2015-2016 Harvard Medical School Application Thread

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Nothing is recorded. Attendance is mandatory but it's the shortest class time I've seen, you're there 8-12 four days a week and that's it, no evening sessions, no extra group meetings. I hated having to cut dinner short in college b/c there was recitation at 8 or whatever. I'll take 16 hrs of no bullsh*t instruction early in the morning over 30+ hrs of crap lecture I have to speed through at 2x. At least my afternoons will be free to nap or take electives or play chess. After working for 3 years being free after 12 sounds ****ing awesome. I understand the people still in school balking at the 8 am mandatory but real talk, if that's your major reason for turning down any school, that's kinda dumb but to each their own. Your body will adjust to the schedule and PBL will make you engaged instead of falling asleep in a lecture environment. Plus once you're on clerkships your ass gonna be up at 6 am anyway so might as well get used to it in the long haul folks
 
what would you say are its weaknesses?
The major ones for me, with the disclosure that this is my undisputed top choice:

Size. HMS literally has everything you can think of, which is great to get involved in, but it also literally has over 1500 residents and fellows and postdocs who are competing for the same time and energy people have to give. The impact of this varies depending on the scenario but size is not always a good thing

Shortened preclinical. I worry that I won't be able to keep up with the pace, esp after being out of school for a while. But observing their PBL classes makes me worry about this less

Financial aid. Compared to everyone else they're ****ing amazing. Compared to some other schools I've interviewed at, their unit loan at $34k is rather high

School sports. Literally nonexistent, as with most Ivies. Maybe basketball is worth watching here. Also crimson is pretty ugly, I like Columbia's blue a lot better

As others mentioned, the wintry east coast is not for everyone. I like to think of it as we'll take all the hardier individuals who can brave 3 months of real cold, the west can take all the crybabies who never want precipitation even as that does horrific damage to their environmental surroundings 😛
 
Nothing is recorded. Attendance is mandatory but it's the shortest class time I've seen, you're there 8-12 four days a week and that's it, no evening sessions, no extra group meetings. I hated having to cut dinner short in college b/c there was recitation at 8 or whatever. I'll take 16 hrs of no bullsh*t instruction early in the morning over 30+ hrs of crap lecture I have to speed through at 2x. At least my afternoons will be free to nap or take electives or play chess. After working for 3 years being free after 12 sounds ****ing awesome. I understand the people still in school balking at the 8 am mandatory but real talk, if that's your major reason for turning down any school, that's kinda dumb but to each their own. Your body will adjust to the schedule and PBL will make you engaged instead of falling asleep in a lecture environment. Plus once you're on clerkships your ass gonna be up at 6 am anyway so might as well get used to it in the long haul folks
I can't argue that the actual class time sounds like it would be a very refreshing change of pace from straight up lecture all of the time, my only gripe is that it's mandatory. For PBL to work I definitely get attendance is vital, but to have to be in class every day takes a little flexibility away. That might still be minor to some but I have my reasons that it's an inconvenience.
 
I can't argue that the actual class time sounds like it would be a very refreshing change of pace from straight up lecture all of the time, my only gripe is that it's mandatory. For PBL to work I definitely get attendance is vital, but to have to be in class every day takes a little flexibility away. That might still be minor to some but I have my reasons that it's an inconvenience.
Of course, I understand that. But still, if the first-year schedule is the main reason to not consider a school, especially a well-resourced place like HMS, I think that's silly. 14 months goes by so quickly when you're busy it's ridiculous, and there is no other school in this country with as much flexibility in the latter half of med school as HMS gives its students. That's the clear tradeoff there
 
Hi ! I need help ! inflammation of the uterus treatment of new, modern

I'm writing a job candidate doctorate.
I need to describe the new Russian treatment of the disease: inflammation of the uterus.
Please help what some characteristics of this accomodation. I will be very grateful.

I am in Moscow. We search Google shows no US sites ...
This is not the correct website to ask this question. We cannot help you here. Go back to Google and make sure you are using the American version, http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en. Also, if you do not speak any English and you are using Google Translate to do research, you are not going to have good results.
 
Oh I forgot to report this last week. Called the office and they said decisions always come out during the first week of March but they do not give a particular day. From past years' threads, we see that decisions were released Thu 3/3/11, Mon 3/5/12, Mon 3/4/13, Tue 3/4/14, Tue 3/3/15. So we can guess with reasonable certainty that decisions may come Thu 3/3/16 or Fri 3/4/16.

