2008-2009 Harvard Secondary Application Thread

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GloryField said:
you are going to UCLA over JHU? Is baltimore that cold or something, I've never been there.
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Well Baltimore is a cake-walk compared to Boston. I was just at the H-Y football game and have never been so cold in my life, and I had ~6 layers on. I literally almost died. Almost.
 
did the "Harvard Pep Squad" pull off another "We Suck" prank? 😀
 
The Deans of Admissions for these big name schools met up on July 4th last year and had their Premed Draft, I know it. The rules were only one student per school, with guaranteed acceptance. Some students were accidentally drafted more than once which had to be resolved by a waitlisting at one of the schools. Players like myself, 2pac, and coping were drafted by JHU very early on. Heck, Harvard did not even "officially" receive my declare to play in the 2009 season until just a few weeks ago. I smell conspiracy 😉

In reality, I would have to reject an invitation to Harvard because of funding and my JHU letter. Fortunately, I will not have to tell them no, because they have already subliminally told me no ^,^
 
Vadd0 said:
The Deans of Admissions for these big name schools met up on July 4th last year and had their Premed Draft, I know it. The rules were only one student per school, with guaranteed acceptance. Some students were accidentally drafted more than once which had to be resolved by a waitlisting at one of the schools. Players like myself, 2pac, and coping were drafted by JHU very early on. Heck, Harvard did not even "officially" receive my declare to play in the 2009 season until just a few weeks ago. I smell conspiracy 😉

In reality, I would have to reject an invitation to Harvard because of funding and my JHU letter. Fortunately, I will not have to tell them no, because they have already subliminally told me no ^,^
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Haha. Yeah, it does seem funny. I got in to JHU, but nada from Harvard. Oh well. Sounds like I'm not quite what they were looking for.
 
GloryField said:
did the "Harvard Pep Squad" pull off another "We Suck" prank? 😀
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Haha well when I say it was cold, I mean frigid. So frigid that no amount of liquor jacket could convince me to even bother going into the stadium. I went from the tailgate straight to a bar to watch the game indoors. I don't even think the annual MIT streakers showed their little behinds this year.

It's snowing outside right now but I honestly feel like I'm in CA in comparison to Cambridge/Boston. Weather really does become relative at some point.
 
skiqueen said:
Haha. Yeah, it does seem funny. I got in to JHU, but nada from Harvard. Oh well. Sounds like I'm not quite what they were looking for.
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hmmm so i wonder if i got interviews at both jhu and hms, that means im def gonna get into at least one? 🙄

harvard is non-rolling neway, so im sure u guys will be getting your invites soon enuff...have u all called 2 make sure there are no glictches/errors?
 
hmm i also have interviewed at both... except i don't feel confident about either at all.. cuz of my low score lol... not sure why they siked me out with these interviews lol.. on the other hand, it's been awhile and i haven't heard back from the schools that i thought i'd have a better shot statistically.. hmm random random random
 
lala2626 said:
hmm i also have interviewed at both... except i don't feel confident about either at all.. cuz of my low score lol... not sure why they siked me out with these interviews lol.. on the other hand, it's been awhile and i haven't heard back from the schools that i thought i'd have a better shot statistically.. hmm random random random
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I'm interviewing at both and I feel exactly the same way. Don't feel like I have a real chance at the big 2, but at the same time my er..."more reasonable" schools are ignoring me..ha
 
lala2626 said:
hmm i also have interviewed at both... except i don't feel confident about either at all.. cuz of my low score lol... not sure why they siked me out with these interviews lol.. on the other hand, it's been awhile and i haven't heard back from the schools that i thought i'd have a better shot statistically.. hmm random random random
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I have a colleague who was interviewed and was rejected from UCSF, UCSD and George Washington. Guess where he got in? Harvard Medical School. The process is pretty random every year. Don't try to make sense out of it and don't let rejection (or no contact) from one school color your impression of the competitiveness of your application.

Harvard reads every word on every application. They have a profile and likely, something that you wrote somewhere on your application fit the profile for this year. (Profile changes too). You got interviewed because the schools that interviewed you are considering accepting you. You could have been rejected pre-interview.
 
interview invite for hst today, complete 2nd week of nov - so there's hope for all the people who submitted late
 
lol..so does ne1 actually say "harvard" when people ask you what your top choice is? i always feel sheepish saying this. usually i just say, i'm waiting to hear back from schoools...but then ppl seem 2 keep pressing...usually ill be like the best one i get in to, or the cheapest one...i find im always changing my answer...but the few times ive said harvard i always feel really dumb saying that lol..
 
