Absolutely agree. Good ending to a very difficult week. Happy holidays!
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Official Harvard Extension 2012 Thread
Started by MedWonk
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Absolutely agree. Good ending to a very difficult week. Happy holidays!
I want to preface that Casey, as a person, is actually quite nice. But, at the end of the day, a friendly person doesn't always make a competent teacher.
Not only was the test poorly worded, it was almost intentionally confusing and misleading. I can understand difficult teachers and I can most definitely sympathize with teaching an application-based view of Biology. That being said, I cannot fathom how any teacher would create questions on an exam, pset, lab, or practice final without proof-reading first and checking for clarity. You're right; I think she stopped caring.
I don't expect these classes to be easy; the program has a reputation for being stringent. However, I feel like we were nearly sabotaged. Between the class structure, the typos, the convoluted approach to presenting material (the book had it right), forgoing exam reviews, and the harshest lab rubric I've ever seen, it is amazing that 15% could even get above the average. This is my medical school admission we are talking about. I have an absolute right to be upset - and I am. I worked hard in the class; I worked really freaking hard. My lab TF was the only redeeming thing about the course. He was fantastic. This negativity streams from the fact that she didn't seem to care if we succeeded or failed; just that we sat quietly, didn't ask questions, and took it.
This class has sincerely made me consider dropping HCP and taking Bio II somewhere else.
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Won't forget the first lab write-up where I got marked off for calling my table "Figure 1" instead of "Table 1". Everything in my table was correct but I got dinged for that.. Come on mayne!!!
On a lighter the ochem final was OK. I thought the syntheses were the easiest part of the exam. Diels alder ---> ozonolysis. How many times have we seen that? Was expecting crazy synthesis to go down but it was money in the bank. Spec problems got me though.
One of them was almost verbatim from either a practice exam or the spec practice problems. The other one had a nice NMR pattern that screamed tri-substituted ring.
I agree though. I was expecting a crazy 10 step synthesis problem. All were fairly straightforward.I wish I could go back and retake the first two exams with what I know now.
Congrats to everyone on being done with the first semester. Now the real fun begins.
Sounds like you nailed the spec stuff. I knew going into the final I was gonna take a hit on that because I was spending all my time in bio. I got logical answers but I'll be lucky to get full credit on it.
Btw- for the first spec page- did you match up the deuterium molecule with the upfield shifted -OH peak?
The deuterium molecule had no C-H bonding, so It should have been silent in the C-H range. The large OH peak with a finger matched up with the carboxylic acid.
The structure with two amines had the signature amine "stuff" going on.
The only one that didn't match had symmetrical ester linkages. There was no spec with the C=O peak and the 1000-1200 ether stuff.
Yeah I matched up the carboxylic acid with the signature wide OH peak. But I thought the deuterium molecule had OD2 bonding or something like that so I matched it up with the thinner signature OH peak.
I did the same thing - it looked like an OH peak that was shifted further to the right than it should have been, so I picked the OD etc one. Brandon mentioned that shift in one of the reviews so I was sort of expecting it.
Yea if you knew what to look for the specs were pretty straight forward. The di-ester molecule was "easily" eliminated (since none had a screaming c=o peak) and the carboxylic acid was pretty cut and dry.
As far as I know, 50% of the class should score above the average (B/B-) the way Casey described the curve. This actually makes the curve sound reasonable at first glance. What makes the curve seem so steep is 1) the student population in Bio E-1a and 2) setting the B+/A- cutoff at 1 standard deviation. The proportion of B's/B+'s, and A-'s/A's would be very uneven because the area under the curve sharply decrease as you move to the right tail. For example, of the 50% scoring above average, 34% of the class could get B/B+ while only 15-16% get A-/A. I have no actual proof this is how she'll curve things, she was vague in saying she might look for "natural breaks," but this is the best possible explanation I could think of after she finally discussed grading three weeks before the final. I'm definitely anxious to see my grade. If it is very poor👎, I would not rule out taking Bio II elsewhere!
I'm not sure why bio doesn't count psets into the final grade... They should replace the in lecture quiz with psets so they actually means something. I found the end of lecture quiz just to be pointless.. didn't learn anything or revised from them. Also if I got some feedback from pset answers, I'd have a better understanding of what I truly understood and give me an insight into what this course wanted for correct answers.
Well said.
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Hey i have a question about this program. I'm actually living in Cambridge right now , working full time and am considering applying to the program. If I applied now, when would I be able to start? If I can't start for spring classes, could I take classes at Harvard through HES and still be considered into the HCP program later? Also how difficult is it to work full time and take a class or two? Thanks for any answers. Happy holidays!
