Harvardocs-medschool-applicants-list July 2020

harvardocs-medschool-applicants-list@lists.fas.harvard.edu

1 participants
6 discussions

by Ceder, Oona Britt

Attention MD-PhD applicants: MD-PhD panel discussion with Dr. Shiv Pillai, Dr. Alissa D’Gama, and Brittany Petros, current MD-PhD student When: Friday, July 17, 3-4 p.m. Where: Zoom meeting link: https://tinyurl.com/y85jdhnb Password: 848888 Panelists: Shiv Pillai, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Director of Harvard Immunology PhD program and of HMS-HST MD Student Research Program Alissa D’Gama, MD, PhD, MCB ’11, PhD ’16, MD ’18, Harvard NICU Fellow Brittany Petros, CPB ’18, Harvard-MIT MD/PhD Program, Health Sciences & Technology, Sabeti Lab The event is hosted and organized by the MCB and CPB concentration staff, and all interested students are welcome to attend. Oona B. Ceder, PhD Director, Premedical and Health Career Advising Associate Director of Career Services Ph: 617.495.2595<tel:617.495.2595> / Fax: 617.495.3584<tel:617.495.3584> Preferred pronouns: she/her/hers http://ocs.fas.harvard.edu/medical-health Subscribe to the Harvard OCS Medical School Applicant Listserv: If you are applying to medical school in 2020 for matriculation in 2021, please subscribe to our Applicant Listserv at https://lists.fas.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/harvardocs-medschool-applica… with a @college.harvard.edu address, @post.harvard.edu address, or @alumni.harvard.edu address. Office of Career Services<http://www.ocs.fas.harvard.edu/>, Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences 54 Dunster Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 [insta small]<https://www.instagram.com/harvardocs/>

3 years, 9 months

Reminder: July and August OCS advising policies for current medical school applicants

by Ceder, Oona Britt

Dear Applicants, As communicated in last week's email to this list, we are now in the part of the summer when advising for current medical and other health professions school applicants is provided as follows: Reminder about OCS premed and pre-health advising summer schedule. For general support for current applicants with questions or concerns about the application process, the OCS advisers and your House Premed tutors continue to be available to you in the following ways during July, and from August and on as the cycle continues. The OCS pre-health advisers will resume regular 30-minute individual advising appointments for all enrolled students and alumni on August 3. In July, OCS advisers throughout the office focus on publications updates, web revisions, and program planning for the upcoming school year. In addition, this summer our office is also providing extra support and advising appointments to current sophomores, juniors, and seniors with questions about the newly announced information about Fall term. Given these demands on our time, the OCS pre-health advisers (i.e., Oona, and as of July 15, Emiko as she returns from maternity leave) will not be answering routine email questions for the remainder of July. Your House premedical tutors remain available to answer questions related to secondary applications, CASPer, school list, and other questions about your overall application and plans. Please review the following bullets about application-related advising during the remainder of July: Current medical and other health professions school applicants (if you are subscribed to this list and are not applying for 2021 matriculation, please see https://ocs.fas.harvard.edu/premedical-health-careers-advising for premed and pre-health advising policies during the summer and fall term): * We will continue to send important updates about the medical school application process via this OCS Applicant listserv throughout the summer (and for the duration of the application cycle until late spring 2021). Current (2021) applicants not yet subscribed to this list can do so at https://lists.fas.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/harvardocs-medschool-applica… using a @college.harvard.edu address, @post.harvard.edu address, or @alumni.harvard.edu address. * If you are a current (2021) applicant with individual questions or concerns about your application or MCAT, please reach out to your House Premedical Tutors during July. * If you encounter an issue that requires immediate attention and that your House Premedical Tutors are not able to assist you with, please email the OCS front desk staff at ocsrecep(a)fas.harvard.edu<mailto:ocsrecep@fas.harvard.edu>, and an OCS pre-health adviser will get back to you within one business day. Oona B. Ceder, PhD Director, Premedical and Health Career Advising Associate Director of Career Services Ph: 617.495.2595<tel:617.495.2595> / Fax: 617.495.3584<tel:617.495.3584> Preferred pronouns: she/her/hers http://ocs.fas.harvard.edu/medical-health Subscribe to the Harvard OCS Medical School Applicant Listserv: If you are applying to medical school in 2020 for matriculation in 2021, please subscribe to our Applicant Listserv at https://lists.fas.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/harvardocs-medschool-applica… with a @college.harvard.edu address, @post.harvard.edu address, or @alumni.harvard.edu address. Office of Career Services<http://www.ocs.fas.harvard.edu/>, Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences 54 Dunster Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 [insta small]<https://www.instagram.com/harvardocs/>

