2009-2010 Penn State Application Thread

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They decided to start a new policy where all prereqs have to be complete by the end of this year? Wish I saw that before I applied :thumbdown:
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osumc2014 said:
Anyone know if they do a letter substitution for the non-science?
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I faced this issue as a non-traditional applicant out of school for 5+ years. The email they sent regarding my inquiry read:

"If you are not able to secure a subjective recommendation, some official documentation, signed by a university official (Registrar, Dean, etc.) on university letterhead, indicating that you were a student there during your indicated period of enrollment, that you were a student in good standing, and that you completed the program of study you indicated on your AMCAS application, would suffice."

You can call the Office of Admissions as well. A lady there named Maddy has been wonderfully helpful to me.

Many blessings.
 
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BlueElmo said:
By end of 2009?
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Here's what the admissions website says:

Beginning with applications for the Entering Class of 2010, applicants will be required to have fulfilled all academic prerequisites by the end of the calendar year prior to matriculation.

I take that to mean by the end of 2009, right?
 
slacks said:
Here's what the admissions website says:

Beginning with applications for the Entering Class of 2010, applicants will be required to have fulfilled all academic prerequisites by the end of the calendar year prior to matriculation.

I take that to mean by the end of 2009, right?
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Ah, I missed that word calendar. I guess you're right.
 
akajackbauer said:
hey guys, i'm an incoming MS1 at PennSt. COM and if you have any questions about the secondary/interview...you can message me on SDN. I'm really excited to start class in 2 weeks, and I love the school!

i'll answer some of the questions on SDN...the 50 word limit prompt...you can go over it...mine was around 50-60 words, they get a lot of applications and they dont want you to write epic poems. they will get to know you better in interviews.

and the question about "why penn state" i think penn state like applicants that are well-rounded and focus on the humanistic side of medicine. Also, the majority of my future classmates did some sort of extensive research and had publications. penn state is big in humanistic medicine (lion care clinic) and research (required research project).

hope all that information helped!
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Could you pleas elaborate a bit more to what is unique about Penn State med school! Thanks
 
Did anyone else not get this secondary? I have been verified since mid June and did not receive it this week like everyone else did.

I checked all of the spam folders--no dice.
 
Wait a minute...

I have to remove Penn St. just because I won't have physics 2 done til Spring semester 2010?

That sucks big time...this was one of my top choices.


I think that new policy is pretty ridiculous.
 
UAAWolf said:
Wait a minute...

I have to remove Penn St. just because I won't have physics 2 done til Spring semester 2010?

That sucks big time...this was one of my top choices.


I think that new policy is pretty ridiculous.
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Are you sure. Most schools are aware that many students apply before their senior year and realize that all of the requirements may not be met. You should really look into it. It is probably worth a call to the admissions Office
 
UAAWolf said:
Wait a minute...

I have to remove Penn St. just because I won't have physics 2 done til Spring semester 2010?

That sucks big time...this was one of my top choices.


I think that new policy is pretty ridiculous.
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this is directly from the prereq page of the secondary:

"Penn State College of Medicine requires that course work in the areas below be accomplished by the end of the calendar year prior to matriculation. Please indicate (next to) each requirement whether or not you have fulfilled this course work by the submission of this application. If any of these requirements are yet to be taken or will not be taken, please explain below."

so obviously, you would have to explain it...its not a big deal. just say something about how you needed to take other classes to be eligible to take the upper level bio classes you were interested in and thought it would be fine to push off physics till senior year. thats what i did with english (still have a freshman english class to take senior spring :D)
 
Maybe its me but does anyone else find that Penn state doesn't have that detailed a description about their program; their website just seems generic which is making it hard to answer what I specifically like about the school. I am sure its a great program, I just would like to know more about it!
 
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I was excited about the only 50 words thing... till I tried to summarize my activities since graduating from college SEVEN YEARS AGO... there is NO WAY it will fit. At least in complete sentence form. And not even in list form.

Should I just pick the most important things?? If I leave something out, I don't want them to compare it to my AMCAS and think I'm dumb cause I forgot something I did...
 
scooter02 said:
I was excited about the only 50 words thing... till I tried to summarize my activities since graduating from college SEVEN YEARS AGO... there is NO WAY it will fit. At least in complete sentence form. And not even in list form.

Should I just pick the most important things?? If I leave something out, I don't want them to compare it to my AMCAS and think I'm dumb cause I forgot something I did...
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Just put the most important things, because it's hard. You have a lot of activities in your AMCAS, and they probably just want to see what is important to you on your AMCAS app. You probably can use it to add stuff that you didn't put in your AMCAS app too.
 
I interviewed at Penn State last year and I really loved it. I sort of messed up during one of my interviews, sadly, so I was only waitlisted. I have my fingers crossed for this year though.
 
I emailed them about a week ago asking about the possibility of a non-science substitution, still no response.

Anybody have any idea what their policy is??
 
i love this school.. their curriculum seems so hip lol.. how can we increase chances of an interview after the secondary? i really feel like going there now
 
does anyone know if calc is a requirement? They seem to suggest it in the secondary and on their site, but its never explicitly stated. i have a year of math (2 Stats Cources) but no calc...what do you guys think? i emailed em, no response
 
thinker said:
i love this school.. their curriculum seems so hip lol.. how can we increase chances of an interview after the secondary? i really feel like going there now
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Send one of those gift baskets full of mini-muffins...maybe a bottle of champagne. Doctors love crap like that.
 
awasod said:
Maybe its me but does anyone else find that Penn state doesn't have that detailed a description about their program; their website just seems generic which is making it hard to answer what I specifically like about the school. I am sure its a great program, I just would like to know more about it!
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I hear you on this one. I was just perusing their website to try and get a better sense of the school, but it's pretty basic - everything you would expect. Guess my statement about why I applied might be the same then.
 
