Penn State class of 2010

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Why are you looking for someone to go to the Hershey Bear games with you once classes start?

Perhaps, I'm comming from a big hockey school, so i'll be missing the ice. Does PA get NESN or CSTV? Probably not eh?
Also, if there is any local ice we could play a game or something....i suck at the actual skating part, but its fun nonetheless.

 

[Dr.UserName]

Perhaps, I'm comming from a big hockey school, so i'll be missing the ice. Does PA get NESN or CSTV? Probably not eh?
Also, if there is any local ice we could play a game or something....i suck at the actual skating part, but its fun nonetheless.

I have no idea about games on TV. I'm from the midwest and my school isn't known for hockey at all. Thus, I can't answer any of your questions but I'm decent at skating though I've never played. How many more people do we need for a game, we have 2? 😉

 

[Avianburner]

Never heard of NESN, and we don't get CSTV unfortunately...possibly on digital/satellite??

We've gone to a couple bears games. Tickets are pretty cheap at 20 bucks for good seats (15 for nosebleeds).

As far as ice hockey goes, there's a pretty popular rink about 20 minutes away that has open skating, pickup hockey games, figure skating, etc.
www.twinponds.com


by the way...if you go to a bears game, you as a penn state student are required to buy a stupid bear hat and wear it with utmost pride! (can't find a link..but you'll see)


(two weeks left!!)

 

[jackb960]

Has anyone heard anything about orientation this summer? I see the schedule from last year, but haven't heard anything about this year. Seems like time is flying by and we will be there before we know it.

I still haven't bought my laptop... I am looking for the smallest one I can find with all the proper memory, storage, etc...

I also need to do all of my vaccinations/titers soon. Can you believe there is no record of my having chicken pox!?!?!?! I am reluctant to get the vaccination. Has anyone had it? What are your thoughts?

 

[hardy]

I still haven't bought my laptop... I am looking for the smallest one I can find with all the proper memory, storage, etc...

Dell 710m is what you want.. a little pricey, but much less than notebooks of comparable size by other manufacturers.

I also need to do all of my vaccinations/titers soon. Can you believe there is no record of my having chicken pox!?!?!?! I am reluctant to get the vaccination. Has anyone had it? What are your thoughts?

I had the option a few years ago to either get a titer or just get the vaccination for chicken pox. The titer would have cost about the same so I thought that getting a little booster for my immune system would be the better investment. It hasn't hurt me yet... I don't think it increases the likelihood of getting shingles, the only thing I would be worried about with the chicken pox vaccine.

 

[wistarrat]

Anyone in Hershey have a favorite restaurant? I'm having dinner there tonight, but everything seems either resort-like or red robin-y. Any suggestions would be wonderful.

 

[LT2]

I also need to do all of my vaccinations/titers soon. Can you believe there is no record of my having chicken pox!?!?!?! I am reluctant to get the vaccination. Has anyone had it? What are your thoughts?

i had the vaccine. just a note though, your MD will give you one dose; however, the cdc recommends 2 for adults. i had to fight with my PCP to get another shot (it was really odd because i don't like shots yet there i was asking for another!) if you know you've had chicken pox, i'm sure one would probably suffice.

as for titers, anyone know if they'll care if the forms are a week late? i'll have all of my shots by then, but i have to wait a couple of weeks to get titers which will put me into july sometime...

 

[jackb960]

I don't need a place, but saw this on craigslist. It looks great for three people to share. Check it out:

http://harrisburg.craigslist.org/apa/154398788.html

 

[Avianburner]

Anyone in Hershey have a favorite restaurant? I'm having dinner there tonight, but everything seems either resort-like or red robin-y. Any suggestions would be wonderful.

Hotel Hershey is the only 5 star in the area, but I don't know all the details about reservations and such (it's approx. 150+ for a two person meal according to them).

I actually don't know of too many plain ol' restaraunts which seems like what you're looking for. Lots of sports bars, pub types, and red robiny types....

Duke's in Hershey is good for eats (there's a good number of restaraunts right along that street...). I hear Funck's family restaraunt is also good, but I've never been there.

as for titers, anyone know if they'll care if the forms are a week late? i'll have all of my shots by then, but i have to wait a couple of weeks to get titers which will put me into july sometime...

