2025-2026 Harvard

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chilly_md

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2025-2026 Harvard Secondary Essay Prompts (same as last year)

(A,B,and C are short answer questions)
D. If you have already graduated, briefly (4000 characters maximum) 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 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, diverse ideological perspectives, or other aspects of your personal or family background that help place your prior academic achievements in context or provide further insight into your motivation for a career in medicine or the view points you might bring to the medical school community. (4000 characters)

F. The interview season for the 2025-2026 cycle will be held virtually and is anticipated to run from mid-September through January 2026. Please indicate any significant (three or more weeks) restriction on your availability for interviews during this period. If none, please leave this section blank. (1000 characters)

G. If you are re-applying, briefly summarize your activities since your previous application. (4000 characters)

For HST applicants (4000 characters)

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).


Good luck to all applying!

Interview Feedback:

 
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+1 OOS secondary

@wysdoc @chilly_md

D. If you have already graduated, briefly (4000 characters maximum) 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 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, diverse ideological perspectives, or other aspects of your personal or family background that help place your prior academic achievements in context or provide further insight into your motivation for a career in medicine or the view points you might bring to the medical school community. (4000 characters)

3. The interview season for the 2025-2026 cycle will be held virtually and is anticipated to run from mid-September through January 2026. Please indicate any significant (three or more weeks) restriction on your availability for interviews during this period. If none, please leave this section blank. (1000 characters)
 
Harvard calling out all the neurotic premeds
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Last year Harvard said that "Many applicants will not need to answer this question," so I was wondering if the same held true here or if this was a bit more of a general diversity prompt.
 
Last year Harvard said that "Many applicants will not need to answer this question," so I was wondering if the same held true here or if this was a bit more of a general diversity prompt.
Wondering this too. Wasn't planning on submitting a response to this based on last year's prompt but is it now required?
 
Anyone else adding a brief "Why Harvard?" at the end of the extended prompt -- like mentioning programs by name? I initially thought it would be unnecessary, but now I'm not sure due to the use of the phrase, "may illuminate how you could contribute to the medical school."
 
there is also a reapplicant question @chilly_md:

4. If you are re-applying, briefly summarize your activities since your previous application. (4000 characters)
 
@chilly_md

another essay for HST, 4000 characters

ESSAY FOR APPLICATIONS TO THE HARVARD-MIT DIVISION OF HEALTH SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY
(HST)



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).
 
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Just curious, if I don’t have letters of rec from every research activity I have, is that something that would automatically screen me out from Harvard?
 
Just curious, if I don’t have letters of rec from every research activity I have, is that something that would automatically screen me out from Harvard?
Hi! I don’t think it is a strict requirement, just highly recommended.
 
Do the prompts say that this year? If not, what you wrote was not relevant
The prompt is exactly the same, just without the final sentence about many folks not having to answer. I suppose the question we're asking is, "is the essay still considered to be optional?" or perhaps, "should we interpret this as a broader diversity essay for those who do not have unusual life challenges?"
 
The prompt is exactly the same, just without the final sentence about many folks not having to answer. I suppose the question we're asking is, "is the essay still considered to be optional?" or perhaps, "should we interpret this as a broader diversity essay for those who do not have unusual life challenges?"
Just answer the prompt
 
For the question "Were any courses listed on your transcript completed online?", should this be interpreted as outside the context of COVID-19 where all courses for an institution were held online only?
 
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