2012-2013 University of Pennsylvania (Perelman) Application Thread

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Please explain your reasons for applying to the Perelman School of Medicine and limit your response to 1,000 characters.

Good luck to everyone applying! :luck:
 
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Best of luck guys!
Incoming MS1 over here. I'll try to visit the site regularly and answer some of the questions you may have.
 
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Just finishing up first year and would be more than happy to answer any questions that people may have. Please feel free to PM me at any point throughout the app cycle with any questions, comments or concerns! I also think there were some valuable posts in last year's thread - so check those out!

Good luck everyone!
 
NeuroKidd said:
Just finishing up first year and would be more than happy to answer any questions that people may have. Please feel free to PM me at any point throughout the app cycle with any questions, comments or concerns! I also think there were some valuable posts in last year's thread - so check those out!

Good luck everyone!
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Hi NeuroKidd!
I'm thinking about applying here but have a couple of questions. I read on the website that the school has H/P/F after the 1st semester and was a little bit worried about that. How competitive is it after the 1st semester and how many people would you estimate get honors? I read the 2011-2012 thread and saw you made a fantastic post of why you chose Penn med, but I was wondering if you could reflect on your experiences as a Penn student after a whole year as a student. What were your likes, dislikes etc....?

Thanks!
 
I submitted my primary today. Penn is a long shot for me, but I can hope, right? :xf:

What did Penn ask on their essay prompts last year? What should I know about their application process?
 
Last year's prompt was

Please explain your reasons for applying to the Perelman School of Medicine.
 
Unidentified1 said:
I submitted my primary today. Penn is a long shot for me, but I can hope, right? :xf:

What did Penn ask on their essay prompts last year? What should I know about their application process?
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From my experience it's pretty much similar to other schools. Last year the secondary asked to express your interest to Penn (these tend to be one of the easier ones). After review, you get either an interview offer or put "on hold". The interview here is one of the best I've had. Penn really goes out of its way to show candidates why its such a good school, even though its the number 2 medical school in the country. Decisions are given out on a non-rolling basis one day in march.
 
protonate said:
From my experience it's pretty much similar to other schools. Last year the secondary asked to express your interest to Penn (these tend to be one of the easier ones). After review, you get either an interview offer or put "on hold". The interview here is one of the best I've had. Penn really goes out of its way to show candidates why its such a good school, even though its the number 2 medical school in the country. Decisions are given out on a non-rolling basis one day in march.
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What is their interview procedure like?
 
Unidentified1 said:
What is their interview procedure like?
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The night before the interview, there is an optional "happy hour" session where you get to meet and talk to current students about Penn. Interview day starts with an information session. After, candidates get to sit in a small group session. There is then a lunch session with current students and then you're off to your two interviews. There are two 30 minute interviews-1 faculty and 1 student. Both are open file, meaning that they read your application before you interview.
 
protonate said:
The night before the interview, there is an optional "happy hour" session where you get to meet and talk to current students about Penn. Interview day starts with an information session. After, candidates get to sit in a small group session. There is then a lunch session with current students and then you're off to your two interviews. There are two 30 minute interviews-1 faculty and 1 student. Both are open file, meaning that they read your application before you interview.
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Don't forget the sim center demonstration, haha
 
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protonate said:
The night before the interview, there is an optional "happy hour" session where you get to meet and talk to current students about Penn.
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It annoys me that they have a happy hour thing because I won't be 21 for a good while. It might be "optional" but I'm a pre-med here. I've never turned down extra credit. :laugh:
 
Unidentified1 said:
It annoys me that they have a happy hour thing because I won't be 21 for a good while. It might be "optional" but I'm a pre-med here. I've never turned down extra credit. :laugh:
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Not going won't hurt you 🙂. Extra credit is hard to turn down though!
 
Unidentified1 said:
It annoys me that they have a happy hour thing because I won't be 21 for a good while. It might be "optional" but I'm a pre-med here. I've never turned down extra credit. :laugh:
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No worries - you won't be the first or the last person to show up to the "happy hour" who is not 21. We just go to different restaurants near campus and people can get what they want. These events are definitely not centered around alcohol and you will not be the only person who does not drink 🙂
 
NeuroKidd said:
No worries - you won't be the first or the last person to show up to the "happy hour" who is not 21. We just go to different restaurants near campus and people can get what they want. These events are definitely not centered around alcohol and you will not be the only person who does not drink 🙂
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Good to know! Thanks!
 
Based on their website, Canadians cannot apply unless we complete one year of university in the United States? FYI not applying this year, but don't know where to post this question.

"INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

To provide the Perelman School of Medicine with a basis for evaluating and comparing applicants' performance and to increase the student's likelihood of success in medical school, those who receive degrees from foreign institutions are required to have completed one year of course work in the sciences at a college or university in the United States before an application for admission to the first year of medical school will be considered. In addition, nonpermanent residents of the United States are not eligible for federal or school financial aid programs."
 
