2024-2025 Penn State

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Does anyone know what 3rd year rotations are like at Penn State? Are they mostly done in Hershey or at surrounding hospitals in the area that are within driving distance or do some students have to relocate? I was just admitted and this wasn’t really talked about in my interview day
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SDX119078 said:
Does anyone know what 3rd year rotations are like at Penn State? Are they mostly done in Hershey or at surrounding hospitals in the area that are within driving distance or do some students have to relocate? I was just admitted and this wasn’t really talked about in my interview day
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I saw your PM to me (sorry im studying for step 2 rn lol) but I'll put my answer here for everyone to see!

Just finished my third year - ALL of my rotations outside of one I requested to be outside of PSU were at the Hershey hospital, which was very convenient since I live on campus. The furthest I ever had to drive for a rotation was a little under 30 minutes to UPMC Harrisburg. I will say for Family Medicine you will be assigned an outpt clinic outside the hospital, mine was luckily in Hershey, but people frequently got locations in Hershey, Elizabethtown, Harrisburg, Camp Hill and Mechanicsburg, all of which are 5-30 minute drives from the hospital. There are some locations for FM in particular out in Washington and Indiana PA, but I ranked those low and did not get them (the occasional few people do, but they provide housing!) I did my psychiatry rotation at Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute in Harrisburg (also owned by Penn State). I heard that they may be moving closer to Lancaster in coming years but i am not sure what is going on with that. They'd still be owned by Penn state, just a different/updated building.

Otherwise, the farthest people normally have to go is St. Joe's in reading, PA, which is just under an hour drive. A significantly less common rotation to get than getting a Hershey rotation but something that happens nonetheless, usually if you do get a Reading rotation you're not getting more than one rotation out there. Almost every rotation (outside of the one I did at UPMC Harrisburg at my request, they give free breakfast and lunch) is done in-system at Penn State home sites so you are always working within the academic medical system and never being outsourced. It's nice and preceptors know what to expect of you. St. Joe's and Lancaster are Penn State affiliate hospitals/owned by them!

I had a great third year and had the good luck to get Honors on all of my rotations - it's definitely possible and I felt everyone was very supportive, willing to help, and willing to accommodate me. I had some health problems the past year and was in and out of doctor's offices for my own issues and everyone was super nice and willing to work with me, and I was still able to get the grades I wanted. Course directors for all the rotations (especially surgery, actually!) were very helpful and responsive. Expectations are clear and laid out.

I had several friends get pregnant during rotations, and they were EXTREMELY accommodating - even to the point of allowing delayed shelf exams/make-up rotations for morning sickness, etc.
 
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has anyone received any package from financial aid yet? or heard anything about merit aid?
 
Someone PM'd me this question: What's an average day like for you during pre-clinical years? How do you study for in-house exams?

Take this with a grain of salt, I am more than a year out from my pre-clinical years but I tutor for the classes below me so I suspect it's relatively similar.

Pre-clinical years are actually pretty chill - we do organ system blocks and they ease you in super well starting with biochem. You don't start anatomy until cardioresp in November so you have time to adjust before you get pounded with anatomy stuff. Most lectures are optional, all are recorded, though you do have a few required lectures here and there. The big required thing in pre-clinical years are PBLs (problem based learning) small group learning, which for M1s, are MWF 8am-10am. These are mandatory and you learn in your small groups about high yield pathophys on certain topics. I'm remembering details from my PBLs even now as I prepare for step 2!

On a typical Monday, I would go to PBL from 8am-10 am. There would be usually an hour or two of lecture after that I probably wouldn't go to. I would go home and take a nap and then get up and watch the lecture recordings on 2x speed. I would then study/review ppts or do whatever I needed, maybe prep Wednesday's PBL, then go to the gym, get dinner, maybe do stuff with friends. On a typical Tuesday, I would go to mandatory humanities lecture from 10a-12p (wake up at 9:30), come home, study a bit, and then go to the gym/recreational stuff/research etc.

Depending on what society you are assigned (kind of like Harry Potter houses, they don't matter outside of scheduling), you will do FPCC (foundations of patient centered care) on either Tuesday or Wednesday from 1:30-4:30/5. This isn't every week but this is mandatory to prep you for OSCEs and learn physical exam skills. They'll start to be every week in your second year but by that point you're ready for that and need that level of instruction.

