2010-2011 University of Pennsylvania Application Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Status
Not open for further replies.
ksmi117

ksmi117

GEAUX TIGERS!!!
Moderator Emeritus
Lifetime Donor
Verified Member
Physician
15+ Year Member
Gold Donor
Joined
Mar 16, 2008
Messages
21,964
Reaction score
181
Points
5,266
  1. Fellow [Any Field]
Members do not see this ad.
Prompts:

Please check up to three (3) activities which are most important to you. The goal of this question is to get supplemental information about why these experiences were most important to you and how they helped you develop skills in leadership, commitment and as an individual.

LIMIT: 1000 Characters each

:luck: with your application!
 
Last edited:
WOOT
*sigh*
please take me
 
:hello: Starting @ Penn Med in August 2010. I'm a "veteran" of the Penn 2009-2010 application thread :laugh: - if you have specific questions feel free to PM me! I'll try to put some information about the Penn experience on this thread once I start 🙂
 
Sentinel said:
:hello: Starting @ Penn Med in August 2010. I'm a "veteran" of the Penn 2009-2010 application thread :laugh: - if you have specific questions feel free to PM me! I'll try to put some information about the Penn experience on this thread once I start 🙂
Click to expand...

How were the Penn secondary essays last year? Easy or difficult?

Also, are there specific aspects that Penn likes? i.e. in terms of admissions, is it more of a stats school (like WashU) or more of a holistic school (i.e Chicago)
 
Hemichordate said:
How were the Penn secondary essays last year? Easy or difficult?

Also, are there specific aspects that Penn likes? i.e. in terms of admissions, is it more of a stats school (like WashU) or more of a holistic school (i.e Chicago)
Click to expand...

What the blobmister said/linked for secondary Qs.

As for Penn's "likes" - they seem to like a more diversified background, and also seem to like an older crowd - especially postbaccs or people who've taken time of or done other stuff (this is in stark contrast to harvard for example, where the average age is like 22 or 23).

But it's an ivy, and their mottos tend to be "we want the diversity and the stats" 😀

btw this worked for me, but no guarantee this is how all the penn interviewers are: I said, point blank, that my first goal is to become the best clinician I can be. I understand that doing research is a very important part of being a doctor/supporting healthcare - but my main drive will be to become a great doctor first and to use research to enhance that, rather than the other way around. [That was me massaging my point that I want to be a doctor and do research if I get any free time]. So apparently Penn's ok with that (which is why I guess they are ranked well for both research and primary care?) - but of course tread carefully. Meh, it's too early to concern yourself about this stuff anyway.
 
Sentinel said:
What the blobmister said/linked for secondary Qs.

As for Penn's "likes" - they seem to like a more diversified background, and also seem to like an older crowd - especially postbaccs or people who've taken time of or done other stuff (this is in stark contrast to harvard for example, where the average age is like 22 or 23).

But it's an ivy, and their mottos tend to be "we want the diversity and the stats" 😀

btw this worked for me, but no guarantee this is how all the penn interviewers are: I said, point blank, that my first goal is to become the best clinician I can be. I understand that doing research is a very important part of being a doctor/supporting healthcare - but my main drive will be to become a great doctor first and to use research to enhance that, rather than the other way around. [That was me massaging my point that I want to be a doctor and do research if I get any free time]. So apparently Penn's ok with that (which is why I guess they are ranked well for both research and primary care?) - but of course tread carefully. Meh, it's too early to concern yourself about this stuff anyway.
Click to expand...

I love so many things in this post.

And hey, Cole, you and I can rest a little easier about our stats making the cut, huh? You rockstar, you. 😎
 
Geekchick921 said:
I love so many things in this post.

And hey, Cole, you and I can rest a little easier about our stats making the cut, huh? You rockstar, you. 😎
Click to expand...

Both your stats are pretty damn good 👍

Just don't be like that one kid I met during interviews who could barely hold a conversation for longer than 10 seconds. That definitely doesn't help
 
Oh, if anything, I don't know when to STFU.
 
Thanks for the previously answer to my Q.

Also, I heard for Penn that if you apply and get rejected from the MD/PhD program, the admissions committee will not consider you for the MD program. 🙁 Is that correct?
 
