HMS Status Page Question

[brothersboff]

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To clarify, LRmed, there was no website in the sense that the website didn't exist, or there was no website in the sense that waitlisted students weren't able to access it?

 

[brothersboff]

I guess the question may be moot now. Anyone else see this message when they (obsessively) tried to check the financial aid site this morning:

"This site is currently unavailable in order to perform maintenance tasks. It will return shortly. We apologize for the inconvenience."

Of course this could either mean that the earlier access was a glitch and meaningless or it could just mean that they didn't want their acceptances leaked out in advance.

Or, my theory, the earlier access did mean something, but they couldn't be sure that the access was limited to truly admitted students (meaning our sole no-interview poster might not have been a troll). As a precaution they took the site down to avoid unnecessarily heightened (or lowered?) expectations - e.g., from hundreds of anxious pre-meds flocking to some on-line forum to intensely speculate about the meaning of access to different web pages.

Just a theory, of course, but it's one that the Completes and the unable to log would probably love if it were true.

 

[oniwindu]

Just a theory, of course, but it's one that the Completes and the unable to log would probably love if it were true.

No kidding! BUT..it's probably a lot better for one's sanity to expect the worst anyway. It doesn't set you up for THAT much more disappointment when the news comes, right? Keep sane, everyone!

--from a fellow "complete" and "couldn't log in to FA website yesterday"

 

[brothersboff]

My neuroticism continues.

So I finally broke down and called the admissions office about the Complete / Incomplete thing. They didn't explicitly tell me to go away and die, but I think that was the underlying message.

No, actually he just said that the secondary application page hasn't been kept current since the secondaries were due, so any information on there is very unreliable. Of course, that doesn't explain why some people recently changed from one status to another, or why there weren't any "complete" people who could log on to financial aid.

In any event, since we now have one website which is possibly out of date, and a financial aid site that's been taken off-line, I think I'll revert to the more standard obsession of mailbox checking. Not that this hasn't been a good distraction from that, of course.

 

[Sparky Man]

Turns out it was all just a test to see who could crack secretly placed hints in the admissions websites. Anyone associated with this thread will definitely be accepted!!! 👍

 

[CandyApple]

Hey guys,

So, I think we should stop calling the HMS people if any of you are still planning on doing it. They're probably going to be fed up with us soon if we start bombarding them with calls about this situation, which I'm sure they think is less than ideal (hence, the taking down of the FA website). Let's just wait the few more days that it will take to get the actual news!

That being said, I can't believe I woke up at 8:15 am, rolled out of bed, and checked SDN (this thread in particular), hoping that some East Coasters have already called. 😛

Good luck

 

[student510]

so may status is complete and i was able to log in on the finaid site 😕 what the hell?

 

[CarleneM]

so may status is complete and i was able to log in on the finaid site 😕 what the hell?

i think it has been clarified that the whole incomplete/complete business was meaningless. did you interview at harvard??

 

[Whitney]

so may status is complete and i was able to log in on the finaid site 😕 what the hell?

As much as I'd like to believe this (being complete myself), I strongly doubt it....

 

[Tra La La]

And the madneess continues!

In all seriousness, though, g'luck to all!

 

[student510]

i think it has been clarified that the whole incomplete/complete business was meaningless. did you interview at harvard??

Oh, you have to interview to go there? wow, i didn't know that. Thanks so much this explains a lot. I'll have to call them to set that up. Yeah actually i did whadaya know

 

[Mateodaspy]

hey everyone... just checked this thread out this morning (at ucsf today)... apparently, according to my roommate, I was able to login to the finanical aid website last night, but this morning when I try to login it says:

An administrator changed the system configuration while you were logged in. Please close your browser and log in again.

We apologize for the inconvenience. Contact the financial aid office if you still have problems using this application. Thank you for visiting our site.



I am still incomplete....

 

[CarleneM]

hey everyone... just checked this thread out this morning (at ucsf today)... apparently, according to my roommate, I was able to login to the finanical aid website last night, but this morning when I try to login it says:

An administrator changed the system configuration while you were logged in. Please close your browser and log in again.

We apologize for the inconvenience. Contact the financial aid office if you still have problems using this application. Thank you for visiting our site.



I am still incomplete....

yeah i'm getting that message now too. 👎

 

[Tra La La]

yeah i'm getting that message now too. 👎

I still can't log-in at all.

