Official Harvard Extension 2012 Thread

[exercise]

You need to remove her name from the forum please; it is impolite to call people out.

EDIT: And those were posted on the HEPS board, not HES. Those posts were against policy. We do not discuss financials in the student group. You can direct financials related questions to SDN though!

Name removed in my post. Sorry for mentioning her.

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[Jennet]

Name removed in my post. Sorry for mentioning her.

Awesome, thank you!

As for cheapest meals around, Otto pizza is one of the only places that stays open late. They unfortunately have a bit higher price because the pizza is gourmet. I've found the cheapest food at Au Bon Pain or Hong Kong, but Harvard Square, as johnnyscans said, is expensive.

 

[exercise]

So what would be the cheapest meal on or just around campus? How much would you have to pay for that?

 

[exercise]

That's helpful, thanks. Where is Fenway/Kenmore? I suppose I need a good map of the area. Google Maps I suppose??

Harvard/Cambridge is pretty expensive. I live over the Charles in Fenway/Kenmore and find it pretty affordable. I think the key is your comfort level with public transportation/biking/walking. Living right next to campus is nice, but all of the major hospitals are on my side of the river. I'm 2 blocks away from a huge shaws, whole foods is an 8-10 minute walk (same with trader joes), there's a giant shopping plaza down the street with REI, Best Buy, Staples, BSC (my gym), a movie theater, chipotle, panera, Sal's pizza, emack and bolios ice cream, etc. Boylston/Back Bay is a short walk away, and I'm 2 blocks from the Kenmore T stop.

If I had to pick between living on the Harvard side of the river or my side I would choose my side. I spend more time @ my lab in Charlestown than in class, and my apartment falls right in the middle of everything.

If you're comfortable biking in Boston (which isn't too bad, there's lots of bike lanes and dedicated bike paths, and if you know how to dress it's not cold at all) you can get pretty much anywhere faster than the T.

 

[johnnyscans]

see below

 

[johnnyscans]

So what would be the cheapest meal on or just around campus? How much would you have to pay for that?

5-6 bucks, like any other major city. Depends on what type of an appetite you have. If you live near campus I would recommend cooking your own food. It's cheaper, healthier, and far more convenient.

That's helpful, thanks. Where is Fenway/Kenmore? I suppose I need a good map of the area. Google Maps I suppose??

Other side of the Charles, by BU and Fenway Park, up the street from Longwood medical area. I like it, but my building doesn't allow undergraduate students (although I've never found this area too loud at night or anything)

My recommendation - use padmapper.com to find places.

 

[hrhcow]

I live in Coolidge Corner (in Brookline,other side of river from Cambridge) and it is pretty affordable. It is a 30 minute bus ride to Harvard Square and 20 minute walk to the Longwood Medical Area. The green line is pretty great, and will get you pretty much anywhere in downtown Boston.

 

[exercise]

I live in Coolidge Corner (in Brookline,other side of river from Cambridge) and it is pretty affordable. It is a 30 minute bus ride to Harvard Square and 20 minute walk to the Longwood Medical Area. The green line is pretty great, and will get you pretty much anywhere in downtown Boston.

I know nothing about the green line or anything about the area.
- How much money will I be able to save per month in rent living near where you live or near where johnnyscans lives instead of right across from Harvard?
- Will this money saved be wasted in commuting expenses?

 

[exercise]

As for cheapest meals around, Otto pizza is one of the only places that stays open late. They unfortunately have a bit higher price because the pizza is gourmet. I've found the cheapest food at Au Bon Pain or Hong Kong, but Harvard Square, as johnnyscans said, is expensive.

Au Bon Pain is quite expensive from what I recall! Isn't there a McDonald's or Del Taco with their Tuesday 3 tacos for 99c taco special or something similar within walking distance of Harvard?

 

[oldcrumb]

I know nothing about the green line or anything about the area.
- How much money will I be able to save per month in rent living near where you live or near where johnnyscans lives instead of right across from Harvard?
- Will this money saved be wasted in commuting expenses?

Check out Somerville... it's on the red line (a stop after Harvard) and lots of places are a 10- or 15-min walk from Harvard Sq. If you have roommates, you can get a room for $500 a month or so.

Inman Sq/Central Sq in Cambridge are also affordable and close (and the bars are better than Harvard Sq, and more affordable food etc, generally). I lived there over the summer - particularly if you're close to Broadway, there's a bus that runs up and down Broadway to the Science Center and so it took me under 10 minutes to get from my apt to class. With roommates, you could find a place where you pay $600/$700 a month.

