<p>though i have not applied to harvard as a freshman or a transfer i really feel for all the transfer applicants. i can’t imagine what most of you must have felt when you saw the announcement. i think the applicants deserve a public apology from harvard at the very least.</p>
<p>If you want to write or let it known in any means, maybe someone outside the harvard environment would be more clearheaded to make a fair judgement.</p>
<p>My condolences to everyone that applied for transfer. It’s a really laborious and difficult process.</p>
<p>With respect to the specific argument I am making, I don’t think that bias is an issue here.</p>
<p>Notice that I haven’t taken any stance on whether eliminating the transfer program is appropriate or not. My argument is simply that if the College wishes to eliminate its transfer program, it is obligated to give fair warning, that is, it must satisfy its obligations with respect to all currently pending applications but is within rights to refuse all future obligations.</p>
<p>It is a purely technical argument, I’m not evaluating the merits of the Transfer program itself.</p>
<p>I e-mailed <a href="mailto:drudge@drudgereport.com">drudge@drudgereport.com</a> and I have tried to contact abcnews, cbsnews, msnbc, cnn, bbcnews, and foxnews without much success. Comon guys, contact the media, at least the Harvard Crimson newspaper is running the story!!!</p>
<p>Also try nytimes, washington post, washington times, etc.</p>
<p>This decision is so absolutely ridiculous!!!</p>
<p>Sadly, this is probably not the type of story that the press will pick up, too small of an audience, but I do wish you luck.</p>
<p>What is the best way of writing/contacting Marlene Rotner - Head of Transfer Admissions Committee???</p>
<p>Should I just write to
Committee on Transfer Admissions
Harvard College
86 Brattle St.
Cambridge, MA 02138</p>
<p>? </p>
<p>What is her e-mail/phone?? Anyone know?? Man I am so outraged. I knew that normally there would just be around 5-10% accepted, but I still worked so hard and thought I might have a chance…apparently I had a 0% chance all along…</p>
<p>how in the world,</p>
<p>what do you mean “without much success” ?</p>
<p>they won’t take it ?</p>
<p>I am just leaving messages, etc, no great results or anything…no positive responses or promises of any sort yet, after all these guys must get tons of e-mails but I think this is a really good story, after all they covered the Muslim athletic facility thing and the fact that Princeton announced it will not accept transfers and the fact that Harvard announced it won’t accept early admission…this injustice must be made known!!!</p>
<p>Well, if they act just like Princeton, announcing that “we don’t offer transfer programs at all”, that would be cool…not like what harvard did.</p>
<p>absolutely agree. That would be fine but what Harvard did must be reversed.</p>
<p>Look at this:</p>
<p>Transfer Applicants
IMPORTANT REMINDER REGARDING APPLICATION DEADLINE:
The deadline for submitting Transfer Applications and Application Supplements is FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15. We will allow a one day extension, through Saturday, February 16. Neither the Common Application website, nor the Universal College Application website will allow the on-line submission of forms after 11:59 p.m., EST on February 16. All applications submitted by mail must be postmarked by February 16 in order to be considered.</p>
<p>The Committee on Transfer Admissions welcomes inquiries from all qualified students interested in transferring to Harvard College. Over the years we have found that transfer students contribute a great deal to college life here, as well as gain much from their experience.</p>
<p>Each year the Committee admits a small number of transfer students who present clearly defined academic needs for transfer, supported by both a proven record of achievement at the college level and strong faculty recommendations. This year 40 students were admitted from over 1,100 applicants. We hope the information that follows will enable you to give careful consideration to Harvard College as you make plans to continue your education.</p>
<p>How could one of the most prestigious college in the world do this?</p>
<p>Why they didn’t make this announcement earlier?