I didn't get in until last minute, and I actually just finished all my titers about a month ago. So they won't kick you out of school, but they'll bug the crap out of you until you finish them...

 

[wistarrat]

thanks! duke's it is!

 

[LT2]

thanks! duke's it is!

when i was in hershey, i ate at dafno's, it was italian and pretty yummy... just another thought. it also wasn't too red robin-y or resort-y...

avianburner- thanks for the info! i should have everything done by the time i enter school... 🙂

 

[Scalpellum]

Anyone thinking of living at Briarcrest Gardens? I just put a deposit down to hold my spot.

 

[LT2]

Anyone thinking of living at Briarcrest Gardens? I just put a deposit down to hold my spot.

i wasn't too impressed with briarcrest, i went to check it out at second look. i actually thought the on campus rooms were nicer (the remodeled ones anyway). just my opinion... the woman told me that lots of students live there though. i was lucky enough to find a nice room in a house for a fraction of what it costs to live elsewhere. 👍

 

[hemophobe]

I want to say hello to my new class!!! I don't know about you guys, but I am stoked for this upcoming year. It will be great to meet you all in a few months.

I have been checking out the different lenders. Do any of you have opinions on these different lenders? THE is looking the best to me, but l have never had to borrow roughly the same amount as what my parents' home is worth!

Thanks...

 

[Avianburner]

Welcome Hemophobe! Look forward to seeing you around campus in the Fall. As for lenders, I'm pretty sure THE is the standard at Hershey. They handle all of your loans without problem, and it's highly recommended by the financial aid staff. I've had no problems with them, except for they send you updates every 3 months or so of how much interest you owe...which is extremely frustrating, even though i'm not paying interest while in school (I owed 250 in INTEREST right after anatomy was over!)


I think I'll be living at Briarcrest next year actually...It's your average student housing. Nicer and cleaner than undergraduate apts, but nothing special. It's notorious for heat inefficiency (which you pay for in electric bills...). If you're on campus, it's expected that you are much quieter (no parties really) because there are 3rd and 4th years living there with children and such. You can get away with partying more at Briarcrest. The couple apartments I've seen at briarcrest were actually pretty nice for the price.

Hershey Heights is another place that several students have moved over the year. It's a little more expensive and further from campus, but the apartments are BEAUTIFUL.

Can't remember the name of the other popular place, but it's a big white building and across the street from Fox's

 

[FDoRoML]

Hi Everyone,

Well, I finally made that final committment... (no, not to State Hospital-- not yet at least!)

I dropped everything else I was hanging on to and am charging ahead with PSU. I was like 98% sure anyway, but I wanted to see if anyone else offered me some good $$ (yeah, what the heck was I thinking?!?).

So, now the house hunt has begun. We're torn between the burbs (near Hershey-- like Hummelstown, E-town, Chambers Hill, etc) and the city (mid-town, near the capital).

I know what it's like in the burbs from friends, but does anyone either living in the city now for school or someone from the area have any insight into downtown HBurg? I know it's really improved a lot and is still evolving (thanks to the mayor!!), but we were looking at some houses on Sunday and had a few weird reactions when we asked neighbors and the home owners what they thought of living there (like a really long hesitation, and then "it's OK"). Also, many of the houses in mid-town, even the brand new ones around Cap Heights, are for sale already-- these young professional couples seem to have bought the place and are looking to sell and get the heck out after just 1-2 years. Sure, some are foreclosures with people who overreached their income when they bought, but not all of them.

So, I guess, I'm looking to see if anyone knows why. Is it the houses? The neighborhood? Crime? Noise? (I know the schools aren't great, but that's not a worry for us.)

Thanks for anyone who can offer insight. 👍

 

[MossPoh]

I can't testify about hershey but psu main has cstv and what not..although it is not the same as a regular d1 school team we also have a decent club team that won like 4 years in a row or something. As far as lacrosse...it is picking up around here and I see it on t.v. on campus more and more. A lot of the girls on the women's team are quite attractive as well. 😀 This is all speaking from main though..enjoy being a nittany lion...even when we're horrible at something we're still proud as hell. Excluding men's basketball..that is not really counted...that is kind of a "awww..at least they try" type thing.

