CURRIER HOUSE PREMEDICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Guidelines for Applying to Medical School
In this packet:
 Currier House Pre-Medical Advisory Committee
 The Application Process
 Letters of Recommendation
 House Letter
 Selecting Medical Schools
 Completing your AMCAS
 Preparing for your Interview
 Curriculum Vitae – General Guidelines
 Resources at the Senior Tutor’s Office
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CURRIER HOUSE
Premedical Committee Members
RESIDENT ADVISORS
Shahram Khoshbin,
M.D.
617-547-8341
skhoshbin@bics.bwh.harvard.edu
Hans Ackerman,
D.Phil.
617-493-1536
ackerman@fas.harvard.edu
Kanu Okike
kanu_okike@student.hms.harvard.edu
Charmaine Smith
M.D.
csmith@partners.org
Pat Keohane
617-435-8101
pkeohane@fas.harvard.edu
Assoc. Prof. of Neurology
Brigham & Women’s Hospital
Chairman, Premed Committee
Harvard Medical School III
Genetics, Anthropology
Premed Advisor
Harvard Medical School III
Premed Advisor
Harvard Medical School
Medicine/Pediatrics
Premed Advisor
Assistant to the Senior Tutor
NON-RESIDENT ADVISORS
Some years the number of Currier students applying to medical school is too large for the resident
pre-med tutors. In this case some Currier students will be assigned to a non-resident advisor. There
are approximately 5 nonresident members of the Pre-Medical Committee who may be Harvard
faculty, residents/fellows or medical students. The resident tutors work closely with the non-resident
advisors to make sure you are well-supported during the application process.
Jong Yun,
M.D.
617-493-6103
jong_yun@student.hms.harvard.edu
Vi Nguyen,
M.D.
617-493-6103
vi_nguyen@student.hms.harvard.edu
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Intern / Radiology
Cambridge Hosp/ Mass General
Premed Advisor
Pediatric Intern
Massachusetts General Hospital
Premed Advisor
The Application Process
After much thought and reflection, many conversations with your classmates, family, and premedical
tutors, you have made the decision to apply to medical school. You are about to start on the final leg of your
career as a premed. During the past three years you have prepared yourself and your record for this application
process. This process starts now and will last up to a year. Applying to medical school includes five specific
components.
 Collecting letters of recommendation
 Completing your Currier House Premedical Application Packet and your House Letter
 Selecting schools to apply to
 Completing the medical school application forms
 Medical school interviews
This handout is only a guideline and is not meant to be a comprehensive guide to applying to medical schools.
We have also included information on preparing your CV and resources available at the Senior Tutor’s office
and at OCS. Please talk with to a premedical tutor about any questions you may have.
1. Letters of Recommendation
The purpose of letters of recommendation is to provide medical school admissions committees with qualitative
information about you as a prospective physician. As we have continually stressed during your Currier
premedical committee meetings, these letters should be from individuals who can 1) attest to your scientific
ability and/or 2) comment on your character and your suitability to entering medicine. The ideal letter is from a
person who has worked with you closely, knows you well, and has been impressed by you and your work. To
this end, letters from college science faculty, laboratory mentors, and individuals who have supervised you in
community service or health-related work are appropriate. However, feel free to ask letters from other
individuals who know you well. Wonderful letters have come from coaches, ministers, work supervisors, etc.
Although 3-5 letters will be sent with your application, it is helpful to request at least 4-6.
How do I ask for a letter of recommendation?
You can initially request a letter via phone or email. If the individual is able to write a letter, then make sure to
meet with your letter writer to discuss your interests and plans and how your experience with him has shaped
your decision to apply to medical school. You should provide your recommender with a cover letter, resume,
waiver form (found in front of the Senior Tutor’s office), and a stamped envelope addressed to Dr. Cole
Crittenden, Allston Burr Senior Tutor – Currier House, 64 Linnaean Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.
Should I waive my right to see the letter?
