2009-2010 University of Pennsylvania Application Thread

[kstephan]

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Quick question about how people are writing these experience descriptions. Like others have posted I did a pretty thorough job in my AMCAS for my activities. In writing I find myself focusing on leadership in the beginning but then straying off to their importance/what I learned etc. I don't really feel like I am answering the question but when I just talk about leadership/commitment its like 2 sentences. Is this supposed to be more room for you to elaborate or do they strictly want you to talk about leadership and commitment? The problem is mine aren't like I was president of XXX or leader of YYY...

 

[Rach83]

Quick question about how people are writing these experience descriptions. Like others have posted I did a pretty thorough job in my AMCAS for my activities. In writing I find myself focusing on leadership in the beginning but then straying off to their importance/what I learned etc. I don't really feel like I am answering the question but when I just talk about leadership/commitment its like 2 sentences. Is this supposed to be more room for you to elaborate or do they strictly want you to talk about leadership and commitment? The problem is mine aren't like I was president of XXX or leader of YYY...

I am taking the prompt pretty literally and am sticking to commitment/leadership. I didn't write a lot in my AMCAS activities section so I guess that helps. I'm afraid to write about other stuff and look like I can't follow directions.

 

[RevivedPreMed]

For "special circumstances" is it worth putting that my fiance goes to UPenn Dental? Would they even consider this?

 

[Amadelphous]

For "special circumstances" is it worth putting that my fiance goes to UPenn Dental? Would they even consider this?

You never know...they might.

If you are already a good candidate for Penn they may consider you a sure thing to attend if you already have connections to the school.

 

[Atlantis07]

.

 

[Jolt21]

Did you guys get a confirmation email from Penn that your secondary has been received? My status page looks fine (it says that I'm complete), but I'm just a bit thrown off because I've gotten an email confirming receipt of secondary and payment for all the other schools. Thanks!

i think if it says complete you're ok. i never got an e-mail either.

 

[PhiAlpha]

Hey All,
I handed in my supplemental and had recs and MCAT cleared and I received an email saying my secondary was in and fee was paid but I never received a "Complete" email. Did you guys receive a "Complete" email.


Thanks a lot,

 

[FuSoYa]

Hey All,
I handed in my supplemental and had recs and MCAT cleared and I received an email saying my secondary was in and fee was paid but I never received a "Complete" email. Did you guys receive a "Complete" email.


Thanks a lot,

There are no "complete" emails from Penn, just a status page saying "complete"

 

[boaz]

"Please check up to..." What if I don't check any? Do I have better chances because I give the adcoms an easy time? 😀

Man, do I wish that were true...

 

[OOOaF]

whatre the chances here for OOS?

 

[makeshift123]

just got an interview invite!!!!!!!! on cloud 9

 

[phillyfan875]

Me too!! What a nice birthday surprise!

 

[osumc2014]

just got an interview invite!!!!!!!! on cloud 9

Congrats!!! through email?

 

[KMFDM]

Interview invite as well, notified via email.

I didn't really want to go here at all, until I went to choose my interview date and they allowed me to pick my meal as "Strictly Kosher."

Definitely my number one choice now.

 

[Rach83]

What interview dates were they were offering?

 

[dw2158]

Interview invite as well, notified via email.

I didn't really want to go here at all, until I went to choose my interview date and they allowed me to pick my meal as "Strictly Kosher."

Definitely my number one choice now.

did you not know this about penn already? congrats!

 

[KMFDM]

did you not know this about penn already? congrats!

Haha no, I was just joking.

 

[eeeeee]

got an interview too. yay!

5 dates to choose from. earliest was 9/24, latest was 10/8.

 

[makeshift123]

9/25, 10/1, 10/7, 10/8. basically, i'm not gonna be in school in october. i had 3 interviews in october but now its 6. sooooo grateful, but damn i'm gonna fail all my classes.

 

[phoenixsuns]

Anybody else surprised that in the last 40 minutes, nobody asked them when they were complete? I thnk it's a sign that SDN is maturing.

So uh... When were you guys complete?

 

[FuSoYa]

Anybody else surprised that in the last 40 minutes, nobody asked them when they were complete? I thnk it's a sign that SDN is maturing.

So uh... When were you guys complete?

OMG I didn't get an email this morning with the very first batch of interview invites, does that mean I'm rejected??? Why doesn't Penn like me?!?

:cry:

 

[mdeast]

so jealous of you all. congrats!

 

[parkss2k]

Interview invite too!! Complete 7/28

 

[ksmi117]

so jealous of you all. congrats!

Agree. 'Grats guys!!!

 

[mechtel]

What interview dates were they were offering?

I had these options:

09/24/09 (Thu)
09/25/09 (Fri)
10/01/09 (Thu)
10/07/09 (Wed)
10/08/09 (Thu)

 

[JasonE]

when were you guys complete?

 

[mechtel]

when were you guys complete?

Complete 7/24 I have written down, but haven't been keeping very detailed records on this and not sure where I got this from. I remember submitting it on the day it came out.

 

[Bbon]

I was worried about when the first invites were gonna come since I still haven't submitted my secondary (getting close though). I've been sitting on this guy for a month and a half now...

Maybe for the best; Penn is one of my top choices. This way if I get an interview, I'll have a couple under my belt to get some of those jitters out of the system. Congrats to everyone that received one already.

 

[osumc2014]

I was worried about when the first invites were gonna come since I still haven't submitted my secondary (getting close though). I've been sitting on this guy for a month and a half now...

