2014-2015 Pennsylvania State University Application Thread

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9iron said:
Can anyone briefly talk about what Penn St. is all about? I am late to the application party, but I am considering applying here. I've never been to Hershey, and I don't know much about the curriculum. I've been researching their website, but I would appreciate any insight anyone can offer. How do students like PSU? How are the rotation opportunities? How's life in Hershey for four years?

Thanks! 🙂
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+1
 
9iron said:
Can anyone briefly talk about what Penn St. is all about? I am late to the application party, but I am considering applying here. I've never been to Hershey, and I don't know much about the curriculum. I've been researching their website, but I would appreciate any insight anyone can offer. How do students like PSU? How are the rotation opportunities? How's life in Hershey for four years?

Thanks! 🙂
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So I can't speak too much to what it's like to live in Hershey since I'm not a student there. I just interviewed there last week though and this is some of the information I got:

-Even though Hershey isn't a bustling city, Penn State is a big research institution. It provides specialized care to most of central Pennsylvania as it's the major medical center between Pittsburg and Philly.
-Education seems really important too (as it probably does at all medical schools) with a mix of lectures and PBL.
-It seems like the school is really focused on training its students to be good people as doctors. Obviously they value education and research but they have a strong focus on treating patients as people and they have the first humanities department at a medical school in the country. This was emphasized and talked about a lot on interview day.
-Everyone also seemed really down to earth when I was there, from the admissions staff to my interviewers, to the Dean, who spoke with us for a few minutes about how many people don't have access to medical care in the US and he emphasized that, whatever specialty you go into, to remember why it is you're pursuing medicine.

Hopefully other people that actually go there can weigh in. Just wanted to share what I learned on interview day as I was really impressed by their institution. Hope this helps 🙂
 
someone asked me some questions privately, so I thought I'd share my responses with the rest of the forum:

We have some clinical skills classes sprinkled throughout some afternoons on an irregular basis, but for the most part our afternoons are free for studying, shadowing or volunteering. I'm not sure what the exam schedule is going to be like in the future, but for your first basic science block, we have two exams in 13 weeks with the last 2 weeks to study for the final, so it's all really chill.
As for rotations... some are here in Hershey and some are in Harrisburg. There's also an option to do all of your rotations in University Park (which you have to apply for), and there are a couple of rotations that take place further away, like in Redding.
 
I wonder what the prevalence of DMII is in Hersey? Love that chocolate! Now give me some love PSU!
 
Graywolf said:
I wonder what the prevalence of DMII is in Hersey? Love that chocolate! Now give me some love PSU!
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I would say pretty high. Just walk through the hospital and you'll see some high BMIs
 
expeditionchemist said:
someone asked me some questions privately, so I thought I'd share my responses with the rest of the forum:

We have some clinical skills classes sprinkled throughout some afternoons on an irregular basis, but for the most part our afternoons are free for studying, shadowing or volunteering. I'm not sure what the exam schedule is going to be like in the future, but for your first basic science block, we have two exams in 13 weeks with the last 2 weeks to study for the final, so it's all really chill.
As for rotations... some are here in Hershey and some are in Harrisburg. There's also an option to do all of your rotations in University Park (which you have to apply for), and there are a couple of rotations that take place further away, like in Redding.
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Just to clarify for the exams, you usually have one exam per blocks. Blocks are 3-8 weeks depending on what organ block you are covering. You usually get a review session at the end of the block and at least one full day to study (additionally the last week of the longer blocks are usually pretty light so you can catch up/review stuff)
 
Does anyone have advice about whether its better to get a hotel or stay with a student host in Hershey? Thanks!
 
Camerla said:
Does anyone have advice about whether its better to get a hotel or stay with a student host in Hershey? Thanks!
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I stayed at the Days Inn. They pick you up from the airport if you're flying in, take you to the interview location, and then take you back out to the airport when you leave. All of this for free. They also give you restaurant information. Very cheap place. I would definitely recommend it.
 
Sirphillup said:
I stayed at the Days Inn. They pick you up from the airport if you're flying in, take you to the interview location, and then take you back out to the airport when you leave. All of this for free. They also give you restaurant information. Very cheap place. I would definitely recommend it.
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Wow! I'm shocked by all this! Thanks so much for the suggestion
 
Sirphillup said:
I stayed at the Days Inn. They pick you up from the airport if you're flying in, take you to the interview location, and then take you back out to the airport when you leave. All of this for free. They also give you restaurant information. Very cheap place. I would definitely recommend it.
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Camerla said:
Wow! I'm shocked by all this! Thanks so much for the suggestion
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Also if you are nice they will even give you a ride to school on your interview date. Tell them you are interviewing at Penn State and they will give you a special rate. Super clean hotel with gym and indoors swimming pool + breakfast in the morning
 
galaxies_3 said:
I didn't get a complete email either
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Same here, never received complete e-mail before II! But there were green check marks for all components on the website. Submitted secondary on 9/10, letters came in on 9/16, and II received 9/26. Excited to be interviewing in October!

