2014-2015 Harvard Medical School Application Thread
Started by gettheleadout
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I'm still waiting🙁
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At this point I really hope to have closure of some form..This wait is really ugh..
I did not. NP only
No response....
Waitlisted NP. Anyone know how much waitlist movement there usually is?
From the email: "There are roughly fifty candidates on the Pathways waitlist and thirty candidates on the HST waitlist. The number of candidates admitted from the waitlist varies from year to year depending on the number of declines and deferrals received from the original pool of admitted candidates. While we initially extend offers of admission to more candidates than we can accommodate in the incoming class, we fully expect to be making offers to waitlisted candidates in May and early June."
From the email: "There are roughly fifty candidates on the Pathways waitlist and thirty candidates on the HST waitlist. The number of candidates admitted from the waitlist varies from year to year depending on the number of declines and deferrals received from the original pool of admitted candidates. While we initially extend offers of admission to more candidates than we can accommodate in the incoming class, we fully expect to be making offers to waitlisted candidates in May and early June."
Was yours sent at 5:04 as well?
5:02pm
Rejected
Yup rejected NP as well. Whatever.
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Rejected at 5:42PM.
Rejected NP-only at 5:41 PM EST :/
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Rejected NP only 5:40PM haha
Congrats and best of luck to all.
Congrats and best of luck to all.
Rejected NP 5:51 est. Between UCSF and JHU now barring entry of yale into the mix. Congrats everyone and well deserved!!!!!!!!!!
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Rejected NP not surprised but it stings a little 🙁
Received one rejection e-mail (interviewed NP, rejected HST pre-interview). Honestly thought I had a decent shot; both interviews went well but of course I knew that wasn't enough. Heartbroken. But congratulations to everyone accepted - this is huge.
Have any applicants that were interviewed by NP but rejected by HST pre-interview been accepted by NP?
Have any applicants that were interviewed by NP but rejected by HST pre-interview been accepted by NP?
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Rejected NP only too, email timestamp 5:41pm EST. Disappointed but taking solace in @breakintheroof and @TheKDizzle 's words. Congrats to everyone accepted today!
I'm joining the Harvard rejects club as well.
Rejected post-interview by HST (rejected pre-interview by np and MSTP). Oh well, I'm not too upset since I've been accepted to a couple of great md/phd programs already. This will just make my final decision less agonizing. congrats to all those accepted!
Rejected post-interview by HST (rejected pre-interview by np and MSTP). Oh well, I'm not too upset since I've been accepted to a couple of great md/phd programs already. This will just make my final decision less agonizing. congrats to all those accepted!
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rejected NP at 5:43PM. hurt more than i expected but congrats to those accepted, and good luck to those on the WL!
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Any HST acceptances yet?
Rejected NP just now. Was fun while it lasted.
I guess I shouldn't really be surprised since I didn't get an interview here. 😀
I guess I shouldn't really be surprised since I didn't get an interview here. 😀
accepted NP at around 1:30
Anyone else notice that the rejection email was for "the class entering in August 2014" ---so there's still a chance for 2015!! 😉
Wow! Too funny. Just proves Harvard makes mistakes, including not accepting me 😛
Finally rejected pre-II. Congrats to everyone who got good news today!
+1
I think this makes me more level headed in evaluating and choosing a medical school, so something good can come out a little pinch on the ego.
So long HMS. Kudos to you all beasts who got in!
Long time lurker here - accepted NP yesterday! Very excited, but I do have a question: are any of you as concerned as I am about being the first class with the new curriculum? I'm a fan of a shortened preclinical, but I'm not convinced being the first class would run smoothly at all...any thoughts?
hmmm. I did not think about that. But this is HMS. May be couple minor things. but overall should be okay ..
Congratulations and welcome to SDN, @pickmechooseme!
I share your concerns. All big changes come with hiccups, and it's hard to predict this rollout will go. We asked a couple of current students on this thread, but they haven't been told much either. (For example, how will rotations work with two classes starting at almost the same time?)
I'm sure more information will come down the pipeline, maybe for those at Revisit at least. For now all I can find is the Pathways website.
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I visited quite a few schools undergoing similar changes in curricula (love that word), like Vanderbilt and Cornell. That was, unfortunately, the #1 complaint I heard from their students on Interview Day.
Ultimately, I'd try to gauge how responsive the administration already is to student feedback currently. The students I met who complained about the hiccups of their new curricula typically said that they felt it was a large drawback but largely alleviated through an extremely responsive administration that genuinely welcomed feedback and implemented it quickly.
Thank you for the welcome! Happy to be here! 🙂
I'm sure there is a plan, I just think switching from 2 years to 1 year is a big switch, and while the admin might be prepared, will professors be adequately prepared? Also, current MS1s and next year's MS1s overlapping during clinical year for a portion of it can't be ideal.
I don't want to fall into the trap of thinking "Harvard will be fine because it's Harvard," if that makes sense. I am fortunate to have a few other great options, so this could definitely come to being a deciding factor. To me at least, HMS is an amazing school, but another top 5 school with a more established curriculum might be the way to go.
