Hi,

have you been waitilisted?

Do you know what the chances are of getting an offer?

Hi Lucky,

My take on this: I suspect you might not like to hear this but most of those who get shortlisted don't eventually get admitted. HLS, I'm told (though I stress this is hearsay), tends to give out places to those who are shortlisted only when other places are suddenly open - needless to say, given HLS' stature, most only do so for uber specialised and competitive programs like Stanford and Yale (I know, I generalise, but the point, in essence, is true).

Given how few people give up HLS for some other school, it invariably means that most on the shortlist tend to fail. I suppose it all depends on your alternatives (though, this, once more, is a bit of a generalisation): if say, you have Oxford, Columbia, Stanford or Yale knocking on your door, then unless you, for some reason HAVE to go to HLS, then it might be smart to explore those options. On the other hand, if your next possible option is a third-tier school, then of course, it might make some sense to wait.

I should add that I've seen some insist on waiting, some even waiting out a year before applying again, but most of those who did so did eventually came to regret it (though I should highlight that one of my close friends did reapply and get in the year after and appeared to enjoy the experience) - for most, it was a case of either one year being wasted trying to apply again or some gave up good places at other equally prestigious institutions like Oxford, Cambridge, Columbia and NYU for a possibility that never materialised.

In short: if Harvard is something you need on your CV no matter what (epsecially if you have no offers from other equally competitve programs), wait and hope you luck out. If not, or if you have other offers from the institutions I've been talking about, for example, then you might want to seriously consider whether a remote possibility of being admitted via the waiting list route is worth giving up the other opportunities that you might want to otherwise explore.

That said and done, I personally am under no such dilemma and understand that these decisions are often highly personal. With that in mind, good luck and hope I have helped in some way!

W

Thanks. Just to clarify a little: I've accepted Columbia months and months ago, afterwards I got the waiting list news. I'm definetely not giving up the other great option that I have but I only wanted to get a sence of how many people were in a similar situation. Furthermore I know for sure that already two people from my country turned down HLS for Yale. I guess we'll see.
Have a nice one!

Lucky: Im in the exact same situation as you are: admitted at CLS and waitlisted in HLS. Yesterday I received by mail a letter from HLS confirming that Im on the waitlist and asking me to notify whether I accepted any offer, so they can remove me from the list; the letter also stated that a final decision would be released by mid May. Im definitively not giving up CLS. Hope to see you in NYC

Where are u from if I can ask?

How many people do u know that are on the list as well?

I know 2 other guys in the list.

Thanks

Im from Colombia. I dont know anybody thats on the waiting list
Good luck

Oops - my apologies - I suppose my advice only applies to those who refuse to accept any other offer and wait for HLS' reply. Somehow operated on the misperception that you haven't accepted any other offer. Of course, the question then becomes whether it would be appropriate to be on a wait-list of one university whilst being admitted to another (if this thread is any indication, HLS takes the view that it is not, since it requests that you inform it if you have already accepted another spot so that it can take the person off the waitlist), but I realise this is an ambigiously grey area (only NYU makes it a point to make you reject all other offers when you are offered by them I believe) and each person has their own view of what is proper.

Good luck again and hope you get in!

W

Have anyone heard anything from Harvard regarding funding? They said a decision would have been made by April 2...

Hey, guys! pls. tell me when the decisions from HLS should be done for the waitlisters? thanx.

Mid May...

Thanx! Hope we`ll be there!

News??????????

I am out:-( may be I bothered them too much with my email and they decided to put me off.:-)))
heading to NYC!

I'm sorry... but I'm sure we will have fun in NY.
How did they notify you? E-mail in response to one of yours? Mail? Phone Call? And when did they notify you?

Btw I'm going to Columbia, and you?

They wrote one email to me after two of mine. you know, it was kinda informal. i think so. and there were no official letters and etc...
I am going to NYU. where are you from?

I'm from Italy..

btw what abt u? what news do you have regarding the waiting list? have u received smth. from them?

No... nada