2008-2009 Harvard Secondary Application Thread

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Instructions for Completing the Online Supplemental Application to Harvard Medical School

Application Form
The Supplemental Application is available on the World Wide Web at https://application.med.harvard.edu. It must be submitted electronically; no hard copies or facsimiles will be accepted. All applications must be submitted no later than November 1, 2008, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time; no exceptions will be made.

Letters of Evaluation
Letters are submitted through the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS). A composite letter of evaluation from your premedical advisory committee is preferred; indicate on the application in item 6 the name of the institution sending the committee letter. If your institution does not have such a committee, please submit a minimum of three letters of evaluation from teachers who know you well, at least one from a science teacher and one from a teacher in a non-science department. Additional letters of evaluation from faculty members and others familiar with your career are strongly encouraged, up to a maximum of six letters. Individual letters of recommendation must be mailed to AMCAS directly from the author and must be written on the author's office letterhead.

If you have been involved in research, a letter of evaluation from the supervisor of each research laboratory experience (including the current one) must be submitted. Your application will not be considered complete until all listed letters of evaluation have been received. All letters should be submitted with a postmark no later than November 1st.

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Do they seriously require a letter from the supervisor of each lab experience? I have one from the PI of my lab in college but the past two summers I did clinical research and I don't feel like getting letters from those doctors now, it would just take too long...
 
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I got an email 4 hours ago:

Application Form
The Supplemental Application is available on the World Wide Web at https://application.med.harvard.edu. It must be submitted electronically; no hard copies or facsimiles will be accepted. All applications must be submitted no later than November 1, 2008, 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time; no exceptions will be made.

Anyone having trouble submitting? I'm getting an error message once I click the authorization button. :confused:
 
Does anyone know how many people apply to the HST program and how many get interviewed?
 
does anyone know what the different plans/paths are that they ask you to checkbox?
 
does anyone know what the different plans/paths are that they ask you to checkbox?

It's broken down on their web site. One of them, (the one more oriented towards being a medical scientist i believe) requires things such as calculus based physics.
 
The application failed on me. I, too, am not keen on getting a letter from one of my past research advisors. He didn't like me because I rarely went his lab after the summer. I consider Harvard out of the picture now if he write negative things.
My error:

Microsoft VBScript runtime error '800a01a8'

Object required: 'objMailer'

/page6.asp, line 30
 
Are there any essays you have to write for this?

Judging from all others, it'll probably be something like:
'How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck would chuck wood?' (limit 500 words; please do not press enter or return.)
 
Are there any essays you have to write for this?

Judging from all others, it'll probably be something like:
'How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck would chuck wood?' (limit 500 words; please do not press enter or return.)

How many hours per week did you devote to employment during the academic year?
Freshman: Sophomore: Junior: Senior:

If you have already graduated, briefly (4000 characters max) summarize your activities since graduation.

Our interview season runs from late-September through mid-February. Please indicate any known restrictions on your availability for interviews during this period. If none, leave blank.

Those are the only questions I see...I haven't clicked "Next" since I don't have my essay quite ready yet. So who knows there might be more after this page, but doubt it. Also if you're a reapplicant, there's that essay asking about your new experiences since applying (4000 characters max)
 
So, why does it ask how the letters are arriving if they're going straight from AMCAS? :confused:
 
How many hours per week did you devote to employment during the academic year?
Freshman: Sophomore: Junior: Senior:

If you have already graduated, briefly (4000 characters max) summarize your activities since graduation.

Our interview season runs from late-September through mid-February. Please indicate any known restrictions on your availability for interviews during this period. If none, leave blank.
 
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Ignore the above post. I'm linking to it in the main index.
 
has anyone else not received this secondary yet?
 
I haven't received it either. It did let me log in and had my name in the system. So I guess they are just sending out the emailed in waves. Hopefully today we will get the invite, or actually I would rather them fix the issue so people are able to submit. And then they can send me the e-mail.
 
Good to hear, I guess. Weird that they send it in waves.
 
When they ask how many hours did you work during each academic year, does that include summers? If you guys think so, which academic year does each summer fall under? Is the summer before my senior year part of senior year or junior year?
 
No it wouldn't include summers. They mean during the Academic Year, as in when you are also taking classes.
 
