quietman

And now the veritas is gone from the status checker....

I suddenly feel more nervous.

That's what the admissions process does! I didn't really expect decisions before Wednesday, so tomorrow the 'IT COULD HAPPEN TODAY' days begin.

I hope so! I'm not as confident about my initial Wednesday prediction, but I'm still thinking we hear this week.

New blog posted:http://hksadmissionblog.tumblr.com/post/140700535508/2016-reading-and-decision-process-post-14 Seems like they still need some time.

Exciting.....thanks for posting that HRC.

When I get emails, I tilt my screen just so that I can see the title but do not know the content. I have filtered all useless emails, so, if I get an email notification, it has to be from a legit source. This habit is getting ridiculous but I just can't look at the email straight up. I did the exact same thing when I was waiting for the email with my LSAT score a few years ago. For HKS the decision won't be in the email itself, which is nice because then one can brace themselves without the awkward head tilting.

Excellent post, and I agree that simply reapplying without any meaningful improvement in your application (whether references, coursework, job experience, etc.) is probably unlikely to change the outcome.

I'm a blog refresher and re-reader too, and probably spend too much time trying to match timelines from various application years to get a sense of when decisions will come out this year. Right now I'm speculating as to whether the upcoming post on admitted applicants will be the last one in the 'Reading and Decisions Process' series prior to the release of decisions. Last year it was the penultimate entry, but the final one from that admissions cycle is similar to the spreadsheets post that was already made this year....so maybe there is just one remaining. At this point I'm in the excited but nervous stage. Excited because decisions are likely coming soon and I may well get into my dream school, nervous because, well, I may soon find out that I didn't get in and it will sting a bit! I will say before decisions are released that people who dream about getting into a particular school shouldn't necessarily throw that dream away and accept another offer. I had a friend whose goal was to get into HLS, and upon being permanently wait-listed in their first attempt the assumption was that they'd just have to go elsewhere, but they came back with a stronger application the next year and got admitted to HLS in their second try (and some posters here may end up being HKS examples of this). Of course situations differ, and it may not be in everyone's best interest to sit out and try again, but don't think it's over just because you didn't get in this time!

LOL For those who haven't seen it, new blog post about that http://hksadmissionblog.tumblr.com/post/140451706403/2016-reading-and-decision-process-post-12

Haha, ya, I think that would be a bit cruel. When I was a law school applicant and posting on a law forum that happened occasionally, and let's just say that some people got a little worked up (I shamefully admit that I sometimes found it entertaining).

Yep, agree with all this. Also, anyone else notice that the status page (https://admissions.hks.harvard.edu/apply/status) changed? Most of the text is now gone for me.

That may be the best attitude to have....being rejected hurts less while being admitted feels better.

Decisions have been released the second week of March at least over the last 2 years, so I have to admit my hopes are up for next week! The actual dates are a bit earlier this year, which leads me to hope that the slightly advanced blog posts this year reflect an attempt to keep in line with a slightly earlier release date. Of course, the admissions process has a way of getting people like me to see connections where there probably aren't any!

It could mean that instead of ranking everyone and just grabbing people off the list one by one, they instead try to find people who correct inbalances that result from admits choosing to go elsewhere. So maybe if fewer international admits (or more specifically, female international admits from a certain region who have a certain focus) chose HKS than anticpated, those in admissions would search the WL for international applicants (or female internationals from the certain region who have the relevant focus), even if the strongest WL'd applicants in terms of grades/scores/experience/LOR. are from the US. I guess even then rankings could be useful, as adcoms would still need to distinguish between the people who fit the profile they're after, but I take it that they want to maximize their latitude to pick particular replacements in response to particular groups of admits declining offers of admission or deferring. It could also just be that despite the lack of official rankings the way people are chosen off the WL is pretty much like choosing them by rank--e.g. compare all the applicants then select those deemed most impressive.

So the blog entry on waitlisted applicants was posted today. The previous two 'Reading and Decisions Proccesses' blog entries have each been two days ahead of the corresponding dates they were posted last year, when decisions came out on Wednesday the 11th. Note that Wednesday is the 9th this year---right in line with things being two days ahead. http://hksadmissionblog.tumblr.com/post/140366455328/2016-reading-and-decision-process-post-11

I've got a few of those scary results upcoming too...best of luck to you

Congrats ss!

Wow! You will certainly be prepared.

Well that's a bummer given that an email we got a couple weeks ago indicated that they were aiming for early March. Considering that goal, and the fact that decisions were released on the 11th last year, I would be surprised if they didn't come out until late in the month (maybe the person on the phone was just being cautious? Better to give yourself more time than not enough). Thanks for letting us know!

Well, it was indicated in an email that they were aiming for early March, so I suppose they could come at any point now if the early March target is met. I think, however, that it's most likely that decisions are released next week, and my prediction is Wednesday the 9th (it was Wednesday the 11th last year I believe).

No problem! The analytic resume didn't take me too long and certainly not longer than the typical application essay or resume. I used the formatting of one of their sample resumes, copied and pasted the 'official' course descriptions of the relevant courses that I listed, and elaborated on stuff that was mostly already in my CV. It's good that you're starting early!

Getting started early helped me avoid last minute stress and sloppy, rushed essays. I was able to apply for several fellowships with time to spare and feel that by starting early my essays were stronger than they have been in the past when I didn't start working until deadlines were soon approaching. If you haven't written the GRE I'd also advise you to leave enough time for a retake prior to submitting your application. Additionally, if you have a low quant score I'd recommend taking supplementary courses (e.g. quantitative research in political science/economics; statistics) to show that you can handle quantitative material. My biggest regret is not signing up for courses like this until after the admissions deadline passed and my application could not be updated to reflect that I was enrolled in statistics courses (I was used to law school admissions, where application updates could be made throughout the admissions cycle). Oh, and tomorrow is the first day of early March....get ready to start the constant email checking!

last year the decisions were released on 11th of March, so it's likely that there are still 2 weeks ahead of us Ya, I suspect that it will be the second week of March that we hear back. The 11th was a Wednesday last year, so could it be Wednesday the 9th this year?

First day of early March is Tuesday...we're getting there!