Good luck!

 

[hrhcow]

I know nothing about the green line or anything about the area.
- How much money will I be able to save per month in rent living near where you live or near where johnnyscans lives instead of right across from Harvard?
- Will this money saved be wasted in commuting expenses?

Depends. I believe it is cheaper living in Kenmore/Fenway? I pay about $750/month including utility/washing machine and dryer in unit. It's a pretty good deal considering the area (think young suburbia).

Johnnyscans mentioned that he has a bike, so that would definitely help in terms of transportation fees. I have subsidized monthly T-passes from work (~35/month) which lets me sit on the T/bus however many times i want. If you are planning to go volunteer/work at longwood, Coolidge is only about a 15ish minute walk, but Harvard campus itself definitely needs the bus ride.

Green line services downtown Boston from four areas => Boston College (Allston/Brighton), Cleveland Circle, Riverside, and Heath Street. Both Riverside and Heath pass by Longwood. Harvard is serviced by the Red line, which you can reach by sitting on any Green Line to Park street.

 

[johnnyscans]

Depends. I believe it is cheaper living in Kenmore/Fenway? I pay about $750/month including utility/washing machine and dryer in unit. It's a pretty good deal considering the area (think young suburbia).

Johnnyscans mentioned that he has a bike, so that would definitely help in terms of transportation fees. I have subsidized monthly T-passes from work (~35/month) which lets me sit on the T/bus however many times i want. If you are planning to go volunteer/work at longwood, Coolidge is only about a 15ish minute walk, but Harvard campus itself definitely needs the bus ride.

Green line services downtown Boston from four areas => Boston College (Allston/Brighton), Cleveland Circle, Riverside, and Heath Street. Both Riverside and Heath pass by Longwood. Harvard is serviced by the Red line, which you can reach by sitting on any Green Line to Park street.

Biking saves me a ton of money. Another nice mode of transportation are the partner shuttles (If you get a gig at MGH/BWH/Spaulding) - free and they run from Longwood to MGH/North Station.

Off topic I know, but figured I'd share the knowledge.

 

[exercise]

Unfortunately I won't be able to share. I have a girlfriend, so we need an independent place, even if it's a studio apartment.

So, just for comparison purposes, a shared place with roommates right across from Harvard's campus - how expensive would that be? Approximately of course.

 

[johnnyscans]

Unfortunately I won't be able to share. I have a girlfriend, so we need an independent place, even if it's a studio apartment.

So, just for comparison purposes, a shared place with roommates right across from Harvard's campus - how expensive would that be? Approximately of course.

http://www.padmapper.com/ check it out. type in different criteria and check out different areas. This site rocks.

 

[exercise]

http://www.padmapper.com/ check it out. type in different criteria and check out different areas. This site rocks.

padmapper seems useful only if you know the area well. If I tell you to move to Wyoming - and assume Wyoming is as expensive, crowded and iffy in some places as Boston - then padmapper just gives you names and neighborhoods like Navajo Mountain, Sunset, Fenway Cotton, Canyon Juncton, River, Seneca Canyon, Old Man Mountain, etc. It's really hard to use padmapper because I know absolutely nothing about Boston except it is somewhere on the east coast close to New York. If someone knows a neighborhood well, padmapper is definitely a useful tool.

 

[Sciengee]

padmapper seems useful only if you know the area well. If I tell you to move to Wyoming - and assume Wyoming is as expensive, crowded and iffy in some places as Boston - then padmapper just gives you names and neighborhoods like Navajo Mountain, Sunset, Fenway Cotton, Canyon Juncton, River, Seneca Canyon, Old Man Mountain, etc. It's really hard to use padmapper because I know absolutely nothing about Boston except it is somewhere on the east coast close to New York. If someone knows a neighborhood well, padmapper is definitely a useful tool.

Just locate the Harvard campus on the padmapper map and it will show you all the available apartments as close to or as far from it as you wish. It also has a mass transit overlay option so that you can see how close the places are to the nearest T or bus stop, as well as other useful options (walking score, etc.) You can see how the prices vary in different neighborhoods and then do some research on the neighborhoods that you like the most location-wise on the map and/or find most affordable/convenient for you.
To each their own I guess, but I used padmapper to find my apartment without knowing Boston at all and thought it was a lifesaver.

