2014-2015 Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Application Thread

[onceawolverine]

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For the global activities question, do they mean official activities (such as study abroad program, mission trip) or do they want us to include any experiences abroad (travel)?

I'm pretty sure this question is asked because Perelman is well-known for having global outreach programs. Thus, this question is probably to get a sense of your experiences abroad. If you have something GENUINELY USEFUL to put down, then do it! I'm sure that they'd be interested in your study-abroad, or volunteering in a different country. But, if your only experience in other countries is vacation with the fam, then I wouldn't try to craft something super meaningful out of it. They'll probably see through that.

As always, go with your gut. I'm just another pre-med kid, so what do I really know? 😛

 

[trino]

I'm pretty sure this question is asked because Perelman is well-known for having global outreach programs. Thus, this question is probably to get a sense of your experiences abroad. If you have something GENUINELY USEFUL to put down, then do it! I'm sure that they'd be interested in your study-abroad, or volunteering in a different country. But, if your only experience in other countries is vacation with the fam, then I wouldn't try to craft something super meaningful out of it. They'll probably see through that.

As always, go with your gut. I'm just another pre-med kid, so what do I really know? 😛

I would agree with this. From my experience, I think they are looking for culturally immersive experiences

 

[Lamel]

I'm pretty sure this question is asked because Perelman is well-known for having global outreach programs. Thus, this question is probably to get a sense of your experiences abroad. If you have something GENUINELY USEFUL to put down, then do it! I'm sure that they'd be interested in your study-abroad, or volunteering in a different country. But, if your only experience in other countries is vacation with the fam, then I wouldn't try to craft something super meaningful out of it. They'll probably see through that.

As always, go with your gut. I'm just another pre-med kid, so what do I really know? 😛

No that sounds about right, I didn't feel right putting my travels in there.

 

[gettheleadout]

All you lucky ducks that have actually gotten the chance to leave the country...

 

[halfwaycrooks]

All you lucky ducks that have actually gotten the chance to leave the country...

Why leave when you live in the greatest country in the free world? #MURRICA

 

[halfwaycrooks]

App status changed to:

APPLICATION STATUS:Complete
Your application is now in the screening process. Complete applications will go through a series of competitive screenings. Interviews will begin in September and continue into January, 2015. Applicants invited for interviews will be notified via email. The Committee on Admissions will make all final decisions in March, 2015.

ALL ADMISSIONS DECISIONS WILL BE ANNOUNCED BY MARCH 12.

 

[HeLaDeala]

App status changed to:

+1

I guess they really like to make us sweat

 

[darkjedi]

Hi darkjedi, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. What are some of the things that you appreciate the most about studying at Perelman? What about living in Philly?

oops sorry I missed this question earlier

The thing I appreciate most here, both preclinically and clinically, is the number of amazing faculty members we have. We have people who pioneered their respective fields of practice serving as lecturers and attendings, which can be daunting, but they are by and large amazing teachers. The access to faculty doesn't end at the med school, but also extends to the many other graduate schools that we have on campus. Whatever your fields of interests are inside or outside of medicine, there is probably someone that can help you out. The school is really supportive of any ideas and interests that you may have. There is a ton of funding and grants available for the students in the forms of student groups or research stipends, or for things like helping fund your global health experiences.

As for Philly, speaking as someone who was born and raised in NYC, I have found Philly to be a fantastic city in it's own right. When I first moved to Philly before I even started applying to med school, I remember having a pretty poor idea of what Philly was like. The city has a pretty large population of young professionals and artists, and so a lot of the culture is geared towards people like us. It's actually an amazing city with a great scene for food, bars, culture, the arts. Though the annoying thing is that everything basically shuts down at 2am here. While a lot of native Philadelphians would probably slap me for this, Philly is what I imagine Brooklyn would be if it were it's own city.

 

[EMLove]

Would it be frowned upon to abbreviate "The Perelman School of Medicine" as "Perelman" in the 'why Perelman' essay? I wrote the full name out the first time I used it, so is it okay to abbreviate after that?

 

[onceawolverine]

Would it be frowned upon to abbreviate "The Perelman School of Medicine" as "Perelman" in the 'why Perelman' essay? I wrote the full name out the first time I used it, so is it okay to abbreviate after that?

I have done similar things for similar schools. Hopefully they understand that character limits are difficult to satisfy unless lengthy school titles get abbreviated.

 

[jncz]

Would it be frowned upon to abbreviate "The Perelman School of Medicine" as "Perelman" in the 'why Perelman' essay? I wrote the full name out the first time I used it, so is it okay to abbreviate after that?

That's what I did.

 

[darkjedi]

Would it be frowned upon to abbreviate "The Perelman School of Medicine" as "Perelman" in the 'why Perelman' essay? I wrote the full name out the first time I used it, so is it okay to abbreviate after that?

