Harvard Health Careers Program VS. Formal Post Baccs

[student14]

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I am wondering how the HES health careers program matches up in..

1. Difficulty - how hard is it to get the A's compared to a regular university? compared to other postbaccs? what are the test formats? mostly multiple choice? How difficult is it to collaborate / get course materials from peers or previous students?

2. Admissions to medical school - if I am admitted to the degree program and receive a committee letter of recommendation, what kind of backing will I truly receive?

3. What is the difficulty compared to summer courses at harvard? are there courses that are advantageous to take over the summer at Harvard vs over the year at HES? I have heard bio can be tough and that physics is poorly run, so would it be better to try and take one of these over the summer?

4. How will I fare in medical school admissions at HES in comparison to a more formal post bacc like tufts?

 

[student14]

bump

 

[Maigret Man]

I am a MS3 who attended the Harvard program. I have a lot of good things to say about it. PM me if you want more details but I will try to answer your questions:

1. Difficulty - how hard is it to get the A's compared to a regular university? compared to other postbaccs? what are the test formats? mostly multiple choice? How difficult is it to collaborate / get course materials from peers or previous students?
- I thought the classes were challenging but definitely doable. When I did it, the tests were a mix of short answer and
multiple choice. I must say that I thought the classes did a great job preparing me for med school. Bio with Dr Fixsen prepares you very well.


2. Admissions to medical school - if I am admitted to the degree program and receive a committee letter of recommendation, what kind of backing will I truly receive?
- Harvard does a nice job with the letter. They act as your committee.

3. What is the difficulty compared to summer courses at harvard? are there courses that are advantageous to take over the summer at Harvard vs over the year at HES? I have heard bio can be tough and that physics is poorly run, so would it be better to try and take one of these over the summer?
- I never took summer Harvard classes but I heard content-wise they are similar to the school year classes but they cover a lot of material, very quickly. You will have no life during tat time! Bio is tough but worth it. Physics was OK.

4. How will I fare in medical school admissions at HES in comparison to a more formal post bacc like tufts?
- The Harvard program, if they sponsor you, has a very high acceptance rate. Programs around the Northeast and beyond respect the program.

Personally,
I graduated from a top 20 university this spring with a BA in a social science
3.4 gpa and plenty of medical experience/research/volunteer work
I was not admitted to any of the top 3 postbaccs (bryn mawr, goucher, JHU)
I have applied to Tufts and UVM as well (haven't yet heard back)
I have none of the pre-reqs completed
I am planning on completing all 8 courses in 2 summers + 1 school year
My decision will not be based on cost
Simply, my goal is to get the highest science gpa possible at a respectable enough school to be admitted to an allopathic medical school

Thanks[/QUOTE]

 

[Gko]

Just a heads up. Professor Fixsen isn't lecturing Bio anymore. He still heads the program, but there's a Professor Anderson that teaches the course now. The general feeling I've gotten about Prof. Anderson is one of ambivalence. He's preparing people based off the notes that Prof. Fixsen gave but administering his own tests.

Given a year of teaching or so, Anderson will probably be much better by the time you start taking Bio. I, myself, am taking Bio next year so hopefully it'll be better structured by then.

As for the summer classes, I've heard Orgo and Physics will swallow your life during the time period that you're taking them.

 

[student14]

Thanks for the feedback. Bump for more input

 

[DoctorWatson57]

I, too, am interested in this program. However, I have already completed my prereqs and was wondering if anybody has had experience with the Health careers program versus traditional SMPs... any input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! I have a 30R, 3.57CUM and 3.23 BCPM.

 

[student14]

I, too, am interested in this program. However, I have already completed my prereqs and was wondering if anybody has had experience with the Health careers program versus traditional SMPs... any input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! I have a 30R, 3.57CUM and 3.23 BCPM.

This is off topic. Lets keep this thread to pre-health only. Still looking for more info on this program. Thanks.

 

[Gko]

I, too, am interested in this program. However, I have already completed my prereqs and was wondering if anybody has had experience with the Health careers program versus traditional SMPs... any input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! I have a 30R, 3.57CUM and 3.23 BCPM.

I'm 84% sure the HCP at HES is completely unrelated to any SMP. It's purely for those who haven't taken any of the pre-reqs or need to fix their pre-req grades.