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2015-2016 Harvard Medical School Application Thread
Started by Ismet
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yeah I'm pretty nervous, only sent in my secondary on October 15th. Assumed since it was non-rolling time wouldn't be a factor. Anyone who submitted around then hear back yet? I got IIs at 3 other ivys with 75LizzyM with 6 pubs + varsity sport so I was kind of hopeful.
Applied to pathways, HST, and Md/PhD
Applied to pathways, HST, and Md/PhD
Submitted an update, it just says that your file was uploaded
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Thank you!
II earlier. Un-freaking-believable.
LM ~ 69.5. Complete 9/1. Available dates were mostly in January and one in late December.
LM ~ 69.5. Complete 9/1. Available dates were mostly in January and one in late December.
Would love to get a chance there! pretty please!
I can safely say that if I got an interview, they are definitely looking beyond just numbers. Best of luck to you man.
Have there been any pre-interview rejections sent out by Harvard yet?
Not until March, I don't think.
I felt like I should add that I received one of those Harvard letters encouraging me to apply a few months ago. Not sure if that actually made any difference in me receiving an II at all, since I feel like they're just automated, but just putting it out there.
Is that what made you apply?
I applied because of that too, and got an II! I also met the woman who sends them out and she was thrilled to hear it made people choose to apply, so I don't think it's 100% automated. It's based on what you put in MED-MAR I think.
Edit: obvi I meant MED-MAR and not MSAR. Lord almighty.
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Hell nah lol. Dream big, bro. I was going to apply regardless. I thought the letter itself was meaningless, but it looked nice, and my mother actually sent me a picture on the phone all excited, thinking it was an acceptance or something. Lol.
So glad to hear it! A lot of my classmates and I volunteer time to fold and seal those letters - even if the text is formulaic, we put a lot of good wishes into them.
So what determines if someone gets the letter or not?
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I'm guessing it's MED-MAR? If so, it'd be URMs with a given MCAT score.
Not sure what MED-MAR means... but I got the application invite letter from Harvard. It basically states Harvard is looking for applicants with diversity and from traditionally underrepresented areas in medicine (think low socio-economic background, growing up in rural setting, or culturally URM etc.) and then encouraged me to apply based on MCAT and GPA (entered GPA when I took the MCAT).
My mom called and said "You got a letter from Harvey Dunn, is that a good school?" If that gives you any indication of the rock i grew up under haha.
It was a very generic letter, but encouraged me enough to apply.
She manually sends them out? Or like, selects people to send them out to? If so, that's pretty cool. I really thought it was like a spam thing, lol.
Anyone here get the letter, apply, and still hear nothing?
I actually had absolutely no intention of applying to Harvard because I thought I had zero chance at all, but when I got the letter I thought "Eh, what's the worst that could happen?" and luckily got an II!
My friend received such letters and decided to take a leap of faith and applied to Harvard (Harvard was originally so out of his radar that he didn't even consider applying there until this letter). He interviewed there last week!
This is probably a stupid question since I know the definition of "average" BUT I'll ask anyways.
To those who received interviews: were any of you significantly (>.1) below HSM's average accepted GPA of 3.8?
And to those of you currently enrolled: I know Med school is probably like undergrad where "no one cares about your SAT/hs gpa" but do you know of any classmates who were accepted with a 3.6 or below from undergrad?
Just wondering.
To those who received interviews: were any of you significantly (>.1) below HSM's average accepted GPA of 3.8?
And to those of you currently enrolled: I know Med school is probably like undergrad where "no one cares about your SAT/hs gpa" but do you know of any classmates who were accepted with a 3.6 or below from undergrad?
Just wondering.
I received an II with a sGPA more than .1 below 3.8. My LizzyM is also average (69).
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Yup my gpa is also more than .1 point away from their 3.8 avg. MCAT not too high either. I'd say they're super hollistic in their selection of people to interview!
Harvard is willing to trade a few points for other things like leadership potential. They could otherwise fill their entire class with 4.0/40s. They aren't as numerically strict as say, WashU and Penn.
I received one of those as well. Does everyone get one of those above a certain MCAT score? I received a similar letter from penn and northwestern and landed interviews at both of those places....
I received them from Northwestern and Penn, too. Applied to Northwestern but now regretting not applying to Penn haha
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funny enough, I got an II from WashU, but not Penn or HMS so far... yet my GPA is well below typical.
Interesting. Pretty sure WashU screened out my primary due to a subpar MCAT. Never received a secondary. Screw them. Lol.
Interviewed with a <3.8 GPA, and my MCAT isn't that high either. Echoing what others said it seems Harvard really looks at the overall application and wants a diverse class of people who could do well in a variety of different fields in and related to medicine - my interview day had people of very varied interests: medical education, tech, health policy, medical humanities, etc.
LizzyM 67 so yes big time
You guys have been SO incredibly reassuring, thank you!
Perhaps I haven't completely screwed myself out of HMS yet.
.....Now I'll go back to studying for my biochem final so that statement doesn't end up being ironic
Personally, I don't think the letter means people automatically get invites or even special consideration. I think it's just a friendly way of letting people at the margins know that they aren't automatically disqualified based on some sort of hard cutoff. I think the natural instinct is to disqualify yourself from these schools if you don't score a 38 or something.
Note, no one has said that the letter recipients are 'marginal' - indeed, they are selected because of the strength of their numbers.
people like to assume that all URMs have low numbers. but it's all good. #staymadabby
II just now!! Never received any letter to apply even though my mcat is on the low side for them and im URM. Anyways what a blessing!!
Question, do you guys think that receiving an interview this late might put me at a disadvantage? Since i was completed back in august...?
Don't think too much about it! You got an II for a reason! They wouldn't just give you an invite if they weren't seriously considering you. Just werk it when you're there!
lol, its harvard, youre always at a disadvantage. Dont stress, neurotic questions will drive you insane.
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For the people who got invited, were you complete around mid to late October or before that?
Here are the last several II's
. I was looking at that myself since I was complete at the end of September.
Complete late August
Anyone else interviewing on Dec 22? Seems like many students will be gone for winter break so I'm expecting a dead campus. 🙁
I interviewed that day last year - there should still be a lunch panel for you to attend. It's true that most students will be gone, however.
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