Nittany Lion said:
I also want to add, on a serious note, the Penn State/Jeff program is considered very prestigious here... they only take a very small handful of kids every year. It is much more competitive than our Honors program (which I've heard people say is similar to an ivy league education). I think that if you are interested in going into academia someday, you would be looked upon very highly if you matriculated into Jeff via this program.
If you have any specific questions about life at Penn State (academic programs, classes, social life, etc.) feel free to PM me!
It's kind of a funny situation in my family - my older sister is a doctor, who went through the PSU/Jefferson program. I'm a first year at Jefferson, but I went through a traditional 4 year University, then came to med school. Same med school, but 2 very different routes. It's interesting for me - to see everything, and imagine what it was like for her.
The first thing is to remember that you will be two years younger than your classmates, at least. You may hit some feelings of discomfort. A lot of people in our med school class are "non-trads," and the idea of having 20 year olds running around with them makes them feel old. (That's what I've been told anyway.) It's not mean-spirited, but kind of a sense of wonder/regret/curiosity. Also, remember that you'll be 22 when you'll be doing your clinical rotations in the 3rd year. My sister was actually 21 (she was born in the autumn, so she was 17 when she graduated high school). I cannot imagine what it would have been like for my sister, this tiny, petite 21 year old, interviewing hardened criminals in prison as part of her psych rotation. And, by the way, if there's a school function where alcohol is served, they take care of that too - a 6 year programmer told me that they painted an enormous black X on the back of her hand before the party began. That way, the bartender knew that she wasn't 21.
The second thing is - how much growing up do you feel you have left to do? I'm glad I went to a regular university, and then med school. It allowed me to explore a LOT of things that I wouldn't have done in the 6 year program. I worked in a research lab for 3 years, working with proteins and DNA. I can, as a result, run agarose gels in my sleep, do a PCR while half drunk (not that I've tried, but....), and do a yeast transformation while talking on a phone. I also studied a lot of history, art, literature, and learned how to speak a foreign language pretty well. My sister had done none of these things at Penn State - she was only there for 2 years! Some people, unfortunately, have a lot of growing up to do, and need at least 4 years to do it. There's a girl in my small group at Jefferson who went through the program. You cannot imagine a more mature person, so I think that she was perfect for the 6 year program. My sister, however, probably would have benefitted from an extra 2 years in college. We weren't really allowed to date much in high school, and dating in college and med school was hard for her, time wise. She never really worked out how to maneuver a relationship very well, and it's still biting her in the a**, even today.
The third thing is that the 6 year program people all come in knowing each other - so they tend to hang out with each other. In my sister's case, I think that prevented her from growing socially as she should have done, because she already had a group of friends, ready made. I really think that med school, for me, is the best time to network and another great opportunity to make friends. So, I wouldn't have been able to deal with that aspect of it.
The final thing is - do you know what kind of med school you want to go to? Jefferson is a great school, but you need to consider what your plans are, and how concrete those plans are. If you really love research and academia, and want to do that for the rest of your life, will you like coming to Jefferson? Clinical skills are HEAVILY emphasized here, and almost everyone student sees themselves as a clinician, not as a researcher/academic. Do you mind going to an enormous medical school. There's 230 students in every graduating year - some people don't like that. Will you enjoy living in Philadelphia? Will you mind cutting your college years, "the best years of your life" short? What kind of classmates do you want in your medical school?
Both sides have pros and cons. (By the way, you DON'T have the med school admissions wrapped up - every year, there are at least 1 or 2 people who fall by the wayside. Not to scare you, but it happens.) Come visit Jefferson, and see what you think. It's a tough decision, but feel free to ask me if you have any questions. Good luck!
