2011-2012 Penn State Application Thread

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Secondary Received

I got it too. Each secondary prompt has a 50 word limit. Short, but quite hard to get a point across. For example, why did you choose Penn State. Penn State School of Medicine itself is 5 words.....

Originally Posted by underdog427

Secondary Received

i recieved mine as well, does anyone know if they screen primaries

Explain the negative aspects of medicine that you considered in making this career decision. (Maximum 50 words)

Is there a unique aspect of your application that should be considered by the admissions committee? (Maximum 50 words)

Explain why you decided to apply to Penn State College of Medicine. (Maximum 50 words)

Pretty sure they don't screen. I don't have my AMCAS verified and I got a secondary. Very easy one.

Secondary recieved

Do you think bullet points are acceptable? 50 words is awfully short for those questions...

i just received the secondary. OOS applicant 35/3.75. took the advice of the the other SDN users and prepared answers from last year's secondary...def paid off.

Just got the secondary, OOS.

Originally Posted by Comeon

I got it too. Each secondary prompt has a 50 word limit. Short, but quite hard to get a point across. For example, why did you choose Penn State. Penn State School of Medicine itself is 5 words.....

hahaha... that's exactly what I was just thinking.

For the second question, what are you guys putting? Is this to explain negative aspects of our application (like lower grades, etc.) or to emphasize an activity or qualification?

Secondary received here as well. Personally, I like the 50 word limit. Sounds crazy, but I like the change of pace.

how much is it again?

Finally. Yeah I kind of like the 50 word limit.

Originally Posted by Comeon

I got it too. Each secondary prompt has a 50 word limit. Short, but quite hard to get a point across. For example, why did you choose Penn State. Penn State School of Medicine itself is 5 words.....

Yo, no sweat.

"Because Penn State College of Medicine is the best thing since sliced bread."

Short and sweet, 13 words! Automatic interview.

Just got the email this morning. Essays are limited to 50 words; that's so friggin' short!

Originally Posted by jkm07

Yo, no sweat.

"Because Penn State College of Medicine is the best thing since sliced bread."

Short and sweet, 13 words! Automatic interview.

GAH I wish I was this clever.

Originally Posted by Slack3r

Do you think bullet points are acceptable? 50 words is awfully short for those questions...

i used bullet points.

Is there a unique aspect of your application that should be considered by the admissions committee?

Anyone have any idea what to write for this question?? Should I just elaborate on some things already in my AMCAS app??

I'm also wondering about what people's thoughts are about the 'unique part of application' question as well?

Originally Posted by sans0002

I'm also wondering about what people's thoughts are about the 'unique part of application' question as well?

I am considering just explaining that I don't think I need to add anything else. The wording makes it sound as if its optional.

Originally Posted by TheGloaming

I am considering just explaining that I don't think I need to add anything else. The wording makes it sound as if its optional.

You should not say this. Unless the question explicitly says that it's optional, assume that they want you to provide a meaningful answer. You only have 3 questions (and they're only 50 words each) you don't want to risk blowing one of them off. The question is purposely vague so that you can answer it in a number of different ways. Even if it's something that is already in your AMCAS app, it's better than nothing.

I submitted an AMCAS in 2011 that included Penn State and other schools, but withdrew before being considered by any admissions committee. Should I put that I applied? I think it varies from school to school, but I don't really see any reason why I should state that I actually DID apply. Any opinions? Thanks!

Originally Posted by thestrokes14

I submitted an AMCAS in 2011 that included Penn State and other schools, but withdrew before being considered by any admissions committee. Should I put that I applied? I think it varies from school to school, but I don't really see any reason why I should state that I actually DID apply. Any opinions? Thanks!

I mean I guess it's up to you, but technically you did apply.

Originally Posted by Tapepsi

You do not need to fill out a secondary or even contact PSU.

Regardless of the school, not sending in a secondary means that your app won't be considered any further.

Sorry, I am talking about last application cycle. I AM applying this cycle. One of the questions on the secondary asks whether you have applied to Penn State and to other medical schools. Sorry for the confusion. Any advice?

