College Review: The University of Harvard

Crimson colour has been representing the University of Harvard for centuries. The University of Harvard, or simply Harvard in short, was established in 17th century - precisely, in 1639. Since then it has been one of the leading educational institutions in the world as well as in USA. Many people who are not from English speaking areas get confused about Harvard's location. The University is situated in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. The confusion is most probably a result of mistaking the city of Cambridge, which is in USA, for the University of Cambridge, which is in United Kingdom, in the city of Cambridge as well. To sum up, there are two cities called Cambridge - one in USA, where Harvard is located, and another one in England, where the University of Cambridge was established.

Harvard's motto is VERITAS - "truth"

Harvard was named after the college's first benefactor John Harvard. His library and partly his estate were given to the University after his death. Harvard's library is considered to be the biggest academic library in the world. In the beginning, the institution had enrolled less than 10 students while today the number goes above 20000 hardworking students per year, who are on their way to achieve desired degrees (the number consists of college students and graduate and professional students as well). There are also more than 2000 faculty staff members and over 10000 academic appointments in affiliated teaching hospitals. Harvard is present on every bigger social media and has its own official newspaper anyone can subscribe for. Therefore, the information about the University is available to every curious potential student.

The University of Harvard consists of several colleges as well as graduate and professional schools. The varieties are almost endless - from law and arts to medicine and engineering; everyone can find something that will suit his or her interests. There is Harvard Business School, Harvard Divinity School, Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Law School (which you probably remember from the film Legally Blond, starring Reese Witherspoon), Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Harvard School of Engineering and  Applied Sciences, Harvard School of Public Health and American Repertory Theatre.

Harvard Medical School

On the official site of Harvard University anyone can browse and search for courses they are interested in. Searching can be done on the university level or it can be narrowed to a particular institution of the university (college, school). There are a lot of interesting linguistic, medical, law and such courses. The teaching staff is supposed to be available not only during lectures but even after office hours if they are needed. Important part of their job is not just teaching but doing researches as well, which results into having highly educated and experienced staff. Harvard also offers free online courses among which some of them were made as a result of the collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - both universities are leading in the area they are located.

High marks on SAT exam are a 'must' 

The University does not make differences between national and international applicants. All of them go through the same process of application and admission. However, a strong knowledge of English is highly required. Every prospective student can ask and be granted a financial tailor-made aid according to his or her financial abilities. It seems that up to 70% of students receive some kind of financial aid which results in 100% debt-free graduations in the end. Various Internet sources agree that one year of studying at Harvard could cost from 10000$ to 15000$. Compared to other universities, it does not seem too much, especially if one gets financial aid as well. Students in USA often take part-time jobs during their studies, so that seems to help as well. Harvard welcomes every student that has mastered English language and has excellent grades. If you are one of them - this is a chance that should not be missed.

Source: The Official Site of the University of Harvard and some other unofficial sites.

College Review: Harvard Medical School

The University of Harvard is in top five ranking universities of the world. To check what makes it so special, popular and high-ranked, check the review on this link. Havard Medical School is an important part of the mentioned University. This educational institution by itself stands at an impressive position among world's medical schools – right at the top, at the very first place, leaving behind Oxford, Cambridge, Stanford and UCLA. This medical school, established in late 18th century, actively participates not only in educating young people but in improvement of medicine as well. Most of the accomplishments and contribution are also mentioned in the institution's magazine called Harvard Medicine, which articles are available on-line at its official sites. The School also has its own newsletter so anyone can keep up with the newest information regarding HMS.

Harvard Medical School's mission is to fight against diseases and it welcomes with open arms every individual with the same motivation. The institution proudly emphasizes the fact that 15 researchers have so far won Nobel prizes while working over there. Such a high standard of education given to the students would not be as possible without the generous patrons who have given approximately 86 million dollars for funding researches and promising students in 2013.

Harvard Medical School logo

The application starts with applying to AMCAS – The American Medical College Application Service. After that an application to Harvard Medical School is required; everyone who has chosen HSM while applying to AMCAS will be given a link for this further application. Application filling fee is $100. After a couple of months, selected potential students are called for an interview. If a student is selected, the information will be given in a few months as well. The process usually starts in October and ends in March. First application should be done latest by mid October. All applicants must submit their MCAT scores (The Medical College Admission Test) with their AMCAS applications. Scores should not be older more than 3 years though – as it is emphasized on official sites of Harvard Medical School.

