Irongirl, mango-a-go-go, Dr. G...penn state

[dukee]

Hey guys,

congrats on getting into penn state. Do you guys have any opinion about the school? Did you like the area? Was the interview difficult? Did they ask a lot of ethical or health-related questions? Did the student body seem nice? I do not know much about the school, so any suggestions would be helpful...

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[irongirl]

I thought Penn State was great. The students and faculty seemed very friendly. The facilities are excellent, and I really liked the location. It would be neat to learn medicine in a small community like Hershey because you would feel more closely tied to your patients. Both of my interviews were great, my interviewers seemed to be selling the school to me more than trying to see if I was worthy of being there. I did have one interviewer from the humanities department, and he asked a lot of heathcare and ethics questions, but nothing too difficult. All in all it was one of my best interview experiences and I left impressed with the school. I won't being going there next year though, I'll be going to OHSU b/c it is close to home and I like the curriculum at OHSU better (only take one class at a time, and only go to class from 8-12 for the first two years- plus one afternoon a week). Anyways, I hope that helps.

 

[Dr.G]

The location was just not the right place for me. I'm more of a city girl and I felt very isolated in Hershey. My interviewers were both very friendly- I did not have any ethical or health care questions- we mostly just talked about my interests and tried to sell me on the school. I remember being surprised by how unfriendly the students were who I had lunch with- but they may have just been having a bad day.

 

[ewells]

Dukee, I know you didn't ask me, but I really liked the school and am going there next year. One of the upsides for me was the location. I want to live in a small/medium size town, but have access to big cities. Philly and Baltimore are 1.5 to 2 hours away, and NY and DC are both within 3 hours (according to a friend of my who grew up in Hershey). The students seemed nice and said that the faculty sometimes invite students to dinner. It is a good fit for me.

 

[dukee]

thanks for the reply. Any suggestions for the interview? Was this school your first choice? thanks...

 

[ewells]

It was not my first choice going in, but I liked the curriculum (one science class at time, and a mixture of lecture/PBL), the focus (definitely primary care) and its location/neighborhood. I am married and have a child. Going to Penn State will put me near a Grandma, which will be a big help for my wife. So, my reasons for choosing Penn State are about equally academic and non-academic. One advantage that I had that many other applicants won't was the chance to talk frankly with a doctor from the school. Most of the people you will meet from a school will focus on the strengths. I stayed with a surgeon whose daughter is a classmate of mine here at Arizona; he was not worried about making a good impression for the school and told the ups and downs. In his opinion, their surgery rotations are too short, and he would like to see students going into primary care have more required rotations in specialties, so they will more informed when requesting consults. On the other hand, he definitely liked the structure of the PBL units and thought that the students liked them, too. I have cancelled three interviews since I was accepted.

As far as suggestions for the interview itself, irongirl gave a pretty goo d description; I do not have anything to add.

 

[dukee]

thanks for the reply. All good advice...