3 years, 9 months

Update from the AMCAS Outreach team Fwd: 2021 Cycle Important Updates

by Ceder, Oona Britt

Dear Applicants, Please see below for important updates from AMCAS. See esp the bullet about updating your AMCAS with any changes to an MCAT exam date. Note that “resubmitting” your AMCAS after making this required update does not delay or impact the verification process and timeline. Best, Oona ________________________________ From: AMCAS Outreach <advisors(a)email.aamc.org> Sent: Thursday, July 9, 2020 4:34 PM To: Ceder, Oona Britt Subject: 2021 Cycle Important Updates We wanted to share important information about the 2021 AMCAS application cycle. [AMCAS for Advisors] Dear Advisors, Data transmission for the 2021 application cycle begins on July 10. Applications will continue to be delivered to medical schools as they are verified. AMCAS is within our current 8-week verification turnaround. We will inform applicants, advisors, and medical schools if there are changes. * The Early Decision Program (EDP) deadline for the 2021 cycle is Monday, August 3, 2020. EDP applications and all transcripts are due by this date. Typically, the EDP deadline is August 1 of each year unless that date falls on a weekend, then the deadline is the next business date. * AMCAS has received over double the number of transcripts for the 2021 cycle compared to previous cycles. AMCAS provided additional transcript delivery options for institutions, which resulted in a high number of duplicate transmissions, significantly increasing the number of transcripts for processing. Transcript processing times remain within our stated timelines. These processing timelines reflect arrival to AMCAS, not the date the transcript was requested. * Applicants with changes to their MCAT testing date will need to update their AMCAS application. They can make this change at any time during the application cycle by signing into their AMCAS application, making the change, and clicking on the “Resubmit your Application” button on the Main Menu to officially submit the change. This will not cause any processing delays of their AMCAS application. * The Demonstrating Competence in an Unconventional Application Year webinar is now available on our website<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__click.email.aamc.org_-…>. This webinar helps applicants understand the 15 core competencies for entering medical school, learn about creative ways to articulate competence using current courses and experiences, and consider how to use the AAMC Anatomy of an Applicant Self-Assessment Guide to support their medical school application. * We will continue to provide updates to applicants on our website<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__click.email.aamc.org_-…>, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and AMCAS page<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__click.email.aamc.org_-…>, and Twitter feed (@AMCASinfo). Applicants can also reference current transcript processing statuses<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__click.email.aamc.org_-…> and the transcript processing tool<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__click.email.aamc.org_-…> on our website. Please do not hesitate to contact us at advisors(a)aamc.org<mailto:advisors@aamc.org?subject=> or (202) 828-0950 if you have any questions. As a reminder, applicants can contact us at amcas(a)aamc.org<mailto:amcas@aamc.org>. Best regards, AMCAS Outreach Need assistance with AMCAS? Phone: 202-828-0950 Email: advisors(a)aamc.org<mailto:advisors@aamc.org?subject=> Website: aamc.org/advisors<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__click.email.aamc.org_-…> [https://www.aamc.org/em/images/facebook_25x25.png]<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__click.email.aamc.org_-…> [https://www.aamc.org/em/images/twitter_25x25.png]<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__click.email.aamc.org_-…> [https://www.aamc.org/em/icons/youtubeicon.png]<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__click.email.aamc.org_-…> This email was sent by: Association of American Medical Colleges 655 K Street NW, Ste 100 Washington, DC, 20001, US Unsubscribe here.<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__click.email.aamc.org_-…> Update Profile<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__click.email.aamc.org_p…> © 2020 AAMC | Privacy Policy<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__click.email.aamc.org_-…>