Based on their website, Canadians cannot apply unless we complete one year of university in the United States? FYI not applying this year, but don't know where to post this question.
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I'd suggest that you call the admissions office and ask. I know that we interviewed several Canadian applicants (don't know how many, but can remember at least 2 from one pre-interview happy hour) this past cycle. The info for international applicants may be waived for certain institutions? Don't know any details but it never hurts to call and ask! Good luck.
 
It is a huge disappointment that UPenn is closing their diversity office. If you're of the opinion that diversity isn't relevant to you, then you don't know the true family history you've come from.

If they don't have a good plan for adding another office with a similar mission in tolerance, then this only shows the true colors of this administration. Hopefully they will change their minds. Good luck to those who are applying. UPenn has a lot to offer, but this is a deal breaker.
 
SaintJude said:
It is a huge disappointment that UPenn is closing their diversity office. If you're of the opinion that diversity isn't relevant to you, then you don't know the true family history you've come from.

If they don't have a good plan for adding another office with a similar mission in tolerance, then this only shows the true colors of this administration. Hopefully they will change their minds. Good luck to those who are applying. UPenn has a lot to offer, but this is a deal breaker.
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Where did you see they were closing their diversity office?
 
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Megatron2016 said:
Where did you see they were closing their diversity office?
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I also received an email update that someone had posted this in the forum here. However, it appears as though the post, which contained information about the impending effective dissolution of the Office of Diversity and Community Outreach at Perelman, was deleted? To my knowledge, the "reorganization" of this Office into the Office of Academic Programs has not been well explained to current students. I do know that there are a lot concerned students who are currently rallying around this issue, which will be discussed in a town-hall style meeting in the next couple of weeks with the administration. Will definitely try and post updates to this thread.
 
For those currently attending Perelman, could you give some feedback on what made you choose it over other med schools, and some of its unique features? Things I'm thinking of are the early clerkships, community outreach, and global abroad opportunities...
Thanks!
 
From a PM I recently sent someone:

Howdy!

Glad to hear that you are considering Penn! I am super stoked that I decided to come here and have had a fantastic first year. Definitely feel free to PM me again in the future with any questions that may pop up through the application cycle.

I think I put up a long post in the previous year's thread about why I chose Penn, but I can definitely hit the highlights. I honestly think that Penn has completely unparalleled opportunities for whatever your interests, within or outside of medicine, may be. And as you mentioned, not only do you have access to these opportunities, but you have an extra half year to take advantage of them.

Because the "Penn Medicine" system incorporates so many hospitals and clinics, there is fantastic breadth of clinical exposure. No matter what patient demographic you are interested in working with, you can find it within the Penn system. Because of the number of research dollars awarded to the institution, there is a ton of internal funding for projects. Not only are Penn students competitive for national scholarships that all students in the US can apply for, but there is also a lot of departmental funding open to us. We have a very strong collaboration with a healthcare organization in Botswana which students opt to involve themselves in. There is also funding available for all students' international interests. One group this year created a new program that took them to Cuba for spring break - the money and administrative support is definitely there.

As far as curriculum goes, I am extremely pleased with the setup of the preclinical years. We have a good balance of lecture and small group, and small groups, for the most part, just reinforce and allow you to synthesize things you've already learned in lecture. During the clinical years we also have a lot of neat rotations incorporated into our core curriculum - we all rotate through emergency medicine, anesthesia, ophthalmology, orthopedics, and ENT... and probably other spiffy things that I can't recall at the moment. Most schools will not give you the opportunity to experience these things in your core rotations. And remember that this is in addition to the extra 6 months we have to explore electives!

Basically, everything other schools had that I liked, Penn also had. There are just so many things to do and so many ways to supplement your "standard" medical education here that you really have a lot of chances to define and refine your career trajectory. We regularly have lectures and small groups with faculty from other schools in the University so we get a wonderful perspective on a lot of issues related to medicine. Wharton professors have given lectures on medicare, medicaid, and healthcare systems. Bioethics professors (Zeke Emanuel) have talked about healthcare reform and a wide variety of issues in medical ethics. Zeke actually had a meet and greet the same day he was at the Supreme Court hearing for the defense of the PPACA. It's pretty awesome and while we get to hear about these issues from such renowned people, I'm not even sure other schools teach med students about these kinds of things.

That's about all I can come up with for now - but if you have more specific questions that I haven't answered feel free to PM me!
 
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WalkByFaith said:
This message is for all, but especially one of the posters above who said the diversity office issue is a "deal breaker". I just received word that the directors of the Office of Diversity and Community Outreach are retiring, they were not terminated. There's no official news about what will happen to the programs and services they provided, we'll just have to sit tight. I'm an incoming MS1 from a minority background and Penn's value of diversity was definitely one of the major reasons I decided to matriculate. I sincerely hope the school's values haven't changed this quickly, but I'm not giving up hope just yet and neither should you guys. All the best to the Penn Med applicants!
Click to expand...

We just received a memo from an administrator that made the situation sound very different than what I've garnered from some of the other students. Two new diversity/outreach vice deans have been appointed, and they are faculty who I know and have a lot of respect for. As of right now, I'm a lot less concerned about the upcoming changes than I was initially.