 

[exercise]

Thank you for such excellent response to my questions.
Generally do students get higher grades in Wolfgang's Physics or in Tucci's Chemistry?

 

[johnnyscans]

padmapper seems useful only if you know the area well. If I tell you to move to Wyoming - and assume Wyoming is as expensive, crowded and iffy in some places as Boston - then padmapper just gives you names and neighborhoods like Navajo Mountain, Sunset, Fenway Cotton, Canyon Juncton, River, Seneca Canyon, Old Man Mountain, etc. It's really hard to use padmapper because I know absolutely nothing about Boston except it is somewhere on the east coast close to New York. If someone knows a neighborhood well, padmapper is definitely a useful tool.

I just found that researching neighborhoods and posting in forums gave me a good idea of where I wanted to live. Here are some neighborhoods I would recommend
-Fenway/Kenmore
-Brookline
-Harvard Square
-Inman Square
-Somerville
-Allston/Brighton (this place is undergraduate heaven, but I know some law schoolers who live here - good rent, lots of restaurants and such)

The major trade off seems to be closeness to Harvard and closeness to the major hospitals are mutually exclusive. MGH/Spaulding rehab are in the North End and Charlestown. Longwood Medical Area (between Fenway and Brookline) is home to Brigham and Women's, Beth Isreal Deaconess and Children's. If you choose to live right next to Harvard you may be making a fairly major commute to a hospital/research center (since you're going to want to stay busy during the day - there's no rest for us post-baccs).

What is going to be your major mode of transportation? If you're going to rely on the T (our subway) I'd recommend living near the green or red line. The red will get you between Harvard and downtown, and the green will get you from downtown out to Fenway/Longwood/Brookline.

I'd recommend buildings that do not allow undergrads. You'll get a much quieter experience, and you're going to need that if you want to study effectively.

As I mentioned, I love Fenway because of my proximity to everything I need. Gym is a 5 minute walk, big Shaw's is a 5 minute walk, Whole Foods/Trader Joes are 10-15 minute walks, green line stop is a 5 minute walk. I've got late night food options and my bank is down the street. There's a huge movie theater, REI, Best Buy, and Staples down the block. MGH (where I volunteer) is a 15 minute T ride or a 15 minute bike ride. MGH Charlestown (where I do research) is a 30 minute bike ride down a dedicated bike path (no cars) or a 30 minute T/shuttle combo deal.

My number one piece of advice is avoid the September 1st move-in date like the plague. If you can move in August 1st, I'd highly recommend it. A lot of realtors and landlords around here are predatory scumbags, and will jack the hell out of your fee/rent for a 9/1 move-in. Reason: Boston's second biggest industry, behind medicine, is education. BU, Northeastern, Harvard, MIT, Simmons, Suffolk, Tufts, etc are all within a few miles of each other.

Thank you for such excellent response to my questions.
Generally do students get higher grades in Wolfgang's Physics or in Tucci's Chemistry?

Physics: 50 percent of the class last semester got an A- or above. Reuckner does not curve. He sets hard cut offs and that's it. You score above it, you get the grade you earned. He drops the lowest of two midterms and you're allowed a crib sheet on exams. That said, Physics comes easily to me. I know many people who struggled through this class and had to bust their ass to get an A.

Chemistry: not sure. This is my first semester with Tucci. If I had to guess though, I feel like if you do the work he provides and assigns you, you'll get an A. So far he's given us Friday review problems, practice problems and homework problems. I plan on doing those + text book examples, and then seeing how I do on practice exams.

I hope this helps.

 

[smiley27]

If you are concerned about saving money on a place consider living in Belmont. It's not mentioned on this forum because it's considered to be "far" from campus but Belmont is right next door to Cambridge and the bus goes right into harvard square and doesn't take that long (20 mins). Just another area to add to your searches.

 

[exercise]

Thanks again for the excellent responses and information. Some of us would like to know if students get higher grades in Wolfgang's Physics or in Tucci's Chemistry. The reason being that we don't care how a class is taught because we can learn the material ourselves. But grading matters because it can make or break entrance into medical schools. Dr. Wolfgang was very open about his grading distribution. Dr. Tucci on the other hand was cagey and not willing to reveal anything. This probably means that the information he had to reveal did not put his grading in a very favorable light.