3 years, 9 months

New registration link TODAY 7/9: UMass Medical School Virtual Infosession

by Ceder, Oona Britt

Hi all, Please use this link to register for the UMass Med Infosession: https://umassmed.zoom.us/j/95398259385<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__umassmed.zoom.us_j_953…> Best, Oona From: Ceder, Oona Britt Sent: Thursday, July 9, 2020 2:17 AM To: OCS House Premed Tutor List <ocshousepremedtutor-list(a)lists.fas.harvard.edu<mailto:ocshousepremedtutor-list@lists.fas.harvard.edu>> Subject: TODAY 7/9: UMass Medical School Virtual Infosession Please forward to your House premed lists: UMass Medical School Virtual Information Session Date: Thursday, July 9, 2020, 5:00pm to 6:00pm Location: Online "Curious about a career as a physician or physician-scientist? Interested in applying to medical school? Register today<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__nam01.safelinks.protec…> to learn more about our degree programs and curriculum, our campus community, the application process and more from our staff and students." Current as well as future medical school applicants are welcome to attend. Oona B. Ceder, PhD Director, Premedical and Health Career Advising Associate Director of Career Services Ph: 617.495.2595<tel:617.495.2595> / Fax: 617.495.3584<tel:617.495.3584> Preferred pronouns: she/her/hers http://ocs.fas.harvard.edu/medical-health<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__nam01.safelinks.protec…> Subscribe to the Harvard OCS Medical School Applicant Listserv: If you are applying to medical school in 2020 for matriculation in 2021, please subscribe to our Applicant Listserv at https://lists.fas.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/harvardocs-medschool-applica…<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__nam01.safelinks.protec…> with a @college.harvard.edu address, @post.harvard.edu address, or @alumni.harvard.edu address. Office of Career Services<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__nam01.safelinks.protec…>, Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences 54 Dunster Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 [insta small]<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__nam01.safelinks.protec…>

3 years, 9 months

TODAY 7/9: UMass Medical School Virtual Infosession

by Ceder, Oona Britt

UMass Medical School Virtual Information Session Date: Thursday, July 9, 2020, 5:00pm to 6:00pm Location: Online "Curious about a career as a physician or physician-scientist? Interested in applying to medical school? Register today<https://www.umassmed.edu/som/virtual-info-session/> to learn more about our degree programs and curriculum, our campus community, the application process and more from our staff and students." Current as well as future medical school applicants are welcome to attend. Oona B. Ceder, PhD Director, Premedical and Health Career Advising Associate Director of Career Services Ph: 617.495.2595<tel:617.495.2595> / Fax: 617.495.3584<tel:617.495.3584> Preferred pronouns: she/her/hers http://ocs.fas.harvard.edu/medical-health Subscribe to the Harvard OCS Medical School Applicant Listserv: If you are applying to medical school in 2020 for matriculation in 2021, please subscribe to our Applicant Listserv at https://lists.fas.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/harvardocs-medschool-applica… with a @college.harvard.edu address, @post.harvard.edu address, or @alumni.harvard.edu address. Office of Career Services<http://www.ocs.fas.harvard.edu/>, Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences 54 Dunster Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 [insta small]<https://www.instagram.com/harvardocs/>

3 years, 9 months

[2021 Applicants] Information about next steps of the application process and July OCS and House advising policies for current applicants

