Not really how averages work, but it's good to hear that you perceive the class in this way, be it a function of maturity, life experience, or just plain wrinkles.
I know how averages work. In fact the figure Penn releases is "approximate 23". It is actually closer to 24 (23.8)
On my interview day, almost everyone I met was either from Penn or Yale. This includes current Penn med students and people in my interview group. I thought it just happened to be like that on my day, but from the above comments it seems that I just noticed the trend.
However, don't let it intimidate you! They obviously consider non-ivy students if my experience means anything...
Exactly. If you have a great application and interview, it should not really matter much which undergrad you attended. Remember that the bias goes both ways: northeast students tend to stay in the area, and those familiar with the schools find them a good fit.
And I just counted a 86 ivy leaguers out of 166. Penn, Harvard and Yale are very well represented there as well.
To the current Penn med students:
How many students in your class do you think turn down Harvard and Hopkins, and what are some of the reasons you have decided to do so? I'm just interested in what differentiates these great schools from one another (other than location) and what factors can pull students away from even HMS.
At the end it comes down to fit, location and city.
Penn- you get to interact with the whole student body (undergrad plus 10 other grad schools are in the same campus so you have access to amazing academic and cultural resources right there), you can live in center philly (15 min walk from campus) which is safe and plenty of great neighborhoods. Penn makes it very easy to obtain other Masters degrees if you are interested and very important - gives some merit aid!!
Hopkins - Great facilities and beautiful school, but it stands alone, it is surrounded by housing projects and you may get a sense of isolation. You need to live in the dorms the first year, and forget about having a social life outside medical students that year. I personally found the student body a little more "nerdy". The students that go to Hopkins have worked "all their lives to get into Hopkins". It could be a little intense. The only second degree that you can get is a Master in Public Health, nothing else. But the big downer is that it gives no merit aid whatsoever.
Harvard - Great everything. Younger students (unlike Penn). Stands alone, surrounded by hospitals. The student body seems to be a little fragmented. Less flexible curriculum and research is a must. And again, no merit aid.
This year, more people turned down Hopkins to go to Penn instead. Harvard seems to have been half and half (the lack of merit aid hurts Harvard)
I'm not intimidated. The SEC is clearly a better conference, but I'm just surprised by such a significant representation (anyone know how many penn undergrads per med class?).
I just counted them for you : about 22 Penn undergrads in my class