According to Fitzsimmons, the admissions office has also taken steps to reach out to prospective students who have qualified for the new Harvard Financial Aid Initiative, which eliminates the parental contribution to tuition for families earning less than $40,000 each year. The program also lowers the contribution for parents who make between $40,000 and $60,000.
The Undergraduate Minority Recruitment Program—which annually helps the admissions office contact African American, Asian American, Latino, and Native American students offered a place at Harvard—continued its work this year, Fitzsimmons said.
Fitzsimmons said he feels that student-to-student interactions are important in winning over accepted applicants.
“In the end, students are much more credible than adults,” he said.
As of yesterday afternoon, 988 pre-frosh had signed up to visit Harvard this weekend, Fitzsimmons said, adding that he expects attendance to top 1,000.
—Staff writer Daniel J. T. Schuker can be reached at dschuker@fas.harvard.edu.