2017-2018 Harvard Medical School

Started by Lucca
BU Medical Sciences
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begoood95 said:
From my experience at the interview, there did seem to be a nice balance; the students said that their social lives were good, and that collaboration was a big part of the Pathways curriculum. All in all, if social life is a concern, then I wouldn't say students at Harvard are missing out.

...However, that being said, something about the atmosphere and students did seem...off? I don't know how to put it. Compared to the other "top" programs I interviewed at, they seemed a little high-strung (stressed, maybe?). Now obviously you're your own individual, and your experience in medical school is what you make of it. This was just my perspective, from one interview day, and in comparison to some other schools I've interviewed at so far. Your experience and others' may vary.
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I think that your second point is part of what I'm concerned about. I know Harvard attracts some of the top applicants in the country and the world, but I also want the opportunity to form relationships with my peers and build a sense of community. Most of the schools I've interviewed at so far, the students really seemed to be enjoying themselves and making an effort to connect with each other outside of just being on the same career track. They play sports together, explore the city together, etc. and I'm curious to see if Harvard is like that too.
 
LA_Doc said:
Can any current students speak to the social atmosphere here? This is obviously one of the top, if not the top, medical schools in the entire country. But do the students tend to get along well? Is there good work/life balance? Are there things like intramural sports, outings with the class, a collaborative environment, etc.
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LA_Doc said:
I think that your second point is part of what I'm concerned about. I know Harvard attracts some of the top applicants in the country and the world, but I also want the opportunity to form relationships with my peers and build a sense of community. Most of the schools I've interviewed at so far, the students really seemed to be enjoying themselves and making an effort to connect with each other outside of just being on the same career track. They play sports together, explore the city together, etc. and I'm curious to see if Harvard is like that too.
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The administrative atmosphere is definitely a little different than other schools. My impression is that other medical schools attempt to simultaneously communicate great things about their program while getting to know you as an applicant. At Harvard, it seems as though the latter is emphasized whereas the former is a bit forgotten.

But students seem to be leading happy, well-connected lifestyles. Cambridge/Boston is a great place to explore and make new friends.
 
begoood95 said:
From my experience at the interview, there did seem to be a nice balance; the students said that their social lives were good, and that collaboration was a big part of the Pathways curriculum. All in all, if social life is a concern, then I wouldn't say students at Harvard are missing out.

...However, that being said, something about the atmosphere and students did seem...off? I don't know how to put it. Compared to the other "top" programs I interviewed at, they seemed a little high-strung (stressed, maybe?). Now obviously you're your own individual, and your experience in medical school is what you make of it. This was just my perspective, from one interview day, and in comparison to some other schools I've interviewed at so far. Your experience and others' may vary.
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I agree with everything you said. It's really hard for me to say anything more concrete than "I got a weird vibe" throughout the day and that some students seemed to be on edge or hiding something. On the other hand, I didn't feel this at all during the flipped classroom sessions.
 
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Current MS1 here.

I think students feel stressed when we are about to have exams which we do every 3-4 weeks in the current block which is Foundations. Otherwise, even if we have prep work for class one night, people are really friendly and hang out especially in TMEC and Vandy. Not only is Boston fun and accessible, but students like to travel away or do things off campus together as well. I think compared to other medical schools we have a very vibrant student community because we see each other in class every day (most schools have optional lectures resulting in lower class attendance rates), have societies and clinical site placements, and we have affordable student housing across the street that 80% of first years live in (whereas other schools have students living all over the city). I found it very easy to get to know 95%+ of my class within just a few weeks.

Interview days are generally disorganized because everyone has different schedules to accommodate different schedules of the faculty interviewers. But they do a great job of welcoming you here later in the spring for revisit. The administration is very supportive and open to feedback. It's not hierarchical or domineering or careless at all. People are sometimes stressed because it's medical school and sometimes you have tests and work lol. I've had so much fun here and many people I know have too.

Just as a rule of thumb take your interview day as a snapshot or superficial first glance at a school. Obviously there are happy and unhappy peope everywhere. On interview days you pop in for a hot second. Who knows what else people you see on that particular day might be going through? Maybe a student is sick or had a bad break up. Maybe you don't jive with the personality of one person. But from the 10-15 people you see on an interview day you really can't judge a school completely - not just HMS but elsewhere.
 
FlyingEagles123 said:
Current MS1 here.

I think students feel stressed when we are about to have exams which we do every 3-4 weeks in the current block which is Foundations. Otherwise, even if we have prep work for class one night, people are really friendly and hang out especially in TMEC and Vandy. Not only is Boston fun and accessible, but students like to travel away or do things off campus together as well. I think compared to other medical schools we have a very vibrant student community because we see each other in class every day (most schools have optional lectures resulting in lower class attendance rates), have societies and clinical site placements, and we have affordable student housing across the street that 80% of first years live in (whereas other schools have students living all over the city). I found it very easy to get to know 95%+ of my class within just a few weeks.

