Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Okay, Mike Ross, just because you didn't actually get into Harvard but still landed a job at Pearson-Specter-Litt...
2015-2016 Harvard Medical School Application Thread
Started by Ismet
Get help with your application
Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.
Okay, Mike Ross, just because you didn't actually get into Harvard but still landed a job at Pearson-Specter-Litt...
D
deleted393595
I still haven't received my pre-II rejection. I've known that I've been rejected ever since they stopped sending out II, but it would be nice to get an official notice from them anyways
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
I would have to disagree as my interviewer told me the details of how decisions are made post-interview. He said if both of your interviewers do not agree that you should move on, your app won't make it to the committee meeting (and if your app does make it to the final committee meeting, then it has quite a good chance of acceptance). Seems like the interview is crucial…
I imagine that after post-interview screening, whoever is left would be anyone HMS would be willing to take. Then the committee just picks students based on their objectives/goals/criteria for the year's class and what they want in the class (it may have nothing to do with you not being qualified).
Ha I think interviewers do that to make you feel good or at ease. I was told the same thing at another school and bam, WL.
You are probably correct, but I don't think that just because your interviewers decide if you move on necessarily means that your interview "performance" is a crucial factor. I imagine a situation in that the interviews review your application to decide if you are "good enough". After all, the interviewers are most likely not the ones who invited you to the interview to begin with, so they may not be quite as impressed with your qualifications/essays as the person who did invite you.
Likewise, I think that your interviewers may really like your application, even if you didn't give them the best interview. At the very least, it seems like there's plenty of bias involved.
Agree with you completely.
On my interview day (November), the students seemed quite happy. Many said that early on the prep work required for the PBL sessions the following day included prep of 6-8 hours a night which was unfeasible; students let the administration know and soon the load was made much more manageable. I think they are tweaking continuously and monitoring the new curriculum closely so I wouldn't worry too much! I definitely got the sense that the students and administration had good ongoing feedback about the new curriculum.
Congratulations to everyone accepted!
For those of you waitlisted...when do you think we will receive the "letter confirming our waitlist status, a response form, and financial aid information"?
For those of you waitlisted...when do you think we will receive the "letter confirming our waitlist status, a response form, and financial aid information"?
Unsurprisingly rejected pre-ii
Soon!
LOL. just got my pre-interview rejection letter. Well I thought they'd forgotten about me.
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
I just got mine too! All my rejections are in now. I only have two schools to hear back from before my cycle is over.
I remember seeing you on the Yale thread...so we both have that left at least. The things I'd do to hear good news next week...lol
How do students get to MGH?
There are shuttles from the Longwood (HMS) area to MGH.
Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app
And they run early enough to be there on time for your rotations?
Hmm. Good question. I can't answer that one. Any current students care to answer?
Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app
Looks like the earliest that shuttle leaves is at 6:00:
http://www.partners.org/Shuttle_Schedules.aspx
http://www.partners.org/Shuttle_Schedules.aspx
It also looks like you can take Brigham circle to science park via the green line. You'd probably be able to leave around 5:45
Well, here's what I'll say which is there has to be a way that it works because there's just no way that most people keep cars. Longwood is a terrible area to try to keep a car.
It's possible folks just take the T. You'd hop on Longwood to Park to Charles/MGH and that starts at like 4am.
Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app
This is something people are still trying to figure out. As far as I know, we have not received many details on PCE schedules (maybe some of the other current students can chime in if they have heard any tips from 2nd, 3rd, or 4th years). I've heard that surgery starts early so that may be an issue, but I'm not too worried. It's worked in previous years, so I'm sure that things will be fine.
The good thing is that you don't really have to worry about this until your second year. If you choose to live in Vandy, you should be good to get anywhere on time for the first year (whether it is public transport, free shuttles, or ride sharing with other Vandy folks). From what I've heard, a lot of the people assigned to MGH are planning on moving out of Vandy in the next few months.
This. Students take the Partners shuttle, the T, uber (if you split it between a few people it can be cheaper than the T!), bike, etc. A few overachievers even jog to MGH in the morning. Many of the students assigned to MGH are planning to move to apartments much closer to the hospital. I've heard of a few problems with getting to/from MGH in a reasonable time over the past few months, and the faculty are generally understanding.
