Harvard Medical School

Positively 🙂

1 out of 10

9 out of 10

10 out of 10

10 out of 10

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.

Tell me about some experiences that made you want to practice medicine.

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

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

Is there anything else that you want me to tell the committee?

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.

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!).

I should have brought earmuffs.

10 out of 10

10 out of 10

10 out of 10

Student

Enthusiastic

0-1 hour

Airplane

$101-$200

BOS

With students at the school

10 out of 10

yes