2021-2022 Harvard

BU Medical Sciences
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Thank you to @kokoriko and @Habber22 for sharing this year's questions!

Summary of the various Harvard tracks: Choosing an MD Track

2021-2022 Harvard Secondary Essay Prompts:

Harvard Medical School is committed to the enrollment of a diverse body of talented students who will reflect the character of the people whose health needs the medical profession must serve. The consensus is strong at HMS that the education of a physician is enhanced by diversity within the student body. At your option, please provide the following information not contained within the AMCAS application, to provide us with a more complete sense of your background:

A. Marital Status:
Married Single
Number and ages of siblings:
Number and ages of dependents:

B. Are your parents/guardians Harvard Medical School alumni (MD or MD-PhD) or faculty members?
Yes No

C. How many hours per week did you devote to employment during the academic year?
Freshman:
Sophomore:
Junior:
Senior:

D. If you have already graduated, briefly (4000 characters max) summarize your activities since graduation.

E. If there is an important aspect of your personal background or identity, not addressed elsewhere in the application, that you would like to share with the Committee, we invite you to do so here. Many applicants will not need to answer this question. Examples might include significant challenges in access to education, unusual socioeconomic factors, identification with a minority culture, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity. Briefly explain how such factors have influenced your motivation for a career in medicine. (4000 character maximum)

(optional) The Committee on Admissions understands that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted applicants in various ways. If you wish to inform the Committee as to how these events have affected you and have not already done so elsewhere in your application, please use this space to do so. (This is an optional essay; the Committee on Admissions will make no judgment based on your decision to provide a statement or not.) (4,00 character maximum)

The interview season for the 2021-2022 cycle will be held virtually and is anticipated to run from mid-September through January 2022. Please indicate any significant (three or more weeks) restriction on your availability for interviews during this period. If none, please leave this section blank.
---------------------------

If applying to HST (Health Sciences & Technology Track):
Instructions: The HST MD program draws on the combined resources of Harvard and MIT to provide a distinct preclinical education tailored to preparing students for careers as transformative physicians who will shape the future practice of medicine. Our students come from the full spectrum of disciplines including biological, physical, engineering and social sciences. HST classes are small, commonly include graduate students and have an emphasis on quantitative and analytic approaches. The unique HST pre-clinical curriculum prepares students well for the HMS clinical education while also emphasizing disease mechanisms and preparing students to solve critical unmet needs in medicine and healthcare (ranging from novel diagnostics and therapeutics to applications of ‘big data’ and systems engineering). Please focus on how your interests, experiences and aspirations have prepared you for HST (rather than identifying specific HST faculty or research opportunities). Limit your comments to the equivalent of one page of single-spaced text with a font size of 10 or 12.
----------------------------------------------
If applying MD/PhD:
  • Briefly list your research interests/areas; use keywords only. This information is not binding. (100 characters)
  • Please list publications, indicating for each whether it is published, submitted/under review, or in preparation. Limited to 1,000 characters (including spaces).
  • Describe your reasons and motivations for pursuing a graduate degree in your chosen program of study at Harvard. What experiences led you to your research ambitions? Concisely state your past work in your intended field of study and in related fields. Briefly indicate your career objectives. Your statement should not exceed 1,000 words. Health Policy applicants should indicate the concentration(s) and policy area(s) of interest. For other Social Science PhD Programs, please refer to Program Details for any additional instructions pertaining to this essay.
Good luck to everyone applying!

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For those considering applying, here's the previous cycle's secondary questions:
  • If you have already graduated, briefly (4000 characters max) summarize your activities since graduation.
  • If there is an important aspect of your personal background or identity, not addressed elsewhere in the application, that you would like to share with the Committee, we invite you to do so here. Many applicants will not need to answer this question. Examples might include significant challenges in access to education, unusual socioeconomic factors, identification with a minority culture, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity. Briefly explain how such factors have influenced your motivation for a career in medicine. (4000 character maximum).
 
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rainbowpremed said:
For those considering applying, here's the previous cycle's secondary questions:
  • If you have already graduated, briefly (4000 characters max) summarize your activities since graduation.
  • If there is an important aspect of your personal background or identity, not addressed elsewhere in the application, that you would like to share with the Committee, we invite you to do so here. Many applicants will not need to answer this question. Examples might include significant challenges in access to education, unusual socioeconomic factors, identification with a minority culture, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity. Briefly explain how such factors have influenced your motivation for a career in medicine. (4000 character maximum).
Click to expand...

