Harvard Extension - GPA damager?

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Did anyone here attend/is attending HES for postbac?

Yes, currently attending.

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Medwonk, can I PM you if you are okay with that? I hope "asking" to PM someone in a thread does not constitute a violation.
 
Yes johnny, thanks for your input again.
 
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For people reading this thread to get information about HES-- stop. Rumors, speculation, and self reported suspicions on an anonymous internet message board about any post-bacc program should not be influencing your decisions.

I currently am attending, and, while I can't report how successful the program was at getting ME into med school just yet, I can say that I have no idea what information half of these posts are based on. The classes here are completely fair, and hard work (plus self-motivation) will get you the grades you need. If you work as hard as you can here and get terrible grades, I'd worry about your ability to perform in medical school.
 
For people reading this thread to get information about HES-- stop. Rumors, speculation, and self reported suspicions on an anonymous internet message board about any post-bacc program should not be influencing your decisions.

I currently am attending, and, while I can't report how successful the program was at getting ME into med school just yet, I can say that I have no idea what information half of these posts are based on. The classes here are completely fair, and hard work (plus self-motivation) will get you the grades you need. If you work as hard as you can here and get terrible grades, I'd worry about your ability to perform in medical school.

Nailed it, and I completely agree. Work hard, the good grades will come naturally. Couple that with the program's location in the heart of arguably the top medical city in the country (MGH, Brigham, Beth Isreal Deaconess, Children's all are within 5 miles of Cambridge) and you have everything you need.
 
Speaking from experience at both a state uni and Harvard: it is much harder to pull an A in the science prereqs at Harvard than at a state uni (with a few exceptions). An A-, which for me was about as difficult to achieve as an A at a state uni, is equivalent to only 3.67 points a credit hour. On the other hand, it is also much harder to pull off a C at Harvard than it is at a state uni. :) However, a B- is worth 2.67 points a credit hour so basically it's like getting a C and looks just as bad as a course withdrawal on your transcript.

Keep in mind that a high GPA is what med schools are after, as well as a good MCAT score. According to the students, they tend to do really well on the MCAT and they attribute this to the difficulty of the Harvard courses. So it becomes a balancing act of sorts. On one hand, you are in danger of not getting as many As as you might pull off somewhere else; on the other hand, you could test really well on the MCAT. It's also "Harvard" as they say, but I don't know yet how much this helps with your application.
 
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