Interview days are generally disorganized because everyone has different schedules to accommodate different schedules of the faculty interviewers. But they do a great job of welcoming you here later in the spring for revisit. The administration is very supportive and open to feedback. It's not hierarchical or domineering or careless at all. People are sometimes stressed because it's medical school and sometimes you have tests and work lol. I've had so much fun here and many people I know have too.

Just as a rule of thumb take your interview day as a snapshot or superficial first glance at a school. Obviously there are happy and unhappy peope everywhere. On interview days you pop in for a hot second. Who knows what else people you see on that particular day might be going through? Maybe a student is sick or had a bad break up. Maybe you don't jive with the personality of one person. But from the 10-15 people you see on an interview day you really can't judge a school completely - not just HMS but elsewhere.
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Can you please private message me I have some questions.
Thanks
 
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Just to provide another data point, I interviewed here recently and I didn't feel any sort of weird vibe. All the students I met seemed very intelligent and accomplished but also very normal. I can't say this about some of the other highly-ranked schools I've interviewed at. It also seemed like it was a very low-stress environment and the only reason a student might be stressing about the preclinical years was bc they set high expectations for themselves. Overall, I went in to my interview a little skeptical of HMS. I questioned whether they would actually live up to their reputation. Upon arriving, I realized the faculty and students at HMS create this remarkable culture of greatness. In the end, I can honestly say that I was impressed. Now, all I have to do is keep my mind busy until March...
 
LA_Doc said:
I think that your second point is part of what I'm concerned about. I know Harvard attracts some of the top applicants in the country and the world, but I also want the opportunity to form relationships with my peers and build a sense of community. Most of the schools I've interviewed at so far, the students really seemed to be enjoying themselves and making an effort to connect with each other outside of just being on the same career track. They play sports together, explore the city together, etc. and I'm curious to see if Harvard is like that too.
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I would second @begoood95 on this one (very belatedly 😛). Students I met were all super cool, loved their community of peers, and emphasized how responsive the school is to their needs... but they also seemed quite tense/high-strung. Possibly because I was there pretty early on and mostly met 1st years, perhaps there was an exam coming up, who knows. I'm aware it's only a small snapshot--and it definitely didn't make me less excited to be there 🙂--but it was something I hadn't felt at other schools. I might've left feeling differently if both my faculty interviewers hadn't seemed so disenchanted by the institution. One straight up told me they disliked Harvard but couldn't bear to give up the opportunities it provided them, which was pretty funny coming to hear from a interviewer. 🙄
 
Sorry guys for being a noob... but I thought Harvard gives a secondary to everyone who submitted primary. Are there two supplementary applications?
 
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egj said:
What are the prospects of an international student with a LizzyM of 78?
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academically you're good. It really comes down to your ec's. Even then, no one can really predict how top 10 admissions will go. Crapshoot with thousands of highly qualified applicants.
 
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Anyone complete 8/30 II? I was, and have not heard a thing. Is it the beginning of the end? The end of the beginning?
 
Threw my app in here last minute as a hail mary. Does anyone know why it shows that they haven't received my letters of rec even though AMCAS has had my letter packet since beginning of August? All other schools I applied to have all shown that they had immediately received my letters. Is there some step I am missing here?
 
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Just asked him. Late October. But he said guys like him heard earlier than him. No rhyme or reason. Don't try to figure it out. So many variables. Just don't count yourself out. If you have good stats and GPA, hang in.





2018 Applicant | aoGPA: 3.90| cumGPA: 3.95| bcpmGPA: 3.85|MCAT: 525| Verified: aug 30th|
MD: Primaries: 20 | Secondaries: 20 | II: 7| Accepted: - | Waitlist: - | Withdraw: - | Rejection: -
DO: None
NY Resident Traditional Applicant
 
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this has been asked but not answered yet to my knowledge:
does Harvard do thank you notes specifically for interviewers and letters of intent?
 
Red1993 said:
Has anyone heard rejections from Harvard yet who was complete in August?
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From the HMS Admissions website:
"Early March - All admissions decisions are sent out via email on the same date, whether candidates are accepted, declined, or waitlisted."

My guess is that includes pre-II R's too.
 
chill_coefficient said:
From the HMS Admissions website:
"Early March - All admissions decisions are sent out via email on the same date, whether candidates are accepted, declined, or waitlisted."

My guess is that includes pre-II R's too.
Click to expand...

A friend of mine who applied last year didn't get a rejection until mid march and she says that a lot of her friends didn't hear back until the same. But maybe @coffeeandcodeine or @CapuccinoCup123 have some insight?
 
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