MEMP @ Harvard-MIT HST

[jonah1]

Hi there,

I'd like to know a few things about the MEMP PhD program at MIT(HST).

How competitive is the program ? How many applications do they get each year and how many of them gets accepted ? Is it easier to get accepted via Harvard than via MIT? Is it a top rated program like the Hopkins BME ? I've heard it takes pretty long to complete it (5-7 yrs) is that true ? Do they waive some or all MIT TQE courses if we already have a masters degree in the concentration area ? Will MIT, Harvard, HMS combined offer a broader selection of research topics than any other traditional BME PhD program ?

Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated...

Edited October 30, 2012 by jonah1

[intirb]

How competitive is the program ? How many applications do they get each year and how many of them gets accepted ?

Very competitive. I think the (very, very rough!) numbers are roughly 400-500 applicants for 20 spots.

Is it easier to get accepted via Harvard than via MIT?

Apply through the school/program that makes the most sense for your research goals. Neither way is easier.

Is it a top rated program like the Hopkins BME ?

Not sure.. I can never tell if US News counts the MIT Biological Engineering or the HST MEMP program when they're ranking programs. Maybe someone else knows the answer.. Anyway, the program is highly regarded.

I've heard it takes pretty long to complete it (5-7 yrs) is that true ?

I believe the average time is 6 years. The course load is much higher than most PhD programs, so that accounts for the longer graduation times. I think the coursework is definitely something to consider when applying to the program. Does the idea of taking medical school courses at Harvard Medical School and engineering courses at MIT get you excited? Would you like to get experience working in the hospital through clinical rotations, even if it takes time away from your research? Or do all of these things feel like chores? Those are good questions to ask when evaluating fit.

Do they waive some or all MIT TQE courses if we already have a masters degree in the concentration area ?

No.

Will MIT, Harvard, HMS combined offer a broader selection of research topics than any other traditional BME PhD program ?

Absolutely. One of the greatest things about this program is the chance to work with pretty much any research lab at the Harvard-affiliated hospitals, Harvard University, or MIT. The possibilities are endless.

Glad to answer any more questions. Good luck!

[jonah1]

@intirb Thanks a lot for the reply. 20/400-500.. that's like 4-5% acceptance rate. I know you are a student there (dug up a bit), congrats on that ! Are all the accepted students like super smart...? How many of them have an external fellowship (just to know their caliber, I know you have one.. congrats on that too!). Do all of them come from a super steller background? (undergrad from top universities, amazing research experience etc) I would be grateful if you could answer some more of my questions.

1) When do they make the shortlist from among the applicants and make the interview call ? Do they interview everyone in the shortlist ?

2) How is the interview like ? Is it a friendly conversation or is it a serious affair with subject questions etc. ? How many people do the interview and how many do they interview ?

3) Do all the accepted students handle the preclinical courses (HMS) well ? How many MIT courses could be realistically taken along with preclinical courses (like pathology and anatomy which are kind of heavy) in a semester while also making time for lab work ? ( I know its subjective but still.. )

4) Do we have to find a lab in the first semester itself or are there people who keep rotating in different labs till they find the perfect fit ?

5) How are the alumni of this program doing ? I'm asking coz I've heard polarizing opinions from people. One said MEMP graduates get into tenure track positions without doing a post doctorate while another said they find it hard to get jobs in the industry. I must confess they dont have first hand knowledge about the program and most of what they know is hearsay..

I know I have a few more questions.. dont remember all of them right now..

You are doing a great service.. Thanks again..!!

Edited November 2, 2012 by jonah1

[intirb]

Are all the accepted students like super smart...? How many of them have an external fellowship (just to know their caliber, I know you have one.. congrats on that too!). Do all of them come from a super steller background? (undergrad from top universities, amazing research experience etc)

My classmates are very smart. They blow me away. They definitely keep me on my toes and make me glad I have the opportunity to learn from them! Some students come in with fellowships, many more are awarded once first-year students apply. I'm sure everyone has research experience, but I think people overestimate the amount that the name of your university matters. The program is looking for people who have done and will do good work. Period.

1) When do they make the shortlist from among the applicants and make the interview call ? Do they interview everyone in the shortlist ?