Has anyone been able to submit? I keep getting the error message. :confused:
 
They only sent out the secondary to about 100 people because they weren't sure if the website would work. I e-mailed them the error message, and the tech people are working on it now. They said to try again in a few hours.
 
hey,
if my school has a premed committee, do i still need to get a recommendation from each lab I worked in since freshmen yr?
 
hey,
if my school has a premed committee, do i still need to get a recommendation from each lab I worked in since freshmen yr?

That's what I was wondering too, 'cause technically it says the entire letter of recommendation requirement is satisfied with a committee letter.

I worked in an engineering lab sophomore year for one semester of credit, and there's no way I'm gonna go ask for a letter now, they probably don't even remember me.
 
so is the verdict that for the "new pathways" program we HAVE TO get a rec from ALL of our research advisors?????/ I dont want to force my advisor to write me a letter for just one school.....
 
That's what I was wondering too, 'cause technically it says the entire letter of recommendation requirement is satisfied with a committee letter.

I worked in an engineering lab sophomore year for one semester of credit, and there's no way I'm gonna go ask for a letter now, they probably don't even remember me.

I checked up on this because I've been out of school for 10 years. I've already got a letter from a dean from my undergrad, and my lab supervisor is on sabbatical, so for all intents and purposes I'm out of luck for a letter. I have found their admissions office EXCEEDINGLY unfriendly and unhelpful every time I've had to ask them something. They are not about guidance or encouragement, that is for sure.

So, all he would say is that it is greatly to my benefit if I can get the letter, but if I can't then I should send them an email for them to include in my file. From his tone and verbiage it really gave me the impression that without the letter it might not be worth it to apply, but since they are always so unhelpful I can't tell if that's what I should chalk it up to instead. The letter sitch, plus the haughty attitude the admissions office has compared to every other school I've interacted with...eh, my interest is dwindling rapidly. :p

ETA: I have a committee letter and 6 letters total, so I too don't want to get another just for HMS.
 
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You are allowed up to six (6) letters of recommendation in support of your application. When considering the total number of letters to submit, please note the following:

  1. At least (2) letters should be from professors in the sciences with whom you have taken classes.

    At least one (1) letter should be written by a professor who is not in the sciences.

    We should receive letters from all of your research supervisors.

    A composite letter of evaluation from your premedical advisory committee will completely satisfy our letter of evaluation requirement. If you wish to supplement a premedical advisory committee evaluation packet with additional letters of recommendation, count the packet as one (1) letter towards the six letter maximum.
  1. ****SO DOES THIS MEAN I DONT HAVE TO SUBMIT AN ADDITIONAL LETTER FROM MY RESEARCH ADVISOR IF MY COMMITTEE IS SUBMITTING A REC? WHICH WOULD "COMPLETELY SATISFY THE REQUIREMENT" ????
 
You are allowed up to six (6) letters of recommendation in support of your application. When considering the total number of letters to submit, please note the following:

  1. At least (2) letters should be from professors in the sciences with whom you have taken classes.

    At least one (1) letter should be written by a professor who is not in the sciences.

    We should receive letters from all of your research supervisors.

    A composite letter of evaluation from your premedical advisory committee will completely satisfy our letter of evaluation requirement. If you wish to supplement a premedical advisory committee evaluation packet with additional letters of recommendation, count the packet as one (1) letter towards the six letter maximum.
  1. ****SO DOES THIS MEAN I DONT HAVE TO SUBMIT AN ADDITIONAL LETTER FROM MY RESEARCH ADVISOR IF MY COMMITTEE IS SUBMITTING A REC? WHICH WOULD "COMPLETELY SATISFY THE REQUIREMENT" ????

I JUST answered this, at least according to the person in the admin office I spoke with - yes, they want a letter from all of your research supervisors, either in the packet from your committee or separately.
 
It appears that Harvard has fixed their glitch. I was able to submit and finalize my app. Good luck everyone.
 
i have been in 4 different labs... i got letters from 2 of them. the other two:
one was summer of freshman year and the prof left to go to a diff school and i noted that in my AMCAS application and the second lab i worked with a postdoc who left for japan again.. um.. am i screwed???
 
i have been in 4 different labs... i got letters from 2 of them. the other two:
one was summer of freshman year and the prof left to go to a diff school and i noted that in my AMCAS application and the second lab i worked with a postdoc who left for japan again.. um.. am i screwed???

I had the same issue. It's not a problem. I called them and told them that one of my labs left my current university and I am no longer in contact with them and have no way to get in contact with them. The man I spoke to told me that since I have a recommendation from my other research profs I should be fine. He also recommended that I e-mail Harvard and told them that I was unable to reach the other labs and that is why I do not have recommendations from them.

