Harvard is Harvard. It is one of the most famous schools in the world, and for good reason. Harvard is an outstanding place to study nearly any subject anyone would want to pursue, and it is exceptionally hard to get into. In recent years, Harvard has received over 60,000 applications for first-year admission, and accepted less than 2,000. The acceptance rate hovers around an intimidating 3%.
Each year, Harvard waitlists a group of applicants instead of accepting or rejecting them. These students are qualified to attend Harvard, but didn’t make the initial cut. Some years, they go deep into the waitlist, accepting, they say, “more than 200 candidates.” Most years, though, very few students are accepted off the waitlist — if any. In numerous years, they “have admitted no one from the wait list.” The most recent numbers that are available are from the class of 2027, when they accepted 27 students off of the waitlist. No, the number wasn’t symbolic — Class of ’28 won’t be 28. And, while we can’t know for absolute certain, there were likely more than 1,000 students waitlisted that year, so the acceptance rate off the waitlist was, at most, an uninspiring 2.7%. If you want to get off the waitlist, though, you’ll have to write a great letter of continued interest.
If you’ve been offered a spot on the waitlist and aren’t sure what to do next, Harvard doesn’t give much to go on. The most say is that they will reassess applications if opportunities to pull from the waitlist arise. Whether such spaces open up depends on the decisions accepted students make, as accepted students need to not pick Harvard for you to have any chance of getting in. So, it’s a waiting game. But there are a few things you can do to increase your chances of admission if they turn to the waitlist at all. This post is your guide to how to increase your chances of getting off of the Harvard waitlist and into the first-year class.
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Get on the Waitlist
It’s hard to get into Harvard, but it’s also hard to get on the waitlist — so be proud that you’ve made it this far and that you’re still in the game. If you weren’t Harvard material, they simply would have rejected you. But also know that you have very little chance of getting into Harvard no matter how awesome you are. We’re not saying that to be mean or harsh or to disparage you — it’s simply the statistical reality. So, you need to let them know that you want a spot on the waitlist, but you also need to look beyond Harvard to an alternate potential future. First, though, claim your waitlist spot. Next, it’s time to line up a backup.
Line up a Backup
Once you’ve confirmed your spot on the Harvard waitlist, you need to accept a spot at another school you were admitted to and pay any deposit required to lock that space in. You will lose this deposit if you are accepted off the waitlist at Harvard. That’s simply the price of playing this part of the game, so if losing the deposit is something you or your family can’t stomach, you need to strongly consider that. Once you’ve locked in a spot for yourself at a college in the fall, it's time to remind Harvard how awesome you are.
Reinforce Your Interest
Harvard provides very little information on what to do if you are waitlisted. So, we encourage students to write a simple letter of continued interest that can be submitted through the applicant portal or — and this is definitely the #1 choice if you have a previous thread of communication with an admission official — emailed directly to the person in the office of admission who is assigned to your region.
But what is a letter of continued interest? Well, a letter of continued interest, or LOCI, is a professional and respectful way of raising your hand in the classroom and waving it a little, without yelling out “Me! Me! Me!” and thus becoming annoying. We’ll break down everything you need to put into your LOCI, but we also know that this process can be overwhelming. If you’re in need of someone who’s done this a thousand times and has a track record of getting kids into Harvard off the waitlist, we can help.
First, before you start writing make a cup of tea, find a quiet place to work without anyone looking over your shoulder, and take a few deep breaths. A LOCI is short and sweet, so this isn’t going to take a long time, but it does require a lot of thought.
Formal Opening
First, the opening. This is not — we repeat, NOT — an email to a friend. It is, however, akin to applying for a job or communicating with a supervisor. The opening should be “Dear Mr/Ms/Mx. LAST NAME or Office of Admission,”
Reinforce Interest
Whew, you made it through the first part! The next one is like a really really short and simple “why us?” They know you like Harvard, as they can see your application and have already read and discussed it. But this is the place to say the thing that, if it were the only thing Harvard read from this letter, you’d want them to know. And, ideally, that one thing should be that Harvard is still your first choice, you are passionate about Harvard because (and a reason), and that you see your future at Harvard. Remind them why, super specifically, you are waiting for the tiny sliver of a chance of getting in. This is probably the most important part. They want to make sure that you will absolutely attend if you get in so that you won’t mess up their yield rate. Oh, and all this in no more than three sentences.
Short Update
After you’ve reminded them that you love Harvard, you have the chance to provide a very short update on your accomplishments since submitting your application. This moment is why we encourage students to keep pushing themselves after submitting. You need to keep aiming for the best grades you can get. Continue reaching for leadership positions. Every little bit can make a huge difference if the office of admission has reason to come back to your application. Be economical here with space, but use complete sentences This section should be one short paragraph, and focus on 1-3 ‘top hits’ of your last few months, such as any awards, acknowledgements, or recognitions, or a leadership position you were chosen for or elected to.
Professional Closing
And, just like that, you’re already at the end! We told you it was short. This should be one final sentence reaffirming interest and including the specific academic reason you want to study at Harvard (a certain lab, program, or course of study, for example). Then close with a simple “Sincerely,” or “Respectfully,”. Above all else, you must be polite.
Follow Instructions
Now the letter is written, you need to edit, step away for a few days, edit again, and submit. There will be at least four weeks between when you found out you were waitlisted and Harvard even thinks about looking at the waitlist for candidates for the first-year class, so it’s not a massive rush but also isn’t forever. Basically, you can move calmly but not too calm.
Then, submit and sit on your hands.
Don’t try to be clever with some wild expression of your love for Harvard. Every year, we see students who think that they’ll be the one to make Harvard change their mind with some bold rom-com-esque movie-style move. This is a terrible idea, and has never worked.
Do no call, do not pester, and do not risk making yourself known to them in a bad way. Do what they invite, respectfully remind them that you care, and don’t do what they ask you not to do. And just because they don’t explicitly say “don’t send balloons,” doesn’t mean that they want balloons.
Be Patient
Finally, be patient. While Harvard has let people in off of the waitlist in the past, there is no guarantee that they will even let a single person in off the waitlist this year. Some years its 27, some years it’s 20, and many years it’s 0. The ‘quality’ of the candidates on the waitlist has no bearing on the final tally admitted.
Our advice on handling the Harvard waitlist is consistent year after year. Some years, every student we work with gets in off the waitlist. Some years, no one does — like literally no one at all is accepted off of the waitlist. It’s not because the students had weak spots, or their letters weren’t compelling. There simply weren’t any spots that opened up for them to even be considered for.
All you can do is to put yourself in the best position possible if a spot does open up, so that Harvard sees you as a top option. Other than that, you’re going to have to wait, likely until well into the beginning of summer, to hear back. So, you need to keep your cool and plan as if you won’t get in. Don’t let the question mark of Harvard hang over you too strongly. You have an outstanding future ahead.
We guide students off of waitlists and on towards exceptional college experiences, and we can help you, too.