Harvard is one of the most renowned universities in the world, and one of the hardest to get into in the United States. For the Class of 2029, the first year acceptance rate was only 4.2% out of nearly 50,000 applicants. The most impressive statistic isn’t the miniscule acceptance rate, though — it’s the yield. That same year, 83.6% of accepted students chose to attend. This acceptance rate far surpasses that of other top schools. When students get into Harvard, most often they decide to go to Harvard.
This makes the wait list a complicated practice. The yield rate for Harvard is so high that they don’t rely much on pulling from the waitlist to fill the first-year class. For the Class of 2029, only 75 students were admitted from the wait list. The did not publish the number of students who were offered waitlist offers. Based on peer institutions, it was likely well over 1,000 if not in the multiples of thousands. This practice by Harvard goes back at least a decade. They don’t share the number of students offered a waitlist spot, nor the number who choose to join. In many ways, the Harvard waitlist is a bit of a black box. You don’t know exactly what odds you are facing, but they are certainly not good.
That doesn’t mean that you cannot get into Harvard off of the waitlist, however. In the Class of 2029, 75 people did it. Some years, they have accepted no one from the waitlist. Other years, over 200 students. There is no reason why you couldn’t be one of the select few this year, but what you do next matters. If you want to get into Harvard, you need to take measured action, ideally guided by an expert. We’ve helped many students get off the Harvard wait list.
In this post, we share our expertise with you so that you can improve your chances of getting into Harvard after a waitlist decision. Every year, we work one-on-one with driven students to turn around a waitlist decision. Hands-on guidance is best, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still take careful action to improve your chances of a Harvard acceptance.
Getting into Harvard off of the waitlist is nearly impossible. We make it a reality. Contact us.
After you’ve been offered a spot on the Harvard waitlist, there are a few things that you absolutely need to do — and in a particular order — to both increase your chances of acceptance and set yourself up for a successful college future regardless of what happens with Harvard.
Step One: Join the Waitlist
First, you need to get in the game. You applied to Harvard, but being given a waitlist decision doesn’t mean that you are automatically in contention should a spot open up. Now, to stay in the running, you have to say yes to joining the waitlist. There will be more to do after for Harvard, but before we can get to that we need you to hedge your bets.
Step Two: Confirm Your Backup
We are not being negative when we say that the chance of getting into Harvard off of the waitlist is miniscule, we’re being realistic. It is extremely difficult to get into Harvard off of the waitlist — even more difficult than getting into Harvard without spending time on the waitlist. As we’ve said, too, there are years when not a single person is accepted off of the waitlist. That isn’t because the waitlist was particularly weak that year, they simply didn’t have any more spots to fill due to a higher yield.
So, you absolutely cannot hold out hope to the point of stunting your second-best opportunity. Commit to school you are most excited about that you did get an offer of admission from to ensure that you have a seat in a first-year class in the fall. If you aren’t all that into any of your options, you still need to pick on. Transferring is an option, reapplying next year should not be treated as one.
Once you have an option confirmed and locked in, it’s time to get to work on Harvard.
Step Three: Update Harvard
Historically, Harvard gives waitlisted students very little guidance as to what they can do to improve their chances of admission. This tends to trigger one of two responses. Either the student does nothing after joining the waitlist, patiently waiting, and not wanting to be a ‘problem’ by pestering Harvard. The other possible response is to bombard Harvard with information that they didn’t ask for. Either of these options would be self-sabotage. However, there is a middle path that we advise our students to take. This middle lets you advocate for yourself, but doesn’t leave a bad taste in Harvard’s mouth. It’s called a LOCI.
A LOCI, or a letter of continued interest, is a one-page letter that you write to the Harvard admissions officers to remind them of your commitment to Harvard and that you’ve kept being your awesome and accomplished self since you submitted your application. Pulling off the perfect balance for this letter is an art, and it’s something that we help students navigate. Here, we’ll give you the broad gameplan.
Opening
This is a letter, so you need to start it like one — “Dear Harvard Admissions,” and all. If you have previously communicated with an admissions officer direction, address it to them. Then, in a succinct 3-4 sentence paragraph, you need to share your name, your status as a waitlisted student, your prospective major, and your intention with this letter (to reinforcer interest and update them). You also need a sentence saying that you absolutely will enroll if accepted. Harvard will not accept you if they are not convinced that you will enroll.
Brief Update
Next, you need to tell Harvard three things that they did not know from your application. Ideally, these are things that have happened since you pressed submit. They also need to be things that you can describe succinctly. Remember, this letter is going to be one page. Brainstorm awards, acknowledgements, or recognitions, but it actually doesn’t need to be flashy to be useful. A new initiative with a club you lead, a community success story, or a personal entrepreneurial experience are all options for updates, too.
If you have had a marked academic achievement, that is also important to include. That may be a grade going up substantially, a project that you knocked out of the park, or an extracurricular academic experience that has further fueled your passion for your academic focus.
Reinforce Interest
After giving an academic update that is related to your prospective major, you want to transition to reminding Harvard why it is that you want to be there. Harvard knows that they are a big deal. They don’t need you to gas them up. What they do need to be reminded of, though, is exactly why you think Harvard is the best place possible for you to pursue the next phase of your educational journey. Referencing a specific program or lab is great, but avoid mentioning specific professor as you do not know who will be teaching when you would be arriving on campus.
Wrap It Up
We told you this letter should be short, and we mean it. Now you need to thank the readers for reconsidering your application, reaffirm that you will enroll if accepted, and sign off. We like something like “Sincerely,” or “Respectfully,” here. The most important thing is to stay professional and be polite.
Step Four: Wait
The last step is to sit on your hands. You’ve written, edited, and submitted the letter. You’ve committed to another school for the fall. Now you wait. Do not check in with Harvard, but do keep an eye on your email inbox and make sure your voicemail message for your phone is both set up and not crazy. Harvard may email or call before they make their final decision, but they also may not.
It could take months to hear a final decision from Harvard. That’s just the way this game goes. So, be patient.
The Harvard waitlist is painfully long, terribly slow to send out final decisions, and the odds are horrible. But you’re in the game. Maybe you will get in, and your chances are certainly higher now with a LOCI submitted. Whatever happens, don’t let the wait ruin the end of your senior year. Keep your grades up, spend time with friends, and keep striving towards big dreams.
We help strong students get off of the waitlist at elite universities. Email us to learn more.