Penn interviews

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AbbeyRoad

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Hi all, I was wondering if anyone has interviewed with the University of Pennsylvania as of yet, and if so, how did it go? I have a friend who interviewed with them last year and he said they were pretty intense. He was on the wrestling team as an undergrad and one of the interviewers gave her opinion that 'a wrestler would not make a good veterinarian'. He didn't get an acceptance offer, but I don't know what his stats were. How many people are in one tour group, does anyone know? Thanks, everyone. Good Luck!
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Penn's first interview day is Friday (the 20th). A couple people on this board have interviews then so we should be able to get some good info in a week or so :)
 
PAThbrd said:
Penn's first interview day is Friday (the 20th). A couple people on this board have interviews then so we should be able to get some good info in a week or so :)
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Hey,
I just wanted to let you guys know that Penn's first interview was yesterday (For PA residents) Friday the 13th. I am actually a first year vet student at Penn and saw prospective vet students touring the school. Plus, some girls in my class had friends applying there and were interviewed yesterday. Penn's interview is very laid back. I experienced that and many other people I talked to did. Ohio State on the other hand was very intense with a lot of questions. The key for the Penn interview is to relax and be yourself and you'll do great. Oh, and one other thing, despite what they tell you if you get in you will be called that night of the interview (Fri) or the day after (Sat). If you do not hear after that you are either waitlisted or rejected. Please feel free to ask me any questions. I wish everybody the best of luck :oops:)
Carol
 
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Thanks so much, Carol. I hope the interview is as you remember! My interview day is the 20th so I will find out soon I guess! I'm glad I didn't get interviewed on Friday the 13th! (I'm not superstitious though, haha)

it seems to me like they would want to wait until all the applicants have been interviewed before they make their final decisions, wouldn't one think? (Instead of offering admission to a certain number per week that have already been interviewed). But it must work for them because they have been doing it for a while now so I won't doubt their method.
 
jtt5 said:
Hey,
I just wanted to let you guys know that Penn's first interview was yesterday (For PA residents) Friday the 13th.
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Whoops, shows how much I know :) hehe
 
In an attempt to revive this thread, I pose a question; has any non-resident of Pennsylvania been offered and interview or accepted to UPenn yet?
 
2Bsure said:
In an attempt to revive this thread, I pose a question; has any non-resident of Pennsylvania been offered and interview or accepted to UPenn yet?
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I was just about to ask the same question. I'm in CA and I haven't heard anything yet.
 
Gr8DaneGirl said:
I was just about to ask the same question. I'm in CA and I haven't heard anything yet.
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When I interviewed, there was one out-of-stater at my table. I heard there were a few more there that day too.
 
Hey all -

Some out of staters have been interviewed/been asked to interview. I'm from NY, and I was asked to interview on Jan. 20th, although I had to change my interview date to Feb. 3rd due to exam conflicts. Looking forward to seeing the campus and meeting the people!
 
My friend who is from NJ interviewed last Friday and got a phone call that she had been accepted.
 
ahh man that is dissapointing. I had my UPENN interview this past friday the 20th. I am out of state, but thought I had a great interview. Lots of nodding from the professors in agreement with the issues and my stances on them. They really seemed intrested in my diverse background and experience.

The interview was really awesome, and I enjoyed the process, but I didn't get a call friday or saturday evening :(

Oh well, I have another interview with VA-MD the 8th, and maybe one with CO and TN, so im not to downtrodden yet.

I guess maybe I can hope for a waitlisted/alternate letter this week :) (Any stats on alternate acceptance at UPENN?)

Glad to hear that some of you who were at the interview with me got in!
 
zufuss said:
ahh man that is dissapointing. I had my UPENN interview this past friday the 20th. I am out of state, but thought I had a great interview. Lots of nodding from the professors in agreement with the issues and my stances on them. They really seemed intrested in my diverse background and experience.

The interview was really awesome, and I enjoyed the process, but I didn't get a call friday or saturday evening :(

Oh well, I have another interview with VA-MD the 8th, and maybe one with CO and TN, so im not to downtrodden yet.

I guess maybe I can hope for a waitlisted/alternate letter this week :) (Any stats on alternate acceptance at UPENN?)