 

[Mateodaspy]

yeah i'm getting that message now too. 👎

Okay, CarleneM -- it looks like you're going to be the first test case of the complete/incomplete theory since you're so close to the school. As soon as you receive your letter (either Tuesday or Wednesday), please please please post to SDN and let us all know (I'm sure you would have done that anyway....) =p

Best of luck to all my incomplete brethren!!! 👍 👍

 

[blump]

Okay, CarleneM -- it looks like you're going to be the first test case of the complete/incomplete theory since you're so close to the school. As soon as you receive your letter (either Tuesday or Wednesday), please please please post to SDN and let us all know (I'm sure you would have done that anyway....) =p

Best of luck to all my incomplete brethren!!! 👍 👍

It is obvious that you both got in. Stop stressing.

 

[GuyLaroche]

my best guess: complete=a final decision has been made (i.e. acceptance or rejection) and incomplete=waitlist.......... thoughts?

No Matt! Your humility is starting to really bug me. You got into Harvard. I didn't. You're incomplete and can log into financial aid. I'm complete and can't. Full stop!

 

[blump]

No Matt! Your humility is starting to really bug me. You got into Harvard. I didn't. You're incomplete and can log into financial aid. I'm complete and can't. Full stop!

agreed. You wouldn't be able to log onto the financial site if you werent accepted. it says it in black and white. Congrats! Now please, no Harvard vs. Colmbia/Yale/Po Dunk U. threads. We all know where you are going.

 

[VeggieGal]

if you can log into that financial aid page, then you most likely got in, but it's possible you could be waitlisted. even if you are receiving that error message, you know you have gotten in or are waitlisted because there is still a record of your account, yet the fin aid office probably "took the page offline," so that no more anxious/annoying premeds would call.

bottom line--incomplete/complete may have some correlation, but if you can log into the fin aid website/get the error message, you are in or waitlisted. most likely accepted since it says you won't be able to access the page, if you have no yet been accepted to hms.

 

[student510]

So my dad talked to a friend who is in admissions at Harvard and he told him the way you can know for sure if you got accepted. ready...












You will get a letter in the mail and guess what? in it it will say Sure we would love you to come or Thanks but no thanks.


i know it sounds crazy but i swear its true 🙂

 

[CarleneM]

Okay, CarleneM -- it looks like you're going to be the first test case of the complete/incomplete theory since you're so close to the school. As soon as you receive your letter (either Tuesday or Wednesday), please please please post to SDN and let us all know (I'm sure you would have done that anyway....) =p

Best of luck to all my incomplete brethren!!! 👍 👍

I actually may not be the first. I will be at work all day on tuesday and my roommate may or not be home to get the mail. I may leave work during lunch to go check but if i don't get in, i'll be too distraught to go back to work and that would be bad. Don't worry though, as soon as I know either way, I'll post.

I really don't take stock in the incomplete/complete distinction since HMS said it was a problem of merging AMCAS and harvard systems and to disregard. They did not say this about the financial aid stuff though and were at a loss for words and have now tried to block access to the site. I would be 99% certain a log in there meant acceptance except for that 1 poster who claims to have logged in w/o an interview. That poster's past posts are not foolish or trollish so I tend to believe him/her. I suppose his info could have been sent to the fin aid office in error but that seems a little unlikely so i don't know what to think.AHHHHHHHH!!!!!! 😱

 

[ellia08]

I have to say that I aggree with Carlene on this one. Currently my obsessively neurotic guess is:

complete/incomplete = meaningless
logging in = acceptance (at least that is my guess)

anyway. Mail is the key. Sadly, anyone who has read my previous posts knows that, due to the mail fun in MI, I should hear sometime within the next two weeks. 🙁 (No, I wouldnt mind having cheese with my whine)

 

[schofield kid]

So my dad talked to a friend who is in admissions at Harvard and he told him the way you can know for sure if you got accepted. ready...

You will get a letter in the mail and guess what? in it it will say Sure we would love you to come or Thanks but no thanks.

That's some sweet inside info 🙄 !

 

[leechy]

I guess the very fact that they took the finaid website down means it WAS an accurate indicator... but I would think they would have to let waitlistees have access to the site as well, despite what it says on the front page. Anyone have thoughts on that? Do the waitlisted at other places have to fill out financial aid right away? Or do they only get the forms after they've accepted their spot on the waitlist? Not sure how this would relate to the webpage access, though.

