Oh yay. I do have a few questions:
They mentioned about research in the curriculum; I am defending my undergrad honor's thesis next week and I am getting published in two papers. Can I opt out? If so, would you still recommend that I still participate in research at Penn State? Maybe I can get a good rec. letter from a PI?
You can opt out if your research has a medical bent to it. It's generally a good idea to do research simply to make yourself a stronger candidate for application to more competitive residency programs. While you can get a LOR from a PI, it's not like you wouldn't have plenty of opportunities to get LORs from a multitude of other faculty members and clerkship directors you encounter on your clinical rotations in 3rd year.
Do students get any form of clinical exposure during their first two years?
Yes. There is a "Patient Project" in which yourself and a randomly paired classmate will meet with a person in the community living with a chronic condition. You follow this person over the course of your first year and write a report or compose a video essay upon completion. Additionally, you will be assigned a "Clinical Skills Advisor" and go to clinic with them throughout first and second year. Everyone's experience differes depending on the type of medicine their clinical skills advisor practices. For instance, during my 1st year, I had a psychiatrist who specialized in sleep medicine. I was able to hone my abilities to gather a complete History and perform a physical exam. In my second year, I worked with an Internist (the psychiatrist was awarded a research scholarship and was out of town for 6 months and had to give up his role as an advisor for a brief time) and I did focused physical exams and histories that correlated well with the organ system I was studying at that time in classes.
For the PBL part, can you tell me some things you liked about it and some things you didn't like about it.
As both a Pro and Con--the scores you receive from it can be very subjective. I was once given a 65% by one facilitator and then 100% by my next person. I hadn't done anything different. Anyhow, I liked the PBL cases because they showed you where you were at in relation to classmates in terms of staying on top of the material. This can work to motivate someone to not fall behind and try to cram everything in the day before the test.
There's also the humanities aspect of the preclinical curriculum. What do you think of that?
I think a lot of schools are incorporating this now. Penn State is especially proud of their humanities department as they are one of the first schools to have such a program within their medical education curriculum. Truth is, no one likes spending time studying for humanities when there are biochemistry, cellular bio, anatomy, histology,etc...examinations the next day. For that reason, I feel like humanities courses don't get the credit they deserve.
Are we restricted to PA when we do rotations? If not, do most people stay in PA for their rotations?
So far as I know--yes. Once you hit fourth year, you can go anywhere you want, but you have to at least 4 rotations at Penn State or one of it's affiliated hospitals in the region.
I tried looking at the block schedule for first year and second year and it's a little overwhelming to figured out. lol I think classes end at noon at Buffalo but they start early. I guess my question is, aside from the fact that med school is a lot of work, do you think the schedule was manageable for the first two years at Penn State?
I assume its manageable; I mean, I survived and I'm nothing special 
. All kidding aside though...yes, it is all hard work, and you will always feel like you are behind in your studies but the important thing is to allow time for yourself to relax and be normal person. This means taking time to exercise, socialize, and relax. Fortunately, we have all of our lectures recorded online, so class attendance is not usually a requirement (I say usually because some courses require your attendance, as well as group sessions like PBL).
Of course there is the question of student life. Is there anything to do there and do you have free time to do things preclinical years?
Our students generally have really good camaraderie with one another. We have an orientation week which has lots of activities where everyone meets and makes friends before the stress of academics kicks in. This helped pull people together. There are also party buses that go out to bars in Harrisburg after exams. And Halloween parties, BBQs, interest group activities, Hershey Park, Events at the Giant Center, Intramural sports, running trail around campus...despite being a small city, there is stuff to do here (when you can find time to take a break from studying)
I took a look at the student groups and some of them seem very interesting. Are you part of any student organizations. Also, can you tell me a bit more about Lion Care?
I have count my membership in campus student interest groups and get back to you on that...just about anytime I attend a lunch lecture, i throw my name down on their member list so its hard to keep track of who gave me free food
In my first year, I was elected to the student council to serve as a student representative for the curriculum committee meetings. In my second year, I was the treasurer of the psychiatric society, as well as being a co-founder of the PM&R interest group, of which I am now serving as president. There is a large activities fair day at the conclusion of orientation week that will have booths and tables for new students to come check out the organizations.
I never really did participate in Lion Care too much...but I do remember from the few times I did, I had a lot of fun. I basically saw patients and got to practice and hone my clinical skills. You can go down to the free clinic whenever you have time and do anything from orthopedics to gynecology. It is quite rewarding and something I wish I had more time to participate in.
Is the cost of living reasonable?
I live on campus and rent in double apartment is $500, while rent in a single is $850. No gas, electric, water, or internet bills. I do just fine on my student loans. It definitely beats trying to live in NYC, LA, SF, Miami...etc.
I am OOS, can I apply for residency and get in state tuition the 2nd year?
Not likely. You would have to be in PA for at least one year prior to enrollment, and make a certain amount of income, pay taxes, and hold a contract with your name on a lease for at least 12 months if you want to be considered a PA resident. You cannot get in-state tuition starting your 2nd year in any school, that's just an unfortunate manner in which the laws are set up.
What is your overall impression of the program? Do you think it has prepared you well for the steps?
Overall impression: I say Penn State is a solid, all-around program with no obvious deficits in facilities, faculty, or otherwise. I felt quite prepared for the USMLE Step 1. My class had 142 test takers with a 97% pass rate, and a 225 avg score.
Overall, are you happy at Penn State? If you could do it all over again, would it be Penn State? Any other remarks you can make about you stay at Penn State.
I'm quite happy at Penn State. The people around town are very approachable and polite. The faculty here are very kind and nurturing. If I could choose schools again, I might opt for someplace warmer...but I am glad to toughed it out for my first couple winters in the northeast (prior residence in CA and FL).
Sorry for bombarding you with questions. I really appreciate your time
