Applying to two programs at Harvard

[StemCellBio]

On Harvard's graduate admissions website, they state that applicants are allowed to apply to multiple HILS programs, however they recommend a targeted approach, applying to only one program. Does anyone have knowledge of people who have successfully applied to two programs in the same admission cycle? I am interested in both the Public Health in Biology and BBS but don't want to reduce my chances in either program by applying to both. 

[Microburritology]

I'm interested in the answer to this question too. Also, anyone from the previous cycle been successful applying to multiple programs at any school?

[adiJ]

I'm also applying to exactly both those schools as well. I've talked to some professors at both schools and many grad students rotate between all the schools anyway and are exposed to a lot of resources, but I'm not exactly sure how to tackle that in my SOP

Edited October 14, 2015 by adiJ

[Bioenchilada]

I think I can answer this question due to my summer experience there. I'm pretty certain the applications are different to some degree, for example, I know for sure that the SOP varies per program. I know people that have applied to BBS and MCO at the same time ; however, I must point out that I'm VERY sure that the acceptance rate is higher for BBS than any other program. Like, applying to different schools really doesn't increase your chances much, if at all, because every department is looking for different things, and some even have VERY low acceptance rates (I think Neuro was one of these).

Some insider information.... once accepted to BBS, or Harvard in general, you can rotate in any lab, meaning that you could work  for someone in MCO when accepted to BBS or vice-versa. In fact, it would be ideal to get admitted to the umbrella program given that it'll likely cause less problems if you transfer departments. 

(This answer is mainly applicable to Ph.D biology applicants, don't know how it works for Public Health).