Summer classes at HARVARD? HELPFUL?

[buzzard]

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Hello guys, i'm an undergrad. in my junior year thinking about taking Neurobiology along with some other bio course (marine bio, immunology etc) at Harvard University over the summer, they wont contribute to my overall GPA at my home school but do you think that the summer courses and their corresponding grades will be demanded or seen by med schools when i apply?
Will they ask for separate transcripts from the institutions i attended for summer studies?
Im just a bit confused, i dont know if its worth the money, my transcript requires a little mending 🙁 Do you feel this will be a positive step for me and enhance my overall academic transcript? even if harvard summer institution is an open admissions. All and any input is appreciated. Thanks.

 

[fava]

hey
this sounds like a good idea to me. i took a summer class at a different university, and yes, i needed to send that transcript to amcas, and that grade got incorporated into my overalll gpa. i'm not sure how admissions work for the harvard summer program, but needless to say, med schools will definitely recognize that the classes were of substantial depth and challenge. so yeah, assuming you can afford to pay for this, and do this instead of working, i say go for it.

 

[dark_scientist]

Hey Buzzard,

I did a Harvard summer program after my junior year as well. I can tell you that it definitely spiced up my application to med school this year. AMCAS will require that you send them a transcript of your summer courses; the med schools that you apply to will see this on your AMCAS app. I think that if you can afford it, it's worth it.

 

[surfdevl02]

After living through the admissions process to tell about it i honestly think where you take your class (unless it's at a community college) has little bearing on your application. Adcoms don't care whether you take summer classes at Harvard or Boise St. (no offense to boise st...). They simply don't have the time to scan every application that thoroughly. THey simply look at your science and overall gpa to make cuts at most places for interviews. Take the same classes at schools that are less competitive if you're doing it for your app and get the highest grades you can and that'll look most attractive. If you can get As at harvard summer school then more power to you.

 

[Kovox]

Originally posted by surfdevl02
After living through the admissions process to tell about it i honestly think where you take your class (unless it's at a community college) has little bearing on your application. Adcoms don't care whether you take summer classes at Harvard or Boise St. (no offense to boise st...). They simply don't have the time to scan every application that thoroughly. THey simply look at your science and overall gpa to make cuts at most places for interviews. Take the same classes at schools that are less competitive if you're doing it for your app and get the highest grades you can and that'll look most attractive. If you can get As at harvard summer school then more power to you.

I second this. Adcoms don't care if you take your science classes from Harvard or from a state school. However, if you decide to take summer classes at Harvard, the average score in the science classes on exams is usually an 85%...it will be more work...more uneeded work rather.

 

[bluebird79]

You know courses cost 2000 in the summer at Harvard, right?
I think you can easily take it somewhere else for half that.
Taking it at Harvard Summer School just means that you have the dough.

 

[e-spin]

Now you've got me thinking about this!
So if you take summer classes, do really well and/or maybe try to do some summer work, research or otherwise-->could this experience maybe...just maybe...score an LOR?? I have NO idea how summer stuff works, other than where I was an undergrad many moons ago. Just a thought.

 

[jtheater]

Originally posted by e-spin
Now you've got me thinking about this!
So if you take summer classes, do really well and/or maybe try to do some summer work, research or otherwise-->could this experience maybe...just maybe...score an LOR?? I have NO idea how summer stuff works, other than where I was an undergrad many moons ago. Just a thought.

I think schools really only care where you went to college, that is, your primary school and where you will receive your degree. Summer courses are just going to be blips on your transcript. So I doubt the "bump" factor will apply much to summer courses at Harvard. Of course, I don't know for sure, but this is my guess. As far as research, one summer of research isn't going to be that impressive. For everyone who has done it, 3 months is not enough time to really dive into a project. Often times you can spend way more than 3 months just trying to get a reagents titrated. A summer of research could be good to figure out if you like doing research, but I don't think it will make or break your application, nor provide you with a letter of rec from a professor that says much more than he/she is a great lab tech.

 

[e-spin]

Originally posted by jtheater
For everyone who has done it, 3 months is not enough time to really dive into a project. Often times you can spend way more than 3 months just trying to get a reagents titrated. A summer of research could be good to figure out if you like doing research, but I don't think it will make or break your application, nor provide you with a letter of rec from a professor that says much more than he/she is a great lab tech.

Yeah, I have done it....about 4 or 5 years of it total!! Whew it's been THAT long?!?! I better get off a waitlist =)
Anyway, I was just speculating...I know that 3 months isnt much as far as a project. But I guess if I were going to do this summer school thing at Harvard anyway, I would check around and find a PI that I clicked with and maybe be able to get a substantial LOR. If the OP is going to go then why not try to make the most of it! 🙂 BUT i do agree that summer classes at Harvard v. My State U wont be much of a factor to adcoms.

 

[jtheater]

Originally posted by e-spin
Yeah, I have done it....about 4 or 5 years of it total!! Whew it's been THAT long?!?! I better get off a waitlist =)
Anyway, I was just speculating...I know that 3 months isnt much as far as a project. But I guess if I were going to do this summer school thing at Harvard anyway, I would check around and find a PI that I clicked with and maybe be able to get a substantial LOR. If the OP is going to go then why not try to make the most of it! 🙂 BUT i do agree that summer classes at Harvard v. My State U wont be much of a factor to adcoms.

I just don't think that you could get a substantial LOR from a PI in 3 months, especially if you are taking classes at the same time. All they would be able to say was XX was a nice, smart person interested in medicine and research. That to me, is a fair LOR that isn't going to help your app much. It won't hurt it, but I would look more into volunteer opps in the Boston/Cambridge area for that short period of time. I just wanted to mention the research thing because I think a lot of people who haven't done research have a naive idea of how long a project will actually take. I certainly did before I started to do it.

 

[srmonkey]

I took summer classes there way back when and had other friends who did it as well. The classes are good and lving there over the summer is pretty fun.
Is it better than taking classes at a local college? Not really. Having Harvard on your transcript will only give you points with Harvard alums, but the Harvard alums will see that it was over the summer and so it was 'not really Harvard.' Why? Many of the professors are from other schools, as are a large portion of the students. This doesn't mean the classes are any less challenging or any less competitive. People from other schools taking classes there tend to be intelligent and driven, and the visiting professors are more than qualified. The Harvard students fall across the range of grades in the class and are pretty indistinguishable, so if you succeed during the summer you would succeed during the school year. However, it's the perception that these classes are of lesser value that is important.
If you can afford to do it, you might as well since you'll have a great time. Just don't expect it to give you a boost.