 

[Highclimber]

Personally I am leaning towards Hershey Heights... its a very quick drive and the apts seem nicer for sure... (plus i could get a dog if were to desire one)... I must admit however that I am slightly concerned about driving aspect especially when having had a few drinks... Anybody know what taxi service is like around hershey/hummels... I rememebr someone sayign it was like 15 bucks from H-burg to hershey... Anybody planning on being out there as well?

 

[Highclimber]

Incidentally... I am always down for a little puck...

 

[jackb960]

I live out a ways, but I work in Harrisburg. I would be mostly concerned with the traffic. There are always tie ups on 83 which makes it difficult getting into and out of the city. The city itself has lots to offer and is getting better. I have some colleagues who live in town and their biggest complaint is that there is no grocery store in town. You have to drive if you want to get good food for your kitchen, but there is a good market near midtown. My single woman friend isn't usually too concerned for her safety, but she picks where she goes at night carefully.

My suggestion (just my opinion) would be to live out of town and drive in when you want to do the city things. There isn't a great public transportation system that makes it worthwhile to live in the city and parking is easy and cheap for when you come to visit. That's my 2cents. If you want more information, feel free to PM me.

Almost forgot, check out www.friendsofmidtown.org

 

[Scalpellum]

Are the rotations during the third year at Penn State? How about 4th year rotations? Do most students do away rotations? If so, when?

 

[PhillyEaglesFan]

[ So, now the house hunt has begun. We're torn between the burbs (near Hershey-- like Hummelstown, E-town, Chambers Hill, etc) and the city (mid-town, near the capital).

Hi again, fdoromol. As somone who lived in uptown Harrisburg for eighteen years (live in the suburbs now) I figured I'd chip in again!

I know what it's like in the burbs from friends, but does anyone either living in the city now for school or someone from the area have any insight into downtown HBurg? I know it's really improved a lot and is still evolving (thanks to the mayor!!), but we were looking at some houses on Sunday and had a few weird reactions when we asked neighbors and the home owners what they thought of living there (like a really long hesitation, and then "it's OK").

I am aware of several new townhouses and such going up within five minutes of downtown Harrisburg. Be VERY careful with these, including Capitol Heights; the reason being that Harrisburg's downtown is VERY small. There are the business buildings, and a little farther down Second Street, there are the clubs and Restaurant Row. Once you get away from those few blocks, the area deteriorates rapidly. Hence, you may see a new townhouse being advertised as being minutes away from downtown Harrisburg, which is true. For example, Capitol Heights (I think that's the one on Third and Kelker Streets?!), is maybe five blocks away from the State Museum downtown. But having lived in that neighborhood, I know that it's also two blocks away from a drug house (someone was killed in that area about a month ago) and a bar where there is a lot of trouble! Don't get me wrong, inner-city Harrisburg is no Baltimore or Philly, but it is not a place you can walk around at night. I don't mean to slam the people living in these areas, most of them are decent people, but when you get into these kinds of areas, you will find an increase in such problems.

I would advise staying out of the city of Harrisburg for now. I do think it is on the up-and-up (especially remembering how it was when I was a kid), but the issues you brought up (crime, noise--you will hear kids out on the street at 2 am, neighborhood, etc.) would be a lot to put up with, especially when you're already dealing with the stress of being a med student.

Also, many of the houses in mid-town, even the brand new ones around Cap Heights, are for sale already-- these young professional couples seem to have bought the place and are looking to sell and get the heck out after just 1-2 years. Sure, some are foreclosures with people who overreached their income when they bought, but not all of them.

This may possibly be due to the reasons above. I was driving down Maclay Street the other day, and I saw some pretty powder blue townhouses on 6th and Maclay (again, maybe five minutes from downtown Hbg). I thought, man, don't they know that drugs are sold here? 🙁

If you are interested in Hummelstown, fdoromol, I just closed on a townhouse on Route 39 (five minutes away from the med school) in this development:

http://www.desouzabrown.com/hershey/homes/reserveathersheymeadows/reserveathersheymeadowsmain.htm

This is an area that is undergoing a lot of development (it's basically the street that leads to Hersheypark), and I am very happy with the quality of the house I bought and with the neighborhood. PM if you would like to see pics of what my house looks like. Reasonable prices IMO too. I think they have apartments too.