I too noted the lack of communication with my old lab in my AMCAS, but that an email to them would be added to my file and would explain that there really was no deficit.
 
Ah, I only worked in one lab, for 3 years, so maybe they are more lenient if you have at least one research letter, or maybe he just hates me. :D
 
Ah, I only worked in one lab, for 3 years, so maybe they are more lenient if you have at least one research letter, or maybe he just hates me. :D

I think the real difference is that we both have no way to really get in contact with our old labs which have moved away from our university. If my old lab were still around I would walk over there and talk to the secretary, etc... but they aren't.

Their real worry is that you might be trying to hide some really bad evaluation from a researcher. It's a bit diff. if the lab left you and you didn't leave the lab.
 
anyone else having a problem with the payment method? i submitted my secondary after after i tried to charge it on my credit card, i got a error msg saying that my payment was canceled due to an error and to try again.... the problem is that i dont know how to try again...help anyone?
 
TheVerve,

I was able to make the payment with my CC without problems. Try emailing the Admin Office...they were helpful with the submission error.
 
okay so if anyone was having the same problem as me with the payment (see post above)... in order to correct it, you have to call the admissions office, talk to joanne who will un-finalize ure application and then u just enter ure credit card info... good luck to everyone!
 
I think the real difference is that we both have no way to really get in contact with our old labs which have moved away from our university. If my old lab were still around I would walk over there and talk to the secretary, etc... but they aren't.

Their real worry is that you might be trying to hide some really bad evaluation from a researcher. It's a bit diff. if the lab left you and you didn't leave the lab.

Yeah, if my prof wasn't on sabbatical it wouldn't be a problem to walk over and talk to her (although it would be annoying to wait for the letter since everything else is done)...even so, I would still feel that it's a little ridiculous since I've been out for 10 years and it has so little relevance to who I am today. It's not something I've talked about anywhere other than listing it on the AMCAS.

Anyway, we'll see. :)
 
Wow, letter of rec from EVERY SINGLE lab?? So, if you've worked in 4 labs, then you get 4 letters. And you also have the 2 science profs and 1 non-science prof. 4+2+1 = 7 letters total! So that exceeds the 6 letter requirement. ??

Also, having worked in 4 labs (2 for long periods of time and 2 for summer programs), I didn't manage to do really well in every single one. I did extremely well in the labs that I worked in the longest... everyone starts off shaky in research, but in the longer duration labs, I got more time to get used to all the techniques and really prove myself... not so much with the summer labs. I don't think these letters will necessarily be negative, but I do think that they might not be that good, seeing as how I spent such a short time there and didn't really do as well as I could have. I'd much rather send letters from the better labs, as those will be sparkling. Idk, I'm just wondering whether Harvard expects all those research letters to be amazing, and if it hurts you if some are awesome and some are ehhh...
 
I'm exceeding 6. They told me it was okay via e-mail.
 
Shemarty: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
 
I am submitted finally. In addition, I am just waiting for a few more letters for this application.
Shemarty: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
Vadd0: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
 
Shemarty: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
Vadd0: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
rplyler1: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
 
Shemarty: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
Vadd0: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
rplyler1: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
rowerlauren: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
 
Shemarty: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
Vadd0: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
rplyler1: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
rowerlauren: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
serikk85: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
 
Shemarty: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
Vadd0: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
rplyler1: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
rowerlauren: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
serikk85: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
copingmethods: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
 
Shemarty: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
Vadd0: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
rplyler1: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
rowerlauren: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
serikk85: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??
copingmethods: Secondary Submitted: 7/18, Complete: ??

Anybody applying to HST? I'm applying to both, and it's a beast of an essay.
 
[premed paranoia]is their admissions process really not rolling? their email says so, but that is slightly hard to believe.[/end premedparanoia]
 
maybe i'm missing something or did not see it, but where did it say that you need lor's from research advisors or was that just for the phd program?
 
Hey,
I didn't get an email invited, but I logged in and it let me start. Will their adcom be able to see when I started the app and how long it took me to finish it? Will that matter?
 
Hey,
I didn't get an email invited, but I logged in and it let me start. Will their adcom be able to see when I started the app and how long it took me to finish it? Will that matter?

It won't matter - there isn't even a formal essay, so this secondary should take you very little time to complete.
 
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