2018-2019 University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
I will likely be matriculating to Penn, but was wondering if they allow 1-year deferrals for medical reasons?
They certainly have in the past. The key is to request this asap. Especially with the new traffic rules, the ADCOMS might be a bit crazier than usual. As soon as this is what you want to do, draft a letter to the dean of admissions, saying that you would like to defer until August 2020 for medical reasons. Most of these types of requests are approved with little problem, though at most, a school might request that your medical team communicate with medical school health office to make sure you are healthy enough to return to medical school. Your request should be very brief, yet positive and upbeat and come from "an ask, not a tell" pov.
 
I’ve read a lot on here about people’s impression that Penn students are particularly more stressed out or that Penn’s is a tougher grading system pre-clinical. Are these impressions accurate? Or is it based on how Penn’s grading used to be a few years ago?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Members don't see this ad :)
I’ve read a lot on here about people’s impression that Penn students are particularly more stressed out or that Penn’s is a tougher grading system pre-clinical. Are these impressions accurate? Or is it based on how Penn’s grading used to be a few years ago?

I think it stems from the fact that Penn is not true P/F with an internal ranking for the preclinical years. Additionally, grades for second year are used for AOA qualification.
 
I think it stems from the fact that Penn is not true P/F with an internal ranking for the preclinical years. Additionally, grades for second year are used for AOA qualification.

I thought that all preclinical was true pass fail and clinical were honors/high pass/pass/fail? so only clinical "grades" are used for AoA?

Can a current student comment on whether there is an internal ranking for P/F in the preclinical courses?
 
I thought that all preclinical was true pass fail and clinical were honors/high pass/pass/fail? so only clinical "grades" are used for AoA?

Can a current student comment on whether there is an internal ranking for P/F in the preclinical courses?

Here's a current student's response from earlier.

AOA is a bit different here. At the current moment, it does factor in our Mod2 grades a bit (the organ blocks, not the basic science-y stuff you'll start out with), but with most of the emphasis on clinical grading. Now, clinical grading is not done by "chunking". This means, anyone can get honors/high pass if they do the work to deserve it. There's not a hard and fast limit on percentages of each designation. As for AOA, there is an "internal ranking" system. The top (I forget the exact number)% are allowed to apply for AOA each year at the end of 3rd year. At this time, everyone submits their applications including community service, extracurriculars, research, etc. There is a committee that uses your rank, activities, etc and picks AOA from there.
As the years have gone by, more and more emphasis has been put on the extra stuff. Grades still matter of course, but they are not everything!
We also have the Gold Humanism Society which is completely separate and relies on basically everything except grades.

Hope this answers your question! If you want more specifics on anything just let me know.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I am also wondering what distinguishes High Pass from Honors... it seems that other schools have pass fail honors but Penn also has high pass... What exactly does this distinction mean?
 
I am also wondering what distinguishes High Pass from Honors... it seems that other schools have pass fail honors but Penn also has high pass... What exactly does this distinction mean?

Not familiar with Penn, but I always thought that Honors, High Pass, Pass and Fail, was a new way of titling A, B, C and D.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
I am also wondering what distinguishes High Pass from Honors... it seems that other schools have pass fail honors but Penn also has high pass... What exactly does this distinction mean?
i think the H/HP/P/F is for the clerkships, not the preclinical
 
Some of the T20 med schools are going or have gone P/F for the clinical clerkships as well, as almost everyone (>90%) was getting the highest grade (HONORS). So essentially, it was pass/fail at these schools anyway.
 
Just to reiterate here, clinical grades are significantly more important for AOA. It’s also based on other activities rather than grades alone :)
 
Members don't see this ad :)
No internal rankings?

I just talked to a current student about this. He said that they do have internal rankings after Mod1.

For what it's worth, he also said that this did not add stress for him personally, especially since few people get AOA, but virtually everyone matches well. I don’t think many people are stressing over whether they’re doing the best in their classes vs. whether they’re learning what they need to be learning. Also, AOA is determined by more than grades at Penn.

Would definitely welcome other perspectives from current students.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Hi- is the admissions form that you sign binding? It is where you agree to all the terms
 
Read them carefully. The only binding action is hitting commit to enroll
I see ok. So we can select "I accept these terms and conditions" without it being binding? i just dont fully understand how this all works
 
I see ok. So we can select "I accept these terms and conditions" without it being binding? i just dont fully understand how this all works
Yeah it basically means you want to hold the acceptance
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
To address the discussion of true pass/fail etc., our Mod1 (the first semester of your first year) is true pass fail--you get a final numerical grade for a class that ultimately means nothing as long as it's over the passing threshold. Numerical grades for midterms matter only insofar as they factor into whether your final grade is passing. There is no internal ranking whatsoever; when you finish Mod1 you have a bunch of Ps and the numbers may as well not exist.

For Mod2, the classes are still pass/fail but there is an internal ranking based on your numerical grade, albeit of minor significance. For the class ranking that determines whether you're eligible to apply for AOA and all that jazz, the entirety of Mod2 (the second semester of your first year and the first semester of your second year combined), counts the same as the grade from a single clerkship. Thus, Mod2's importance to your internal ranking is very small and the significance of a particular class within Mod2 is utterly trivial. Frankly, even the AOA distinction is very much a higher order correction in comparison to the competitiveness you will acquire in residency matching simply by virtue of graduating from Penn. I would go so far as to say that specifically aspiring to AOA, even for those interested in competitive specialties, is probably not a great use of your time and energy.

