2008-2009 U Penn (University of Pennsylvania) Secondary Application Thread

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did you guys get an info packet about the school of medicine recently from penn? if so, does it mean anything or did they send it to all applicants??
 
Yeah, I think most people did receive that mailing, regardless if they ended up being deferred or if they had already been invited to interview. So, don't look into it anymore than need be; it doesn't mean you're going to an invite, sorry.
 
Is no news good news at this point? Or at least not bad news? I've been complete since the end of July/early August and have heard NOTHING (which means I also haven't gotten the deferral message on my status page). It seems from others posts that it is at least not bad news, but I don't want to read too much into this. Sorry if this post is repeats other posts. I guess I am just unsure and want a little reassurance. Thanks!
 
iheartcats said:
Is no news good news at this point? Or at least not bad news? I've been complete since the end of July/early August and have heard NOTHING (which means I also haven't gotten the deferral message on my status page). It seems from others posts that it is at least not bad news, but I don't want to read too much into this. Sorry if this post is repeats other posts. I guess I am just unsure and want a little reassurance. Thanks!
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yeah, from what i gather it means you are still in the running for interview invite 🙂
 
iheartcats said:
Is no news good news at this point? Or at least not bad news? I've been complete since the end of July/early August and have heard NOTHING (which means I also haven't gotten the deferral message on my status page). It seems from others posts that it is at least not bad news, but I don't want to read too much into this. Sorry if this post is repeats other posts. I guess I am just unsure and want a little reassurance. Thanks!
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So, I'm quoting an earlier post by funkydrmonkey. It is certainly not all bad, since you haven't received the deferred message. But, it may not be all great...see below.

I called the office and they said that if you get the deferred message, basically they have gone through the round of screening, and there is another round of screening it will go through after all of the applications have been screened. If you do not have a deferred message, that means that your file was not finished going through the first round of screening when the status page was generated. Everyone will get the deferred message after it has passed the first round of screening and you have not received an interview invite. So, basically that really bites...
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iheartcats said:
Is no news good news at this point? Or at least not bad news? I've been complete since the end of July/early August and have heard NOTHING (which means I also haven't gotten the deferral message on my status page). It seems from others posts that it is at least not bad news, but I don't want to read too much into this. Sorry if this post is repeats other posts. I guess I am just unsure and want a little reassurance. Thanks!
Click to expand...

My status was "complete" since about Aug and up to as late as 11/16 (I'm pretty sure, could have been 11/15 but definitely this weekend) and I received an email invite on morning of 11/18, in case that's useful. Good luck to everyone!
 
Scarletgirl, did you get an interview invite then? Seems like you're the only one with something other than "deferred" or "under review". Argh, "deferred" is the best news I've gotten so far this cycle =(, so I'm clinging on to it until I get better news!
 
Derek Stiles said:
Scarletgirl, did you get an interview invite then? Seems like you're the only one with something other than "deferred" or "under review". Argh, "deferred" is the best news I've gotten so far this cycle =(, so I'm clinging on to it until I get better news!
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Yes, I received an invite. I guess it goes without saying that Penn takes a really long time to get to people, so I wouldn't give up hope. Good luck to you--I have particular sympathy for international students!
 
finally got the deferred message today...
 
ami1983 said:
finally got the deferred message today...
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That's too bad. I'm still holding out with that complete message since early September but I'm not expecting much. Can you tell me when-ish you were marked complete?
 
linguini said:
That's too bad. I'm still holding out with that complete message since early September but I'm not expecting much. Can you tell me when-ish you were marked complete?
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10/20, perhaps about a week earlier because i never checked until the 20th. (i submitted late)
 
Thought I would add my own if they're worth anything. My application was complete rather late, 11/03 at the earliest I believe, and I also received this referred status message, but only checked today so do not know exactly when it was posted. I find it difficult to believe that anyone was able to adequately review my application within 2-3 weeks. This has been intolerably exasperating. Found this forum in sheer desperation for an ounce of consolation. Good to know this message has touched a nerve with many! Good luck to you all.
 