Most students feel comfortable waiving their right to view their letters. Waiving your right suggests that the letter
writer can be more frank and honest in his or her appraisal of you and is noted on the letter. If you do not feel
comfortable waiving your right, you should talk to your tutor about your specific concern.
Can the premedical committee screen my letters?
No. University policy states that premedical committees can no longer screen letters to determine which ones
should be sent to the medical schools.
Is there a deadline?
You should inform your letter writer that the house deadline is June 10. Obviously some letters will trickle in
after June, but offering your writers the June deadline will facilitate them coming in sooner than later. You can
call or email Pat Keohane at the Senior Tutor’s Office to see if letters have arrived at the house.
If I request a letter from a teaching fellow, should I ask a professor to cosign it?
Yes. You can mention to your TF that your premedical advisor at the house instructed you to ask if it would be
possible for the professor of the course to cosign the letter. If the professor is not able to cosign the letter, then
the TF’s signature is sufficient.
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2. The House Letter
(Completing your Currier Premedical Packet)
At this point, you should have already attended the meeting for applying
juniors where the committee explained how you should fill out the Currier
Premedical Packet. When you complete and turn in your packet, you
will be assigned to a house premedical advisor who will be your primary
advisor throughout the application process. This person will also write your House
Letter.
Medical school admission committees generally look for a statement from a representative of a student’s
undergraduate institution. The statements are intended to reflect the institution’s confidence in the applicant. At
Harvard, your House Letter is the University’s endorsement of your application. At Currier House, one of the
Resident Tutors (in some cases a non-resident tutor) on the Premedical Committee will write your house letter.
It will then be reviewed and signed by Dr. Shahram Khoshbin, the Chairman of the Premedical Committee, and
Cole Crittenden, the Allston Burr Senior Tutor of Currier House. Your house letter is based on your premedical
packet, meetings with your tutor, information provided in your other letters, and our personal knowledge of you
throughout your years at Currier.
Does the house letter quote from other letters?
No. Although we will review your other letters, your house letter will not quote from these letters. Your house
letter is not a composite letter. Rather, our letter details your career at Harvard and enables us to provide
medical school admissions committees with a broad view of you as an entire person.
Do you rank applicants?
No. We neither rank nor tier any of our applicants. This is the policy of Currier’s premedical committee.
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3. Selecting Which Schools to Apply
The number of schools a particular student applies to depends in part on the academic performance of the
applicant. There are 126 medical schools in the United States and it may be difficult to decide which ones you
want to apply to. Stronger applicants may apply to less schools while a weaker applicant should cast a wide net
and apply to more schools. In general, most students should apply to 15-20 medical schools with a wide range
of competitiveness. Students with a weak academic record should apply to 25 schools or more. Many of these
schools should be less competitive to raise the chance of acceptance to a medical school. Here are several
factors to consider, but you should talk to your premedical tutor if you are unsure about to which schools you
should apply.
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Selection Factors of Individual Schools
Curriculum/Teaching Philosophy
Geographic Location
State Residency Requirements
Where Their Graduates Go for Residency
Selection Factors of Individual Schools
Applicants should apply to schools with a wide range of selectivity. Just as you applied to safety, target,
and reach schools when you applied for college, the same should apply for medical school applications.
Unfortunately, since medical schools have classes of 100 students rather than 1,000 students, it may be difficult
to judge how selective a particular school may be. This is further complicated by the fact that state schools
have a strong preference for applicants who are residents of that state. A California resident may be
competitive for a UC school while a non-resident with the same profile may not be competitive.
In general, apply to a wide range of schools. The Office of Career Services has a profile on each
medical school in the country and who from Harvard applied and who was admitted in terms of GPA, MCAT
score, and state residency requirements. This is a valuable resource, and we encourage you to stop by OCS or
the Senior Tutor’s Office to look at this information.