After hours and hours work and numerous sacrifices for essays, the rejection is even better than this unreasonable reply!</p>
<p>All of my efforts were for an e-mail? My essays cannot even be reviewed by officer!</p>
<p>I cannot believe that Harvard does this…</p>
<p>What a shame…</p>
<p>What they did isn’t wrong, but how they did it is. They should’ve given such a decision atleast a year before the admissions cycle for 2008-09 started.</p>
<p>Is it just me or did they remove the “transfer applicants” link from the admissions website?</p>
<p>transferapp07 - </p>
<p>“When you submitted the admissions application you entered into a contract with them - it was an exchange of goods. You provided them with your application, along with the application fee in exchange for a judgment of your admissions potential.”</p>
<p>I wonder if they read the applications at all. If so, the admissions staff will be furious, too. </p>
<p>Again, I would encourage you to ask any alumni or Harvard prof’s you know to contact admissions. Maybe a note in the alumni newsletter? Harvard is a wonderful academic institution, and this sort of behavior by it’s admissions and senior administration is unworthy of its history and mission. Lucky for them, John Adams has been dead a good long while, so they won’t have to read HIS letter.</p>
<p>As I said before, I do sympathize with all the transfer applicants. And I don’t think Harvard handled the situation particularly well. With that said, a few more thoughts:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>February 25 was the deadline for current students to report whether they would be taking fall semester off, abroad or whatever, and for students off campus this semester to report whether they would be back for fall semester. While Harvard may have realized that they had a potential overcrowding issue, I don’t think they realized the extent of the problem until they got these reports (hence the late notice to Winthrop House seniors of their situation too, as set forth in the article linked in my prior post).</p></li>
<li><p>If they admitted only 40 transfer students out of over 1,100 applications last year, then the odds of a transfer applicant being admitted were miniscule in any event. I understand that there’s a difference between miniscule and none, but the difference is still miniscule.</p></li>
<li><p>Maybe they could have taken 5 or 10 transfer students rather than shutting it down altogether. (It’s not like they guarantee any minimum number from year to year.) Would that have made anyone here feel better? That would mean that 1,090 or 1,095 applicants would suffer “rejection”, rather than 1,100 knowing they weren’t rejected, they just never had a chance.</p></li>
<li><p>I’m not defending how Harvard did this, but I do think it’s worth at least thinking through how/why it happened and whether the alternatives really would have been better. There’s a lot of lashing out in this thread that doesn’t really get anyone anywhere productive. And I think the claims of legal liability have no basis. I do think it would be a good gesture for Harvard at least to refund the application fees. But for the applicants, best to accept and move on.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I feel for all you students! </p>
<p>It outrages me that a school that is constantly held up as the pinnacle of American education would treat students, their real reason for being, in this way. </p>
<p>I also think this is newsworthy, particularly the timing issue, so I have sent out emails to reporters at the Boston Globe and the New York Times alerting them to this story and I would encourage others to do the same. I don’t think you kids should suffer this blow without others knowing about it.</p>
<p>cosar -</p>
<p>“3. Maybe they could have taken 5 or 10 transfer students rather than shutting it down altogether. (It’s not like they guarantee any minimum number from year to year.) Would that have made anyone here feel better? That would mean that 1,090 or 1,095 applicants would suffer “rejection”, rather than 1,100 knowing they weren’t rejected, they just never had a chance.”</p>
<p>All the difference. Everyone knows the chances are miniscule - its Harvard, after all. You know that when you apply. If its a bad year, its a bad year. This is something different.</p>
<p>Admissions is refunding the applications fee, FWIW. Got to do something with that petty cash.</p>
<p>Ohio Mom, I hear what you’re saying, but I can’t agree. If Harvard had stayed silent about the situation, admitted 5 transfer students out of 1,100 applicants and rejected the other 1,095 (and presumably kept everyone’s fee), I think that would be a sham - far more outrageous than what they did. It would also leave 1,095 out of 1,100 applicants feeling they’d been judged unworthy (no matter how long the odds, you can’t help but feel judged when you’re rejected - it’s human nature). I can fault Harvard for not doing a better job of advance planning, and for not being more apologetic when they first made the announcement (I’m glad to hear they will be refunding fees, which is clearly the right thing to do). But I give them credit for being honest and not engaging in a sham.</p>