 

[Jennet]

Thanks again for the excellent responses and information. Some of us would like to know if students get higher grades in Wolfgang's Physics or in Tucci's Chemistry. The reason being that we don't care how a class is taught because we can learn the material ourselves. But grading matters because it can make or break entrance into medical schools. Dr. Wolfgang was very open about his grading distribution. Dr. Tucci on the other hand was cagey and not willing to reveal anything. This probably means that the information he had to reveal did not put his grading in a very favorable light.

Both Tucci and Rueckner have their grading schemes included in the syllabus and posted online. I'm not sure where you are getting this from. They are both very transparent about grades (i.e. no curves, they reserve the right to lower the cut-off, etc). Without knowing my grade on the final, my overall course grades make sense based on their grading policy.

 

[exercise]

Both Tucci and Rueckner have their grading schemes included in the syllabus and posted online. I'm not sure where you are getting this from. They are both very transparent about grades (i.e. no curves, they reserve the right to lower the cut-off, etc). Without knowing my grade on the final, my overall course grades make sense based on their grading policy.

Wolfgang Reuckner has revealed his grading distribution. Tucci hasn't. We're talking about the distribution of grades, not the grading policy or grading schemes, etc.

 

[Jennet]

Wolfgang Reuckner has revealed his grading distribution. Tucci hasn't. We're talking about the distribution of grades, not the grading policy or grading schemes, etc.

Last semester Tucci spoke specifically about how he feels in revealing grade distribution: it is none of anyone's business. He made a point about how you are rewarded for the work you do and no one else needs to be privy to your grade. It makes sense that he would not discuss the class outcome based on how he feels about grading.

To be honest, students in Chemistry have discussed grades, but since the course isn't graded on a curve, no one really cares. I can tell you that, like johhnyscans said, you have to work hard for the grade but you get what you earn. It also is up to the Chemistry trifecta - your TF, Justin and his tests, and Tucci. Don't forget your TF's grade the homework, labs, and tests.

 

[exercise]

Last semester Tucci spoke specifically about how he feels in revealing grade distribution: it is none of anyone's business. He made a point about how you are rewarded for the work you do and no one else needs to be privy to your grade

No one wants to know anyone else's grade. That is certainly nobody's business. But grade distribution needs to be public information, unless the professor has something to hide.

Would you rather enroll at an SMP where 50% of the students get an A/A- or an SMP where only 5% of the students get an A/A-?

 

[Jennet]

No one wants to know anyone else's grade. That is certainly nobody's business. But grade distribution needs to be public information, unless the professor has something to hide.

Would you rather enroll at an SMP where 50% of the students get an A/A- or an SMP where only 5% of the students get an A/A-?

Well, I would say it depends on reputation and cost. At HCP, the cost is extremely low and the reputation is high. I tend to feel that (knowing several low GPA MIT grads who got into top notch schools) reputation is important. Having a B from HES is not as bad as having a B from a lesser known school. It has been acknowledged before that the HCP is quite well known.

I'm sure Tucci doesn't have anything to hide. It seems like the people who were doing poorly dropped mid-semester anyway so there is always a chance to save your GPA if you are not doing as well as you hoped.

 

[exercise]

Well, I would say it depends on reputation and cost. At HCP, the cost is extremely low and the reputation is high. I tend to feel that (knowing several low GPA MIT grads who got into top notch schools) reputation is important. Having a B from HES is not as bad as having a B from a lesser known school. It has been acknowledged before that the HCP is quite well known.

Okay, assume you need to take the Math class at Harvard Extension from either Eric Connally or David Abruzzesse.

Seriously, if the grading distribution shows that 60% of people in David Abruzzesse's class get an A but only 4% of people in Eric Connally's class get an A, who would you choose as your professor?

The grading distribution is a choice / decision variable for a student and if a professor does not reveal this information, it merely indicates the information, if revealed, is unfavorable to the student.

 

[Jennet]

Okay, assume you need to take the Math class at Harvard Extension from either Eric Connally or David Abruzzesse.

Seriously, if the grading distribution shows that 60% of people in David Abruzzesse's class get an A but only 4% of people in Eric Connally's class get an A, who would you choose as your professor?

The grading distribution is a choice / decision variable for a student and if a professor does not reveal this information, it merely indicates the information, if revealed, is unfavorable to the student.

Well you can always take Chem over the summer. I've heard it is pretty intense however. If you're not a diploma candidate you can take Chem at UMass, BU, or BC if you so desire. For the most part, people seemed to do well in Tucci's class. I think the distribution is less of an issue because he is a fantastic professor.