GloryField said:
you are going to UCLA over JHU? Is baltimore that cold or something, I've never been there.
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Well we are comparing two Top 10 schools, both with amazing hospitals...

Weather : UCLA Kills
Girls: UCLA Kills
Night life: UCLA Kills
Cost: UCLA Kills
Location: UCLA Kills
Safe environment: UCLA Kills (ghetto vs. bel-air/westwood)

I believe the decision is unanimous. 🙄
 
I hear HMS has a pretty cool seal that they put on your rejection letter. I think it is a little lion or something.

I guess R-OH and the HMS seal will ease the pain of getting rejected when it happens.
 
sankondbest said:
I hear HMS has a pretty cool seal that they put on your rejection letter. I think it is a little lion or something.

I guess R-OH and the HMS seal will ease the pain of getting rejected when it happens.
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nicely said
 
MJ is KING said:
Well we are comparing two Top 10 schools, both with amazing hospitals...

Weather : UCLA Kills
Girls: UCLA Kills
Night life: UCLA Kills
Cost: UCLA Kills
Location: UCLA Kills
Safe environment: UCLA Kills (ghetto vs. bel-air/westwood)
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Celtics vs. Lakers in the finals: Harvard kills
 
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Patriots vs Rams in the superbowl: UCLA kills

oh wait, Rams, moved to St Louis.
 
Kaydubz said:
Um, I think you need a refresher course in super bowl history
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no i dont.

tom brady moved the ball with 1 minute left rather than taking a knee. 50 yard field goal won the game. I watched the game with like 10 buddies, I was in middle school back then.


I was just teasing.
 
MJ is KING said:
Well we are comparing two Top 10 schools, both with amazing hospitals...

Weather : UCLA Kills
Girls: UCLA Kills
Night life: UCLA Kills
Cost: UCLA Kills
Location: UCLA Kills
Safe environment: UCLA Kills (ghetto vs. bel-air/westwood)

I believe the decision is unanimous. 🙄
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Looks like SDN has found UCLA's silverlining

PS: have you ever been to boston? After living in LA for my ENTIRE life I can say that without a doubt boston girls are just as fine (if not more) as any westwood girl
 
anyone know how many people get interviewed for the ~30 hst spots?
 
Has Harvard finished sending interview invites?

I submitted their secondary the last day possible, so sometime mid november or even december. I looked at the interview invite thread, it seems only like 2 or 3 people were invited for the HST...is it really likely that the other 190 don't wanna brag or they haven't sent out all the invites yet? I am under the impression interview invites are finished with for the big H. Can someone pronounce it?
 
polarizer said:
Has Harvard finished sending interview invites?

I submitted their secondary the last day possible, so sometime mid november or even december. I looked at the interview invite thread, it seems only like 2 or 3 people were invited for the HST...is it really likely that the other 190 don't wanna brag or they haven't sent out all the invites yet? I am under the impression interview invites are finished with for the big H. Can someone pronounce it?
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i don't think so. i know people who got interview invites in january last year who are enrolled there. i certainly haven't put my information in the interview invite thread because when i did once it somehow got deleted and i don't have time to continually make sure my entries got through. also sdn is probably a small small proportion of the applicant/invite/etc pool. and even a smaller portion of those that actually go on sdn post things.

in short, there are probably a lot of other lurkers who haven't posted and also other invites to give out. of course i don't know for sure. so take that for what its worth
 
Hey,

Should I send an update letter to Harvard? I interviewed in October and I don't know whether my file has been reviewed or not. I would send the update around mid January.

Have they already reviewed my file?? Ahhhhh.. i don't know why i am agonizing over this, but I can't bear to think my decision is just sitting there and I have no further control over the outcomee!!!
 
medhope31 said:
Hey,

Should I send an update letter to Harvard? I interviewed in October and I don't know whether my file has been reviewed or not. I would send the update around mid January.

Have they already reviewed my file?? Ahhhhh.. i don't know why i am agonizing over this, but I can't bear to think my decision is just sitting there and I have no further control over the outcomee!!!
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Um. They're non-rolling. No one finds out until March. If you want to send in new grades or whatever else is in your update, go for it. But don't panic because you haven't heard yet, because NO ONE has. And don't expect a response on the status of your application as a result of sending in your update.
 