Has anyone here taken some of the other Medical Sciences couses at the Extension School besides the four base requirements that they liked? I have already taken the Biochemistry course (BIOS E-10) and was trying to figure out what to take next semester.
I am basically wondering if you enjoyed the course, thought the workload was manageable, and if you were able to get a decent grade considering the amount of work you put in.
Thanks!
I am basically wondering if you enjoyed the course, thought the workload was manageable, and if you were able to get a decent grade considering the amount of work you put in.
Thanks!
I've taken cell biology and anatomy and physiology and liked both of them. I also took molecular biology and biochemistry at the summer school and enjoyed both of those courses.
I'm in med school now, but I went thru the HCP program (Anderson was my Bio teacher then and Casey was my Bio lab TF).
Unless things have changed, I would say it's very difficult to hold a full time job and complete the HCP program. I quit my job and devoted my time to HCP and volunteering so as not to screw up my one chance of med school apps. I knew classmates at HCP who started out working full or part time, but ended up either quitting their job or dropping Physics. I'm sure some people managed to pull off a full time job, but every person I knew who was try to balance jobs and classes eventually had to give up one of them.
Just to provide a slightly different perspective from the prior post...it is possible to work full time and take 2 classes/semester. You need to be aware of your own limitations though and if you are capable of living with limited social life and possibly sleep. I worked full time as a clinical research assistant at one of the Harvard hospitals during my 2-year post bac. I also came from a prior job where I averaged ~90 hours/week so I knew I was capable of handling both. I finished the HCP with >3.8 GPA. It was well worth it b/c I had an amazing experience in my job, was able to get very strong rec letters from the MDs I worked for, published research, and frankly it kept me motivated by reminding me why I was working so hard.
It's not easy though and I definitely saw plenty of my classmates who had to quit their jobs but if you want it bad enough, and you're willing to work for it, you can probably do it.
Agree completely. I also work FT with no time to study at work. It's hard, and I'm very busy, but everything has been going fine 3 semesters in. Social life is limited to the weekends, and is non existent the weekend before a test, but considering the $ I would not have made had I quit my job, it's a no brainer. As grt398 said, you have to be willing to work for it.
Took my last HES class this fall! It was a great experience. I loved HES and it definitely got me where I wanted to go.
Just wanted to get in on this thread before the new one starts up. Thank you to the people that post regularly with useful information (pretty much everyone). This board is a great resource-- without it, I most likely wouldn't have heard of HES and would have ended up at a program with 3x the price.
Just wanted to get in on this thread before the new one starts up. Thank you to the people that post regularly with useful information (pretty much everyone). This board is a great resource-- without it, I most likely wouldn't have heard of HES and would have ended up at a program with 3x the price.
Before my previous message gets too buried in here, I was wondering if anyone else wanted to chime in about other medical science courses they have taken at the HES. I've only gotten one reply so far...anyone else have some input?
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Previous message:
Has anyone here taken some of the other Medical Sciences couses at the Extension School besides the four base requirements that they liked? I have already taken the Biochemistry course (BIOS E-10) and was trying to figure out what to take next semester.
I am basically wondering if you enjoyed the course, thought the workload was manageable, and if you were able to get a decent grade considering the amount of work you put in.
Thanks!
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Previous message:
Has anyone here taken some of the other Medical Sciences couses at the Extension School besides the four base requirements that they liked? I have already taken the Biochemistry course (BIOS E-10) and was trying to figure out what to take next semester.
I am basically wondering if you enjoyed the course, thought the workload was manageable, and if you were able to get a decent grade considering the amount of work you put in.
Thanks!
My sister took a class in medical sciences. I don't know the name and she isn't replying to the text msg I sent her. The course syllabus is 50 pages, so maybe you know which one I am talking about. She said it was really a lot of work and she could barely manage that class with her ALB program.
No you absolutely cannot work full time and get A's at Harvard Extension. It is a very, very, very bad idea, contrary to what ANYBODY might say. Go somewhere else and get A's easily. On the other hand, if you don't want A or A- and are content with poorer grades, go for it.
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Agreed. I had excellent grades until I started a full-time research job in January - I went from getting straight A's last fall to barely scraping by with a B in Physics II this spring. I'm very worried that I've gotten a C in Orgo I. I've decided to quit my job (telling my boss this week :/), find a subletter for my apartment, and move back home so that I can get a better Orgo 2 grade and study for the MCAT.
