Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
This is exactly how I feel!
-
CycleTrack and SDN are teaming up to make medical school admissions more transparent and accessible! Read the announcement to learn how we’re supporting the future of CycleTrack’s free application-tracking tools .
2014-2015 Harvard Medical School Application Thread
Started by gettheleadout
Get help with your application
Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.
+ 1
Exactly haha. And my hopes are dwindling by the day
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Exactly. Same pants too.
Yeah that's how I feel.
I honestly hate waiting but would rather just be waitlisted than it just be over that day.
AHHHHH.
Obv I would rather waitlist than rejection but the waitlist anticipation would kill me
Is the general consensus that decisions are being released on the first Monday of March?
I think the consensus is just sometime next week. I believe they came out on the 4th last year, which would be Wednesday next week. I'd take Monday though.
Talk about anxiety. Though I keep thinking, at the end of the day, most of harvard applicants (according to the lady at harvard) will definitely be going to med school somewhere so that's always a silver lining!
Agreed - I work at a Harvard hospital and this city is a total nightmare right now.
Hey all, hang in there! The wait sucks but in a few months it'll seem like it flew by. If anyone has any questions about HMS feel free to ask!
Great! Was hoping another current student would post.
Could you comment on your personal experience of student life? Do you find you and your classmates socialize on a regular basis?
What sort of EC's are you involved with as an MS at Harvard?
Do you find it to be a competitive atmosphere?
Student life is great! People socialize a lot, and there are usually parties/hangouts every Friday/Saturday. Some of these are low key and other are more organized outings, but there is always something to do. Also, can't stress enough the fact that Boston is awesome (aside from the current snow) and there is tons to do.
That being said, the class as a whole is fairly intense/type A/overachievers. This does not translate into competitiveness due to P/F, but averages have been astronomical and some people study all the time, leading to quieter weekends prior to major exams. Right now I feel people don't feel stressed about competition, but they do feel stressed about performing at the high level set by the majority. I'm not sure wether there is competition in the clinical year once we have grades, but I'm guessing the atmosphere varies depending where you select for your core rotations (this effect will most likely disappear for next year's class considering random placements).
As for EC's, everyone's are different. There are tons of interest groups you can get involved with (help coordinate panels, lunch talks, workshops, etc), and most people will get involved with research at some point (it's required). There is also a robust student government and several free clinics. The free clinics are spread throughout the different hospitals (plus a few other locations) and are a great experience, although in contrast with other schools volunteers go around once a month.
Hope this answered your questions!
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Thanks so much, this was great. In regards to P/F, is it a true P/F as in no internal ranking?
Although I was able to find the P/F info on the HMS website, I wasn't able to find any info as to whether students are still ranked during pre-clinical years.
Thanks for answering our questions, @medicalhope! Very interesting stuff.
I'm curious about this. Students currently rank their choices for the clinical year, as I understand it. Is this changing? If so, why? And how will it work? Will it apply to all of the sites, including Cambridge Health Alliance?
I asked my student host and he said it was a true P/F.
Cambridge Health Alliance has very limited space and requires students to opt-in. It is the only one though.
Last edited:
Yes that is correct. We don't have AOA either (which is an honorary that is bestowed upon the top ~15% of the class for most schools).
You would be correct in saying that - decisions are coming out next week, though we are not exactly sure when yet. Hang in there everyone!
Last edited:
For the first two years it is P/F with no internal rankings, with a couple of minor caveats.
For one, there are small group discussions for each course, and the tutorial leaders of these discussions give feedback as to the students performance in tutorial. These are "qualitative" with a short narrative and a number of competencies ("Knows the material: Not Acceptable/Acceptable/Exceeds Expectation", "Participates:...", etc). These reports are never released, but they are used internally for the Dean's letter.
