2009-2010 Penn State Application Thread

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got back from my interview last night... all i can say is it's VERY laid back... the interviewers were really talkative and made it a LOT easier (and this is coming from a rookie interviewee)... one of them asked a few questions about my amcas and the other really just talked to me a bit, not many typical med-school oriented questions...

really liked the school/hospital, nice to know they're expanding too... and COL is like 1/4th of what it would be here in CA... only downside is there being no real *night life*

Yeah but do you really need that much night life while in med school? Plus, Harrisburg has some decent stuff on 2nd Street and Philly, Baltimore, DC are all within 2 hours. I think it would be better to have to make a real effort to go out rather than having distractions around all the time. While COL is much cheaper, tuition is almost double that of a UC school (for CA residents)!

Now in week #5 since the interview, come on snail mail!
 
Has anyone been invited for interview after receiving "continue to review" letter? Just curious...
 
Yeah but do you really need that much night life while in med school? Plus, Harrisburg has some decent stuff on 2nd Street and Philly, Baltimore, DC are all within 2 hours. I think it would be better to have to make a real effort to go out rather than having distractions around all the time. While COL is much cheaper, tuition is almost double that of a UC school (for CA residents)!

Now in week #5 since the interview, come on snail mail!
Interviewed September 18th. Acceptance letter dated 11-11. There's hope.
Best of luck to everyone waiting.
 
Do 'continue to review' hold letters come before or after completion email/status change?

submitted mid-september, no completion yet...

thanks!
 
Also, does anyone know who the dean of admissions/associate dean of admissions is? Or director of admissions? Does anyone have his/her email address? I'm trying to change some contact info on secondary and also updates on my application and the general admissions email is not responding back to me. :-/
 
Also, does anyone know who the dean of admissions/associate dean of admissions is? Or director of admissions? Does anyone have his/her email address? I'm trying to change some contact info on secondary and also updates on my application and the general admissions email is not responding back to me. :-/
They're busy, but they'll get back to you sooner or later. For quick changes to contact info, over the phone might be the easiest strategy. Regardless, the contact person is Marc Lubbers, but the only method I found of contacting him is to email the general account to his attn.
 
They're busy, but they'll get back to you sooner or later. For quick changes to contact info, over the phone might be the easiest strategy. Regardless, the contact person is Marc Lubbers, but the only method I found of contacting him is to email the general account to his attn.

Thank you. It's some changes to my application as well. I emailed asking them a question about 5 weeks ago and no reply yet...

How do I email the general account to his attn? Just in the subject line?

Thanks!
 
Thank you. It's some changes to my application as well. I emailed asking them a question about 5 weeks ago and no reply yet...

How do I email the general account to his attn? Just in the subject line?

Thanks!
I know that they won't accept grade updates, but I'm not sure if they'll take other news.

I got his eyes on my email by addressing him by name in the body. The subject would probably be even better. He took about a week to respond, BTW.

Good luck!
 
I'm on pre-interview hold list (I thought I had a decent shot at getting an interview here...) Does a significant number of ppl come off that list and get an interview, and possibly acceptance?

anyone know?
 
I'm OOS. Acceptance letter via snail mail.
Thanks for the congrats everyone. Good luck to all of you :luck:
 
Congrats to all new acceptances! Hope that I see you all in August! :-D
 
Yea they did say 6-8 wks but maybe my interviewers were super speedy in returning their evals. My acceptance letter was dated Nov 11 (2 weeks after my interview date).
 
i just withdrew and was told i was a "high hold", whatever that means. but anyways, hope that helps any of your chances!
 
They did say 6-8 weeks, right?
I was quoted 4-6 weeks, I believe.

UPDATE:

Got my letter today, dated November 12. Post-interview hold and no updates will be allowed from this point.
 
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complete 10/5, continue to review letter dated 11/17

woo
 
Accepted!!! Woot. Interviewed on 10/14

So, the deposit fee is not due til May 15th right?
 
Anyone know the average time it takes to be complete here? Around 2 months? Thanks.
 
Hang in there. I'm in-state, interviewed on 9-25, and finally got the fat envelope yesterday-- 8+ weeks later. Best of luck to everybody.
 
Hang in there. I'm in-state, interviewed on 9-25, and finally got the fat envelope yesterday-- 8+ weeks later. Best of luck to everybody.

congratulations! that's quite a wait they subjected you to. I'm at about 5 weeks post-interview now and getting really antsy
 
finally received complete email- submitted on 9/11 for those interested
 
Yeah, I received the same e-mail. Thats bogus! How does it take THAT long? I submitted 9/11 as well and received an e-mail @ 1 pm today saying I was complete. 😕
 
****
hold list
interview mid-October
hope this isn't the end of the line for me here, but it doesn't look good.
 
Just got invited for an interview at 4:10 on a Friday via e-mail. Submitted 8/25, complete 10/28. I have to call to schedule my interview but I'm assuming they're closed for the weekend. Does anyone know if admissions is open on Saturdays?
 
Same here 🙁

I wonder how many people are put on the waitlist and how many come off of it... doesn't seem like they reject very many post-interview. Well, they don't accept any updates/letters of interest or anything post-interview so I guess all we can do is wait.
 
For those who have already interviewed - did any of you stay in the Days Inn that the Admissions people suggested? If so, is there a restaurant in the hotel or somewhere to eat near by? I'm flying in next Sunday and I got a night to kill in Hershey, PA... it's gonna get crazy!!!! 😀😀

But seriously... I'm definitely going to need something to eat that night and the next morning b4 my interview... Do I need to stock up on granola bars, or is there something near by where I can eat?

Thanks!!! Totally stoked about my upcoming interview btw
 
I stayed at the Days Inn. Its pretty good for $50 a night plus you can reserve a shuttle to take you to the interview and back (free!). When you check in they give you a list of restaurants in the area. good luck on your interview!
 
For those who have already interviewed - did any of you stay in the Days Inn that the Admissions people suggested? If so, is there a restaurant in the hotel or somewhere to eat near by? I'm flying in next Sunday and I got a night to kill in Hershey, PA... it's gonna get crazy!!!! 😀😀

But seriously... I'm definitely going to need something to eat that night and the next morning b4 my interview... Do I need to stock up on granola bars, or is there something near by where I can eat?

Thanks!!! Totally stoked about my upcoming interview btw

I was in a similar position as you. I stayed in Hershey for two nights though. I only found a pizza place a block away. I didn't want to walk too far and I'm sure it's colder now. The next night, I ordered chinese takeout (from the list of restaurants they gave out). It's pretty good. There's continental breakfast at Day's Inn, which should be sufficient for the morning.
 
Finally got an email saying I'm complete today.

I submitted my secondary on 9/17 BEFORE I my primary was cleared by AAMCAS. My AAMCAS cleared around 9/23 or so.

So it took about 10 or 11 weeks to be marked complete for me.

It looks like it takes about 2-4 weeks to get an interview invite and if you are waiting any longer, you may likely receive a "continue to hold" letter in the mail but at this part of the admissions cycle, getting invites is gonna be closer to the 4 week waiting period.
 
oh boy the Days Inn is just 0.5 miles from Hershey World? this is gonna be fun... forget the interview LOL
 
Can anyone tell me the turnaround time for penn state? I submitted very late (around 11/10).
 
Can anyone tell me the turnaround time for penn state? I submitted very late (around 11/10).

Over a month to be marked complete, then a couple weeks for interview invite.
 
Over a month to be marked complete, then a couple weeks for interview invite.

is interview invite an email or phone call or status page update?
I'm complete since 10/20 - no answer for me yet 🙁(
 
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