I haven't officially requested it yet, and am still waiting to hear back from the person I contacted about it. Here's to hoping!
What changed between years, if you don't mind me asking? I'll be doing a fellowship next year so am hoping that they think that's "legitimate" enough. Regardless, the other two programs I'm strongly considering don't have a problem with me doing it so that would be a dealbreaker for me if Harvard didn't let me defer.