Harvard extension,hunter,stonybrook

[gegogi]

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To apply Harvard dental, do you think harvard extension causes to good impression to them? Im also wondering that harvard dental school looks down on students who had been away after they graduated from college. I worked for 2 years as a engineer, and my major is EE Engineering. Im taking bio2, chem2 at Hunter. What do you prefer to go Hunter, SUNY at Stony Brook and Harvard extension if you were on my shoe? I will be a resident in NY this Sep.

 

[jackbauer!]

go to the cheapest school possible and then go volunteer in some 3rd world country for a semester, and in your free time find a cure for periodontal disease......and while you're at it bridge the link completely between oral and systemic health. with those experiences i say you have a shot at harvard 🙄

bottom line: no one knows what harvard looks for. some get in with less than stellar stats while others with unheard of stats are rejected. in addition, ANYONE can attend harvard extension as long as your willing to pay some serious coin.

all you can do is try to make yourself stick out as much as possible.

best of luck, jb!🙂

 

[isurus22]

Working as an engineer for two years, gives you a great ADVANTAGE! Schools want people that have experienced life and have matured and had time to think about their true career goals. If been out for 9 years working as an engineer. My moderate stats 3.4 GPA, 19 DAT were not Harvard material but my work experience was what impressed them. Im headed there this fall.

 

[twinblock]

harvard extension is a complete joke, it is NOT Harvard, any ***** can pay the money and take some courses at Harvard EXTENSION, it is not the real thing and people at Harvard Dental School know this, dont waste your money and dont be stupid

 

[caloriefree]

harvard extension is a complete joke, it is NOT Harvard, any ***** can pay the money and take some courses at Harvard EXTENSION, it is not the real thing and people at Harvard Dental School know this, dont waste your money and dont be stupid

I wouldn't say it's a complete joke. I've heard that there are a lot of graduates from top-tier universities who either haven't taken any pre-med courses in their undergrad yrs or who don't have great GPAs go there. And I've read this from the medical forum, and they say the premeds from Harvard Extension manage to get a lot of acceptances from the top 20 med schools, and someone mentioned that he got into harvard and stanford med schools, if I remember correctly. Despite that, if I were you (the OP), I would stay in NY and take courses there. I just wanted to make a point that Harvard Extension is not a complete joke as twinblock believes. 😉

 

[dsony2284]

Harvard Extension is not a joke. The prereqs there are very strong and have some of the brightest students from all over the country. Say that to Dr. Fixsen, Senior lecturer in Bio, whos classes are one of the most rigorous bio pre req courses i have come across. Not to mention the teaching level at Harvard is unparralel compared to my undergraduate institution. Im not the only one, there are many people who are my colleagues from all over the nation and various schools that agree with this notion. The graduate biochem i was enrolled in was one of the more rigorous courses and confusing courses i have ever taken. Each exam is quite long about 12-15 pages in most classes full of various question types. You are graded usually according to how everyone does so strong competition is def evident. Teaching is the best i have come across and that makes stronger students. I have friends, who after taking the pre-reqs at the extension school, scored ridiculously high scores on their DATS and MCATS because of the amazing teaching and in depth learning involved in these courses. Dr. Fixsen claims that if you get an A in his courses you are pretty much guaranteed over a 32 on the MCAT, im not sure how than translates to DAT score but I am assuming its pretty damn competitive. In addition the program holds weight at many schools and is cheaper than that of other local extension programs as well as in individual graduate level courses.

 

[blankguy]

Harvard extension is an good place to take prereqs. It is a bargain compared to other places in Boston that charge serious amount of money to take courses as a postbacc or nondegree. The courses there from what I've heard are very well taught and is rigorous. It is no joke. If you go there be ready to do some serious studying.

 

[Lipoxygenase]

I wouldn't say it's a complete joke. I've heard that there are a lot of graduates from top-tier universities who either haven't taken any pre-med courses in their undergrad yrs or who don't have great GPAs go there. And I've read this from the medical forum, and they say the premeds from Harvard Extension manage to get a lot of acceptances from the top 20 med schools, and someone mentioned that he got into harvard and stanford med schools, if I remember correctly. Despite that, if I were you (the OP), I would stay in NY and take courses there. I just wanted to make a point that Harvard Extension is not a complete joke as twinblock believes. 😉

The confusion here is this:
"getting into the program" is a joke.
"Doing well in the program" is a whole different ballgame.

The reason why they have this somewhat contradictory outcome is this. There are tons of Harvard worshipers out there who would be willing to do anything to be able to add the name into their education profile. Harvard took this business opportunity (and rightfully so) and made a huge extension program that can house whoever willing to pay the duck. Some of them will have GPA below 3.0 with communications degree from a not-so-reputable place. The reputation of being easy to get into stems from individuals of this kind. But others will have respectable GPA from a very reputable place. Other reputable post-bac programs seem to try screening the former kind when they admit students to their program because their reputation depends on how many of their post-bac students actually end up getting into med/dental schools. Harvard Extension doesn't have to worry about this because their best students do end up getting into some of the best schools in the country, and they will not support the rest who happen to have below 3.x GPA from the program (They tell you this up front in their acceptance letter that their support of your candidacy to a school is contingent upon your successful completion of XYZ courses with 3.X GPA).