I'm not in any way involved in the actual admissions process, so everything I know is from my experience as an applicant. The gradcafe results search should have pretty good information about timing of interview notifications.

2) How is the interview like ? Is it a friendly conversation or is it a serious affair with subject questions etc. ? How many people do the interview and how many do they interview ?

The interview is serious - unlike at other universities, this is not a recruiting event. You go through multiple panel interviews by mixed groups of professors, students, and alumni. You will be asked technical questions, especially about your research. I seem to remember that they interviewed roughly 2-3x the number of final accepted students, but the number might actually be a bit higher than that because I'm not sure how many international students they interviewed by phone/skype.

3) Do all the accepted students handle the preclinical courses (HMS) well ? How many MIT courses could be realistically taken along with preclinical courses (like pathology and anatomy which are kind of heavy) in a semester while also making time for lab work ? ( I know its subjective but still.. )

One of the main things HST will try to figure out is how well you'd be likely to succeed with the coursework. They won't admit people they think can't handle it. That said, we all have our strengths and weaknesses, and so as a group we've tried to come together and help each other out. It should also be noted that preclinical courses are pass/fail. As an aside, it's great that you've looked into this program well enough to know so many details!

Right now I'm taking 2 medical school courses and 1 MIT course. I could probably add another MIT course on top of that if I didn't want to spend any time researching (but I do).

4) Do we have to find a lab in the first semester itself or are there people who keep rotating in different labs till they find the perfect fit ?

You get financial support for the first two semesters, which means you can use the time to rotate through labs and pick or you can use the time to get a headstart in one lab (or in coursework) if you already know where you want to be. Most students rotate.

5) How are the alumni of this program doing ? I'm asking coz I've heard polarizing opinions from people. One said MEMP graduates get into tenure track positions without doing a post doctorate while another said they find it hard to get jobs in the industry. I must confess they dont have first hand knowledge about the program and most of what they know is hearsay..

That's a really good question, but I'm not sure I have enough information to give you a good enough answer. My gut instinct is that results are extremely lab-dependent. I've heard of many HST alumni who have done extremely well, and I haven't heard of anyone having trouble getting a job in industry. This could all be biased hearsay as well. If you get an interview, definitely ask them! And ask for numbers!

Just keep adding questions when you have them. I do try to check back here as often as I can. Last year the applications process was psychologically and emotionally brutal - so I hope I can ease some of the stress!

[jonah1]

@intirb Thanks a lot for answering my questions... I hope this thread would become a source of information for people interested in this not very widely known but totally awesome program..

1) How many of your batch mates were admitted via Harvard ? Do they admit equally like 10 from MIT and 10 from harvard or is it totally random based on the applicants?

2) Can we apply to another department in MIT (say EECS) along with MEMP. Is that viewed negatively? Has anyone been admitted to two depts in MIT at the same time or does an acceptance in one automatically get you rejected from the other ?

3) Do they specifically look for applicants who's done medically related work (research/course work etc) ? What if the research experience they have is not directly related to any field in medicine but do have some applications ?

4) Recently MIT started the Institute of Medical engineering out of HST. How does that affect students? is it just a change in the administrative side of things ?

5) I've heard a lot of MEMP students end up being doctors.. Is that true ?

[intirb]

1) How many of your batch mates were admitted via Harvard ? Do they admit equally like 10 from MIT and 10 from harvard or is it totally random based on the applicants?

Most people apply through MIT, and most of the applicants are admitted through MIT. I don't know how they pick students in the end, but I don't think there's any kind of quota. I think my year there were two students admitted via Harvard.

2) Can we apply to another department in MIT (say EECS) along with MEMP. Is that viewed negatively? Has anyone been admitted to two depts in MIT at the same time or does an acceptance in one automatically get you rejected from the other ?

Yes, you can apply separately to other departments in MIT. In fact, if you have a particular professor at MIT you'd like to work with, it would make sense to apply to more than one department in order to maximize your chances of actually getting to work with him/her. HST won't know that you've applied to another department, and if they did somehow find out, they most likely wouldn't consider it. Admissions decisions from different departments at MIT are made completely separately, so you could get accepted to two MIT departments.

