2008-2009 Harvard Secondary Application Thread

[scarletgirl777]

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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!

No, it is not safe. If you are the unlucky person with a 4:30 PM interview you will kick yourself.

 

[linguini]

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.

Remember to account for the half hour minimum it will take you to get to the airport (more if you use public transportation). My NP interview didn't end until 5:30. My HST interview didn't end until 5:45.

I'd suggest you call and ask if there's any way they can schedule you for an interview earlier in the day..but I wouldn't bank on it. It'd be safer to stay another day.

 

[SDN2013]

anyone got invites recently?

 

[thegreenlight]

anyone got invites recently?

I just gave them a call, and they said that if we aren't invited for an interview by next week, then we've been rejected ("your letter will come in March"). Although I probably wouldn't have gotten in anyway, I'm sad and surprised that I don't even merit an interview. 🙁

 

[skiqueen]

I just gave them a call, and they said that if we aren't invited for an interview by next week, then we've been rejected ("your letter will come in March"). Although I probably wouldn't have gotten in anyway, I'm sad and surprised that I don't even merit an interview. 🙁

Bummer. Do you think that means start or end of next week? Thanks for the info, even if it's not great news!

 

[GoSpursGo]

I just gave them a call, and they said that if we aren't invited for an interview by next week, then we've been rejected ("your letter will come in March"). Although I probably wouldn't have gotten in anyway, I'm sad and surprised that I don't even merit an interview. 🙁

Yikes. Anyone know Harvard's policy on pre-interview update letters? I just submitted a 1st-author abstract to UT Southwestern's med student research forum, and my PI submitted an abstract with me as co-author to a national conference... worth sending the update?

 

[CALibration]

Hey guys,

I'm a new member on SDN. Can someone comment on the interviews at Harvard, both NP and HST? Do they grill you on ethical or political questions?🙂

 

[PagingDrP]

In one of my interviews, I casually got asked about health care policy (what I think about a single-payer system). Nothing too intense...other interviewees that day also got asked about the HC system

My 2nd interview was hardcore about my AMCAS primary.

Hope that helps!

 

[TupacalipseT96]

I had honestly given up hope on Harvard. I submitted my secondary in July, got my complete email in the middle of October and had heard nothing when everyone else complete in October was hearing. I called and they said that all they could tell me was that early-mid January was the latest they would be sending out invites.

And what do ya know... I get my NP invite right at the last second, in which they stress the urgency of my response as only a few interview spots remain.

That was a long wait, but I am so excited they did eventually come around! woot!

 

[vadd0]

I had honestly given up hope on Harvard. I submitted my secondary in July, got my complete email in the middle of October and had heard nothing when everyone else complete in October was hearing. I called and they said that all they could tell me was that early-mid January was the latest they would be sending out invites.

And what do ya know... I get my NP invite right at the last second, in which they stress the urgency of my response as only a few interview spots remain.

That was a long wait, but I am so excited they did eventually come around! woot!

👍

 

[CantFigure1Out]

I had honestly given up hope on Harvard. I submitted my secondary in July, got my complete email in the middle of October and had heard nothing when everyone else complete in October was hearing. I called and they said that all they could tell me was that early-mid January was the latest they would be sending out invites.

And what do ya know... I get my NP invite right at the last second, in which they stress the urgency of my response as only a few interview spots remain.

That was a long wait, but I am so excited they did eventually come around! woot!

Kudos! If admitted, will you automatically choose Harvard over Hopkins or vice versa, or will you be comparing the two schools to see which one you like more?

 

[TupacalipseT96]

Definitely nothing automatic. To be honest, it would likely come down to financial aid. I think both are notoriously poor with fin aid (for med anyway), but it would be nice to at least have some options.

 

[mexdoc]

congrats on the HMS interview. I was hoping I'd hear back from them by now, but I guess not all of us are as lucky. As of now I'm just hoping to hear good news from Hopkins since I really enjoyed the people I met there.

Definitely nothing automatic. To be honest, it would likely come down to financial aid. I think both are notoriously poor with fin aid (for med anyway), but it would be nice to at least have some options.

 

[WaterBird]

anyone know where to send updates to your application? Just to the Admissions office address?

 

[medhope31]

Thats where I am going to send mine- to the Admissions Office.

Does anybody know if these update letters really matter? I am writing mine right now and it seems like I am trying too hard to get in.

Any HMS students have any thoughts about this?

 

[ar2388]

Yikes. Anyone know Harvard's policy on pre-interview update letters? I just submitted a 1st-author abstract to UT Southwestern's med student research forum, and my PI submitted an abstract with me as co-author to a national conference... worth sending the update?

i think thats worthy of an update... 👍

 

[thegreenlight]

I called again today, and the lady told me that interviews will still be going out until the end of next week. So, there is still a microscopic bit of hope for those of us who are still waiting for interviews.