I also have down these additional prompts from when I applied this past cycle:

  • G. The Committee on Admissions understands that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted applicants in various ways. If you wish to inform the Committee as to how these events have affected you and have not already done so elsewhere in your application, please use this space to do so. (This is an optional essay; the Committee on Admissions will make no judgment based on your decision to provide a statement or not.)
  • Our interview season runs from mid-September through January. Please indicate any significant (three or more weeks) restriction on your availability for interviews during this period. If none, leave blank.

For HST:
  • The HST MD program draws on the combined resources of Harvard and MIT to provide a distinct preclinical education tailored to preparing students for careers as transformative physicians who will shape the future practice of medicine. Our students come from the full spectrum of disciplines including biological, physical, engineering and social sciences. HST classes are small, commonly include graduate students and have an emphasis on quantitative and analytic approaches. The unique HST pre-clinical curriculum prepares students well for the HMS clinical education while also emphasizing disease mechanisms and preparing students to solve critical unmet needs in medicine and healthcare (ranging from novel diagnostics and therapeutics to applications of ‘big data’ and systems engineering). Please focus on how your interests, experiences and aspirations have prepared you for HST (rather than identifying specific HST faculty or research opportunities). Limit your comments to the equivalent of one page of single-spaced text with a font size of 10 or 12.

For MD/PhD

  • Briefly list your research interests/areas; use keywords only. This information is not binding. (100 characters)
  • Please list publications, indicating for each whether it is published, submitted/under review, or in preparation. Limited to 1,000 characters (including spaces).
  • Describe your reasons and motivations for pursuing a graduate degree in your chosen program of study at Harvard. What experiences led you to your research ambitions? Concisely state your past work in your intended field of study and in related fields. Briefly indicate your career objectives. Your statement should not exceed 1,000 words. Health Policy applicants should indicate the concentration(s) and policy area(s) of interest. For other Social Science PhD Programs, please refer to Program Details for any additional instructions pertaining to this essay.
 
Do people who apply for Harvard get automatically considered for HST by filling out the secondary for it or is there a step prior to be considered?
 
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In-state MD, secondary received.

@wysdoc
Secondary prompts:
Harvard Medical School is committed to the enrollment of a diverse body of talented students who will reflect the character of the people whose health needs the medical profession must serve. The consensus is strong at HMS that the education of a physician is enhanced by diversity within the student body. At your option, please provide the following information not contained within the AMCAS application, to provide us with a more complete sense of your background:

A. Marital Status:
Married Single
Number and ages of siblings:
Number and ages of dependents:

B. Are your parents/guardians Harvard Medical School alumni (MD or MD-PhD) or faculty members?
Yes No

C. How many hours per week did you devote to employment during the academic year?
Freshman:
Sophomore:
Junior:
Senior:

D. If you have already graduated, briefly (4000 characters max) summarize your activities since graduation.
Character Count Meter4000


E. If there is an important aspect of your personal background or identity, not addressed elsewhere in the application, that you would like to share with the Committee, we invite you to do so here. Many applicants will not need to answer this question. Examples might include significant challenges in access to education, unusual socioeconomic factors, identification with a minority culture, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity. Briefly explain how such factors have influenced your motivation for a career in medicine.(4000 character maximum)

The interview season for the 2021-2022 cycle will be held virtually and is anticipated to run from mid-September through January 2022. Please indicate any significant (three or more weeks) restriction on your availability for interviews during this period. If none, please leave this section blank.


HST Essay:
Instructions: The HST MD program draws on the combined resources of Harvard and MIT to provide a distinct preclinical education tailored to preparing students for careers as transformative physicians who will shape the future practice of medicine. Our students come from the full spectrum of disciplines including biological, physical, engineering and social sciences. HST classes are small, commonly include graduate students and have an emphasis on quantitative and analytic approaches. The unique HST pre-clinical curriculum prepares students well for the HMS clinical education while also emphasizing disease mechanisms and preparing students to solve critical unmet needs in medicine and healthcare (ranging from novel diagnostics and therapeutics to applications of ‘big data’ and systems engineering). Please focus on how your interests, experiences and aspirations have prepared you for HST (rather than identifying specific HST faculty or research opportunities). Limit your comments to the equivalent of one page of single-spaced text with a font size of 10 or 12.

