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Very discouraging letter from Harvard Health Careers Program...What should I do?
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I don't know what your uGPA is but if they are that concerned with your stats, chances are you are probably at the lower end. In that situation, their recommendation is quite accurate - 30 on your mcat would not suffice. Honestly, I feel that even a 32 is too low. 34+ would be optimal.
My question is why are you so afraid of getting a B or better & why are you afraid of getting over a 30? These things are kind of a no-brainer in most post-baccs and even if they are not explicitly mentioned, it is basically implied that without stats (well) beyond that, you will not get into medical school.
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I am worried because I've heard from many people that maintaining a 3.0 at HCP is very hard to do. HCP even states on their website that the student has to have 3.0 or above with 30+ MCAT to get sponsorship. I wouldn't even worry if this was some random state school where it's relatively easy to get 3.5+, but HCP from what I understand is very different.
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I suggest that you should not balk at having to work crazy hard to get A's in a competitive environment. The harder you work at the prereqs, the better you'll be set up for the MCAT. The higher the caliber of the students you're working with as a premed, the less pulverized you'll be by that caliber of student when you meet that dominant demographic again in med school. And the better you are at working hard in science classes, the less med school will suck.
I also suggest that if there's a posted minimum GPA/MCAT, don't use that minimum as your goal. Your goal is to have better stats than the 5000 other kids trying to get into every med school you're trying to get into. You may want to investigate whether a sponsorship letter from Harvard Extension is going to buy you anything at a UC back home. There's a lot more in a med school app than such a letter.
Premed prereqs are hard science. All the kids who want to be doctors are in those classes at every school. You can't get easy A's in the prereqs anywhere. And if you find a school that gives you easier A's, and then if your MCAT score isn't also well above average (32 is average), then you don't have a credible GPA.
I'm guessing you have a low undergrad GPA in a non-science major, maybe at a UC, and that you're thinking a 3.0 effort at Harvard Extension will get you into a UC med school. I suggest that's wishful thinking, and that you are underestimating your competition.
Best of luck to you.
I also suggest that if there's a posted minimum GPA/MCAT, don't use that minimum as your goal. Your goal is to have better stats than the 5000 other kids trying to get into every med school you're trying to get into. You may want to investigate whether a sponsorship letter from Harvard Extension is going to buy you anything at a UC back home. There's a lot more in a med school app than such a letter.
Premed prereqs are hard science. All the kids who want to be doctors are in those classes at every school. You can't get easy A's in the prereqs anywhere. And if you find a school that gives you easier A's, and then if your MCAT score isn't also well above average (32 is average), then you don't have a credible GPA.
I'm guessing you have a low undergrad GPA in a non-science major, maybe at a UC, and that you're thinking a 3.0 effort at Harvard Extension will get you into a UC med school. I suggest that's wishful thinking, and that you are underestimating your competition.
Best of luck to you.
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Thanks for your advice. I'll keep it in mind.
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No, it is not impossible to maintain a B average. To be frank, though, if they're concerned about your grades, you shouldn't be thinking about maintaing just a B average; rather, you should aim higher and shoot for an A or A-.
It's not impossible. It's just that they make you work for it. If you put in the time and effort, I think you'll do just fine.
Just to chime in, I got the exact same letter with the same proviso (32 MCAT). I know I'm not too competitive with my below average (3.55) ugpa and a couple of W's and a 2.5 in Calc ten years ago, but didn't think my gpa put me at THAT big a disadvantage. I've since repeated some courses and gotten all A's.
In any case, I think HES is becoming more selective regarding sponsorship due to the increased interest. I wouldn't be too discouraged by the letter. If you think it's the right program for you, you should go for it. I'm planning on giving it a shot starting with Summer gen chem.
In any case, I think HES is becoming more selective regarding sponsorship due to the increased interest. I wouldn't be too discouraged by the letter. If you think it's the right program for you, you should go for it. I'm planning on giving it a shot starting with Summer gen chem.
I completely agree with the statement here. Regardless of what requirements HCP imposes, you should always be aiming for more than a B average if you plan to get into medical school. HCP is the friend who speaks the truth - you hate what he has to say, but you also know he's right. If your undergrad GPA isn't stellar and you fall below a B average in your science pre-reqs, HCP sponsorship shouldn't be your main concern for your med school journey.
I just finished my pre-reqs with HCP. Yes, it's tough. The classes are very dense, so you can't fall behind. But it's manageable if you really commit to it.
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A 3.55 isn't competitive? This surprises me, for whatever reason.
In regards to perforing well in the program (to OP), why not pre-study for the courses if you're so worried? Get a book, or check out the syllabus w/ lecture materials on the class websites, or have a look at khanacademy.org.
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Yeah but you had the cojones to say it, and I didn't, until I saw your post.dr midlife stated what i wanted to say even better.
Go team!
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Really? I had a 3.45 uGPA and a 3.3 sGPA, a withdrawal, and a failed class (during study abroad and the world cup was on. I chose the world cup.) when I sent in my stuff, and all they said was 20 credits, and we recommend getting at least a 30 on the MCAT. Did you take a lot of science and math classes during undergrad? Do poorly in them?
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I second on the khanacademy link. I'm using it to pre-study gen chem before I get into it this summer. I also got the textbook they use for gen chem during the year, been going through it. Not an easy read, and like it says in the intro, it's definitely better used as a reference.
Lol that's an awesome story about the world cup. I prob would've done the same in my undergrad years.
You're right about the science classes - I took 3 science classes and did poorly (2.5's in stats, anatomy, calc) but I repeated all these classes and got A's. I also have three W's from classes that I shouldn't have been taking (tried to move on to Calc 2 witha 2.5 in Calc I, and tried summer gen chem along with summer Latin and gave up on both).
Oh well, can't turn back time. Just gotta work extra hard and hope for the best. Summer school here i come.
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HCP isn't a graduate program, so no. You could take upper-level bio courses for graduate credit at the Extension School, but med schools seem to look closely at your undergrad coursework while glossing over your graduate coursework. There are threads aplenty on SDN describing situations where the applicant has a stellar grad record and a mediocre undergrad record, and they get shot down because of their undergrad record. I don't know why this is, but anecdotal experience on this site tends to suggest that undergrad record generally trumps graduate coursework.
Besides, the students who take courses for grad credit have a lot more work in a course that is already likely to make you busy. At least, such is the case with biochem at HES. I would hate to be a grad student in that class right now.
Also, HOLY NECROBUMP!!!!!!
I just noticed my posts from over a year ago.
