Official Harvard Extension 2016 Thread

[musician8591]

Hi everyone! I am not an expert on HES as previous initiators of the official threads have been, but I will be starting this fall and was hoping to get an up-to-date thread going.

Most of us are likely looking for the following information:

• How to find the most affordable and practical housing
• Where to obtain critical information about courses such as scheduling, syllabi, and textbooks
• What the general day-to-day is like for post-bac students

I personally would also like to establish some sense of community for our upcoming cohort. Maybe people can talk about what their plans and goals in the field as well as things they like to do outside of that. How about we include current career/set-up, anticipated speciality, and one hobby/interest.

I'll start. I'm a recent graduate. I taught high school Spanish for one year and am now considering specializing in psychiatry. I have done some classical vocal training -- and would love to join/start an a capella group.

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[Webiven]

Hello, thanks for making a new thread. I am a new member here and had just posted this on the 2015 thread, but I will move it here.

I am starting the premedical program at HES this Fall. I would like to find roommates that are also starting the program. I checked several Facebook groups and Craigslist; however, I thought I might have better results here. Since the classes are in the afternoon, I prefer to live further off campus for cheaper rent and commute to class, preferably $1,000/month or less.

A little about me - I am 25, male, engaged, undergrad in accounting and finance, and three semesters in law school. I want to become a pediatrician.

Please let me know if you are interested, and thanks!

 

[MerrillG]

Hi everyone! I am not an expert on HES as previous initiators of the official threads have been, but I will be starting this fall and was hoping to get an up-to-date thread going.

Most of us are likely looking for the following information:

• How to find the most affordable and practical housing
• Where to obtain critical information about courses such as scheduling, syllabi, and textbooks
• What the general day-to-day is like for post-bac students

I personally would also like to establish some sense of community for our upcoming cohort. Maybe people can talk about what their plans and goals in the field as well as things they like to do outside of that. How about we include current career/set-up, anticipated speciality, and one hobby/interest.

I'll start. I'm a recent graduate. I taught high school Spanish for one year and am now considering specializing in psychiatry. I have done some classical vocal training -- and would love to join/start an a capella group.

Hi,

I am also planning on beginning taking courses this fall at HES. I will be taking the prerequisite courses to go on to apply to a Direct Entry Nursing Program (BSN + NP). I have worked in New York 2 years since graduating undergrad and need to fulfill all of my prereqs prior to applying to a DE program. I was admitted to Columbia and Northeastern, but HES is definitely the most cost effective of the three. I am looking at housing - mostly in Cambridge area, as I will not have a car. I do know that information regarding scheduling, etc... is on the HES website. I assume once you register for a class you will receive more information regarding textbooks, etc... Most of the classes are in the evening - leaving time for work, study, research, etc... What classes will you be taking this fall?

 

[musician8591]

Hi,

I am also planning on beginning taking courses this fall at HES. I will be taking the prerequisite courses to go on to apply to a Direct Entry Nursing Program (BSN + NP). I have worked in New York 2 years since graduating undergrad and need to fulfill all of my prereqs prior to applying to a DE program. I was admitted to Columbia and Northeastern, but HES is definitely the most cost effective of the three. I am looking at housing - mostly in Cambridge area, as I will not have a car. I do know that information regarding scheduling, etc... is on the HES website. I assume once you register for a class you will receive more information regarding textbooks, etc... Most of the classes are in the evening - leaving time for work, study, research, etc... What classes will you be taking this fall?

How does the DE work exactly? You do the prereqs and then you have 2 years + another 2 years? I will be likely taking BIO and physics in the fall. I found a place in Brighton recently.

 

[MDMPH Goal]

Hi everyone! I am not an expert on HES as previous initiators of the official threads have been, but I will be starting this fall and was hoping to get an up-to-date thread going.

Most of us are likely looking for the following information:

• How to find the most affordable and practical housing
• Where to obtain critical information about courses such as scheduling, syllabi, and textbooks
• What the general day-to-day is like for post-bac students

I personally would also like to establish some sense of community for our upcoming cohort. Maybe people can talk about what their plans and goals in the field as well as things they like to do outside of that. How about we include current career/set-up, anticipated speciality, and one hobby/interest.

I'll start. I'm a recent graduate. I taught high school Spanish for one year and am now considering specializing in psychiatry. I have done some classical vocal training -- and would love to join/start an a capella group.

Hi There!

I'm starting classes this fall as well and would definitely be interested in joining an a capella group! I will also be on the hunt for ballet and contemporary/lyrical dance classes if anyone is interested in those or has any tips. I'm an LA native who worked in management consulting for 3 years after undergrad and I will be moving over to Belmont in a few weeks. I'm currently in the midst of deciding if I want to take 2 or 3 classes- I'm definitely taking physics 1 plus lab and I'm currently also enrolled in the gene therapy/ gene editing class and the mollecular arms race class. I know I want to work at least part time (ideally in something related to public health), so I will likely start off with 2 classes next semester to test the waters.

As for housing, I found this off campus site very helpful in finding my arrangement.

I look forward to meeting everyone in classes!

 

[stfj]

Anyone taking Physics 1 and having no luck with the Sapling Learning curriculum? I just want to be sure that I'm not missing something (it's probably just not up yet).

 

[stfj]

Anyone taking Physics 1 and having no luck with the Sapling Learning curriculum? I just want to be sure that I'm not missing something (it's probably just not up yet).

Aaaaaand it's up now.