Edit: Habber22 pointed out that I missed the optional COVID essay (06/30/2022, 12:30pm)
Habber22 said:
**Add**
The Committee on Admissions understands that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted applicants in various ways. If you wish to inform the Committee as to how these events have affected you and have not already done so elsewhere in your application, please use this space to do so. (This is an optional essay; the Committee on Admissions will make no judgment based on your decision to provide a statement or not.) (4,00 character maximum)
Click to expand...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
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kokoriko said:
In-state MD, secondary received.

@wysdoc
Secondary prompts:
Harvard Medical School is committed to the enrollment of a diverse body of talented students who will reflect the character of the people whose health needs the medical profession must serve. The consensus is strong at HMS that the education of a physician is enhanced by diversity within the student body. At your option, please provide the following information not contained within the AMCAS application, to provide us with a more complete sense of your background:

A. Marital Status:
Married Single
Number and ages of siblings:
Number and ages of dependents:

B. Are your parents/guardians Harvard Medical School alumni (MD or MD-PhD) or faculty members?
Yes No

C. How many hours per week did you devote to employment during the academic year?
Freshman:
Sophomore:
Junior:
Senior:

D. If you have already graduated, briefly (4000 characters max) summarize your activities since graduation.
Character Count Meter4000


E. If there is an important aspect of your personal background or identity, not addressed elsewhere in the application, that you would like to share with the Committee, we invite you to do so here. Many applicants will not need to answer this question. Examples might include significant challenges in access to education, unusual socioeconomic factors, identification with a minority culture, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity. Briefly explain how such factors have influenced your motivation for a career in medicine.(4000 character maximum)

The interview season for the 2021-2022 cycle will be held virtually and is anticipated to run from mid-September through January 2022. Please indicate any significant (three or more weeks) restriction on your availability for interviews during this period. If none, please leave this section blank.


HST Essay:
Instructions: The HST MD program draws on the combined resources of Harvard and MIT to provide a distinct preclinical education tailored to preparing students for careers as transformative physicians who will shape the future practice of medicine. Our students come from the full spectrum of disciplines including biological, physical, engineering and social sciences. HST classes are small, commonly include graduate students and have an emphasis on quantitative and analytic approaches. The unique HST pre-clinical curriculum prepares students well for the HMS clinical education while also emphasizing disease mechanisms and preparing students to solve critical unmet needs in medicine and healthcare (ranging from novel diagnostics and therapeutics to applications of ‘big data’ and systems engineering). Please focus on how your interests, experiences and aspirations have prepared you for HST (rather than identifying specific HST faculty or research opportunities). Limit your comments to the equivalent of one page of single-spaced text with a font size of 10 or 12.
Click to expand...
**Add**
The Committee on Admissions understands that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted applicants in various ways. If you wish to inform the Committee as to how these events have affected you and have not already done so elsewhere in your application, please use this space to do so. (This is an optional essay; the Committee on Admissions will make no judgment based on your decision to provide a statement or not.) (4,00 character maximum)
 
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Habber22 said:
**Add**
The Committee on Admissions understands that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted applicants in various ways. If you wish to inform the Committee as to how these events have affected you and have not already done so elsewhere in your application, please use this space to do so. (This is an optional essay; the Committee on Admissions will make no judgment based on your decision to provide a statement or not.) (4,00 character maximum)
Click to expand...

My bad, thank you for adding it!
 
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Is it weird I haven’t gotten the Harvard secondary if I submitted my primary May 27 in the morning?
 
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Is it frowned upon to only use 1000 characters or so out of 4000 for the optional essay, rather than not writing anything at all?
 
apismnfla1003 said:
Is it frowned upon to only use 1000 characters or so out of 4000 for the optional essay, rather than not writing anything at all?
Click to expand...
If those 1000 characters add something relevant and important to your application and another 3000 characters could not help to better explain that addition and would really only be fluff, then you’re fine!
 
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For online coursework, does this also pertain to courses taken remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic?
 
