harvard acceptances?

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At my HST interview one of the current students mentioned something about the adcom "confirming" your letters with your letter writers after accepting you (apparently the same held true for NP). I'm not really quite sure what's meant by "confirming", but she said that her letter writers were sent an email from the adcom that was supposed to be confidential (i.e. they weren't supposed to tell her about it). Anyhow, I have no idea if they're doing the same thing this year. If they did this for every single acceptee, you'd think that roughly 1/4 of the posters here would have had their LOR writers contacted...

ahhhhhhh this stuff is making me go nuts! looks like another eat-my-way-through-this-week week
 
well, that's good to hear, i guess. i should have just sent that extra lor without asking. it couldn't have hurt, right? it would have been a really good one, too. oh well, what's done is done...

Hey all - HMS First Year here. The admissions office just finished their last interviews today, so they'll probably start making decisions soon. Chances are, they'll be like past years and won't make the March 15th deadline on time. Last year, we heard at the end of March (though some of us heard a little earlier through a glitch in the financial aid website). Good luck to all - HMS is a fantastic school and a great experience!
 
bump

according to some people 5 - 7 days left!

my estimate - about 2 weeks left...anyone tried the finaid website?
 
bump

according to some people 5 - 7 days left!

my estimate - about 2 weeks left...anyone tried the finaid website?

Yeah... I've tried logging in a few times over the past week or so and the message has consistently been "login failed." I'm keeping in mind that the last interviews were yesterday, so there's no way they'd have put the accepted students into the system yet. I am now swearing off that website. I'd rather get an actual rejection letter (or a waitlist? I seem to be really good at getting waitlisted) than an ambiguous error message. Good luck to everyone waiting :luck::luck::luck: Only a few more weeks...
 
Yeah... I've tried logging in a few times over the past week or so and the message has consistently been "login failed." I'm keeping in mind that the last interviews were yesterday, so there's no way they'd have put the accepted students into the system yet. I am now swearing off that website. I'd rather get an actual rejection letter (or a waitlist? I seem to be really good at getting waitlisted) than an ambiguous error message. Good luck to everyone waiting :luck::luck::luck: Only a few more weeks...

Yeah I tried that website once, but now I am thinking that the website can only lead to crazy.
 
5-7 days? Holy crap no way!

My letter writers got a call from adcom, but only because my interviews had a discrepancy.
 
5-7 days? Holy crap no way!

My letter writers got a call from adcom, but only because my interviews had a discrepancy.

wait, how do you know? did your recommenders let you know?
 
Yeah, both of my letter writers got called, and they let me know what they were asked and their responses. Both assured me that they gunned for me over the phone. This happened in January, I think.
 
Yeah, both of my letter writers got called, and they let me know what they were asked and their responses. Both assured me that they gunned for me over the phone. This happened in January, I think.

I'm confused..."Both" of your letter writers? You only had two letters of recommendation, or only two of the authors were contacted?

What sort of discrepancy was it? Was it between something you mentioned during the interview and something in your LORs?
 
I'm confused..."Both" of your letter writers? You only had two letters of recommendation, or only two of the authors were contacted?

What sort of discrepancy was it? Was it between something you mentioned during the interview and something in your LORs?

Well let's do a little exercise in common sense.

1) Harvard requires a minimum of 3 letters with the secondary.
2) This person got an interview at Harvard.
3) I wonder how many letters this person had to send in to get that interview.
 
Well let's do a little exercise in common sense.

1) Harvard requires a minimum of 3 letters with the secondary.
2) This person got an interview at Harvard.
3) I wonder how many letters this person had to send in to get that interview.

Wow, got snark?

That is exactly why I am confused that he used "both" instead of "all" in reference to his letter writers. You didn't really clear anything up, but thanks for, well, whatever it is you add to the ambiance here.
 
Well let's do a little exercise in common sense.

1) Harvard requires a minimum of 3 letters with the secondary.
2) This person got an interview at Harvard.
3) I wonder how many letters this person had to send in to get that interview.

lol i hope we become classmates
 
Wow, got snark?

That is exactly why I am confused that he used "both" instead of "all" in reference to his letter writers. You didn't really clear anything up, but thanks for, well, whatever it is you add to the ambiance here.

