2010-2011 University of Pennsylvania Application Thread

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Does anyone know if the status of your application changes right away after submission of app and payment of fees? I just did the latter, but after returning to the status page after paying, there is no indication that my file is complete, and it still gives me a link to "fill out the secondary". Any kind words of advice? Thanks in advance.

Edit: Scratch that guys, just re-logged in and status is complete. Thanks anyways to anyone who was about to write a response.
 
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IHeartNerds said:
The average MCAT for the entering (ie, matriculated) class of 2014 was 36Q according to the poster outside suite 100 (admissions)...but they don't give a breakdown.
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That's what I remember on that poster outside the admissions office as well.

PhillyGuy1 said:
I sent in my secondary July 12th and my app. was marked complete not long after that. I see some people have interviews, but I haven't heard anything yet, you guys think that means I didn't make the cut? I have a 38 MCAT, 3.49 cGPA, 3.4 sGPA..Was really hoping to go to Penn...
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Too early to count yourself out. I know Penn sends more waves of invites.

UrsusHorribilis said:
Big day for interview invites here =)



Ugh...that's a toughie. "I'm just too perfect...It tends to intimidate those around me, which then bums ME out because of my ridiculous levels of compassion."
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This is a potential interview question? (Why we shouldn't admit you?) I can't see too many interviewers actually asking that question since it seems mean and difficult - Penn usually doesn't do stupid stuff like that.

I wouldn't lose sleep over it
 
Ive been complete for a while (close to 2 months) but still haven't heard anything. should I be worried?
 
My guess is if we haven't heard anything by New Years to start worrying, seeing as the website says they hold interviews from September to January.
 
MDApplicant3 said:
Ive been complete for a while (close to 2 months) but still haven't heard anything. should I be worried?
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i submitted my secondary 7/1, never received a complete e-mail, didn't get invited until 10/5. the system is a mystery, but don't sweat it.
 
Geekchick921 said:
My guess is if we haven't heard anything by New Years to start worrying, seeing as the website says they hold interviews from September to January.
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I'd say post-thanks giving. Maybe even the week before thanks giving. If you haven't heard anything by then... I wouldn't really worry at that point - but I would (seriously) consider sending in a letter of interest (not intent - that comes waaaay later).

I know at least one person at Penn who interviewed in January and got in (no wait list or anything). So they don't interview in Jan/Feb to just interview and say they do - they are serious about the candidates interviewed then too.
 
Sentinel said:
I'd say post-thanks giving. Maybe even the week before thanks giving. If you haven't heard anything by then... I wouldn't really worry at that point - but I would (seriously) consider sending in a letter of interest (not intent - that comes waaaay later).

I know at least one person at Penn who interviewed in January and got in (no wait list or anything). So they don't interview in Jan/Feb to just interview and say they do - they are serious about the candidates interviewed then too.
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Do letters of interest really work? Are they common/expected? From the two schools I have interviewed at so far it sounds as if the admissions office finds them annoying.

Opinions?
 
Has anyone already been to an interview at Penn as well as their "happy hour." I have my interview there in three weeks, and I was just wondering: are people wearing their suits even for the happy hour program or just the actual interview date?
 
KUNRD07 said:
Do letters of interest really work? Are they common/expected? From the two schools I have interviewed at so far it sounds as if the admissions office finds them annoying.

Opinions?
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If you want to play the bull**** game, go for it. No one can say for certain how effective letters like that are. However, I'm certain that most people currently attending Penn (or any school for that matter) didn't have to get on their knees to get an acceptance.
 
