2024-2025 Harvard

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Here is what they say on the MD program page: "Half of the students in our MD program have majored in biological sciences and half in physical sciences. They are comfortable with mathematics and computational methods, biochemistry, and molecular biology."

So if you have a quantitative/engineering background and you like translational research, you should be good to go! 🙂
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haha, that's the issue! I have a bunch of background in that kind of work and my application is focused on a physician-scientist career, I just don't want to do HST specifically
 
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Z_C said:
haha, that's the issue! I have a bunch of background in that kind of work and my application is focused on a physician-scientist career, I just don't want to do HST specifically
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I have a similar narrative/focus and am applying pathways. HST seems better for people who want to be PIs for basic science labs. If you want to do clinical research as an MD (like me), then pathways makes way more sense and Harvard would def not see it as a red flag. Are you planning to be a PI and go full academic? If you are then HST probably would be very good for your goals.
 
Decaying_Isotope said:
I have a similar narrative/focus and am applying pathways. HST seems better for people who want to be PIs for basic science labs. If you want to do clinical research as an MD (like me), then pathways makes way more sense and Harvard would def not see it as a red flag. Are you planning to be a PI and go full academic? If you are then HST probably would be very good for your goals.
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Unfortunately my background is very much in that basic science region as are my long term research interests, one of the reasons I don’t want to do HST is that I already did a lot of independent investigation in that area and I’d rather focus on the clinical aspect in school rather than reviewing things i’ve already worked on (the other reason is personal factors relating to HST personnel). but yes! pways definitely feels more clinical investigation centric from what I have seen : )
 
So due to COVID all my freshman year classes were mainly online, but I was on grounds and some aspects were in person. Should I answer "Yes" to the online class question?
 
@Frog333 what is the online question specially? Do they ask us to list all of them? I’m still waiting for the secondary but want to be prepared. Also, does Harvard prefer in person?
 
classof2028md said:
@Frog333 what is the online question specially? Do they ask us to list all of them? I’m still waiting for the secondary but want to be prepared. Also, does Harvard prefer in person?
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Considering the pandemic forced everyone online, I don’t think it really matters what Harvard prefers (unless you chose to take the course online before/after the pandemic)
 
Mr. Macrophage said:
Considering the pandemic forced everyone online, I don’t think it really matters what Harvard prefers (unless you chose to take the course online before/after the pandemic)
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That’s what I assumed as well. However, some classes are still being offered online or hybrid ( including prerequisites) which is why I’m curious. Also, if the applicant has a full time work schedule, would they be more understanding?
 
Do medical schools ever share responses to secondary questions to other schools? I am considering taking a leap of faith and including a lot of unique life circumstances on that second question that I chose to leave out of my primary. I know that the answer is probably no and that I am being neurotic but I just don't want to jeopardize my chances if I need to reapply next cycle.
 
thenamereggy said:
Do medical schools ever share responses to secondary questions to other schools? I am considering taking a leap of faith and including a lot of unique life circumstances on that second question that I chose to leave out of my primary. I know that the answer is probably no and that I am being neurotic but I just don't want to jeopardize my chances if I need to reapply next cycle.
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No they are confidential and seen only by the school you write them for.
 
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thenamereggy said:
Do medical schools ever share responses to secondary questions to other schools? I am considering taking a leap of faith and including a lot of unique life circumstances on that second question that I chose to leave out of my primary. I know that the answer is probably no and that I am being neurotic but I just don't want to jeopardize my chances if I need to reapply next cycle.
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I did that also it felt like the question was asking for “is there anything you aren’t telling anyone else”, from what I understand it should be in strict confidence
 
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Z_C said:
I did that also it felt like the question was asking for “is there anything you aren’t telling anyone else”, from what I understand it should be in strict confidence
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I think it should be more interpreted as, "Is there something else that will put context to your application, or that will be a reason for us to be interested in you, that you haven't said elsewhere in your application?"
 
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Z_C said:
I did that also it felt like the question was asking for “is there anything you aren’t telling anyone else”, from what I understand it should be in strict confidence
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Yeah that makes sense. And, I mean, why not just dump? It's Harvard and I am probably not getting in lol
 
wysdoc said:
I think it should be more interpreted as, "Is there something else that will put context to your application, or that will be a reason for us to be interested in you, that you haven't said elsewhere in your application?"
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That's a fair interpretation! I suppose my reasoning is that Harvard knows who they are, like they know they're Harvard, and that they have the cultural cachet to be a special case. They also know what the medical school admissions process looks like and they know that everyone has a prewritten diversity essay. For distance travelled they also have access to the self reported disadvantaged status essay from the primary or whatever they rebranded that one as.

Those three things together with "Many applicants will not need to write this" to me indicates that they are saying 'if it is what you wrote in your general diversity essay it is not the answer to this question'. That might be a stretch but it was my thought process.

Honestly we might be saying the same thing in slightly different wordings! : )
 
Is HST and Harvard similar to how CCLCM is to CWRU?

As in, you can get an interview to one but not the other, or an interview to both, or are you specifically applying to HST and if you don't get into HST you also don't get into Harvard? Thanks in advance!
 
People are able to interview at both HST and pathways - it is incremental, i,e., you are applying to Harvard and then HST.

Not sure if you can get into both or only HST if you get in.
 