 

[keedz]

Ok maybe I'm a little late with this complaint, but I have HUGE problem with the budget that Hershey set up for it's students. Can you tell me how it is possible to live off of only $1700 a year for personal expenses? And I don't understand why they put the rent/utilities budget at the ON CAMPUS price and not at the general rate for the area. I'm not getting help from anyone, so I need loans to cover everything. I don't think that I'm going get on campus housing beacuse I just found out that I was accepted and I don't even have a nine digit pin to apply for housing online. The lady at the fin aid office was like " well 2 people last year found out they got in the week before and they still managed to get housing on campus, so there's still hope for you". WTF! I can't take out a big honking loan based on a hope! 😡 The student loans only cover what the school says we need, so if I don't get on campus housing I'm screwed.
Does anyone else have this problem?

 

[PhillyEaglesFan]

Man, keedz, that sucks hard. 😡

 

[FDoRoML]

Hi again, fdoromol. As somone who lived in uptown Harrisburg for eighteen years (live in the suburbs now) I figured I'd chip in again!

Hey there again. Thank you so much for the detailed reply. A lot of what you said is the impression I got from downtown HBurg. Of course, nothing is as bad as where I work in BMore, but I wouldn't want to live right near here, either! And most of our good neighborhoods that have come around in the last 10 years (and are totally popular with the yuppies and have increased basically 10-fold in value!!) are large enough so that only the outskirts are still iffy in safety/noise.

Although noise doesn't bother me per se, I don't want to hear a bunch of screaming outside all night and don't want to live with a block of a bar (some of our coolest neighborhoods here are notorious for having bar-folk using the neighbors' stairs as a urinal).

I would advise staying out of the city of Harrisburg for now. I do think it is on the up-and-up (especially remembering how it was when I was a kid), but the issues you brought up (crime, noise--you will hear kids out on the street at 2 am, neighborhood, etc.) would be a lot to put up with, especially when you're already dealing with the stress of being a med student.

I can tell you two reasons why we are even bothering with the city--

1. The value will be going up, so it's a good investment (we're sticking to third street and over towards the river to stay in better neighborhoods). I guess I wonder how long it will take the neighborhoods to get even more liveable.

2. The hubby is up for a job with the city of HBurg (which requires we LIVE in the city limits). Of course, there are other job propects but this one pays pretty darned good and seems like it'd be fun for him. So, excluding mid-town and the near-capital area... are there any other neighborhoods within the city limits that are ok/good? What about up-river even further (what's it called... Prospect?)?

If you are interested in Hummelstown, fdoromol, I just closed on a townhouse on Route 39

Wow, yeah, those prices look pretty reasonable. What are their HOA fees right now, and do they impose any kind of limits on the increases? (We used to own a place that had the most reasonable HOA fees around but they increased by about $40/month over the five years we were there-- on a med student budget, I gotta plan everything!)

We're looking everywhere right now from HBurg and Paxtonia to Hummelstown and even up to Linglestown... just checking out where we can get a tolerable commute and the most house for our money (and a neighborhood we are happy with). Right now I live about 30 miles from work and the commute varies from 40 min when I come in at 5am or weekends to nearly 3 hours when the caca hits the fan on I-95. I could deal with a 30 minute commute... would prefer 20 min or less, of course, but I'm also a morning person and was considering getting to Hershey early to jog or something. (yeah, thinking... not necessarily going to execute that plan!)

Geez, I love SDN. Where else could I get all of this valuable info from the comfort of my own lab? 😀

You rock, PhillyEaglesFan!

 

[FDoRoML]

I live out a ways, but I work in Harrisburg. I would be mostly concerned with the traffic. There are always tie ups on 83 which makes it difficult getting into and out of the city.

Thanks Jack. So, I'm used to really annoying traffic... but every time I've been up to HBurg, the traffic seems pretty nice (like a good pre-rush hour in BMore). I've heard from a friend that it backs up pretty bad coming in from Mechanicsburg to HBurg but she said it's nothing like Baltimore (she lives here now).

You mentioned 83 gets bad-- between Hershey and downtown, what do you think the average commute would be during rush hour (I figure, my hours may not be during rush hour but I want an idea of how bad it can get)?

