Very interesting! Do others have similar experience?
I got a C- in chem and a C+ in physics.
Very interesting! Do others have similar experience?
Meanwhile if we want to get into a Harvard building just to pee or to drink water from a fountain, what do we do? Do we need to show them an enrollment form each time?
When you say gen bio, do you mean both bio I and II? I'm taking bio I in the fall and was thinking of adding an upper div bio class for spring.
Thanks. I am here in Cambridge over the summer and plan to enroll for summer classes (Biology-1; 2) when they start. Meanwhile if we want to get into a Harvard building just to pee or to drink water from a fountain, what do we do? Do we need to show them an enrollment form each time?
You need to know the secret harvard handshake to use the potty on campus. To drink from the prestigious harvard water fountains one must take a math test prior to the thirst quenching.
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Just lol'ed aloud at work.
Gotta agree with everyone - Physics is easier to get the better grade because Rueckner tends to give you a lot of credit and teach to exams. According to students from previous years, he's been really adjusting his teaching style. I sincerely enjoyed both classes but Tucci has a tendency to test the range of your knowledge with applications. Beware of question #6 on his tests. I've gotten 50/50 on them and they can be pretty tricky!
How much does gym membership cost at Harvard for diploma candidates for HCP?
I've heard it rumored to be $100/year but can't find verification of that. I think it was on the website somewhere...
Some harsh truths I have learned and wish they weren't true -
- Like Johnnyscans said, landlords and realtors are predatory scumbags of the worst kind.
- For-fee brokers are the biggest scam in Boston.
- Harvard Extension students are treated differently by the rest of Harvard. If you just take classes and are not registered for a diploma that Fixsen says is meaningless, you find that most Harvard doors are closed to you.
- Harvard Housing Office sucks big time and they never help you. Information they do provide is inaccurate, incorrect and a waste of time.
- Harvard has a fascination with Blacks. However, these aren't your African Americans or Black Americans. They are usually rich Africans and rich children of Africans. Your regular Blacks/AAs are often excluded by Harvard and find Harvard doors closed.
- I am White but my girlfriend is Black. Many landlords are willing to rent me a place but when my gf approaches them, they make excuses. Sometimes they have emailed her that a place has been rented out for a year but they have later emailed me that the place is still available. When my gf inquires again, they tell her the place is gone. And when I inquire they tell me the place is still available. My gf experienced rental discrimination from both private individuals (e.g. Alice Levine, [email protected]) and also professionally managed properties (e.g. The Hamilton in Quincy's property manager Colleen Costa).
- One thing that confuses me the most is that while almost everyone I meet in Boston is really and genuinely VERY nice, drivers in Boston are the worst I have met anywhere. I don't know how to reconcile the difference.
- Non-standard pizza shops don't know how to make pizza. Their pizza is so greasy that it stains your car seat by the time you drive home. Plus their pizza tastes ugh.
- If you eat at Subway stores owned by East Indians, you almost always get diarrhea or indigestion.
- Contrary to popular belief, it is GREAT to have a car in Cambridge and not a bother at all. I have already visited the New Hampshire mountains and the ocean in Cape Cod. Plus the convenience (e.g. while grocery shopping) is unbeatable.
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Hey come on, wake up, no wonder you admitted "I got a C- in chem and a C+ in physics." Lighten up dude!
Hey come on, wake up, no wonder you admitted "I got a C- in chem and a C+ in physics." Lighten up dude!
Next time you make a new account to troll this thread try not to out yourself so early on.
Dude, ask one of the admins or moderators. I have never had an account on SDN. I have never posted here before, except for the 6 or 7 posts next to my name. Just pm one of the moderators and they will confirm it - it's that simple. You are so judgmental for assuming someone is a troll. My guess is you're either an East Indian or an immigrant of some kind who was offended by my post - or you are a complete idiot. Don't be such idiots and be so quick on the troll gun. Are you such a massive idiot that you cannot even pm a moderator to confirm if I am a troll? Then the moderators will ban someone after they realize they are trolls. And don't pm me again you jerk!