Glad to hear that some of you who were at the interview with me got in!
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I interviewed on the 20th and felt I had a pretty good interview too....but I haven't gotten a call yet, either. I have a couple more interviews coming up and am still waiting to hear from Ohio State and Colorado...are they supposed to mail the UPenn letters this week? Some of the students were talking about acceptance letters coming in the mail...this is all very nervewracking.
 
traxomatic said:
I interviewed on the 20th and felt I had a pretty good interview too....but I haven't gotten a call yet, either. I have a couple more interviews coming up and am still waiting to hear from Ohio State and Colorado...are they supposed to mail the UPenn letters this week? Some of the students were talking about acceptance letters coming in the mail...this is all very nervewracking.
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Yea they should be out this week. They did specifically tell us notification was by mail at the very beggining of the day, but aparantly not! Anyway I'll still wait for the letter in the mail.

Very nerve racking :) I've just been trying to get out and relax. The waiting sucks to dwell on....of course thats why I'm here...hah
 
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They said they were going to mail all the letters this week, acceptance, alternates and rejections. I wouldn't worry Tracey. I don't know if all the acceptances are called, maybe some are mailed depending on the interviewers.
 
AbbeyRoad said:
They said they were going to mail all the letters this week, acceptance, alternates and rejections. I wouldn't worry Tracey. I don't know if all the acceptances are called, maybe some are mailed depending on the interviewers.
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Does this mean that Penn has held all its interviews already, or are you just talking about letters for that round of interviews? I thought they were planning on interviewing through Feb. at least...
 
chickenboo said:
Does this mean that Penn has held all its interviews already, or are you just talking about letters for that round of interviews? I thought they were planning on interviewing through Feb. at least...
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They have 7 rounds of interview with 30 students in each round. One round a week. I think they are alternating between large animal and small animal also. So the first week fri 13th was at the New Bolton center, 20th was on campus, and I assume this friday will be at New Bolton again.
 
phew! So there's still hope. Thanks for the info., zufuss!
 
right! sorry for the confusion. yes, the letters are sent out the week after the week of your interview, which run for 7 more weeks i think the dean said.
 
Hey Guys,
I called yesterday and asked (anonymously, of course :laugh: ) when the interviews will go till, and they told me the end of March....?? Maybe they are skipping a few weeks in the 7 rounds for spring break, etc?
Hope springs eternal!
 
yep! they said they would skip spring break week.
 
I received a letter today from UPenn dated yesterday (1/26/06) that said I was On Hold. (I interviewed on 1/20/06). So more waiting!! Has anyone been accepted/know anyone who had previously had an "On Hold" status? How long did you wait to hear?

--Tracy
 
traxomatic said:
I received a letter today from UPenn dated yesterday (1/26/06) that said I was On Hold. (I interviewed on 1/20/06). So more waiting!! Has anyone been accepted/know anyone who had previously had an "On Hold" status? How long did you wait to hear?
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I interviewed there in 2003. Then, they were doing just 3 large sets of interviews. One each in January, February, and March. I interviewed in February and was placed on hold. The impression I got was that they wanted to compare some of us to the March group. So in March, I received a letter that I was wait-listed. Penn's pretty good about giving details on the list, and it moved a lot, but alas I still did not get in.

Now that they have lots of interviews, I unfortunately can't say when you should expect to hear, but possibly not until March. :-/
 
traxomatic said:
I received a letter today from UPenn dated yesterday (1/26/06) that said I was On Hold. (I interviewed on 1/20/06). So more waiting!! Has anyone been accepted/know anyone who had previously had an "On Hold" status? How long did you wait to hear?

--Tracy
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Hey,
I was an in state applicant last year and was interviewed in the first group. I too was put on hold. I got word that I was waitlisted in March 16th or so. Then, I had to respond to let them know that I wanted to remain on the waitlist. I was ranked and compared to others on the waitlist. They did tell me however, that it was unlikely that the list moves much if any (especially in state), but that the out of state did move a lot. To my surprise, I was called July 20th I think it was a Wednesday and was offered a seat for admissions into the class of 2009. I am there today, I did not think I would get called but I did, so there is still hope if you get waitlised. If you need any more info. or if you have questions feel free to ask. I know that I was dying to ask someone who was put on hold becasue I did not know what to expect next. Best of luck :oops:) Hang in there! ! !
Carol
 
That's encouraging, Carol. I think I remember reading one of your posts on the about.com board...weren't you accepted to Ohio State? Did you put down a large deposit at Ohio? I would love to stay in Philadelphia and not up-root completely.

--Tracy
 
traxomatic said:
That's encouraging, Carol. I think I remember reading one of your posts on the about.com board...weren't you accepted to Ohio State? Did you put down a large deposit at Ohio? I would love to stay in Philadelphia and not up-root completely.

