<p>One of my friends is going to attend Harvard this fall. She wants to know the how cutthroat the competition it is there. Anyone current students want to shed some light onto this? Thanks.</p>
<p>I heard the pre-med is extremely competitive. Everyone else who are also doing pre-med treat you as an enemy because classes are graded on a curve.</p>
<p>My daughter just finished her freshman year at H and found it to be more cooperative than competitive. A lot of hard work - Yes. Cuthroat - No.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>I heard the pre-med is extremely competitive. Everyone else who are also doing pre-med treat you as an enemy because classes are graded on a curve.<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>Sounds just like pre-med students in pretty much every US college.</p>
<p>No. It is not graded on the curve. I specifically checked the syllabus for several courses that must be taken for medical school admissions requirements and they specifically state that there is no curve.</p>
<p>really? maybe I was wrong. what r they competiting for then?</p>
<p>You would think that the kids that got in there would be smart enough to be civil, but of course book smart does not equal common sense. Your always going to have your overachieving jerks that want to beat out everyone else. Even at a top ivy school like harvard.</p>
<p>especially at a top ivy school like Harvard</p>
<p>As a student who is pre-med at Harvard... I can tell you that the competitive cut-throat Harvard student stereotype is wrong... even among pre-meds. Seriously, I've encountered nothing but cooporation and support from my peers. We help each other on problem sets and form study groups. In many classes there is no curve (which personally, I prefer a curve). In those that are curved, I have not found anyone who is "out to get me" or anything. In fact, I have found students to be somewhat nonchalant about grades in general. So please, don't believe everything you hear, especially when it comes from someone other than a Harvard student.</p>
<p>Stopps, I have a question. How hard is it to receive a grade of A or A- in these classes such as Chem 5/7, Bio 50, 52, etc, and other required pre-medical classes?</p>
<p>xjayz, it's not hard if you're willing to put in the time and work at it. I'm not sure about the rest, but I know Chem 5/7 is not graded on a curve. (but rather a C is 60-75, B is 75-90). So no, what you get is entirely a reflection on your work and how much effort you put in.</p>
<p>Since some people wanted to hear about how it is from an actual Harvard premed, well, how about Michael Crichton (yes, THAT Michael Crichton) reminiscing about his old days when he was a Harvard premed. Obviously things worked out quite well for him - he graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College, then went to Harvard Medical School, before he decided that he'd rather be an author. Nevertheless, what he says about his premed days at Harvard is rather telling:</p>
<p>"In general, I found Harvard an exciting place, where people were genuinely focused on study and learning, and with no special emphasis on grades. But to take a premed course was to step into a different world -- nasty and competitive. The most critical course was organic chemistry, Chem 20, and it was widely known as a "screw your buddy" course. In lectures, if you didn't hear what the instructor had said and asked the person next to you, he'd give you the wrong information; thus you were better off leaning over to look at his notes, but in that case he was likely to cover his notes so you couldn't see. In the labs, if you asked the person at the next bench a question, he'd tell you the wrong answer in the hope that you would make a mistake or, even better, start a fire. We were marked down for starting fires. In my year, I had the dubious distinction of starting more lab fires than anyone else, including a spectacular ether fire that set the ceiling aflame and left large scorch marks, a stigmata of ineptitude hanging over my head for the rest of the year. I was uncomfortable with the hostile and paranoid attitude this course demanded for success. I thought that a humane profession like medicine ought to encourage other values in its candidates. But nobody was asking my opinion. I got through it as best I could. "</p>
<p>Michael Crichton graduated from Harvard in 1964. I think someone who is pre-med there now could offer more accurate insights to the current climate at Harvard over someone who attended over 40 years ago.</p>
<p>Can anyone else give an opinion? Do TFs always give the grade? In high school, we always have something called "brownie points," like if the teacher/professor knew you tried hard, or you had all As and one C+, they'd close their eyes on the lower grade and boost your grade a few points. Does this occur?</p>
<p>^ That would hurt the reputation of the university.</p>
<p>I'm not premed, but several of my blockmates are...I see them, and other people in premed classes, not setting fires but rather spending hours in study groups, working together in Cabot Library, in the dining hall, etc. From an outside view there isn't competition like Crichton describes. If so, then why would people work together?</p>
<p>no there definately is a curve- i went there to take classes for the summer, and my friend took bio - his 78ish average ended up as an A-</p>
<p>I was under the impression that, for the most part, SSP profs weren't actual Harvard profs and thus didn't teach during the fall/spring semesters; so I'm not sure a curve in a class taken at SSP is really relevant.</p>
<p>Harvard students get normal credit if they decides to take a summer xcourse though.</p>
<p>My best friend is Harvard pre-med, and her courses were definitely graded on a curve. For O-chem this past semester, she said that there was a large spread of B's but few A's. Without going into details, I'll say that she is an <em>incredibly</em> hard worker, and only just missed that A- mark. She's also no dummy (perfect SAT scores).</p>
<p>Everyone's experience is always going to be different. She has friends who only study a few days before an exam and do better than her, even though they aren't any smarter. So don't expect that your own experience is going to be a reflection of the ones expressed on this anonymous message board. You might do better, you might do worse. You'll find out :P</p>
<p>asterstar, if being pre-med at Harvard turns out to be a nightmare, I think I'll have some moments when I wish I had decided to do PLME at Brown...</p>