<p>Alright so my ultimate goal is Harvard Medical School. I understand Medical School admission is fiercely competitive as it stands, but if you shoot for the moon and miss you'll at least snag a star, right?</p>
<p>Currently, I just finished my freshman year at a UCI (which I only went to to ease my parent's financial burden), but I've heard, students from within the system (at an Ivy or private school), have a better chance of getting in. I've got a decent GPA (3.7-3.9 range, will work hard to raise!), research at a lab, work for the campus newspaper and am the chair of community outreach for a very renowned club (as in nationally acclaimed). Which of the two paths below would boost my chances of getting to HMS?</p>
<p>Choice I.
Attempt to Transfer and be forced to rebuild relationships with Professors (for recs and ECS), maybe redo classes that don't transfer, and find a new lab to research at while possibly boosting admission chances and appearing ambitous on a resume</p>
<p>Choice II.
Graduate a year early, and use what would have been my Senior year to earn a Masters at USC or UCLA (they're close) to make me stand out even more</p>
<p>I would definitely go with getting a master’s and then applying to med school.</p>
<p>In choice 1 are you wanting to transfer to Harvard undergrad, then apply to Harvard Med. That seems first of all very difficult since transferring is not easy.</p>
<p>My opinion is get the master’s in something unique, work more on your outside activites, and get good MCAT scores. You should be set.</p>
<p>Students from within the “system” do not have a better chance just because they graduated from the system. Looking at the HMS Class of 2014, I see many students coming from low-tier colleges. I wouldn’t pursue a Master’s “just to get into HMS,” either, because I know a lot of accepted students with neither a Master’s nor some extraordinary “compensatory” achievement for not having a degree more advanced than bachelor’s.</p>
<p>^As a corollary to this (although I am a noob and my words should be taken with lots of grains of salt), it sounds like you should apply for Harvard Med at the same time that you apply for the masters programs you were considering. If you do get in, you just saved a year and everything is great. (Unless, if you don’t get in, they have some thing against repeat applicants?)</p>
<p>UC Irvine to Harvard Medical School
Distance: 2990.6 mi Time: 44 hrs 28 mins </p>
<p>Start at 680 CALIFORNIA AVE, IRVINE going toward ANTEATER DR - go 1.1 mi
Turn Left on HARVARD AVE - go 2.9 mi
Turn Left on ALTON PKY - go 0.4 mi
Turn Right on JAMBOREE RD - go 2.5 mi
Bear Left on CA-261 N toward RIVERSIDE (Toll applies) - go 5.8 mi
Take the Left exit onto CA-241 N (Toll applies) - go 6.5 mi
Take exit #39A/RIVERSIDE onto CA-91 E (Toll applies) - go 10.0 mi
Take the BARSTOW/SAN DIEGO exit onto I-15 N toward BARSTOW - go 27.5 mi
Take the BARSTOW Left exit onto I-15 N - go 457.3 mi
Take exit #132/RICHFIELD/DENVER onto I-70 E - go 502.5 mi
Take Left fork onto I-76 E toward FT MORGAN - go 184.4 mi
Continue on I-76 N - go 3.3 mi
Merge onto I-80 E - go 474.6 mi
Take the CHICAGO/MINNEAPOLIS/KANSAS CITY exit onto I-35 N toward I-80 E/CHICAGO/MINNEAPOLIS - go 15.1 mi
Continue on I-80 E - go 151.8 mi
Take exit #290/ROCK ISLAND (US-6 E)/MOLINE onto I-280 E - go 18.0 mi
Continue on I-74 E - go 9.4 mi
Continue on I-80 E (Portions toll) - go 168.7 mi
Take exit #16/TOLL ROAD onto I-80 E toward INDIANA TOLL ROAD EAST/OHIO (Toll applies) - go 279.0 mi
Take exit #142/CLEVELAND (OH-2 E) onto I-90 E (Toll applies) - go 28.3 mi
Take Right fork onto I-90 toward CLEVELAND - go 0.7 mi
Merge onto I-90 E - go 17.2 mi
Take the ERIE PA Left exit onto I-90 E (Portions toll) - go 449.5 mi
Take Right fork onto I-87 S toward MASS PIKE/NEW YORK/BOSTON (Toll applies) - go 14.6 mi
Take exit #21A/MASS TPKE (I-90 E)/BOSTON onto NEW YORK STATE THRUWAY E (Toll applies) - go 1.4 mi
Continue on CASTLETON ON HUDSON BRG (Toll applies) - go 0.6 mi
Continue on NEW YORK STATE THRUWAY E (Toll applies) - go 5.0 mi
Continue on I-90 E toward MASS TPKE/BOSTON (Toll applies) - go 148.7 mi
Take Left exit #18/BRIGHTON/CAMBRIDGE onto CAMBRIDGE ST toward CAMBRIDGE/SOMERVILLE (Toll applies) - go 0.5 mi
Turn Right on SOLDIERS FIELD RD - go 0.9 mi
Continue on STORROW DR - go 0.9 mi
Take ramp toward FENWAY (US-1 S)/RIVERWAY/BOYLSTON ST. OUTBOUND - go 0.4 mi
Continue on BOYLSTON ST - go 0.5 mi
Bear Left on BROOKLINE AVE - go 0.4 mi
Turn Left on LONGWOOD AVE - go 0.2 mi
Arrive at 250 LONGWOOD AVE, #304, BOSTON, on the Right</p>
<p>Here’s how it generally works with stuff like HMS. If you go to a really fancy restaurant (the kind that doesn’t list prices on the menu) and have to ask the waiter how much something costs, then chances are you can’t afford it and don’t belong at that restaurant. See where I’m going?</p>
<p>Caillebotte: Haha interesting metaphor, but the current HMS students I interviewed (for the same purpose as this thread) all had some sort of mentor figure who gave them pointers</p>
<p>Son of Opie: No, not the brand name. First of all, I adore Boston and Cambridge, so I was also considering Boston University. I like the cooler climate; it’s too hot where I live.</p>
<p>Sherpa: I’ll keep your sage advice in mind.</p>
<p>kryptonsa36: Well then, what distinguished them from the masses applying to Harvard? One girl I know got a combined BS/Ma degree and came from a relatively middle-tier school and decent grades. But the degree made her stand out. If you have the contacts of these students, I would be greatly indebted to you. I would love to talk to them.</p>
<p>Please take in mind that there are many applicants to medical schools (HMS included) who have PhDs and some even have post-docs. At the same time, I think there are reapplicants too.</p>
<p>Summer in Boston can be around 95. Although maybe just a week or so.</p>
<p>^I’m assuming that you’re looking at the USNWR rankings for Primary Care Medical Schools in which HMS is 17, but that doesn’t necessarily make Harvard the #17 med school since Harvard is ranked number 1 for medical school research</p>
<p>Are you instate at Cali? Because UCSF and UCLA are hell of a lot better than HMS, considering the costs of med school.</p>
<p>As for your options, I think option I is much better. Letters of recommendations are significant part in the admissions process, and by having strong relationships with professors at UCI and UCLA/USC, you’ll be stronger in the game. Plus, you’ll have a masters’ degree! :D</p>
<p>@ kryptonsa36 Thank you so much for your input. I’ve heard medical schools also look favorably on non-medical related activities if you stand out-- is this true?</p>
(Unless, if you don’t get in, they have some thing against repeat applicants?)</p>