If any current students could answer some questions, that would be great! Can't wait til second look 🙂
1) What percent match into their top choice? Obviously the match list is godly but just curious.
2) Anyone making a FB group?
1) What percent match into their top choice? Obviously the match list is godly but just curious.
2) Anyone making a FB group?
two more questions:
1. does harvard pay for revisit/provide travel assistance?
2. any idea what date is white coat ceremony? family is way too excited and wants to start planning haha
1. does harvard pay for revisit/provide travel assistance?
2. any idea what date is white coat ceremony? family is way too excited and wants to start planning haha
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Did anyone else on the WL get the info packet in te mail today?
Contrary to the email they sent it says 30 on the pathways WL and 25 on the one for HST.
Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app
Contrary to the email they sent it says 30 on the pathways WL and 25 on the one for HST.
Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app
Congrats to everyone that got in!
Now a sobering piece of advice, take some time to feel proud of getting in, and then choose another school. Harvard is not worth it, don't let them lie to you. I might be a jaded 2nd year, but this place has consistently disappointed me and many of my classmates. I wish I had gone basically anywhere else. PBL is a waste of time, most faculty only care about research, and the school does not give a damn about students (See examples such as: the high unit loan and generally bad financial aid; changing step 1 date for 2nd years with no prior warning; changing fee policies with no warning, now a 5th research year will cost us 15k without any opportunity for financial aid - by comparison most other top institutions pay you to do research instead of the other way around; town hall meetings where the faculty steamroll our comments and just ignore us; overall logistical nightmares filled with staggering ineptitude, ranging from scheduling to "lotteries" for hospitals/etc; and many other "fun" parts of HMS -.-). The Harvard promise is that you will pay tuition and then just have to teach yourself everything from pathoma, first aid and uworld. I've never had such badly managed courses. My expectations have become so low, that I'm counting the days when I can leave the Harvard system and never come back.
Now a sobering piece of advice, take some time to feel proud of getting in, and then choose another school. Harvard is not worth it, don't let them lie to you. I might be a jaded 2nd year, but this place has consistently disappointed me and many of my classmates. I wish I had gone basically anywhere else. PBL is a waste of time, most faculty only care about research, and the school does not give a damn about students (See examples such as: the high unit loan and generally bad financial aid; changing step 1 date for 2nd years with no prior warning; changing fee policies with no warning, now a 5th research year will cost us 15k without any opportunity for financial aid - by comparison most other top institutions pay you to do research instead of the other way around; town hall meetings where the faculty steamroll our comments and just ignore us; overall logistical nightmares filled with staggering ineptitude, ranging from scheduling to "lotteries" for hospitals/etc; and many other "fun" parts of HMS -.-). The Harvard promise is that you will pay tuition and then just have to teach yourself everything from pathoma, first aid and uworld. I've never had such badly managed courses. My expectations have become so low, that I'm counting the days when I can leave the Harvard system and never come back.
1. Sorry, don't expect any money or assistance from Harvard. Students will pair you with a host, and student council will use part of its fairly limited budget to ensure you all have a good time in term of acrivities.
2. They'll email out once they figure it out. We are not exactly a priority, so it'll depend on when the room they use is not being used for other things.
To answer question one. There has been assistance in the past (and I imagine there will be this year).
Edit-Not actually sure it's only for disadvantaged students.
Last edited:
I can confirm they have financial assistance to attend revisit, and it seems like the assistance varies depending on where you are coming from.
Would any current students care to respond to GotMedicals post?
Current MS4 chiming in - talk to first year students at revisit about the curriculum. The traditional PBL that GotMedicals and I went through is now gone in favor of a different kind of group-based learning. In general, I hear first year students are pretty happy about it. The one problem I had with PBL was that it felt like the blind leading the blind sometimes when you didn't have a good faculty facilitator. With the new curriculum, the goal is to have a core set of faculty who know the pedagogy and can facilitate it well year after year so all students have the same classroom learning experience.
