Early Admissions Students Share Their Acceptance Stories

When Pierre D. Hirschler of New York City applied early to Harvard, he didn’t give much thought to the news he would soon receive in December.

“I didn’t think about it too much, only about whether I should start working on other supplements,” said Hirschler, who attends Lycée Français de New York.

But as the clock neared 3 p.m. on Friday, he started to get nervous. Twenty minutes later, as Hirschler was sitting in his physics class, his phone began to vibrate and the entire class stopped to look at him in anticipation. After happily announcing his acceptance to the Harvard College Class of 2018, Hirschler was met with cheers and applause from his teacher and fellow students.

Hirschler was among 4,692 high school students to receive a long-awaited email when Harvard released its early admission decisions on Friday. For a select 992 students, classrooms and homes buzzed with celebration as acceptance emails offered them admission.

With letters scheduled to be sent mid-afternoon, most applicants received decision emails during the school day, forcing them to decide whether to check during class or wait until dismissal.

Hugo Yen of Fullerton, Calif., gave his phone to his teacher before noon to prevent himself from checking his email before the school day had finished. At the end of classes, Yen then had his teacher read the email to him. After what he said was an “ominous pause,” his teacher read out the first line of the letter, which said “Congratulations.” Yen was applauded by classmates and friends.

For some applicants, waiting for the email and the resultant anxiety prompted a call to the Harvard’s admissions office.

After waiting for more than half an hour past the official time results were scheduled to be released, Matthew I. Miller of Philadelphia, Penn. said he got his decision over the phone from the admissions office. He was so overwhelmed with joy that he took down the name of the person on the line and promised her flowers in the fall.

While admitted students celebrated their acceptances, some said they remained sensitive to the feelings of other classmates who did not receive such good news. When Richard M. Feder of Great Neck, N.Y. applied early to Harvard, he knew that a good friend of his had also applied and that decisions could potentially cause tension between them.

When the emails came, Feder was accepted while his good friend was deferred.

“It’s definitely awkward… but after everything is over, everybody is going to school somewhere,” he said.

—Staff writer Noah J. Delwiche can be reached at ndelwiche@college.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Theodore R. Delwiche can be reached at tdelwiche@college.harvard.edu.