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2023-2024 Pennsylvania State
Started by chilly_md
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madamemichaelscott
Full Member
When are pre-II Rs sent here?
ChocolateCookieCake
Full Member
OOS II! Complete end of August, LM 71, and they’re scheduling between last week of Feb to middle March. 🤭
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bumblebee123456789
Full Member
IS II, why they only giving two dates and I’m working both lol
WOOOOOOOOO [emoji322][emoji322][emoji322][emoji322]
LOLOLOLOL
I’m assuming you mean Interview Invite (II), not secondary, correct?
What does housing look like at Penn State? It looks like a lot of housing options appear to be within 30 min or so from Hershey. Do most students commute?
They have on campus housing which is super convenient as it is a short walk from the hospital. From what I heard there’s also apartment complexes nearby. Hershey is good, Hummelstown is nearby, and some students go farther to Harrisburg for a more urban environment but it’s a very small “city”. I don’t think there’s much public transportation in the area and it’s more suburbs so students probably commute with a car.
Not sure what the ratios are but I’m sure there’s plenty of students on campus and off campus
Congrats! When did you submit your application?
Any recent post II hold movement?
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they usually send decisions at the beginning/end of each month, so probably some time next week if not tomorrow since they haven’t seemingly sent out any decisions since the end of january!
scoobypoo123
Full Member
OOS II !
To those who've gotten to attend PSU's info sessions: Could anyone please comment on highlights? Anything that struck you as unique or important to be mindful of?
PM me I can send my notes
About the interview Qs: I've heard they were MMI style. Did they ask ethical dilemma/scenario QS (like, "decide who gets the organ"/"your position on X issue"/"conflict with a coworker"), or was it more just about you/them ("why do you want to be a doctor"/"what's your favorite book"/"what do you like about PSU")?
UserNameIsTitan
Full Member
They are not MMI style, its a 2-person panel with alternating questions. Every interviewee receives the same 5 and they are fairly generic. The most challenging part is they don't want you to include specifics from your application such as where you went to school or worked, etc.
Thanks Titan. Please allow me to clarify: I know it's 2 interviewers (not a MMI pannel), but by MMI format I just meant that you get a prompt, have 1-2 min to think, then 2-3min to reply. Is that the case, or is it a conversation?
My main question is, are they asking us about ethical dilemmas or hot topics in medicine, like in MMI, or is it questions about who you are and why you want to go to med school? (Perhaps that's what you meant by generic?)
My main question is, are they asking us about ethical dilemmas or hot topics in medicine, like in MMI, or is it questions about who you are and why you want to go to med school? (Perhaps that's what you meant by generic?)
UserNameIsTitan
Full Member
Ah, thanks for the clarification. I wouldn't really describe it as conversational, but it could vary depending on your interviewers. What you do with the 5 minutes per question is really up to you, there isn't any requirement on how you spend the time, just that each answer should be approximately 5 minutes. I don't believe they really even pay that much attention to the 5 minute mark necessarily, as long as all 5 questions are answered in your 25 allotted minutes. It's been a while since I interviewed so I don't really remember the specific questions so maybe someone else could jump in and give a better answer in that regard. I do remember that none of the questions were overly specific. I would be prepared to answer questions about the importance of diversity and humanities in medicine, why you want to pursue medicine, etc. There weren't any specific scenarios like who should get the organ etc. though.
I forget if there was an NDA but because it’s completely standardized 5 questions we aren’t allowed to share details about what the expect from the questions. My recommendation is practicing closed interview questions and thinking of many examples in your life you could use to answer scenario/“tell me about a time” questions.
Answering questions with biographical or personal relevant details as examples is the norm from what I understand. How do we do that without sharing specific information from our application? Just by avoiding names of institutions, etc?
Instead of saying “As a dermatology MA at XYZ hospital” say “As an MA” or “As a derm MA.” I very much feel like they’re not trying to see your achievements/extracurriculars and more trying to who you are outside of those and see how you approach situations which is why it felt like an MMI
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To current PennState students: if possible, I'd love to hear how you've experienced the humanities components of PSU. I've observed seemingly similar curriculum components discussed at other schools, but while I've heard it's special/taken seriously at PS, right now the "Humanities in Context" descriptions just feel like words. I wonder how it is on the ground. Thanks!
mellow_rose
New Member
I received an OOS II yesterday, 03/04/2024, and my application was completed on 08/27/2023. I just declined my interview, hoping it goes to another deserving applicant soon! Best of luck with the rest of the cycle, everyone!
druidcookie
Full Member
Just received a post-interview hold, does anyone have an idea of the outlook from here?
stinkygoose00
Full Member
post-interview hold, interviewed on 1/31
2023applicant2024
New Member
Accepted today !!!
anyone 2/5 interview hear back?
Lakshaye Anand
Full Member
Not yet
scarletblaze
Full Member
+1 OOS II
i was put on hold in January and was accepted today! seems like there’s been a lot of post II hold movement this cycle compared to previous years!
Fldoc2424
Full Member
Congratulations
coolaid2342
Full Member
Congrats! When were you complete?
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I was also put on hold then. Did you send them anything?
I did not
Fldoc2424
Full Member
From what I saw on the website they don’t accept updates
OOS II on friday, scheduled for late march. are we more or less interviewing for a waitlist position at this point in the cycle?
Every humanities course is taught in small groups, so people's experiences will vary greatly. I'll add that I've had overwhelmingly positive experiences, and it has led to great discussions. It's a lot of buzzwords (i.e., intersectionality, social construct), but there are some pretty interesting topics like AI in medicine and "how diseases are determined to be diseases." However, if humanities is not your thing, you can sit away from the facilitator and crank out a bunch of anki cards for two hours. The assignments/exams are minimal but annoying when they do appear.
Regardless, humanities and health systems are LCME requirements, so even if you ultimately choose to attend a different medical school you should expect these courses. At PSCOM, the difference is that our facilitators are die-hard about the material and are always willing to share personal stories, making the conversations more interesting (aka less painful).
If anyone else has any other questions, feel free to ask them here. I'm overwhelmed with PMs atm so this would honestly be faster.
