Is HARVARD extending its interviewing season ?!?!

[The Fly]

I know a bunch of other people are still waiting on HMS interviews...from what i've read, other years they seem to interview 25% of the total applicants. However, it would seem that this year things are quite different since I know of hardly anyone who's interviewed there (and I work at HMS!). The only person I know who's interviewed was a Yalie who was a 38T/3.97, so that really doesn't help me!

My question: Is their interviewing season extended this year??

I ask because they typically send all the letters in late feb., and if that is the case this year, well then that doesn't bode too well for my chances at scoring an interview...

Does anyone know anything pertinent???

Thanks!

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[mma]

They've extended to March. This is what Jason in the Admissions Office told me:

"We will be interviewing through the beginning of March."

So there is still time. (By the way, I am not a 38T Yalie and my interview is Jan 18th.)

Good luck!

mma

 

[tg78]

I interviewed at HMS on 12/3 and there were only 4 of us there that day (they said there would normally be 15-20 interviewing). They told us they expected everything to be delayed by about 1 month this year. However, it seems to me they may be being optomistic with that estimate.

By the way, I definately do not have a 39MCAT. My 30 seems to be working just fine for me though...

Hope someone finds this useful.

 

[Scooby Doo]

tg78 - Wow....Harvard with a 30?
Not bad...What do you think got you past the screen and into the interview?

 

[E'01]

30 is a good score - all these scores that schools say they get, are an average and nothing more. So 30 would be well within the range. Way to go tg78!

 

[tg78]

I don't know exactly why I made the cut. My MCAT and GPA (3.45) I'm sure didn't do it. I think it is mostly my ECs and personal statement--both I think are strong--and the fact that I am well rounded and service oriented. I have taken 2 years off since college which has probably helped. I am happy though. So far I have been accepted to the University of Washington and the University of Rochester, so all is going well...

 

[Scooby Doo]

30 isn't bad that's for sure. But to have interviewed at harvard already with a 30 (and a 3.45) shows you must have really stood out
congrats!

 

[mma]

I'm the same boat as tg78. I had 2 years of grad school, plus 2 years of health service research work with 1 year of post bac in between these two stints. My undergrad degree and my grad degree were in Classics. GPA was great after undergrad (3.5+), but not-as-great in undergrad. I've gotten into Rochester, Tufts, and Baylor. And I've interviewed schools including Yale and UPenn--waiting for March to hear. I'll be at Harvard on the 18th of this month.

The message is that schools, including the big name schools, do not look at numbers only. You have to be an interesting, stand out candidate in some other way. Plus, you need to show a distinct commitment to the field of medicine--and I mean more than "I wanted to be a doctor since I was a little kid." Medical schools want maturity and people who are certain that medicine is right for them and that they are right for medicine. These things are not conveyed through super high MCAT scores and GPAs. (Meanwhile, a 30 MCAT is, I think, above national average of matriculated students. It works out to double digits in every section--that's all you need! )

It takes all kinds to make a great med school great. (Furthermore it takes more than numbers to make one a good doctor.)

There's hope for all of us.

Good luck!

mma

 

[Original]

YES Harvard will extend its season. They told us that it is most likely; which by my interpretation means they WILL.

My interviewer is actively involved in HST admissions and said he would have interviewed at least 15 applicants by Dec 18, but on that date this year I was only the 2nd person he had interviewed. Just as tg78, they also told 6 of us interviewing on that day that there are usually 20/session in a normal year.

I'm out of the running for their MD/PhD program, but hearsay is that they have created 2 new MD/PhD interview sessions which will hold after their initially intended Jan 29 final session.

We were also told that decisions will most likely go out later than usual. Everything is getting pushed back.

 

[The Fly]

Even though any connection is totally bogus, because I work in the Longwood Quad (I work at Beth Israel Deaconess in a lab affiliated with HMS), I somehow feel as though they 'owe' me an interview...

Though much has been said about MCATs, a friend of mine's brother is on the adcom at an ivy medical school and told me (more or less) that the MCAT is used as more of a cutoff in that they'd really like to see 10s or better in each section. He said by NO means is a 33 (11 in each section) vastly superior to a 30 (10s in each). Of course, the essay section is basically bogus (which is too bad beacuse that was my best section!) With respect to the cutoff thing though, I thought that was reassuring information, but who knows if that is true and to what extent it's applied as such.

I shouldn't complain--I've had 11 interviews at basically all of the top schools with the exception of the top three--Duke, Hopkins and Harvard--to which i've heard nothing (I'm a 34T/3.86). I interviewed in Sept/Oct. at Yale, Penn, Wash U, Columbia, Cornell, Northwestern, Sinai etc.

That being said, I really do want to interview at Harvard. When do you think is the time to go to the admissions office and tell them in person that I really would like to interview there??

