2013-2014 Harvard Application Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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Hi! Anybody else's letters of recommendation not showing up as received? I was verified on AMCAS weeks ago. Maybe there's a lag in matching up the data?
 
roundza said:
Hi! Anybody else's letters of recommendation not showing up as received? I was verified on AMCAS weeks ago. Maybe there's a lag in matching up the data?
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They may have to manually verify the recs before marking them as received. That's what a lot of schools do.
 
To those of you applying to HST, are you tailoring your essay towards your capability as a rigorous student or as a future researcher? I realized that mine is focused on the latter, and given my concentration/research interests in cognitive neuroscience, I might not be addressing enough my readiness to tackle the science-heavy class component of HST. Thoughts?
 
hey on page 2 of the secondary, does anyone's school name come up as "unknown school" ?
 
jeghaber said:
To those of you applying to HST, are you tailoring your essay towards your capability as a rigorous student or as a future researcher? I realized that mine is focused on the latter, and given my concentration/research interests in cognitive neuroscience, I might not be addressing enough my readiness to tackle the science-heavy class component of HST. Thoughts?
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it's hard to do both comprehensively in that essay; my approach was to focus on my previous research and explain how that translates into readiness for the rigors of HST. then i explained my future research interests and how an HST education prepares me for that career. i'm not sure i did it at all successfully, but HST is a reach for me anyway, so i'm not that concerned about it.
 
Is anybody else having issues with the fee?

I received an email verifying that I paid but the secondary hasn't confirmed it yet and it's been close to a week...maybe I should call the admissions office?
 
My rec letters are still marked as "missing reference" although AMCAS received them back in June!
 
cooksgenes said:
I emailed them last week and they told me to allow them 2 days.... now it has been a week...
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They're probably swamped with applications pouring in (primaries, completed secondaries, letters, etc), so I wouldn't worry. Plus, Harvard is non-rolling and doesn't start doing interview invites until 9/7 (NP) and 10/15 (HST) anyways. They won't even reject before the first decision date (3/4 last year) like some other non-rolling schools do. A week or two delay is LORs in no biggie.

Gotta look big picture timeline if you want to survive this excruciatingly long year 👍
 
I was wondering what people's thoughts are about the first essay, which asks you to briefly summarize activities since graduation if you have already graduated.

The way it is worded, it almost sounds like they intended this essay for "traditional" students that either just graduated or took a gap year. For student's that graduated several to many years ago and have numerous experiences, I am wondering what they expect to see. I am five years out of school, so I could approach this two ways: (1) A to-the-point description of my activities without much reflection about their impact on my life, or (2) going a bit more in-depth about what I learned from each experience, being careful to try to keep each one "brief" per their instructions.

Anyone that can comment?

Thanks!
 
PlumbLine said:
I was wondering what people's thoughts are about the first essay, which asks you to briefly summarize activities since graduation if you have already graduated.

The way it is worded, it almost sounds like they intended this essay for "traditional" students that either just graduated or took a gap year. For student's that graduated several to many years ago and have numerous experiences, I am wondering what they expect to see. I am five years out of school, so I could approach this two ways: (1) A to-the-point description of my activities without much reflection about their impact on my life, or (2) going a bit more in-depth about what I learned from each experience, being careful to try to keep each one "brief" per their instructions.

Anyone that can comment?

Thanks!
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I did a mix of the two. I am a non-trad, 4 years out of undergrad. I did one sentence about the activity/experience and then one sentence explaining its impact/how it will affect my practice as a physician.

P.S. Anyone feel cocky writing about how your experiences will affect/infom your practice when 1) there's no guarantee that we will even have a practice and 2) for all our shadowing/working/volunteering, none of us know what it's actually like to be a doctor? Just a thought.
 
GemelloMD said:
I did a mix of the two. I am a non-trad, 4 years out of undergrad. I did one sentence about the activity/experience and then one sentence explaining its impact/how it will affect my practice as a physician.

P.S. Anyone feel cocky writing about how your experiences will affect/infom your practice when 1) there's no guarantee that we will even have a practice and 2) for all our shadowing/working/volunteering, none of us know what it's actually like to be a doctor? Just a thought.
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Sounds like a good plan. Thanks for the advice!
 
Honest thoughts on whether I should even try with a 10 on VR and low gpa.
PS 14, VR 10, BS, 11 = 35. (btw. first mcat was a 28, with a VR of 7...)
gpa around 3.5 though... strong upward trend Fr 2.3, So 3.0, Jr 3.5, Sr 4.0, post-bacc 3.95 but still equates to 3.5 overall.