HST is HMS. Applicants to the HMS MD Program choose between two curriculum tracks—Pathways and HST. Applicants may apply to the HST track, to the Pathways track or to both. Application to both tracks in no way prejudices the chance of acceptance to either one.

It's possible for applicants to interview with both Pathways and HST. Also possible to be offered admission by both tracks.
 
E. If there is an important aspect of your personal background or identity not addressed elsewhere in the application that may illuminate how you could contribute to the medical school and that you would like to share with the Committee, we invite you to do so here. Examples might include significant challenges in access to education, unusual socioeconomic factors, or other aspects of your personal or family background to place your prior academic achievements in context or provide further information about your motivation for a career in medicine or the perspectives you might bring to the medical school community. Many applicants will not need to answer this question (4,000 characters maximum).

Does anyone know people who got in without answering this question leaving it blank? not sure if my diversity essay is worth putting it in.
 
Chef'n Curry said:
Have heard of people getting interviews leaving it blank, but obviously YMMV
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how about for HST? i'm same as the other dude above - pretty heavy computational background, but really dislike basic science and wouldn't actually want to do that.

if it doesn't affect admission chances, I'd rather only apply pathways. do they care if I don't apply HST for my "lack of effort"
 
Chef'n Curry said:
Same background as both of you as well lol - comp research background with no interest in basic science

I remember reading somewhere that Pathways and HST admissions are completely separate (don't quote me on this), which would make sense given that you can interview with one program and not the other

I'm applying to HST, but I personally wouldn't worry about the "lack of effort" tanking your chances with Pathways
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yea makes sense. why apply to HST if no interest in basic science?
 
viking_lama said:
1) "summarize your activities since graduation"
  • Are they referring to college graduation? If I am in a graduate program would it be appropriate to expand on that here?

2) Would the HST program be appropriate for someone with a strong background in translational research, but limited interest in computational biology, engineering or bioinformatics? I want to work in clinical research in an academic setting, and I want to be heavily involved in research while in medical school.
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I can only answer the first q. it's def referring to college graduation like all the other schools. so you could discuss grad school in it
 
viking_lama said:
Great! Are they looking for a short essay or merely a paragraph? They do emphasize that it should be brief in the question stem, but the character limit is 4000.
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anytime there's a large character limit I assume it's gotta be filled
 
pizzaluigi said:
anytime there's a large character limit I assume it's gotta be filled
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I am a fellow applicant, so I only know as much as y'all, but I kinda disagree with this one...say what you need to say, no need to go crazy. The question asks for a brief summary of your activities since graduation....for nontrads this may be a super long essay, but if you graduated a month ago, there's probably a lot less that you have to say? just my two cents
 
Cobie said:
I am a fellow applicant, so I only know as much as y'all, but I kinda disagree with this one...say what you need to say, no need to go crazy. The question asks for a brief summary of your activities since graduation....for nontrads this may be a super long essay, but if you graduated a month ago, there's probably a lot less that you have to say? just my two cents
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yea good point I was probably thinking of myself for that essay since I graduated 2 years ago and have done a lot since then
 
cassidy_grace2325 said:
Thank you!!!! Haven't allowed myself to neurotically check my email because I was complete so recently, this came as a complete surprise especially given my stats!!! 🙂 FINGERS CROSSED FOR YOU!!
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thank you! I'm not holding my breath for harvard II but you never know, go kill the interview!
 
Allow me to be neurotic for a second (if Harvard is making me wait 6 months it feels mildly excusable):
Do we think earlier II = higher chance of an A despite non-rolling offers? I know the consensus is about 25% post-II A but I couldn't find anything on II timing and A chances.
 
bold-and-brash- said:
Allow me to be neurotic for a second (if Harvard is making me wait 6 months it feels mildly excusable):
Do we think earlier II = higher chance of an A despite non-rolling offers? I know the consensus is about 25% post-II A but I couldn't find anything on II timing and A chances.
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I have no idea but just out of curiousity was there no interview slot you could sign up for until March? Is that what ur saying
 
bold-and-brash- said:
Allow me to be neurotic for a second (if Harvard is making me wait 6 months it feels mildly excusable):
Do we think earlier II = higher chance of an A despite non-rolling offers? I know the consensus is about 25% post-II A but I couldn't find anything on II timing and A chances.
Click to expand...
I personally don't think your interview date plays a causal role here. My understanding, if what I gleaned from my cycle is correct, is that for Pathways the subcommittee that your interviewers are a part of decides to either send you to the main committee or not, and then after the end of interview season the main committee looks at all of the finalized candidates very thoroughly and decides on outcomes. If you made it to that second round, it doesn't matter when you interviewed.
For HST, the process is different, but I also think that people from all dates are fully considered. It's a small interviewee pool with its own admissions committee that is very intentional about the construction of the class. I know people who have gotten in from the first II waves all the way to the last.

(Also, since there seem to be a lot of questions on this—for applying PW vs. HST, your application (or lack thereof) to one has no bearing on the other. I know people who only applied to one or the other and got in, people who applied to both and got into one, and people who applied to both and got into both. The PW admissions people in no way "expect" you to also apply HST if you don't want to, and each year there are several times fewer HST apps than PW apps. They are very, very different programs.)
 
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Yayyyy littlepotato, good luck 🫡
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Did you guys get an email saying your application was complete following submission of your secondary? Or just one that says "received"?
 
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