2010-2011 University of Pennsylvania Application Thread

Getting into Med School is Hard? Not with BeMo.
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KateD said:
I haven't accessed the secondary yet but have been working on the essays. In expanding on my activities, I have one thats about 200 characters over the 1000 character limit and another that is 200 characters short. Is it possible to enter it into the system this way? or is there no negotiating the 1000 character limit per activity? Also, would it be a problem with adcoms if they aren't discussed equally?
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Don't think the character limit is negotiable, the way the secondary is set up, you select your three activities and theres a text box that shows up under the activity with a limit of 1000 characters per box.

Also, highly doubt they really care if the activities aren't discussed equally. They ask you for your top three, but if one of them is a clear first then naturally you're gonna talk about it more
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Just got this secondary about an hour ago! Too bad I'm at work today! *Gulp!*
 
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ColeOnTheRoll said:
I can't start it because the pre-med advisor hasn't written my letter yet, so I can't assign it in AMCAS, so I'm "ineligible" to fill it out. Grrrrrrr.
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That's weird, I was able to assign it on the AMCAS to all my schools and my committee letter is not done yet, do you mean that you can't do the secondary until they receive the committee letter?
 
Is there a consensus on picking 2 or 3 activities to write about? Either/or? Page 1 of the thread makes me feel like a lot of people are doing 2, but I don't want to skrew myself from the get-go.
 
suitup said:
That's weird, I was able to assign it on the AMCAS to all my schools and my committee letter is not done yet, do you mean that you can't do the secondary until they receive the committee letter?
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Well I haven't assigned a letter yet because I haven't made an entry in AMCAS. I'm not sure how the whole assignment process works, so I'm waiting to receive the letter/have it available before I assign it to any of the schools. My understanding is that the letter doesn't have to be ready, but you do need to designate a letter to Penn in AMCAS.
 
ColeOnTheRoll said:
Well I haven't assigned a letter yet because I haven't made an entry in AMCAS. I'm not sure how the whole assignment process works, so I'm waiting to receive the letter/have it available before I assign it to any of the schools. My understanding is that the letter doesn't have to be ready, but you do need to designate a letter to Penn in AMCAS.
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:thumbup:
 
Been lurking for a while but have a question I'd like to ask you guys

The essay for my primary essentially surrounded one of my activieis (photography), and although it is definitely one of my top 3 most important activities, it seems repetitive to write about it for Penn's secondary. Should I just leave it out and assume that they will figure out I'm leaving it out because I already spoke about it and NOT because I wrote about an activity that's not actually super important to me, or should I go ahead and write about it despite how much those 1,000 characters will echo parts of my primary essay?

Thanks! and good luck :) WOO quakers
 
kyre said:
Been lurking for a while but have a question I'd like to ask you guys

The essay for my primary essentially surrounded one of my activieis (photography), and although it is definitely one of my top 3 most important activities, it seems repetitive to write about it for Penn's secondary. Should I just leave it out and assume that they will figure out I'm leaving it out because I already spoke about it and NOT because I wrote about an activity that's not actually super important to me, or should I go ahead and write about it despite how much those 1,000 characters will echo parts of my primary essay?

Thanks! and good luck :) WOO quakers
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I'm in a similar situation...there was some stuff I had left out in my PS about my activity so I just went ahead and wrote about it for my secondary anyways. It also said to focus on leadership and how it made you grow as a person, so I geared it more towards that. Pretty much, if there are some details that you left out of your PS due to lack of room, I would put that in the secondary.
 
For the special circumstances question, I have a cousin that works at penn....could you tell me if this sentence makes sense?

My cousin, Dr. X, is Junior Faculty in the Department of X at HUP.

Is that how it's said? or do you say "X is a Junior Faculty member" or "X is ON the junior faculty at..."
 
Am I correct in assuming that they will not read one's secondary until the letters are received?

If not, I'll hold onto the secondary a little longer (letters are not in) in case I want to make any changes. If I am wrong, "Submit."
 