 

[exercise]

Well you can always take Chem over the summer. I've heard it is pretty intense however. If you're not a diploma candidate you can take Chem at UMass, BU, or BC if you so desire. For the most part, people seemed to do well in Tucci's class. I think the distribution is less of an issue because he is a fantastic professor.

To many of us it doesn't matter if he is a fantastic professor. We study well on our own. The grade distribution is what matters. A friend of mine is an ALB student at Harvard and she needs 12 more credits from a Harvard professor, so studying at other schools is not an option for her. Chemistry over the Summer is an option for another friend of mine but he is from a poor family and cannot afford Harvard Summer tuition. Fixsen wrote to a cousin of mine that a day of Chemistry over the summer is like a week over a regular semester and it is not conducive to long term retention of facts. HES has to realize that grading distribution is a critical decision variable for students who don't care for the Harvard name but are serious about getting into medical school and want to maximize the probabilities of getting A's. Since Tucci is unwilling to reveal the grade distribution, students need to naturally suspect that the information is likely to be unfavorable. No one is asking for any individual student's grades - we just want the distribution of grades.

 

[smiley27]

I don't think you're gonna find the distribution of chem grades here as it is not available to us.

 

[johnnyscans]

To many of us it doesn't matter if he is a fantastic professor. We study well on our own. The grade distribution is what matters. A friend of mine is an ALB student at Harvard and she needs 12 more credits from a Harvard professor, so studying at other schools is not an option for her. Chemistry over the Summer is an option for another friend of mine but he is from a poor family and cannot afford Harvard Summer tuition. Fixsen wrote to a cousin of mine that a day of Chemistry over the summer is like a week over a regular semester and it is not conducive to long term retention of facts. HES has to realize that grading distribution is a critical decision variable for students who don't care for the Harvard name but are serious about getting into medical school and want to maximize the probabilities of getting A's. Since Tucci is unwilling to reveal the grade distribution, students need to naturally suspect that the information is likely to be unfavorable. No one is asking for any individual student's grades - we just want the distribution of grades.

I can assure you that if you earn above a 90 in Tucci's class, you will get an A.

Reuckner's Physics, which is considered by many to be the gatekeeper course of the HCP, gives an A/A- to anyone who scores above a 90. Doug, his head TF, has mentioned that the cutoff has always been below 90, but never above.

If courses aren't curved, you should not be worried about getting screwed out of an A. If you put in the work, and do as well as your should, you will get an A.

I suspect that Tucci withholds his grade information for the exact opposite reason you suspect. What would it do to the reputation of our program if it was made public that 60% (this is a completely arbitrary number that I just typed down) of his class got an A. Admissions committees would view HCP as an "easy" post-bacc route, and would not hold it to as high of a standard as they currently do.

 

[Sciengee]

If courses aren't curved, you should not be worried about getting screwed out of an A. If you put in the work, and do as well as your should, you will get an A.

Exactly what I was just going to say.

...are serious about getting into medical school and want to maximize the probabilities of getting A's.

If you do just what johnnyscans mentioned above, your probability of getting an A in Tucci's class is 100%. The class is not curved, the TFs are very generous with partial credit, and in the end you get the grade you've earned.

 

[exercise]

I can assure you that if you earn above a 90 in Tucci's class, you will get an A.

Reuckner's Physics, which is considered by many to be the gatekeeper course of the HCP, gives an A/A- to anyone who scores above a 90. Doug, his head TF, has mentioned that the cutoff has always been below 90, but never above.

If courses aren't curved, you should not be worried about getting screwed out of an A. If you put in the work, and do as well as your should, you will get an A.

I suspect that Tucci withholds his grade information for the exact opposite reason you suspect. What would it do to the reputation of our program if it was made public that 60% (this is a completely arbitrary number that I just typed down) of his class got an A. Admissions committees would view HCP as an "easy" post-bacc route, and would not hold it to as high of a standard as they currently do.

That is highly unlikely because Fixsen is the one who would be concerned about such things, not Tucci. Tucci would be concerned only about his own course. And from the perspective of ALM and ALB HES students, the very opposite is happening. The ALM and ALB students I know and some on the Extension site insist that they seem to end up with GPA's that are 30% lower than the GPA's from their former university. Indeed, at least three are contemplating transferring to Columbia University and elsewhere for this reason. When HES students end up with GPA's that are 30% lower than the GPA's from their former university, that should be of concern to us, shouldn't it?

