2015-2016 University of Pennsylvania (Perelman) Application Thread

[G.NA]

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For the "Have you been nominated for or received an award from any state, regional or national organization? If so, please describe; each line allows 100 characters" question...if my school is nominating me for Rhodes/Marshall/Gates/etc. should that be mentioned there or no? Definitely guessing no, and am not planning on, but just thought I would double check.

Thanks!

why not? Those are definitely national-level competitions

 

[omnxbeast]

I guess my two concerns were
Mainly 1.) They might get apprehensive about someone having aspirations to temporarily pursue something other than medicine (until the unlikely event I was awarded one at which point they likely would desire it)
2.) Because the process is technically still going on

 

[G.NA]

I guess my two concerns were
Mainly 1.) They might get apprehensive about someone having aspirations to temporarily pursue something other than medicine (until the unlikely event I was awarded one at which point they likely would desire it)
2.) Because the process is technically still going on

methinks you worry a little too much. So schools would be ok if you got it but not ok if you are to pursue it? See how the logic is a little faulty?
You have to be nominated by your school committee for those awards. If it's ongoing, it means you were nominated already, right? Thus it fits and u should be ok

 

[wagonwheel23]

@omnxbeast Penn is a school that values scholarship. Therefore, I think they would be quite excited to hear that you are being nominated for these awarads.

 

[omnxbeast]

methinks you worry a little too much. So schools would be ok if you got it but not ok if you are to pursue it? See how the logic is a little faulty?

Not usually. In fact, this is the only secondary question I can remember asking like this, however, I have been a frequent reader throughout this process--often laughing at some of the over-worrying people do. It is quite legitimate. Why my logic works is this:
They might not prefer people who are desiring opportunities other than medicine. However, if said person were to win the award, having said student attend their school is obviously a good thing that makes their school look good, thus trumping their issue with not having a sole focus on medicine. Perhaps, the solution is I state what my research interest would be if I won (it is unsurprisingly medically related consistent with my undergrad research/med application), and that I would request a deferral and attend medical school immediately upon completion.

You have to be nominated by your school committee for those awards. If it's ongoing, it means you were nominated already, right? Thus it fits and u should be ok

Yes, but my school has not submitted the materials to the various scholarships yet. Anyway, I appreciate everyone's feedback, and think I am going to follow it. Thus, SDN has officially made a tangible difference in my life (i.e. changed a decision/caused an action) for the first time; thank you. 🙂

 

[G.NA]

They might not prefer people who are desiring opportunities other than medicine.

don't forget that penn is literally the bastion of interdisciplinary studies in the ivy league (only Harvard can come close to rivaling). to think they would not desire people who are doing national scholarships with different interests is quite blasphemy imho?

 

[Yolanda]

no explicit limit according to last year

Seemed to be a 500 character limit when I was filling it out.

 

[G.NA]

Seemed to be a 500 character limit when I was filling it out.

helpful. thanks

 

[omnxbeast]

@ciestar et al. how long after you assigned your LOR to Penn did the secondary become accessible? I did it this morning, and still cannot view.

Additionally, I only have one letter in AMCAS because of a committee letter...I am assuming you only need to submit one since so many schools do committees, but some people were speculating earlier that you needed to assign 3 or 4 to get access...anyone have any insight?

Thanks.

 

[cooldudee]

Does being enrolled in a master's program after undergrad count as taking time off between college graduation and med school matriculation?

 

[rudyin78]

Any current students want to comment on any weak points at Penn? It's quickly becoming a top choice of mine, and I can't find any...

 

[idontknowwhatnametopick]

So how are y'all describing your time off between graduation and med school in 250 characters? Are we just supposed to say "Yes I took time off. The end." ?

 

[UCGal2016]

So how are y'all describing your time off between graduation and med school in 250 characters? Are we just supposed to say "Yes I took time off. The end." ?

How about, "Had the time of my life before looking forward to drinking from the fire hose"?

A bit longer

 

[y123]

I got an award for my volunteering from a national organization, but the award is not selective at all. Is it even worth mentioning?

 

[Yolanda]

I got an award for my volunteering from a national organization, but the award is not selective at all. Is it even worth mentioning?

Why not? For one, how are they supposed to know that it's not selective? Also, whether it's selective or not the award demonstrates that you did more than just show up and some group of people thought that your work within the organization deserved recognition.

 

[utopias]

Does being enrolled in a master's program after undergrad count as taking time off between college graduation and med school matriculation?

Yes it does. I believe that college graduation means undergrad graduation in this case. Your masters and additional experience after undergrad is an asset to your application and you should definitely share the experience and what you have learned.