Secondly, there is a "Marginal Pass" option for students that barely passed. (Ie. 70 if passing was 70). This is also never released, but is available internally and probably factors in to MBA admissions/ dean's letter. I'm not 100% sure of the he exact specifics of this, as it has never been definitively explained, but this is the general twist.
Finally, there is a "Bottom Quartile". How this is calculated is also kind of murky, and it does not apply to all classes. From what we have been told and from what I've seen, it seems to be the bottom 25% of the final score for each course (so aroudn 50 students get it for each class). While like the other things it does not get reported with the transcript, if you get 3 of these you have to meet with your advisor to make sure you are doing alright. Furthermore, we were told that getting 3 bars you from doing the 1 year MD/MBA (although you can still do the 2 year option).
As for the final 2 years, it is grades and I think there are quotas (ie. x% High Honors, x% Honors, x% Pass, x% Fail). Once again, not fully sure about how the quotas work, and it might be that they don't have a "fail" quota (although they deff. have a honors one).
As for not ranking the choices for your clinical site, I honestly have no idea why it is happening. It might be a logistics thing, or an attempt to get people to stress less. They keep telling us where you go does not matter, and that you can rotate through all of them later (and the incoming class will have way more time for electives).
I'm also unsure about CHA, but due to how different it is, I doubt it'll apply.
To further expand @medicalhope post, the 3 bottom quartile scores (only apply to final grades for a major course) will also never show up on your record. The meeting with your advisor/society master is only to check up on you, as the school has found in the past that students who have consistently scored in the bottom quartile also tend to struggle in the wards, so a meeting to provide you with additional assistance and resources can only be to your benefit. The only downside to this rule is that it also applies to the 5-yr MD/MBA program - you may argue this is the exception to the true P/F system (for those who wants to apply for the dual degree). Not exactly sure why this rule is in place, though likely to screen people out from applying for the program. Only 13-14 students from HMS can get accepted every year, and more than that number apply every year - it is the only "competitive" dual degree program that we can apply for, as MD/MBA is very popular. (any dual degree program will split the 4th year to half med school, half masters program, which may make 4th year harder to manage for students, especially for those who are not doing as well, but the 3-striker rule only applies to the MBA program so this is likely not the main reason for the rule.)
With the new curriculum, however, the policy/number of courses may change, so this may/may not apply to the incoming class.
With the new curriculum, however, the policy/number of courses may change, so this may/may not apply to the incoming class.
Last edited:
@YamNMangos @medicalhope Thank you for this information, it's always nice when students talk openly about how their school really works!
It does seem that it would be important to know that "marginal pass" and tutorial narrative evaluations can end up on the dean's letter. That's not an internal document as it gets sent to residencies.
It does seem that it would be important to know that "marginal pass" and tutorial narrative evaluations can end up on the dean's letter. That's not an internal document as it gets sent to residencies.
No problem! You guys should really make an informed decision, and it is often hard to find all the details.
A note on the dean's letter however, the preclinical portion is only supposed to be a couple of sentences. Ultimately, all your evaluations and "grades" from the first two years will be condensed into some generic statement like "he completed all his preclinical courses well, etc.".
Yep, and do note that most residencies across the country care very little about your preclinical years, even if it was not P/F. Step 1, clinical years, research, recs, etc. are far more important.
You mention a lot of people apply for MD/MBA. Would you say it's about double the # of spots?
Also, do you know of the types of people that get in (i.e., do they have prior business experience)?
I'm also interested in the backgrounds of students accepted into the MD/MBA program. I can understand why it's appealing to get degrees from both HMS and HBS, but wondering if these students are typically just folks interested in leadership/business/policy generally vs. those who have actual prior business experience.
The percent of people getting accepted varies every year, but the number seems to be consistent at around 10-15. If only 10-15 people apply, most people seem to get accepted while if 20-30 apply, it's closer to 50%. Even then its a good acceptance rate, but it's just not guaranteed.