Mark your calendars, errybody. One month to go 😉
 
Oh I forgot to report this last week. Called the office and they said decisions always come out during the first week of March but they do not give a particular day. From past years' threads, we see that decisions were released Thu 3/3/11, Mon 3/5/12, Mon 3/4/13, Tue 3/4/14, Tue 3/3/15. So we can guess with reasonable certainty that decisions may come Thu 3/3/16 or Fri 3/4/16.

Mark your calendars, errybody. One month to go 😉
Every decision comes out the same day, correct? Can't remember how they worded it at the welcome talk during interview day.
 
Damn, those days must be chaotic in the admissions office making sure everyone is emailed haha.
Yeah, I can only imagine! It's been a while since I looked at previous cycles' threads but if you look at the decision posts there it seems there is some method to how they release decisions throughout the day (IIRC it's MD/PhD first, people who applied to HST/both Pathways and HST next, Pathways-only next... something like that).
 
Every decision comes out the same day, correct? Can't remember how they worded it at the welcome talk during interview day.
Usually it's MSTP in the morning, HST afterwards, then MD-only in afternoon
Damn, those days must be chaotic in the admissions office making sure everyone is emailed haha.
Not really, they definitely automate it. I used to be partly responsible for mass emailing for my workplace and only the first year when you're designing the program algorithm and doing tests is hectic. Once it's all figured out, it's a plug and chug after inputting the correct parameters.
 
How do we log in to the Harvard financial aid website? Do we need to be accepted and given a login ID before starting the financial aid process?
 
How do we log in to the Harvard financial aid website? Do we need to be accepted and given a login ID before starting the financial aid process?
https://hms.harvard.edu/departments...bout-financial-aid-hms/application-procedures

Straight from their website:
"Candidates accepted or waitlisted for admission are asked to file additional application materials in March. These materials include parent tax returns, so families are urged to complete their tax returns early. Awards cannot be made until all materials have been received, therefore it is important to file as early as possible."

Hope that helps 🙂
 
^^ Could not agree more. I think that sometimes, we're all so determined and so hard on ourselves that we feel that we NEED the best, NEED to go to this school, but at the end of the day, the only thing I need is to go to a medical school. Ideally, one in the continental US that is MD (Which very fortunately I will be doing next year). I also find tremendous comfort in the fact that this is Harvard med, one of the top institutions in the country (if not the top, hehe). That being said, no one, not any combination of test scores, GPA, and ECs can feel entitled to a spot here. There are so many qualified applicants, even for a school of this caliber. You can only feel grateful for the opportunity to be in the running for a spot and proud of yourself for being in a position to be seriously considered. I have no doubts that all of you who interviewed here will be successful doctors, no matter where you matriculate. Let's just celebrate living our dreams.

I agree completely. HMS is a nice place, but there are a number of great schools out there. Most of the ~800 students interviewed probably deserve a spot here, but there just isn't space for you all. And, of course, it's not a perfect place. There are plenty of problems, frustrations, limitations, etc., just the same as everywhere. You'll all be fine. The next four weeks will be over before you blink.

Their brand new, untested one-year preclinical curriculum with mandatory early morning attendance is a weakness in my book.

Edit: also Boston

I can't say I was a big fan of that either. Mandatory 8 am classes sounds awful :blackeye:

Yeah, they are the only school that could get away with that switcheroo without a wild backlash.

Heh. What makes you think that there isn't a wild backlash? Maybe we're just good at keeping our b!#@&ing in-house...

Do they at least record the lectures...??

Cuz me attending and me paying attention are two completely different things...

Lol

There are no recordings unless you make them yourself. Besides, most of the lectures are quite good.

Most of it is small group PBL with little actual lecture, which is probably why class in mandatory.

That is very true. The curriculum structure requires attendance. There's also a strong sense of paternalism among some of the faculty.

Gotcha. Still...is the lecture part recorded??

Please say yes. I seriously do not learn in a traditional lecture format.

Nope. But the amount of time spent in traditional lectures is relatively small compared to the amount of time spent learning in other ways.