You have exams at the end of every block, in-house, not NBME. I felt they were pretty reasonable. Just make sure to study the powerpoints/lectures and don't just rely on third party resources. Pre-clinicals are TRUE pass-fail, meaning that you are NOT secretly ranked against your classmates. A 70 is required to pass. This is not difficult to obtain if you go to lectures and take your coursework seriously.

There are some other minor requirements in preclinical years like some mandatory community service work (very easy to get with the many clubs on campus) but honestly you have a lot of free time. I started doing research in M1 and I was going home to see my parents more than I even was in undergrad, I had time to hang out with friends, date, etc. It's a good time to explore and figure out what you want to do with your life!
 
psucowgirl said:
Someone PM'd me this question: What's an average day like for you during pre-clinical years? How do you study for in-house exams?

Take this with a grain of salt, I am more than a year out from my pre-clinical years but I tutor for the classes below me so I suspect it's relatively similar.

Pre-clinical years are actually pretty chill - we do organ system blocks and they ease you in super well starting with biochem. You don't start anatomy until cardioresp in November so you have time to adjust before you get pounded with anatomy stuff. Most lectures are optional, all are recorded, though you do have a few required lectures here and there. The big required thing in pre-clinical years are PBLs (problem based learning) small group learning, which for M1s, are MWF 8am-10am. These are mandatory and you learn in your small groups about high yield pathophys on certain topics. I'm remembering details from my PBLs even now as I prepare for step 2!

On a typical Monday, I would go to PBL from 8am-10 am. There would be usually an hour or two of lecture after that I probably wouldn't go to. I would go home and take a nap and then get up and watch the lecture recordings on 2x speed. I would then study/review ppts or do whatever I needed, maybe prep Wednesday's PBL, then go to the gym, get dinner, maybe do stuff with friends. On a typical Tuesday, I would go to mandatory humanities lecture from 10a-12p (wake up at 9:30), come home, study a bit, and then go to the gym/recreational stuff/research etc.

Depending on what society you are assigned (kind of like Harry Potter houses, they don't matter outside of scheduling), you will do FPCC (foundations of patient centered care) on either Tuesday or Wednesday from 1:30-4:30/5. This isn't every week but this is mandatory to prep you for OSCEs and learn physical exam skills. They'll start to be every week in your second year but by that point you're ready for that and need that level of instruction.

You have exams at the end of every block, in-house, not NBME. I felt they were pretty reasonable. Just make sure to study the powerpoints/lectures and don't just rely on third party resources. Pre-clinicals are TRUE pass-fail, meaning that you are NOT secretly ranked against your classmates. A 70 is required to pass. This is not difficult to obtain if you go to lectures and take your coursework seriously.

There are some other minor requirements in preclinical years like some mandatory community service work (very easy to get with the many clubs on campus) but honestly you have a lot of free time. I started doing research in M1 and I was going home to see my parents more than I even was in undergrad, I had time to hang out with friends, date, etc. It's a good time to explore and figure out what you want to do with your life!
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This was really such a tremendous help. I've learned a lot about the program but the average day-to-day was still so blurry to me. Thank you so much. GL with step 2!!!
 
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pedneuro6894 said:
Nope. When I emailed them at the beginning of the year, they said “end of March or beginning of April”. So my guess is it could be any day now
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I contacted the fin aid ppl and they did say any day; they also said that the office is still working on merit aid as well so I guess we will hear back soon about the fin packages hopefully
 
MasterOogway said:
Has anyone not gotten a pre-Ii R? I’m expecting it soon but haven’t heard.
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I have also not received a rejection which is ... annoying. It seems on this thread like any kind of communication with the admissions office has been unpleasant though.
 
For current students, what kind of community outreach opportunities are available?
 
Zephyr@1 said:
Hey everyone! I'm currently a MS1 here at Penn State. Feel free to ask me any questions about the school either on this forum and/or by DM'ing me.

I believe that tomorrow is also the Second Look Day. You will be presented with a lot of info about the school. If you find yourself wanting clarification on anything that was said and/or if you have any new questions that you thought about, I can help answer them. I'll try to get back to you in a timely manner.

Best of luck on this app cycle - it'll be over before you know it!
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Does PennState allow update letters/LOI? I interviewed a month ago. Should I only send it if I get a waitlist?
 
Has anyone received their financial aid package yet? And do they require us to put them in our top 3 for the choose your medical school feature today?
 
pedneuro6894 said:
What day of the week are we thinking? Friday?
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The slides Admissions sent in todays email indicate packages are sent “around April 15th”

I’m currently facing April 30th deadlines for other scholarship apps—which require my fin aid package… hopefully soon
 
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