2009-2010 Harvard Application Thread

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Naijaba said:
The response I got basically said "Thanks for contacting us! We'll be sure to note when you'll be in town in case you are invited for an interview."
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what email address did you send your "in the area email" to ??? i mean for the yale people, not harvard actually haha
 
HomeMD said:
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!
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Don't give up hope bro!!! GPA and MCAT are just two among many parts of the deal. Imagine that you are a member of the adcom who has to review hundreds of applications, most of which come with more or less equally high scores (most have 38, 40 MCAT for example), then you might find that in this case those high scores are not as impressive any more! So instead you (the ad com member) would go for the application that impresses you the most - the most moving story, the nicest LORs, the activities that portrait the most passion etc.

So instead of worrying about your stats, let's think positively (as you rightly mentioned above): if your stats are bad and you got interview invitation, that means your EC and LORs and other things must be not only very impressive but also somehow unique! Be proud of them, and think about them while you prepare yourself for the interview - how do your activities tell you about yourself? what have you done that make your profs/boss praise you so highly in the LOR? Know yourself, especially what makes you unique, and you should be a fine applicant regardless of your scores.
 
Thank you, ZebraDx! You reminded me to never give up! I will not waste this opportunity! I will learn and get the most out of this interview. Time for self-awareness and reflection! I see that you are a Medical Student. What medical school?

ZebraDx said:
Don't give up hope bro!!! GPA and MCAT are just two among many parts of the deal. Imagine that you are a member of the adcom who has to review hundreds of applications, most of which come with more or less equally high scores (most have 38, 40 MCAT for example), then you might find that in this case those high scores are not as impressive any more! So instead you (the ad com member) would go for the application that impresses you the most - the most moving story, the nicest LORs, the activities that portrait the most passion etc.

So instead of worrying about your stats, let's think positively (as you rightly mentioned above): if your stats are bad and you got interview invitation, that means your EC and LORs and other things must be not only very impressive but also somehow unique! Be proud of them, and think about them while you prepare yourself for the interview - how do your activities tell you about yourself? what have you done that make your profs/boss praise you so highly in the LOR? Know yourself, especially what makes you unique, and you should be a fine applicant regardless of your scores.
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NotSur said:
So it seems like they are kind of going in order, right? And now they're in September complete dates?
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I'm not sure, but if that's the case, they've passed me already. 🙁 Do they send post-secondary rejections throughout the cycle?
 
I am checking this thread too much for my own good. I was complete September 11, good GPA, good MCAT. If they are looking through the September apps, hopefully I get an interview soon. *fingers crossed*
 
NotSur said:
Gah, sorry, I shouldn't have made that comment. I upped some people's anxiety.
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Haha, well I haven't heard anything bad yet, so I'm just hoping for the best. I got into the University of Michigan and I'm a Michigan resident, so if I don't get an interview, my decision is made for me.
 
I am not sure if this is much help, but I turned in my application around early September and I heard on Thursday last week. Congrats on the Michigan acceptance! Its a wonderful school. I can only dream of going there!
 
HomeMD said:
I am not sure if this is much help, but I turned in my application around early September and I heard on Thursday last week. Congrats on the Michigan acceptance! Its a wonderful school. I can only dream of going there!
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Congrats!! That's awesome! Gives me a little bit of hope...complete mid-september. Fingers crossed!!
 
So I should basically forget about going to Harvard if i was complete 8/19, right? Alas, good luck to everyone else and CONGRATS ON Michigan! great school
 
ZebraDx said:
Don't give up hope bro!!! GPA and MCAT are just two among many parts of the deal. Imagine that you are a member of the adcom who has to review hundreds of applications, most of which come with more or less equally high scores (most have 38, 40 MCAT for example), then you might find that in this case those high scores are not as impressive any more! So instead you (the ad com member) would go for the application that impresses you the most - the most moving story, the nicest LORs, the activities that portrait the most passion etc.

So instead of worrying about your stats, let's think positively (as you rightly mentioned above): if your stats are bad and you got interview invitation, that means your EC and LORs and other things must be not only very impressive but also somehow unique! Be proud of them, and think about them while you prepare yourself for the interview - how do your activities tell you about yourself? what have you done that make your profs/boss praise you so highly in the LOR? Know yourself, especially what makes you unique, and you should be a fine applicant regardless of your scores.
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nice 👍
 
Calm down about complete times. My friend was complete over a month after me and got the invite several weeks before I did. Harvard is not necessarily going in order.
 
What do you mean we won't know until January? I was complete in early September and have been waiting as well.
 
do they offer interviews over the winter break time period? I've always wondered this about schools... do the adcoms take winter break? Are those 2-4 weeks going to be dead silent for everyone?
 