by Ceder, Oona Britt

Dear Applicants, Congratulations on all that you have already achieved by this point of the 2021 cycle, which for many of you means having now submitted AMCAS and any other common apps you are completing, rescheduling and taking the MCAT, and now turning your attention to secondaries and awaiting information about this cycle's interview process. There is also a good number of you who are still waiting to take or retake your MCAT, or waiting for a score. If you have experienced an MCAT- or any other COVID-related delay to your planned timeline, we want you to know that based on everything we are hearing from the medical schools and from the AAMC, everyone involved with the 2021 admissions process is committed to ensuring that you receive the same and full evaluation of your application as those whose MCAT score was reported earlier, or whose AMCAS app was verified earlier than yours. For a compiled AAMC report of each medical school's COVID-related accommodation policies, see https://aamc-orange.global.ssl.fastly.net/production/media/filer_public/7a/… As many of you have heard, most medical and other health professions schools have reviewed and adjusted the timeline for evaluating your primary AMCAS, TMDSAS, AACOMAS, AADSAS, or VMCAS application in light of the COVID pandemic, and many schools have also extended their usual secondary application deadline. We have heard from a number of the schools' Deans and Directors of Admissions that given the impact of the pandemic and everything else that has occurred in the country around civil rights violations and deeply traumatizing violent and racist events that have been endemic for centuries but have now gained increased national attention and spurred action and protests in which a number of you have participated, the schools will ensure that every primary and secondary application submitted by this cycle's deadlines will be given full and equal consideration regardless of submission dates. Furthermore, signaling their commitment to supporting all applicants equally, the medical schools are encouraging you to reach out to their Diversity and Inclusion resource offices and officers with any concerns around how to manage your application timeline and performing at your best during this very difficult time. * For a list of the medical schools' Diversity and Inclusion Office and Officer contacts, see https://aamc-orange.global.ssl.fastly.net/production/media/filer_public/4d/…. * For information about the medical schools' Support systems for Gender and Sexual Minority Students, see https://aamc-orange.global.ssl.fastly.net/production/media/filer_public/b9/…. * Applicants who are differently abled with questions or concerns around managing the application process while ensuring full and equal access and review, regardless of whether you disclose a disability or accessibility circumstances in your application or not, see https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/article/misconc…. You may also find it helpful to consult with the Harvard Accessible Education Office (https://aeo.fas.harvard.edu/ and https://aeo.fas.harvard.edu/about/staff). In the past, AEO staff have assisted both currently enrolled students and alumni with application-related concerns, needs, and inquiries. The OCS Pre-health advisers and your premed tutors, and the Disability Liaison tutor in your House, can also provide advice and/or referrals. We will not disclose to anyone involved in the admissions process any information you may share with us about an accessibility issue or disability. * For medical school policies for applicants in Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status, see https://aamc-orange.global.ssl.fastly.net/production/media/filer_public/92/…. In sum, we don't need to tell you how uniquely challenging the 2021 application cycle has already been. We want you to know that the OCS premed advisers and your House premed tutors and staff, as well as the individual medical school admissions staff, are all deeply committed to doing everything we can to ensure that each and every one of you will have a successful application cycle and attain your goal of starting medical school next summer. For anyone who is still finalizing the decision about whether to apply in this cycle or hold off another year, please see #1 below for how to get any additional advice you may need. A note to applicants applying to other health professions schools including via AADSAS, VMCAS, PTCAS, Nursing CAS and more, and/or to DO, TMDSAS, OMSAS or other Canadian or international schools: The OCS Premed and Pre-Health advisers and your House premed tutors (in fact called Pre-Health Tutors in several Houses) are here to support you also as you know. For reasons of space and length of our listserv emails, and since a significant majority of you are AMCAS MD- and/or MD-PhD applicants only, these listserv emails focus on the MD process, but please reach out to your House Premed and Pre-Health advisers, and to the OCS pre-health advisors, following the same overall instructions as those for the MD applicants. Please take a moment to review the information below. If you think we have missed something that you are wondering about, we welcome your feedback so that we can make the best use of this listserv to address common concerns and questions. 1. Withdrawal of your 2021 AMCAS application: A note on this year's AMCAS transmission timeline: In two days, on July 10, the medical schools that you added in your AMCAS will receive your app if it has been verified. See https://aamc-orange.global.ssl.fastly.net/production/media/filer_public/50/… for a compiled report of each medical school's 2021 Primary Application Information. Some of you were waiting on a July 7 MCAT score report and may now be talking to your House advisers about whether to stay in the cycle or not. Your resident premed tutors are available to advise you on this decision, so if you are not in communication with them about this, reach out to them today or tomorrow. If your AMCAS is or will be verified by July 9, you need to withdraw by 11:59pm on July 9 not to be considered a 2021 applicant. If your tutors are unsure about your best course of action, Oona is available to speak to them to answer any questions they and you may have. * If you will be taking the MCAT after July 10, or are still waiting on a score, and are considering withdrawing