I don't get why Penn takes until mid-March for decisions. They interview starting 1st week of Oct, and do ~60 people per week, meaning by now, or by mid Dec. they've interviewed about 600+ people, out of 800 total. I'm sure they make decisions by end of January, at least on some of the interviewees.

::Sigh:: this process is driving me crazy and I don't know what to do about it. Someone help me
 
Hey guys,

Just letting everyone know I got an interview offer today! So for all of those people who still have the "Complete" message, just hold out-- good news could be coming your way!

I took a summer (August) MCAT so I wasn't complete until mid-September, so it took them about 2.5 months to invite me. Hope that helps.

Also, does anyone know what the admission statistics for UPenn are? How many do they interview and how many of the interviewees do they accept?

Good luck!
 
Congrats on the interview! You'll get a sheet on interview day with these statistics...but for everyone else

Class of 2012:

~6000 Apps
866 Interviews
222 Accepts
= 25% acceptance rate post-interview

Though I'm sure MedPhuds inflate those numbers so it's more competitive if you look at MD alone.
 
ruinoussplendor said:
I find it difficult to believe that anyone was able to adequately review my application within 2-3 weeks.
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How long should it took for someone to review an application? Should adcoms put them all under microscopes and dissect them?

Though I'm sure MedPhuds inflate those numbers so it's more competitive if you look at MD alone.
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On raw numbers the MD/PhD is as competitive as MD alone. About 600 apps, 120 interviews, ~30 accepted. The average MCAT and GPA are higher as well.
 
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pagingdrp said:
congrats on the interview! You'll get a sheet on interview day with these statistics...but for everyone else

class of 2012:

~6000 apps
866 interviews
222 accepts
= 25% acceptance rate post-interview

though i'm sure medphuds inflate those numbers so it's more competitive if you look at md alone.
Click to expand...

thanks!
 
still waiting here. sigh. I've been complete since July-ish (I submitted the secondary form on July 1st).
 
Nikhil72 said:
still waiting here. sigh. I've been complete since July-ish (I submitted the secondary form on July 1st).
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👍 Still waiting as well... hey it is better than being deferred!:luck:
 
Still waiting as well . I hope Penn makes up its mind soon because this checking my status page 3-4 times a day is verging on unhealthy and compulsive. 😳
 
I just got an interview invitation to Penn after getting the "deferred" message on November 15th! 😀 WOOT.

Dear blurryLines,

Congratulations! The Committee on Admissions at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine is pleased to invite you for an interview.

The interview program is designed to introduce you to our institution and its programs of medical education. We will share our educational philosophy and help you meet faculty and students. Our program is relaxed, friendly, and informative. We are eager to welcome you to the School of Medicine and look forward to learning more about you.

I was complete at Penn on 8/29.

So I think this somewhat dispels the "finality" of the deferred message! I was honestly shocked to get the invitation email because all the posts on here had pretty much caused me to give up on Penn entirely.

So don't lose hope!
Deferred ≠ Reject! 👍
 
Yay interview invite todayyyy! I was complete early September and had the complete message as of 11/15. If you have the complete message (or if you don't - congrats blurry!) then keep on waiting and good news might be coming your way.
 
linguini said:
Yay interview invite todayyyy! I was complete early September and had the complete message as of 11/15. If you have the complete message (or if you don't - congrats blurry!) then keep on waiting and good news might be coming your way.
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congrats!!
 
jgberken said:
NICE! Congrats blurry! 👍
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Thanks! Things like this make me feel like I understand the application process less and less. I guess all these status message updates can get pretty meaningless after a while. Like everyone says, it's not over until you get the rejection letter (or school starts)!

I hope the deferred --> invite trend continues for other people too. :luck:
 
blurryLines said:
Thanks! Things like this make me feel like I understand the application process less and less. I guess all these status message updates can get pretty meaningless after a while. Like everyone says, it's not over until you get the rejection letter (or school starts)!