 

[exercise]

There are many ALM students who are dropping out of Harvard Extension and choosing Johns Hopkins MS program or the University of Oxford because they cannot seem to get into PhD programs after the ALM, the reason being, even though they have high GRE scores, their low GPA at Harvard Extension hurts them.

 

[chicagoryan]

Okay, assume you need to take the Math class at Harvard Extension from either Eric Connally or David Abruzzesse.

Seriously, if the grading distribution shows that 60% of people in David Abruzzesse's class get an A but only 4% of people in Eric Connally's class get an A, who would you choose as your professor?

The grading distribution is a choice / decision variable for a student and if a professor does not reveal this information, it merely indicates the information, if revealed, is unfavorable to the student.

I don't think Dr. Tucci is trying to "hide" anything. His reasons for not disclosing grades were listed by Jennet. Also, perhaps he doesn't want to discourage students that didn't do so well by showing them how much smarter everyone else in the class is. I doubt his thoughts are "Oh crap, not a lot of As, I better not disclose this or no one will take my class!"

Thanks again for the excellent responses and information. Some of us would like to know if students get higher grades in Wolfgang's Physics or in Tucci's Chemistry. The reason being that we don't care how a class is taught because we can learn the material ourselves. But grading matters because it can make or break entrance into medical schools. Dr. Wolfgang was very open about his grading distribution. Dr. Tucci on the other hand was cagey and not willing to reveal anything. This probably means that the information he had to reveal did not put his grading in a very favorable light.

No one wants to know anyone else's grade. That is certainly nobody's business. But grade distribution needs to be public information, unless the professor has something to hide.

Would you rather enroll at an SMP where 50% of the students get an A/A- or an SMP where only 5% of the students get an A/A-?

To many of us it doesn't matter if he is a fantastic professor. We study well on our own. The grade distribution is what matters. A friend of mine is an ALB student at Harvard and she needs 12 more credits from a Harvard professor, so studying at other schools is not an option for her. Chemistry over the Summer is an option for another friend of mine but he is from a poor family and cannot afford Harvard Summer tuition. Fixsen wrote to a cousin of mine that a day of Chemistry over the summer is like a week over a regular semester and it is not conducive to long term retention of facts. HES has to realize that grading distribution is a critical decision variable for students who don't care for the Harvard name but are serious about getting into medical school and want to maximize the probabilities of getting A's. Since Tucci is unwilling to reveal the grade distribution, students need to naturally suspect that the information is likely to be unfavorable. No one is asking for any individual student's grades - we just want the distribution of grades.

Here's the distribution of grades for Chem: Students that wanted an A and were willing to put in a reasonable amount of effort, got one.

If that weren't true you would see a lot more complaints about the Chemistry class and Dr. Tucci. Have you seen any complaints on here? In fact if you consider that many comments say Physics is hard, and 50% of students ended up getting an A- or better, that should tell you something about the difficulty of Chemistry. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the distribution in Chemistry was very close to that of Physics.
One thing that's harder in Chemistry is the cutoff for A- is 90 and in Physics it is 85, with 90 being an A. As Jennet mentioned they sometimes adjust those cutoffs.

Bottom line, it's very unlikely that only 5% of the class got A's. However, if you want easy A's you might be better off at a CC.

 

[exercise]

if you want easy A's you might be better off at a CC.

Like I said, what concerned me is that there are many ALM students who are dropping out of Harvard Extension and choosing Johns Hopkins MS program or the University of Oxford because they cannot seem to get into PhD programs after the ALM, the reason being, even though they have high GRE scores, their low GPA at Harvard Extension hurts them. There are also ALB students who have dropped out of the ALB and chosen the London School of Economics' BSc program and UPenn's BA program because they found their colleagues had graduated with the ALB with GPAs around 3.0, which pretty much ensured they could not get into PhD programs. The extremely harsh and enormously conservative grading at Harvard Extension is well known. Just talk to the ALB admission officers at HES and tell them you are taking Tucci's class as a pre-admission class at HES and see what they tell you. They told my cousin to take another class but did not specify their reason to her. That is making me really nervous about taking Tucci's class because it may diminish the probabilities of making into medical school.