So yeah, if you do well in the program you will end up at some of the best places out there. But isn't this true with all other rigorous reputable post-bac places? The point is... if you are that good, do you even need the name Harvard to leverage your already competitive position? If you wanna go to Harvard just because you wanna take challenging classes with more known professors, go right ahead. No one's stopping you but think twice before making that decision. I had a chance to go there for post-bac but I opted out and I'm glad I did.

 

[blankguy]

The decisions is largely dictated by schedule and cost since the extension school is aimed at the working adults who want to take additional courses beyond their bachelors degree or haven't had an opportunity to go to college.
The classes are generally taught in the evening once a week. It is a 3 hour lecture with labs on another day of the week. There really is no room for going to Harvard just to satisfy your ego if you are a working adult who has to take courses.

 

[bodiddely]

There are tons of Harvard worshipers out there who would be willing to do anything to be able to add the name into their education profile. Harvard took this business opportunity (and rightfully so) and made a huge extension program that can house whoever willing to pay the duck.

Actually the HES was started by Harvard as a community service/enrichment program.

So what’s the catch? "People think that it’s expensive," says Cross. In fact, course tuition for the Extension School is among the lowest in the city. You can take a semester-long undergraduate course for $525; graduate credit courses are around $1400. "It’s very accessible," says Cross. "And the quality of the faculty is outstanding."

http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/other_stories/documents/04590633.asp

 

[Ron Jeremy]

I went to Northwestern's School of Continuing Studies Post-Bac program, which is Chicago's equivalent of the Harvard Extension School.

Like Harvard's extension program, Northwestern's SCS program caters mostly to career changers that attend evening classes to complete pre-med and pre-dental basic science classes. Many of these students are still working day jobs, but some have quit their jobs to finish this program full-time.

Like the Harvard program, some Northwestern day students and faculty have a
"stigma" towards the SCS program. However, the SCS program is well received from Medical and Dental schools as evidenced by the fact that a high number of SCS graduates matriculate into prestigious medical dental schools across the country.

I am certain, that the Harvard Extension program places a high number of students into prestigious medical and dental schools.

Like dsony2284 stated, both the Harvard and Northwestern name attracts the brightest and most dedicated post-bacc/career changing people in the area, creating a highly competitive student body. As a result, it does look good if you can do well at a program like Harvard Extension.

Knowing what I know now, if I live in the Boston and need to take d-school pre-reqs as career changer, I would attend Harvard Extension. I can care less about Harvard's cost of tuition.

One last thing, like the OP, I was a career changer from engineering. Northwestern helped me get accepted to four d-schools.

 

[Lipoxygenase]

Actually the HES was started by Harvard as a community service/enrichment program.



http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/other_stories/documents/04590633.asp

You might be right, and I do apologize if I offended anyone by saying HES was born out of a money making idea rather than an intellectual enrichment effort. But I believe it's naive to think this place is all about intellectual enrichment. I guess I'm sound cynical so I'll stop here but don't be a saint either if you disagree. That wasn't the point of it anyways.

If HES weren't such a big name institution w/ tuition discount and a night class option like a community college, would it still be as appealing as it is? I admit, it's only a speculation. But to address OP's concern, I think it would be a lot smarter to stay in NY and take those classes either at Hunter or at SB, especially if money and evening class options are the primary concern. Why would you wanna go through all the hassel of moving, adjustment period and the challenging course work. The classes by nature of the material are already difficult to begin with. If anything, make them easier on yourself by avoiding the most challenging route.

 

[Lipoxygenase]

The decisions is largely dictated by schedule and cost since the extension school is aimed at the working adults who want to take additional courses beyond their bachelors degree or haven't had an opportunity to go to college.

Meaning not everyone (prospective prehealth post-bacs) care so much about cost or schedule as other criteria.

The classes are generally taught in the evening once a week. It is a 3 hour lecture with labs on another day of the week. There really is no room for going to Harvard just to satisfy your ego if you are a working adult who has to take courses.

Well, I thought this kind of rigorous schedule is expected at most institutions providing reputable post-bac programs. And yes, I think there's still a plenty of room to choose HES over other post-bac programs to satisfy your ego. The point is there are people choosing HES over other programs becuase that's the school that offers the best package for them (cost, schedule, location, etc) and there are others choosing HES to fulfill their ego.

OP's question was why choose HES over SB or Hunter and my answer is SB or Hunter over HES because I personally don't think HES is worth it for the reasons already been to the ground.