If there are any Pathways students around feel free to chime in if I got anything wrong, but here's what I remember from hanging out with my host and his study group, and attending one of their classes:
Class materials (notes/readings, some videos to go with the notes) are posted in advance and students are expected to go through them before class - my host says most people go through the material the afternoon/night before that particular topic is going to be covered. Each society meets in a classroom with many 4-person tables. On the day I sat in on a class, cases/discussion questions were presented (it was an Immunology session) and each 4-person table had a certain amount of time to work through those (using what they learned from the material they got in advance) before the instructor starts moderating a full class discussion, taking answers from different tables and explaining anything that needs to be explained. Also, I vaguely recall my host telling me about an actual in-class lecture (1x a week as @Pastamahn mentioned sounds about right).

You've got it mostly right. The tricky part is that the curriculum is always changing.

For the two blocks of classes in the Fall, it was almost all PBL by society (as you described), with everyone sitting at a 4-person table discussing questions. The January block (mostly epidemiology, health policy, social medicine, medial ethics, etc.) consisted of about 40% PBLs by society, 20% whole-class lectures (which were actually great), and 40% 12-person meetings. The PBLs were mostly for the biostats and epidemiology classes. The small-group meetings had a faculty leader, and we mostly just talked about problems and questions regarding ethics, policy, and the like.

Now we're in Homeostasis I (heart, lungs, and blood). We've only had a week, but the schedule is generally:
1 hour of small group discussion - 4 students sitting around a table, talking about the prep work from the day before, trying to answer prep questions together and help each other understand things.
1 hour of whole-class lecture - Your traditional format. The instructor is good, he asks a lot of questions, and mostly lectures by drawing things out (no ppt).
1 hour of small-group round-robin or PBL discussion - On days with the round-robin we bounce from histology to radiology to anatomy to physiology stations, rapidly getting an idea of what things look like. The PBL discussions are like the mini-cases below.
1 hour of mini-cases - The PBL-by-society model. We go through 2 clinical cases and try to reason through the day's learning to see how it applies in a medical setting.

I have no idea if we'll still be doing this sort of thing in 4 weeks, much less 4 months. It's exhausting to be a guinea pig. Hopefully they'll have things figured out a little better by the time you arrive.

Nothing is recorded. Attendance is mandatory but it's the shortest class time I've seen, you're there 8-12 four days a week and that's it, no evening sessions, no extra group meetings. I hated having to cut dinner short in college b/c there was recitation at 8 or whatever. I'll take 16 hrs of no bullsh*t instruction early in the morning over 30+ hrs of crap lecture I have to speed through at 2x. At least my afternoons will be free to nap or take electives or play chess. After working for 3 years being free after 12 sounds ****ing awesome. I understand the people still in school balking at the 8 am mandatory but real talk, if that's your major reason for turning down any school, that's kinda dumb but to each their own. Your body will adjust to the schedule and PBL will make you engaged instead of falling asleep in a lecture environment. Plus once you're on clerkships your ass gonna be up at 6 am anyway so might as well get used to it in the long haul folks

Yes, 8-12:30 isn't too bad, but that's just a fraction of what you actually have to do. You will have a minimum of 4 hours of prep work to get done for the next day. Some days, the prep work can take 10+ hours. You will spend less time in the classroom, but more time hunched over your desk. And those 4 hours in the classroom are not the same as 4 hours in lecture. They are a very active 4 hours of learning. You cannot turn your brain off during this time. Many of us remember fondly those days of our youth when we could sit in the back of chemistry class, daydreaming about the TA, and catch up on everything back in the dorm that evening. You will not have time for that here. Yes, there is less strictly-structured time, but your afternoons will not be free. If you are a Pathways student and you regularly find your afternoons free, I suggest that you talk to someone in the administration because you will probably be failing out soon.

You also need to remember that our Wednesdays (from ~8-5) are spent in our Practice of Medicine course, where we work in a clinic, shadow doctors (and not the bs pre-med kind of shadowing), practice patient interactions, take histories and physicals, sit through lectures about all sorts of things, and generally learn all the non-classroom skills of being a doctor. This is usually the best part of the week, but it eats up a huge amount of time.

I agree with you about 8am, though. You'll survive. And if getting to class by 8 is a deal-breaker for you, perhaps you should look elsewhere.

