By the way.. I sent in my application on the 22nd of October.. I still haven't received an "application complete" mail from them. Does that mean I am in trouble? My recommendations on the tracking status thing still says "no status available.. check back later".. I am seriously worried..

I sent mine in a week later, Atticus, still radio silence. Not sure what it means, but we probably can't read anything into it.

As for the recommendations, my understanding is that only those that have been submitted by mail will have a status update. If recommendations were uploaded, then the status for those can be checked via the "recommendations" link. For example, two of my recommendations were mailed, two were uploaded. I only show the two mailed recommendations as "received," but the other two were successfully uploaded. Their receipt was confirmed when I called back in November.

ahh cool.. that explains it.. i am already a nervous wreck.. this wait is killing me..

Does anyone know if the committee start considering your application before it is updated to 'complete'? That's the impression I got from the first email. I can't imagine that they don't, otherwise they would have to consider the vast majority of applications within the space of a couple of weeks..?

Also, please can someone clarify if Harvard ever makes conditional offers (TOEFL etc excepted?) Not for me - just trying to find out if people who are in the final year of their degree but haven't completed are in fact eligible. The website could be more clearly worded on this point.

I dunno much about the review process of harvard law. I do know that they do in fact make conditional offers for students who are in their final year of law school and are expecting to graduate sometime this summer. One of my friends applied to harvard last year while she was still in law school and got through. She is in fact a student there this year. So i guess conditional offers are made.

Cool, thanks for the clarification. It must just be the Knox and Kennedy scholarship bodies which have the 'already graduated' requirement.

Conditional offers are certainly made. I know lots of people (outstanding credentials of course) who were given offers in their final year, usually with at least a month to go before completing their undergrad.

re online recommendations, the status will have changed from 'submitted' to 'received' on the recommendations page (at least mine has).

OK, I just called HLS to ask about the additional transcript request and 'complete' status.

I explained the nature of the program I undertook briefly to the person I spoke to and she said a letter from the university confirming the program I undertook/explaining the nature etc would suffice in place of an official transcript. This probably varies on an individual basis, though, so best to call them and check.

She said that applications were considered even if HLS has requested extra information, so people who have had requests for transcripts etc shouldn't worry that their application has been put aside until considered 'complete'. They are still considering it.

I asked if tracker would update to 'complete' or I would receive a completion email, to which she indicated not. She said as long as the tracker matches the initial email they sent in December, the application is considered complete (bar requests for missing compulsory elements like main transcript etc, I suppose). So there's not necessarily another email to follow before decisions are announced in 'late March'. I don't know what to make of the fact that someone in this thread has received one, but as I understand it HLS hasn't used the exclusively online system for that long (is this the first year?) so we probably shouldn't be surprised if there are some inconsistencies as they iron out the processes.

Hope this may be of interest, if not necessarily of use!

@ lextra: thank you for this information. It is very helpful. Harvard requested one of my transcripts and I have been so worried that my application is still not complete, although i received the mail in December. Good to know things are not as bad as i thought.

Thanks for the information. Were they really in the offices before 9:00 a.m. EST??!

Did the admissions official confirm "late March" again?

Yes, it was early :S only 8am over there when I called! That's pretty dedicated, I should probably stop complaining about tracker updates now!

Yes, she used the exact phrase "late March." No date, unsurprisingly.

OK, I just called HLS to ask about the additional transcript request and 'complete' status.

I explained the nature of the program I undertook briefly to the person I spoke to and she said a letter from the university confirming the program I undertook/explaining the nature etc would suffice in place of an official transcript. This probably varies on an individual basis, though, so best to call them and check.

She said that applications were considered even if HLS has requested extra information, so people who have had requests for transcripts etc shouldn't worry that their application has been put aside until considered 'complete'. They are still considering it.

I asked if tracker would update to 'complete' or I would receive a completion email, to which she indicated not. She said as long as the tracker matches the initial email they sent in December, the application is considered complete (bar requests for missing compulsory elements like main transcript etc, I suppose). So there's not necessarily another email to follow before decisions are announced in 'late March'. I don't know what to make of the fact that someone in this thread has received one, but as I understand it HLS hasn't used the exclusively online system for that long (is this the first year?) so we probably shouldn't be surprised if there are some inconsistencies as they iron out the processes.

Hope this may be of interest, if not necessarily of use!

...How come you submitted on paper? I thought that you had to use the online application so you could access application tracker in the first place. Otherwise there's no account to log into to check? Or did they grant you an exception from using it...?

My understanding is that this is the first year HLS is using the online application. Curious about being allowed to submit via paper, though transcripts and recommendations may be submitted directly to the admissions office via mail.

...How come you submitted on paper? I thought that you had to use the online application so you could access application tracker in the first place. Otherwise there's no account to log into to check? Or did they grant you an exception from using it...?

...How come you submitted on paper? I thought that you had to use the online application so you could access application tracker in the first place. Otherwise there's no account to log into to check? Or did they grant you an exception from using it...?

Before applying, I had asked for material from HLS way back in January 2009, they sent me all the material I needed and I informed them that I would not be applying through the online system and they okyed that. By September, I had everything ready and sent.

...How come you submitted on paper? I thought that you had to use the online application so you could access application tracker in the first place. Otherwise there's no account to log into to check? Or did they grant you an exception from using it...?

Before applying, I had asked for material from HLS way back in January 2009, they sent me all the material I needed and I informed them that I would not be applying through the online system and they okyed that. By September, I had everything ready and sent.

That was nice of them. I submitted requests for paper applications in the past, all of which went ignored. When their pdf versions of the application were taken down in place of the online application, I again wrote requesting an application and received a response that they had switched to the online version.

That was nice of them. I submitted requests for paper applications in the past, all of which went ignored. When their pdf versions of the application were taken down in place of the online application, I again wrote requesting an application and received a response that they had switched to the online version.

That was nice of them. I submitted requests for paper applications in the past, all of which went ignored. When their pdf versions of the application were taken down in place of the online application, I again wrote requesting an application and received a response that they had switched to the online version.

When did you make your request?