I'm a newbie with questions about Harvard Extension!

[happy_pirate]

hi everyone!

I'm so glad I found this site... what an awesome resource for us doctor wannabes!

a little background on me: I'm 24, female, hold a BFA in film production from one of those prestigious private universities, and... I want to be a doctor. The decision's been a long time coming, but by the time I really knew what I wanted, it was just more practical to finish up my undergrad and move on from there.

I now live in Boston and work full-time as a TV producer for a local news affiliate. I like my job okay, and it pays decently, but it definitely is not what I want for the rest of my life.

I have no undergrad math or science, so I'm looking into taking all the prereqs through the Harvard Extension program over the next two years (ideally, I would take the MCATs and apply to schools in the spring of 2007, and enter in the fall of 2008.)

What I'd like to know from those of you who have been through or who are at the HES program --

is it possible for me to enter the HES program this fall and, over the next two years, take all the pre-med requirements at night while working my 9-5 job? I'm not asking you if it is psychologically or emotionally possible - obviously only I can answer that for myself - but is it - physically and scheduling-wise - possible to do that?

any other thoughts or reflections on working full-time while in a post-bacc program?

looking forward to chatting with you all!

take care,

happy_pirate

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[happy_pirate]

what are the application dates like for the HES program? is it rolling admissions? if I wanted to apply for this fall, when is the latest I could send in my application?

thanks!

 

[jays2cool4u]

You might want to post your questions in the thread Official: Harvard 2005. You will find the answers to the majority of your questions there along with any additional inquires you may develop. Hope this helps.

Jays2cool4u

 

[booradley5]

hi everyone!

I'm so glad I found this site... what an awesome resource for us doctor wannabes!

a little background on me: I'm 24, female, hold a BFA in film production from one of those prestigious private universities, and... I want to be a doctor. The decision's been a long time coming, but by the time I really knew what I wanted, it was just more practical to finish up my undergrad and move on from there.

I now live in Boston and work full-time as a TV producer for a local news affiliate. I like my job okay, and it pays decently, but it definitely is not what I want for the rest of my life.

Welcome, happy_pirate! You've come to the right place. There are many threads on the HES program from 2004 and 2005 that will give you a lot of perspective on the program. The 2005 thread is active and should show up on the main post-bacc page.

is it possible for me to enter the HES program this fall and, over the next two years, take all the pre-med requirements at night while working my 9-5 job? I'm not asking you if it is psychologically or emotionally possible - obviously only I can answer that for myself - but is it - physically and scheduling-wise - possible to do that?

I'm not as much as an expert as many others here, but from what I have learned it is possible. But, you will have very little social life trying to do that.

Also, how much math do you have coming in? Some med schools require calculus and these classes use everything up to and including trig. If you have just had college algebra, that would probably be barely sufficient, but you would have to do a significant amount of self study prior to starting if you plan on taking math classes concurrently. (I took trig and calc, but that was 10 years ago and I am going to have to review big time in order to hack it.)

Two classes a semester is the most one could do and still work f/t in terms of scheduling. Physics and Chem (lecture, labs, discussion sections) will pretty much take up most all of your evenings during the week. If you want to get some math in there and still be done in 2 years, you would need to do summer school or cut back on working hours to take something during the day. Frankly, that would be suicide IMO since you would be studying all day/night you weren't working. Online math classes from another school during this summer is another option just to learn the material, but that is an entirely different debate.

Based on what I have read it seems you would need to take 3 years to do this...first year take one math class then start your pre-reqs in the seond year. That way you get a flavor for the classes, schedule, and program. Dr. Fixsen and others on here have told me that one of the biggest mistakes HCP students make is taking too much too early. If you REALLY want to be a doc, another year won't hurt.

As for admission, you still have time. It is open admissions and you can register in late August. If you want to apply to the HCP, you can do that at anytime after you start as well.

Hope that helps...anyone else want to jump in?

 

[happy_pirate]

... i'll repost on the Harvard thread, didn't realize that there was such an ongoing discussion.

thanks!