3) Do they specifically look for applicants who's done medically related work (research/course work etc) ? What if the research experience they have is not directly related to any field in medicine but do have some applications ?

Not sure.

4) Recently MIT started the Institute of Medical engineering out of HST. How does that affect students? is it just a change in the administrative side of things ?

This would be a good question to ask older students, if you get an interview. Since this is my first year, I can't really compare how things used to be to how they are now. As far as I can tell, the move to IMES has mostly been an administrative change that hasn't really been seen too much on the students' end of things. Most people seem optimistic about the change.

5) I've heard a lot of MEMP students end up being doctors.. Is that true ?

Depends on what you mean by "a lot". Some students end up going to medical school - probably not more than 1-2 per class.

Edited November 4, 2012 by intirb

[jonah1]

Thanks a lot intirb... I have a couple of questions for you

how diverse is your present class in terms of their undergrad major.. Are most of them BME ? Also are most them from tippy top schools ? I know you said it doesn't matter but still your answer could help me evaluate my chances ?

If someone with no bio or chem background applies ( like me ) will it be hard for them to cope with HMS courses ( that is if they admit me with that deficiency ). Do you have students like that in your batch ?

[jonah1]

@intirb Do you remember how you filled your HST (and MIT) online applications ? I'm not sure if it is same as the one last year . There is a section "Test Scores/Experience" where there are a few boxes where we are supposed to enter Research experiences etc. Did you write your research experiences in detail in that box or just an outline of it ( like how we enter it in a CV/resume )? Is there a limit for the SOP ( like a word or a character count ) coz my first draft is already more than a 1000 words..

[zreinhar]

I am very interested in this program, but due to the nature of the class sizes I haven't found much info.

I went to a very small state undergrad and majored in EE and Math. I did research in undergrad for about 3 years at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (EE-related research, not BME) and now go to GT for an MS in Bioengineering.

I am thinking about applying to the MEMP program as I love the idea of taking med school courses and the clinical rotations involving working with actual patients. My GRE was 800Q 540V and UGPA of 3.7.

intirb: Do you know of any students there who entered the program with a Master's and if that had any bearing on 1) helping them in in the case of a good school and 2) changed the number of classes or length of the program for them?

Any help would be great!

[intirb]

how diverse is your present class in terms of their undergrad major.. Are most of them BME ? Also are most them from tippy top schools ? I know you said it doesn't matter but still your answer could help me evaluate my chances ?

If someone with no bio or chem background applies ( like me ) will it be hard for them to cope with HMS courses ( that is if they admit me with that deficiency ). Do you have students like that in your batch ?

A lot of us were BME, but I can definitely think of more than a few people that weren't. You don't have ANY biology or chemistry background? I think you would have a very hard time with the HMS courses. I'm not completely sure, but I think all of us had at least some coursework in the area.

@intirb Do you remember how you filled your HST (and MIT) online applications ? ... Is there a limit for the SOP ( like a word or a character count ) coz my first draft is already more than a 1000 words..

I don't remember the form at all, sorry. Double and triple-check all instructions, and if it still is ambiguous, just fill it out how it makes sense to you and don't sweat it. For the SOP, mine was about 1200 words. I doubt there's a strict cut-off, but I think standard SOP guidelines apply.. You should be able to say what you need to say in 2 normal (size 12, standard margins, single-spaced) pages.

intirb: Do you know of any students there who entered the program with a Master's and if that had any bearing on 1) helping them in in the case of a good school and 2) changed the number of classes or length of the program for them?

A few of us have Master's degrees, myself included. As I already said, it won't cut down on the number of courses you have to take. It might in theory lower the total length of the program, because if you've done more research already it might take you less time to be productive in the lab, but I don't have any actual data to back up that speculation.

I'm not sure what you're asking with 1). Are you asking if it helped us to get accepted? I imagine that would depend a lot on where we were straight out of undergrad. If you have two students that have done roughly the same amount of work, but one student did all of it during undergrad and the second did the work in undergrad + MS, then I'm guessing the first student looks more impressive. On the other hand, if you feel like you're not ready for a PhD straight out of undergrad, so you work REALLY hard during your MS and pull ahead of your MS peers (not just ahead of senior undergraduates, whom you should generally be ahead of if you've done an MS), then getting the MS probably would help you. This is all silly speculation though. I have no idea how HST actually weighs an MS in their decisions.