your app after July 10 once you know your score, please follow the same advice and reach out to your resident premed tutor/s. If you have an NRT who is an experienced member of your House's NRT roster, you can also speak to them about the decision (e.g., some NRTs are former resident premed tutors, so would of be equally knowledgeable as the resident premed tutors). * If you choose to withdraw your 2021 AMCAS application, it must be done before it is sent to medical schools in order for you not to be considered a re-applicant in the future. No AMCAS applications will be sent to medical schools before July 10. * If your AMCAS has not yet been verified on July 10, and you withdraw before it is verified, you will also not be considered a re-applicant in a future cycle. * You can also withdraw from this cycle after your application has been sent to the medical school/s you added in your AMCAS. In this case, you will need to withdraw in writing from each school to which your AMCAS has been sent, and you will be considered a re-applicant when you next apply. If withdrawing from the 2021 cycle after schools have your AMCAS (but ideally without receiving a secondary from you) turns out to be the best option for you, we want to underscore that this will not be viewed negatively or place you at any disadvantage in a future cycle. When you apply again, the medical schools to which you applied now will prompt you to share that you applied to their program in a past cycle; medical schools to which you did not apply now can look up your past AMCAS application record (and may also prompt you in their secondary to share that you have applied to one or more MD program in the past). Schools in both of these categories will be able to see the date on which you withdrew your application, and will recognize that you withdrew prior to any evaluation of your application and not as a result of being rejected by any schools. Being this type of re-applicant, again, is not viewed negatively although you may encounter some secondary prompts in the future cycle asking you to explain what prompted the decision to withdraw. * Please consult with your premed tutors with questions about any of these timelines for withdrawing from the cycle. * See https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/faq/amcas-faq/ for more information about who is defined a re-applicant in a future cycle. * FYI: Having applied to a medical school's BA/MD or similar program does not mean that you are now a re-applicant to that school, despite having potentially gained admission to their MD program while you were still in high school; having done so and turned them down for Harvard College is also not viewed in a negative light when you may now apply to the same school as a regular MD applicant. 2. Reminder about OCS premed and pre-health advising summer schedule. For general support for current applicants with questions or concerns about the application process, the OCS advisers and your House Premed tutors continue to be available to you in the following ways during July, and from August and on as the cycle continues. The OCS pre-health advisers will resume regular 30-minute individual advising appointments for all enrolled students and alumni on August 3. In July, OCS advisers throughout the office focus on publications updates, web revisions, and program planning for the upcoming school year. In addition, this summer our office is also providing extra support and advising appointments to current sophomores, juniors, and seniors with questions about the newly announced information about Fall term. Given these demands on our time, the OCS pre-health advisers (i.e., Oona, and as of July 15, Emiko as she returns from maternity leave) will not be answering routine email questions for the remainder of July. Your House premedical tutors remain available to answer questions related to secondary applications, CASPer, school list, and other questions about your overall application and plans. Please review the following bullets about application-related advising during the remainder of July: Current medical and other health professions school applicants (if you are subscribed to this list and are not applying for 2021 matriculation, please see https://ocs.fas.harvard.edu/premedical-health-careers-advising for premed and pre-health advising policies during the summer and fall term): * We will continue to send important updates about the medical school application process via this OCS Applicant listserv throughout the summer (and for the duration of the application cycle until late spring 2021). Current (2021) applicants not yet subscribed to this list can do so at https://lists.fas.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/harvardocs-medschool-applica… using a @college.harvard.edu address, @post.harvard.edu address, or @alumni.harvard.edu address. * If you are a current (2021) applicant with individual questions or concerns about your application or MCAT, please reach out to your House Premedical Tutors during July. * If you encounter an issue that requires immediate attention and that your House Premedical Tutors are not able to assist you with, please email the OCS front desk staff at ocsrecep(a)fas.harvard.edu<mailto:ocsrecep@fas.harvard.edu>, and an OCS pre-health adviser will get back to you within one business day. 3. Timing of turning around secondary applications. We recommend that you turn around your secondary applications in 10-14 days. Some, but not all, schools will give you a specific deadline. Remember just to complete these as they arrive, and do not prioritize your reach schools over your 'safer'/target schools. Our rationale for suggesting 10-14 days is three-fold. First, being early in this process is an advantage and you lose that advantage if you sit on your secondary applications. Second, turning them around quickly shows interest, good organization, and time management. Third, in our experience, hanging on to them just makes them pile up and causes more stress and anxiety. However, do not worry if something comes up and some take you a bit longer to get in. There is nothing magic about our 10-14 day guideline. You do not need to stress over them excessively, but do make sure they are error free. Be aware that some schools expect you to access their secondary applications on their websites or through their application portal, so check MSAR and your school