Hemichordate said:
Thanks for the previously answer to my Q.

Also, I heard for Penn that if you apply and get rejected from the MD/PhD program, the admissions committee will not consider you for the MD program. 🙁 Is that correct?
Click to expand...

Correct. I sort of agree with it. The degrees are so much different that I personally think it's somewhat silly to consider MD-only if that's what you really want to do. While MD/PhD stats tend to be higher at most places, I think Penn usually points out that the means for MD-only and MD/PhD are roughly the same in terms of GPA/MCAT. So you should just elect to apply for the program you're most interested in at Penn.
 
mdeast said:
Correct. I sort of agree with it. The degrees are so much different that I personally think it's somewhat silly to consider MD-only if that's what you really want to do. While MD/PhD stats tend to be higher at most places, I think Penn usually points out that the means for MD-only and MD/PhD are roughly the same in terms of GPA/MCAT. So you should just elect to apply for the program you're most interested in at Penn.
Click to expand...

yup; MDe's right. Don't know if I agree with it... because that requires me to think and I'm on vacation dammit.

And MDe: Grats dude! You going to Stanford eh? Didn't see that till now - happy things worked out for you! Also - know anyone looking for a place to stay in philly? I got 2 brs in my 4br apt available and I'm having difficulty finding people 🙁
 
Sentinel said:
yup; MDe's right. Don't know if I agree with it... because that requires me to think and I'm on vacation dammit.

And MDe: Grats dude! You going to Stanford eh? Didn't see that till now - happy things worked out for you! Also - know anyone looking for a place to stay in philly? I got 2 brs in my 4br apt available and I'm having difficulty finding people 🙁
Click to expand...

Hey Sentinel did you post this on the class fb site? A bunch of people are starting to look now so they can move soon.
 
Amadelphous said:
Hey Sentinel did you post this on the class fb site? A bunch of people are starting to look now so they can move soon.
Click to expand...

Yea the problem is I'm trying to NOT live w/ med students 🙂 I want a bit of variety at home! That's probably why I'm having difficulty finding roommates 🙁 I've got hardcore requirements!
 
Nothing for me yet.

Same questions as last year?
 
BiochemGuy said:
Nothing for me yet.

Same questions as last year?
Click to expand...

hahaha I'm too lazy to go check and see what they were, but as far as writing goes, they ask you to pick your 3 most important AMCAS activities and then ask you describe why they are important to you in 1000 characters. To me it just seems like it's the same thing we wrote in the description portion of our AMCAS activities section, but there you go.

I only glanced at it, but that was all that really stood out.
 
mcctwist1 said:
hahaha I'm too lazy to go check and see what they were, but as far as writing goes, they ask you to pick your 3 most important AMCAS activities and then ask you describe why they are important to you in 1000 characters. To me it just seems like it's the same thing we wrote in the description portion of our AMCAS activities section, but there you go.

I only glanced at it, but that was all that really stood out.
Click to expand...

Yup. Same as last year. It's a little different than the AMCAS activities, so I'd mix it up a bit. More a way for Penn to see what are the "meat and potatoes" activities in your app that you're proud of.
 
Just got it as well..
 
@clint: they will see all three. So they should all be equally worked on... plus, everyone will write three (hell they'd write SIX if they could lol, this is SDN!)

received my secondary as well guys, gl!
 
Doodl3s said:
@clint: they will see all three. So they should all be equally worked on... plus, everyone will write three (hell they'd write SIX if they could lol, this is SDN!)

received my secondary as well guys, gl!
Click to expand...

I only wrote two.
 
BiochemGuy said:
I only wrote two.
Click to expand...

Same here. In my case, there were clearly two activities that were really "important" to me. I don't really think they are necessarily going to hold it against you for only marking two...at least I hope not hahaha.
 
COMPLETE! one of my new favorite words...
 
Doodl3s said:
@clint: they will see all three. So they should all be equally worked on... plus, everyone will write three (hell they'd write SIX if they could lol, this is SDN!)

received my secondary as well guys, gl!
Click to expand...

/facepalm.

