2009-2010 Harvard Application Thread

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Is Harvard done giving out invites? Has anyone received an invite lately?
 
D and D said:
Is Harvard done giving out invites? Has anyone received an invite lately?
Click to expand...

D and D,

I received an interview invite on 10/29/09 for 12/03/09. I was complete sometime in August.

Tjquinn
 
I was complete on 8/19. Are there still interviews being given out or is that a rejection by now?
 
Man, I wish I had an invite. My girlfriend just got an interview at BU. It'd be great to go to Boston together for a weekend... :-/
 
Last edited:
I interviewed recently, and my interviewer was a retired doc that had been on the adcom for 20 years. He actually talked way more than me, which I wonder about, but the upside is he told me the whole admissions process at HMS. I'm not sure if this would help anyone, but if you're curious:

So your initial app gets screened by six individual screeners. Then you get an interview. You have two interviewers, who type up a review of the interview, and this gets added to your file. Your interviewers don't actually speak for you, I don't think. Then a third person gets handed your file, along with the interview reviews. They read your file and become your advocate to the executive committee.

Immediately after the interview, half the interviewees are cut. 800 down to 400 or something. If you make the 400, at the end of the season the executive committee will cut it down again to 200 by voting, and these are the offers. I guess this explains why it's not rolling, although it seems they could send rejection notices after the first cut.

There's also subcommittees, which seem to be organized by school/location. I'm from the west coast, and my interviewer straight up told me he was on the west coast subcommittee, meaning he saw a lot of applicants from my undergrad, as well as the neighboring undergrads. He was familiar with my school's curriculum and premed advising program. I'm not sure if this particular subcomittee also votes on me.

I'm sorry if I remembered this wrong or misunderstood what he said.
 
Its amazing how ridiculously complex these things are, and <typically> amazingly well hidden. Thanks for the insight!

I feel like I'm trying to look behind the curtain of Oz most of the time in this process...
 
litconsultant said:
I interviewed recently, and my interviewer was a retired doc that had been on the adcom for 20 years. He actually talked way more than me, which I wonder about, but the upside is he told me the whole admissions process at HMS. I'm not sure if this would help anyone, but if you're curious:

So your initial app gets screened by six individual screeners. Then you get an interview. You have two interviewers, who type up a review of the interview, and this gets added to your file. Your interviewers don't actually speak for you, I don't think. Then a third person gets handed your file, along with the interview reviews. They read your file and become your advocate to the executive committee.

Immediately after the interview, half the interviewees are cut. 800 down to 400 or something. If you make the 400, at the end of the season the executive committee will cut it down again to 200 by voting, and these are the offers. I guess this explains why it's not rolling, although it seems they could send rejection notices after the first cut.

There's also subcommittees, which seem to be organized by school/location. I'm from the west coast, and my interviewer straight up told me he was on the west coast subcommittee, meaning he saw a lot of applicants from my undergrad, as well as the neighboring undergrads. He was familiar with my school's curriculum and premed advising program. I'm not sure if this particular subcomittee also votes on me.

I'm sorry if I remembered this wrong or misunderstood what he said.
Click to expand...

That's crazy that he told you all this during your interview...

Also, I kind of view the above statement as proof that it helps to go to one of the more "well-regarded" schools. It's not a requirement, but familiarity is definitely a plus as evidenced by its importance in the residency matching process.

Thanks for the info! 👍 and :luck::luck::luck:
 
litconsultant said:
I interviewed recently, and my interviewer was a retired doc that had been on the adcom for 20 years. He actually talked way more than me, which I wonder about, but the upside is he told me the whole admissions process at HMS. I'm not sure if this would help anyone, but if you're curious:

So your initial app gets screened by six individual screeners. Then you get an interview. You have two interviewers, who type up a review of the interview, and this gets added to your file. Your interviewers don't actually speak for you, I don't think. Then a third person gets handed your file, along with the interview reviews. They read your file and become your advocate to the executive committee.

Immediately after the interview, half the interviewees are cut. 800 down to 400 or something. If you make the 400, at the end of the season the executive committee will cut it down again to 200 by voting, and these are the offers. I guess this explains why it's not rolling, although it seems they could send rejection notices after the first cut.