I hope the deferred --> invite trend continues for other people too. :luck:
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I hope so, too! 😛 Did you send any kind of update or did they just invite you on their own?
 
jgberken said:
I hope so, too! 😛 Did you send any kind of update or did they just invite you on their own?
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They just sent it randomly. I had given up on them already.

And you are a fast poster :laugh:
 
congrats! that is cool that u got it! hopefully the power of the lucky interview thread will work once again for me and others😀
 
blurryLines said:
They just sent it randomly. I had given up on them already.

And you are a fast poster :laugh:
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:laugh: I should spend a little less time on SDN.

Cool. Well, you've given me a tiny bit of hope which is better than nothing! 😛 Thanks for letting us know and congrats again! When is your interview?
 
Hey do you guys know if they even reject people at this point or is it just defer/invite? Seems like its the later.
 
droshan said:
Hey do you guys know if they even reject people at this point or is it just defer/invite? Seems like its the later.
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Since Penn does not do rolling admissions, I think the consensus is that they are not rejecting people right now. In March, you're either accepted, [waitlisted], or officially rejected.
 
In past years, anyone who interviews is either accepted or waitlisted. There is no straight rejection for those who interviewed until the class is set.

For those who are not interviewed, they will just have a "deferred" message until March. If you want to know sooner that you won't have an interview, pay attention to this thread and you'll probably find out when the last interview date is. If you haven't gotten your invite by then, you know you won't get one.
 
Is there some type of problem if my status page has been "Complete" since 8/14?.. I haven't gotten an interview invite nor a deferred message.
 
jgberken said:
:laugh: I should spend a little less time on SDN.

Cool. Well, you've given me a tiny bit of hope which is better than nothing! 😛 Thanks for letting us know and congrats again! When is your interview?
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They are officially offering me 1/7 and 1/9, and they also allow you to put yourself on a "waitlist" for dates in the next two weeks (I guess so you can take a spot if someone cancels or they have extra space).

I guess being a mod is a better excuse than most of us have for constantly checking this website!
 
I was complete on 9/2 and then i in november i went from complete to "deferred" and then about 1.5 weeks ago, I went back to just "complete" with it saying my app is going through the screening process. what does that mean if my status reverted back to just complete....
 
mdoutlook said:
I was complete on 9/2 and then i in november i went from complete to "deferred" and then about 1.5 weeks ago, I went back to just "complete" with it saying my app is going through the screening process. what does that mean if my status reverted back to just complete....
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I don't think it means anything necessarily. Just wait!
 
whoo! Invite today (finally!!). I'm so, so excited right now.
 
I went from complete to interview invite
 
I don't actually know my complete date (does it say it on the site?) but I submitted the secondary on July 1st.
 
mdoutlook said:
I was complete on 9/2 and then i in november i went from complete to "deferred" and then about 1.5 weeks ago, I went back to just "complete" with it saying my app is going through the screening process. what does that mean if my status reverted back to just complete....
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I just checked my status when I read your post and the exact same thing happened to me! I had been complete since august, was changed to "deferred" in November, and I'm back to complete again. Maybe they're reconsidering us?
 
Finally got an interview invite (yesterday)! I have been complete since the end of July...although I never when through the "deferred" trauma! I am so happy! Good luck to everyone - I really had given up hope myself...
 
All right, who else got a giant, happy-looking white envelope and got all excited only to open it and find... a copy of the curriculum. Not an interview, that's one thing. But not even a "Hey how ya doin thought you might like to look at this while you wait!" Thanks Penn. What a tease.

...I'd still like an interview, though...
 
iheartcats said:
Finally got an interview invite (yesterday)! I have been complete since the end of July...although I never when through the "deferred" trauma! I am so happy! Good luck to everyone - I really had given up hope myself...
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Congrats


gridiron227 said:
All right, who else got a giant, happy-looking white envelope and got all excited only to open it and find... a copy of the curriculum. Not an interview, that's one thing. But not even a "Hey how ya doin thought you might like to look at this while you wait!" Thanks Penn. What a tease.

...I'd still like an interview, though...
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Yeah, they sent out a batch of those awhile back, seems like such a cruel joke.
 
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