 

[scarletgirl777]

Yikes. Anyone know Harvard's policy on pre-interview update letters? I just submitted a 1st-author abstract to UT Southwestern's med student research forum, and my PI submitted an abstract with me as co-author to a national conference... worth sending the update?

I don't know their policy, but I will say they interview 1000 people and accept 200 (my point being that they paint a really broad brush with the interviewing). Also in general, people update for publications that are accepted, not submitted. But at this point, the worst that could happen is that they throw away the letter--there's really not much to lose.

 

[AppleGeek]

I called again today, and the lady told me that interviews will still be going out until the end of next week. So, there is still a microscopic bit of hope for those of us who are still waiting for interviews.

Oh I called last week the guy told me interview invites will go out by mid month, which is Friday. I guess they changed it?

 

[JuliaGulia2789]

I don't know their policy, but I will say they interview 1000 people and accept 200 (my point being that they paint a really broad brush with the interviewing). Also in general, people update for publications that are accepted, not submitted. But at this point, the worst that could happen is that they throw away the letter--there's really not much to lose.

We were told that this year they are interviewing significantly fewer applicants, so your chances post-interview are much higher than in previous years. I wasn't able to extract specifics but I'd hope it's more like one in three instead of one in five or six, as it's been in previous years.

 

[Golden Joe]

That's good to know. When chances are one in five or six it feels much more like a crapshoot than when the chances are one in three.

We were told that this year they are interviewing significantly fewer applicants, so your chances post-interview are much higher than in previous years. I wasn't able to extract specifics but I'd hope it's more like one in three instead of one in five or six, as it's been in previous years.

 

[AppleGeek]

I was wondering if anyone knows how are the pre-requisite courses checked by the school? if you have not fulfilled all the course requirements by the time of interview, do they require another transcript before matriculation?

 

[What up doc]

We were told that this year they are interviewing significantly fewer applicants, so your chances post-interview are much higher than in previous years. I wasn't able to extract specifics but I'd hope it's more like one in three instead of one in five or six, as it's been in previous years.

hmmm are u sure? i was never given this impression during my interview. i thot it was ~1000 interviews and ~240 admits for a class of 165? 1/5 still seems like a long shot...i made this argument before and got clowned, but i still think its harder 2 get in post interview than post secondary haha...they give 1/5 an interview, and then they accept 1/5 who interview...obviously every1 who interviews is academically qualified...now u gotta stand out more in the most constructed artificial type of setting....

 

[JuliaGulia2789]

hmmm are u sure? i was never given this impression during my interview. i thot it was ~1000 interviews and ~240 admits for a class of 165? 1/5 still seems like a long shot...i made this argument before and got clowned, but i still think its harder 2 get in post interview than post secondary haha...they give 1/5 an interview, and then they accept 1/5 who interview...obviously every1 who interviews is academically qualified...now u gotta stand out more in the most constructed artificial type of setting....

I was told this information separately by two different people involved in the admissions office/admissions process. My interview occurred fairly recently, so maybe they only decided to reduce the number of interview offers after the cycle had already started. Who knows.

 

[onewish]

anyone gets interview invite this week? my hope is fainting...

 

[GoldenSunGirl88]

Haha, I'm here precisely because I was wondering too if anyone got an invite for an interview. We are supposed to find out by the end of this month, which is in 2 weeks!

Well I think in the meantime the worst thing to do is stress over this... worrying won't get the letter here any faster or make it come if it's never been sent!

Have a great weekend everyone~

Oh and for the record I didn't get an invite for an interview. But I did get one for Wash U in St. Louis which made me at least think I was worth something (still haven't heard back from them either)

 

[thegreenlight]

anyone gets interview invite this week? my hope is fainting...

I've called twice. The first time I called, the person said that interview invitations would go out until the middle of this month (aka today or tomorrow). The second time I called, a different person said that interview invitations would go out until the end of next week. I don't know who is correct. Would someone mind calling as well? I just want to get a better sense of what is going on.

 

[GoSpursGo]

I've called twice. The first time I called, the person said that interview invitations would go out until the middle of this month (aka today or tomorrow). The second time I called, a different person said that interview invitations would go out until the end of next week. I don't know who is correct. Would someone mind calling as well? I just want to get a better sense of what is going on.

I wouldn't split hairs; I'd guess "middle of the month" is just a general term that covers a range of dates rather than a hard-and-fast mathematical date. If they said the end of next week (1/23), that's still relatively close to the "middle of the month" in my book.

Good luck to all of us holding out for an invite at this point!

 

[qtrlifecrisis]

At my interview in late November, the admissions people said they received 7000 applications, and that they planned to interview no more than 900, and admit around 250 (including HST).

Good luck to everyone out there waiting on an invite.

