dreaming 1 Posted February 2, 2011 Posted February 2, 2011 Hey guys I've just been told I have an interview with my POI from Harvard, tomorrow (yikes!) But last year's results ticker made it look like they weren't interviewing, only accepting/rejecting. Do you think this is a bad sign?? Has anyone else heard anything or does anyone know what the likely focus/format will be ie sociology or more general? Thanks!
socme123 Posted February 2, 2011 Posted February 2, 2011 It's a good sign. They are interviewing finalists this year (I am not sure if they are interviewing ALL finalists. I just know they are interviewing at least some of the 21 finalists and plan to make only 10 or so offers - yikes.) But for those who haven't been contacted yet, I am not sure if they are still notifying people about the interviews or not and I don't know if everyone under consideration is being interviewed, so don't assume the worst at this point. As to the format, it probably varies a lot by interviewer. I imagine the main purpose of these is to get a sense of an applicant's very specific fit with their program and to make sure you're an okay person to have around. They don't want to reject any of the people they've narrowed it to, so probably fit is the real tiebreaker. Good luck!
CNDSoc Posted February 2, 2011 Posted February 2, 2011 It's a good sign. They are interviewing finalists this year (I am not sure if they are interviewing ALL finalists. I just know they are interviewing at least some of the 21 finalists and plan to make only 10 or so offers - yikes.) But for those who haven't been contacted yet, I am not sure if they are still notifying people about the interviews or not and I don't know if everyone under consideration is being interviewed, so don't assume the worst at this point. As to the format, it probably varies a lot by interviewer. I imagine the main purpose of these is to get a sense of an applicant's very specific fit with their program and to make sure you're an okay person to have around. They don't want to reject any of the people they've narrowed it to, so probably fit is the real tiebreaker. Good luck! Good luck with the interviews! Would you two mind posting your stats? Harvard is a long-shot for me but I'm still curious to see how I look compared to the other applicants
Karlito Posted February 2, 2011 Posted February 2, 2011 Same question for the numbers! That'd be pretty sweet, whether you are accepted or not. Also, any relevant experience? Cheers
socme123 Posted February 6, 2011 Posted February 6, 2011 Hey folks, I haven't been ignoring this but I'm leery of giving out my stats now for a couple reasons. (1) I don't really want to jinx myself by being IDed by adcoms until I have firm answers in hand. But more importantly (2) I am 100% confident that my stats have very little to do with any of my outcomes so far. They are decent, I guess, and there are no outlying scores or grades that would make people doubt whether I can do the work, but my take on GRE scores is that they are essentially irrelevant once you get past a base threshold of acceptability. Grades are more complicated, but not a dealmaker in and of themselves. I am kinda on the old side for this too, so again there are variables at play (both positive and negative) that have nothing to do with numbers. That said, sure I'll be happy to share once I've heard from a few more schools Also, I believe the Harvard committee is meeting today. I'm on pins and needles. I assume we'll get the verdict this week. Sigh. It's my dream school.
CNDSoc Posted February 7, 2011 Posted February 7, 2011 (edited) Hey folks, I haven't been ignoring this but I'm leery of giving out my stats now for a couple reasons. (1) I don't really want to jinx myself by being IDed by adcoms until I have firm answers in hand. But more importantly (2) I am 100% confident that my stats have very little to do with any of my outcomes so far. They are decent, I guess, and there are no outlying scores or grades that would make people doubt whether I can do the work, but my take on GRE scores is that they are essentially irrelevant once you get past a base threshold of acceptability. Grades are more complicated, but not a dealmaker in and of themselves. I am kinda on the old side for this too, so again there are variables at play (both positive and negative) that have nothing to do with numbers. That said, sure I'll be happy to share once I've heard from a few more schools Also, I believe the Harvard committee is meeting today. I'm on pins and needles. I assume we'll get the verdict this week. Sigh. It's my dream school. No worries! I was just being crazy and trying to estimate my chances of getting in. On second thought, I'd like to take back my request I'm trying to mellow out now; no more obsessing over the outcome of my apps! P.S. Good luck! Edited February 7, 2011 by sararuwani
Juliet Posted February 11, 2011 Posted February 11, 2011 Hey guys I've just been told I have an interview with my POI from Harvard, tomorrow (yikes!) But last year's results ticker made it look like they weren't interviewing, only accepting/rejecting. Do you think this is a bad sign?? Has anyone else heard anything or does anyone know what the likely focus/format will be ie sociology or more general? Thanks! If I may ask, how long was your interview? Was it more of an informal one (like why sociology, why harvard etc.) or was it more about your research experience and stuff like that? Thanks & Good luck!
socme123 Posted February 15, 2011 Posted February 15, 2011 It's been almost 2 weeks since my interview and I haven't heard anything yet. I'm not sure if anyone has heard back, but I know the committee met LAST Sunday so I'm starting to lose hope. I just wish I knew yay or nay at this point - I'm 95% sure where I'm going if I don't get into Harvard. (Harvard is one of my top two choices and I got into the other top choice already.) I still think Harvard might be a better fit than my other top choice, so it's hard to make a firm commitment to the other top choice without knowing whether I'm in or out of Harvard. I know these are really good problems to have, of course. Doesn't make it any less stressful though! I'm tempted to email the DGS to get a better sense of when they'll let us know something, but I dunno if that's too forward/desperate-seeming?
Juliet Posted February 15, 2011 Posted February 15, 2011 It's been almost 2 weeks since my interview and I haven't heard anything yet. I'm not sure if anyone has heard back, but I know the committee met LAST Sunday so I'm starting to lose hope. I just wish I knew yay or nay at this point - I'm 95% sure where I'm going if I don't get into Harvard. (Harvard is one of my top two choices and I got into the other top choice already.) I still think Harvard might be a better fit than my other top choice, so it's hard to make a firm commitment to the other top choice without knowing whether I'm in or out of Harvard. I know these are really good problems to have, of course. Doesn't make it any less stressful though! I'm tempted to email the DGS to get a better sense of when they'll let us know something, but I dunno if that's too forward/desperate-seeming? I haven't heard back from them either. During my interview the professor told me that it would take them another couple of weeks before reaching the final decision, which, judging from the results(timeline) from previous years, seems to be the case. Plus, I haven't heard about anyone getting the acceptance call. So don't lose hope-not yet. Best of luck! p.s. Harvard is definitely my top-choice. In fact, I cannot imagine going to any other school. Not the healthiest mentality when you are applying to grad school. B)Anyway, fingers crossed!
going crazy Posted February 16, 2011 Posted February 16, 2011 It's been almost 2 weeks since my interview and I haven't heard anything yet. I'm not sure if anyone has heard back, but I know the committee met LAST Sunday so I'm starting to lose hope. I just wish I knew yay or nay at this point - I'm 95% sure where I'm going if I don't get into Harvard. (Harvard is one of my top two choices and I got into the other top choice already.) I still think Harvard might be a better fit than my other top choice, so it's hard to make a firm commitment to the other top choice without knowing whether I'm in or out of Harvard. I know these are really good problems to have, of course. Doesn't make it any less stressful though! I'm tempted to email the DGS to get a better sense of when they'll let us know something, but I dunno if that's too forward/desperate-seeming? Selfishly, I hope you get into Harvard so you drop Princeton (you're right, it's a horrible fit for you and Jersey totally sucks ) and make room for those of us on the wait list! The rest of us are envying your "problems"! Best of luck!!!
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