 

[wistarrat]

Ok maybe I'm a little late with this complaint, but I have HUGE problem with the budget that Hershey set up for it's students. Can you tell me how it is possible to live off of only $1700 a year for personal expenses? And I don't understand why they put the rent/utilities budget at the ON CAMPUS price and not at the general rate for the area. I'm not getting help from anyone, so I need loans to cover everything. I don't think that I'm going get on campus housing beacuse I just found out that I was accepted and I don't even have a nine digit pin to apply for housing online. The lady at the fin aid office was like " well 2 people last year found out they got in the week before and they still managed to get housing on campus, so there's still hope for you". WTF! I can't take out a big honking loan based on a hope! 😡 The student loans only cover what the school says we need, so if I don't get on campus housing I'm screwed.
Does anyone else have this problem?

Just to ruffle your feathers a little more, check out this year's Princeton Review guide to med schools-- the average PSUmed student gets $10,000 in grants.
riiiiight. I'd love to launch a poll on this to see if that $10K appeared in anyone's pocket here. 😡

 

[PhillyEaglesFan]

I can tell you two reasons why we are even bothering with the city--

1. The value will be going up, so it's a good investment (we're sticking to third street and over towards the river to stay in better neighborhoods). I guess I wonder how long it will take the neighborhoods to get even more liveable.

2. The hubby is up for a job with the city of HBurg (which requires we LIVE in the city limits). Of course, there are other job propects but this one pays pretty darned good and seems like it'd be fun for him. So, excluding mid-town and the near-capital area... are there any other neighborhoods within the city limits that are ok/good? What about up-river even further (what's it called... Prospect?)?

I see your dilemma fdoromol! Jobs with the city of Harrisburg are stable and with very good hours from what I heard. Within the city limits, sticking to that area around Front Street is a good idea. However, Front Street is mostly taken over by businesses, offices, etc. and I don't think there are many houses for sale there. It's similar on Third Street. The nice parts of Third Street are already taken over by offices and such. The houses that are available are located in the not-so-nice sections of the street.

One decent area within the city limits I know of is way up 2nd Street. If you're driving, you go past the Governor's Mansion straight up 2nd Street and it's a bit like a suburban oasis within the city limits, with lawns, ranch houses, etc. That might be a nice middle ground for you, that area between 2nd and Maclay and 2nd and Division Streets. However, again, I would caution you that problem areas are only a few blocks away. At 2nd & Division, you'll find green grass and even a manmade lake nearby. At 6th & Division, you'll find trouble.

Wow, yeah, those prices look pretty reasonable. What are their HOA fees right now, and do they impose any kind of limits on the increases? (We used to own a place that had the most reasonable HOA fees around but they increased by about $40/month over the five years we were there-- on a med student budget, I gotta plan everything!)

There are two "downsides" to that development. The HOA fees are on the high side--I pay $103.33/month. I don't know if they put limits on increases, so that may be an issue. Also, real estate tax is high. Lower Dauphin schools are very good, but it's $3100/year in taxes 😱 I decided to buy mostly because I plan on staying in the Harrisburg area after school. On the plus side, the grounds are well-maintained and like I said, the area is undergoing extensive development (prices may rise in a few years).

We're looking everywhere right now from HBurg and Paxtonia to Hummelstown and even up to Linglestown... just checking out where we can get a tolerable commute and the most house for our money (and a neighborhood we are happy with). Right now I live about 30 miles from work and the commute varies from 40 min when I come in at 5am or weekends to nearly 3 hours when the caca hits the fan on I-95. I could deal with a 30 minute commute... would prefer 20 min or less, of course, but I'm also a morning person and was considering getting to Hershey early to jog or something. (yeah, thinking... not necessarily going to execute that plan!)

During off-peak hours, all those places are within half-hour of the med school. Hummelstown is the closest--five to ten minutes. Paxtonia and Linglestown are also pretty close--just a straight shot down Route 22, and they also have lots of shopping and such around there. Traffic here is much lighter than in b-more, so even during peak hours, they'll all be within an hour's drive.

