<p>tell me all about the Harvard med school admission process aside from what is already on their site...I'm currently a freshman at college, planning on applying to Harvard med school--so I welcome any information. </p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Wow...everything's so different now at collegeconfidential...I really like the new look. </p>
<p>We need more links to specific med schools!</p>
<p>I realize this is a bad topic. </p>
<p>Why don't we start with life as a Harvard med student....the good and the bad aspects...</p>
<p>this might be a bad topic too, lol....</p>
<p>okay just say random stuff about Harvard med school! </p>
<p>i know this has nothing to do with application process....but it might help me decide if I do really want to apply to this school</p>
<p>thanks....</p>
<p>I want to know more about harvard med</p>
<p>all i know about harvard med is that it must be like impossible to get in</p>
<p>harvard med school has a 0.3% acceptance rate. wow.</p>
<p>nevemind, they have a 3% acceptance rate. i can't do simple math</p>
<p>3%??</p>
<p>awesome. that gives me hope. ...=</p>
<p>Harvard is all about the numbers. In general, if you take your GPA and multiply it by 10, then add this number to your MCAT score, you should have something around a 70 if you expect to be a competitive applicant and get an interview. Of course, exceptions are always made for minorities and people with special circumstances, but for the majority of applicants this is a good rule of thumb (for Harvard and other top schools, perhaps with the exception of Stanford). The interview process is low key and almost everyone who is interviewed feels as if they'll be accepted. Of course, it doesn't work that way and many people are very disappointed. Harvard med has the bad (and common) habit of weighing your undergraduate institution too heavily in the application process - if you come from a small liberal arts school, they really hold it against you. Hope that helps.</p>
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<p>Harvard is all about the numbers.</p>
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<p>What about extracurriculars, awards, community service etc?</p>
<p>Of course extracurricular activities matter! The problem is that the "numbers" are much easier to evaluate than other aspects of your application, and they often serve to make or break you before they even consider your extracurricular stuff. It's very true that without a well rounded application, you still won't be able to get into a school like Harvard, but you need to make sure that you have the numbers to get your foot in the door.</p>
<p>What undergraduate schools does Harvard Med look favourably upon?</p>
<p>public vs private
liberal arts vs universities</p>
<p>I am choosing my undergraduate school right now, what if I choose an undergrad that lowers my chances of getting into Harvard Med?</p>
<p>I am sure Harvard Medical School will definitely look at your undergraduate institution to some extent; however, if your GPA and MCAT score don't pass through their initial screening process, it won't really matter. The majority of top medical schools will reject your pre-secondary application immediately if your numbers don't compare to their averages. Hence, although it may hold some weight to go to an undergraduate institution with a stellar pre-med program (ex-Washington University in St. Louis, John Hopkins, etc) it may be detrimental in the long run if your GPA does not hold up. For example, Washington University in St. Louis (the toughest med school to get into based on stats--GPA of 3.86 and MCAT avg of 36.6) institutes initial screens for gpa and mcat scores around those averages.</p>
<p>hello all...
so i am still just trying to choose my undergrad. 2 questions</p>
<p>--could anyone be kind as to tell me about how MCAT scores are? What is the "perfect" score for each section and overall? What is considered a "competitive" score for Harvard med etc.</p>
<p>--medical man: you seem very knowledgeable in this area! do you know if Georgetown is considered to have a "strong" pre-med program. at least strong enough to be competitive in the Harvard pool? </p>
<p>Thanks in advance</p>
<p>Perfect is 15 on each section.</p>
<p>Three sections so a perfect score is 45 which hardly anyone achieves.</p>
<p>Average MCAT for Harvard is around a 33. A competitive score (for top med schools like Harvard or Johns Hopkins) is probably a 35 which puts you in the top 5% of test takers.</p>
<p>norcalguy--thank you :)</p>
<p>Is there any advantage career-wise of going to Harvard Medical School?</p>
<p>There are advantages to going to a "top" medical school, not necessarily Harvard, if you want to build a career in academic medicine. There are lesser advantages if you want to get a popular residency in a highly sought-after field, at one of the leading hospitals in the country. </p>
<p>If you want to enter primary care, especially if you do not intend to practice in the Boston area, then going to Harvard will not make you any better off than going anywhere else.</p>
<p>There is variation among medical schools, but they are so heavily regulated that there is less than people imagine. The standard saying is "there are no bad medical schools". All schools must conform to detailed standards in how they do essentially everything. So the worst school in the country, if it is meaningful to say that such a place exists, turns out students who are fully prepared to start training in any field of medicine.</p>
<p>Do not worry specifically about Harvard. It is a wonderful place, but just one of many excellent schools.</p>
<p>I know a bunch of people who went to HMS.</p>
<p>It is very very difficult to get into HMS. I don't know of any sure fire way of getting in. Here is a typical example of an admitted applicant (all are real-life examples of friends that I know):</p>
<p>1) 34 MCAT, triple major completed at age 19 from Ivy league school, GPA 3.8
2) 32 MCAT, Harvard undergrad with exceptional music capability, GPA 3.9
3) 33 MCAT, JHU undergrad who spent 1 year working with Mother Teresa in India as an extra-curricular, then got MPH degree
4) 32 MCAT, Valedictorian from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), then went and got a PhD in Biomedical Engineering
5) 30 MCAT, daughter of a famous US Senator, Harvard undergrad</p>
<p>just read white coat, its about a woman's experience at harvard med school. its an awesome book :)</p>
<p>Here is another description of a HMS student-to-be:</p>