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OH i know I won't find out until march, but I was wondering if it is worth sending an update if they have already made a decision.

Opinions??
 
medhope31 said:
OH i know I won't find out until march, but I was wondering if it is worth sending an update if they have already made a decision.

Opinions??
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My guess is that some sort of evaluation has already been made. Maybe the just score everyone, and then look at the top 100 or so in March.
 
I interviewed early Dec., and the director of admissions told us before our interviews that "if you have won the Nobel Prize, please let us know. Otherwise there is no need to update us."

Did people on other dates receive the same message??
 
SavedByTheBell said:
I interviewed early Dec., and the director of admissions told us before our interviews that "if you have won the Nobel Prize, please let us know. Otherwise there is no need to update us."

Did people on other dates receive the same message??
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wow..
 
ar2388 said:
wow..
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I'm inclined to agree with the whole Nobel Prize thing. If you haven't done something really important, like got a 1st authorship in Nature, your competitiveness really hasn't been changed that much. I mean, I've been shadowing at Mayo clinic some more and volunteering at a homeless shelter clinic this winter, but these aren't really that impressive, nor are they out of line with what I've had in my original application. Writing them to tell them that you got all A's this semester is kinda useless. At this point in the game, does an increase of 0.03 in your GPA really justify a review of your application. "Well timmy was borderline with a 3.9 and his experiences working with TB victims, but now with a 3.93 he's exactly what we were looking for!" :laugh:

I suppose that if I had starred in a dance performance or something, I'd let them know. I personally don't feel that I have done anything to justify an update. I included my class schedule in my application, and I'm sure they can extrapolate my grades from my past performance (though I don't know how much it would matter to them at this point...). I've continued all of my activities that I put in my EC's and indicated that I was going to be doing them until May 2009, and a few more shadowing experiences or a grand total of 20 more clinical volunteering hours really doesn't add much more flavor to my application.
 
mmmcdowe said:
I'm inclined to agree with the whole Nobel Prize thing. If you haven't done something really important, like got a 1st authorship in Nature, your competitiveness really hasn't been changed that much. I mean, I've been shadowing at Mayo clinic some more and volunteering at a homeless shelter clinic this winter, but these aren't really that impressive, nor are they out of line with what I've had in my original application. Writing them to tell them that you got all A's this semester is kinda useless. At this point in the game, does an increase of 0.03 in your GPA really justify a review of your application. "Well timmy was borderline with a 3.9 and his experiences working with TB victims, but now with a 3.93 he's exactly what we were looking for!" :laugh:

I suppose that if I had starred in a dance performance or something, I'd let them know. I personally don't feel that I have done anything to justify an update. I included my class schedule in my application, and I'm sure they can extrapolate my grades from my past performance (though I don't know how much it would matter to them at this point...). I've continued all of my activities that I put in my EC's and indicated that I was going to be doing them until May 2009, and a few more shadowing experiences or a grand total of 20 more clinical volunteering hours really doesn't add much more flavor to my application.
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i disagree with you. sending grades i think could be important. say, for example, your gpa is lower but shows an incredible upward trend. stellar grades this term could help support that and remove any doubt they have about how real that upward trend is. i would say to send them whatever and they can throw it out if they don't care, but i doubt it can hurt you.
 
👍
streetlight said:
i disagree with you. sending grades i think could be important. say, for example, your gpa is lower but shows an incredible upward trend. stellar grades this term could help support that and remove any doubt they have about how real that upward trend is. i would say to send them whatever and they can throw it out if they don't care, but i doubt it can hurt you.
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I would follow this advice:

"if you have won the Nobel Prize, please let us know. Otherwise there is no need to update us."

Thats what the director of admissions at Harvard Medical School asked applicants to do.



But you just go ahead and send those grades in! 👍
 
messenger634 said:
👍

I would follow this advice:

"if you have won the Nobel Prize, please let us know. Otherwise there is no need to update us."

Thats what the director of admissions at Harvard Medical School asked applicants to do.



But you just go ahead and send those grades in! 👍
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oh because you heard it directly from the director's mouth? or are just blindly believing an anonymous post on the internet from someone likely vying for the same spot as you...
 
What is the name of the director of admissions again? That really nice lady pediatrician who seemed a bit over enthusiastic?

