Giving Back / Schools Committee

 

Alumni Interviews & College Fairs:

  • As an Alumni/ae volunteer resource to the Harvard College Admissions Office, the Committee’s primary purpose is to arrange for personal interviews of all local applicants. The interviews provide Admissions officers with indispensable insights into applicants’ personalities, interpersonal skills, and potential “fit” for today’s richly diverse Harvard College undergraduate community.
  • The Committee also operates a Public Relations initiative by assigning alumni volunteers to attend select Sarasota area College Fairs and High School Career Events. These alums share information and experiences with high school guidance staff and prospective student applicants and their families in order to answer questions and promote appropriate interest in applying to Harvard.
  • To volunteer, email Schools Committee Chair Karen Chapman: karen.chapman6@verizon.net

Why you should consider participating:

  • Provide an invaluable service to Harvard College Admissions, enabling Admissions Officers to go beyond documented credentials and learn about each Applicant as a real person;
  • Contribute the benefit of your Harvard, professional, and life experiences to enhance decision-making and engage the Applicant;
  • Engage with the Applicants' generation and stay current on Harvard College students' lives and challenges as well as with what’s new at Harvard as a whole.

What is the Schools Committee’s role, and why is it so important?

  • The Club’s Schools Committee arranges for personal interviews of all local applicants to Harvard College
  • These interviews are also invaluable to Applicants, who are provided the opportunity to learn about the Harvard experience from experienced alums.
  • The Committee also arranges for alumni volunteers to attend between two to four local College Fairs and High School Career Events each year. Typically, two alums are assigned to each event to answer questions, hand out information to high school guidance counselors and prospective student applicants and their families, and to promote interest in applying to Harvard. Each event lasts about 2-3 hours. Informational materials are provided by Harvard.  The Club is usually represented at college fairs in the months of September and February.

How do you volunteer?

  • The Schools Committee is headed by a Chair appointed by the Board President. The Chair manages the relationship with Admissions, coordinates alumni volunteers to conduct interviews of applicants identified by Harvard, assigns interviewers, and reviews online interview reports submitted by interviewers to Admissions.
  • The Chair of the Committee will email all local Harvard alums in August, inviting interested alums to respond and go online to complete an eligibility form, which is emailed to each interviewer for completion by the Harvard College Admissions Office.
  • Or better still, don’t wait – email Committee Chair Karen L. Chapman, MD at karen.chapman6@verizon.net to get the latest on becoming an interviewer.

What’s involved?

  • Each alumni Committee member interviews between one and four Applicants in each admissions cycle (depending upon alumni availability) and submits an online report to Harvard College Admissions.
  • The Admissions cycle occurs in two stages:  first for the Early Application pool each year in the October-December, and then for the General Application pool each year in January-March.

Interviewing ‘refresher’ and reporting guidelines

  • The Harvard Admissions website (where alums may register as interviewers) provides informational resources and guidelines for alumni interviewers.
  • Once you have registered as an interviewer, go to https://apply.college.harvard.edu/portal/alumni and select “Documents & Resources”.
  • Volunteering alums also have the option to attend the annual Cambridge Admissions Conference at Harvard, which also offers a chance for alumni to learn about new developments at Harvard. For dates and registration information on the annual Cambridge Admissions Conference, please email Committee Chair Karen L. Chapman, MD at karen.chapman6@verizon.net.