Curriculum/Teaching Philosophy
Trying to determine the academic philosophy of a particular medical school can be very difficult. Most
school brochures and websites seem to be similar and extol the best aspects of the curriculum. In general,
medical school curriculums are mostly lecture-based, mostly case-based, or somewhere in the middle. Most
schools attempt to have a combination of both. Most applicants do not know yet which style of teaching they
prefer. Regardless of the teaching style, all students leave their medical schools well-prepared for residency. If
you are curious about a particular school’s curriculum, your tutor can refer you to many different alumni at
various medical schools for more detailed information.
Geographic location
Some students have a preference for a specific geographic location and apply to more schools in that
region. For example, a student from California who wants to return will apply to all of the UC schools. Although
the selection of schools can be weighed towards a specific state and geographic region, applicants are
encouraged to carefully consider schools from all regions.
State Medical Schools
Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply to their state medical school. Applicants usually have their
best chance for acceptance at their state medical school, as well as being competitive for some attractive merit
scholarships. Make certain you meet the state residency requirement for the medical school. The requirement
differs by state.
Where do their graduates go?
A good barometer of a medical school’s performance is how well its graduates do in the residency
match process. Most schools make available their students’ residency match information to applicants at the
interview or via the web. This information is more pertinent to students who are deciding between several
medical schools to which they have been accepted.
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Joint Programs
Outside of the combined MD/PhD programs, many students express interest in joint programs leading to
an MD/JD, MD/MBA, MD/MPP, or MD/MPA. This is a highly individual decision that depends on your academic
interest, preparation, and professional goals. Below is an incomplete listing of programs that offer joint
programs. Please talk to your tutor if you are interested in joint programs, and whether they are suitable for you.
We strongly advise students interested in combined programs to apply to traditional MD programs, keeping in
mind that many people earn joint degrees without necessarily completing a combined program by taking time off
during medical school or completing an additional degree after medical school.
MD/JD
- Yale University School of Medicine
- University of Illinois – Urbana/Champaign
- University of Chicago – Pritzker
- Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
- Duke University School of Medicine
- University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
MD/MBA
- University of California - Davis
- University of California – Los Angeles
- University of Chicago - Pritzker
- University of Illinois – Urbana/Champaign
- Dartmouth Medical School
- Wake Forest University School of Medicine
- Case Western Reserve University
- Drexel University
- Jefferson Medical College
of Thomas Jefferson University
-University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
- Vanderbilt University
MD/MPA
- Columbia University
- Harvard University
Note: This is not a complete listing of schools.
More Information
Your conversations with your premedical tutor will be a valuable resource. Make sure to go over your
list of prospective schools with your tutor. Another resource is “Selecting Medical Schools,” a power point
presentation by Lee Ann Michelson and Paul McLoughlin at OCS. You can access this presentation at
http://www.ocs.fas.harvard.edu and click on Health and Medical Careers. Hard copies are also available on the
3rd floor of OCS. Other resources include websites of the individual schools, Medical School Admissions
Requirement (MSAR) guide available at OCS and at the Senior Tutor’s Office, and Harvard Alumni Evaluations
of individual schools located in the medical school binders at OCS.
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4. Completing the Medical School Admissions Application
AMCAS
The American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) is a non-profit, centralized web based application
service for member U.S. medical schools. The majority of medical schools participate in the AMCAS. Once
your application has been filled out online and processed by AMCAS, copies of your application are sent to your
designated schools. These schools will then contact you directly. Visit the Office of Career Services to receive
more information about the application.
☼ Refer to the “Harvard Guide to Completing the AMCAS-2003 Web Application” at
http://www.ocs.fas.harvard.edu/resources/health/medamcas.htm
APPLICATION TIMELINE
Complete Currier’s House Application (Personal Information Packet) – May
The first official step is for you to pick up and fill out Currier House’s Personal Information Packet, keeping in
mind to be thorough and neat. We will distribute the packet at our spring meeting for juniors. If you do not
receive a packet, stop by Pat Keohane’s office to pick one up. At this point, you should also meet with your
assigned premed tutor to discuss your application.