It would be hilarious if it turns out we're all totally wrong. I'm at a point where I really wish I hadn't found this thread... it'll make disappointment all the stronger if our hopes have been mistakenly raised.

 

[rjphila]

I apologize for feeding the crazy obsessive compulsive in all of us, but I am in the "incomplete" camp and after reading this thread, I tried to log on to the financial aid website and was successful. Subsequently however, I went back and got this error upon login.

**************************************************************
An administrator changed the system configuration while you were logged in. Please close your browser and log in again.

We apologize for the inconvenience. Contact the financial aid office if you still have problems using this application. Thank you for visiting our site.

System Error Message:System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. at StudentWeb.Login.authenticateStudent(String username, String password, String LoginType) at StudentWeb.Login.submit_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e) at System.Web.UI.WebControls.Button.OnClick(EventArgs e) at System.Web.UI.WebControls.Button.System.Web.UI.IPostBackEventHandler.RaisePostBackEvent(String eventArgument) at System.Web.UI.Page.RaisePostBackEvent(IPostBackEventHandler sourceControl, String eventArgument) at System.Web.UI.Page.RaisePostBackEvent(NameValueCollection postData) at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain()
****************************************************************

I did close my browser and log in again, but it still didn't work. So my curiosity is peaked. Does this happen to anyone else? And what kind of nonsense is going on now?

Good luck to all completes/incompletes/logon'ables/unlogon'ables/NP's/HST's/and any combination therein!

 

[IndyZX]

I apologize for feeding the crazy obsessive compulsive in all of us, but I am in the "incomplete" camp and after reading this thread, I tried to log on to the financial aid website and was successful. Subsequently however, I went back and got this error upon login.

**************************************************************
An administrator changed the system configuration while you were logged in. Please close your browser and log in again.

We apologize for the inconvenience. Contact the financial aid office if you still have problems using this application. Thank you for visiting our site.

System Error Message:System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. at StudentWeb.Login.authenticateStudent(String username, String password, String LoginType) at StudentWeb.Login.submit_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e) at System.Web.UI.WebControls.Button.OnClick(EventArgs e) at System.Web.UI.WebControls.Button.System.Web.UI.IPostBackEventHandler.RaisePostBackEvent(String eventArgument) at System.Web.UI.Page.RaisePostBackEvent(IPostBackEventHandler sourceControl, String eventArgument) at System.Web.UI.Page.RaisePostBackEvent(NameValueCollection postData) at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain()
****************************************************************

I did close my browser and log in again, but it still didn't work. So my curiosity is peaked. Does this happen to anyone else? And what kind of nonsense is going on now?

Good luck to all completes/incompletes/logon'ables/unlogon'ables/NP's/HST's/and any combination therein!

just an fyi, i received a letter yesterday to my permanent address (around dallas) saying that i was not selected for an interview.

i dunno what this means for the rest of ya, but good luck.

 

[brothersboff]

just an fyi, i received a letter yesterday to my permanent address (around dallas) saying that i was not selected for an interview.
i dunno what this means for the rest of ya, but good luck.

That's bizarre, this late in the game when they've (presumably by now) already sent out acceptances today.

As for the weird error message, I got that earlier when I tried entering my SSN with the dashes. I don't get it when I enter my SSN without the dashes though.

 

[Dentotape]

another theory:
1. we were told that harvard has two data bases: the amcas and harvard-independent databases
2. maybe they updated both up until a certain point, at which they only started updating one of them (let's say the amcas database)
3. so, for applicants that finished the secondaries later in the cycle, or who were simply late in being complete, they would have 'incomplete' in the harvard database (outdated) and 'complete' in the amcas database (up-to-date)
4. we're only allowed to view the amcas database
5. a couple of days ago, they merged the amcas and harvard databases, so the outdated info from the harvard database was transfered to the amcas database.
5. hence, some status pages turned from complete to incomplete.

this doesn't explain anything about the financial aid homepage, but if it's correct, then those who turned their apps in at a later date should also be more prone to be incomplete, and there is no correlation with acceptance/waitlist/rejection.

i for one, turned my app in the week of the deadline, and was incomplete.