Thanks!
 
Schrdngrs Ct said:
Honest thoughts on whether I should even try with a 10 on VR and low gpa.
PS 14, VR 10, BS, 11 = 35. (btw. first mcat was a 28, with a VR of 7...)
gpa around 3.5 though... strong upward trend Fr 2.3, So 3.0, Jr 3.5, Sr 4.0, post-bacc 3.95 but still equates to 3.5 overall.

Thanks!
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As you can see here (http://hms.harvard.edu/departments/admissions/applying/selection-factors/class-statistics), a verbal score of 10 is only one point lower than the average at HMS when they made this page. The GPA is substantially lower than the 3.8 average, but your junior, senior, and post-bacc years were within an HMS kind of range. So my advice would be to consider whether you have other parts of your application (really interesting background or really exceptional accomplishments) that might make your application stand out at a really competitive school -- numbers are only part of it.
 
cooksgenes said:
My rec letters are still marked as "missing reference" although AMCAS received them back in June!
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Thank god! I was worried for a second...mine says the same thing, but I guess we shouldn't worry too much since Harvard does not do rolling admissions.
 
Schrdngrs Ct said:
Honest thoughts on whether I should even try with a 10 on VR and low gpa.
PS 14, VR 10, BS, 11 = 35. (btw. first mcat was a 28, with a VR of 7...)
gpa around 3.5 though... strong upward trend Fr 2.3, So 3.0, Jr 3.5, Sr 4.0, post-bacc 3.95 but still equates to 3.5 overall.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Your numbers are within range. It becomes a question of your extracurriculars. If you feel they are strong, then by all means go for it.
 
I heard there's a rock climbing wall available to HMS students. Is that the same wall that's on the main campus, or is there a separate wall at HMS? If so, does anyone know how good it is?
 
Hey guys,
I'm a US resident of 5 years. had never been exposed to English before 2007. I have always had hard time with the VR section. That said I was able to bring it up to an 8 ( I know the average is 11 but its an average). Over all I got a 31 (12/8/11) and I have a 4.0 cGPA/sGPA. I have good LOR, ECs and PS. Anyone care to give me some honest comments on my chances here? I submitted my primary on the 19th of July and am from Illinois. If that matters at all.
 
apate232 said:
Hey guys,
I'm a US resident of 5 years. had never been exposed to English before 2007. I have always had hard time with the VR section. That said I was able to bring it up to an 8 ( I know the average is 11 but its an average). Over all I got a 31 (12/8/11) and I have a 4.0 cGPA/sGPA. I have good LOR, ECs and PS. Anyone care to give me some honest comments on my chances here? I submitted my primary on the 19th of July and am from Illinois. If that matters at all.
Click to expand...

Dont post this on every school you're considering applying. Either stop or make a thread in the what are my chances forum. Noone can tell you your true chances, people have gotten in with your stats before but also people have been rejected with your stats. Apply if you have the money, and apply broadly.
 
Did any of you get a letter in the mail from Harvard inviting you to "consider applying" to their school? I did not apply here but they are suggesting I apply (I'm a URM) because my "MCAT is within their range of accepted students."

I think they are trolling me... I got a 27 ..

They just want my money right?
 
I just received a letter from HMS stating that my stats are within range as a economically disadvantaged or underrepresented minority. I am curious if they send this to everyone that designated themselves either of the two?
 
Jonass00 said:
I just received a letter from HMS stating that my stats are within range as a economically disadvantaged or underrepresented minority. I am curious if they send this to everyone that designated themselves either of the two?
Click to expand...

I got this too, but I'm not URM or disadvantaged...not that I know of
 
Lexipi said:
Did any of you get a letter in the mail from Harvard inviting you to "consider applying" to their school? I did not apply here but they are suggesting I apply (I'm a URM) because my "MCAT is within their range of accepted students."

I think they are trolling me... I got a 27 ..

They just want my money right?
Click to expand...

Sorry I overlooked your post before I posted mine. I received the same letter. I have the same curiosity about the letter.
 
sorry for taking/hijacking this thread but i just got in the mail from Harvard "inviting me to consider applying to HMS". Should I do this or are they just trying to get some money out of me? My stats are not very competitive at harvard and I didn't apply as a minority so I don't know why I got this, anyone get something similar?
 
ewelling said:
Did you have trouble with the fee payment? It doesn't seem like it goes through.
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I'm having the same problem! Once I hit "Buy", the screen returns to the Application Fee page with no information update 😕
I've tried in both Safari and Chrome browsers.
 
dukekid123 said:
I'm having the same problem! Once I hit "Buy", the screen returns to the Application Fee page with no information update 😕
I've tried in both Safari and Chrome browsers.
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I figured out my CC was maxed out by all the app fees...it worked when I used a debit card instead 🙂
 
ewelling said:
I figured out my CC was maxed out by all the app fees...it worked when I used a debit card instead 🙂
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👍 Worked with a debit card, but my credit card definitely wasn't maxed out
 
dukekid123 said:
I'm having the same problem! Once I hit "Buy", the screen returns to the Application Fee page with no information update 😕
I've tried in both Safari and Chrome browsers.
Click to expand...