Perelman, Penn, Penn Med and PSOM are all ways people here refer to the school. Strangely enough no one uses UPenn.

 

[mTORC]

Hey all! Good luck on your application cycle! I am an incoming student! Let me know if you have any questions that I can answer or at least ask about for you!

 

[bangadees7]

Why can't every school's secondary application interface be this nice?

 

[CitrusJ]

Dun dun dun...another supplement bites the dust! Good luck all!

 

[invissideways]

Is there a way to verify that my supplemental was received? Letters aren't in yet so it still gives me the option to edit?

*Edit. Signed out and back in and a status page actually shows up now! Nevermind!

 

[sillysilhouette]

For the global activities question, would it be acceptable to talk about a current study abroad program? I did not study abroad before completing my AMCAS application, but I am studying abroad right now and wasn't sure if they would count that

 

[CitrusJ]

For the global activities question, would it be acceptable to talk about a current study abroad program? I did not study abroad before completing my AMCAS application, but I am studying abroad right now and wasn't sure if they would count that

That's a tough one. Did you start studying abroad or anything before the AMCAS was completed? I might call and ask them about it, that's a terrific opportunity to talk about something not in your app if they are ok with it

 

[FFH]

I was living, working and going to college in a different country until I was 21...do you guys feel like that it might count as an global activity?

 

[MathGirl25]

How bad is it if I've never left the country? Should I not even bother applying? I'm a non-trad, so I'm worried they'll be extra-unfavorable to my lack of travel :'(

 

[Avocado8]

How bad is it if I've never left the country? Should I not even bother applying? I'm a non-trad, so I'm worried they'll be extra-unfavorable to my lack of travel :'(

DEFINITELY should not be the deciding factor on whether or not you should apply. Leaving the country for any reason is expensive, takes significant time, etc. I wouldn't think they'd hold that against you.

 

[LaurenMD]

How bad is it if I've never left the country? Should I not even bother applying? I'm a non-trad, so I'm worried they'll be extra-unfavorable to my lack of travel :'(

Agree with Avocado8 that there's NO way they'll hold this against you.

 

[minion16]

Hey everyone, I'm a current 3rd year in the middle of clinics. Should anyone have any questions I would be more than happy to answer them!

Best of luck to everyone applying!

"Are there any special, unique, personal, or challenging circumstances that you would like to share with the Committee on Admissions (siblings/relatives at Penn, applying as a couple, educational environment, culture, ethnicity, etc.)"
For this question do they want us to write about any current challenge/circumstances or is this question another way of asking for a challenge which I might have faced in the past?

Thanks for your help!

 

[darkjedi]

"Are there any special, unique, personal, or challenging circumstances that you would like to share with the Committee on Admissions (siblings/relatives at Penn, applying as a couple, educational environment, culture, ethnicity, etc.)"
For this question do they want us to write about any current challenge/circumstances or is this question another way of asking for a challenge which I might have faced in the past?

Thanks for your help!

The prompt is more a place for you to be able to talk about anything unique that you think the adcom should take into consideration when reviewing your app. It's not necessarily a 'facing adversity/challenges' type question, but rather if you would like to share something 'special' about you or your application.

 

[minion16]

The prompt is more a place for you to be able to talk about anything unique that you think the adcom should take into consideration when reviewing your app. It's not necessarily a 'facing adversity/challenges' type question, but rather if you would like to share something 'special' about you or your application.

Thank you very much for the answer! 🙂

 

[doctorSOX]

Thank you very much for the answer! 🙂

Hey there, I just replied to you on the 2013-2014 thread. Guess I should catch up with the times!

Anyways, I'm also one of the MS3's, like darkjedi, who's currently on clinics. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to be on here since clinicals are pretty time-consuming, but I'll try my best to get to as many questions as possible. Feel free to post or PM any questions. Best of luck with the application cycle!

 

[minion16]

Hey there, I just replied to you on the 2013-2014 thread. Guess I should catch up with the times!

Anyways, I'm also one of the MS3's, like darkjedi, who's currently on clinics. I'm not sure how often I'll be able to be on here since clinicals are pretty time-consuming, but I'll try my best to get to as many questions as possible. Feel free to post or PM any questions. Best of luck with the application cycle!

Hi, thank you very much for the reply! Also thanks for taking the time to answer our questions and help us out despite your busy schedule.

 

[Temerit]

The prompt is more a place for you to be able to talk about anything unique that you think the adcom should take into consideration when reviewing your app. It's not necessarily a 'facing adversity/challenges' type question, but rather if you would like to share something 'special' about you or your application.