Although many faculty do care about research, I've found that a number care very much about education. HMS is beginning to actively promote faculty based on their teaching and medical education portfolios rather than solely based on their research contributions. The new society deans that were announced have all been pivotal teachers, and I've actually heard an undercurrent of criticism floating around that they aren't the big name researchers like society deans in the past. As a student, I'm ecstatic that these faculty have been chosen because they have been the closest to us "on the ground" so to speak, and I think they're going to be great advisors.
I can't comment on town hall meetings, as I have not been to any. Financial aid is a personal decision that you'll have to weigh when you choose between schools. Lotteries are now gone as all incoming students are randomized to a hospital so that the hospital where you start seeing patients during the first year is the hospital where you will complete all of your core clinical rotations. Having rotated at all three hospitals, I can firmly say that third year at any of the hospitals is like drinking through a firehose. There will not be a lack of opportunity to learn medicine well.
I've had a very positive experience here and I would wholeheartedly choose HMS again if I had to go back and make the decision. The one criticism I have is that I felt very rushed deciding on a specialty. Many of my friends ended up taking 5th years because the timeline was too close to be competitive for certain specialties. That will likely change with the new curriculum as students will finish clinical rotations in year II and have much more time to build up their application in terms of field-focused research, volunteer work, etc.
I also think GotMedicals' feedback is very important to consider as HMS is not for every person, and the more opinions you hear the better. Come to revisit and talk to us in person! Congrats to everyone, and happy to answer any other questions you have.
Although many faculty do care about research, I've found that a number care very much about education. HMS is beginning to actively promote faculty based on their teaching and medical education portfolios rather than solely based on their research contributions. The new society deans that were announced have all been pivotal teachers, and I've actually heard an undercurrent of criticism floating around that they aren't the big name researchers like society deans in the past. As a student, I'm ecstatic that these faculty have been chosen because they have been the closest to us "on the ground" so to speak, and I think they're going to be great advisors.
I can't comment on town hall meetings, as I have not been to any. Financial aid is a personal decision that you'll have to weigh when you choose between schools. Lotteries are now gone as all incoming students are randomized to a hospital so that the hospital where you start seeing patients during the first year is the hospital where you will complete all of your core clinical rotations. Having rotated at all three hospitals, I can firmly say that third year at any of the hospitals is like drinking through a firehose. There will not be a lack of opportunity to learn medicine well.
I've had a very positive experience here and I would wholeheartedly choose HMS again if I had to go back and make the decision. The one criticism I have is that I felt very rushed deciding on a specialty. Many of my friends ended up taking 5th years because the timeline was too close to be competitive for certain specialties. That will likely change with the new curriculum as students will finish clinical rotations in year II and have much more time to build up their application in terms of field-focused research, volunteer work, etc.
I also think GotMedicals' feedback is very important to consider as HMS is not for every person, and the more opinions you hear the better. Come to revisit and talk to us in person! Congrats to everyone, and happy to answer any other questions you have.
Can you elaborate on who Harvard is for? What kind of people succeed?
I'm continually glad to be here but there are logistical problems at times, as you'd expect anywhere you have 160+ students' educations being managed. I would caution anyone not to make a decision until consulting more students. Most notably, Gotmedical's class and my class have experienced changes that will mostly be smoothed by the time you matriculate.
Point-by-point, and in perfect candor:
You have to decide what you want out of medical school before matriculating. Harvard has an excellent research infrastructure, top training hospitals, great global health, and many more things that I'm probably not aware of.
I have heard this critique from some current 2nd years, while others have very good groups. It's no longer relevant as a first year and will not be relevant to your class. I encourage you to talk to current first year students about their experiences. Mine has been great, though there's a large amount of work every afternoon.
This has also largely changed- the faculty who teach in the new curriculum dedicate many hours to teaching. As a result, only those with a commitment to teaching do so. There have been a handful of less-effective teachers, but that largely hasn't been because of research conflicts.
This issue is still being decided, at least per a discussion I heard this afternoon. It does sound like there will be a 15k fee for 5th year students. Students can still seek paid research positions/fellowships in the same way they had been able to before. All the same, this is something to bring up in the financial aid discussions (I imagine this will all be decided by Revisit time).