 

[johnnyscans]

Like I said, what concerned me is that there are many ALM students who are dropping out of Harvard Extension and choosing Johns Hopkins MS program or the University of Oxford because they cannot seem to get into PhD programs after the ALM, the reason being, even though they have high GRE scores, their low GPA at Harvard Extension hurts them. There are also ALB students who have dropped out of the ALB and chosen the London School of Economics' BSc program and UPenn's BA program because they found their colleagues had graduated with the ALB with GPAs around 3.0, which pretty much ensured they could not get into PhD programs. The extremely harsh and enormously conservative grading at Harvard Extension is well known. Just talk to the ALB admission officers at HES and tell them you are taking Tucci's class as a pre-admission class at HES and see what they tell you. They told my cousin to take another class but did not specify their reason to her. That is making me really nervous about taking Tucci's class because it may diminish the probabilities of making into medical school.

I'm just curious - what is your concern/question you want answered. Are you enrolling in the ALB program or the HCP program. If you are worried about the prospect of getting poor grades or harsh curving you're in the wrong field - medical school is a competition from day 1. Neither phys or chem are curved- collaboration is encourged. If you grt above a 90 you will get an A. What is so hard to understand about that?

If you're worried about Tucci's class being unfair, you're not cut out for this program.

 

[exercise]

If you grt above a 90 you will get an A. What is so hard to understand about that?

How many people do you know have gotten over a 90? Maybe no one gets over a 90. Maybe only four students gets over a 90. Tucci is pretty secretive about that. Pretty powerpoints, printed lecture notes, excellent teaching, entertaining classes and other frills don't matter. In the end what matters is whether medical schools see an A on your transcript or whether they see a B.

 

[johnnyscans]

How many people do you know have gotten over a 90? Maybe no one gets over a 90. Maybe only four students gets over a 90. Tucci is pretty secretive about that. Pretty powerpoints, printed lecture notes, excellent teaching, entertaining classes and other frills don't matter. In the end what matters is whether medical schools see an A on your transcript or whether they see a B.

A lot.

 

[exercise]

Thank you for all explanations, replies and information. They clarify a lot of issues for me.

 

[chicagoryan]

I have a question for other students in the program. I'm starting to round up a few letters of recommendation. I spoke to Dr. Fixsen a couple months ago and he suggested lining up some from past experiences and undergrad if I can. He provided me with a "Memorandum for Writers of Recommendations for Medical School" that acts as a guide for the actual letter. However I don't recall getting instruction on how the letters should be submitted. For those of you that are maybe in the second year and are going through the sponsorship process, should these letters be sent directly to Dr. Fixsen? How many copies? Sealed so they can be included ultimately in our applications? etc. Does anyone have those instructions before I reach out to Dr. Fixsen?

Thanks!

 

[johnnyscans]

I have a question for other students in the program. I'm starting to round up a few letters of recommendation. I spoke to Dr. Fixsen a couple months ago and he suggested lining up some from past experiences and undergrad if I can. He provided me with a "Memorandum for Writers of Recommendations for Medical School" that acts as a guide for the actual letter. However I don't recall getting instruction on how the letters should be submitted. For those of you that are maybe in the second year and are going through the sponsorship process, should these letters be sent directly to Dr. Fixsen? How many copies? Sealed so they can be included ultimately in our applications? etc. Does anyone have those instructions before I reach out to Dr. Fixsen?

Thanks!

Quote directly from Dr. Fixsen:

Letters should definitely be sent directly to us. (The quality of the copies we occasionally receive from Interfolio are often surprisingly poor.)

HCP
51 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA 02318

Most of our sponsorees provide 5-7 individual letters of recommendation and all letters excerpted are included with the composite letter when sent to AMCAS or individual non-AMCAS schools. Occasionally, we receive more than 7 letters, but at that point, we would likely select the "best" set from the excess. [redacted]. And we would suggest 2 "science" letters, at least one letter from a course here, one letter from undergrad, and then the rest are filled in with the various experiences that set you apart from other applicants.

If you are using AMCAS, they now have a "letter writer service" that most MD schools use. For this, you would provide just one letter ID, using the "committee letter" selection and Owen Peterson as the contact person. This way, the one ID covers the composite and all attached letters. DO schools are sent separately as are a few MD schools, but most of these link to the electronic service we use to send all (virtualEvals). Individual letters are never sent separately if you have a composite letter and listing them on any application will only cause confusion, headache, and continued "incomplete" status.

 

[johnnyscans]

Anyone in Tucci's Chem class mind if I shoot them an email. I'm having trouble thinking out one of the homework problems, and stupidly I saved this one for the last minute because I kept forgetting to bring my textbook with me when I went to do it . . .

joy.

