Harvard Extension School Med-school acceptance rate...

[thestrugglingtraveler]

I emailed Dr. Fixen, the gentleman in charge of the Harvard Extension School post-bac pre-med program. In the program, they write you a letter of support if you meet certain (quite stringent) requirements. I emailed asking what percent of people getting support get accepted into a medical school. Dr. Fixen wrote me a very informative email and I am going to print it here in full:

There are many good postbac programs around. They differ in specifics and costs, but the truth is that no program is accepted to medical school (the student is) and rates of acceptance of participants in programs is not a particularly useful statistic. Lies, damned lies, and statistics. When asked the “percent placement” question, it depends entirely on the student's strengths, not the program's. We provide the tools and support for a quality education, but we cannot turn a substandard student into a medical student, and neither can other institutions. You could ask just as meaningful (and ultimately useless) question of your undergraduate institution as you will always be considered a graduate of that university, regardless of where you do your postbac work. Our historic acceptance rate (>30 years) has been between 78-100% acceptance of those students sponsored by the program for medical school (the average being 85%). But that certainly does not mean that a particular incoming student now has an 85% chance of success! Students that are otherwise competitive applicants are certainly not harmed by our postbac program, but I also would never conclude that their success is due to the program. The best applicants get into the best schools and I am proud that we have played a small role in their success, but being here is certainly not a guarantee of acceptance to any school.

85% sounds good, but at the same time, you have to get accepted into the program. Out of those accepted into the program, only those who do very well get the letter. And out of those who get the letter, 85% get in.

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[chartero]

85% sounds good, but at the same time, you have to get accepted into the program. Out of those accepted into the program, only those who do very well get the letter. And out of those who get the letter, 85% get in.

Have gotten in historically, over a greater than 30-year timespan.

There's also a population of independent applicants who complete postbac coursework at HES and apply without the sponsorship letter. All else being equal of course the sponsorship letter is nice, but applying with an Harvard University Division of Continuing Education transcript, and hopefully individual letters from HES instructors based on strong performance in their courses, but without the sponsorship committee letter, can also be a reasonable option.

 

[ksyhe]

Have gotten in historically, over a greater than 30-year timespan.

There's also a population of independent applicants who complete postbac coursework at HES and apply without the sponsorship letter. All else being equal of course the sponsorship letter is nice, but applying with an Harvard University Division of Continuing Education transcript, and hopefully individual letters from HES instructors based on strong performance in their courses, but without the sponsorship committee letter, can also be a reasonable option.

Yeah, back when I was researching postbac programs, I chatted with the premed advisor of my undergrad college, who recommended that if I did my postbac at HES, I should come back and get my committee letter from my undergrad premed committee. Not all schools would offer this, but I'm sure that a number of qualified candidates end up doing this, and they probably wouldn't be accounted for in Dr. Fixen's numbers.