Complete the AMCAS application – June
The section which requires the largest time commitment is the personal statement. Be sure to spend a sufficient
amount of time writing and revising the personal statement. The earliest time the AMCAS application can be
submitted is usually in June. The specific date can vary from year to year so be sure to check with AMCAS or
with OCS. The earlier you submit your application, the better. Applications submitted earlier will have a higher
chance of being given an interview. Early applications are especially important for schools which have a rolling
admissions schedule. Try to complete the application by no later than the end of July. Once AMCAS receives
your application, they will verify the information and forward the application to the medical schools.
House letter submission/ School Envelopes – June-July
During the time you work on your application, your tutor will be working on your house letter. Make sure your
house packet, all recommendations, and stamped-addressed envelopes have been submitted to the house
office. The house letter is reviewed by Dr. Shahram Khoshbin and Senior Tutor Cole Crittenden and then
mailed to the medical schools along with your other recommendations. At this time, you should have finalized
your list of medical schools. Please drop off at Pat Keohane’s office manilla envelopes addressed to each of
your medical schools, and affixed with 3 x $0.37 stamps for each medical school to which you are applying.
These will be used to send your secondaries.
Complete the secondary applications – July-September
Once schools receive your AMCAS common application, they will mail you a secondary application which
requests school-specific information as well as more money. Some schools automatically send secondaries to
all applicants who apply. Other schools such as state schools will screen the AMCAS applications before
sending secondaries. If you submit your AMCAS application by June or July, you should receive your
secondaries between July and September. Complete and submit these secondaries as soon as possible. You
must inform Pat Keohane at the Senior Tutor’s Office whenever you submit a secondary. She will then send the
house packet which includes the house letter and your collection of recommendation letters to that particular
medical school. This process ensures that the medical schools already have a file for you when the house
packet arrives.
Wait for interviews – September-March
Once the medical schools receive your primary, secondary, the house packet, and any other requested
information, your application is complete and will be reviewed by a committee member. Based on the review,
the medical school will either offer you an interview or hold your application. There will be some schools which
will offer interviews late in the academic year. If you are concerned that you have not gotten an interview at a
school you are very interested in, contact your tutor. See below for more information on the interview. After the
interview, your application is complete. All you do at this point is to sit back, relax, enjoy your classes, and wait
for a reply. Keep in mind that some schools reply on a rolling basis while others have a common reply date.
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The Interview
" One of the essential qualities of the clinician is interest in humanity, for the secret in the care of the
patient is in caring for the patient." – Francis Weld Peabody
Perhaps Francis Weld Peabody put it best, that an essential requirement of a physician – to care, to empathize,
and to heal – is measured in intangibles beyond scientific prowess and academic aptitude as assessed by
science GPA or MCAT scores. If you keep this quote in mind, it will help you put the medical school interview in
perspective. The interview is a medical school’s opportunity to meet you and to find out what kind of person you
are. The following is a summary of our recommendations on how to allow your character and personality to
stand out and reassure the medical schools that you can be entrusted with the care of others.
HOW TO PREPARE?
RULES OF CONDUCT
 Be familiar with your AMCAS Application
 Practice interesting yet succinct descriptions of your
major activities/research (no more than 2-3 sentences)
 Be familiar with the school’s programs/strengths
 Apply Dr. Koshbin’s Rule to Successful Interviews:
repeat 5 times “I really like this person. I really like this
person . . .”
 Be EARLY for all appointments
 Treat everyone as if they are on the admissions
committee
 Relax and be yourself during the interview
 BE HONEST, never give a misleading answer
 Send thank you notes to your interviewers
ASAP
WHAT TO BRING?
