2014-2015 Pennsylvania State University Application Thread

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Top choice! I love the Hershey area. Good luck everyone!
 
Hey guys. I am a second year here. If you have any questions feel free to ask or pm me.
 
halfwaycrooks said:
How often do you guys go to Hershey park?
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I've been a couple of times. Some people like to go more often. It's a fun park. Especially if you are a roller coaster fan like yours truly. They have a couple of good ones there.
 
Just visited on a whim this weekend. Applied IS looking for some much needed PA love!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Quick question for you folks. I'm now considered an MA resident since I've lived here for 5 years, but my parents and HS etc are all in PA.

I'm guessing there's a spot in secondaries to claim PA ties, right? Does this even matter? Would it approximate IS preference or not matter at all?
 
Stupid question, but is PSU football as big of a deal amongst the PSU Hershey population as it is in State College?
 
TxC said:
I feel like it probably isn't. Apparently even THON is not a big thing at Hershey.

http://onwardstate.com/2014/04/10/better-know-an-associated-campus-penn-state-college-of-medicine/
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The THON thing is a bit more surprising to me, honestly. It works with the hospital, but i guess it was more geared towards undergrads anyway. Not as much the football thing, though, as much of the population likely didn't go to PSU for undergrad. However, if I were to matriculate here, guess where I'll be on Saturdays 😉
 
ciestar said:
The THON thing is a bit more surprising to me, honestly. It works with the hospital, but i guess it was more geared towards undergrads anyway. Not as much the football thing, though, as much of the population likely didn't go to PSU for undergrad. However, if I were to matriculate here, guess where I'll be on Saturdays 😉
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It'd be kinda cool to spend the last two years at the UPark regional campus given the football games!
 
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TxC said:
If I get accepted and matriculate here, I would totally consider spending the last two years at the UPark regional campus because of the football games!
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Mt Nittany Medical Center isn't anything special, but if that's an actual option and I could move back to my home away from home, I would be elated.
 
MedSchoolBarbie said:
Where do you like to go to relax?
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There is a really nice pond close to school with a great trail right next to it. I like that one
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bullfrog-Valley-Park-Trail/115916848462801
I also like swimming, squash, racquetball, volleyball and walking in general. There are some really nice trails around and regular pick up volleyball and basketball games regularly at the gym.
There is also a movie theater nearby. NYC, DC, Philly and Baltimore are also a couple of hrs away and are perfect getaways for long weekends.
 
Awared said:
I am an incoming MS1 and can share my experiences if there are any questions.
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ash83plus said:
Hey guys. I am a second year here. If you have any questions feel free to ask or pm me.
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Question for anyone who goes to Penn state or knows anyone who does:

could you tell me about some opportunities that you really enjoyed being a part of at Penn state medical school and would recommend to anyone who is going there? What opportunities at Penn state really influenced your perception of medicine and the medical speciality you're considering?

How close are the faculty to students? is it relatively easy to talk to faculty members and get involved with their research?

What are some research opportunities you have explored?

Could you tell me about the way the curriculum is structured at Penn state and how that affected your education?
 
mrh125 said:
Question for anyone who goes to Penn state or knows anyone who does:

could you tell me about some opportunities that you really enjoyed being a part of at Penn state medical school and would recommend to anyone who is going there? What opportunities at Penn state really influenced your perception of medicine and the medical speciality you're considering?

How close are the faculty to students? is it relatively easy to talk to faculty members and get involved with their research?

What are some research opportunities you have explored?

Could you tell me about the way the curriculum is structured at Penn state and how that affected your education?
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I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW TOO! THX
 
mrh125 said:
Question for anyone who goes to Penn state or knows anyone who does:

could you tell me about some opportunities that you really enjoyed being a part of at Penn state medical school and would recommend to anyone who is going there? What opportunities at Penn state really influenced your perception of medicine and the medical speciality you're considering?

How close are the faculty to students? is it relatively easy to talk to faculty members and get involved with their research?

What are some research opportunities you have explored?

Could you tell me about the way the curriculum is structured at Penn state and how that affected your education?
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Hey guys, I'm a Third year so some of my experiences will be different as we are undergoing a curriculum change so i"m not much help for that last question but I can give a quick rundown of the new one. Anatomy used to be a solid 6-8 week course but is now split up and spread out over the first 2 years so you'll disect say the abdomen then do the organ systems involved (GI, etc). When you start as a first year you will do a basic science and physio course. You then move to organ systems towards the second half of your first semester. You have the summer off between first and second yaer and this is when a decent number of people do research (myself included).
We're a big hospital with a lot of labs so pretty much anything youre interest in, you can find a lab that is working on it. You can also choose to do a research rotation during 3rd and 4th year. You are required to do a medical student research project to graduate (MSR project) which I liked because it will give you a small leg up when it comes to applying for residency. Best part of the new curriculum is that first an second year are pass fail too!

All of the faculty members I've talked to have been absolutely wonderful. I did my research in the lab of the wife one of my anatomy profs. Everyone here is super nice (which is actually one of the reasons I chose penn state) and always receptive to questions and interactions with students.

One of the perks to penn state is we have early patient contact. You're assigned an advisor your first year and you spend a day every couple of weeks in clinic with them learning how to talk to patients, do a physical exam, practice writing notes etc. My advisor was amazing and the program gets better every year. We also have a interest group for basically every specialty and these groups will arrange lunch lectures by faculty and shadowing opportunities (yes, shadowing doesn't end when you apply to med school but tis way better when you're a medical student). Even so, most people don't decide what they want to go into until third year (I still don't know!) but you at least get a small taste of everything before you're unleashed on the wards.

I hope that answers some of the questions. I'm sure Ash and some other studuents will come along and answer the parts I missed out on.


If anyone else has questions about PSUCOM, lemme know!
 
PSU's view on multiple MCATs? Also, how easy is it to get IS after one year?
 
Omppu27 said:
PSU's view on multiple MCATs? Also, how easy is it to get IS after one year?
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PSU will look at your application holistically. All MCAT scores are important but if you have made improvements you should be in good shape.

Sadly you won't be considered a resident in PA if you are paying tuition so you will end up paying ~$8000-$10000 more as an OOS
 
Guys what LORs did you submit? I got the idea that they only want committee/ letter packet, although I have more from volunteering/shadowing.
 
Secondary received yesterday

Prompts:

  1. Is there a unique aspect of your application that should be considered by the admissions committee? (Maximum 75 words)
  2. Explain why you decided to apply to Penn State College of Medicine. (Maximum 75 words)
  3. Please write a short paragraph describing a significant experience you have had working in a team setting. (Maximum 250 words)
  4. Briefly describe an experience where you had to navigate a complex system (e.g. personal experience, group activity, or development of a project) to achieve an end. Reflect on the qualities and attributes required by you to achieve success in this experience. (Maximum 250 words)
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oof #4 is new, and I see they took out the gap year question
 
bpperry said:
I'm not complaining, I might need a break from all of these essays... :beat:
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welp, looks like I just jinxed us. the secondaries have started arriving! not for me yet though, which I'm very fine with haha
 
Do they screen or not? There website wasn't very clear...???
 
anybody have any idea what they mean by "navigate a complex system." I was thinking they are talking about figuring out how to use complex technology but that may be way way off of what they mean lol
 
robertrobinross said:
anybody have any idea what they mean by "navigate a complex system." I was thinking they are talking about figuring out how to use complex technology but that may be way way off of what they mean lol
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+1, I'm not sure either...
 
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