websites to make sure you know what to expect with regard to receiving secondary applications from the schools you have selected. Also see the FAQs for Applicants > Secondary Applications at https://ocs.fas.harvard.edu/amcas. A note on writing and submitting secondaries in the 2021 application cycle: The advice in the previous paragraph is our usual non-pandemic year advice about how to manage your secondaries. All of it applies in the current cycle also, but we do want to add the following additional advice and information that will apply to the 2021 cycle: * Many medical schools have extended their usual deadline for submitting their secondary by as much as a month. As stated above, we have heard from a number of medical school Deans and Directors of Admissions that given the impact of the pandemic and everything else that has occurred in the country and in the world at large during these past months, they will ensure that every primary and secondary application submitted by this cycle's deadlines will be given full and equal consideration regardless of submission dates. Therefore we want to reassure all of you that even if you turn in your secondaries later than what we normally recommend, your application should not therefore be negatively impacted. That said, if you are able to submit your secondaries by the usual recommended turnover time, we recommend that you prioritize this important part of the process, and especially to schools that practice rolling admissions where an earlier secondary application receipt may mean and earlier interview invitation, which *may* confer some advantage (though this too will be carefully monitored by rolling admissions schools with a view to how some applicants facing greater COVID-related or other challenges submitted later secondaries as a result). * At https://students-residents.aamc.org/advisors/article/medical-school-admissi… you will find the following compiled reports about secondary application timelines and policies, extracted from MSAR (free and accessible with or without an MSAR subscription): * See https://aamc-orange.global.ssl.fastly.net/production/media/filer_public/a7/… for a compiled list of each medical school's 2021 application deadlines (corresponding to their individual MSAR entry; subject to continued revision and updates). * See https://aamc-orange.global.ssl.fastly.net/production/media/filer_public/b3/… for a compiled list of each medical school's 2021 secondary application policies and deadlines. * * If you do not yet have an MCAT score, or if you are still waiting for a new (retake) MCAT score, does it matter if you submit your secondary before the schools have your MCAT? The answer here is somewhat nuanced and school specific. Some schools have said that this cycle, they will make an exception to their usual policy of not reviewing apps prior to receipt of MCAT score/s, and will begin evaluating apps prior to receiving MCAT scores delayed by the COVID situation. Therefore, it is still important to submit your secondary as soon as you can, as you may actually be invited to an interview by some schools before they have your MCAT score/s. * See the relevant AAMC MSAR reports available at https://students-residents.aamc.org/advisors/article/medical-school-admissi…, as well as each of your school's individual MSAR entry for more information about their specific timelines and requirements for being ready for evaluation, including COVID accommodation policies for applicants with late or no MCAT score. Above all, pay careful attention to all communications you will be receiving directly from the schools to which you are applying about their specific criteria for starting to evaluate your application, as this will vary among the schools and may still be further revised in the coming months. *Be sure to check spam folders not to miss a secondary app/link to secondary app, or other important emails from your schools, and take a moment to review how your schools manage communication with its applicants (i.e., do they use a portal, email, social media, snail mail, etc. to communicate with you?). 4. 4. Optional Secondary Application Questions-Are they optional? It really depends on the wording. At times, the question is worded in such a way that they only want you to answer if you have clearly had a hardship, a disadvantage, or a significant bump in the road. Other times, it is an invitation to tell them something else. For schools that do not have a "why this medical school" question, then telling why you are interested in being at that particular school can be great. For schools that already have that question, it is fine to talk about something that helps them understand you better. Some applicants use it to talk about a significant interest (backpacking, running, kayaking, etc.) that might not have found a place in your original application. Just look at your overall AMCAS, look at the secondary for that school, and think about what more you want to convey. It should not be repetitive, but you can use the space to provide more information or a different perspective on something that is important to you even if you touched on it in your original application. A note on additional secondary questions inviting you to address and share COVID-related challenges you have experienced in the process so far: * Many schools have added a new question to their secondary about how you have been affected by the pandemic. Use it to convey anything that has set you back in terms of your timeline or ability to perform up to your usual levels in your classes; that impacted your ability to raise your GPA as a result of not receiving letter grades this past semester (if you were still an enrolled student); that disrupted your MCAT preparation and led to exam date cancellations and format changes that you found challenging and that may have caused you to underperform on the test; to address any changes to your ongoing or planned extracurricular activities, including adding more shadowing and clinical experience hours; to address changes to your work situation, ability to continue to perform clinical responsibilities you may have had, or other disruptions to your work role or hours; the impact on your postgrad job search; and anything else you deem important for the schools to be aware of in terms of how COVID-19 has affected you, your family and loved ones, and your daily routines and access to technology