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Anyone else having an issue in which all of your LORs have been marked as received, but the LOR category in the Home tab still has the red exclamation next to it?
 
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Billie Rubin said:
Anyone else having an issue in which all of your LORs have been marked as received, but the LOR category in the Home tab still has the red exclamation next to it?
Click to expand...
Me, I would give it until later today or tomorrow! On my other portals, time has resolved the issues

Edit: letters are checked off and complete 7/7
 
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if you are submitting individual letters through interfolio does that count as "third party packet" or "from the letter writers to amcas"
 
1800avogadro said:
For online coursework, does this also pertain to courses taken remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic?
Click to expand...
Emailed them, they said yes: List all courses that were fully or partially online (including hybrid).

edit: typos
 
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I'm assuming employment hours is only for paid employment? I.e. would I not include research "jobs" where I wasn't paid or unpaid internships?
 
Measher809 said:
if you are submitting individual letters through interfolio does that count as "third party packet" or "from the letter writers to amcas"
Click to expand...
Isn't there a third option "individual letters sent from the letter writers to AMCAS?"
 
OOS received and submitted! having the word "Harvard" in my inbox makes me feel fancy
 
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For the hours of employment section of the secondary broken up into freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior years, what is an academic year defined as? Trying to figure out where to put summer employment hours
 
yeehaw1999 said:
For the hours of employment section of the secondary broken up into freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior years, what is an academic year defined as? Trying to figure out where to put summer employment hours
Click to expand...
I interpreted it that you don’t put summer employment hours, only ones during the academic year’s semesters
 
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If you have already graduated, briefly (4000 characters max) summarize your activities since graduation.
^ I've graduated from undergraduate but currently in graduate school. Do I fill out this section?
 
lupomed123 said:
If you have already graduated, briefly (4000 characters max) summarize your activities since graduation.
^ I've graduated from undergraduate but currently in graduate school. Do I fill out this section?
Click to expand...
Yes
 
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Anyone having trouble with paying the fees? Mine keeps getting declined :/
 
are the secondary questions really optional/have there been successful applicants who have not answered any of the essay questions? I feel like none apply to me
 
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If you apply HST and pathways, are you being reviewed completely separately for those, or is it the kind of thing where you can only be accepted into HST if you're already accepted into pathways?
 
puppylove101 said:
are the secondary questions really optional/have there been successful applicants who have not answered any of the essay questions? I feel like none apply to me
Click to expand...
I am in the same boat but scared turning it in is like taking a $100 bill and flushing it down the toilet... Help!
 
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Screamapillar said:
If you apply HST and pathways, are you being reviewed completely separately for those, or is it the kind of thing where you can only be accepted into HST if you're already accepted into pathways?
Click to expand...
From their website: "Application to both tracks in no way prejudices the chance of acceptance to either one."

This phrasing seems to indicate that you are reviewed for admission to HST and Pathways separately, should you select both. The above would also suggest that acceptance into one has no bearing on acceptance into the other!
 
are_u_not_entertained said:
From their website: "Application to both tracks in no way prejudices the chance of acceptance to either one."

This phrasing seems to indicate that you are reviewed for admission to HST and Pathways separately, should you select both. The above would also suggest that acceptance into one has no bearing on acceptance into the other!
Click to expand...
That's how I read that too, but wanted to check to be sure. Thanks!
 
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medicalapplicant0668 said:
I am in the same boat but scared turning it in is like taking a $100 bill and flushing it down the toilet... Help!
Click to expand...
For just about everyone, it is, but, as they say with the lottery, you gotta be in it to win it! :)
 
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Screamapillar said:
That's how I read that too, but wanted to check to be sure. Thanks!
Click to expand...
I got rejected from HST but got my Pathways interview invite in the same day. I think they review HST and Pathways application independently but roughly at the same time.
 
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Orims said:
I got rejected from HST but got my Pathways interview invite in the same day. I think they review HST and Pathways application independently but roughly at the same time.
Click to expand...
Awesome, looking forward to getting rejected by both on the same day.
 
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IS and still haven’t received a secondary….big sad

Edit: And just realized I never even added Harvard to my schools on AMCAS. Starting the cycle out well 🥴
 
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Being IS or OOS is not relevant in admissions to Harvard and like schools.
 
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