To Gotmedical's point, I have heard from second years that the transition to taking Step 1 after the wards was botched (there wasn't a lot of forewarning offered).
All incoming students will be randomized to complete their first year clinical training (and subsequently their clerkship year) at either Brigham and Women's, Beth Israel Deaconess or Massachusetts General Hospital. I would actually want the lottery to come back - at any rate, this isn't different from the situation at my undergrad med school, and likely most other schools.
I think this is a perennial med student worry - how much Step 1 material is covered in class versus self-taught. I think an upper year would be best positioned to talk about this.
I will say that going to med school (at least for me) has opened opportunities that I couldn't have dreamed of - I think some extra review for USMLE would be well worth what I've gained.
Point-by-point, and in perfect candor:
You have to decide what you want out of medical school before matriculating. Harvard has an excellent research infrastructure, top training hospitals, great global health, and many more things that I'm probably not aware of.
I have heard this critique from some current 2nd years, while others have very good groups. It's no longer relevant as a first year and will not be relevant to your class. I encourage you to talk to current first year students about their experiences. Mine has been great, though there's a large amount of work every afternoon.
This has also largely changed- the faculty who teach in the new curriculum dedicate many hours to teaching. As a result, only those with a commitment to teaching do so. There have been a handful of less-effective teachers, but that largely hasn't been because of research conflicts.
This issue is still being decided, at least per a discussion I heard this afternoon. It does sound like there will be a 15k fee for 5th year students. Students can still seek paid research positions/fellowships in the same way they had been able to before. All the same, this is something to bring up in the financial aid discussions (I imagine this will all be decided by Revisit time).
To Gotmedical's point, I have heard from second years that the transition to taking Step 1 after the wards was botched (there wasn't a lot of forewarning offered).
All incoming students will be randomized to complete their first year clinical training (and subsequently their clerkship year) at either Brigham and Women's, Beth Israel Deaconess or Massachusetts General Hospital. I would actually want the lottery to come back - at any rate, this isn't different from the situation at my undergrad med school, and likely most other schools.
I think this is a perennial med student worry - how much Step 1 material is covered in class versus self-taught. I think an upper year would be best positioned to talk about this.
I will say that going to med school (at least for me) has opened opportunities that I couldn't have dreamed of - I think some extra review for USMLE would be well worth what I've gained.
I don't think there's one specific type of student that always succeeds as people thrive in different ways. A healthy dose of initiative and willingness to roll with the punches, however, makes life a lot easier. Initiative helps you stay focused on seeking out resources and opportunities instead of waiting for them to appear. Flexibility makes you a good team player and keeps you optimistic when things don't go as planned.
Anyone know if there is going to be a Facebook page?
It's student-dependent. Most students don't do research in the first year, and it's very hard to juggle for those who do decide to do research. If it's something important to you, I'd advise getting started the summer *before* M1 - maybe come to Boston a few weeks early and find a summer sublet (very easy to do). You'll of course need to run this by the PI you want to work with to make sure you can get access to the research buildings. All this said, there are definitely students who spend all of their free time in lab.
For most students, there will be at least 4 months of dedicated scholarly project time in 3rd year. Based on your clinical elective choices, I imagine you'll be able to do more research afterwards, too.
For most students, there will be at least 4 months of dedicated scholarly project time in 3rd year. Based on your clinical elective choices, I imagine you'll be able to do more research afterwards, too.
Yeah I actually just saw that someone has already added me but the admin hasn't approved. It was actually funny, I searched for it and when I saw that my status was "pending" I actually had a moment where I was like wow, did I request to join in my sleep? Haha
Can anyone comment on their stats, particularly on their mcat scores? I would really appreciate it!
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
.
Last edited:
MDapps
does anyone have the most recent match list?
I agree that everyone should talk to more students during revisit, but make sure you get the truth and not just the canned response that Harvard is great. As for the points you make:
Maybe changes will be smoothed, but based on their track record I doubt it. Remember, New Pathways has been "smoothed" for 30 years, and it's still utter ****. As for logistics being hard for 160 people, true, but I'm not complaining of some problems... more like utter incompetence.