 

[Sciengee]

Anyone in Tucci's Chem class mind if I shoot them an email. I'm having trouble thinking out one of the homework problems, and stupidly I saved this one for the last minute because I kept forgetting to bring my textbook with me when I went to do it . . .

joy.

You can PM me if you haven't talked to anyone else already.

 

[johnnyscans]

Got help, but thanks a ton. I was on the right path, just needed a bit of clarification.

 

[Enzyme1]

Can anyone say what class in the program has given you a good background and study plan for the Mcat? I just wanted to know if a specific one is more so than others since obviously all are important, but whatever one you feel as you take it is really giving you the foundation for the test and a good knowledge. Thanks.

 

[Jennet]

Can anyone say what class in the program has given you a good background and study plan for the Mcat? I just wanted to know if a specific one is more so than others since obviously all are important, but whatever one you feel as you take it is really giving you the foundation for the test and a good knowledge. Thanks.

I can't speak to the quality of some of the programs, but I can say that the pre-health student group gets a discount on the KAPLAN course. I've heard that while they are helpful, they can be a bit expensive. If I'm not mistaken, there is a center in Harvard Square where many of the students in HCP attend class.

EDIT: Just realized I mis-read this as "MCAT programs" not HCP. Keeping it up though.

 

[johnnyscans]

Can anyone say what class in the program has given you a good background and study plan for the Mcat? I just wanted to know if a specific one is more so than others since obviously all are important, but whatever one you feel as you take it is really giving you the foundation for the test and a good knowledge. Thanks.

Besides the 8 main classes I imagine biochem, molecular bio, cell bio and anatomy/physiology would be pretty helpful for retaining key concepts. I find i always learn better when i read then discuss a topic.

 

[chicagoryan]

Quote directly from Dr. Fixsen:

Letters should definitely be sent directly to us. (The quality of the copies we occasionally receive from Interfolio are often surprisingly poor.)

HCP
51 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA 02318

Most of our sponsorees provide 5-7 individual letters of recommendation and all letters excerpted are included with the composite letter when sent to AMCAS or individual non-AMCAS schools. Occasionally, we receive more than 7 letters, but at that point, we would likely select the "best" set from the excess. [redacted]. And we would suggest 2 "science" letters, at least one letter from a course here, one letter from undergrad, and then the rest are filled in with the various experiences that set you apart from other applicants.

If you are using AMCAS, they now have a "letter writer service" that most MD schools use. For this, you would provide just one letter ID, using the "committee letter" selection and Owen Peterson as the contact person. This way, the one ID covers the composite and all attached letters. DO schools are sent separately as are a few MD schools, but most of these link to the electronic service we use to send all (virtualEvals). Individual letters are never sent separately if you have a composite letter and listing them on any application will only cause confusion, headache, and continued "incomplete" status.

Great! So it looks like the writer doesn't need to provide any additional copies or do anything special, they simply write a letter and send it to that address, correct?

Thanks for your help.

 

[johnnyscans]

Great! So it looks like the writer doesn't need to provide any additional copies or do anything special, they simply write a letter and send it to that address, correct?

Thanks for your help.

Exactly. From my understanding, Owen and Dr. Fixsen read through your recommendations, which you get sent to them, pick the "best" ones, and put together a composite letter of recommendation. When you apply to medical schools through AMCAS, you only have to list 1 letter. This prevents delays in your application, and makes it much easier for admissions committees. This also is where prestige and program recognition come into play. Adcoms know that Fixsen/Owen don't just hand out sponsorships, so a committee letter has some tooth in backing up your case for applying.

 

[Jennet]

Exactly. From my understanding, Owen and Dr. Fixsen read through your recommendations, which you get sent to them, pick the "best" ones, and put together a composite letter of recommendation. When you apply to medical schools through AMCAS, you only have to list 1 letter. This prevents delays in your application, and makes it much easier for admissions committees. This also is where prestige and program recognition come into play. Adcoms know that Fixsen/Owen don't just hand out sponsorships, so a committee letter has some tooth in backing up your case for applying.

Yup! Word on the street is that Owen does the physical writing of the letters so if you chose to send him anything interesting (articles, research, etc.) it may be conducive to your final letter. Also, plan to meet with him one on one as you would Fixsen - they are both very upstanding and friendly men. Come with questions!