 Conservative Suit
 Portfolio/Briefcase/Folder
 AMCAS Application
 Wristwatch
 Interviewing Information
Conservative Dress/Conduct
You are applying for entrance to a professional school and should try to dress accordingly. For men, a dark suit
(typically navy blue or black) with a conservative tie. For women, a dark skirt suit (navy blue or black) that falls
at or a little above your knee. Women should ere on shorter heels. It might be wise to invest in a good suit. You
will most likely use it again for conferences and residency interviews.
Along with conservative dress, you also want to project a professional and organized air. Even though you
might see medical students with ratty old backpacks, you should invest in a neat portfolio or briefcase. You
might consider changing that answering machine message that seemed so fitting freshman year to something
you wouldn’t mind an admissions officer hearing. Also, although physicians are not the grammar police, please
use good English (remember good is an adjective and well is an adverb).
How to Prepare?
Unbeknownst to you, you have been preparing for your medical school interviews all along. Your meetings with
the premed committee and discussions with individual tutors have prepared you for this point in your career.
The best preparation you can do is to know yourself and your application. Review your AMCAS application
thoroughly. If an item is on your AMCAS, secondary, or personal statement, it is fair game. Be prepared to talk
succinctly about your past significant activities (you don’t want to spend the entire time talking about your
summer research after freshman year), your character, and answer the age old question – why medicine? And
why at that particular school? Probably as part of your application and personal statement, you have already
begun marketing yourself – giving your activities and interest a particular slant. Remember to reinforce your
strengths and address your weaknesses (but do not create one). Also be careful about marketing yourself too
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aggressively because each interviewer has their own sensitivities (e.g. not everyone has attended Ivy League
schools throughout their training). Many students have asked if doing a review of current medical issues is
important (abortion, stem-cell research, euthanasia, etc.). Hopefully if you are interested in medicine, you have
already thought about these issues. We don’t suggest exhaustively preparing for current event topics in
medicine, but stop by OCS or look on the web for some current articles and feel free to read a few. Medical
schools are not looking for you to be an expert now, just that you are thoughtful. If you have specific questions,
you can also ask for suggestions from your tutor. As you are preparing for your interview ask yourself, what
message is my interviewer going to take to the committee? Did they like me?
What are some specific common mock questions?
Biosketch questions: Tell me about yourself? Who influenced you? Who are your heroes? What have you read?
What activity are you enjoying most?
Motivations: Why do you want to go to into medicine?
Strengths/Weaknesses: What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses (be careful with this one)?
Education: Explain this particular grade? (remember DO NOT WHINE, DO NOTE BLAME OTHERS) Tell me
about class X (show you like learning in itself because it shows that you will be a better doctor)?
Career goals: What are your professional goals? What are your personal goals?
Program specific: Why do you want to come here? How did you learn about our program (you can always
blame it on us who told you program X was wonderful)? What do you add to our program?
Who are your interviewers?
Your interview format will vary by school. Some will be committee interviews, but most will be either medical
school faculty/admissions officer or student interviews. The experienced faculty/officer interviewer usually will
ask more open-ended questions. Remember what we talked about earlier, marketing yourself and emphasizing
your strengths and explaining any obvious weaknesses. The questions are open ended, but you want to get
across certain limited facts/impressions about you during the interview. The second type of interviewer is the
inexperienced medical faculty interviewer. They are usually clinicians and researchers with busy work
schedules who are taking an hour out of their day to help out the committee. They are given guidelines typically
by the committees about what kind of questions to ask. They are usually chattier, and you can use this to your
advantage by getting them to talk about a common interest you have. The third type of interviewer are students
who typically ask the toughest questions. We would advise you to also ask those students about themselves to
get them to relax and show sincere interest in their answers. Be alert, be serious, be friendly with student
interviewers but do not let down your guard as if they were your classmates.
What are the admissions committees looking for?
In our experience, there are certain main themes in which admissions committees are interested. This makes a
lot of sense when you consider that you are applying to a pre-professional school.
1. Personality/ Maturity – These are the intangibles of poise, confidence, and presence.
2. Sincerity – Concern for others, politeness, promptness, appropriate response lengths to questions.
3. Career Goals – During our committee meetings, we encourage you to explore all your career options
and to express your doubts but with an admissions interview they want to see the polished product.