--Tracy
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Hey Tracy,
Yea, I was accepted to Ohio in March and I had to put down like $300 for a deposit. I also put money down for an apartment in the early summer since I thought it was highly unlikely that I would get called for Penn. However, I did get my money back from Ohio (the deposit) and the money for the apartment. I did not call and ask them for it directly because I just assumed I lost it. Though, early this fall I received refund checks. I do not know if all schools do this or some, or what the time frame is for getting a refund. I was just so lucky that I got my money back, because I owed a $500 deposit for Penn. If I were you I would go to your other interviews (don't put all your eggs in one basket) and just accept anywhere you would like to go other than Penn. So, at least you are going to a vet school and you never know what might happen with Penn. I am hoping for the best for you. It seems like you really want to go to Penn and I sincerely hope that it all works out for you in the end. Best of luck :luck:
 
jtt5 said:
Hey Tracy,
Yea, I was accepted to Ohio in March and I had to put down like $300 for a deposit. I also put money down for an apartment in the early summer since I thought it was highly unlikely that I would get called for Penn. However, I did get my money back from Ohio (the deposit) and the money for the apartment. I did not call and ask them for it directly because I just assumed I lost it. Though, early this fall I received refund checks. I do not know if all schools do this or some, or what the time frame is for getting a refund. I was just so lucky that I got my money back, because I owed a $500 deposit for Penn. If I were you I would go to your other interviews (don't put all your eggs in one basket) and just accept anywhere you would like to go other than Penn. So, at least you are going to a vet school and you never know what might happen with Penn. I am hoping for the best for you. It seems like you really want to go to Penn and I sincerely hope that it all works out for you in the end. Best of luck :luck:
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Thanks!
 
Hey all,

I had my interview at Penn yesterday, it was a large animal day. Group of 30 students, we toured in Philly then went out to New Bolton. Once there we toured the large animal hospital and the dairy then we went to the interview building. They put all of us in a little room with food and 1st and 2nd year students (who have a say but do not get to vote in the admissions committee) and were encouraged to talk to and get to know them so they could speak on our behalf. You stay there for the 3 hours it takes to do interviews except for the 30 minutes when you go to your interview.

As far as the interview, there are two interviewers - one "hot" who has seen your application and one "cold" who has not. Both of my interviewers worked/taught at the NBC). The hot interviewer comes down to the little room, calls your name, takes you into the hallway and explains about the hot/cold, that you'll have a chance to "interview them" at the end if you want to, and tells you to relax (or maybe that was just me :)). The interview was mostly with the cold interviewer and the hot interviewer pretty much just sat there. :) I was asked...

Tell us about yourself, your life, and how you got to be sitting here today. (I talked about my family, a little about high school, my decision to become a vet, my decision to attend my undergrad school, and my vet experience).
What do you think are the strongest and weakest parts of your application?
What do you do to relax?
Is there anything you want to ask us?
Is there anything else you want us to know?

Im pretty sure that was all they asked, I gave long detailed answers so the time went pretty quickly.

I got "the phone call" from the Dean of Admissions around 8p last night. Very happy!
 
Congratulations! The whole process sounds nerve-wracking. How could you relax at all prior to the interview? Good for you - you got in!
 
Hey,
I interviewed w/ith Penn on 2/3 (i'm from NJ) and like everyone says you hear back either the night of or the day after (and if you don't know it's coming, it's a wonderful surprise). It was a really comfortable interview environment. You start the day with a little info on the school and some general financial aid info and then take a tour with students before having lunch and more or less waiting for your interview. You get to wait in a room with other interviewees and current students (as well as the dean and associate dean of admissions) so there are a lot of people there to talk to (though it's still painful to wait especially if your interview time is later in the day as mine was). Though to be honest, after waiting for 2 hrs, it's hard to be super nervous. The interview itself is casual and short. As someone explained earlier there are two interviewers, one who has read your application and another who has not. I personally had several questions regarding research I had conducted over the summer and one regarding my essay (I realize this is vague but they are rather specific questions so you can expect that you will definitely get asked specific questions about your application). One of my interviewers (who is a practitioner) did ask me to provide her with something that she could bring back with her and apply to relevant cases that she would see in the future (good question by Penn, never saw that one coming) but thankfully I came up with a decent reply. I also got a what do you do in your free time question and got asked what the last book I read was. Honestly, the time flies and there are no really complicated or stressful questions. The best advice I can give is to breathe, relax, and try to be comfortable there (as comfortable as possible sitting in a wooden chair). Be yourself. Of course come with a question or two to ask them. Oh and I think one of the aspects which helped my interview was that my initiative was able to come across so if there's a certain aspect of veterinary medicine that interests you and you're willing to take initiative to go further in depth with that interest, let that shine. Good luck!

Julia
 
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