In other news, I was accepted to Rochester yesterday which was exciting!!!

Good Luck to everyone and thanks for listening to me!

 

[mma]

GG16,

Congrats on your Rochester acceptance! Folks here are very, very nice, as I am sure you have read in the Rochester post. And it's 45 degrees here today--it's like Spring!

I understand the frustration of feeling like you're one of Harvard's (I graduated from Harvard undergrad and worked at HMS for a few summers) and that they should be knocking down your door to interview you. I mean, sheesh, you're right there!

My frustration got high, so I e-mailed the Admissions Office and said, "Hey, how's my app?" Jason (admiss off guy) said, "I know nothing of the status of your application, but we are intervieweing through the beginning of March." Within 8 hours, I had my invite. Maybe a coincidence, but this was not my first rapid invite post-inquiry at a school...

Don't give up hope. You know, I would gently e-mail the admiss off. You may have the same quickie turnaround I did. Who knows?

Good luck, everybody!

mma

 

[Legend]

Originally posted by tg78:
•I interviewed at HMS on 12/3 and there were only 4 of us there that day (they said there would normally be 15-20 interviewing). They told us they expected everything to be delayed by about 1 month this year. However, it seems to me they may be being optomistic with that estimate.

By the way, I definately do not have a 39MCAT. My 30 seems to be working just fine for me though...

Hope someone finds this useful.•••

Hey Tg78,

Are you a Harvard undergrad?

 

[The Fly]

Thanks mma-

I just took your advice and sent off a gentle inquiry email...I will keep you abreast of my interview status there. I just need to keep my fingers crossed!

 

[tg78]

No, I definately did not go to harvard for undergrad. However I did work with a doc at one of the harvard hospitals for a summer.

 

[NineSixteen]

mma- I also sent an email and got a reply for Jason, something along the lines of "You app is complete and should you be granted an interview we'll let you know." Unfortunately I did not get the quick turnaround that you did (got the return email on Tuesday, still nothing today) How did they extend the interview offer...phone, email, carrier pigeon, pony express? Not that having that info will make the wait any less awful...

Also, mma, are you applying to the very few joint MD/PhD programs in Health Services Research? I tried convincing a few MSTP programs to fund policy research instead of biological, and they weren't too keen on the idea. I ended up withdrawing all of my PhD applications, I'll try again after my second year. Who knows? Anyway, just curious, sounds like we have the same interests, and I don't find too many other applicants interested in the policy/administrative side.

 

[mma]

Hi Nine-sixteen,

No, I feel like I am too old (26) to be thinking PhD route. I may do an MPH at some point, however. I think it is pretty unfortunate that PhDs in Health Policy or Health Services are not funded--I know that the science has a more quickly tangible result when discovered, but you can't quite apply the science without having some sort of process in place for distributing on a wider, more effective and fair level. Health Services research is growing, however, so maybe someday... For now, I will just jolly myself by pursuing my research in school on my own or with other students or maybe with the help of my current boss.

As for my interview notification--I got an e-mail (and not from Jason)on Jan 3rd at 5:33 PM and they are sending a follow-up snail-mail. I'm sorry the turnaround has not been as quick for you, but it's only been two days since your last Jason e-mail. There's still time! Remember, they're interviewing until March (as opposed to the regular January 15th) AND they're only seeing, like, 4 people per day.

Jason doesn't like being e-mailed too frequently. Just a caveat.

Don't give up hope! Harvard has room for us all! Right?

Good luck!

mma

 

[The Fly]

The irony is that Jason is probably the assistant to the assistant, right ?!?!

Well, if he's reading this, I am sure that now my chances at an interview are nil...

 

[brandonite]

I've emailed Jason two or three times. He's always been helpful to me. I hope he's not annoyed with me - I wouldn't want it marked down in my file that I pestered him...

For the record, I know absolutely nothing about whether Harvard has extended its cycle. My app has been complete there for a while now, and I've heard nothing. I have really good MCATs, pretty good GPA, lots of research (in astronomy, though), but I went to an unknown state university.

 

[mma]

Jason said interviews will go on through early March. I'm going to put my trust in him.



mma

 

[The Fly]

Here is what I received as a reply to my inquiry:

>Thank you for your interest in Harvard Medical School. Your application is
>complete.
>
>Sincerely,
>Jason Graff

--Not exactly what I was looking for...

 

[mma]

GG16,

That was what he said to me as well. The good stuff came from a Ms. Hammontree (who is the nicest person).

I'm keeping our fingers crossed for you--you'll get some love soon. Don't worry. It's still only January...

mma

 

[The Fly]

I'm worried mma, I'm worried!!!!

Okay, breathe deeply...ahhh...