LAman10 said:
do they offer interviews over the winter break time period? I've always wondered this about schools... do the adcoms take winter break? Are those 2-4 weeks going to be dead silent for everyone?
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For HST, these are all the interview dates: December 1, December 8, December 15, January 12, January 19, January 26, February 2, February 9.

For NP, I know a guy who is interviewing early December...I imagine NP will take a break around Christmas/New Years but probably only for a week or two (ish).
 
jla314 said:
For HST, these are all the interview dates: December 1, December 8, December 15, January 12, January 19, January 26, February 2, February 9.

For NP, I know a guy who is interviewing early December...I imagine NP will take a break around Christmas/New Years but probably only for a week or two (ish).
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cool that's actually pretty helpful to know. do you know if this is the case with other schools too? I mean, i've heard of people getting accepted on like dec 24... but can you get interview invites during those times?
 
jla314 said:
For HST, these are all the interview dates: December 1, December 8, December 15, January 12, January 19, January 26, February 2, February 9.

For NP, I know a guy who is interviewing early December...I imagine NP will take a break around Christmas/New Years but probably only for a week or two (ish).
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Is December 1st the first HST interview date? Or have they been interviewing for a while now? Haven't heard anything from Harvard (and I'm probably rejected anyway). Although I applied to both NP and HST, I'm much more interested in HST.
 
LAman10 said:
cool that's actually pretty helpful to know. do you know if this is the case with other schools too? I mean, i've heard of people getting accepted on like dec 24... but can you get interview invites during those times?
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no idea :-/ sorry! did you try looking around last year's threads?
 
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 : (
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i had this same situation in october with columbia and cornell. cornell got back to me the next day, but columbia never did. the 5 days before the date i had requested i called them again and the lady at the office said nobody had ever put my email in the file, so she told me to resend the email to her personal account and then like 8 hours later they sent me the invite for the day i had requested.
 
CaliBro said:
My brother just got accepted into Harvard Law School today. I'm thinking about sending them a letter of update mentioning this to them. Do you guys think that it would make a difference? I don't think that it could hurt. I turned in my application right before the November 1st deadline so I doubt that they've gotten to it yet.
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i think it would make more of a difference if your spouse would be matriculating at harvard law school. having a sibling that is accepted (but not yet officially committed) is unlikely to turn heads at the admissions committee.
 
Interview Invite!!! I was completed at the end of October right before the secondary deadline. Oh, it's for the NP.

The email said that she was informing me that I would soon be invited to interview, and that if I wanted to know the status of my HST application I could email someone else. I wonder if I might still receive a HST interview.
 
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allen5055 said:
Interview Invite!!! I was completed at the end of October right before the secondary deadline. Oh, it's for the NP.

The email said that she was informing me that I would soon be invited to interview, and that if I wanted to know the status of my HST application I could email someone else. I wonder if I might still receive a HST interview.
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So you had emailed to ask about the status of your application?
 
ksmi117 said:
So you had emailed to ask about the status of your application?
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no, harvard does it weirdly. first they send you a "we will soon be inviting you" email with a few options of dates. after you schedule it, you get the official "invite to interview" email.
 
Does anyone know how long interview are offered until. Are the last ones given through March? Thanks.
 
ksmi117 said:
So you had emailed to ask about the status of your application?
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No, the New Pathway program emailed me, but they said if I wanted to know if I had a HST interview to email the HST guys.
 
1. The first HST interview date is Dec. 1

2. Interviews go up through like Jan and Feb, many of my classmates interviewed in Jan and Feb, but I doubt there are interviews in march

3. Last year, March 16th was when we heard about getting in

4. I don't "relatively lower" GPA and MCAT ever disqualify you from admission. It's really about the whole package. In the class we have MCATs from like 28/29 thru the 40s, GPAs from like 3.5 thru 4.0. I get the feeling that the adcom here is really looking for promise and future leadership in medicine, which comes from you as a person and your body of experience, and not just your performance on a test. It's of course still important to score well, but HMS is much less of a numbers-***** than some places, I think.

4. ZebraDx lives down the hall from me in Vandy (the HMS dorm) 😛
 
PandaBrewMaster and ZebraDx, you guys are amazing! Thank you guys for being so helpful and supportive with the interview and application.
 
What's the difference between HST and NP? Sorry if this is a really stupid question...
 
Scaundo said:
What's the difference between HST and NP? Sorry if this is a really stupid question...
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Its a very valid Q. However the best & complete explanation you will find on the Harvad medical school site.
 