Snurping said:
I hear you on this one. I was just perusing their website to try and get a better sense of the school, but it's pretty basic - everything you would expect. Guess my statement about why I applied might be the same then.
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Yeah it's super generic... and a lot of the links that might be interesting/helpful just say "coming soon" and don't have any info.... :(
 
So far all or most schools that I applied to had the usual group of introductory courses in first year, then the pathologies in second year.. but these guys here seem to have something else going on. although i admit that once you attend, it might be pretty terrible or average or turn out to be just like a regular curriculum.. but just from the looks, it looks different. hip is a silly word to use.. i meant that it looks more interesting. (hey they got a colored timeline and stuff :D)
 
thinker said:
So far all or most schools that I applied to had the usual group of introductory courses in first year, then the pathologies in second year.. but these guys here seem to have something else going on. although i admit that once you attend, it might be pretty terrible or average or turn out to be just like a regular curriculum.. but just from the looks, it looks different. hip is a silly word to use.. i meant that it looks more interesting. (hey they got a colored timeline and stuff :D)
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i agree it did seem intresting, but who knows :shrug:. Maybe they could offer an interview so i could find out :p
 
Have any of you guys with fee waivers (amcas fap) had trouble submitting the penn state secondary? Does anyone know what's going on with that?
 
jasmine112 said:
Have any of you guys with fee waivers (amcas fap) had trouble submitting the penn state secondary? Does anyone know what's going on with that?
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you email them a PDF file of your amcas fee waiver (or mail it but pdf is faster). After they approve you, which by emailing them took me like 2 days. You can then complete it.
 
Has anyone received a complete email from here yet? Or saw that they were complete on the status page?
 
Anybody know how long it takes admissions to respond to emails?
 
amikhchi said:
anyone find it odd that they are asking which schools (if we're reapplicants) we previously applied to? is that normal or am i just reading the question wrong?
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I also nearly read this question wrong, but they are in fact asking:
Please indicate the entering first-year class year(s) to which you applied.
 
What is a reasonable time to wait before asking them for a secondary? I added Penn State last Sunday and was thinking if I don't have a secondary by this coming Monday I should call. What do y'all think?
 
Forsberg said:
Has anyone received a complete email from here yet? Or saw that they were complete on the status page?
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Still nothing, no complete on status, no email.

Submitted last week only though.
 
MDhereicome said:
does anyone know if calc is a requirement? They seem to suggest it in the secondary and on their site, but its never explicitly stated. i have a year of math (2 Stats Cources) but no calc...what do you guys think? i emailed em, no response
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I am also wondering about this. Anybody?
 
I know it really sucks to get this far and then find out that you can't get in because your prereqs need to be done in an abnormally timely fashion, but it does help the ones that have them done, which is kind of nice.

I guess what is good for the one is sometimes poison for another.

Good luck to you though
 
Can someone please post the link to the secondary or send it by PM?

I have been complete since late June, but for some reason, I did not receive this secondary.

I sent an e-mail to the PSU admissions department last week and received no reply.
 
PDtoMD said:
Can someone please post the link to the secondary or send it by PM?

I have been complete since late June, but for some reason, I did not receive this secondary.

I sent an e-mail to the PSU admissions department last week and received no reply.
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Its not available between 1 and 3 am EST daily due to site maintenance but here is the link. They did not send a password or anything by email.

http://sa-hes.hmc.psu.edu

This is part of their secondary invitation email that you might find helpful:

Should you experience any problems with our application, or have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email us at [email protected], or call the Office of Student Admissions between 8am and 5pm, EST, at (717) 531-8755.
 
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mine has said "Our records indicate that your Secondary Application has been received, but it has not been determined whether your application is complete or not at this time. Once that determination has been made, you will be notified via email." for a while, like... almost a week. anyone else have a different status?
 
ziggyd0c said:
mine has said "Our records indicate that your Secondary Application has been received, but it has not been determined whether your application is complete or not at this time. Once that determination has been made, you will be notified via email." for a while, like... almost a week. anyone else have a different status?
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Nope mine says the same thing on the status page and its been a little over a week since I turned this one in.
 
I just called the admissions dept about calc, they said it is not required, just suggested.
 
TrueBelief,

Thanks a ton. It took my login and pass.
 
ziggyd0c said:
mine has said "Our records indicate that your Secondary Application has been received, but it has not been determined whether your application is complete or not at this time. Once that determination has been made, you will be notified via email." for a while, like... almost a week. anyone else have a different status?
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Same.
 
trueBelief said:
Its not available between 1 and 3 am EST daily due to site maintenance but here is the link. They did not send a password or anything by email.

http://sa-hes.hmc.psu.edu

This is part of their secondary invitation email that you might find helpful:

Should you experience any problems with our application, or have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to email us at [email protected], or call the Office of Student Admissions between 8am and 5pm, EST, at (717) 531-8755.
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My experience with them is they are supper helpful and the dean of admission will even email you back and normally the same day or the next day. Good ole midwest niceness
 
6. If you are planning on taking the MCAT after you submit your Secondary Application, do you want to hold processing of your admission application until receipt of these scores.

Choices are NO: Begin processing my application immediately
Yes: wait for my future MCAT score; or
I do not plan to take the MCAT after I submit my secondary application.

I just took my MCAT last Friday (July 31st), so should i be clicking on YES or I do not plan to take the MCAT after I submit my secondary application. I'm a little confused with YES, because it seems that they're asking you to click on that option if you're taking the mCAT after your submit. I've already taken the MCAT, but my scores have yet to come out.

ANy advice?
 
Has anyone heard news from this school in terms of completion?
 
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