P.S. I haven't really received many complete e-mails from schools in general, so I'm not sure if it's something to be expected across the board before an II?
 
butomed said:
Same here, never received complete e-mail before II! But there were green check marks for all components on the website. Submitted secondary on 9/10, letters came in on 9/16, and II received 9/26. Excited to be interviewing in October!

P.S. I haven't really received many complete e-mails from schools in general, so I'm not sure if it's something to be expected across the board before an II?
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Do you mind sharing your stats? Thats a very fast turn-around. Congrats.
 
fatimany said:
Do you mind sharing your stats? Thats a very fast turn-around. Congrats.
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Thanks, fatimany. It's my first invite, and I was in a bit of shock with that turnaround time. I'm IS, cgpa>3.6, sgpa >3.5, and 30-32 MCAT. Some of my ECs might be considered unique, but no major publications or missions abroad. I think Penn State really does consider your application very holistically.

Hope this gives some hope to others with similar stats, but honestly with holistic application review people below and above these stats may or may not be successful. SDN can be a bit of a downer sometimes with all of the comparisons we make with one another, but I hope we all continue to keep our heads up as the year goes on. I think evaluating our own strengths individually and not as compared to what we seen on this forum will be key.

If anyone is interested, tumblr had a great 'medblr' community consisting of doctors, nurses, med students, premeds, etc that keeps everyone grounded and tries to avoid neuroticism, haha.
 
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butomed said:
Thanks, fatimany. It's my first invite, and I was in a bit of shock with that turnaround time. I'm IS, cgpa>3.6, sgpa >3.5, and 30-32 MCAT. Some of my ECs might be considered unique, but no major publications or missions abroad. I think Penn State really does consider your application very holistically.

Hope this gives some hope to others with similar stats, but honestly with holistic application review people below and above these stats may or may not be successful. SDN can be a bit of a downer sometimes with all of the comparisons we make with one another, but I hope we all continue to keep our heads up as the year goes on. I think evaluating our own strengths individually and not as compared to what we seen on this forum will be key.

If anyone is interested, tumblr had a great 'medblr' community consisting of doctors, nurses, med students, premeds, etc that keeps everyone grounded and tries to avoid neuroticism, haha.
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Thanks. I was just trying to figure out if they review in order of submission date or maybe they are sending IIs to people with high stats first. Perhaps, you must have some unique aspects in your application.
 
fatimany said:
Thanks. I was just trying to figure out if they review in order of submission date or maybe they are sending IIs to people with high stats first. Perhaps, you must have some unique aspects in your application.
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Totally understandable, I've been interested in learning the same about other schools.
 
I'm hoping for an interview here so badly!! fingers crossed!!
 
Can any recent interviewers provide insight into how the interview is? Any ethical questions? I am a bit nervous for mine. This is my first II
 
adimelon said:
Can any recent interviewers provide insight into how the interview is? Any ethical questions? I am a bit nervous for mine. This is my first II
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It was very relaxed and enjoyable. It was my first II too. Just be yourself and good luck! I liked the school a lot!
 
Someone else asked me about our Humanities and Systems Navigation classes, so I thought I would share:

Humanities is a 2 hour class that we have once a week. The first hour is a large-group "Spark" that's related to that week's topic - for example, for our "Suffering and Resilience" week we had a stand-up comedian perform a 1-man play about his real-life battle with cancer. For the second hour, we have a small group discussion with 8 students and 1 faculty per group. These discussions can sometimes be overly laid-back (as in our "Self-Care and Creativity" week), but in weeks such as "Suffering and Resilience" and "Perceptions of Disability", my group had some really insightful conversations.

Systems navigation has a little more variation in format. For our first skills-based block, we interviewed 3 standardized patients with some serious personal issues and learned how to tactfully respond to and manage such situations. (If you read Life at Hogwarts College of Medicine, the series on Legilimency talks a lot about these interviews.) We'll soon start our more knowledge-based block, which is supposed to teach the basics of how our healthcare system actually works (finances, politics, and all that stuff).