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After being here for a while, I feel that the change is well intentioned, but I'm not sure how smooth it will be to be honest. Mainly, I have concerns about the push for flipped classrooms. As I understand it, next year it will be mainly small/medium group discussion sections, with little to no lecture. IMO this sounds great on paper, but always falls short in implementation.
Right now we have had some of these "flipped classroom" sessions, and at least some of us hate it and feel that we are just learning by reading the textbook, which we could do at home. Nonetheless, all administrations are going towards this new "revolutionary" (/s) model, so there is no escaping it. I've heard complaints from friends at other schools, although some people do seem to like it better than lecture. I guess it comes down to your personal preferences for learning, but mandatory attendance to small group sessions ends up being a waste of time if its not your style. That being said, you will probably end up teaching yourself what you need to know everywhere, so regardless of "differences" in school curriculum, everyone will end up learning the same and having similar experiences.
As to the compressed time and merged clinical years (with the current 1st years), I don't think it should be too much of an issue. They are not including all of the material in the first year (they are moving some more advanced concepts until after the clinical year), and right now our curriculum has a lot of wasted time that can be safely cut without losing any material (ie. we spent 4 weeks going over epi/health policy stuff that could have been covered in <1 week, etc). For rotations there are 3 major hospitals that could each support a whole medical school class, so I don't think space/scheduling will be too bad.
As for the administrations receptiveness, it 50/50. They try to involve students a lot through committees/etc, but sometimes it just seems like a lot of bureaucracy that is not super transparent. For those of you concerned, I would suggest you try to get different opinions during revisit.
Right now we have had some of these "flipped classroom" sessions, and at least some of us hate it and feel that we are just learning by reading the textbook, which we could do at home. Nonetheless, all administrations are going towards this new "revolutionary" (/s) model, so there is no escaping it. I've heard complaints from friends at other schools, although some people do seem to like it better than lecture. I guess it comes down to your personal preferences for learning, but mandatory attendance to small group sessions ends up being a waste of time if its not your style. That being said, you will probably end up teaching yourself what you need to know everywhere, so regardless of "differences" in school curriculum, everyone will end up learning the same and having similar experiences.
As to the compressed time and merged clinical years (with the current 1st years), I don't think it should be too much of an issue. They are not including all of the material in the first year (they are moving some more advanced concepts until after the clinical year), and right now our curriculum has a lot of wasted time that can be safely cut without losing any material (ie. we spent 4 weeks going over epi/health policy stuff that could have been covered in <1 week, etc). For rotations there are 3 major hospitals that could each support a whole medical school class, so I don't think space/scheduling will be too bad.
As for the administrations receptiveness, it 50/50. They try to involve students a lot through committees/etc, but sometimes it just seems like a lot of bureaucracy that is not super transparent. For those of you concerned, I would suggest you try to get different opinions during revisit.
The fact that you are willing to apply a critical eye to your school is very much appreciated. It helps us here on the application side of things a lot and I hope to emulate your approach next year.
The "flipped classroom" seems like a big push at many schools, I agree. How is it implemented in NP? What is it that makes some students like it and others dislike it, do you think?
No problem! I still think HMS is the right choice, but its important to make an informed choice and not just "because it's HMS".
Flipped classroom here is implemented in a couple of different ways, some more successful than others. In most instances, you read the material before class and then either work through a case or through some questions with the professor. Theres also small (~8-10 students + professor) tutorials that discuss problem sets / cases.
I feel everyone has different takes on it, but some of the prominent complaints are that its not well directed enough (not enough guiding questions, etc), and that it does not really improve our understanding (the questions don't really require much thought). For example, for some of the tutorials you have a case, but other than reading it and looking up what you don't know, it seems like a waste of time without any questions to answer. In other settings, you might have to do a problem set and then come to class to discuss the answers, which IMO you could do by yourself in half the time by just looking over the answer key.
Thanks so much! To both you and @breakintheroof .
I guess my biggest concern isn't Harvard's efforts, including implementing prelim trial runs on your class to assess the format (particularly, like you said, given that many schools are switching over to this format). My issue mostly comes with switching to an actual one year format and the problems that would arise with being a first year in a school that had just changed curriculums.
As @Salt Salt said, I have heard from other students at medical schools currently changing curriculums, and this is the #1 complaint I have heard...students do seem to feel the "guinea pig" effect, and it adds stress to their education. Further, I have heard from current HMS students (and I believe I read on this thread) that the administration is not as open and forthcoming as at other schools. This could just be the perception of some students, but I have heard it from multiple sources.
To be clear: Harvard is an amazing institution, but we just happen to be the incoming class that would be the first year with this new curriculum. As much as @medicalhope did an amazing job assuaging some of my fears, I think those bumps in the road are impossible to predict for any school (and I can't imagine they won't exist - at least in some form - when the MS2s and MS3s collide with clerkships). HMS is definitely still in the mix for me, but it's something to consider! Thank you so much again! 🙂
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