Sorry double post

Hi all, I just wanted to get your thoughts on the letter situation for this school. I did a graduate program last year and now am juggling 2 part time jobs and a research project, among other things. The LOR requirement asks for a letter from those who are in a second year of graduate study or are working full time. I don't fit either category, so I called admissions for help and explained how I'm juggling things and if it would be alright to just use a letter from a volunteer research supervisor with whom I did ~8hrs of work per week. The guy sounded really confused for a minute (and you all may too) and then said it didn't matter. Thoughts? Am I worrying about it too much?

Thanks

Originally Posted by dblue10

Hi all, I just wanted to get your thoughts on the letter situation for this school. I did a graduate program last year and now am juggling 2 part time jobs and a research project, among other things. The LOR requirement asks for a letter from those who are in a second year of graduate study or are working full time. I don't fit either category, so I called admissions for help and explained how I'm juggling things and if it would be alright to just use a letter from a volunteer research supervisor with whom I did ~8hrs of work per week. The guy sounded really confused for a minute (and you all may too) and then said it didn't matter. Thoughts? Am I worrying about it too much?

Thanks

Do you mean PhD or Master's? Either way, I would say if you get a LOR from program director and/or PI that you worked under for that degree, you should be OK. Someone else can provide a better answer though.

Submitted and sent LORs! Good luck to everyone!

Originally Posted by n3xa

The character limits are some of the shortest I've seen.

Is anyone going over this limit? I honestly can't even get 3 good sentences in. I might just leave it at 75 words since they don't count the characters/limit you from entering more. I wonder if I'll get dinged for not listening to instructions....

Originally Posted by Tapepsi

Hopefully a medical student here can give you some better insight than me but these were some things that I liked and disliked about it.
Pros:
An integrated curriculum. I’m not a big fan of learning one subject at a time. I’d rather have an integrated approach where I can connect the dots between multiple subjects.
The humanities are included into the curriculum to help keep things in perspective for you.
All lectures are video recorded so if you miss a class you can watch it online.
The Medical Student Research Program: All students are required to complete a research project. If you browse the website you will see that students in the past have done research on a wide variety of topics.
Seemingly out in the middle of nowhere, the campus is secluded (which can be good or bad depending on how you look at it).

The Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is awesome. Everything is interconnected. This is where you will have both preclinical classes and clinical rotations.
The facilities are really nice. I especially liked the simulation lab, and during my tour I got to see the dummy they use to practice child birth delivery and a dummy that goes into cardiac arrest
Campus housing is offered which is within walking distance to the medical center (and off campus housing isn’t very far away).
An awesome fitness center located right next to the medical center.
If you are interested in pediatrics, the Children’s Hospital!!!! It is a level I pediatric trauma center and I forget the numbers but I think over a million children are in that referral area so you will get to see a lot. I really want to get into a residency program there.
There are so many student organizations it’s impossible to not be able to find one that interests you.
For being an unranked school by the US News (they don’t participate), they have a great match list. Check out the match for 2011.
Every student is assigned a faculty advisor that will help you along the way.
If you’re a PA resident, this school has the lowest in-state tuition in our state (which unfortunately isn't saying much as it's still pretty expensive).

Cons:
If you want to be at a school located in the city, this is not the place for you. Harrisburg is I think 30-40 minutes away, but there isn’t much to do in Hershey other than drinking.
The grading scale is H/HP/P/LP/F (essentially A/B/C/D/F). It really doesn’t bother me that much, but I know a lot of people are looking for schools with P/F.
Hershey Park is overpriced so don’t plan on going there often (like I was going to do ).

Hope this sort of helps.

Also get your app out there as soon as you can (especially if you're OOS). They receive ~7,000 applications and give out about 900 interviews. Their class size is 140ish with half the class being OOS.

Tapepsi, thanks for this!

How much is the application fee?

Originally Posted by Silverfalcon

Do you mean PhD or Master's? Either way, I would say if you get a LOR from program director and/or PI that you worked under for that degree, you should be OK. Someone else can provide a better answer though.

Thanks. I think I could have been more clear though...

