Today is the most exciting day of the year for us here at the Admissions Office!  Letters and email notifications of admission are being  sent today and admitted students have until May 1 to accept their offers. It has been a humbling and inspiring experience to read applications from around the world and to discuss admissions cases with my fantastic colleagues here in Cambridge.  The admitted students this year come from all corners of the globe and represent a tremendous diversity of life experiences, academic interests, and extracurricular passions. As Admissions Officers, we look forward to meeting the admitted students during our visiting weekend, Visitas, from April 20-22.

I want to thank all those of you who submitted applications to the college.  While today you may not get the response you were hoping for, it is important to remember that the particular college you attend is less important than what you do to develop your strengths and talents over the next four years.  We wish you all the best as you begin the next exciting chapter of your lives!

Here are a few snapshots from around the office today as Admissions and Financial Aid staff assembled to seal the admit packets and load the mail truck. We then returned to the committee room a final time to toast the Class of 2017 and enjoy a pancake breakfast!

Hello blogosphere! I wanted to take a quick moment to introduce myself and share some exciting updates. My name is Jake Foley and I just finished my first year as an Admissions Officer here at Harvard.  I graduated from the college in 2008 and was a government concentrator with a focus on the Middle East. After living abroad for some time after graduation I am happy to be back in Massachusetts where I spent most of my life. It’s been an exciting year being back on campus, getting to know amazing young people from all corners of the globe, and traveling throughout this country spreading the word about the opportunities at the college and the comprehensive financial aid that makes it possible for every admitted student to attend, regardless of the family’s ability to pay.

You will notice that our fantastic student bloggers continue to post while they are away on their summer adventures so be sure to check back often.  Additionally, we are excited to be featuring ‘Guest Bloggers’ throughout the summer. Below you can read rising senior Janet Song’s post about the research she is doing in the department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology. We will be featuring a variety of Guest Blog posts throughout the summer and we hope you will  keep checking in to hear different voices from around the college.

We hope you enjoy the blog. Happy summer!

Fellow Admissions Officer Amelia waves from the office courtyard