Harvard Extension School

[smiley27]

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So I applied to health career program for fall 2011..
I sent my application and my check and everything but I got rejected. They sent me back my check and politely declined the admission.
To be honest, I have no hope anywhere else. I have GPA below 3.0.I thought that attending HES and getting into HCP will totally help me out because I recently decided to take up medical field...
I feel so hopeless... I did send them an email asking for reconsideration but no reply yet... TT

smack88DAT, did they tell you the reason why you were rejected?

I've read on here that admissions were non competitive at all and all the applicants were accepted to HCP. Except for one poster that said he/she was denied admission and sent back the check but was offered the opportunity (with a disclaimer warning of the difficulty of the program and getting accepted into med school) to re-mail the check back to admissions and be accepted.

May I ask what your UG gpa is? You can pm me if you don't feel like sharing on here. I'm going to be applying to hcp this week for fall 2011 with a 2.7 gpa.

Also, have you taken any of the pre-med/dental science classes? If so, how many?

I'm just trying to see if it was solely your gpa that was the deciding factor in your denial or maybe you took too many science classes already.

I would really appreciate your response because now I'm worried I'm going to be rejected also. But even if I am, I still plan on moving out to Boston this fall to take HES classes and possible re-apply to hcp after taking a few classes. But I'd really like to get admitted so I can get financial aid!!

 

[ghostman]

So I applied to health career program for fall 2011..
I sent my application and my check and everything but I got rejected. They sent me back my check and politely declined the admission.
To be honest, I have no hope anywhere else. I have GPA below 3.0.I thought that attending HES and getting into HCP will totally help me out because I recently decided to take up medical field...
I feel so hopeless... I did send them an email asking for reconsideration but no reply yet... TT

You don't have to be in HCP to take the pre-med classes at HES. If you feel you are ready for the challenge of the pre-med courses (be honest with yourself, because the classes are not easy and it'll hurt your grades if you perform poorly), then sign up for classes anyway and prove that you can do it. You can still use the library and get LOR from the professors. You just can't get a committee letter or an HCP diploma, but neither is a requirement for the medical field.

There are a lot of students in the classes who are not part of HCP.

 

[DuchessMD]

Hi!
I'm new here and I've just discovered the HES HCP and I'm curious about it. I've been reading all the posts and people generally like it. I started off strong freshman year but I had a rough sophomore year and early junior year. I had family issues (a drawn out, fatal cancer kind of issue 🙁) and I took on too much (Upper level science classes plus EMT class, TAing for Chem and Physics, volunteering at an EMT agency, volunteering at all kinds of other places, etc) and it showed. I knew I had to work harder and I was on the Dean's list the next semester. My GPA is on a steady rise but I'm still just at a 3.017 with the possibility of a 3.1+ after graduation. I know I need stronger numbers so I'm definitely looking at a post-bacc program so I have a shot at any med school (obviously an amazing MCAT score is necessary).

My question(s): Would HES be a good fit for me? Would I even get in with my gpa? How does HES HCP stand as a post bacc? Would getting good grades (I mean As) stand out?

Thanks so much everyone!

 

[AmeliaV]

Can anyone weigh in on their experience in starting with the concentrated gen chem summer class vs. starting in the fall? Boston's my hometown but I'm moving up from the south to do this. Any thoughts on how quickly/easily you settled in the city would be greatly appreciated also!

 

[smiley27]

First of all thank you to all former/current hes students that have taken the time to give advice on here. The information has been invalluable.

I recently mailed in the application for the HCP and I'm expecting to get denied because of my piss poor gpa. Thinking ahead, I have decided that I want to enroll in hes classes and possibly reapply in the future. My only problem is the lack of federal aid because I won't be in the program. Can anyone give me advice on how to obtain private funding? Ideally, I would want to take out enough to cover everything- tuition, housing and expenses. I even want to borrow money for summer school
classes. I checked out my bank's website but they want the Fafsa code for the school but I won't be in the program.

If anyone can lend me some advice on what to do I'd really appreciate it.
Does Sallie Mae lend to students not enrolled in a program? I've never taken ut a loan before.

 

[drmarkgreene]

Anyone planning on starting this summer??

 

[Russage23]

Hi,

I've been accepted to the Health Careers Program, and I'm starting to think about places to live in/around Cambridge. I wouldn't be opposed to commuting over from Boston proper, but if anyone knows of good resources to find places to live in the area (also roommates?), let me know. I'm fairly cost-conscious, but I also want to live in a decent place that's close to the campus. Thanks for the help!

- Russell

 

[Ivory12]

Hi,

I've been accepted to the Health Careers Program, and I'm starting to think about places to live in/around Cambridge. I wouldn't be opposed to commuting over from Boston proper, but if anyone knows of good resources to find places to live in the area (also roommates?), let me know. I'm fairly cost-conscious, but I also want to live in a decent place that's close to the campus. Thanks for the help!

- Russell

A great resource is this very message board. Use the search function and you'll find a plethora of information.

In summary:
Somewhere on the Red Line or within walking distance of school. Davis Square is good, Porter Square is ok, Harvard Square is obviously close but really expensive. Inman Square is ok. Central Square is ok, but can be a bit dodgy. Probably don't want to go further east than that. Basically stay in Cambridge or west Somerville if you can.
Others can probably add more to this.

See you in the fall.

 

[Gko]

Hi!
I'm new here and I've just discovered the HES HCP and I'm curious about it. I've been reading all the posts and people generally like it. I started off strong freshman year but I had a rough sophomore year and early junior year. I had family issues (a drawn out, fatal cancer kind of issue 🙁) and I took on too much (Upper level science classes plus EMT class, TAing for Chem and Physics, volunteering at an EMT agency, volunteering at all kinds of other places, etc) and it showed. I knew I had to work harder and I was on the Dean's list the next semester. My GPA is on a steady rise but I'm still just at a 3.017 with the possibility of a 3.1+ after graduation. I know I need stronger numbers so I'm definitely looking at a post-bacc program so I have a shot at any med school (obviously an amazing MCAT score is necessary).

My question(s): Would HES be a good fit for me? Would I even get in with my gpa? How does HES HCP stand as a post bacc? Would getting good grades (I mean As) stand out?

Thanks so much everyone!

I had an overall gpa of about ~2.7 through sophomore year, second semester. I got Dean's List the rest of the semesters, save for 1 (girl problems, what're you gonna do about it?). I ended up with an overall GPA of 3.48. When I applied, HCP sent back my check, telling me that if I really wanted to, I can send the check back, receiving sponsorship under certain conditions of course. I took that as a slight, and so well, challenge accepted.

My suggestion then, seeing as how HCP is not a terribly difficult program to get into, is to call the offices. You'll end up talking to the director, Dr. Fixsen, or his assistant, Mr. Peterson. Fixsen tends to be fairly blunt, so he can give you a good assessment of where you stand. TBH, if you're serious about doing whatever needs to be done to get into med school, and are able to convey the seriousness with which you'll approach post-bac, I don't see why they wouldn't consider letting you into the program.

 

[Russage23]

Thanks Ivory, appreciate the feedback.

 

[MedWonk]

.

 

[Ivory12]

I'd really like to encourage people to post in the Official Harvard 2011 Thread (or whatever it's called). That's where everyone else is and you'll get more and better feedback.