I had this issue as well. I emailed the Admissions Committee and they said it was a glitch with the secondary registering fees. They fixed it for me right away!
 
I can't wait to tell my grand kids someday that I got a secondary invite from Harvard!
 
If I don't have a LOR from a non-science teacher, how bad will it affect my chances?

MCAT: 40, 3.93 sGPA, 3.90 cGPA.
 
Member25614 said:
If I don't have a LOR from a non-science teacher, how bad will it affect my chances?

MCAT: 40, 3.93 sGPA, 3.90 cGPA.
Click to expand...

You might want to check their website if they require a non-science. If they require it and you don't have it, you aren't getting accepted.
 
Lexipi said:
Did any of you get a letter in the mail from Harvard inviting you to "consider applying" to their school? I did not apply here but they are suggesting I apply (I'm a URM) because my "MCAT is within their range of accepted students."

I think they are trolling me... I got a 27 ..

They just want my money right?
Click to expand...


Yeah, same here. I got a 33 (8 VR). I suppose my family is impoverished post-2008, but that was the year I graduated, so I didn't necessarily grow up economically disadvantaged.

I suppose I should be thankful though. If not for Harvard, I never would have realized I qualify for FAP!
 
Member25614 said:
Sorry, I'm a little new to these forums. What's a LizzyM score?
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It's your GPA*10 + MCAT. It's a score designed by an admission officer on SDN called LizzyM, and is an approximate estimate on what schools are in your range (each school has an average LizzyM score and can be determined by sources like MSAR). Of course, stats are only one part of your application (there are so many factors), so the score should not be taken too seriously.
 
Member25614 said:
If I don't have a LOR from a non-science teacher, how bad will it affect my chances?

MCAT: 40, 3.93 sGPA, 3.90 cGPA.
Click to expand...

Call the admissions office and ask. I believe one non-science letter is technically a requirement, but schools have been known to offer some leeway depending on your situation.
 
TheKDizzle said:
Call the admissions office and ask. I believe one non-science letter is technically a requirement, but schools have been known to offer some leeway depending on your situation.
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Thanks, for the advice. I contacted them this morning and their response was:

"Thank you for your interest in Harvard Medical School. While a letter from a non-science professor is requested, the committee understands that it is not always possible to achieve one, especially for those with hard science majors. It's for this reason that the criteria listed for our letters of evaluation are not strict requirements. While the Committee on Admissions prefers to see at least two letters from science-based professors, and one from a non-science professor, ultimately what letters you choose to include are up to your own discretion. Please choose the letters of evaluation you believe best support your application.

Your application will still be considered even if you do not meet the letter criteria precisely."
 
Member25614 said:
Thanks, for the advice. I contacted them this morning and their response was:

"Thank you for your interest in Harvard Medical School. While a letter from a non-science professor is requested, the committee understands that it is not always possible to achieve one, especially for those with hard science majors. It's for this reason that the criteria listed for our letters of evaluation are not strict requirements. While the Committee on Admissions prefers to see at least two letters from science-based professors, and one from a non-science professor, ultimately what letters you choose to include are up to your own discretion. Please choose the letters of evaluation you believe best support your application.

Your application will still be considered even if you do not meet the letter criteria precisely."
Click to expand...

I saw this after I had applied as well and it had be nervous, but this is reassuring news! Thanks and good luck!
 
Member25614 said:
Thanks, for the advice. I contacted them this morning and their response was:

"Thank you for your interest in Harvard Medical School. While a letter from a non-science professor is requested, the committee understands that it is not always possible to achieve one, especially for those with hard science majors. It's for this reason that the criteria listed for our letters of evaluation are not strict requirements. While the Committee on Admissions prefers to see at least two letters from science-based professors, and one from a non-science professor, ultimately what letters you choose to include are up to your own discretion. Please choose the letters of evaluation you believe best support your application.

Your application will still be considered even if you do not meet the letter criteria precisely."
Click to expand...

Great! Thanks for sharing and good luck 🙂
 
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