ColeOnTheRoll said:
If you want to play the bull**** game, go for it. No one can say for certain how effective letters like that are. However, I'm certain that most people currently attending Penn (or any school for that matter) didn't have to get on their knees to get an acceptance.
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lmao
 
AlexisBrown said:
Has anyone already been to an interview at Penn as well as their "happy hour." I have my interview there in three weeks, and I was just wondering: are people wearing their suits even for the happy hour program or just the actual interview date?
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Wish I'd asked this. Haha, actually I ended up guessing fine, but you DON'T need to dress up. Jeans are fine. We just went to a brewpub nearby campus and talked for a couple hours, grabbed a burger and a beer.
 
flatlandhiker said:
Wish I'd asked this. Haha, actually I ended up guessing fine, but you DON'T need to dress up. Jeans are fine. We just went to a brewpub nearby campus and talked for a couple hours, grabbed a burger and a beer.
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Wear whatever you want. This part of the process has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on your decision. Just a chance to get to know students at Penn. And venture into Center City to see where you might be living for the next 4 years.
 
Looking forward to interviewing next week. Scheduled my flight so I should get in with time to enjoy the happy hour -- plus it's a few days after my 21st, so hitting a bar will actually work for me lol.

I can't remember if we have any "why I love Penn" posts in the thread yet, but I think they'd be good for getting extra psyched for the interview 🙂. (gonna go back and search the thread to double check lol)
 
KUNRD07 said:
Do letters of interest really work? Are they common/expected? From the two schools I have interviewed at so far it sounds as if the admissions office finds them annoying.

Opinions?
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I don't think any scientific tests have been done to prove it one way or another. But here's what I figure - if you're really interested in the school and they haven't gotten back to you by mid November-ish - what do you have to lose by sending in a letter of interest? Obviously don't send one in right away (hell, that's what the secondary's for).

That said, I didn't send a letter of interest or intent.

AlexisBrown said:
Has anyone already been to an interview at Penn as well as their "happy hour." I have my interview there in three weeks, and I was just wondering: are people wearing their suits even for the happy hour program or just the actual interview date?
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Do NOT wear you suits for happy hour. It isn't some random test by Penn Med or something. It's a thing run by the students to give you an idea of how the Penn Med student body is. Seeing the student body in different environments (the formal interview, the student ambassadors and at the happy hour) gives you a more rounded idea of we roll.

That said - obviously be on good behavior (this should be common sense, but I wrote it out... just in case).
 
FlowRate said:
Looking forward to interviewing next week. Scheduled my flight so I should get in with time to enjoy the happy hour -- plus it's a few days after my 21st, so hitting a bar will actually work for me lol.

I can't remember if we have any "why I love Penn" posts in the thread yet, but I think they'd be good for getting extra psyched for the interview 🙂. (gonna go back and search the thread to double check lol)
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Penn rocks. Just sayin (not like I'm biased or anything :laugh:)

We just finished up our second round of exams, which included the first anatomy exam. It definitely isn't a walk in the park, but the overall experience is still a lot of fun!
 
Yeah, I suppose the answer was pretty obvious. I guess I was just hoping for a personal account from someone in which they were fairly certain that the letter of interest got them the interview.

I have yet to hear one... then again I'm too lazy to search the message board for old posts.
 
INTERVIEW INVITE TODAY!! So excited!! Great location for me, amazing education, and they do their Peds at CHOP. What more could I ask for?
 
DrTica said:
INTERVIEW INVITE TODAY!! So excited!! Great location for me, amazing education, and they do their Peds at CHOP. What more could I ask for?
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Congratulations! I was just wondering if anyone had heard anything yet. I'm still in the screening process. :-/
 
Got an interview invite today too. Damn the people who took the 10/28 date so quickly. By the time I got home to schedule it, it was gone. Now I have to schedule for a November date. Still psyched though 🙂
 
when were you guys complete? for those who got interviews yesterday.

thanks
 
edozie007 said:
Got an interview invite today too. Damn the people who took the 10/28 date so quickly. By the time I got home to schedule it, it was gone. Now I have to schedule for a November date. Still psyched though 🙂
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I interviewed in november 😀 - worked out great for me so 👍 good luck!
 
I second raginfly

mind telling us when you guys were completed?
I submitted end of august and am still in the screening process.
 