So, I did an SMP and they want a letter for that but they also want a letter for further graduate work or full time employment, after the SMP. For me, that was this past year of doing a variety of things, which means I don't fall into either of those categories (further graduate work or full time employment). I'll probably submit a letter from my current volunteer research mentor, instead of someone like my actual employment mentor because I never see her.

I'm beginning to realize I'm overthinking this.

For the second question on the supplemental app, it asks if there's a unique aspect to be considered, what kind of information are oyu guys putting? Do we discuss low GPA semesters, other activities not on our app, or go into more detail on another experience? I just don't really know what to put and with three questions I want to make sure that I answer all of them if it will help my app. Thanks guys!

Originally Posted by broiveen

For the second question on the supplemental app, it asks if there's a unique aspect to be considered, what kind of information are oyu guys putting? Do we discuss low GPA semesters, other activities not on our app, or go into more detail on another experience? I just don't really know what to put and with three questions I want to make sure that I answer all of them if it will help my app. Thanks guys!

i just pointed out something already in my app and how it makes me unique. write something u think separates you from the herd, probably some EC. mines was an artistic endeavour

Originally Posted by broiveen

For the second question on the supplemental app, it asks if there's a unique aspect to be considered, what kind of information are oyu guys putting? Do we discuss low GPA semesters, other activities not on our app, or go into more detail on another experience? I just don't really know what to put and with three questions I want to make sure that I answer all of them if it will help my app. Thanks guys!

considering u only get 50 words i doubt ull go into deeper detail but if theres something unique in ur app (like for me i have military experience) u simply point it out again so it pops up even though it might be found multiple times

secondary yesterday!

Is it possible to view your application once you submit it? I accidentally didn't save the preview, and I can't seem to actually view my application. Luckily I saved my responses to a word document, but still...any way to do this?

I haven't gotten a secondary yet and I was verified 6/6...

With regards to the secondary application and letters of recommendation, the site says that if I am getting a Committee Letter, that I will not need an additional letter unless I have received a degree elsewhere as well. I went to a school where I got an A.A. out of HS. Do I also need a letter from that school? If so, will one from a faculty member as a part of my current committee letter packet suffice or will I need to go through their (non-existent) pre-health committee as well?

Originally Posted by Snikkers

With regards to the secondary application and letters of recommendation, the site says that if I am getting a Committee Letter, that I will not need an additional letter unless I have received a degree elsewhere as well. I went to a school where I got an A.A. out of HS. Do I also need a letter from that school? If so, will one from a faculty member as a part of my current committee letter packet suffice or will I need to go through their (non-existent) pre-health committee as well?

I think you should call up the admissions office tomorrow morning and ask just to be sure...I think you will need a letter of rec but im not on the adcom so im not sure (these letters of rec r definitely a pain if ur school doesnt have a premed committee which mine doesnt but then again ive heard of many peoples apps being held up b/c of premed committees)

Complete email!! Woohoo! Submitted 7/29

Originally Posted by hawaiiansun

complete email!! Woohoo! Submitted 7/29

\

+1

+2

are yall instate? and stats?

Originally Posted by underdog427

are yall instate? and stats?

LOL this isn't for interview invites. Everyone that submits a secondary should theoretically be complete eventually.

Originally Posted by zeppelin125

LOL this isn't for interview invites. Everyone that submits a secondary should theoretically be complete eventually.

Yeah, I just wanted to keep ya'll updated with the approximate timeline. (I'm OOS though, just for reference)

For those of who arent complete don't spend too much time worrying about why you didn't receive a secondary yet. An admissions committee of 12 is trying to handle over 7,000 applications. It takes time.

And I just want to reemphasize that if anyone has any questions regarding the school or the admission's process please feel free to pm me and I can help you out.

For example: Do not blow off penn state's secondary and write generic answers. Make sure you put some effort into it.

complete as well

good luck to everybody

Originally Posted by Tapepsi

For example: Do not blow off penn state's secondary and write generic answers. Make sure you put some effort into it.

I think trying to make sure you pack as much punch as possible into 50 words or less required much more effort than the essays with no character limit.