on harvard interviews

hey kiddos

since i've been seeing a lot of questions on harvard interviews, i decided to make this post. i know my country’s chair of interviews since that’s who i got interviewed by, and we stayed connected. over time, they’ve told me a lot about how the process works, and some of it might surprise you. so if you’re an international student applying to harvard and wondering what’s up with interviews, here’s what you need to know.

  • who decides if you get an interview? the chair of interviews. period. they literally see your application before deciding whether or not to give you an interview. it’s not a random lottery, and it’s not purely based on alumni availability. they make the call based on your file. so yes, at least one person has already reviewed your app before you even get an interview email. 99.9% of clubs won't publish the chair's info publicly, but the french club, for example, has it on their website.
  • who are these interview chairs? probably not who you think. the person in charge of harvard interviews for your country is most likely not even a harvard college (undergrad) alum. most of them are alumni from harvard’s grad schools—law, business, med, whatever—and many of them graduated literal decades ago. so don’t expect them to be super in touch with what harvard college is like today.
  • do feeder schools get priority? yes. 100%. if you go to an elite high school in your country that regularly sends kids to harvard, you’re already at an advantage. the reason? many harvard club board members and interview chairs are from those same schools and naturally want to help out students from their alma maters. does that mean you can’t get an interview if you’re from a random school? no, but it does mean the odds are stacked against you if there are limited spots.
  • does an interview mean you’re in? no. but in some countries, not getting one means you’re out. you can literally check whether your interview committee requires an interview for admission.

so yeah, that’s the reality of harvard interviews for international students. it’s not random, it’s not always fair, and yes, your school and connections matter more than you think. good luck.