Hehe. Never hurts to add a little comic relief to help the long wait. 🙂


lol i hope we become classmates

I hope so too.
 
i assuming this is that popular financial aid site that allows you to check if you got in before they tell you?


https://itwwebs.med.harvard.edu/FinAidApp/logon.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2ffinaidapp/pghome.aspx
 
i assuming this is that popular financial aid site that allows you to check if you got in before they tell you?


https://itwwebs.med.harvard.edu/FinAidApp/logon.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2ffinaidapp%2fpghome.aspx


That is it. But I would not expect there to be a loophole this year. I suppose we'll see...
 
That is it. But I would not expect there be to a loophole this year. I suppose we'll see...
I really hope it doesn't work. Reading the thread from last year was really depressing. People logged into that site (unsuccessfully) all day.
 
Hi everyone,

I feel your pain with the wait...

Maybe I can ask a question in the interim.

I'm not very familiar with the US med application system (I'm Canadian), and I wanted to know, is it customary to send a letter of interest to the admissions committee post-interview? I wrote an email to my interviewer because we really hit it off (just to thank him for the conversation) but nothing to the admissions committee. This was 2 weeks ago...I'm wondering if I screwed up and should have sent a letter since I am very interested in the school.

Thanks and good luck!
 
Hi everyone,

I feel your pain with the wait...

Maybe I can ask a question in the interim.

I'm not very familiar with the US med application system (I'm Canadian), and I wanted to know, is it customary to send a letter of interest to the admissions committee post-interview? I wrote an email to my interviewer because we really hit it off (just to thank him for the conversation) but nothing to the admissions committee. This was 2 weeks ago...I'm wondering if I screwed up and should have sent a letter since I am very interested in the school.

Thanks and good luck!
There is no customary way. You do what you're compelled to do. Most people, to be considerate, send a thank you note or email to their interviewers since they're giving up valuable time to be a part of the process. You can send a letter of interest, though Harvard has said they don't see a purpose for it UNLESS you have significant updates on your application that you include.

No worries. Back to waiting. Good luck!
 
does anyone know if the subcommittee meeting already happened?

no point to send anything if they met already! last interviews were on tue, so for sure they met this week, and committee will meet this weekend or mon... if they follow the same trend as years past where rejections are sent out on 11th (that is tue).
 
does anyone know if the subcommittee meeting already happened?

no point to send anything if they met already! last interviews were on tue, so for sure they met this week, and committee will meet this weekend or mon... if they follow the same trend as years past where rejections are sent out on 11th (that is tue).


I think subcommittees meet weekly, so if you interviewed a while back, they have already met for your interview cohort.
 
There is no customary way. You do what you're compelled to do. Most people, to be considerate, send a thank you note or email to their interviewers since they're giving up valuable time to be a part of the process. You can send a letter of interest, though Harvard has said they don't see a purpose for it UNLESS you have significant updates on your application that you include.

No worries. Back to waiting. Good luck!

Thanks a lot for the help! I am a big advocate of doing what feels right, so I'm glad to hear that it should not penalize me.

Take care and good luck!
 
waiting13,
adcom says that all committees have met... so there is no point to send anything now.
we will know the results next week.
their spring break is on the 15th, so everything has to be decided by then.
 
waiting13,
adcom says that all committees have met... so there is no point to send anything now.
we will know the results next week.
their spring break is on the 15th, so everything has to be decided by then.


...or the week after...
 
I know most of us will love to be in Harvard...but let's not worry too much. Let's just enjoy the privilege of being invited for interviews in the first place. If come April and I don't hear from them at all, then I would worry. For now, I'm gonna some fun!🙂
 
I know most of us will love to be in Harvard...but let's not worry too much. Let's just enjoy the privilege of being invited for interviews in the first place. If come April and I don't hear from them at all, then I would worry. For now, I'm gonna some fun!🙂

That's pretty much my attitude also. The main reason I want to hear back soon is so that my family will stop asking about it every other day!
 
waiting13,
adcom says that all committees have met... so there is no point to send anything now.
we will know the results next week.
their spring break is on the 15th, so everything has to be decided by then.

This increase the worrying level even more. Apparently, Harvard sends out the rejection wave first.
 
seems like mon all rejections to ppl who didn't get interviews.

tue/wed rejections to ppl who didn't get past sub-committee.

thurs committee rejections. and fri acceptances.

so by tue 18th we should all know.
 
seems like mon all rejections to ppl who didn't get interviews.

tue/wed rejections to ppl who didn't get past sub-committee.

thurs committee rejections. and fri acceptances.

so by tue 18th we should all know.


