this year. They owe that not to their transfer applicants, but to Harvard itself, the USA and the world. </p>

<p>Sincerely
XXXXX XXXXX, M.Sc., M.Eng., M.D.</p>

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<p>I think that in general the above letter carries an appropriately respectful yet ticked off emotion without being overly abusive or vulgar. </p>

<p>However, in your logic where you talk about the damage to Harvard’s reputation by not accepting transfer applications, you fail to take into account the damage that Harvard’s reputation would suffer if Harvard had to (very publicly) buy a Hotel (of which there are only three near enough to make it feasible) and convert it into temporary housing. It would scream out to the world that Harvard has a housing crunch, whereas right now, the crunch will be alleviated over the next two years (and hopefully go unnoticed by the world at large) and Harvard will reopen transfer admissions in two years when the student body is back down to a manageable size.</p>

<p>As for your son, I think he would be more than within his rights to call up the admissions office and ask for some references to Harvard physics/engineering labs for the summer (I would wait until after the 31st though). If that falls through, please feel free to PM me and I’ll see if my engineering roommate can ask around for labs that might need a last minute undergrad assistant for the summer.</p>

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<p>Isme,</p>

<p>If sending your email will help you vent and blow off steam, by all means send it. While I think some of your analogies don’t really work, it doesn’t do any harm. But please understand that it will not change Harvard’s decision or your son’s situation. Nor does it change the fact that, even if Harvard had admitted 40 transfer students, as it did last year, the overwhelming likelihood (97%) is that your son would not have been admitted anyway. And as many others in this thread have pointed out, while the situation stinks, there’s no basis for any legal claims. Harvard has no legal obligation to admit any transfer students - it’s on a space-available basis and there wasn’t space. Should they have figured this out earlier? Absolutely. Do they have legal liability? Absolutely not.</p>

<p>Finally, I agree with other posters who have said that the best thing that transfer applicants can do at this point is to get on with their lives. I know that may sound a little harsh, and I am sympathetic to the transfer applicants, but they need to accept what is and put it behind them.</p>

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<p>I think you should print out the letter – and not mail it. </p>

<p>I sympathize with your anger and need to vent, but I don’t think the letter will do anything for your son except possibly expose him to embarrassment that his parent is stepping in to vent to Harvard over a situation that directly affects your son, who is a grown man.</p>

<p>I think that the best thing that you can do now is to help yourself and your son move on to take advantage of whatever college options he has. Your spending time and effort venting to Harvard isn’t helping with this.</p>

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<p>Of course by now the letter could have been seen here on CC by lots of people who work for Harvard.</p>

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<p>h-bomber; thank you for your comments and the offer. You sound like a considered and caring person. Harvard is lucky to have you.</p>

<p>Cosar: thank you for your comments. Please read my letter more carefully. I am not threatening litigation, nor am I advising others to go that route. </p>

<p>Northstarmom: thank you for your comments. My son is too busy right now to waste anymore of his time with this Harvard application. I am retired and homebound due to illness, so I have the time to write letters to nowhere. I am not angry at Harvard. Anger is such a negative and self damaging emotion…I just think that as a parent who paid for my son’s application fees, testing fees, transcripts, express post where needed, and is expected to contribute to my son’s education, I have the right to express my opinion here. That does not invalidate my son as an adult. I raised my children to be very self confident and their adulthood is not particularly threatened by the occasional innocuous parental interference. If it matters to you, I am quite certain Harvard will not change its decision. That does not mean I should not tell them what I think about their decision.</p>

<p>Tokenadult: Seriously? That is so nice of them. Thank you for letting me know.</p>