The major ones for me, with the disclosure that this is my undisputed top choice:

Size. HMS literally has everything you can think of, which is great to get involved in, but it also literally has over 1500 residents and fellows and postdocs who are competing for the same time and energy people have to give. The impact of this varies depending on the scenario but size is not always a good thing

Shortened preclinical. I worry that I won't be able to keep up with the pace, esp after being out of school for a while. But observing their PBL classes makes me worry about this less

Financial aid. Compared to everyone else they're ****ing amazing. Compared to some other schools I've interviewed at, their unit loan at $34k is rather high

School sports. Literally nonexistent, as with most Ivies. Maybe basketball is worth watching here. Also crimson is pretty ugly, I like Columbia's blue a lot better

As others mentioned, the wintry east coast is not for everyone. I like to think of it as we'll take all the hardier individuals who can brave 3 months of real cold, the west can take all the crybabies who never want precipitation even as that does horrific damage to their environmental surroundings 😛

I was worried about size as well, but I haven't found it to be a big problem yet. Yes, there are ~1500 residents and fellow here, but there are also ~1500 resident and fellow positions. It's not like they're all competing for only 100 seats. There are a tremendous number of opportunities to go along with the tremendous number of people. The competition for resources will be intense anywhere - that's life - but Harvard has vast resources.

Same with the shortened pre-clinical. We'll see how it works out. Every week I swing back-and-forth between "This curriculum is awesome. I'm learning so much. Maybe I won't know everything in 14 months, but they're setting us up for success," and "What the @#$% did I get myself into? I'm in way over my head. This is a mess and we're all going to end up killing our patients." In the end, we'll still get the same 4 years of medical school as everyone else, so hopefully we'll end up knowing about the same amount of medicine.

The financial aid isn't amazing overall. That's a known issue (which will not improve by next year, sorry), and we've brought that up with the administration. Still, $140k of debt isn't too outrageous. Especially considering the caliber of education, resources, and opportunities that you will get in exchange.

Ice hockey isn't too bad. And I'm a big fan of blue, but a deep, navy blue. Not that baby blue stuff.

I love Boston.

I can't argue that the actual class time sounds like it would be a very refreshing change of pace from straight up lecture all of the time, my only gripe is that it's mandatory. For PBL to work I definitely get attendance is vital, but to have to be in class every day takes a little flexibility away. That might still be minor to some but I have my reasons that it's an inconvenience.

If you liked high school more than college, you'll love this new curriculum. Remember the good ol' days of mandatory attendance, assigned seating, nightly homework, and never talking with people because they belonged to a different clique? If that's what you like, you'll love Pathways. Unfortunately, if you prefer to be treated as a adult - to choose when, where, and how you will get your work done, just as long as it gets done - perhaps this new curriculum is not for you.

Of course, I understand that. But still, if the first-year schedule is the main reason to not consider a school, especially a well-resourced place like HMS, I think that's silly. 14 months goes by so quickly when you're busy it's ridiculous, and there is no other school in this country with as much flexibility in the latter half of med school as HMS gives its students. That's the clear tradeoff there

That's what I keep telling myself. We're almost 50% of the way through this pre-clinical circus. It'll all be worth it, right?
 
I have a random question. Not sure if this is the right place to post but I'll give it a shot.

How easy is it to match into residency programs if accepted to HMS? For example, if I wanted to do Ophthalmology, by attending HMS, would I have a very good shot of matching, assuming I put in the work?
 
I have a random question. Not sure if this is the right place to post but I'll give it a shot.

How easy is it to match into residency programs if accepted to HMS? For example, if I wanted to do Ophthalmology, by attending HMS, would I have a very good shot of matching, assuming I put in the work?

Your step scores, Sub I's and performance in medical school is primarily the driving force behind your placement (the medical school itself has a much smaller direct influence).
 
I have a random question. Not sure if this is the right place to post but I'll give it a shot.

How easy is it to match into residency programs if accepted to HMS? For example, if I wanted to do Ophthalmology, by attending HMS, would I have a very good shot of matching, assuming I put in the work?
I heard they just throw the optho panties at you during white coat at HMS
 
So I interviewed like mid October of last year and I forgot all that they said about financial aid. Can someone explain to me... does HMS offer full scholarships? Also what is a unit loan?
 
