The truth about HCEC

Colleges & Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>It's awesome! Well worth the $190. </p>

<p>They don't screen. They only write positive letters. This doesn't mean they write generic letters. After examining your 3 professor LOR's and doing an interview with you, they highlight your strengths (which is different for each student). Each and every committee letter is read by the chairman of HCEC so that each letter is standardized in tone and length (so even if you get saddled with a crappy interviewer/letter writer, you will still get a substantial letter). My interviewer said that after talking to some deans of admissions at various med schools, they told her that at times they don't even read your personal statement and professor LOR's, only your committee letter. For those of you who don't know, the committee letter is sufficient by itself for most med schools (ie med schools will accept it in lieu of any professor LOR's). Cornell sends your professor LOR's anyway so that med schools can read them if they want.</p>

<p>My own personal experience: My HCEC interviewer came well prepared. She had 5 pages worth of notes/questions that she had after examining my file. She did not dwell on the obvious stuff. In fact, after looking at my grades/MCAT score, all she said was "good" and that was all for the entire interview. She noted that I challenged myself by taking the honors gen chem sequence, upper level math, and a 600-level biophysics course. These are things that wouldn't come out of my professor LOR's. She went through my EC's one by one. Again, these are things my professors would know nothing about. She ended by asking me some questions on medical ethics (hypothetical scenarios) and healthcare issues (HMO's, abortion, stem cell, nationalized healthcare, etc.). In fact, what she found most impressive was not my GPA or my MCAT or my EC's but rather that it was clear I had thought about healthcare issues and had a sense of ethics. She notes that very few of her interviewees are actually knowledgeable enough to explain HMO vs. PPO's or debate the pros/cons of national healthcare in depth. It was the perfect thing for her to emphasize since those insights wouldn't come out of my application or LOR's otherwise.</p>

<p>I have to say, I am twice as optimistic as I was before I had my HCEC interview.</p>

2

<p>I'm sorry, but what is the HCEC? (I'm obviously a prefrosh)</p>

<p>Is it better to take challenging courses at the expense of a higher GPA or to take standard classes? I'm considering whether or not to opt out of the intro bio class (I received a 5 on the ap) or other classes. Should I just use my ap credits for non math/science classes since there's a cap? (Although I'm not sure up to how many I can use?) I asked an alumni, and she recommended against skipping math/science intro classes.</p>

3

<p>I wouldn't recommend using AP credit and skipping introductory biology. I had the same dilemma last year; ironically, as it turns out, norcalguy helped me in my decision to retake the introductory biology sequence. If you want to challenge yourself, take autotutorial (BioG 105/106); most students enrolled in that class scored a 5 on the AP biology exam, and you'll really learn ("master" as my professor says) biology at a whole new level. The class is curved to a B, and if you put in effort and don't miss your unit deadlines, you'll receive a B/B+ at the very least.</p>

<p>Medical schools often only look at your BCPM GPA overall and your grade in organic chemistry in particular; rarely do they look at the rigor of the respective classes. I would stay far, far away from the honors math and chem courses (Math 122 and Chem 215), as they've been known to drive students insane.</p>

<p>Feel free to use your AP English and AP calc credit. I passed out of both freshmen writing seminars, freeing up space for electives, and took math112 my first semester.</p>

<p>norcalguy - CONGRATS on the HCEC interview. What is your top choice medical school at this point?</p>

4

<p>UCSF as it's always been. I like Stanford as well but the cost might be an issue.</p>

5

<p>I agree with you norcalguy! HCEC interviewers are really awesome! I had mine today!</p>

6

<p>For some reason, I always thought you were a really really old Cornell alum, Biophilic. Oops haha Good luck for the upcoming application cycle!</p>

7

<p>Thanks
Haha maybe it was because of my username...it sounds really "old."
Well good luck in Med school!</p>