 

[thegreenlight]

At my interview in late November, the admissions people said they received 7000 applications, and that they planned to interview no more than 900, and admit around 250 (including HST).

Good luck to everyone out there waiting on an invite.

That seems to be on par with previous years. I'm sad that I haven't received an interview.

 

[medhope31]

Has anybody sent an update? To whom are you going to address it?

I want to address it to the Dean, but i never met him.

 

[onewish]

I've called twice. The first time I called, the person said that interview invitations would go out until the middle of this month (aka today or tomorrow). The second time I called, a different person said that interview invitations would go out until the end of next week. I don't know who is correct. Would someone mind calling as well? I just want to get a better sense of what is going on.

i think this week is the last week they are giving out interviews.

 

[thegreenlight]

i think this week is the last week they are giving out interviews.

Yup. I called again today for the fourth time or something this month. I think the guy recognized my voice because he immediately told me that he can't tell me anything other than that I am complete over the phone. He confirmed that the last batch of interviews will go out by this Friday (possibly sooner).

 

[iA-MD2013]

Yup. I called again today for the fourth time or something this month. I think the guy recognized my voice because he immediately told me that he can't tell me anything other than that I am complete over the phone. He confirmed that the last batch of interviews will go out by this Friday (possibly sooner).

Cool! At least we know there's one more batch of interview invites going out (even though I probably won't get one 😛 )

 

[linguini]

Yup. I called again today for the fourth time or something this month. I think the guy recognized my voice because he immediately told me that he can't tell me anything other than that I am complete over the phone. He confirmed that the last batch of interviews will go out by this Friday (possibly sooner).

I hope you get one! In part because your anxiety over HMS on this thread is raising my cortisol levels.

 

[onewish]

'fainting' or 'fading'?

🙂

opps my bad. i'm a bit speechless at this thread😛

 

[mongol1985]

Is it true that Harvard keeps all email correspondent with applicants? I emailed in an update letter a while ago and when I called to check that it's been added to my file, the guy just says "yes, it's been received," which is also their email reply... He never answered if it's been added to my file specifically...

 

[linguini]

Is it true that Harvard keeps all email correspondent with applicants? I emailed in an update letter a while ago and when I called to check that it's been added to my file, the guy just says "yes, it's been received," which is also their email reply... He never answered if it's been added to my file specifically...

I think you can assume that "it's been received" = added to your file

 

[mongol1985]

I think you can assume that "it's been received" = added to your file

I would. But I don't think that's always the case. For some reason, I feel that it might be better to mail things in. Some other schools have also emailed me saying it's been received, but my interviewers appeared to not have the update... That's why I called.

 

[thegreenlight]

Anyone get an interview?! This is driving me crazy. I want an interview. 🙁

 

[GoSpursGo]

Anyone get an interview?! This is driving me crazy. I want an interview. 🙁

It's all good 🙂 I'd love to drop in and see what all the fuss is about in Boston, but at this point I'm pretty much considering myself rejected; if I'm lucky enough to be wrong, it'll be a pleasant surprise!

Good luck to everyone still crossing their fingers!

 

[copingmethods]

It's all good 🙂 I'd love to drop in and see what all the fuss is about in Boston, but at this point I'm pretty much considering myself rejected; if I'm lucky enough to be wrong, it'll be a pleasant surprise!

Good luck to everyone still crossing their fingers!

Same here!

 

[polarizer]

Anyone get an interview this "last" week of interview invites? Maybe they will send all of the last 10% of interviews tomorrow!

 

[iA-MD2013]

Anyone get an interview this "last" week of interview invites? Maybe they will send all of the last 10% of interviews tomorrow!

Or maybe they've already been sent out?

 

[thegreenlight]

Or maybe they've already been sent out?

Last year, there were a handful of people on SDN received interview invitations on the very last day possible (someone even received an interview invitation on the Monday after). Ugh. All this waiting is making me nauseous.

 

[GoSpursGo]

It would make sense for a few to get invites on Monday when a couple of people decline the Friday invites.

 

[thegreenlight]

Any news? Less than five hours for them to send out invites. Sigh.

 

[iA-MD2013]

Any news? Less than five hours for them to send out invites. Sigh.

You're making me really nervous, greenlight! 😛

 

[GoSpursGo]

You're making me really nervous, greenlight! 😛

Haha yeah, everytime I see this thread pop up on the first page I think someone got an invite. Rest assured, as soon as anyone gets an invite, I'm SURE they will rush over to let everyone know! It's not the kind of info one tends to keep to oneself 😀

 

[iA-MD2013]

Haha yeah, everytime I see this thread pop up on the first page I think someone got an invite. Rest assured, as soon as anyone gets an invite, I'm SURE they will rush over to let everyone know! It's not the kind of info one tends to keep to oneself 😀

Yeah...I'll just keep an eye on this thread.