So I interviewed like mid October of last year and I forgot all that they said about financial aid. Can someone explain to me... does HMS offer full scholarships? Also what is a unit loan?
They explain what the unit loan is here, with examples: https://hms.harvard.edu/departments...out-financial-aid-hms/financial-aid-packaging

Basically: Financial Need - Unit Loan = HMS Scholarship

So from my understanding, there are no loan-free aid packages/full rides per se, as you'd have to take out the unit loan before they calculate how much you get in institutional aid. Is this correct?
 
The equation is cost of attendance - EFC - unit loan = harvard grant.

Essentially, if your EFC comes out to be 50k, then you have to add the other 34k as unit loan and you get nothing.
 
They explain what the unit loan is here, with examples: https://hms.harvard.edu/departments...out-financial-aid-hms/financial-aid-packaging

Basically: Financial Need - Unit Loan = HMS Scholarship

So from my understanding, there are no loan-free aid packages/full rides per se, as you'd have to take out the unit loan before they calculate how much you get in institutional aid. Is this correct?
Yes. Any "aid" you'll qualify for based on need starts by building up the unit loan (mix of federal and Harvard loans), likely $34-35k total for our year, fixed for all 4 years. If you need is within that amount, all you will get is loans. If your need exceeds that amount, HMS will cover it with free money grants. This means the least HMS will cost for even the poorest student is the unit loan cost for all 4 years. It is all based on need, hence it's "aid," not "scholarship." So file your federal **** ASAP
 
Yes. Any "aid" you'll qualify for based on need starts by building up the unit loan (mix of federal and Harvard loans), likely $34-35k total for our year, fixed for all 4 years. If you need is within that amount, all you will get is loans. If your need exceeds that amount, HMS will cover it with free money grants. This means the least HMS will cost for even the poorest student is the unit loan cost for all 4 years. It is all based on need, hence it's "aid," not "scholarship." So file your federal **** ASAP
tbh, getting out of Harvard for $140,000 without putting any money towards it up front is very doable and manageable even. Although a state school or different private school could probably offer someone in such a financial situation with less loan and more "scholarship", I would say that $140,000 TOTAL for an education and all of the opportunities a HMS MD offers is more than reasonable and worth it. What it comes down to is, can the person manage this debt responsibly after (as is the question with anyone taking on debt)?
 
Thanks for the response guys. So we are looking at $136,000 loan minimum for the four years because of the unit loan. What do you guys think about this. April is coming fast so I'm starting to think about my decision. I know I'm jumping the gun but lets say I was to hypothetically get into Harvard, I'd be looking at paying close to $150k at least over the 4 years. I already got offered a full ride to another top 15 med school. The question is.. would you guys sacrifice that for the so called "Harvard+ Loans" ?
 
Thanks for the response guys. So we are looking at $136,000 loan minimum for the four years because of the unit loan. What do you guys think about this. April is coming fast so I'm starting to think about my decision. I know I'm jumping the gun but lets say I was to hypothetically get into Harvard, I'd be looking at paying close to $150k at least over the 4 years. I already got offered a full ride to another top 15 med school. The question is.. would you guys sacrifice that for the so called "Harvard+ Loans" ?
1. Harvard is not worth $150k
2. You are not even sure if you'd get max aid, so it could be more
3. Only top 15? You couldn't get top 13? :naughty:
 
Unit loan is not the only out of pocket money. Yours and parental EFC also has to be paid before Harvard gives you any grant.

If your parents are not willing to contribute, you also need to borrow that portion.
 
tbh, getting out of Harvard for $140,000 without putting any money towards it up front is very doable and manageable even. Although a state school or different private school could probably offer someone in such a financial situation with less loan and more "scholarship", I would say that $140,000 TOTAL for an education and all of the opportunities a HMS MD offers is more than reasonable and worth it. What it comes down to is, can the person manage this debt responsibly after (as is the question with anyone taking on debt)?
It shouldn't just be about total cost, it should also be about relative cost. Someone weighing HMS against max aid at Yale (28+29+30+31=118k) thinks a lot differently than @gt93 who is looking at a difference of 150k. But yes I agree, taken alone, $140k for HMS is very affordable in the full context of the cost of medical education in the U.S.
 