 

[yaypoker]

this thread is quite insane...but i guess i will join teh insanity as there seems to be some credability to it with teh complete/incompete fin aid posts...sadly so. gar....last ditch post. then i will think no longer.

for those that could log into the fin aid site...

did u use dashes for your ssn? or no dashes? When i tried my ssn with dashes i got error, when i did it without i got the cant find your login.

losing hope as i am complete...oh well.

 

[Tra La La]

WooHoo!

Over 10k views in fewer than four days!

 

[CalicoKat]

To Yaypoker: I think it's your SSN w/o dashes. Best of luck to you.

 

[microTAS]

WooHoo!

Over 10k posts in fewer than four days!

10k views, but yes, it is ridiculous. if i was a hms ad-com, i would be laughing my d-n ass off reading these anxiety threads

w/ respect to the status page stuff, i'm in the same boat as you Tra la la, so I hope your boat doesn't sink!

what do you think is the most used smilie in this thread? or ?? 😀

 

[Tra La La]

10k views, but yes, it is ridiculous. if i was a hms ad-com, i would be laughing my d-n ass off reading these anxiety threads

w/ respect to the status page stuff, i'm in the same boat as you Tra la la, so I hope your boat doesn't sink!

what do you think is the most used smilie in this thread? or ?? 😀

Thanks for catching me on that! 10k views...but that still is a damn lot!

Yeah, I feel my boat ever so slowly sinking. I'll prepare myself for the worst news.

 

[Tra La La]

I guess tomorrow's the day.

Good luck and good night 😴 😴 😴 !

 

[Bud]

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/03/08/harvard_rejects_119_accused_of_hacking/

 

[CarleneM]

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/03/08/harvard_rejects_119_accused_of_hacking/

yeah, that's what i was referring to earlier in the thread. The situation we have here is different though because there was no hacking. the financial website was freely available. there was no hacking into internal files. there was just a problem in timing coordination between the admissions office and financial aid, it seems.

 

[Bud]

Carlenem, I hear what you're saying. I'm not real familiar with the bschool situation, but it seems all they did was login to a site with their login and password based on message forum indication they could find info on a decision there.

Materially is that much different than what has been done here. You could make an argument that materially what has been done is a collective hack.

As an aside, how many of you here who have checked your status and financial aid package, honestly would have resisted the enticement if it had been a hacker?

 

[CarleneM]

Carlenem, I hear what you're saying. I'm not real familiar with the bschool situation, but it seems all they did was login to a site with their login and password based on message forum indication they could find info on a decision there.

Materially is that much different than what has been done here. You could make an argument that materially what has been done is a collective hack.

As an aside, how many of you here who have checked your status and financial aid package, honestly would have resisted the enticement if it had been a hacker?

From what i've read, it seems that the instructions were more elaborate for the business school thing and it was clear they would be viewing internal information that wasn't ready to be released for a month. the financial aid website was not internal and people just followed harvard's directions on the website to access it. Also, we don't even know what it means and if being able to get financial aid site access actually means admission. I don't know though- now i'm all scared! what do others think?

 

[leaft]

we did nothing wrong in checking the financial aid page.
nowhere was anyone told not to apply for financial aid, and at many schools you are expected to apply before knowing if you are in or not..
it is totally different than an illegal situation with a hacker. and no... i would not have accessed the site if i thought that it was in any way hacked.
and, quite frankly, we don't know what being able to log in or not means yet. there might even be a person who did not interview that could log on...

good luck to all.

 

[Bud]

I agree that its doubtful action would be taken and it is a less serious offense as these were all "publicly available" sites.

That said, is the purpose of this thread ethical? Aren't we trying to find out admissions decisions before they are handed down in HMS's specified format? Is anyone else remorseful that an already harried admissions staff had to scurry to deal with this issue yesterday?

Yes, you could say its their loophole, but without collusion no one's individual information means anything.

 

[criminallyinane]

I agree that its doubtful action would be taken and it is a less serious offense as these were all "publicly available" sites.

That said, is the purpose of this thread ethical? Aren't we trying to find out admissions decisions before they are handed down in HMS's specified format? Is anyone else remorseful that an already harried admissions staff had to scurry to deal with this issue yesterday?

Yes, you could say its their loophole, but without collusion no one's individual information means anything.

