2016-2017 Pennsylvania State University Application Thread
Started by WedgeDawg
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wonderful! thank you
do you guys think I have a chance here with a 504 mcat and 3.6 gpa, awesome ECs and lots of research? I'm OOS and debating whether or not to apply :/
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You have a 0% if you don't apply. That being said, according to MSAR your MCAT is at their 10th percentile and compared to the applicant pool to this school from last cycle, over half of the applicants had a better MCAT score than you. Your GPA is also below average (3.6 vs their average 3.8).
This process is chaotic and full of surprises. One of the laziest people I know is now in residency at a top 10 hospital in a highly desirable specialty...which was well deserved after performing wonderfully at a school with a Lizzy M of ~73 (his was 62). Do you have great life experience? Do you have a unique story? Excellent EC's? People will always tell you that these are exceptions to the rule...but a tour around any state school will give you a plethora of examples.
Simply put, there are countless factors that can offset/explain what I may add are decent numbers (it's not like you are grasping at straws). Give it a shot and believe in yourself. I would play the lotto every night if I had a 10% chance of winning (if those are your odds at any given school). Plus, always pay attention to accepted vs. matriculant average...anyone who has worked in education knows that these numbers can differ drastically. Best of luck!
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I would actually just add that of all the schools, Penn State is exceptional at considering life experiences that you bring to the table. You are more than a GPA and MCAT score and that is clearly reflected in our class. We have people who did undergrad from Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Duke, Yale all the way to people who graduated from tiny liberal arts schools with less than 1500 total undergraduate students.
Received an II! My first one!
Congrats bud!
Btw, IS or OOS?
I'm OOS.
Congrats!! Glad to finally see OOS! Would you mind sharing stats/completion date/URM status?
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II! First one, OOS as well! Anyone interviewed here before who would be willing to answer a few questions? 🙂
Congrats! Stats, completion date?
I interviewed here last year (not sure how much has changed) and would be willing to answer anything I can. I've kind of been keeping my eye on this forum anyway 😛
Can you just give a general overview of how your interview went? Thanks!
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So I don't remember the exact order of events, but I can get the basics. They do half day interviews, so I didn't get there until like 10:30. This gave me some good time to wake up, relax, get to the school on time and walk around. There was a little presentation on the curriculum/opportunities at Penn State and then I think after that was lunch with students. This was a nice chance to informally ask questions about the school and relax a little bit. There was a hospital/college tour and then 2 interviews. One was with a PhD and the other was a practicing physician. I think they were both open-file. But they were definitely more conversational and low-stress. Then I think that was it. Everyone was really easy to work with and the whole day was relatively relaxed.
Received an II today!! Lizzy M 62-64. OOS
Congrats!! Submission date if you do not mind?? And also, are you by any chance a re-applicant or URM?
Congratulation! What is your status? when do you submit?
deleted.
Edit: submit app on 7/26
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Okay, thanks a lot for that info! Gives me hope also for some love from this school!
Thank you, everyone! Best of luck to you all! I was complete 7/28 I believe. I never got an email but that's when my letters were marked as received on their end. Lizzy M ~68-70.
Thank you! I was curious if either you or anyone else on here are OOS and where'd you stay there? I dont think they are hosting anyone, what were good hotel options nearby/shuttle available? Sorry, I can PM you if that works. Don't want to flood this forum out for everyone.
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II 🙂
Just wondering how soon after you interviewed you found out?
OOS, Lizzy M ~68. But numbers aren't everything!!!
July 28
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they said 6-8 weeks, but got back to me in a little under 4 weeks.
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wow! okay thanks!
Did your application file completion under the Status tab ever say under review?
I think so, I can't recall TBH
Is there a unique aspect of your application that should be considered by the admissions committee? (Maximum 75 words)
I dont really understand this question, I'm not disadvantaged so I dont really have anything else to add
should i just write: N/A
I dont really understand this question, I'm not disadvantaged so I dont really have anything else to add
should i just write: N/A
I ended up writing about my volunteer work with the underprivileged since I read earlier posts that encouraged applicants to write something
but either way congrats!! and I'm hoping for the best!
Congrats! When were you complete?
August 3!
stats?
3.75 GPA 518 MCAT
Has anyone else had a problem with their secondary when they are entering their essays? The word count meter is really off on mine for some reason. I will type it up in microsoft word to ensure the word count but then when I put paste it into the box it says it is 5-7 words over. Been struggling with this for a while 
Has anyone else had a problem with their secondary when they are entering their essays? The word count meter is really off on mine for some reason. I will type it up in microsoft word to ensure the word count but then when I put paste it into the box it says it is 5-7 words over. Been struggling with this for a while
I had that issue too, but I set that deadline for myself so I had to hack away at some flowery language
Glad to see I'm not alone. I want it submitted by today as well so I'll chop it down a little. Just frustrating when you have a response flowing perfectly and then you have to reorganize it to make it work.
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You're definitely not alone. I had this happen with maybe 3-5 schools. Can't remember which, specifically, but I know it was an issue.
If you have hyphens, it usually counts those as 2 words in the textbox but not in Microsoft Word
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That could very much be the culprit.
There's a bus I hear- I'm interviewing on September 30th, I'm driving out from NJ on the 29th and leaving at 2:00 PM after the morning interviews finish, I wouldn't be opposed to having company in the car, you can message me if you're interviewing the same day/ interested!
Does anyone know how strict they are about their requirements? I want to apply here but I never took a Behavioral science