There's also subcommittees, which seem to be organized by school/location. I'm from the west coast, and my interviewer straight up told me he was on the west coast subcommittee, meaning he saw a lot of applicants from my undergrad, as well as the neighboring undergrads. He was familiar with my school's curriculum and premed advising program. I'm not sure if this particular subcomittee also votes on me.

I'm sorry if I remembered this wrong or misunderstood what he said.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I'm curious as to what happens with the six initial reviewers. Is there any time limit as to when they finish their review? Do they all have to approve your application?
 
litconsultant, thanks for the rundown. 👍

I interviewed for NP last week and it was the best experience I've had yet (of 6 schools). Everybody was friendly and my interviewers were excellent. Unlike some schools I've been to, they had actually read my file, made notes, and asked meaningful questions. BTW, I interviewed with a second year student and a professor.

From the get go, they told us that they wanted the interview to be as relaxed as possible, and that the interviewers had been trained (and essentially told not to grill people). To me, that's the best way to get to know a person. All in all, a great day!

Good luck to everyone!

-Gator
 
litconsultant said:
I interviewed recently, and my interviewer was a retired doc that had been on the adcom for 20 years. He actually talked way more than me, which I wonder about, but the upside is he told me the whole admissions process at HMS.
Click to expand...

I think you had the same interviewer as I did. He had also been on the adcom for around 20 years and talked a little about the admissions process but didn't give me as much detailed information. This process sounds intense! (not that we didn't know that already)

ElegantWeapon said:
Its amazing how ridiculously complex these things are, and <typically> amazingly well hidden. Thanks for the insight!

I feel like I'm trying to look behind the curtain of Oz most of the time in this process...
Click to expand...

Agreed.

GatorPhD said:
litconsultant, thanks for the rundown. 👍

I interviewed for NP last week and it was the best experience I've had yet (of 6 schools). Everybody was friendly and my interviewers were excellent. Unlike some schools I've been to, they had actually read my file, made notes, and asked meaningful questions. BTW, I interviewed with a second year student and a professor.

From the get go, they told us that they wanted the interview to be as relaxed as possible, and that the interviewers had been trained (and essentially told not to grill people). To me, that's the best way to get to know a person. All in all, a great day!
Click to expand...

So I had just the opposite experience. One of my interviewers didn't read my file beforehand and we had a very relaxed and friendly conversation. He almost asked me nothing. The second interviewer started by saying he would try to assess my fit to the school and I was grilled on every aspect of application right from school stuff to personal life. We later had a discussion about some general stuff and here I was grilled again. It seemed like rapid fire that didn't end until we had spoken for too long and he had to get back to work. Having been to a few interviews I must say this was certainly very interesting. Its nice to be forced to think more than the usual in an interview.

Overall, I still had a very positive experience at the school! Good Luck to everyone! =)
 
trueBelief said:
So I had just the opposite experience. One of my interviewers didn't read my file beforehand and we had a very relaxed and friendly conversation. He almost asked me nothing. The second interviewer started by saying he would try to assess my fit to the school and I was grilled on every aspect of application right from school stuff to personal life. We later had a discussion about some general stuff and here I was grilled again. It seemed like rapid fire that didn't end until we had spoken for too long and he had to get back to work. Having been to a few interviews I must say this was certainly very interesting. Its nice to be forced to think more than the usual in an interview.

Overall, I still had a very positive experience at the school! Good Luck to everyone! =)
Click to expand...

That's interesting. You know, the biggest thing I've learned through this whole process is that it really is a crap shoot. My wife is also applying and we have interviewed at many schools on the same day. Several times, we describe such different interview situations that it's hard to believe we were at the same school!

Thanks for sharing your experience.

My very best,
Gator
 
litconsultant said:
I interviewed recently, and my interviewer was a retired doc that had been on the adcom for 20 years. He actually talked way more than me, which I wonder about, but the upside is he told me the whole admissions process at HMS. I'm not sure if this would help anyone, but if you're curious:

So your initial app gets screened by six individual screeners. Then you get an interview. You have two interviewers, who type up a review of the interview, and this gets added to your file. Your interviewers don't actually speak for you, I don't think. Then a third person gets handed your file, along with the interview reviews. They read your file and become your advocate to the executive committee.

