Students Say Harvard’s New Summer Application Model Limits Flexibility But May Improve Fairness

As students begin to solidify their summer plans, several said Harvard College’s move to standardize application deadlines and acceptance dates for Harvard-sponsored summer activities this year reduces flexibility but could lead to a fairer process and more equitable distribution of funding.

Prior to this school year, Harvard-sponsored summer activities — ranging from internships to research opportunities and study abroad programs — operated on independent application timelines, with a wide range of deadlines and decision dates.

But under the College’s new Summer Funding Opportunities Office — which was created last summer — students now apply under a model that groups all summer activities into three rounds with uniform deadlines and coordinated decision release dates.

SFO Director Leanne C. Gaffney Rowe ’07 wrote in a statement to The Crimson that the new model is intended to “give some order to the system” and encourage students to begin thinking earlier about which opportunities they are most interested in.

“I expect the rounds will help students consider which opportunities are most compelling to them,” she wrote. “Students who receive multiple offers within a round will get to choose between them without having to ask for an extension since the dates are coordinated.”

“I also anticipate that students will have greater clarity about their summer options with the new system,” she added.

According to Rowe, once a student accepts funding for a Harvard-sponsored summer activity in any round, they will be ineligible to be considered for opportunities in later rounds.

More than 20 students told The Crimson that the new policy may pose greater risks to applicants since it could force them to choose between accepting early offers and remaining eligible for opportunities in later rounds.

“If you’re waiting for something in a later round, then you give up opportunities because if you accept anything earlier on, you are disqualified,” Zain Memon ’28 said.

Pol Casajuana Olivella ’27 said the rounds system would require students to be more strategic about which opportunities to pursue.

“It’s a gamble,” he said. “There’s some game theory there.”

College spokesperson Jonathan Palumbo encouraged students with concerns to reach out directly to the SFO in a Wednesday statement.

Harvard will release Round A decisions on Feb. 20, and students will then have three days to decide whether to accept or decline their offers. If funding remains available after that deadline, the College will issue additional offers between Feb. 24 and Feb. 27, ahead of the final March 2 deadline to accept Round A funding.

Round A opportunities include SFO funding for Harvard-run study abroad courses and other travel programs approved by the Office of International Education.

Decisions for Round B — which features several research, internship opportunities, and study abroad language programs — will be released on a rolling basis during a two week window in March. Round C decisions will also come out on a rolling basis in April.

Iseult “Izzy” A. Fitzpatrick ’28 said that differences in the types of opportunities offered in each round were an additional factor she would have to consider this year.

“Summer study abroad is coming out before most of the internships are,” she said. “It’s hard to make those decisions if you’re waiting to hear back from something and having to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to others.”

Still, Fitzpatrick said the standardized deadlines could help students plan out their application process.

“Last year, I feel like it felt a little bit more scattered,” she said. “It feels a little bit easier to map and manage what you’re applying to and when you’re expecting to hear back from it this year.”

Richardine “Richie” M. Nbiba ’27 said she hopes the changes will make the summer funding process more equitable by allowing unused funds or unfilled slots to be assigned elsewhere.

“While it’s frustrating because you can’t weigh your options necessarily as much, I do think that the system before was very flawed,” Nbiba said. In the old system, she added, “departments will have a lot of extra money, but it’s far too late to give it out to another student who would need it.”

“It’s probably more equitable now than it was before,” she said.

—Staff writer Wyeth Renwick can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @wzrenwick.

—Staff writer Claire L. Simon can be reached at [email protected] and Signal at csimon.13. Follow her on X @ClaireSimon.