TL;DR internal rankings in part of the pre-clinical curriculum is unequivocally not something that should you steer you away from Penn. If you were accepted here you should come; this school is lit fam.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 9 users
To address the discussion of true pass/fail etc., our Mod1 (the first semester of your first year) is true pass fail--you get a final numerical grade for a class that ultimately means nothing as long as it's over the passing threshold. Numerical grades for midterms matter only insofar as they factor into whether your final grade is passing. There is no internal ranking whatsoever; when you finish Mod1 you have a bunch of Ps and the numbers may as well not exist.

For Mod2, the classes are still pass/fail but there is an internal ranking based on your numerical grade, albeit of minor significance. For the class ranking that determines whether you're eligible to apply for AOA and all that jazz, the entirety of Mod2 (the second semester of your first year and the first semester of your second year combined), counts the same as the grade from a single clerkship. Thus, Mod2's importance to your internal ranking is very small and the significance of a particular class within Mod2 is utterly trivial. Frankly, even the AOA distinction is very much a higher order correction in comparison to the competitiveness you will acquire in residency matching simply by virtue of graduating from Penn. I would go so far as to say that specifically aspiring to AOA, even for those interested in competitive specialties, is probably not a great use of your time and energy.

TL;DR internal rankings in part of the pre-clinical curriculum is unequivocally not something that should you steer you away from Penn. If you were accepted here you should come; this school is lit fam.
Thank you for the detailed response!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
To address the discussion of true pass/fail etc., our Mod1 (the first semester of your first year) is true pass fail--you get a final numerical grade for a class that ultimately means nothing as long as it's over the passing threshold. Numerical grades for midterms matter only insofar as they factor into whether your final grade is passing. There is no internal ranking whatsoever; when you finish Mod1 you have a bunch of Ps and the numbers may as well not exist.

For Mod2, the classes are still pass/fail but there is an internal ranking based on your numerical grade, albeit of minor significance. For the class ranking that determines whether you're eligible to apply for AOA and all that jazz, the entirety of Mod2 (the second semester of your first year and the first semester of your second year combined), counts the same as the grade from a single clerkship. Thus, Mod2's importance to your internal ranking is very small and the significance of a particular class within Mod2 is utterly trivial. Frankly, even the AOA distinction is very much a higher order correction in comparison to the competitiveness you will acquire in residency matching simply by virtue of graduating from Penn. I would go so far as to say that specifically aspiring to AOA, even for those interested in competitive specialties, is probably not a great use of your time and energy.

TL;DR internal rankings in part of the pre-clinical curriculum is unequivocally not something that should you steer you away from Penn. If you were accepted here you should come; this school is lit fam.

Thank you for saying it in a better/different way! Yes internal rankings exist, but my class has never found issue. This also exits at way more schools than you’d realize! And here it doesn’t matter much as RadicatingSpines said!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
For current students - how do you all like living in Philadelphia? I'm not as familiar with it as other nearby cities like NYC or Boston, which I associate with more exciting times in my life (lol mostly NYC tho), and I don't know how Philly might compare.

And, related to that, do you actually have time to have fun and enjoy life to some extent? I know that everyone's going to have to put a decent amount of time and work into med school regardless, but do you feel like you can pursue interests/hobbies/a life outside of just school?
 
Is anyone else still baffled about how they got accepted here? Every time I think about it my brain still gets a little bit haywire
 
  • Like
Reactions: 9 users
For current students - how do you all like living in Philadelphia? I'm not as familiar with it as other nearby cities like NYC or Boston, which I associate with more exciting times in my life (lol mostly NYC tho), and I don't know how Philly might compare.

And, related to that, do you actually have time to have fun and enjoy life to some extent? I know that everyone's going to have to put a decent amount of time and work into med school regardless, but do you feel like you can pursue interests/hobbies/a life outside of just school?

Can’t answer from the perspective of a current student, but as a human who’s lived in Philly and NYC (along with a few other cities) I can attest that Philly—particularly the area where you’d be as a penn student—is a great place to live. It’s lower COL than NYC and Boston but it’s got a lot of the same perks. It’s extremely walkable, has a robust art scene, good restaurants (many of which allow you to bring your own drinks which helps save more money). From a medical perspective the city has a huge academic/clinical community and also has extensive opportunities for service and a ton of patient diversity, so it’s a good place to be as a medical student as well as a young person.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 users
Is anyone else still baffled about how they got accepted here? Every time I think about it my brain still gets a little bit haywire

Every time I think about it or see their email in my inbox I’m shocked.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Can any current students speak a little bit on preview? I’m trying not to take off too much work since I already had to for interviews, but I do want to get to know (potential) future classmates. Is it sufficient if I arrive Thursday night or Friday morning?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Can any current students speak a little bit on preview? I’m trying not to take off too much work since I already had to for interviews, but I do want to get to know (potential) future classmates. Is it sufficient if I arrive Thursday night or Friday morning?
I enjoyed the whole experience but you should definitely be there for the Mütter Museum reception Thursday evening.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Can anyone speak to the usefulness of the housing tours on Saturday of Penn Preview?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Congrats to everyone accepted! I'm also happy to answer questions for anyone who wants to PM me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
For those of you waitlisted, do you think letters of intent make a difference or does Penn just assume you'll come if accepted?
 
Can anyone comment on the “matching merit aid” process at Penn and how that would work?
 
Can anyone comment on the “matching merit aid” process at Penn and how that would work?

There isn't a process. You can send your offer to Penn's financial aid office and they will decide if they wanna match it or not.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
There isn't a process. You can send your offer to Penn's financial aid office and they will decide if they wanna match it or not.
Yup. Just got off the phone with Fin aid. They'll see what they can do about matching aid. Aid offers should be out 1st week of April apparently.
 
Is it best to wait until after aid packages come out to ask about matching aid or can that be done in advance?
 
Is it best to wait until after aid packages come out to ask about matching aid or can that be done in advance?

In advance. Why wait if you already have an offer to leverage?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Top