Geez, I love SDN. Where else could I get all of this valuable info from the comfort of my own lab? 😀

Hah! I thought all my useless knowledge of Harrisburg would go wasting away in, well, uselessness! Glad to help! 🙂

 

[LT2]

Just to ruffle your feathers a little more, check out this year's Princeton Review guide to med schools-- the average PSUmed student gets $10,000 in grants.
riiiiight. I'd love to launch a poll on this to see if that $10K appeared in anyone's pocket here. 😡

keeds, the housing is based not on when you fill the form out but when you fill the form out for. so if you're willing to say you need an apartment in late june/early july, your chances of getting into on campus housing are actually quite good. AND you don't need an ID number to fill out the housing form. i don't think any of us have an ID number and i sure didn't fill out my housing form with one (and i'm being considered for housing). so don't stress too much...

i also heard the fin aid office will increase the budget for living expenses off campus. i don't know how, but i heard that from a current student.

good luck and congrats, you're going to be a doc...

 

[FDoRoML]

i also heard the fin aid office will increase the budget for living expenses off campus. i don't know how, but i heard that from a current student.

Yeah, they'll "give" you another $600 in the budget for off-campus housing... of course, over the course of a year that's not a heck of a lot. And it means you just get to borrow an additional $600 (woohoo!!).
🙄

Yeah, I don't know where those grants are going... certainly not to me or anyone else I've talked to. 🙁

I bet it's like one or two students get a HUGE grant and a few others get modest grants and it all adds up for them to say "average of 10k"... huh. Well, if I don't find some serious scholarships (or start stripping in my off time -hahaha) I will be about 1/4 mil in debt at graduation. Argh! But such is life when you follow your dreams...

 

[LT2]

Well, if I don't find some serious scholarships (or start stripping in my off time -hahaha) I will be about 1/4 mil in debt at graduation. Argh! But such is life when you follow your dreams...

scholarships? for medical school? do those even exist for over-represented majorities? i've been looking, perhaps even scouring, for scholarships and have yet to find one that a. i'm eligible for b. the deadline hasn't passed or c. it's worth my time to write ANOTHER essay. i've basically come to terms that i'm going to be in TONS of debt when i get out of school... sorry if i sound bitter, i'm not really that bad!! 😛

on a different note, anyone else wondering/excited about when they're going to post the orientation schedule/forms for our class?

 

[FDoRoML]

scholarships? for medical school? do those even exist for over-represented majorities? i've been looking, perhaps even scouring, for scholarships and have yet to find one that a. i'm eligible for b. the deadline hasn't passed or c. it's worth my time to write ANOTHER essay. i've basically come to terms that i'm going to be in TONS of debt when i get out of school... sorry if i sound bitter, i'm not really that bad!! 😛

on a different note, anyone else wondering/excited about when they're going to post the orientation schedule/forms for our class?

Yeah, scholarships-- for gurls there's the DAR (deadline passed and you have a LOT of hoops to jump through and depend on them to do their part in time-- didn't pan out for me but it's $5k/year). There are a few little dinky things (500 here, a grand there) that require a short essay and anyone can apply. I figured, if I could get a few of them then it could be a few thousand less in debt (yeah, but with 1/4 mil, what the heck kind of dent is that?!?). Yep, I'm a bit jaded about the debt, too. 😀

I meant some of the in-house scholarships that open up for med students interested in a particular specialty or those involved in certain activities. There aren't a lot at PSU, but I've seen a few. Of course, as an OOSer, there are fewer. 😡

About the orientation-- yep, I'm waiting... I think it got posted some time in late June or early July last year (look at the dates on a few of the downloadable PDFs). So, we have a while.

And I've been such a SpEd worrying about the whole financial aid hell (yep, hell!), I nearly forgot I need to get transcripts sent in and my health forms and stuff. Of course, it doesn't help that they're in total panic mode at work over my impending departure date... you should see the scribble all over my calendar! Dunno how I'll find the time to fit it all in. 😱

At least I can still ride the relief/happiness roller coaster of my acceptance for a while longer... it's trying to wear off as all the other worries pile on, but I cling to it like a rat to a platform in a water maze<g>.

 

[LT2]

At least I can still ride the relief/happiness roller coaster of my acceptance for a while longer... it's trying to wear off as all the other worries pile on, but I cling to it like a rat to a platform in a water maze<g>.

i know how you feel. i'm ready for school to start already. things are hectic and only about to get worse on my end too. at least some things are wrapping up, i've found somewher to live, and my immunization record is almost complete (YAY, i hate shots!). regarding that, is anyone going to get an MMR booster because of the recent mumps breakouts? just wondering.

i was looking at some of those essay scholarships and i just can't bring myself to write another essay for even $1000 because, in the whole scheme of things, that's practically NOTHING!! i actually managed to get the DAR forms turned in, as i am applying for membership to the DAR so i was able to get the sponsorship letter in time. i guess i should re-word my prior post about not finding any, huh? it just feels like we are very limited as far as scholarship resources go. sorry, i'll stop rambling now...