I left that prompt blank as the examples it gave seemed to not have any relevance to me... is that going to be disadvantageous or is it expected that many applicants will not need to answer it?

 

[gettheleadout]

I left that prompt blank as the examples it gave seemed to not have any relevance to me... is that going to be disadvantageous or is it expected that many applicants will not need to answer it?

I would expect that they realize many applicants will not have anything relevant to put there, I didn't either.


Sent from my neural implant using SDN Mobile

 

[sniderwes]

jesus christ...my 37 is only average for this school lmaoooo. got deferred then rejected from wharton UG, hope i still end up at penn 4 years later.

Are you guys including national merit/other college scholarships? Or is that considered "high school" since I guess that's when they were awarded

 

[gastronome]

jesus christ...my 37 is only average for this school lmaoooo. got deferred then rejected from wharton UG, hope i still end up at penn 4 years later.

Are you guys including national merit/other college scholarships? Or is that considered "high school" since I guess that's when they were awarded

High school sadly. I interpreted it as extramural organizations.

 

[sniderwes]

aww man, that sucks. does anyone know the character limit for the special circumstances essay?

 

[threesparrows]

The prompt is more a place for you to be able to talk about anything unique that you think the adcom should take into consideration when reviewing your app. It's not necessarily a 'facing adversity/challenges' type question, but rather if you would like to share something 'special' about you or your application.

@darkjedi Do you think being a first-generation college grad is an appropriate topic to address in response to this prompt, or is that already obvious from the rest of my app (parental education on AMCAS, etc.)? I did not apply disadvantaged and did not really talk about it much elsewhere.

Thanks for your help!

 

[darkjedi]

@darkjedi Do you think being a first-generation college grad is an appropriate topic to address in response to this prompt, or is that already obvious from the rest of my app (parental education on AMCAS, etc.)? I did not apply disadvantaged and did not really talk about it much elsewhere.

Thanks for your help!

Yea, I certainly think so!

 

[bluemachine]

do we get a complete email from penn? on the status page, it says im complete but i never got an email

 

[ProbablyAPenguin]

anyone know what days interviews were offered last year? The dates seemed rather sporadic on the 2013-2014 thread...

 

[darkjedi]

anyone know what days interviews were offered last year? The dates seemed rather sporadic on the 2013-2014 thread...

the interview season should extend from mid-September to mid-late January

 

[Willy38]

II this morning !! So excited !

 

[Purple_Yams]

II this morning !! So excited !

Congrats! When were you complete?

 

[Scribblers]

II as well! Absolutely shocked!

 

[Willy38]

Congrats! When were you complete?

Submitted on 7/3. Don't think I got a complete email.

 

[Purple_Yams]

Submitted on 7/3. Don't think I got a complete email.

Thanks!!!

 

[Tappinfool66]

II this morning! So happy, and honestly a little surprised haha. Submitted the secondary as soon as it came out but I wasn't complete until my letter packet was uploaded at the end of July. IS, LizzyM ~76. Congrats to everyone who's received IIs so far and good luck to everyone else applying!

 

[trino]

Congrats everyone! It will be a fun day!

 

[Willy38]

Does anyone who has looked at the interview day schedule know if a 5:15pm departing flight would leave enough time to get to the airport? It says the day ends with interviews from 2-4pm and then black key return and wrap up. Is it too much of a squeeze to try and catch this flight?

 

[darkjedi]

Does anyone who has looked at the interview day schedule know if a 5:15pm departing flight would leave enough time to get to the airport? It says the day ends with interviews from 2-4pm and then black key return and wrap up. Is it too much of a squeeze to try and catch this flight?

I think you would be cutting it too close with the 5:15 flight. It's probably possible but not without a lot of stress and risk of missing your flight.

 

[Tappinfool66]

.

 

[Tappinfool66]

Does anyone who has looked at the interview day schedule know if a 5:15pm departing flight would leave enough time to get to the airport? It says the day ends with interviews from 2-4pm and then black key return and wrap up. Is it too much of a squeeze to try and catch this flight?

I agree with darkjedi. I'd definitely try for a later flight if possible. Assuming that everything went according to schedule and that the "wrap up" ended around 4:15, you'd have to get all of your stuff, either take the subway to Center City or walk to 30th Street Station and hope you'd catch the 4:30 train to get to the airport around 4:50-5. You could always take a cab but it would still be close.

 

[infinitessimal]

II!!! 😍 Excited beyond belief. Does anyone know if we can select dates other than the three they choose for us? I have an interview in PA a little later in the month, and it would be nice to have them closer together.

 

[lyra928]

II!!! 😍 Excited beyond belief. Does anyone know if we can select dates other than the three they choose for us? I have an interview in PA a little later in the month, and it would be nice to have them closer together.

When we're you complete?