I don't think the thread is unethical as much as just a bunch of neurotic pre-meds doing what they do best: feeding each others' collective neuroses 😉 At this time of year, the admissions office is probably dealing with so many calls anyway that a few more from SDN'ers didn't make an appreciable difference. It was their decision to take down the page, since the majority of applicants probably don't read SDN and didn't know this was happening. The decision letters are out, which means that the bulk of the adcoms work is done. Nothing is unethical here, just overanxious on the part of our HMS hopefuls. Good luck today Bostonians... you'll probably be hearing today!!!

 

[CarleneM]

I agree that its doubtful action would be taken and it is a less serious offense as these were all "publicly available" sites.

That said, is the purpose of this thread ethical? Aren't we trying to find out admissions decisions before they are handed down in HMS's specified format? Is anyone else remorseful that an already harried admissions staff had to scurry to deal with this issue yesterday?

Yes, you could say its their loophole, but without collusion no one's individual information means anything.

then the northwestern thread is unethical as well. people were able to accurately predict what type of letter they would recieve based on when their status page changed. this would not have been possible without the information of everyone else on the board. The bottom line is that no one knew for sure what that meant and no one knows for sure what the fin aid page means. These threads are all speculative. Is this speculation unethical. No. Is it crazy and neurotic? of course.

 

[elicash]

then the northwestern thread is unethical as well. people were able to accurately predict what type of letter they would recieve based on when their status page changed. this would not have been possible without the information of everyone else on the board. The bottom line is that no one knew for sure what that meant and no one knows for sure what the fin aid page means. These threads are all speculative. Is this speculation unethical. No. Is it crazy and neurotic? of course.

CarleneM,
There was nothing unethical done in looking online or these message boards. It would be hacking if we had accessed an internal site, etc., but we were looking up eminently public sites. Furthermore it is completely legal to speculate on admissions status, etc., there is nothing unethical in trying to read tea leaves.

Also, people are allowed to talk about anything they want. This is like, It is illegal to have insider information about a corporate announcement, but not unethical to speculate with your friends about what the annoucement might be.

The decisions are already made, and they are not going to be changed. If you got into HMS, congratulations and best of luck.

But there is no hacking, Don't worry. I'm sure you'll relax when you get your letter.


Eli Cash

------
"Don't cry for me, Argentina"

 

[LRmed2003]

any letters today? where is laura simmer? g*luck all!!!

 

[leechy]

That said, is the purpose of this thread ethical? Aren't we trying to find out admissions decisions before they are handed down in HMS's specified format? Is anyone else remorseful that an already harried admissions staff had to scurry to deal with this issue yesterday?

Yes, you could say its their loophole, but without collusion no one's individual information means anything.

Hmmmm, I have to disagree with this. No one actually "hacked" or "broke into" a site by messing around with it. I've never heard of a log in being called a hack.

As for "collusion", sure, an internet forum is one of many ways in which people share information. It could be shared among friends by word of mouth, telephone calls, emails, or any other medium.

Let me name an example: When I took the MCATs, I was told that the scores would be released online on a particular day. The night before, a friend of mine told me that the scores had actually already been posted, so I logged in. I don't see that as hacking...

Or another admissions-related example: Someone hears from an admissions office that the acceptance letters for a school will be mailed on a particular day, while the waitlist/rejections will be mailed 10 days later. They post this info on a site, so when people don't get a letter right away, they assume the news isn't good. I just don't see anything unethical about this type of information-sharing. 😕 That being said, I'm going to look into the b-school situation a bit more, and see what was going on there...

 

[leechy]

I should add, a log in WOULD be unethical if someone had messed with the coding and made it possible to view something.
This was a status page check. It's just a manifestation of pre-med neuroticism. 🙂

 

[LRmed2003]

ssooo the first letters should be coming today and by monday, we shouldn't have to hear any more about the ethics of this situation..it's not so much an issue of ethics anyway, it was more an issue of patience..which some folks don't have much of at this point..understandable...can we drop it yet? someone go check their mailbox...jeez~~ 😀

 

[sven]

Sorry to derail this interesting ethical discussion, but I can't help myself -- at what time of day does the earliest mail arrive in Boston/Cambridge?

 

[bhp]

Sorry to derail this interesting ethical discussion, but I can't help myself -- at what time of day does the earliest mail arrive in Boston/Cambridge?

No mail from HMS today ... and I live in Boston.

 

[CarleneM]

no mail from HMS in cambridge either.grrrrrr my nerves are absolutely out of contorl.