I think maybe it depends on the kind of full-time job you're doing. I've been managing a lab and have been the primary person on a really intense research project. My boss expects a lot of last-minute flexibility (working 16 hour days, staying in the lab past midnight, calling me during exams and at the crack of dawn on weekends and so on), so I think that was the biggest problem for me - I wasn't able to prioritize school at all. But maybe if your full-time job is more manageable, it could be possible. Best of luck either way!
In the interest of medical school admission, this would be a very smart decision indeed!
This. Your job was much more demanding of your time than mine was (Supervisor at Target, 40-45 hrs/week, flexible scheduling). It also depends on what class you take. Intro Stats and Intro Psych were a cakewalk compared to the prereqs.
Also, the 2013 thread is up.
Many people are a part of the HCP diploma program and want a committee letter. I believe that you have to take your pre-reqs at HES in order to be eligible for the diploma.
Obviously, noncon thinks that HES is an across the board gpa damager and, despite multiple people giving evidence to the contrary, noncon continues to support this claim with a sample size of 1 (his/her sister.) I think it is a good idea for people to talk about the downsides of HES on this thread, so that prospective students can use it as a resource when researching programs. However, it's also important to be respectful and try to avoid spreading rumors through speculations, anecdotes, and assumptions.
edit: fixed incorrect information about sponsorship.
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Dude, my sample size is WAY more than 1. I have also considered many other situations, including Hilary Duff, who, if you didn't know, also studied at Harvard Extension. In fact, when someone says they got a high GPA, their sample size is 1. On the other hand, I have been following HES very closely for over a decade, thanks to my family in Boston. Moreover, I graduated from the high school that is the closest to your Science Center, so many of my friends considered HES and went to HES. I also sold stuff on Harvard Square, right outside the CVS for 3 years, so I have probably spent more hours at Harvard than any of you.
And I am NOT the only one who is concerned about transcript damage at HES. Many others are too.
Jennet was one of the pillars of HCP. Look what she is posting now. She wrote, "This class has sincerely made me consider dropping HCP and taking Bio II somewhere else". Sooner or later, you realize that HES murders your transcript.
We live once. When we can get an A elsewhere with less than 10% of the work we put in at HES, why not go elsewhere?
Not talking about HCP here but in the history of Harvard Extension's ALB program only about 4 students got into medical schools. Others are NOT getting in because of transcript damage! http://extensionstudent.com/discussion/4024/thread-for-alb-to-md-experience
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I'm sorry, but selling stuff outside of CVS in Harvard Square is not really "spending hours at Harvard".
Why don't you try taking a class so that you can finally judge for yourself? Maybe then your opinion/critique will hold some value.
Right now this whole "I know because Hillary Duff took a class there" nonsense is just ridiculous.
Why don't you try taking a class so that you can finally judge for yourself? Maybe then your opinion/critique will hold some value.
Right now this whole "I know because Hillary Duff took a class there" nonsense is just ridiculous.
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the whole hiliary duff thing might be one of my fav things written on SDN
Remember...
Well then don't believe me. Believe LizzyM instead. Read what she has to say in this thread, post #40: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=974144
She sums it up best. And she is the most respected poster on SDN and also a top school adcom whose opinion I highly value.
She sums it up best. And she is the most respected poster on SDN and also a top school adcom whose opinion I highly value.
You mean something like this? http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=13488166#post13488166
A post I made a few days ago where I mentioned that HCP has a relatively low barrier to entry with quite a few students who are not short on motivation, but find that they can not handle the coursework and wash out, much like LizzyM mentioned more recently in her post. Does that ring a bell for you there, troll?
As an aside, Dr. Fixsen doesn't hide the fact that a lot of students drop out of HCP through attrition.
Absolutely false. I'm a full time lab research assistant at Mass General and took two classes (chemistry and physics) in the fall and got all A's. I have no time during work to do any class related studies.
It's not easy, and definitely doable. I just study the stuff and do my homework on the weekends. If you don't think you can handle it, then don't do it. There are plenty of people who aren't able to handle the workload, and there are plenty of people who don't even have a job, study all day, and still do badly. It all depends on you.
These classes do seem harder than regular college level courses, so be prepared to study a lot. These classes teach you to think, not to regurgitate information. As long as you understand the basic concepts fully, it isn't impossible to do well.
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I have a question. Are you eligible for loans (federal AND private) while attending the Harvard Extension School post bac? Many people say that working fulltime while taking the prerequisites over the course of 2 years may seem tempting but it doesn't save you that much money and gives you less time to focus on your studies.
This is the 2012 thread. There is a 2014 HES thread. You will get more people in that thread and probably better information.
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