when forced to study or work from home or another place where you have been or were sheltering since March. If you need feedback on how best to use this added space in your secondaries, reach out to your House advisers for their input. * Should you use this additional secondary essay space to address potential impact of the pandemic on your MCAT score?: If you feel that any COVID-19 related circumstances significantly and negatively impacted either your preparation and/or your exam day itself, and thereby preventing you from getting the score you would have been capable of earning under normal circumstances, you can explain this your secondary and the added space provided in this extra prompt is a good place to do so. If you are unsure whether it will be helpful to draw attention to a lower than expected overall or section score/s, please confer with your premed tutor/s, remembering that you also need to report any new MCAT score you have received after completing your PIF or House Questionnaire to your tutors so that they will be able to address the score, if deemed helpful to your app to do so, in your Committee Letter. 5. Committee Letter transmission to medical schools: * Please double-check to make sure you sent your House Academic Coordinator your AAMC ID number and AMCAS letter ID numbers so they are able to upload your Committee Letter in August. (Reminder: You should only have one AMCAS Letter ID for your House letter pdf, which identifies and transmits your Committee Letter and each of the individual recs that you have requested be sent by your House. The same pdf will also be transmitted to TMDSAS if you are applying to Texas state schools. Letter transmission to AADSAS, VMCAS, AACOMAS, OMSAS and some other common app portals is also handled by your House; please be in touch with your Academic Coordinator.) * Timing of the Harvard Committee letter (with attached individual recs): As long as you submitted your information to your House by their deadlines, your Harvard Committee letter with your letters of recommendations will be uploaded and sent to your medical schools by August 15. Medical schools are used to this date and our letters are submitted on the same timeline as the letters from our peer institutions. Many schools will begin reviewing your application before this date or will put it in a queue once they receive your secondary, so you still need to get your materials in as soon as you can. * Reminder: If anyone is late to the process and still has questions about letters, be sure to review the FAQ for Applicants > Letters of Evaluation Section and Process on our website at https://ocs.fas.harvard.edu/amcas (also see the relevant slides of Completing the AMCAS 2021 Application<https://ocs.fas.harvard.edu/files/ocs/files/amcas_2020_presentation.pdf> (pdf) at the top of the same page), and be in touch with your Academic Coordinator with questions about the transmission process. 6. What to expect from the switch to a virtual interview season: * Pre-health advisers across the country have been receiving information both from the AAMC and from individual medical schools about plans for moving all 2021 cycle interviews to a virtual format. We will be sending more information about this and how we and your House teams will help you prepare for virtual interviewing as the summer continues. Our usual Medical School Interview workshop (schedule still TBD) will also be revised to address these changes (schedule and sign up will be available in August). * Preliminarily, we want you to be aware of the following: The AAMC has launched a new virtual interview tool called the AAMC Video Interview Tool for Admissions (AAMC VITATM) for use during the 2021 application cycle. Oona has attended an AAMC VITA webinar in June, and Emiko and Oona will both attend an upcoming second AAMC webinar for advisers on July 17 about the VITA tool. We will update you as we learn more. But we can already share that many medical schools do not plan to use this tool, which is available to all the schools, and are instead opting to use a system and platform of their own choice and/or design. Most of the schools that will use their own system (e.g., HMS, Vanderbilt, UMass, and many others) seem to be opting for Zoom. Some of the schools using a Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) format, including UMass, have shared that they will run their MMI on Zoom using breakout rooms for the individual MMI stations. The schools to which you are applying will be communicating their interview plans to you, so just like in previous years, you will receive detailed instructions and information about what to expect on interview day from each of the schools to which you are applying. *Also stay tuned for announcements about upcoming school-hosted virtual info sessions for current applicants, which are great opportunities to learn more and ask questions about interview formats as well as other important information for 2021 applicants. * Medical Schools that do plan to use the AAMC VITA tool can make use of one or both interview formats offered on this platform. The first is a recorded interview to which applicants will be invited by the medical school/s using VITA. For this step, applicants will respond to a curated set of interview questions while being recorded. Once the recording is done, it will be available to all schools using VITA to which the applicant is applying, so you would only need to make one recording that can then be sent to all the schools on your list using VITA and that choose to ask you for this recorded interview. The second format is a live interview, to which your schools would be inviting you. A hybrid approach of using both the VITA and their own system may also be adopted by some schools, for which you may then do a recorded and/or live VITA interview, followed by the school's own virtual interview (which could be a Zoom-based MMI, for example). A report of what interview formats each school plans to use will soon be available at https://students-residents.aamc.org/content/downloadable/3245/ (you may want to bookmark this url and check back to see when it goes live; we will also alert you when the report is available). * Since these virtual interview tools and plans are new for medical schools and applicants alike, we do not want you to be overly concerned about how this change from the usual in-person interview and school