😴😴😴 😴😴😴😴
While your mileage may vary, my experience in Cambridge so far -
- Don't ask people for directions from your car. People disregard traffic and walk up to your car to give elaborate and detailed directions. They smile, nod, chat, make small talk, ask where you're from, joke with you while disregarding the danger to their lives from passing traffic. And they come up to the driver side to give you directions, so they could easily get hit by passing vehicles. People are so nice here!
Harvard Extension students are treated differently by the rest of Harvard. If you just take classes and are not registered for a diploma that Fixsen says is meaningless, you find that most Harvard doors are closed to you.
Harvard Housing Office sucks big time and they never help you. Information they do provide is inaccurate, incorrect and a waste of time.
Harvard has a fascination with Blacks. However, these aren't your African Americans or Black Americans. They are usually rich Africans and rich children of Africans. Your regular Blacks/AAs (descendants of slaves) are often excluded by Harvard and find Harvard doors closed. I also read articles about this in the popular press.
I am White but my girlfriend is Black. Many landlords are willing to rent me a place but when my gf approaches them, they make excuses. Sometimes they have emailed her that a place has been rented out for a year but they have later emailed me that the place is still available. When my gf inquires again, they tell her the place is gone. And when I inquire they tell me the place is still available. My gf experienced rental discrimination from both private individuals (e.g. Alice Levine, [email protected]) and also professionally managed properties (e.g. The Hamilton in Quincy's property manager Colleen Costa).
One thing that confuses me the most is that while almost everyone I meet in Boston is really and genuinely VERY nice, drivers in Boston are the worst I have met anywhere. I don't know how to reconcile the difference.
Non-standard pizza shops, usually owned by foreign-born whites, don't know how to make pizza. Their pizza is so greasy that it stains your car seat by the time you drive home. Plus their pizza tastes ugh.
If you eat at Subway stores owned by East Indians (as many of them are), you almost always get diarrhea or indigestion.
Contrary to popular belief, it is GREAT to have a car in Cambridge and not a bother at all. I have already visited the New Hampshire mountains and the ocean in Cape Cod. Plus the convenience (e.g. while grocery shopping) is unbeatable.
HES students need to pool together resources for the common good. These include textbooks, MCAT materials, furniture, etc. We have two cars and don't need to use one until we drive back two years later. I am prepared to loan my car to any HES student for free as long as they promise to return it undamaged and return it with gas they have used up. A good way would be I have the gas tank always full and if any HES student uses it, return it with a full tank. I don't care about insurance or other stuff - just don't hit anyone. It is a 2004 Camry.
Boston has awful bathrooms. Stores that make billions (like Walmart) have bathrooms with no soap, unflushed poop, run out of toilet paper, run out of paper towels, etc.
Whites who speak with foreign accents have been the biggest jerks we have met in Boston.
Catholic cops in Massachusetts are really nice and helpful, contrary to the portrayal in the media.
One class at HES = 3 or 4 classes at Vanderbilt or elsewhere in terms of workload.
Sites tell you a city/town is the nicest and a "better and prettier town you cannot find" but when I visit that town, I have never been to uglier towns.
A cop who was working part-time as store security and I together saw an Asian girl being robbed. We didn't realize she was being robbed. A guy walked up to her and calmly told her she was being robbed and asked her for her money and phone. He then cycled away. The cop said most Asian girls never report the crime because in China cops are probably corrupt.
I see the HES thread troll is back - its been a couple of weeks since he last posted
Sad isn't it . ..
Can you guys give your advice for organic chemistry and biology and how to succeed in these classes?
Do you guys read the book? Is there a logan notes practice problem like for gen chem? Do you guys do end of the chapter problems?
How do the professors write the exams? Are they fair and reasonable? Do they like to test stuff on the lecture notes? Stuff in the book? Stuff in the problem sets?
For you veterans out there:
Can you guys give your advice for organic chemistry and biology and how to succeed in these classes?