 

[Healer123]

Hi All!

Two questions
1. BIOCHEM IS ONLY TAUGHT ONLINE IN THE SPRING! Will this affect my applications? I have to take biochem in spring because I am taking orgo 1 in the fall. I know some places do not accept online courses, so is it on our transcripts from the extension school? any info appreciated

2. Anyone take physics in the summer? How'd they feel about it?

 

[Hello?Sup.]

Hey everybody. I'm really interested in going to HES in the upcoming fall -- unfortunately I'm a little worried that I won't get accepted because of my lack of volunteer/shadowing/research experience and it's proving to be a little difficult to get such experience on such short notice (i'm trying to at least start some relevant experience in time to apply when the application opens up next month).

Is this lack of experience a major red flag that will only get me rejected? Should I start volunteering/researching as soon as possible and apply next year if I cannot start it in time for the beginning of this year's application cycle?

The rest of my stats are as follows: bachelor's in polisci with a cGPA of 3.61 and sGPA of 2.25. The latter is super lower I know, but I am hoping to improve greatly in a post-bacc program because I am not a dumb college kid anymore and my work ethic has improved dramatically since I was 18-19 yrs old.

Btw, just as a heads up -- I included my sociology and psychology grades in the sGPA. I'm not sure if that was right, so i thought i would just let you know.

Also, I am considering other post-baccs as well, not just HES. The ultimate goal is med school after all so I'm just trying to play it safe.

Sorry for the rant, I appreciate any help that is offered. Thanks.

 

[Gurby]

Hey everybody. I'm really interested in going to HES in the upcoming fall -- unfortunately I'm a little worried that I won't get accepted because of my lack of volunteer/shadowing/research experience and it's proving to be a little difficult to get such experience on such short notice (i'm trying to at least start some relevant experience in time to apply when the application opens up next month).

Is this lack of experience a major red flag that will only get me rejected? Should I start volunteering/researching as soon as possible and apply next year if I cannot start it in time for the beginning of this year's application cycle?

The rest of my stats are as follows: bachelor's in polisci with a cGPA of 3.61 and sGPA of 2.25. The latter is super lower I know, but I am hoping to improve greatly in a post-bacc program because I am not a dumb college kid anymore and my work ethic has improved dramatically since I was 18-19 yrs old.

Btw, just as a heads up -- I included my sociology and psychology grades in the sGPA. I'm not sure if that was right, so i thought i would just let you know.

Also, I am considering other post-baccs as well, not just HES. The ultimate goal is med school after all so I'm just trying to play it safe.

Sorry for the rant, I appreciate any help that is offered. Thanks.

I don't think psychology or sociology are counted in the sGPA - does that improve the situation or make it worse?

How many science classes have you taken so far? I think the general rule is that you need a 3.0 bare minimum, but since maybe you haven't taken too many classes it might be easy to bring up that 2.25.

Volunteering/shadowing/research is important for getting into medical school too, not just post-bacs.

Do you already live in the Boston area?

 

[Hello?Sup.]

The lack of psychology and sociology makes my sGPA worse unfortunately. I have attempted Gen Chem (1 and 2), Gen Bio (only 1 semester), Physics (only 1 semester), and Orgo (only 1 semester).

I do not live in the Boston area, I live in Maryland.

Worse comes to worst, I can always retake all the classes I did poorly in at a local university. I'm sure med schools prefer good grades in general over an impressive post bacc.


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[MedSun]

Hi, everybody!
Quick question! Is there an interview component when you apply to the HES post bacc? Or they just inform you through email?

 

[sakuraba]

Hi, everybody!
Quick question! Is there an interview component when you apply to the HES post bacc? Or they just inform you through email?

No interview component! I think I was just informed through email / snail mail.

 

[sakuraba]

Hi All!

Two questions
1. BIOCHEM IS ONLY TAUGHT ONLINE IN THE SPRING! Will this affect my applications? I have to take biochem in spring because I am taking orgo 1 in the fall. I know some places do not accept online courses, so is it on our transcripts from the extension school? any info appreciated

2. Anyone take physics in the summer? How'd they feel about it?

1. I didn't take it online, but I had friends who did bc it wasn't explicitly described as "online" on their transcripts. I would double check that fact though with the registrar.

2. Again, I didn't take the physics series over the summer (gosh I'm unhelpful). They should be broken up into 2 discrete classes, so you can take 1 of them during the summer if you need to keep a part time job and take the other one during the school year. Both classes simultaneously during the summer will definitely be a handful though, and I wouldn't recommend doing that if you have volunteer/work commitments. I took the 8 unit summer orgo class, and it was craaaazy.

 

[impervious0ne]

1. I didn't take it online, but I had friends who did bc it wasn't explicitly described as "online" on their transcripts. I would double check that fact though with the registrar.

2. Again, I didn't take the physics series over the summer (gosh I'm unhelpful). They should be broken up into 2 discrete classes, so you can take 1 of them during the summer if you need to keep a part time job and take the other one during the school year. Both classes simultaneously during the summer will definitely be a handful though, and I wouldn't recommend doing that if you have volunteer/work commitments. I took the 8 unit summer orgo class, and it was craaaazy.

If you're talking about Hayne's class, it doesn't indicate that the course is online. Majority of the "online" based courses in HES will not indicate its delivery method.

 

[research5]

Does anyone have experience taking Human anatomy & physiology along with Molecular & Cell Biology? Is it possible to take them both and do well in them given that both of them are offered on the same day?