Maybe for the best; Penn is one of my top choices. This way if I get an interview, I'll have a couple under my belt to get some of those jitters out of the system. Congrats to everyone that received one already.

Are you sitting on this strictly bc of monetary reasons? It's not much of a secondary...

 

[Bbon]

No, I'm just horribly slow with secondaries. Naturally I've been working on all the secondaries for schools with rolling admissions first, and I've been out of town for a good chunk of july and the beginning of august. I could have definitely been done by now, but for schools with non-rolling admissions, I didn't see a huge need to apply as early as possible, especially if they didn't specify a deadline, so I've been focusing on some of my other responsibilities. I should have it done in the next couple days though. I haven't read much about Penn frowning on delayed submissions, so I'm hoping it won't be a significant negative.

 

[JJsMom]

of the people who received interviews, are any of you MSTP ?

 

[osumc2014]

No, I'm just horribly slow with secondaries. Naturally I've been working on all the secondaries for schools with rolling admissions first, and I've been out of town for a good chunk of july and the beginning of august. I could have definitely been done by now, but for schools with non-rolling admissions, I didn't see a huge need to apply as early as possible, especially if they didn't specify a deadline, so I've been focusing on some of my other responsibilities. I should have it done in the next couple days though. I haven't read much about Penn frowning on delayed submissions, so I'm hoping it won't be a significant negative.

I'm just saying...there's no essays, so doesnt hurt to get it done.

 

[trueBelief]

I'm just saying...there's no essays, so doesnt hurt to get it done.

true but this one was a little troublesome for me because I did my experience descriptions quite thoroughly in the AMCAS and was at a loss for what new yet useful stuff I could add to the descriptions. I can certainly see why this one would be a little difficult to get done despite its brevity and simplicity.

 

[mechtel]

I believe they asked to elaborate on leadership and (communication?). I just chose the 3 activities from my AMCAS that best illustrated what they wanted and tailored descriptions, including any new information pertinent to leadership within my roles.

 

[mdeast]

was this by email? does your application status page change?

 

[EBLoneStar]

Invite for me this morning!

Dang I'm not going to be in school at all Sept/Oct.

Penn is my number one choice though so YAYY! 😀

 

[Equality]

I only did 2 of the 3 max short descriptions. And I got an interview. I'm still in disbelief.

Complete 7/22

 

[JasonE]

great job guys! can you post when you were complete?

 

[clifftacopter]

Whoo got an interview today too! (I got it 5 minutes before another medical school interview, ironically... I think it put me in a really good mood for that interview)

I had mine submitted by mid-July.

 

[WW2010]

Just send in secondary today, working full time in summer, hope it is not too late, MSTP.

Congradulation for all those having interviews.....!

 

[chickensandwich]

congrats to all the interviews!!!

so is there no max for how many LORs you can send in? is 7 too many?

 

[imnastywitit]

thinkin about adding this school on to my application as an OOSer... but I did read in the MSAR that 'some' preference is given to Pennsylvania residents. Should I be worried by this? The 2008 entering class was 2/3 out of state... so how much preference is there?

 

[Jolt21]

thinkin about adding this school on to my application as an OOSer... but I did read in the MSAR that 'some' preference is given to Pennsylvania residents. Should I be worried by this? The 2008 entering class was 2/3 out of state... so how much preference is there?

well, if 1/3 was for one state, and the other 2/3 was for the 49 other states, i would say a good amount of preference. 😛

you have to think of it in the fact that most (if not all) schools get state funding or support in some fashion under the stipulation that they accept that state's kids (even happens for OTHER states. i.e. UW and the WWAMI, Dartmouth and Maine kids). So, it's not surprising in the least. you shouldn't be worried, just apply if you like the school.

 

[mdeast]

well, if 1/3 was for one state, and the other 2/3 was for the 49 other states, i would say a good amount of preference. 😛

you have to think of it in the fact that most (if not all) schools get state funding or support in some fashion under the stipulation that they accept that state's kids (even happens for OTHER states. i.e. UW and the WWAMI, Dartmouth and Maine kids). So, it's not surprising in the least. you shouldn't be worried, just apply if you like the school.

You also have to account for the fact that most medical students pursue medical school close to home...i.e. it's more likely that in-state students will both apply to and enroll in a school in their home-state. I'd imagine the IS students have equal stats to OOS and if there is preference it is relatively minor. If you look at the numbers though...you'll see that IS students have a slightly higher chance of receiving an interview than OOS.

 

[jla314]

Interview invite today!!

 

[NormaMD]

Interview invite today!!

Me too!!

 

[Bbon]

It hasn't been that long since I submitted mine. My status page says my application is being screened. Is there a different status after they've finished reviewing your application and might start considering you for an interview? Or does it jump straight to an interview invite?

 

[Jolt21]

Interview invite today!!

Me too!!

when were you guys complete?

 

[NormaMD]

It hasn't been that long since I submitted mine. My status page says my application is being screened. Is there a different status after they've finished reviewing your application and might start considering you for an interview? Or does it jump straight to an interview invite?

when were you guys complete?

The status page becomes an interview invitation page.

I was complete on August 6.

 

[Klemptor]

Does anyone know a phone number for the Office of Admissions that will get you an actual person? I've been calling 215 898 8001 but all I can get are automated messages, and when I call their switchboard, all they do is transfer me to that same number.