True, but the same can be said of any other top 10 school. I don't know if other schools have their things together better, but I'm inclined to think they do. Also, remember that while HMS is affiliated with all these great hospitals, they don't actually own or have any power over any of them. Will you notice that? Maybe, maybe not- but when your Patient Doctor group meets in the cafeteria because no rooms are available, as they are all being used by other medical school's groups in the hospital, it's kind of annoying.
I can't speak to the first year curriculum, but I'm still of the opinion PBL is a waste of time. TBH the new curriculum sounds awful. Required class + group discussion (which at least in my year most people find useless) is a recipe for disaster.
As for teachers, maybe less people involved will be a good thing, but in my tenure here I've met maybe 3 decent lecturers.
I'm not keeping my fingers crossed for any resolution. The school does what it wants. And sure, you can still get fellowships, but how are you gonna live when you have to give 70% of your fellowship to the school as tuition?
Not only was it botched (announced via an email). But when we complained they dismissed us with a patronizing tone, claiming that they knew best and that they had been completely transparent in their decision making, communicating their decision as soon as it was made.
Your PCE site probably does not matter- it's true that you will learn the same regardless, but if you care about being at a top hospital for PCE, HMS cannot guarantee that. BIDMC is great, but it is not a top hospital (for example, almost no one from HMS even matches there for residency). At places like Hopkins you are guaranteed to be in a top hospital, as there is only one choice.
The way I see it, schools can either teach to the step, or teach clinically relevant material for the wards. HMS does neither.
I'm glad you are having a great time in medschool, and I don't want to undermine that by any means. I just want to make sure that people ask the questions before committing, and that they are aware that there is a substantial number of people who would gladly transfer in a heartbeat.
A word on financial aid- yes it is a personal decision to go to a more expensive school, however given Harvard's endowment, the fact that its financial aid is the worst among top schools tells you a lot about their priorities.
Maybe changes will be smoothed, but based on their track record I doubt it. Remember, New Pathways has been "smoothed" for 30 years, and it's still utter ****. As for logistics being hard for 160 people, true, but I'm not complaining of some problems... more like utter incompetence.
True, but the same can be said of any other top 10 school. I don't know if other schools have their things together better, but I'm inclined to think they do. Also, remember that while HMS is affiliated with all these great hospitals, they don't actually own or have any power over any of them. Will you notice that? Maybe, maybe not- but when your Patient Doctor group meets in the cafeteria because no rooms are available, as they are all being used by other medical school's groups in the hospital, it's kind of annoying.
I can't speak to the first year curriculum, but I'm still of the opinion PBL is a waste of time. TBH the new curriculum sounds awful. Required class + group discussion (which at least in my year most people find useless) is a recipe for disaster.
As for teachers, maybe less people involved will be a good thing, but in my tenure here I've met maybe 3 decent lecturers.
I'm not keeping my fingers crossed for any resolution. The school does what it wants. And sure, you can still get fellowships, but how are you gonna live when you have to give 70% of your fellowship to the school as tuition?
Not only was it botched (announced via an email). But when we complained they dismissed us with a patronizing tone, claiming that they knew best and that they had been completely transparent in their decision making, communicating their decision as soon as it was made.
Your PCE site probably does not matter- it's true that you will learn the same regardless, but if you care about being at a top hospital for PCE, HMS cannot guarantee that. BIDMC is great, but it is not a top hospital (for example, almost no one from HMS even matches there for residency). At places like Hopkins you are guaranteed to be in a top hospital, as there is only one choice.
The way I see it, schools can either teach to the step, or teach clinically relevant material for the wards. HMS does neither.
I'm glad you are having a great time in medschool, and I don't want to undermine that by any means. I just want to make sure that people ask the questions before committing, and that they are aware that there is a substantial number of people who would gladly transfer in a heartbeat.
A word on financial aid- yes it is a personal decision to go to a more expensive school, however given Harvard's endowment, the fact that its financial aid is the worst among top schools tells you a lot about their priorities.
Paid $100 and Harvard can't even be bothered to reject me after 9 months of silence
Similar threads