Geographer said:
Am I correct in assuming that they will not read one's secondary until the letters are received?

If not, I'll hold onto the secondary a little longer (letters are not in) in case I want to make any changes. If I am wrong, "Submit."
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I'm pretty sure you're right. That's what most schools do anyway.
 
Geographer said:
Am I correct in assuming that they will not read one's secondary until the letters are received?

If not, I'll hold onto the secondary a little longer (letters are not in) in case I want to make any changes. If I am wrong, "Submit."
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Rule of thumb: Don't hold secondaries for more than 2 weeks. Medical schools will note your reply date and most want to see that you're on the ball. And, to be honest, with an application like Penn's you really don't need 2 weeks to agonize over it.

That being said, your file won't be looked at by a committee member until it is complete. No point in looking at it twice.
 
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mdeast said:
Rule of thumb: Don't hold secondaries for more than 2 weeks. Medical schools will note your reply date and most want to see that you're on the ball. And, to be honest, with an application like Penn's you really don't need 2 weeks to agonize over it.

That being said, your file won't be looked at by a committee member until it is complete. No point in looking at it twice.
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Yes - get that check mark next to your secondary soon. Even if it won't be read - it's important that they see your interest in Penn (and the #1 way they gauge interest is how quickly you send the secondary back)
 
do you need to get verified before getting this secondary? I submitted my app on 6/26 and haven't gotten verified yet, just wondering.
 
mattatat said:
do you need to get verified before getting this secondary? I submitted my app on 6/26 and haven't gotten verified yet, just wondering.
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I believe they don't release your app to schools until after you're verified, so yeah. Hopefully it won't be too much longer for you!
 
Sentinel said:
Yes - get that check mark next to your secondary soon. Even if it won't be read - it's important that they see your interest in Penn (and the #1 way they gauge interest is how quickly you send the secondary back)
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Hehe, well I wouldn't say it's the #1 way :)
 
Application was complete last week, so let's see if it makes a difference :)
 
Thoughts on this, guys?

"Is there any special information or circumstance that the Committee on Admissions should be aware of in reviewing your application to Penn Med? (Siblings/Relative at Penn/Special Circumstances)"

Think it's worth pointing out that, because of my husband's job and the fact that he's going to be the breadwinner for us (him, me, and our daughter) while I'm in school, that I've only applied to the schools in Philadelphia, and plan on staying in the area after graduation as well?
 
Geekchick921 said:
Thoughts on this, guys?

"Is there any special information or circumstance that the Committee on Admissions should be aware of in reviewing your application to Penn Med? (Siblings/Relative at Penn/Special Circumstances)"

Think it's worth pointing out that, because of my husband's job and the fact that he's going to be the breadwinner for us (him, me, and our daughter) while I'm in school, that I've only applied to the schools in Philadelphia, and plan on staying in the area after graduation as well?
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absolutely
 
mdeast said:
Hehe, well I wouldn't say it's the #1 way :)
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pft +/- 2 is still close enough in an engineer's world!

Geekchick921 said:
Thoughts on this, guys?

"Is there any special information or circumstance that the Committee on Admissions should be aware of in reviewing your application to Penn Med? (Siblings/Relative at Penn/Special Circumstances)"

Think it's worth pointing out that, because of my husband's job and the fact that he's going to be the breadwinner for us (him, me, and our daughter) while I'm in school, that I've only applied to the schools in Philadelphia, and plan on staying in the area after graduation as well?
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Yes - most definitely.
 
now i feel bad for not having received even a generic packet :laugh:
 
HakunaMatata22 said:
Personally, I did not. I read the prompt as receiving an award from an "organization." I didn't consider my university an organization. Maybe call the admissions office to clarify?
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thebillsfan said:
Any other thoughts on this?
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Seconded... any other opinions on putting Dean's List and scholarships from your school on there?
 
Gah! I think I'm ready to submit this secondary. I'm just nervous because I have no awards to mention and only wrote about two of my activities. Two of my activities kind of overlap and they are one of the ones I wrote about, but I feel like I'm leaving an awful lot blank by only writing about two activities and having nothing to say about any awards.