I agree that you shouldn't send update letters with more of the same, but if you need to show continued commitment to something you started just before you applied it might be worth it. Like what streetlight said about improved grades. Or if you picked up on an new interest late in the game you could be doing something to deepen your understand of the topic (internship, conference presentations, things you published, not necessarily in Nature)

And I would also like to know if anybody else heard about the "no Noble Prize, no update" statement.
 
I'm not sure where these nonsensical notions started, but - Harvard or not - do any of you really believe that sending in an update not of "Nobel Prize" caliber is going to hurt your chances of being accepted? No offense, but that strikes me as being the stuff of SDN legend (or maybe just neuroticism), not actual fact. I would only give it credit if a lot of different individuals were to mention it, but since there is only one source, I find it very hard to believe. Again, I mean no offense, but I do think that such extreme statements need to be well-qualified before they are treated as facts.

If you have an update that you feel is worth sharing, I would recommend that you just send in a letter and take these SDN rumors with a grain of salt. I cannot imagine any sensible adcom using such a letter to harm an applicant's chances of being accepted, since the letter - even if it contains no updates that will actually strengthen the application - is still an affirmation of the candidate's interest and shows that he/she has a strong interest in the school. I would guess that the worst-case scenario is it having no effect at all.
 
I would just say that if thats what they said at Harvard, then thats how I would go for that particular school, not necessarily every one though.

My guess is that at the begining of the interview season, they dont talk about udates,. By December, when they are recieving all sorts of updates from interviewed students, then maybe the Harvard director wanted to let students know that they dont need to update them.
 
Fair enough, although I think that the school would make an effort to let the students know about its stance on updates were it so opposed to receiving non-essential ones (as is the case with some other schools, which clearly state in at least one conspicuous location that they do not want to receive them). When I interviewed, neither the director nor the interview packet made any mention of how update letters were treated. Nor can any information about them be found on the HMS website.
 
medhope31 said:
What is the name of the director of admissions again? That really nice lady pediatrician who seemed a bit over enthusiastic?
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She's not the director of admissions, but she is an incredibly nice woman. I had one of my interviews with her and had the best talk of any of my 20+ interviews with her. I don't know how this will reflect upon me come March, but she is great.

medhope31 said:
And I would also like to know if anybody else heard about the "no Noble Prize, no update" statement.
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I didn't hear any comment about not sending in updates, but I did interview in October. Just to be sure I will call them to ask in early January before I send in my updates.
 
To those who have interviewed, approximately what time did the interview day end? It says in the email that its not advisable to schedule a flight before 8 pm, but I can't find anything leaving after 6 pm. I really don't want to have to spend an extra night, so is it safe to schedule an outgoing flight at 6 pm? Thanks!
 
MicroMN said:
To those who have interviewed, approximately what time did the interview day end? It says in the email that its not advisable to schedule a flight before 8 pm, but I can't find anything leaving after 6 pm. I really don't want to have to spend an extra night, so is it safe to schedule an outgoing flight at 6 pm? Thanks!
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The interview day effectively ends at 3:00 PM for most people. 5:00 PM at the very latest. A 6:00PM flight is definitely safe.

HST interview lasted a bit longer, but still ended around 5:00.
 
Greonis said:
I'm not sure where these nonsensical notions started, but - Harvard or not - do any of you really believe that sending in an update not of "Nobel Prize" caliber is going to hurt your chances of being accepted? No offense, but that strikes me as being the stuff of SDN legend (or maybe just neuroticism), not actual fact. I would only give it credit if a lot of different individuals were to mention it, but since there is only one source, I find it very hard to believe. Again, I mean no offense, but I do think that such extreme statements need to be well-qualified before they are treated as facts.

If you have an update that you feel is worth sharing, I would recommend that you just send in a letter and take these SDN rumors with a grain of salt. I cannot imagine any sensible adcom using such a letter to harm an applicant's chances of being accepted, since the letter - even if it contains no updates that will actually strengthen the application - is still an affirmation of the candidate's interest and shows that he/she has a strong interest in the school. I would guess that the worst-case scenario is it having no effect at all.
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Admissions officers do get annoyed when you send useless stuff. At Stanford, they made a point of saying only send things that are worth hearing about. Like an ACCEPTED publication in a peer reviewed paper. Maybe a new LOR (although he stressed that most people send in too many LORs). So not quite Nobel prize, but something that would make them take the time out of their day to look at your application. Not "I still keep visiting those little old ladies at the retirement home."
 
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