By the way I'm also an incoming Penn Med MS1 so I can help out with the application process.

 

[jibblesNbits]

+1 for an incoming MS1 moving to Philly in a week, I can hopefully help with the normal application stuff, why I chose Penn, etc.

 

[medhead88]

for the letters requirement,No research advisor, volunteer coordinator, etc.?

 

[jibblesNbits]

for the letters requirement, Penn only accepts letters from faculty who taught you? No research advisor, volunteer coordinator, etc.?

n=1, and I don't even remember what the requirements were last year, but my strongest letter was from my research advisor with three additional letters from natural sciences faculty (bio, biochem, and biophysics/physical chem), and it worked fine for me

 

[avgn]

Yay/nay to putting down those spring break medical tourism trips in the int'l experience section? I already have a study abroad experience to put so I'm thinking there's no reason to do so? lol?

 

[avgn]

Secondary submitted! One of my top choices, I think I'm a good fit for the school!

 

[neurotroph]

Any other MSTP applicants here? I'm having a technical issue where it won't save more than 3 research experiences. Wondering if anyone else had the same problem.

 

[trino]

Just going to leave this here (and hope that the link works): http://www.phillyvoice.com/chop-worlds-first-bilateral-hand-transplant/

 

[idontknowwhatnametopick]

Just going to leave this here (and hope that the link works): http://www.phillyvoice.com/chop-worlds-first-bilateral-hand-transplant/

Super cool. Thanks for sharing!

 

[inky]

Any other MSTP applicants here? I'm having a technical issue where it won't save more than 3 research experiences. Wondering if anyone else had the same problem.

I'm a bit late responding but I'm an MSTP application and I was able to put 5 research experiences in. Maybe it was a browser issue?

 

[neurotroph]

I'm a bit late responding but I'm an MSTP application and I was able to put 5 research experiences in. Maybe it was a browser issue?

I'm having the problem with both Chrome and Firefox so I don't think so :/

 

[NotAnotherPreMed]

Hey does anyone know the process to submit an update to Penn? I forgot to write about a provisional patent in the 'awards' section!

 

[avgn]

Hey does anyone know the process to submit an update to Penn? I forgot to write about a provisional patent in the 'awards' section!

Via the portal under "Letters," there is a place to upload "Correspondence," which includes updates.
Idk if patents would count as awards, though. Also, don't count on people knowing what a provisional patent is. They might think it's like under review or something lol

 

[blackgirlmd]

Question about economic hardships:

Would it be okay for me to talk about hurricane katrina and how it put my family in a bind because they were business owners and lost their businesses so my dad had to move to Iraq and work as a contractor?

 

[blackgirlmd]

Also, AMCAS received my letters and I assigned them to UPENN but the supplementary site says they are not received. Is this normal?

 

[idontknowwhatnametopick]

Question about economic hardships:

Would it be okay for me to talk about hurricane katrina and how it put my family in a bind because they were business owners and lost their businesses so my dad had to move to Iraq and work as a contractor?

If that isn't an economic hardship I don't know what is. It must have been super hard on your family in more than just the monetary aspect too.

Also, AMCAS received my letters and I assigned them to UPENN but the supplementary site says they are not received. Is this normal?

I can't remember if they showed up right away or a few days later. Lots of schools take a very long time to put in letters though because they manually check that they are signed and on letterhead, so give it a few days, check again, and if you've submitted your secondary and waited about 5 business days and they don't show up, give them a call.

 

[blackgirlmd]

If that isn't an economic hardship I don't know what is. It must have been super hard on your family in more than just the monetary aspect too.



I can't remember if they showed up right away or a few days later. Lots of schools take a very long time to put in letters though because they manually check that they are signed and on letterhead, so give it a few days, check again, and if you've submitted your secondary and waited about 5 business days and they don't show up, give them a call.

Thank you so much for the input! 🙂

 

[avgn]

Question about economic hardships:

Would it be okay for me to talk about hurricane katrina and how it put my family in a bind because they were business owners and lost their businesses so my dad had to move to Iraq and work as a contractor?

Word, few people period have to deal with the results of a natural disaster of that magnitude

 

[blackgirlmd]

Are there any special, unique, personal, or challenging aspects of your personal background or circumstances that you would like to share with the Committee on Admissions, not addressed elsewhere (siblings/relatives at Penn, applying as a couple, educational environment, culture, ethnicity, etc.) No Yes

Would it be okay to post diversity essay here?