visit to virtual formats will impact your application. Medical schools are paying attention to the fact that some applicants will not have an ideal space from which to do the interview; they are aware that some of you may experience a poor wifi connection or may be in a time zone that means that you are possibly meeting them and interviewing early in the morning or later in the day than usual, when you may not be at your best; and all schools will be prepared for the unexpected hickups that could occur on each side of a virtual interview. HMS shared that they are busy training their interviewers in how to conduct a successful online virtual interview, so remember that the schools are also working hard to get ready for a successful, fair, and productive virtual interview season. In sum, the schools are all committed to holistic evaluation and recognition of potential obstacles to a successful virtual interview. If you have concerns that the virtual interview process is placing you at an unfair disadvantage due to unequal access to important resources for doing well in this setting, do not hesitate to reach out to the Admissions Offices directly and/or to the schools' Diversity and Inclusion office (contacts provided in link above). * Along the same lines of ensuring that all applicants are equally able to compete and do their best on interview day, we do want you to share with us and your House teams any concerns you have about your wifi and computer set-up, time zone challenges, or other issues you are worried may negatively impact your interview performance. But before you reach out to your House teams (in July), or to the OCS advisers and your House teams (from August on), about interview-related concerns and questions, please review the following resources: * https://www.aamc.org/system/files/2020-05/Virtual_Interview_Tips_for_Medica… * An AAMC advisor report in which many medical schools have updated their 2021 interview plans and formats (this content should correspond to what the schools have added to their MSAR entry also): https://aamc-orange.global.ssl.fastly.net/production/media/filer_public/9d/… * You may also find this medical school facing resource informative: https://www.aamc.org/what-we-do/mission-areas/medical-education/conducting-… * As mentioned above, the OCS Medical School Interview workshop will be offered in a virtual format later in the summer. Updates and revisions to address the shift to a virtual format will follow. For general tips and information that will still pertain also to a virtual interview day, you can review last year's presentation and resources on our website at: https://ocs.fas.harvard.edu/medical-interview and you will also find helpful resources at https://ocs.fas.harvard.edu/interviewing. 7. A reminder about what we shared previously about CASPer. Most applicants to US medical schools will need to take this online situational judgment test (SJT). You can learn more about CASPer here<https://takecasper.com/about-casper/>. Medical schools using CASPer<https://takecasper.com/schools-and-programs/> (scroll down to find the list of participating US schools). Also see https://aamc-orange.global.ssl.fastly.net/production/media/filer_public/65/… for a list of schools using "additional required assessments," including CASPer. Scheduling your test: Click here<https://takecasper.com/dates-times/#americanmed> for the schedule of upcoming CASPer tests. Since participating schools use CASPer as a screening tool, it is important to prepare and schedule your test in a timely manner. Although you will see a range of test dates extending into 2021, plan to take yours by early August in order to ensure timely evaluation at all participating medical schools, and particularly at rolling admissions schools where an earlier interview date confers an advantage over later dates. The CASPer webinar for applicants can be viewed here<https://takecasper.com/2020/05/us-applicant-2020-2021-webinar/>. You may also find the following resources helpful for preparing to take CASPer: How to Maximize Your Chances of Success on CASPer<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__view.attach.io_HyRRQrd…> Student Information Flyer on CASPer<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__view.attach.io_rklcvnl…> The resources page on TakeCASPer.com<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__takecasper.com_blog_&d…> 8. A heartfelt and huge Thank You to Meaghan Shea for jumping in to advise those of you who normally meet with Emiko. In addition to offering these individual 2021 applicant advising appointments throughout the spring, Meaghan also co-hosted most of the AMCAS Q/A webinars with me, making those session a lot more fun, interactive, and informative. As those of you who attended these Q/A's will remember, Meaghan drew on her premed and medical school advising expertise as a former MIT pre-health adviser to answer many of your questions. Thank you Meaghan! As we let Meaghan return to her full-time role and responsibilities as a member of the OCS Undergraduate Advising team, we also extend a warm (almost) welcome back to Emiko, who as you know has been on maternity leave and will be officially back at work on July 15. When we resume regular 30-minute premed/pre-health advising appointments in August, all of Emiko's advisees can again book your appointments with her. We wish you a safe and healthy continuation of the summer. Good luck with your applications and keep checking those spam folders! Oona, Emiko, and Meaghan Oona B. Ceder, PhD Director, Premedical and Health Career Advising Associate Director of Career Services Ph: 617.495.2595<tel:617.495.2595> / Fax: 617.495.3584<tel:617.495.3584> Preferred pronouns: she/her/hers http://ocs.fas.harvard.edu/medical-health Subscribe to the Harvard OCS Medical School Applicant Listserv: If you are applying to medical school in 2020 for matriculation in 2021, please subscribe to our Applicant Listserv at https://lists.fas.harvard.edu/mailman/listinfo/harvardocs-medschool-applica… with a @college.harvard.edu address, @post.harvard.edu address, or @alumni.harvard.edu address. Office of Career Services<http://www.ocs.fas.harvard.edu/>, Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences 54 Dunster Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 [insta small]<https://www.instagram.com/harvardocs/>

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