I'd say that both of these classes have really made a positive impact on me so far. Our basic science block consumes a lot of our time, and it would be easy to forget why we're in medical school, and the real people behind all the diseases we study. Our curriculum doesn't let us do that, though. There's been a great deal of emphasis throughout all of our non-basic-science classes (Systems Navigation, Humanities, and Clinical Skills) on listening to the patient's story... the REAL story, not just when and where their pain started but HOW and WHY it started.

I hope that helped!
 
Sunna12 said:
II today!! Complete since first week of August. I'm from about 10 minutes away from Penn State so I'm very glad to finally receive some local love! Don't lose hope, early Augusters!
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Stats? if you don't mind.
 
Sunna12 said:
II today!! Complete since first week of August. I'm from about 10 minutes away from Penn State so I'm very glad to finally receive some local love! Don't lose hope, early Augusters!
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what interview dates are they scheduling for?
 
Sirphillup said:
I stayed at the Days Inn. They pick you up from the airport if you're flying in, take you to the interview location, and then take you back out to the airport when you leave. All of this for free. They also give you restaurant information. Very cheap place. I would definitely recommend it.
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Were there any ethical questions during your interview?
 
What type of photo did you all upload? I looked for guidelines on their website and didn't see any. Thanks!
 
"
Applicant Picture Upload
Applicants must present an official picture of identification upon arrival at the Office of Admissions. This can include one of the following:

  • Driver's license
  • ID card issued by a State or Federal government agency
  • US Passport
  • Foreign Passport
  • U.S. Military card with a photograph
  • School ID card with a photograph
  • Driver's license issued by a Canadian government authority
Please click the UPLOAD button to save your photo."

This is why I'm confused. It almost sounds like they want a copy of the official picture of identification that you'll be presenting!
 
Also, I forgot to upload my photo until the night before my interview. Even though I uploaded it so late, it was not an issue. However, I would recommend doing it as soon as possible 🙂


And Mr Roboto, this may help! This is directly from the page I had.

"Applicants must present an official picture of identification upon arrival at the Office of Admissions AND upload a photo on the Applicant Photo tab before your scheduled interview."
 
Does anyone know what the easiest way is to get to Penn state from New York City? If I fly there, which airport is the closest? What is the nearest Amtrak stop? Where is the most affordable and closest hotel to Penn State? Is it easy to take a cab from the train station/airport? Do any current students have any advice on the interview? It seems like it will be 2 traditional sit down interviews not MMIs?
 
tealstar said:
Does anyone know what the easiest way is to get to Penn state from New York City? If I fly there, which airport is the closest? What is the nearest Amtrak stop? Where is the most affordable and closest hotel to Penn State? Is it easy to take a cab from the train station/airport? Do any current students have any advice on the interview? It seems like it will be 2 traditional sit down interviews not MMIs?
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I had my interview today and its 2 traditional sit downs. For the most part, the interviews are laid back.
On a side note, the school is great!!! Have my fingers crossed 🙂
 
tealstar said:
Does anyone know what the easiest way is to get to Penn state from New York City? If I fly there, which airport is the closest? What is the nearest Amtrak stop? Where is the most affordable and closest hotel to Penn State? Is it easy to take a cab from the train station/airport? Do any current students have any advice on the interview? It seems like it will be 2 traditional sit down interviews not MMIs?
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Take Amtrak down from NYC. Stop at either Middletown (if you're arriving on a weekend) or Harrisburg (on a weekday). The reason I recommend riding to Harrisburg on a weekday, even though it's further from Hershey than Middletown, is that they have a nice bus (CAT) that takes you directly from the transportation center next to Amtrak Harrisburg, all the way down to Hershey. You can even get off the bus in front of the Hershey Med Center if you like.

On second thought, you may want to ride Amtrak all the way to Harrisburg regardless... the train station there is nice, and safe, while the Middletown station is quite literally just a covered bench... might not be pleasant if you're arriving at night and have to wait for the cab to pick you up.

I've heard good things about Days Inn, but I have not been there, so I will let others do the talking on that regard...
 
andy1512005 said:
I had my interview today and its 2 traditional sit downs. For the most part, the interviews are laid back.
On a side note, the school is great!!! Have my fingers crossed 🙂
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Agreed!
 
Any specific questions on healthcare and/or ethics? Any general tips on how to prepare for the interview?
 
October slots were all taken when I signed up. November 3 was the closest. Good luck everyone!
 
Anyone know when we should find out if we interviewed already.
 
According to last year's thread there definitely were some pretty early acceptances.

I interviewed on the first day (early September) so I hope I'll hear back really soon.

Also I believe they send mails, not emails.
 
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