Northwestern HPME Part 1

<p>Heyyy that was pretty quick. Sent in my HPME card last week and got the application today :)</p>

<p>congradulations!</p>

<p>same i sent the request card like 10 days ago and got it today</p>

<p>i am too afraid to send mine in. I know I wont get an application.</p>

<p>I am dead serious!</p>

<p>it never hurts to try man, the screening committee is pretty lax and send over 80% of applicants HPME applications. Get it in by December 1st!</p>

<p>Oh man, I'm going to have a lot of questions for you all about the app...</p>

<p>like what? the essay?</p>

<p>like the whole "send two applications" in thing...im not sure how many total recommendations i need...</p>

<p>1 science for undergrad, and 1 english for hpme, right? p.s. i got the hpme application. is it possible to do it online?</p>

<p>nope, has to be by hand. sorry man.</p>

<p>oh man, i'm in china. It takes like 2 weeks to get there, doesn't it? Oh gosh, even if i do get one, i doubt i'll get the app in by the hpme deadline o.O. what do i do!</p>

<p>they go by the postmarked date</p>

<p>hm, buckwald, well, the postmark date is jan 1, right?
My hpme card was in the mail on nov 28 (didn't know snail mail was that slow), and it'll take 2 weeks to get there. They'd have to evaluate it pretty darn fast to get it back to me <em>by</em> January 1. Even then I would need to receive complete and send the app back to them on the same day to meet the postmark deadline.
Seems a little unfair to overseas students. I think I had better call them?</p>

<p>How will being a US citizen living in China (Hong Kong) affect my chances, out of curiosity?</p>

<p>I'm sorry, I have no idea how being a US student in Hong Kong would effect your chances. But if i were in your situation about the postmarked, I would definitely call the HPME office and ask them about your application, but be very nice to the women who answers the phone because she is also the director of the HPME.</p>

<p>hahahaha buckwald i know man......</p>

<p>she did seem really nice though....as opposed to the woman i talked to right before i spoke with the hpme director.......</p>

<p>she is a very nice old lady whose husband ran the program for 25 years, and then she took over it. She is awesome and really has no interest in kicking anyone out of the HPME program and will give you slack even if you don't meet the 3.2 GPA requirement.</p>

<p>Buckwald, I'm a freshmen in high school and I have a long way to go before I seriously contemplate ba/md programs. In the future, I will definitely apply to them. For now, I'm better off planning ahead and making sure that I take the right classes. Looking at the stats of prospective HPME applicants, I realize this only way to even have a chance at these programs. The stats here are amazing and in order to be a competitive applicant I must have amazing stats, too. What would you suggest I do to be a competitive applicant? What sort of traits are Northwestern looking for in their applicants? </p>

<p>Also, as an undergraduate institution, is Northwestern a good school and how successful are undergrads in gaining admissions to good med schools. How is the academic life at NW? Do professors encourage class discussions and give attention to their students? Is NW one of the colleges that are big in sports and partying and really nothing else? Will you recieve a great education there? Is the school passionate about giving undergrads research and clinical opportunities? As a med school, is Northwestern highly-esteemed and recognized as a great school? Do graduates go on to attend top residency programs? How numerous are research opportunities? </p>

<p>I'm sorry, Buckwald, for the bombardment of questions. Once I get started I can't shut up. I see you as my best chance of finding answers to my questions. You have a lot of patience and I thank-you in advance.</p>

<p>Hey Private_Joker,</p>

<p>The first thing you should do to be a complete all-around applicant is take your excell at your talents. For example, if you are good at playing a musical instrument, a sport, or a leader- further that talent by making all-state in music or a sport or gaining political office at your school. Colleges like Northwestern want to see you take advantage of opportunities and take them to the highest level. Since you already know you want medical school, volunteering at a hospital is very important. Community Service is also pivotal- if you could volunteer for the Red Cross that would definitely look good. But I do not think their is a particular "mold" for an HPME student that is optimal, they don't want 40 researchers/people who do the same thing. Take advantage of every opportunity that is presented to you and Northwestern will definitely look at you in a favorable light. Northwestern is one of the finest institutions in the world. US News and World Reports ranked them 10th overall which is above many ivy league schools such as Brown. One of my good friends was just admitted undergrad and he has a higher Bio and Math grade then me, haha. The students at Northwestern are very sucessful with their matriculation to medical schools all over the country and expecially Northwestern's medical school which reserves 20 spots for NU undergrads but still can accept more. Some Northwestern students have never been to a sports game their and are nerds, others like me will be at EVERY home football game and EVERY home basketball game no matter what. If you want parties and sports events you can find them at Northwestern, if you don't go for that then thats fine too. Northwesterns medical school is very esteemed and the medical students who come out of their do very well. Northwestern's medical school is in a very nice area on Michigan Avenue right on the lake, and you will love it. As for resarch opportunities, they are thier if you seize the day. Hope this helps!</p>

<p>Wow, this is early. Thankfully, I am on Christmas break for two weeks. </p>

<p>Anyways, thank-you for your response, Buckwald. I really appreciate you spending time to write such a detailed answer.</p>