Immediately after the interview, half the interviewees are cut. 800 down to 400 or something. If you make the 400, at the end of the season the executive committee will cut it down again to 200 by voting, and these are the offers. I guess this explains why it's not rolling, although it seems they could send rejection notices after the first cut.

There's also subcommittees, which seem to be organized by school/location. I'm from the west coast, and my interviewer straight up told me he was on the west coast subcommittee, meaning he saw a lot of applicants from my undergrad, as well as the neighboring undergrads. He was familiar with my school's curriculum and premed advising program. I'm not sure if this particular subcomittee also votes on me.

I'm sorry if I remembered this wrong or misunderstood what he said.
Click to expand...

wow, thanks for that post.

nice knowing that odds are, i was slashed right after my interview and won't hear about it until march. :lame:
 
has anyone been to an HST interview yet? i'm curious about their panel interview...
 
If I submitted my secondary within a week of it becoming available and still have not received an interview invitation, should I assume that is a rejection?
 
Hi everyone! Is there another way to check status now that the Supplemental Application portal has already closed?
 
ksmi117 said:
Could we check it there before?? This is news to me. 😳
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure we couldn't; Harvard's only communication is through their interview emails and their March letters.
 
I interviewed New Pathway today and had a blast. Both my faculty and student interviewers were great people as well as brilliant, and though there was a lot of downtime I brought a book and enjoyed myself. The museum in the library has some stuff that is really worth looking at too if you get the time. It was daunting going to an interview at a school like HMS with a lower GPA, but my interviewers both assured me that they care a lot about EC's and personal qualities, and that a lot of people with amazing GPA/MCATs don't even get interviews. I can see why so few people who get offers end up going elsewhere, Harvard is great all around.
 
kierkegaard said:
I interviewed New Pathway today and had a blast. Both my faculty and student interviewers were great people as well as brilliant, and though there was a lot of downtime I brought a book and enjoyed myself. The museum in the library has some stuff that is really worth looking at too if you get the time. It was daunting going to an interview at a school like HMS with a lower GPA, but my interviewers both assured me that they care a lot about EC's and personal qualities, and that a lot of people with amazing GPA/MCATs don't even get interviews. I can see why so few people who get offers end up going elsewhere, Harvard is great all around.
Click to expand...

you must be something ultra special to make up for that nasty gpa🙂
hope u did well!
 
kierkegaard said:
I interviewed New Pathway today and had a blast. Both my faculty and student interviewers were great people as well as brilliant, and though there was a lot of downtime I brought a book and enjoyed myself. The museum in the library has some stuff that is really worth looking at too if you get the time. It was daunting going to an interview at a school like HMS with a lower GPA, but my interviewers both assured me that they care a lot about EC's and personal qualities, and that a lot of people with amazing GPA/MCATs don't even get interviews. I can see why so few people who get offers end up going elsewhere, Harvard is great all around.
Click to expand...
yea dude.. your gpa is terrible. 🙄
 
Interview invite today! Complete early as possible, basically, don't remember the day. Choices/days of preference were 12/12, and then January dates starting with 1/5. Goodluck all. I love Boston. 🙂
 
Interview invite today as well, same choices of dates. Complete early September.
 
jla314 said:
has anyone been to an HST interview yet? i'm curious about their panel interview...
Click to expand...

Their website says the first interview day is December 1st...and that's when I'm interviewing. I'll let you know!
 
Interview invite as well today and I had the same choices of days. Does anyone know if it going on a Saturday is completely different from interviewing on a weekday?
 
BubbaChuck3 said:
Interview invite as well today and I had the same choices of days. Does anyone know if it going on a Saturday is completely different from interviewing on a weekday?
Click to expand...

Interviewing on a Saturday means that your interviewees all come to the HMS campus where you are instead of you having to run around through Boston looking for them. It also means that the current students are fairly relaxed when you stay with them (on a Friday night), which is actually incredibly helpful.
 
itsalovestory said:
Interviewing on a Saturday means that your interviewees all come to the HMS campus where you are instead of you having to run around through Boston looking for them. It also means that the current students are fairly relaxed when you stay with them (on a Friday night), which is actually incredibly helpful.
Click to expand...