Oh my goodness. Overthinking this will not make the decisions come, but what it will do, and without fail, is make everyone freak out and lose sleep. It's not worth it. There is speculation on when decisions will come. We know they are done interviews, and thus the subcommittees have passed the names of high-ranking students to the main committee. It will take some time for that main committee to sort through the files and pick the subset which will receive acceptances and which will receive whatever else. If anyone will be setting a date on when everything goes out, it is the admissions committee. Since none of us sit on that committee and information is limited and conflicting, relax and let things play out as they will. Inevitably, the thoughts racing through our minds will have no influence on what actually happens.
 
What do you guys think of the Harvard area and Boston as a place to live for the next 4 years?
 
What do you guys think of the Harvard area and Boston as a place to live for the next 4 years?

I currently live in Boston. It's not quite NYC, but it offers what a lot of other great American cities do. On the downside, things close somewhat early on the weekends (around 2am) and public transportation shuts down at 12:30am all days of the week. Food here is great if you know the right places to go.

The Longwood medical area (HMS) is bustling during weekdays and completely dies at night and on weekends. There are adjoining neighborhoods where you can go to get decent food or visit a pub, but you're essentially in the heart of a complex of several hospital and research facilities. It's great for business, but you need to escape for social life.

For the four years of med school, I think it's fine. There's plenty to entertain yourself with in Boston/Cambridge, and come 2nd and 3rd year, you won't even have time to really take advantage of it. I think it's a good fit since it offers plenty but also reduces the amount of distraction when you really want to focus.

Weather, however, is kinda poor. The summers are shorter than in the mid-Atlantic states, but they get just as balmy and hot. Winters seem to drag on and this year in particular has seen a lot of precipitation, usually rain. Last winter it snowed about 2-3 times, and so far this winter I'd say 6-7.
 
med007, thank you for that insight
 
waiting13,
adcom says that all committees have met... so there is no point to send anything now.
we will know the results next week.
their spring break is on the 15th, so everything has to be decided by then.

medSchool8000, do you mean the main committee has met as well?
 
when i called they said all the committees have met at this time.

but it seems that it would be difficult for main committee to have met already...who really knows! we can only guess.

but my guess is that if you interviewed early, your decision is determined. main committee probably already selected 90% of the class, and then just picked what they needed from jan/feb/march crowd over this week.
 
Do you guys think the finaid site might still work this year? I am hoping that maybe we can get some answers some time this week.

https://itwwebs.med.harvard.edu/FinA...%2fpghome.aspx
 
Do you guys think the finaid site might still work this year? I am hoping that maybe we can get some answers some time this week.

https://itwwebs.med.harvard.edu/FinA...%2fpghome.aspx

Bump.

I can't believe it worked as recently as last year.

Anyone try it yet? Last year the messages came in two flavors: "Sorry, that information isn't available right now. Please contact the Financial Aid Office" = good

and "login failed" = bad.

I guess it goes without saying, but if anyone gets the good message, they ought to post here.
 
Bump.

I can't believe it worked as recently as last year.

Anyone try it yet? Last year the messages came in two flavors: "Sorry, that information isn’t available right now. Please contact the Financial Aid Office" = good

and "login failed" = bad.

I guess it goes without saying, but if anyone gets the good message, they ought to post here.

When I tried it, it said login failed. Guess that's it for me then.
 
When I tried it, it said login failed. Guess that's it for me then.
Nononononono. I highly doubt the FA page reveals that type of information this year, and even if it DOES, you should still see others post with a different message before you should count yourself out.
 
Nononononono. I highly doubt the FA page reveals that type of information this year, and even if it DOES, you should still see others post with a different message before you should count yourself out.

I agree.
 
Login failed again. HMS financial aid login, why can't I quit you?
 
FYI - spoke to admissions office - decisions will be sent out by the end of next week (week of Mar 17-21).
 
I've bolded the key word that will continue everyone's madness.

right so rejections may be seen as early as the end of this week, beginning of next week and acceptances won't be seen until late next week
 
oh my GOD this is ridiculous
 
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