 

[avgn]

Are there any special, unique, personal, or challenging aspects of your personal background or circumstances that you would like to share with the Committee on Admissions, not addressed elsewhere (siblings/relatives at Penn, applying as a couple, educational environment, culture, ethnicity, etc.) No Yes

Would it be okay to post diversity essay here?

Penn is so URM-friendly I really don't think it's necessary unless you have some special story related to your ethnicity/race/culture or whatever you wanted to emphasize

 

[blackgirlmd]

Penn is so URM-friendly I really don't think it's necessary unless you have some special story related to your ethnicity/race/culture or whatever you wanted to emphasize

I was gonna talk about my background as a competitive dancer and stuff like that. Is that okay?

 

[avgn]

I was gonna talk about my background as a competitive dancer and stuff like that. Is that okay?

Not sure, in the Columbia thread students have noted that Columbia ignores the diversity essay in the "anything else you want to say" box since it's not what they're looking for.

 

[blackgirlmd]

Not sure, in the Columbia thread students have noted that Columbia ignores the diversity essay in the "anything else you want to say" box since it's not what they're looking for.

I see. So what exactly are they looking for?

 

[avgn]

I see. So what exactly are they looking for?

Just read the question: "Are there any [circumstances] that you would like to share with the Committee on Admissions, not addressed elsewhere."
It's for things you think they need to know that they would not be able to tell from anywhere else. For most people, I think these spaces are supposed to be blank. Don't try to force something that isn't there. Just follow directions! You have enough stuff for them to evaluate you on

 

[blackgirlmd]

Is anyone else's system down for the supp?

 

[NorthOfBroad]

Is anyone else's system down for the supp?

I work at Penn and it is a planned outage. Nothing to worry about

 

[avgn]

I work at Penn and it is a planned outage. Nothing to worry about

And no prior notice was given?? Someone's IT dept should get a lesson 😉

 

[NorthOfBroad]

And no prior notice was given?? Someone's IT dept should get a lesson 😉

Well we did lol

 

[avgn]

Well we did lol

OH AND YOU DIDN'T HAVE A SYSTEM TO MAKE SURE EVERY APPLICANT SAW IT? What kind of quality control is going on at Penn?????

 

[JJSN]

If you wrote about medical study abroad in the primary, would it be wrong to rehash that for the global activities section? Just don't want to make an adcom frustrated with seeing the same thing twice, but also don't want to leave it out if that's something they really want to see

 

[avgn]

If you wrote about medical study abroad in the primary, would it be wrong to rehash that for the global activities section? Just don't want to make an adcom frustrated with seeing the same thing twice, but also don't want to leave it out if that's something they really want to see

It asks, so you should answer the question. Just keep it short

 

[ohnotornadooo]

Anyone know if UPenn's LOR requirements are flexible at all for non-trads? I've only got two from faculty members, but three excellent ones from work/volunteer supervisors.

 

[neurotroph]

If it's a single experience, I wouldn't include it. It's not an essay where you demonstrate your ability to overcome an obstacle. It's an essay that let's the committee know a little bit more about your background: low income, minority, etc. My take on this question is: "if you would use it to describe yourself, it probably belongs in here"

I've been considering using the "anything else" space to explain my grade trend since the prompt refers to educational environment and challenging personal circumstances. Basically the experience of being a minority at my school plus not being prepared for an academically rigorous environment because of my previous schooling caused me to have academic issues my first two years. Bad idea to talk about it here or not? Alternatively I could recycle my diversity essays and talk about my cultural background, which I didn't talk about in depth in my primary but technically made mention of already since one of my activities involves it. Or I could just leave the section blank. Not really sure what to do here so I would appreciate your and @jibblesNbits 's advice!

 

[trino]

I've been considering using the "anything else" space to explain my grade trend since the prompt refers to educational environment and challenging personal circumstances. Basically the experience of being a minority at my school plus not being prepared for an academically rigorous environment because of my previous schooling caused me to have academic issues my first two years. Bad idea to talk about it here or not? Alternatively I could recycle my diversity essays and talk about my cultural background, which I didn't talk about in depth in my primary but technically made mention of already since one of my activities involves it. Or I could just leave the section blank. Not really sure what to do here so I would appreciate your and @jibblesNbits 's advice!

Hmmm, if you have strong reasons for academic issues based on your previous schooling, then I would explain them here.

If your cultural background is already explained anywhere else, I wouldn't use that topic. More is not always better

 

[AgentQuestion]

@popcorn225 Are there many opportunities for community involvement or community service? Is it encouraged/supported by the school and faculty or something students must pursue on their own? I'm having trouble finding much info on the website...
Besides research, what made you choose Penn?
Thanks for the help!