Thanks I appreciate it. I was just worried it was not typical because it was a Saturday. I have a buddy who goes to HMS anyways so I'm not really worried about the student hosting too much but more so the interview day. I don't want someone interviewing me that is upset that they are there on a Saturday.
 
BubbaChuck3 said:
Thanks I appreciate it. I was just worried it was not typical because it was a Saturday. I have a buddy who goes to HMS anyways so I'm not really worried about the student hosting too much but more so the interview day. I don't want someone interviewing me that is upset that they are there on a Saturday.
Click to expand...

Mine definitely weren't. I don't know how they'd be on weekdays so I'm not necessarily a fair judge of this, but both my interviewers took the time to get to know me and nothing felt rushed. We weren't in their offices either, so there was really nothing to distract us and it felt as if we were on level ground.
 
So I got an interview invite with a high gpa and a way below average mcat... how much does the mcat weigh in after the interview invite, or is everybody on equal grounds once invited to interview?
 
DMB said:
So I got an interview invite with a high gpa and a way below average mcat... how much does the mcat weigh in after the interview invite, or is everybody on equal grounds once invited to interview?
Click to expand...

i dont think they discriminate but they do review your entire file once before making a final decision
 
has harvard started sending out rejections or have they stopped sending interviews yet? anyone also know if there is a way to check on your status?

many thanks,

phialpha
 
anyone know if i can send an email/call about being in the area? i have another interview in boston in december, and then i leave the country in january for six months.

kind of want to give it a shot....any thoughts?
 
dukejen04 said:
anyone know if i can send an email/call about being in the area? i have another interview in boston in december, and then i leave the country in january for six months.

kind of want to give it a shot....any thoughts?
Click to expand...

With you gone for 6 months after Dec -- do you have a choice other then to to let them know?
Email/call them & keep your fingers crossed.
 
housemd? said:
With you gone for 6 months after Dec -- do you have a choice other then to to let them know?
Email/call them & keep your fingers crossed.
Click to expand...

anyone know what to say in these emails? i kind of feel like a douche for writing them without an interview invite, but i'm running out of time.
 
dukejen04 said:
anyone know what to say in these emails? i kind of feel like a douche for writing them without an interview invite, but i'm running out of time.
Click to expand...

I don't know what to say exactly, but just to help out, if I were writing this email, I would explain your situation and support the reason you're writing to them with your interest in the school. Just be gracious and polite. I might follow it up with a phone call a week or two later just to make sure they received your email, and just thank them for considering you in this unique situation.

Also - I can't remember, but was there a section in their application to say whether or not you would be going out of the country?
 
Snurping said:
I don't know what to say exactly, but just to help out, if I were writing this email, I would explain your situation and support the reason you're writing to them with your interest in the school. Just be gracious and polite. I might follow it up with a phone call a week or two later just to make sure they received your email, and just thank them for considering you in this unique situation.

Also - I can't remember, but was there a section in their application to say whether or not you would be going out of the country?
Click to expand...
Yes there was a section that asked that. Did you (Jen) fill it out? If so, I would probably not write them because they know...
 
I have 3 interviews on the East Coast. I wrote to two other schools (Yale and Columbia) informing them of my situation. I essentially told them that I wanted to minimize flight costs and minimize the amount of time away from my students (I'm a teacher). Yale responded promptly (and politely!), but Columbia has yet to respond...and neither has offered me an interview yet : (
 
Naijaba said:
I have 3 interviews on the East Coast. I wrote to two other schools (Yale and Columbia) informing them of my situation. I essentially told them that I wanted to minimize flight costs and minimize the amount of time away from my students (I'm a teacher). Yale responded promptly (and politely!), but Columbia has yet to respond...and neither has offered me an interview yet : (
Click to expand...

What did Yale say?
 
Hello Guys,
Like kierkegaard I have a super low GPA and MCAT score myself. I just received an interview yesterday. From what I hear about how the selection goes. Should I be giving up hope? I believe I have a few decent EC and LORs but my scores are obviously an outlier. Hopefully, you guys can give me your perspectives.

Thank you!
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/member.php?u=197993
 
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