Edited November 7, 2012 by intirb

[jonah1]

You don't have ANY biology or chemistry background

I've just done biology 1/2 and chem 1/2 but not organic chem/biochemistry and no advanced bio courses. Do you think that's enough ?

Did you have any publications before you applied?

[intirb]

I've just done biology 1/2 and chem 1/2 but not organic chem/biochemistry and no advanced bio courses. Do you think that's enough ?

I'm not sure, since I've just started. During my interviews, the admissions committee seemed concerned about my biology/chemistry background, since it had been a long time since I had taken those classes (and I did take them). I haven't had to do any organic chemistry (yet, but I haven't taken all my clinical courses yet, either), but cellular biology seems like it would be extremely important.

Did you have any publications before you applied?

Not really. I had a few non-first-author papers in review, and I had presented at a fairly large conference. I was really worried about it during the application process, but I think that students with first-author publications are very rare.

[jonah1]

I haven't had to do any organic chemistry

Did you mean you haven't done it in college (undergrad) ?

How about life at HST ? Is it all about studies or do you get time to socialize ?

[Karposh]

Hi intirb,

Thank you for all the clear and detailed answers, I hope you are having a great time with MEMP. I was wondering, from your impression, how much weight is put on GPA and GRE scores in the admissions process? My GPA is mediocre but I have several co-first author pubs in review from a great lab, and I'm hoping to get pretty good letters from the PIs I work with.

[intirb]

No, I mean I did take organic chemistry in undergrad, but I haven't had to use any of it for my classes here yet. But who knows how things will go when the courses get more advanced.

People work hard here, but my cohort does try to get together fairly regularly, if only for lunch or dinner. I think this depends a lot on your classmates, though. One of the downsides of HST is that research interests and technical courses are very diverse, so you don't necessarily develop as strong of a cohort feeling as in some other programs.

[jonah1]

Thanks a lot intirb for answering all my questions. I did not expect to get so much info from this thread when I started it... Will get back to you when I have more questions.. ! Thanks again..!!

[JoyL13]

Hi! I am invited to interview for the MEMP program.

Any tips on how to get ready for the interviews? Are they only about the research you have done and your objectives?

I have to pick faculty members that I would love to meet preferentially. Apart from their research field, I was wondering if some professors have better reputations than others (for example a good atmosphere in their lab, good teaching skills)?

Thank you for your help!

[just.jo.]

Hi! I am going to come to MIT for interviews in two weekends and I was wondering if you had any tips on how to get ready.. I read in previous posts that interviews will be very specific, especially regarding previous experience. But, beside being prepared for questions regarding your own research and reading papers of the professors you are going to talk to, what other things can someone do to feel more ready?

 

Thank you!

[Shahbaz Ahmed]

Tags: @intirb @just.jo. @JoyL13 and others who have been part of the admission application to the MEMP.

Hi everyone

I hope you are having great time. I am very much interested in the MEMP program and need some information so that I may prepare myself in a best way.

Profile:

Undergrad (BS Physics) - The Islamia University of Bahawalpur - CGPA 3.93 with first position in class

Masters (MS Medical Physics) - Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS), Islamabad - CGPA 3.66 with first position in class and excellent grade in thesis research.

1 first-authored journal publication, 1 journal publication (3rd author, under review), 4 conference publication and few poster presentations.

Few online courses through EdX, Coursera etc.

2 years of experience of working as lecturer / Jr scientist at PIEAS

Queries:

1. What is the minimum in GRE scores of admitted candidates? I have consulted MEMP webpage where it is stated that most of candidates have scores above 90th percentile in quantitative and analytical writing, and above 75th in verbal part. I have 85 percentile in quantitative, and 51th on verbal while analytical score is 3.0/6.0 (terrible!). Though I am planning to re-appear in GRE; however, it will be good idea to have more information about admission stats in this context.

2. Is there anyone from Pakistan admitted to MEMP program?

3. Any suggestions based on my profile (with an interest towards neuro-imaging training program within MEMP)

Looking forward!