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Harvard Medical School

Boston, MA

Allopathic Medical Schools | Private Non-Profit

⭐ Overall Impressions

How did the interview impress you?

Positively

What was the stress level of the interview?

1 out of 10

How you think you did?

9 out of 10

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

10 out of 10

How do you rank this school among other schools to which you've applied?

10 out of 10
💬 Interview Questions

What is one of the specific questions they asked you?

Tell me about some experiences that made you want to practice medicine.
What do you think you could contribute to the student body?
Why did you chose to major in mathematics?

What was the most interesting question?

Tell me about your participation in a sexual assault victim advocacy program.

What was the most difficult question?

Is there anything else that you want me to tell the committee?
🤝 Interview Format and Logistics

How long was the interview?

45 minutes

How many people interviewed you?

2

What was the style of the interview?

One-on-one

What type of interview was it?

Open file

Was this interview in-person or virtual?

No responses

Where did the interview take place?

At the school
📍 On-Site Experience

Who was the tour given by?

Student

How did the tour guide seem?

Enthusiastic

How do you rank the facilities?

10 out of 10

What is your in-state status?

No responses

What were your total hours spent traveling?

0-1 hour

What was your primary mode of travel?

Airplane

About how much did you spend on room, food, and travel?

$101-$200

What airport did you fly into?

BOS

Where did you stay?

With students at the school

What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?

No responses

How would you rate the hotel?

10 out of 10

Would you recommend the hotel?

yes

What is your ranking of this school's location?

10 out of 10

What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?

10 out of 10

What are your comments on where you stayed?

No responses
✅ Interview Preparation and Impressions

How is the friendliness of the admissions office?

No responses

How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?

No responses

How did you prepare for the interview?

Harvard website, SDN, Harvard factbook, talked to other students.

What impressed you positively?

Many things about Harvard impressed me--they certainly lived up to their ranking as #1. Harvard receives nearly 1 billion dollars from NIH, and they certainly used it well. The facilities are amazing, as is the location. The other hospitals nearby (Beth Israel Deaconess, Brigham and Women's, Children's, and the Dana Farber Cancer Center, etc), are amazing hospitals. Harvard's Countway Medical Library was a nice place as well. Most of the preclinical classes at Harvard are held in the Medical Education Center. It was very modern, clean, and comfortable. I applied to the New Pathway program, and it is definitely not for everybody. New Pathway utilizes Problem Based Learning as opposed to traditional lectures as a way of teaching the basics of medicine. It seemed like a very effective way of learning--not too stressful, but also forces you to learn. The system also makes sure nobody slips through the cracks. The tutorial sessions (for PBL) were held in small rooms with plasma screen TV's, clean chalkboards, and a nice boardroom table--thus making conversations more effective. The faculty at HMS is very accessible and nice--if you show interest in what they do, they'll be interested in helping you out. Finally, the student body was excellent, and for the most part, they seemed very happy with Harvard. They were all easygoing and did not seemed stressed at all. The system pretty much eliminates competition, and you can tell by talking to the students--they were very relaxed and friendly with each other. Those that weren't happy with the New Pathway said that they weren't learning as much as they wanted, but they were able to supplement the in-class learning with out-of-class studying. If people are having trouble with their courses, Harvard provides tutors free of cost. Finally, I was extremely impressed with my two interviewers. Both (faculty member and student) were open interviews. The interviewers were very polite and friendly. They had obviously throroughly read and memorized my file, as the questions they asked were very detailed in nature. The questions were meant to get to know me better. Harvard is a great, impressive place, and my interview experience made it my top choice.

What impressed you negatively?

Not too much--it was cold and snowy. The interview day was long and there was a lot of free time. After exploring for a while, I got pretty tired and just sat around talking to the other interviewees (who were all great people!).

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

I should have brought earmuffs.

What are your general comments?

I had two interviews, both open-file, from a faculty member and a student. Both were similar, in that they asked very detailed questions about my file. They seemed to know my file inside and out. They actually cared to make me an individual and know things about me that nobody had bothered to know in my other interviews. The experience was very relaxed. The interviewers just wanted to get to know me better.

What are your suggestions for the admissions office?

No responses