AppleandGrape said:
I second raginfly

mind telling us when you guys were completed?
I submitted end of august and am still in the screening process.
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um...I submitted mid July and am still in the screening process...sooo I guess you're good? haha
 
Well...my friend interviewed a couple weeks back and he said he was the only non Upenn student there...out of like 12? So maybe they're interviewing Upenn students + students who have really really amazing stats...
 
skyhyp2009 said:
Well...my friend interviewed a couple weeks back and he said he was the only non Upenn student there...out of like 12? So maybe they're interviewing Upenn students + students who have really really amazing stats...
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FlowRate said:
My day yesterday was all penn, yale, and harvard students, except for me
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skyhyp2009 said:
well...point proven? haha
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I interviewed early October and had no Ivy-League schools represented out of the 20ish applicants present. About half of the interviewees were PA residents and/or non-traditional though.

With the non-rolling admissions, they say it gives everyone a fair playing field once you're invited to interview. So :xf: to getting an interview then you're good to go.

:luck: to all!
 
HakunaMatata22 said:
I interviewed early October and had no Ivy-League schools represented out of the 20ish applicants present. About half of the interviewees were PA residents and/or non-traditional though.

With the non-rolling admissions, they say it gives everyone a fair playing field once you're invited to interview. So :xf: to getting an interview then you're good to go.

:luck: to all!
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Congrats on the interview. Would you mind posting your stats?
 
HakunaMatata22 said:
I interviewed early October and had no Ivy-League schools represented out of the 20ish applicants present. About half of the interviewees were PA residents and/or non-traditional though.

With the non-rolling admissions, they say it gives everyone a fair playing field once you're invited to interview. So :xf: to getting an interview then you're good to go.

:luck: to all!
Click to expand...

From my experience, most Ivys seem to interview more ivy grads than non-ivy grads. Now, I'm sure the statistics people will tell me it's recall bias or some such - but anecdotally, I've noticed it as well.

But HM's right - once you get an interview - you are definitely on level playing fields. I will tell you though that the Penn Med kids tend to be awesome in one way or another (or in more ways than one). But if you get an interview at Penn (or any other top school really) - you've got something awesome about you too. So don't be too intimidated by the ivy kids sitting around you.

Also - Penn Med seems to do a very good job of taking non-ivy students to diversify the class. Quite a few of the people in my year are from ivy schools (and my year seems to be - in descending order - from Penn, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Cornell/Dartmouth/Columbia) - but a good proportion aren't from ivys at all (for example we've got a good # from Bryn Mawr, and various state schools).

:luck: everyone.

PS - I don't remember about silent rejections - but I know that's a pretty serious concern from the private / non-rolling schools. I got silent rejections from JHU, brown and Yale (so I received a letter March 10th or something saying I got rejected - only correspondence since being complete). It's just the way the cookie crumbles I guess? I'm not 100% sure how Penn does rejections - if it's silent up until March or not.
 
I just wanted to comment on all the conversation about interviewing Ivy Students. I can say that it often feels like everyone else at my interviews is from some big ole' Ivy Leauge school but me (whether the school I'm interivewing at is big or little), I can vouch that I at least am from a tiny liberal arts school that no one's ever heard of. So everyone else from the less prestigious schools, don't fret.
 
DrTica said:
I just wanted to comment on all the conversation about interviewing Ivy Students. I can say that it often feels like everyone else at my interviews is from some big ole' Ivy Leauge school but me (whether the school I'm interivewing at is big or little), I can vouch that I at least am from a tiny liberal arts school that no one's ever heard of. So everyone else from the less prestigious schools, don't fret.
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Plus, why does every always equate Ivies with prestige? The Ivies are old, and they generally range from good to great, but they are not the be-all and end-all of American Universities. If I were on an adcom I'd be way more interested in students coming from MIT, Stanford, Chicago, etc than Cornell.
 
phltz said:
Plus, why does every always equate Ivies with prestige? The Ivies are old, and they generally range from good to great, but they are not the be-all and end-all of American Universities. If I were on an adcom I'd be way more interested in students coming from MIT, Stanford, Chicago, etc than Cornell.
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1- Ivies=Prestige. I have never heard anyone even attempt to question that one.