As for people's background, I think it varies. I do feel most people don't have any business experience and are interested in leadership/policy. Theres also a good number interested in entrepreneurship. As a requirement to apply, since they waive the standard business experience requirement, you are supposed to do something management required over the summer (which they describe as basically anything that is not basic science, ie. quality improvement research/etc.).
As for people's background, I think it varies. I do feel most people don't have any business experience and are interested in leadership/policy. Theres also a good number interested in entrepreneurship. As a requirement to apply, since they waive the standard business experience requirement, you are supposed to do something management required over the summer (which they describe as basically anything that is not basic science, ie. quality improvement research/etc.).
@medicalhope @YamNMangos
How do you guys like life in Vanderbilt? Do you guys find you leave the Longwood area often throughout the week? My impression of the area from the little bit of exploring I got to do was like it was a little medical city and getting up to anything non-school related (hobbies, sports, social) might require leaving that area.
How do you guys like life in Vanderbilt? Do you guys find you leave the Longwood area often throughout the week? My impression of the area from the little bit of exploring I got to do was like it was a little medical city and getting up to anything non-school related (hobbies, sports, social) might require leaving that area.
Vanderbilt Hall has pros and cons, and it really depends on your expectations and what you are looking for. It's nice because of how close it is to school (across the street) and it allows you to get to know your class well (as most people live there). It also has decent size rooms and convenient athletics facilities. On the other hand, it is a dorm with shared kitchens/bathrooms, and being an old building it has tons of problems. They are always cutting water or something in the weekends to do repairs, and the wifi is awful. Security/access into the building is also a pain, and you have to sign in every visitor (and if you have more than 1, you need to get someone else to sign them in). We've been promised the wifi will get fixed over the summer, so you all might have it better. Still, IMO the convenience, price and community beat the cons of the facilities.
As for Longwood, it is pretty much dead at night, which is unfortunate. Other than food and delivery, your close food options for dinner are fairly limited unless you are willing to walk 10-15 minutes. Nonetheless, Fenway is 15 minute walk away and there are tons of restaurants/bars there. You can also take the M2 (Harvard run and free!) to Cambridge, where there are many places too. The public transportation to Longwood is also not great (outside of the M2), as we are in the green line (which is notorious in Boston). For most medical ECs and activities you'll be satisfied with Longwood, but for social things/food you'll end up leaving. Lots of Ms2-4 live in better areas such as Coolidge Corner and Cambridge and just commute to school (the commute is not too bad even from Cambridge).
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Not in Vanderbilt Hall, but you can check: http://www.huhousing.harvard.edu/ . Trilogy is in Fenway (10-15 minutes walk away) and they take marries couples. It's a little bit pricier than what you usually get on the market, but I hear it is super nice, includes utilities and you don't have to deal with realtors and all the hidden fees.
Awesome. Thanks for all your feedback on this thread!
TBH I have no idea. For us I think it was Tuesday, but I don't think theres a pattern. If you are feeling brave, call in to admissions and ask. (use skype if you don't wanna be identified)
3-4 days left of impending doom guys...
"
Last edited:
Yeah, it's kind of a mystery how things actually work. The administration is not super transparent TBH, although now we are holding "Town Meetings", and the new dean of education seems very open to input and to having conversations with us.
Why is no one posting and freaking out isn't tomorrow the day decisions are sent!?!?
Silence before the big storm
Don't worry, you are not alone! Thankfully I have house of cards to binge on and help me get through! I really do hope it's tomorrow...
hopefully it is tomorrow, but no guarantees...trying not to get too anxious yet!
Where are you guys getting 3/2 as the (possible) decision release day?
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Every other year its been March 3rd or 2nd. It's just the TIME! We feel it!
But, looking back, it seems that decisions don't come out on the first weekday of March, but the second or third -- and on March 3-5. (Am I neurotic...or am I neurotic?)
I thought they have been coming out the first monday in march for years except last year they came out on tuesday.
Similar threads