Thanks for the response guys. So we are looking at $136,000 loan minimum for the four years because of the unit loan. What do you guys think about this. April is coming fast so I'm starting to think about my decision. I know I'm jumping the gun but lets say I was to hypothetically get into Harvard, I'd be looking at paying close to $150k at least over the 4 years. I already got offered a full ride to another top 15 med school. The question is.. would you guys sacrifice that for the so called "Harvard+ Loans" ?
It really depends on your career goals I think.

If you're into the name, obviously it is hard to beat HMS. If you want to be in Boston and kinda have a good chance to stay in the same system for your residency (stay in Boston at any of the HMS affiliated hospitals), then HMS is a great choice because they retain a lot of their own students (highest rate in the country, I think). I would say that the feel of the school is important, too.

On the other side, if you want more flexibility financially as a physician, then the full ride is likely the ticket. The loans vs not having to pay anything really puts you in a tough spot...if you want to be able to do whatever you want in medicine, then no loans is the way to go. If you want to do work in underserved areas, abroad, practice medicine at a little more of a "leisurely" pace where you REALLY spend a lot of time with patients or even start your own practice, the no loans is the way to go. I'd like to think most of us have gone into medicine for the excitement of medicine and helping humanity and those in need, but it is foolish to ignore the financial implications of getting a medical education and supporting yourself as a physician. I can imagine that despite doing their best, physicians are plagued by the pressure to keep their practices afloat or perform to the financial expectations of a healthcare employer (hospital/clinic) and I have a feeling that it affects their happiness and even their performance as physicians...it is an unfortunate, sad scenario.

So, in short if you like the name and the opportunities that come with it and are comfortable with being a little leveraged in terms of how you practice medicine, then HMS is your place. If you really are averse to the pressures of money and want the discretion to practice medicine your own way, then go with the no loan school. It is harder today for MD's to "hang up a shingle" and start practicing in their own facility because of financial constraints, so institutional medicine is usually the choice. But the people who seem to be able to go into private practice off the bat are those who have little to no debt. Plus, I feel like getting a job in institutional medicine hinges a little more on your "pedigree" whereas your ability to go into independent private practice immediately after residency does not depend on those same things as much.

I don't pretend to know all of the answers, but this is just my two cents. I really hope this helps. I always like to hear other perspectives from other students so I figured I would do the same.
 
It shouldn't just be about total cost, it should also be about relative cost. Someone weighing HMS against max aid at Yale (28+29+30+31=118k) thinks a lot differently than @gt93 who is looking at a difference of 150k. But yes I agree, taken alone, $140k for HMS is very affordable in the full context of the cost of medical education in the U.S.
Oh, definitely, I agree that relative cost is an important part of the consideration! I'm just saying that if we "zoom out" and look at the landscape, even if you struggle financially and could do better at other schools (financially), the HMS deal is a pretty darn good value in the grand scheme of things haha
 
Thanks for the response guys. So we are looking at $136,000 loan minimum for the four years because of the unit loan. What do you guys think about this. April is coming fast so I'm starting to think about my decision. I know I'm jumping the gun but lets say I was to hypothetically get into Harvard, I'd be looking at paying close to $150k at least over the 4 years. I already got offered a full ride to another top 15 med school. The question is.. would you guys sacrifice that for the so called "Harvard+ Loans" ?

I think this depends on you and your career goals. I got the feeling that HMS is really for students who want to do medicine + something else. Be that research, policy, business, public health etcetera. If you see yourself solely as a clinician then it may be better to save 150k.

Besides that, a top 15 school is not going to close any doors for you in terms of specializing.
 
Last edited:
Unit loan is not the only out of pocket money. Yours and parental EFC also has to be paid before Harvard gives you any grant.

If your parents are not willing to contribute, you also need to borrow that portion.
Yes, we understand this. We are talking about the maximum amount HMS will force you to borrow before giving out grants. How much grant vs. EFC the rest of the COA is split up for each person we do not know yet since nobody has gotten an estimate
 
Yes, we understand this. We are talking about the maximum amount HMS will force you to borrow before giving out grants. How much grant vs. EFC the rest of the COA is split up for each person we do not know yet since nobody has gotten an estimate

I dont believe so since no one seems to be mentioning EFC here. EFC is very easy to find out if people filed their family FAFSA.

Essentially, if your parents are listed as having to contribute money based on FAFSA and they don't, your loan value automatically goes up by that much. It can be an extra 10k or extra 50k per year based on how the EFC shakes out.