2- MIT, Stanford and Chicago are also very prestigious.

3- Adcoms look at a lot more than which university you come from.

4- I am relieved you are not an adcom.
 
BrainBuff said:
1- Ivies=Prestige. I have never heard anyone even attempt to question that one.

2- MIT, Stanford and Chicago are also very prestigious.

3- Adcoms look at a lot more than which university you come from.

4- I am relieved you are not an adcom.
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be nice!

And yea - it's not all about the prestige of the school you come from. It definitely helps - but if you can get that interview, you are on even playing ground.
 
Sentinel said:
be nice!

And yea - it's not all about the prestige of the school you come from. It definitely helps - but if you can get that interview, you are on even playing ground.
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Hi Sentinel, by this statement, do you mean that Penn only looks at the interview after the interview? Do they longer consider grades, LORs, ECs, MCATs, etc. for admissions decisions? Or do you mean that coming from a state school or something won't hold you back at that point?

Penn's interviews were really laid back. Seems like it would be hard to differentiate off of only an interview.
 
I read in the SDN interview feedback section that U Penn has group tests--any current Penn students want to elaborate on what that means and when that happens?
 
so this happened. it got me really excited, but maybe it doesnt mean much. what do you guys think?

interviewer: second look weekend you will see ____
me: isn't that for accepted students only?
interviewer: oh is it? i think you are right
interviewer: well you will probably get in anyways

i have been really excited about this but i dont know if i should be lol.
 
Dr Gerrard said:
so this happened. it got me really excited, but maybe it doesnt mean much. what do you guys think?

interviewer: second look weekend you will see ____
me: isn't that for accepted students only?
interviewer: oh is it? i think you are right
interviewer: well you will probably get in anyways

i have been really excited about this but i dont know if i should be lol.
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I wouldn't be too excited over what an interviewer says. After all, what they say isn't really binding. Even if the interviewer knew your #s and activities, most of the people who've received interviews have similar #s and great/unique activities as well
 
Dr Gerrard said:
so this happened. it got me really excited, but maybe it doesnt mean much. what do you guys think?

interviewer: second look weekend you will see ____
me: isn't that for accepted students only?
interviewer: oh is it? i think you are right
interviewer: well you will probably get in anyways

i have been really excited about this but i dont know if i should be lol.
Click to expand...

It's definitely not a bad thing, but the interviewers at Penn don't sit on the admissions committee (like they do at some other places) so not sure that type of statement holds much weight. Does anyone know if Penn only values the interview after the interview? Sadly Penn only accepts 30% of interviewees.
 
RB93 said:
Sadly Penn only accepts 30% of interviewees.
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Exactly. As I go thru this process, I feel that the Committee has pretty much reached a decision about the students they are accepting or not BEFORE the interview. These fun and conversational interviews (where everyone is getting great feedback) can not have too much weight, especially when the school ends up rejecting about 70% of those they interview. It sucks. 😕
 
BrainBuff said:
Exactly. As I go thru this process, I feel that the Committee has pretty much reached a decision about the students they are accepting or not BEFORE the interview. These fun and conversational interviews (where everyone is getting great feedback) can not have too much weight, especially when the school ends up rejecting about 70% of those they interview. It sucks. 😕
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Completely agree with you here....I feel like the interview is to make sure the 30% they do accept are not insane...
 
skyhyp2009 said:
Completely agree with you here....I feel like the interview is to make sure the 30% they do accept are not insane...
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Brainbuff and skyhyp - I don't disagree with you, but I was just wondering if something happened to specifically make you feel that way? Or just a general feeling? I also think that something like that is happening, but I wonder why they would interview 3X+ the number they accept if that were the case...
 
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