Boston, MA
Allopathic Medical Schools | Private Non-Profit
Application Cycle: 2009-10
⭐ Overall Impressions
How do you rank the facilities?
10 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?
10 out of 10
0 = Below, 10 = Above
How do you rank this school among other schools to which you've applied?
10 out of 10
0 = Below, 10 = Above
What is your ranking of this school's location?
9 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?
9 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
💬 Interview Questions
What is one of the specific questions they asked you?
what'd you do outside the classroom your freshman year? (we basically went through my college + post-college experiences chronologically).
✅ Interview Preparation and Impressions
How long was the interview?
60+ minutes
How did the interview impress you?
Negatively ☹️
How many people interviewed you?
2
What was the stress level of the interview?
2 out of 10
0 = Low Stress, 10 = High Stress
How you think you did?
8 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
What was the style of the interview?
One-on-one
What type of interview was it?
Open file
Where did the interview take place?
At the school
How did you prepare for the interview?
harvard website, AMCAS application, harvard supplemental, SDN
What impressed you positively?
the facilities. the enthusiasm of the students. the program, the city. the New Pathways program posts all lectures on the web, and you can Keyword search through them to find the part where professors talk about a certain topic.
What impressed you negatively?
my first interview, and the tour. The first interviewer hadn't read my file, he openly admitted he'd gotten distracted during the 10 min before it, and had only read 2 pages. And he was 20 min late. He spent 1/2 the time talking about himself, cutting me off, and even talking about how he'd learned something from a candidate he had interviewed the day before. The tourguides are in HST, and couldn't actually tell us much about the New Pathways program. Harvard just doesn't care about impressing interviewers, or trying to sell them on coming to harvard, because they know almost everyone who gets in will go.
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
nothing.
What are your general comments?
As my other comments indicate, Harvard just doesn't do much to try to make you want to come to their school, other than show you how phenomenal their facilities and opportunities are. The students all seemed enthusiastic, and commented on how happy they are there, and also that they wish the Admissions did a better job making the interview day a good experience. After the 1st interview and the tour I was ready to throw in the towel, but the 2nd interviewer was very engaged and spent over an hour talking to me and showing me around some of the Cancer Institute where he was late to a meeting. But he seemed pleased and excited to do it, and genuinely interested in getting to continue talking.
The best thing I did was stop and talk to many students who aren't part of admissions, who will give you the best idea of why Harvard is a great place.
📍 On-Site Experience
Who was the tour given by?
Student
How did the tour guide seem?
Neutral
What is your in-state status?
Out of state
What were your total hours spent traveling?
7+ hours
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?
Friends or family
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