Primer on applying to Harvard Medical School

This article is posted under Medical school admissions

For an unprecedented medical school learning experience, the Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the place to be. Having an HMS education is not a walk in the park, but the rewards that await a student (much more an HMS graduate) is something to covet.

What do the Michael Crichton and Fe del Mundo have in common? Definitely not their line of work. Not their citizenship as well (we know that Michael Crichton is a famous suspense-sci-fi novelist while Fe del Mundo is a Filipina pediatrician).

The thing is, they both took the first step to their success: they had an HMS education!

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Do you have what it takes?

HMS prides itself as the medical school that has the most rigid admission criteria.

Though HMS’s main requirement for its students is academic excellence, it also put premium to a potential students’ Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores, extracurricular activities, researches done, and health-care and community-service exposure.

HMS welcomes students who are highly motivated, visionaries, ambitious, and compassionate in their medical practices.

At HMS’ portal
All applications to HMS are through the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS). There is a non-refundable $85 filing fee for every submitted application which could be waived if an applicant has been granted an AMCAS fee waiver.

What you need
HMS’s faculty has set the following requirements for applicants:
meet the minimum requirements set my the HMS faculty for the program
present proofs that that they are intellectually capable to study and eventually practice medicine
show personal credentials that could help assess their potentials
demonstrate aptitude in sciences during undergraduate year
enhanced their education with at least one year of college or university training in the United States or Canada (for foreign students)

What awaits an HMS student?

Honor and prestige are just icing on the cake that an HMS student can have. Why not have the cake itself?

Here are more stuffs that make an HMS education something to thirst for:
HMS offers its students a wide array of excellent learning experience
students are lectured and trained by a faculty of experts in the various fields of medicine
students are given the opportunity to participate in research projects locally, nationally, and sometimes internationally
students enjoy access to a multitude of possibilities

How it all started

Founded in September 19, 1782 by Dr. John Warren together with Benjamin Waterhouse, and Aaron Dexter, the Harvard Medical School (HMS) was then known as Massachusetts Medical College of Harvard University. Not surprisingly, the three doctors were also the pioneering professors at HMS.

The first class ever held at HMS had an astonishing number of students – two! These students graduated in 1788. In the early days of HMS, classes were held in the basement of Harvard Hall. Later, lectures were held in Holden Hall.

By 1869, then US president Eliot established a curriculum for HMS. He instituted a higher standard for for admission, required written exams with passing grades, established new departments, introduced a three-year degree program, and eliminated the apprenticeship system.

Through the years, HMS has earned the honor and prestige as one of the world’s top medical schools.

photo credit: Paul Keleher

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