Scaundo said:
What's the difference between HST and NP? Sorry if this is a really stupid question...
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short version:

HST is Harvard's more researchy oriented program that they do jointly with MIT. Lots (but not all) of the HST kids go on to do academic medicine and/or get their PhDs, etc. HST is a very small program, with only 30 kids matriculating/year.

NP is Harvard's 'traditional' MD track, with less explicit emphasis on research and more flexibility. They spend a lot less time in lecture and a lot more time in small group. More emphasis on clinical learning throughout the preclinical years. NP has about 150 students (i think? not sure. but its a lot more than HST).
 
PandaBrewMaster said:
1. The first HST interview date is Dec. 1

2. Interviews go up through like Jan and Feb, many of my classmates interviewed in Jan and Feb, but I doubt there are interviews in march

3. Last year, March 16th was when we heard about getting in

4. I don't "relatively lower" GPA and MCAT ever disqualify you from admission. It's really about the whole package. In the class we have MCATs from like 28/29 thru the 40s, GPAs from like 3.5 thru 4.0. I get the feeling that the adcom here is really looking for promise and future leadership in medicine, which comes from you as a person and your body of experience, and not just your performance on a test. It's of course still important to score well, but HMS is much less of a numbers-***** than some places, I think.

4. ZebraDx lives down the hall from me in Vandy (the HMS dorm) 😛
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Hmmm so have most of the HST interviews been handed out already. Or is there still a chance. Also do HSTers typically have higher GPAs/MCATs than NPers. I submitted the first week the secondary was available, so I'm just trying to guage if their silence is a sure rejection or not.
 
mdquestion said:
Hmmm so have most of the HST interviews been handed out already. Or is there still a chance. Also do HSTers typically have higher GPAs/MCATs than NPers. I submitted the first week the secondary was available, so I'm just trying to guage if their silence is a sure rejection or not.
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Did you only apply HST? If not, have you heard from NP? If you have heard from one, you are allowed to email the other asking them if you will be invited to interview or not (to accommodate travelers).

Also, when HST invites you to interview, they tell you the date they want you to interview on. For example, I was invited in late Sept and they wanted me to interview on Jan 19 (I asked to reschedule and they gave me a second choice of Dec 1). It seemed like they are assigning certain candidates to certain days and if my case was any indicator, the date did not correlate with the earliness of my invite.

So I guess in short, HST may be trying to coordinate interviewees with certain days for whatever reason, and it doesn't necessarily go in order. And I doubt they are maxed out yet!
 
Whoo! Just got the interview invite, app complete September 17.

Can anyone tell me if you know beforehand who will be interviewing you?

Also, does Paul Farmer teach any classes, or is he just an administrator? Has anyone had any classes with him?
 
anriar said:
Whoo! Just got the interview invite, app complete September 17.

Can anyone tell me if you know beforehand who will be interviewing you?

Also, does Paul Farmer teach any classes, or is he just an administrator? Has anyone had any classes with him?
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CONGRATULATIONS! That's probably one of the greatest things to be thankful for today 🙂 HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! 🙂
 
anriar said:
Whoo! Just got the interview invite, app complete September 17.

Can anyone tell me if you know beforehand who will be interviewing you?

Also, does Paul Farmer teach any classes, or is he just an administrator? Has anyone had any classes with him?
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Was your invite for NP or HST? I will be interviewing for the HST program on Dec. 1st, and I was sent a list of my interviewers.
 
jla314 said:
Did you only apply HST? If not, have you heard from NP? If you have heard from one, you are allowed to email the other asking them if you will be invited to interview or not (to accommodate travelers).

Also, when HST invites you to interview, they tell you the date they want you to interview on. For example, I was invited in late Sept and they wanted me to interview on Jan 19 (I asked to reschedule and they gave me a second choice of Dec 1). It seemed like they are assigning certain candidates to certain days and if my case was any indicator, the date did not correlate with the earliness of my invite.

So I guess in short, HST may be trying to coordinate interviewees with certain days for whatever reason, and it doesn't necessarily go in order. And I doubt they are maxed out yet!
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Nope. HST and NP and haven't heard anything from either yet (complete in August sometime, within the first week). I have a ton of research experience though, and I actually really thought my Harvard HST essay was the best one I wrote throughout this entire process. I only have a 34T, 3,7 cGPA, 3.8 sGPA so I figured my stats might be sort of low for Harvard HST. Oh well, I guess I hope and wait... but I pretty much figure a dual rejection by now.
 
Naijaba said:
Was your invite for NP or HST? I will be interviewing for the HST program on Dec. 1st, and I was sent a list of my interviewers.
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I'm interviewing for NP in January. Good luck with your interview!
 
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