To be honest, I still can’t quite believe that I’m writing this. HMS is every premed’s absolute dream, and I sent in my app expecting nothing, but thinking, “Why the hell not?” The opportunity to visit has been nothing short of surreal, even though the interview experience itself didn’t blow me away.
I took the BoltBus from NYC to Boston and was pleasantly surprised with the experience. The seats are larger, with more leg room, WiFi, and outlets. I was able to enjoy the scenery (Boston and New York are absolutely beautiful during this time of year), and the ride costs only a 3rd as much as a plane ticket. Score!
As for Boston itself…I loved it. Not as crowded as New York, it has a modest grandeur that I just don’t find on the west coast. Buildings are large and expansive, with shops and cabs lining the streets. I arrived at the Boston South Station and took an Uber to my host, who lived in HMS’s dormitory-styled housing. Vanderbilt Hall, with its rustic exterior, central outdoor tennis court, and lavishly decorated common rooms, is breathtaking. With the exception of its smaller rooms, the building (much like the rest of HMS) exudes wealth, power, and privilege. I was originally worried that I wouldn’t fit in this sort of social environment, but all of the MS1s at the pizza dinner were extremely humble and down-to-earth. They absolutely loved their experiences thus far, and have only had good things to say. About 80% of the MS1 class stays in Vandy, where rent is about $800/mo (very affordable compared to the rest of Boston), with community bathrooms and kitchens on each floor.
Throughout the pizza dinner, the students spoke about the Pathways curriculum, their clinical experiences, and the 5 Societies. Each class at HMS comprises of 135 Pathways students (split into 4 societies) and 30 HST students (who all belong in the 5th society). Pathways, which was the track I applied to, recently underwent a massive curriculum change that resulted in a 1-year “flipped classroom” preclinical, with clerkships during M2, and differentiation during M3 and M4. It’s very similar to Vanderbilts, which interests me, but while Vandy offers a hybrid of lectures and PBLs, HMS utilizes a flipped classroom technique. That is, students are provided with video modules and daily assigned reading (which take most 6-8 hours to prep and complete), and are expected to attend “tutorials” the following day in order to apply that foundational knowledge towards specific cases. Attendance becomes mandatory with this style of learning (which is eerily similar to CCLCM’s format), and students are constantly engaged within their societies. I personally love it, although students do lament that it leaves them with very little time to pursue extracurricular commitments during M1. Grading is strictly P/F during preclinicals, without internal ranking nor AOA. “It pisses residency directors off a bit,” a student joked. “They literally can’t tell where we standing in the class, and with the Big H, are kind of forced to give our applications the benefit of the doubt.” Additionally, throughout this preclinical year, students are also assigned to one of HMS’s 17 affiliated hospitals, including the famous Massachusetts General Hospital. “As MS1s, we literally have done nothing to deserve being at MGH, yet every Wednesday, some of us actually get to go and see patients there. It’s insane,” a student raved. Honestly, this level of exposure sounds nothing short of incredible, and knowing that I would have the opportunity to see patients weekly starting my first week in med school is just…goodness.
Interview Day itself started at 8:15am with orientation in Gordon Hall, the crown jewel of the HMS campus. As I approached the building, I was reminded of just how small I was (it is massive), and just how surreal it was to actually be there. The marble complex, with its Neoclassical decor, brightly lit interiors, and lavish ambience, left all the interviewees intimidated, haha. After receiving our packets and a welcoming conversation from the dean, we all learned quickly at how unstructured the interview day was. My first impression was that it was “so Harvard” and pretentious to not really care about its applicants, but after hearing the students talk during the optional tour and lunch panel, I learned that it wasn’t the case. HMS, unlike most schools, is incredibly spread out, and thus struggles to make interview day cohesive and “pretty.” On this flip side, the breadth of opportunities proves to be invaluable for the medical students; as another phrased it, “the sheer amount of faculty, research, and interdisciplinary leadership going on here is unparalleled by any other institution in the country, and probably the world.” HMS stresses that it doesn’t want students who merely want to pursue private practice; rather, it wants to train leaders in academic medicine, public policy, global health, etc.
During the lunch panel, the students stressed that we take our time in deciding schools. While they admit that the name will open “a shit ton of” doors, each of them emphasized that those chose Harvard due the the fit they felt during Second Look. The endless support, top-notch yet genuine peers, and expectations to do something beyond medicine brought them here. Additionally, while HMS’s unit lone is a bit higher than its peers at $33K/year, students stress that it is often generous with the EFC. “Just…look at it carefully,” a student warned. I’ll be taking these words to heart!
My interviews were…fine. The first one, with a faculty member, was a bit intense, as he asked very targeted questions about my personal statement, activities, and interests. He then followed this with hypotheticals about health policy, which definitely was not my strong suit, and overall I enjoyed the conversation. I don’t think (or hope?!) that any of my responses hurt me, but I’m aware that none of my answers were particularly impressive. It also felt strange when he switched topics out of the blue, occasionally cutting me off to do so. -___- That said, I absolutely loved by second interview, and I think I was able to connect well with the student interviewer. Again, I don’t have any high hopes in particularly, but just having the interview experience is a true come true!