Yale provides a baseline parental income of 115 or 120k for which there is no EFC and only unit loan (at least so it said on their thread). I don't believe Harvard is making that claim from what we can read?
 
I think this depends on you and your career goals. I got the feeling that HMS is really for students who want to do medicine + something else. Be that research, policy, business, public health etcetera. If you see yourself solely as a clinician then it may be better to save 150k.
Seconded. Both Yale and Hopkins also indicated on interview day that they were looking to train "clinicians plus" (JHU quote). Yale just told us "if you just want to practice medicine, do not come here." Made it sound like wanting to be in private practice was a crime or something lol quite amusing but totally in line with my plans 😍
 
I dont believe so since no one seems to be mentioning EFC here. EFC is very easy to find out if people filed their family FAFSA.
It's not that straightforward. FAFSA gives the federal EFC, which all schools use. Private schools like HMS also want Need Access/CSS Profile, which is more detailed about assets. They will adjust the EFC as they see fit once those have been filed, hence the uncertainty at this point in time
 
There is no uncertainty that you would be asked to pay more than just unit loan depending on the EFC.
 
There is no uncertainty that you would be asked to pay more than just unit loan depending on the EFC.
Dude we get it, thanks for the reminder. Again, we restricted our discussion to the known minimum because that is the biggest difference among the top schools who give out need-based aid and we don't know particular details yet. @gt93 understands this and I even told him as such that his cost would likely be more than $140k, making his other full-ride deal that much more attractive
 
I dont believe so since no one seems to be mentioning EFC here. EFC is very easy to find out if people filed their family FAFSA.

Essentially, if your parents are listed as having to contribute money based on FAFSA and they don't, your loan value automatically goes up by that much. It can be an extra 10k or extra 50k per year based on how the EFC shakes out.

Yale provides a baseline parental income of 115 or 120k for which there is no EFC and only unit loan (at least so it said on their thread). I don't believe Harvard is making that claim from what we can read?

Dude we get it, thanks for the reminder. Again, we restricted our discussion to the known minimum because that is the biggest difference among the top schools who give out need-based aid and we don't know particular details yet. @gt93 understands this and I even told him as such that his cost would likely be more than $140k, making his other full-ride deal that much more attractive

Why do you keep responding? It is not meant for you, it is meant for everyone. If you know it already, then you dont need to respond.

Based on JHU thread, are you even a real person?
 
According to MSAR, acceptances go out March 3, 2016. Less than a month to go!
I don't know if that feeling in my stomach right now is excitement or pure dread. I'm thinking the latter.

Edit: Also, this is probably a stupid question but do any MSTP applicants know if they do calls? Either they didn't say or I wasn't listening... :bear:
 
I don't know if that feeling in my stomach right now is excitement or pure dread. I'm thinking the latter.

Edit: Also, this is probably a stupid question but do any MSTP applicants know if they do calls? Either they didn't say or I wasn't listening... :bear:
I'm definitely not trying to get my hopes up because they have such a low post-interview acceptance rate, but this wait is going to kill me nonetheless. Adding in that I might hear back from Duke within a couple days of HMS, it's going to be a long week haha.
 
I'm definitely not trying to get my hopes up because they have such a low post-interview acceptance rate, but this wait is going to kill me nonetheless. Adding in that I might hear back from Duke within a couple days of HMS, it's going to be a long week haha.
I know, it seems like a lot of schools release decisions that week. I'll be hearing from multiple as well. Luckily, I will be visiting a friend out of town on March 3rd (which I may or may not have scheduled for that week on purpose...), so if it's bad news I won't be able to hole up in my apartment alone.
 
I know, it seems like a lot of schools release decisions that week. I'll be hearing from multiple as well. Luckily, I will be visiting a friend out of town on March 3rd (which I may or may not have scheduled for that week on purpose...), so if it's bad news I won't be able to hole up in my apartment alone.
That's some very smart planning right there. Going to be a heck of a week regardless of the outcomes of the decisions!
 
According to MSAR, acceptances go out March 3, 2016. Less than a month to go!
Sweet my longitudinal investigation and calculations were right! 😛

Edit: This sounds right because of HMS' history of releases, but MSAR is definitely wrong on some others, like Yale, where it says earliest is 3/5/16 but we know they're coming out 3/10 already...so... THE PLOT THICKENS
 
Top