Express your career goals clearly. Hopefully they are reasonable and attainable.
4. Leadership Potential
Mock Interviews
We do not require students to have mock interviews. We believe that your conversations with your tutor
regarding your application is the best way to prepare for interviews. Since we have met with you several times
over the course of your sophomore and junior years, we hope that you will have had enough opportunity to
speak about yourself in an interview-type setting. That said, some students will admittedly be nervous
especially before the first interview. Speak to your individual tutor and draw up a list of some potential questions
or even perhaps do a mock interview. We want to tailor our advising to individual needs.
Post-Interview
After your interview, you might be at a loss about what to do. Remember to politely ask for your interviewer’s
contact information and jot down a couple of quick notes after the interview. When you return to Cambridge,
send your interviewer a thank you card. Especially if that particular school is high on your list, drop your tutor a
message about how the interview went and the contact information of the person with whom you interviewed.
LAST ADVICE: Don’t forget Dr. Khoshbin’s rule for interviewing. Repeat 5x “I really like this person.”
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5. Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Probably better known to you as a resume, your CV plays an important role in showcasing your educational
background, work experience, activities, and skills. Your CV will change over the years as your credentials
change, but for now it will probably not be much different from your classmates who are seeking employment.
General guidelines:
 Chronological or backwards chronological order, depending on whom you ask.
 Sections include
- Contact information (school and permanent), including email.
- Education (name, state, and city of each school; dates of attendance or date of
graduation; degree and concentration. You may want to describe areas of special
interest or training. For now, it’s still okay to list high school.)
- Work/research experience (describe your involvement & responsibilities).
- Extracurricular activities. List those that represent a significant involvement (e.g.
leadership role).
- Publications (if any).
- Personal interests (one line; can include special talents such as language fluency).
 One page (perhaps two for very good reasons). Focus your CV on activities relevant to a
career in medicine, but don’t omit activities that you’ve been deeply involved in.
 Keep the font size readable (no smaller than 11 point). Avoid fancy fonts or flourishes; they’re
distracting.
 You should have several people (friends, family, resident tutors, your advisor, ect.) look at your
CV style, substance, and typos.
 Sample CVs. Look at several sample CVs available in The Harvard Guide to Careers.
 Please refer to OCS’s helpful information on resumes at http://www.ocs.fas.harvard.edu, click
on “Toolkit” then “Resumes” on the left hand side bar.
6. Resources
At the Senior Tutors Office
AAMC Financial Planning and Management Manual for US Medical Students
AAMC Medical School Admissions Requirements 2001-2002
AAMC Minority Student Opportunities in the United States Medical Schools 1998
AAMC MCAT Practice Materials
Barron’s Guide to Medical and Dental Schools
The Blue Book: A Course Guide for Harvard Undergraduates Interested in Health Policy 2002-2003, 6th Edition.
The Harvard Guide to Careers
The Harvard College Guide to Careers in Public Service
Harvard OCS: Medical School Admissions Data for the Harvard Senior Class 2000 and Harvard/Radcliffe
Alumni/ae by Lee Ann Michelson, Director, Premedical Education
Harvard OCS: Medical School Admissions Data for the Harvard Senior Class 2001 and Harvard/Radcliffe
Harvard OCS: Premedical Information for Harvard Students
and Alumni/ae by Lee Ann Michelson, Director, Premedical Education
Kaplan MCAT Materials
Lesson Book 2000
Biological Sciences Review Notes
Verbal Reasoning/ Writing Review Notes
Physical Sciences Review Notes
Princeton Review The Best Medical Schools 2000
On the Web
Harvard OSC: Career Resources by Field – Health and Medical Careers
Valuable power point presentations on interviews, resumes, personal statements, schools etc.
http://www.ocs.fas.harvard.edu/resources/health/index.htm
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