This isn't true. I only wrote 2. It's quality; not quantity. Definitely make sure it isn't a regurgitation of what you wrote on the AMCAS app. Expand it - take this opportunity to say why you are picking these 2 (or 3) activities of all the ones you listed. Why are these special; and how does it show you are awesome and not just another run-of-the-mill applicant.
 
Do you guys think we should definitely choose a clinically related activity as 1 of the 3 that we expand upon?
 
RB93 said:
Do you guys think we should definitely choose a clinically related activity as 1 of the 3 that we expand upon?
Click to expand...

I didn't. Then again, what (I thought) made me unique was not my clinical experiences, but my work / leadership / teaching experiences - so that's what I focused on.
 
Love to have a chance here. But its a long shot with my mcat
 
Do the local, state, national awards also refer to awards conferred by your undergraduate institution??
 
When I log into the supplemental application, it lists a bunch of my individual LORs as "not received" though they were received by AMCAS a while ago (weeks ago, in fact). Do I need to hit the "submit" button in AMCAS again to make sure they get transmitted or is something else going on?
 
redpanda said:
When I log into the supplemental application, it lists a bunch of my individual LORs as "not received" though they were received by AMCAS a while ago (weeks ago, in fact). Do I need to hit the "submit" button in AMCAS again to make sure they get transmitted or is something else going on?
Click to expand...

If AMCAS has received them, my guess is that your status in the secondary just hasn't been updated yet.
 
ColeOnTheRoll said:
If AMCAS has received them, my guess is that your status in the secondary just hasn't been updated yet.
Click to expand...

This is probably right. If in another week it doesn't update - I'd call Penn first to see if they've started updating their system with what AMCAS has. If they have and it hasn't shown up, THEN call amcas to see what's up.

Definitely still very early in the process; wouldn't be surprised if their system hasn't caught up on all the information.
 
redpanda said:
When I log into the supplemental application, it lists a bunch of my individual LORs as "not received" though they were received by AMCAS a while ago (weeks ago, in fact). Do I need to hit the "submit" button in AMCAS again to make sure they get transmitted or is something else going on?
Click to expand...
Not sure if this is what you're talking about, but I believe that you do have to hit the "submit" button again on AMCAS after you assign your letters to specific schools.

edit: page 57 on the pdf here http://www.aamc.org/students/amcas/2011amcasinstructions.pdf
 
For the question about awards received, does it apply only to college or can I list awards from high school as well?
 
pe0ny said:
For the question about awards received, does it apply only to college or can I list awards from high school as well?
Click to expand...

I did not; but I'm a non-traditional student (I graduated HS in 2001...)

I think the general recommendation is to stick with post-HS awards. But if you have amazing awards from HS (like, national champion in tennis or something) - that could be worth talking about! I'd think that if you are listing a HS award, there better be a really good reason to list it... it probably won't be a good idea to list HS awards to just increase your awards count [then again; that's just my opinion]
 
Can you put dean's list and receiving an academic scholarship from your school in the awards section?
 
thebillsfan said:
Can you put dean's list and receiving an academic scholarship from your school in the awards section?
Click to expand...

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?
 
Well I know that one of my three experiences will definitely be the one when I shadowed a pediatrician who is an alumni of penn state's med school. :laugh:

I also think maybe being a sunday school teacher's assistant could be a good experience? It's kind of risky since I'm not planning on becoming a teacher but it is one of the reasons why I wanted to become a pediatrician.

Keeping my :xf: that we all get in guys!!!
 
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?
Click to expand...

Any other thoughts on this?
 
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?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

wysdoc
2024-2025 Pennsylvania (Perelman)
4 5 6 7 8
Replies
388
Views
164K
BrainStorm12
B
wysdoc
2024-2025 University of Washington
10 11 12 13 14
Replies
677
Views
169K
stew_md
S
wysdoc
2024-2025 University of Chicago (Pritzker)
12 13 14 15 16
Replies
778
Views
225K
X0001234
X0001234
wysdoc
2024-2025 Medical University of South Carolina
3 4 5 6 7
Replies
302
Views
65K
hbic2025
H
wysdoc
2024-2025 University of Central Florida (UCF)
3 4 5 6 7
Replies
318
Views
81K
LaurelePoole
L
Top Bottom