Do you guys read the book? Is there a logan notes practice problem like for gen chem? Do you guys do end of the chapter problems?
How do the professors write the exams? Are they fair and reasonable? Do they like to test stuff on the lecture notes? Stuff in the book? Stuff in the problem sets?
After finishing up gen chem and physics I decided to stay in this rat race and proceed onto organic chemistry and bio and am looking for advice on how to ball out in these classes.
Anyone looking for housing in Cambridge or Somerville near the red line? We should get a HCP group together. Anyone interested or that knows of anything send me a PM.
Just got an e-mail back from Dr. Peterson saying they are no longer accepting applications for the fall term. Looks like I will be taking classes in the mean time then applying for HCP my second year!
Quick question, how can one apply into the program then if we cannot start in the Fall? Are there distance/online classes we can take and then transfer into the program the second year? Do I just take the beginning science courses for a year at a school near me, and then apply to HCP for Fall 2013? I'm a little worried here...any help is greatly appreciated! Sorry if this is a redundant or silly question.
Hi guys,
So much useful info in this thread, thanks for it all. I had a few questions I was hoping you guys could answer, is it possible to start in spring? I will be using the program to bring up my gpa, I've already taken orgo and gen chem 1 and a ton of bio courses.
Also I am starting to freak out about if I will be accepted into the HCP, I've heard people with <3.0 gpa are told not to even apply? I have a 2.8 gpa from a hard program I wasn't prepared for, also have a 31 on the mcat. Do you think I have a shot at sponsorship?
Also how hard is it to make friends in the program? I will actually be moving from Canada, not knowing a soul, so I'm a bit worried that everyone will be to busy with their own stuff to socialize.
Thanks again.
You can take classes in fall at Harvard Extension without being in the HCP program because it's open-enrollment. You can apply to enter the program for 2013 after you have finished fall courses, or perhaps submit the application for the next cycle while you take courses. It's really not clear when cycles begin or end, but I think they just filled up for fall 2012.
If I apply and do the Chem/Phys as is recommended. Peterson mentioned to apply formally into the program by December 2012. My other question is this, if I become an open enrollment student and have my classes registered do I still get an ID? Also, is it difficult to get into the formal program, once I have been doing the open enrollment classes? say that worse case scenario, I do not get accepted into the HCP can I still get sponsorship later on? Sorry for all the questions! any help is super appreciated 🙂
Quick question, how can one apply into the program then if we cannot start in the Fall? Are there distance/online classes we can take and then transfer into the program the second year? Do I just take the beginning science courses for a year at a school near me, and then apply to HCP for Fall 2013? I'm a little worried here...any help is greatly appreciated! Sorry if this is a redundant or silly question.
I don't think you get an ID if open-enrolling unless it's summer courses. I've read that you can show printed proof of registration to get into most libraries, and it's not really a big deal to not have the ID. My guess is you wouldn't be less likely to get into HCP after you've taken HES courses unless you got less than a B in both courses. Even that may not be a death sentence provided your starting GPA was pretty good. You'd want to do better than Bs anyway to secure sponsorship and get accepted to med school, etc. You need to be in HCP to get sponsorship, but you also need certain minimum grades at B or better depending on GPA:
3.2 or higher, complete 20 credits
Between 3.0 and 3.2, complete 24 credits
Between 2.8 and 3.0, complete 28 credits
Below 2.8, complete 32 credits
So the bottom line is there is risk in taking courses and not getting sponsored whether in HCP.
If you're concerned about getting accepted at any point, perhaps post your numbers here or ask Peterson or Fixsen. In general, getting into HCP is not super competitive. I don't know that there is a hard cutoff, but people seem to say above 3.0 and you're likely to get in, although amount of science courses taken also makes a difference, the fewer the better.
Disclaimer: I haven't started HCP yet, starting in fall, but have browsed this thread a lot and had similar questions. There are a few things about this program that are not intuitive, but things start to make sense once you talk to Peterson or Fixsen.