A terminal degree given to those who graduate from such medical institutions is Doctor of Medicine, M.D. in short. In European Union and some other countries, this degree is often an equivalent to a Ph.D. Master of Medical Sciences Programs at HMS are Biomedical Informatics, Global Health Delivery, Immunology, Master’s Program in Clinical and Translational Investigation and Medical Education. PhD Programs are Biophysics, Chemical Biology and Systems Biology. PhD program can also be studied in interdisciplinary form. In that case, one can also study Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics, Immunology, Neuroscience, Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology and Virology. As Harvard Medical School offers MD and PhD programs, applicants should be aware of what these abbreviations stand for in other countries as well so that there would not be any confusion while applying.

HMS is connected with many hospitals in order to offer first-hand experience to the students

Harvard Medical School will be offering a new kind of MD program from 2015. This program is five years long while the regular one is supposed to be finished in four years. What makes it different is basically that students are allowed to take a year off from their studies if they want to get another degree, spend some time on scholarly project or formal coursework. If students are already pursuing another degree, this option is not available. Moreover, any misusage of this option will be charged full tuitions. The program is available to prospective and promising students who wish to engage themselves in more medical research and gain knowledge outside the classrooms.

If you are more interested in interdisciplinary approach to medicine, it might be a better option to check out Harvard School of Public Health which is dedicated to educating people about preventing diseases and living long and healthy lives.

Harvard School of Public Health logo

Sources: HMS

College Review: Stanford University

Stanford University is one of the most frequently searched universities on the Internet. It is located in California's Silicon Valley, right between San Francisco and San Jose. This is a private university mostly oriented on research works which was opened in 1891. According to Forbes, it is ranked extremely high - being placed on the first or second position from the top of the lists in general. The University offers undergraduate and graduate programmes. There is a campus along with it as well, where 96% of enrolled undergraduate students currently live. The full name of this one of the most prestigious universities is Leland Stanford Junior University.

Stanford University Logo

Back in the second half of 19th century, a former Governor or California, Leland Stanford, had bought a land for private purposes. Stanford and his wife Jane had only one child, Leland Stanford Jr., who died at the age of 15. A year later, the former Governor and his spouse had decided to found an educational institution in the memory of their only son. After collecting advices on how to run and open such institution from Harvard, MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Cornell and Johns Hopkins, Stanford began to manifest his vision. After six full years, the University officially began to work. However, not everything was so idyllic. Both of the Stanfords died in the following years and the University also had to deal with earthquakes and financial problems. The other half of the 20th century marked great success and growth.

Stanford University Campus

If you are reading this article, it means you are familiar with the term "Internet". What you are probably not familiar with is the fact that Vinton Cerf, "the father of the Internet", was a professor at Stanford University and he is the one who developed the technical principles for Internet communication. Simultaneously, the Silicon Valley was developing. Companies such as Google and Yahoo were founded in this period and both of their roots started at Stanford University. On the other hand, ethnic studies such as African and African American Studies were also introduced, along with Feminist Studies. 

Stanford University consists of more than 7000 undergraduate students, 9000 graduate students and more than 2000 faculty members. Women were allowed to the University from its beginning. There were female professors as well as students. The restricted number of female students was later abolished. Today the University has more than 70 departments and more than 40 interdisciplinary programmes. International students are welcomed; currently there are around 30% of them roughly. Online (free!) courses on various topics are available as well. During the past, 59 people associated with the University got a Nobel prize.

Multiculturalism - a synonym for Stanford

International students must hold a valid visa and they are registered as full-time students. An Undergraduate programme costs around 14000$ per year (average). About the same applies for graduate programmes. If a student is enrolled in more graduate programmes, they have several options for paying less - depending on the level and category. Application fees must be paid along with some other special fees (such as New Student Orientation Fee, International Scholar Service Fee etc.). The full-time tuition is, therefore, quite high but more than half of international students receive some kind of financial aid which sometimes covers almost 90% of expenses. Most of the students live on the campus. One of the reasons for this is that first-year students are required to be there, however, later they can move out.

Diversity is a fact at Stanford. A lot of attention is paid to well-being of their students. It is one of the rare campuses that offer vegetarian, vegan, peanut-free, gluten-free, halal and kosher along with international cuisine based meals. Financial aids make sure that every perspective student can afford to study over there by giving grants and not loans. Students are treated as individuals, even during the application process. It a university that ensures you can get and stay there if you are ready to work hard enough.

Source: Official site of Stanford University