Someone tell me I'm being a spaz and it's fine. Or that I should really pick another activity.
 
So for the awards thing they just want the name of the award? I don't think there's enough space to actually even complete a sentence unless I'm doing it wrong.

Not seeing how this is different from Amcas except for those who didn't include awards in primary.
 
HakunaMatata22 said:
Personally, I did not. I read the prompt as receiving an award from an "organization." I didn't consider my university an organization. Maybe call the admissions office to clarify?
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I contacted admissions regarding the awards section. This was their response:

"We are looking specifically for information regarding awards that you received either from the state in which you reside, attended college, or if it was from a national organization. We are not looking for university awards in this section."
 
alw61188 said:
I contacted admissions regarding the awards section. This was their response:

"We are looking specifically for information regarding awards that you received either from the state in which you reside, attended college, or if it was from a national organization. We are not looking for university awards in this section."
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Thank you so much for this clarification!
 
Do we know if they are referring to awards won only in college or including high school?
 
"how they helped you develop skills in leadership, commitment and as an individual"

Do they want activities in which you've had leadership positions? Only in 1 of my activities did I have a leadership position. Also, would it be OK if none of my 3 activities was clinically related? Are most of you guys putting down at least 1 clinical activity?
 
excalibur86 said:
"how they helped you develop skills in leadership, commitment and as an individual"

Do they want activities in which you've had leadership positions? Only in 1 of my activities did I have a leadership position. Also, would it be OK if none of my 3 activities was clinically related? Are most of you guys putting down at least 1 clinical activity?
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I don't think they all have to involve leadership at all. I'm sure one is sufficient and not even truly necessary; it doesn't just say leadership. I put my clinical experience because I loved that job, but if I'd hated it, I probably wouldn't have mentioned it.
 
i didn't put any clinical experiences at all. all of my amcas activities were meaningful to me, but my most meaningful/important ones just happened to be other activities i was really passionate about. just be honest with what activities you felt were most important to you and don't choose something clinical because you think it'll look better to the adcom. then again, i could be completely wrong. let's hope i'm not, lol :xf:
 
just reading all these posts reminded me of how hectic and stressful the whole application process was for us last year. i'm sure everyone knows by now. . . it sucks lol. so glad it's behind me.

good luck to all of you. i'm penn med 2014 so if you have any questions, feel free to message me.

p.s. word of advice: relax and go see inception. maybe it'll give you some crazy ideas to write about lol.
 
RocketScience said:
just reading all these posts reminded me of how hectic and stressful the whole application process was for us last year. i'm sure everyone knows by now. . . it sucks lol. so glad it's behind me.

good luck to all of you. i'm penn med 2014 so if you have any questions, feel free to message me.

p.s. word of advice: relax and go see inception. maybe it'll give you some crazy ideas to write about lol.
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ahhh those were good times eh? (not... at all). I duno, it happened in waves for me... but it definitely got a bit more nerve wracking when the first interviews started. Then calm as I got used to that. Then the wait... ugh the wait.

Glad it's behind me too - just remember guys & girls - there is a light at the end of the tunnel! :thumbup:
 
Sentinel said:
ahhh those were good times eh? (not... at all). I duno, it happened in waves for me... but it definitely got a bit more nerve wracking when the first interviews started. Then calm as I got used to that. Then the wait... ugh the wait.

Glad it's behind me too - just remember guys & girls - there is a light at the end of the tunnel! :thumbup:
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I've gotta tell you man, we have very similar stats, and I'm SO hopeful about Penn. You're like an inspiration to me. Reading your MDApps makes me :).
 
Geekchick921 said:
I've gotta tell you man, we have very similar stats, and I'm SO hopeful about Penn. You're like an inspiration to me. Reading your MDApps makes me :).
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:thumbup: I'll keep my fingers crossed for you ! :xf: But just so you know - I have no clue why they let me in :D
 
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