Thank you so much for that respone! I have above a 3.7 at the moment from my undergrad. So hopefully I'll be alright if I just apply in December. If I can get into the libraries with my registration proof papers, what does the ID exactly give then? Thanks again for the info! Much appreciated!
What is the application process like? I want to start the program in the Summer/Fall of 2013
The application process is simple. Just download it from the Extension School website, fill it out, and send it in with your check. Assuming you haven't taken too many science courses or have too low of a GPA, then you should be accepted. If you're not accepted, they will usually send it back to you with your check, so there isn't any real risk in applying. If you're starting in 2013, I would submit an application at the beginning of February 2013. That should give plenty of time to get your acceptance letter and subsequently allow you to fill out your FAFSA (if you choose to do so). Bear in mind, though, that you can only take out federal loans over a consecutive 12 month period in HCP.
If you've never taken any of the prerequisites, then you get a fancy ID that makes getting into certain facilities (the library, for example) less of a nuisance. You also get certain discounts. I don't have an ID card, but have successfully accessed almost everything on campus without one with my schedule and acceptance letter alone. I think the discounts are the biggest perk.
In the event you are not accepted, I would find out why. Dr. Fixsen (the program director) and Owen Peterson (God's right hand man, if God were Dr. Fixsen) are quite helpful and straightforward (by which I mean frank and blunt) giving you advice on applying to HCP. and med school. Also keep in mind that all classes at the Extension School are open enrollment, so you can take any course you like without being formally enrolled in any Extension School program.
I am confused by what you said about the Federal Loans, can you explain? Also, do you know how the student interaction is with each other? Is it very cut throat or less competitive?
You get a 12 consecutive month period to use up any federal loans you can get your hands on. So, if you start by apply for loans in the Summer of 2013, then you are eligible to apply for loans for the Summer of 2013 through the Spring of 2014. Alternatively, if you start in the Fall, then it would be Fall 2013 through Summer 2014. After the 12 consecutive month period is over, you are no longer eligible for federal loans and must pay with either private loans or out of pocket. Student Financial Services can help you in seeking out private loans if you choose to apply for them. I would also continue filling out a FAFSA beyond the 12 month period since it makes you eligible to potentially receive a scholarship from the Extension School equivalent in value to a 4-credit course.
As far as student interaction, it is mostly non-competitive. There are those who will try to compete and make it about beating out their peers, but I think for most of us, it is about bettering ourselves and helping the person next to you so we all have a shot.
Little confused on where you're getting this 12 month rule. It says nothing about it on the website and I'm applying for my second year's worth of federal loans - no hitches so far. You do have to be an "admitted candidate" but that is the only stipulation as far as I can tell. I took out the max at the given rate for our program (I believe it is the undergrad rate at $6K a semester); I've only been told I can max it out over the year, but my financial aid letter said I can receive aid for two years and broke it down my aid award calculations.
Little confused on where you're getting this 12 month rule. It says nothing about it on the website and I'm applying for my second year's worth of federal loans - no hitches so far. You do have to be an "admitted candidate" but that is the only stipulation as far as I can tell. I took out the max at the given rate for our program (I believe it is the undergrad rate at $6K a semester); I've only been told I can max it out over the year, but my financial aid letter said I can receive aid for two years and broke it down my aid award calculations.
I really hope they don't put a 1 year cap because I can kiss Harvard's post bac good bye then!!
You can take out private loans, albeit with a slightly higher interest rate. Plus the required fall/spring science courses are pretty cheap to begin with at $1,150.You'd probably only be taking eight or fewer of these courses over a two year period unless you wanted to add electives, which I believe are $975. I realize there is more to consider such as cost of living, etc. but hope that helps.
I got it from my award letter. I was denied federal loans because I'm only allowed to take them out for 12 consecutive months. I thought it was the same for all admitted candidates.
So, who's taking what this summer?
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology here. Masochistic, oh yes. . .
Full-on Physics. Should be fun.