Penn is a wonderful place and I will be surprised if this situation doesn't have a happy ending 😀
 
NeuroKidd said:
We just received a memo from an administrator that made the situation sound very different than what I've garnered from some of the other students. Two new diversity/outreach vice deans have been appointed, and they are faculty who I know and have a lot of respect for. As of right now, I'm a lot less concerned about the upcoming changes than I was initially.

Penn is a wonderful place and I will be surprised if this situation doesn't have a happy ending 😀
Click to expand...

I definitely do not share the same sentiment as you. Although its nice that two faculty members members we like have been given a title, it doesn't address our problem. The faculty are full time physicians, so they will have other responsibilities. We still will not have a diversity office as of Friday or full time staff devoted to diversity issues.

I'm still VERY concerned. The incoming students will not have the support that they should have and there are currently no plans for the diversity events that usually occur
 
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Has anyone applying for 2013 received secondaries from Penn yet?
 
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bump for secondary received 11AM EST.
 
Same here. Essay is:

Please explain your reasons for applying to the Perelman School of Medicine and limit your response to 1,000 characters.
 
For the part asking us what global activities we have participated in outside of the US, should we just list the names of those activities, or should we include descriptions of those activities and their dates, even if we already described them in our primary.

Protonate, NeuroKidd, or malicious1116, do you remember what you did for this? (Thanks, by the way, for answering the questions on this thread!)
 
An MD Hopeful said:
For the part asking us what global activities we have participated in outside of the US, should we just list the names of those activities, or should we include descriptions of those activities and their dates, even if we already described them in our primary.

Protonate, NeuroKidd, or malicious1116, do you remember what you did for this? (Thanks, by the way, for answering the questions on this thread!)
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I had a 1000 character thing about my honduras trip already written so I pasted that in.
 
My mom lost her job last year and has been actively searching for a job without luck since then. She's an immigrant from Vietnam with no high school degree. My father has become the sole source of income for our household of five for the first time in more than a decade. Does this count as an economic hardship?
 
AiyaTuc said:
My mom lost her job last year and has been actively searching for a job without luck since then. She's an immigrant from Vietnam with no high school degree. My father has become the sole source of income for our household of five for the first time in more than a decade. Does this count as an economic hardship?
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Depends on how much he's making
 
AiyaTuc said:
My mom lost her job last year and has been actively searching for a job without luck since then. She's an immigrant from Vietnam with no high school degree. My father has become the sole source of income for our household of five for the first time in more than a decade. Does this count as an economic hardship?
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I think this would potentially be fine. If your dad is a fortune 500 CEO people may get annoyed, so you'll just have to make sure and explain your situation.

hurlygrly07 said:
I'm a little confused by the awards section. What categorizes a national award? for instance Phi Beta Kappa is a national association but not technically an award. Likewise I went to UC Berkely so awards in my department are not state awards right?
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I'm not sure about this, but I think national awards are things like Fulbright, Rhodes, etc. If uncertain you can always call and ask!

An MD Hopeful said:
For the part asking us what global activities we have participated in outside of the US, should we just list the names of those activities, or should we include descriptions of those activities and their dates, even if we already described them in our primary.

Protonate, NeuroKidd, or malicious1116, do you remember what you did for this? (Thanks, by the way, for answering the questions on this thread!)
Click to expand...

You are probably okay to just point people towards your AMCAS, unless you think you have extra information to provide that isn't elsewhere in your application.


Good luck all! :luck::luck::luck:
 
AiyaTuc said:
Er, did anyone else qualify for fee assistance? I'm confused on how to actually submit my application. It wants my credit card info... Hmmm... E-mailed the admissions people and am waiting for a response.
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Not sure how exactly the process works, but definitely give the admissions office a ring if you need to! Good luck!
 
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AiyaTuc said:
Er, did anyone else qualify for fee assistance? I'm confused on how to actually submit my application. It wants my credit card info... Hmmm... E-mailed the admissions people and am waiting for a response.
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I also qualify for FAP. I ran into the same problem as you. Please let me know what they say or if you figured it out. Thanks!
 
I got a big envelope in the mail today from Perelman with a big ol' flyer/pamphlet thing about the school, it's curriculum, and mission. Did anyone else get one of these?
 
Unidentified1 said:
I got a big envelope in the mail today from Perelman with a big ol' flyer/pamphlet thing about the school, it's curriculum, and mission. Did anyone else get one of these?
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Quite a few people got this last year. It looks like they send it to some of their applicants. I personally don't recall receiving it though.
 
I called the admissions office today. The lady I spoke with says they are having technical difficulty for applicants that are trying to submit the secondary and have FAP. She said she'll send me an email when it is fixed.
 
patel1283 said:
I called the admissions office today. The lady I spoke with says they are having technical difficulty for applicants that are trying to submit the secondary and have FAP. She said she'll send me an email when it is fixed.
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I did the same thing. I will update here when it's fixed.

Sent from my X10i using SDN Mobile
 
When Perelman asks about rewards from organizations, does being invited to be a member of the national honor society Delta Epsilon Sigma count?
 
Is anyone else having trouble saving work on the secondary? Whenever I press "Save and Finish later" and go back to the supplement, it is still blank.
 
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