 

[Avianburner]

Keedz, From what my classmates have told me, nobody is having a problem living on the money Hershey budgets for us. The numbers seem small, but in the big picture, you pull enough savings from here and there and are pretty comfortable. The financial aid office does increase your budget for off campus living, and will increase your budget for other "extenuating circumstances." I know OOS'ers that are living in a one-bedroom that are getting by alright. (by "getting by," i mean out to dinner now and then, out for drinks now and then, but no shopping sprees)

unfortunately, it's all borrowed money. They understand after being poor for 4 years of college, we want to have "our" money available to us and will work with us to an extent to increase loans appropriately. They're a little overprotective of our financual future, but it's managable...

(disclaimer: i lived at home this year, so i can't say a word about how my finances are....they're awesome...)


EaglesFan: Congrats on your closure! I commute from linglestown daily and have passed by those new places as they were being built. They look real nice.

for those interested, I emailed the Reserve at Hershey Meadows about apartment availability....response to come tomorrow.....




We just had our elections for 2nd year officers, and the orientation chairs (those who organize your week of fun) are both PERFECT for the job and great friends outside of class. It'll be a great week for everybody. Get excited! (it's the last time you'll get to drink before your tolerance goes down irreversibly)

 

[sf1991]

hey all, looking for a bit of feedback, advice, you know... my wife and i are taking a trip to harrisburg for a second look at psu. i want to get a second tour, touch base with some people, get some more info on the curriculim, etc. we are flying in on friday (into baltimore) and driving into harrisburg that evening. saturday we want to get a feel for the city, see the sights, get a feel for some housing. i think on sunday we are taking a day trip to pittsburgh (i grew up there but haven't been back since 85). and then monday my wife is meeting with a nursing recruiter at the medical center, and i will check out the school again. anyone have any feedback on what to do, where to go, who to see, etc?? anyone gonna be around the school on monday, or around harrisburg on saturday?

Alright, sorry this is getting long, but I have one more thing I have been wanting to ask you all about. One thing that has been bugging me a bit about psu was an article I read in the Penn State Medicine magazine concerning the financial state of the medical school. The article said psu ranks last in the nation in state support for the medical school. It also says they have difficulty drawing quality faculty due to budget constraints affecting salaries, and also site that it is difficult to recruit local physicians for clinical training, and that some courses need to be redesigned, but the money doesn’t exist to do it. Now, it is a magazine that I believe is circulated to the alumni and public, so I wonder how much of this is a propaganda pitch to generate money for the medical school, and how much is legitimate. Have you come across any of this before?? It just makes me wonder a bit about how much this could impact the overall education, research opportunites, increases in tuition, etc.

Sorry about the lenght, thanks so much for any input.

Jon

 

[PhillyEaglesFan]

Thanks Avianburner! The development I live in has tennis courts, b-ball courts, so if anyone is up...oh, wait, I can't play tennis oops. ah, well, if anybody's up for some outdoor b-ball 🙂

i read that article in penn state magazine too. i'm sure the problems mentioned within it are legitimate concerns, but my feeling is that hershey med center is an institution with a capital I around these parts. It's not going anywhere, or in any real danger of completely running out of resources that i am aware of (and i read the harrisburg paper everyday). the things expressed in that article seem to be concerns affecting most medical schools around the country.

 

[hardy]

i think on sunday we are taking a day trip to pittsburgh (i grew up there but haven't been back since 85).

Save the gas, nothing to see here 🙁

Now, it is a magazine that I believe is circulated to the alumni and public, so I wonder how much of this is a propaganda pitch to generate money for the medical school, and how much is legitimate. Have you come across any of this before?? It just makes me wonder a bit about how much this could impact the overall education, research opportunites, increases in tuition, etc.

I read the article too and was a little conerned at first. But the magazine was the only place where I found any mention about this. Remember, HMC is going to start an immense expansion project soon. The money clearly is there. Also, PSU has one of the largest endowments of all public colleges and seems to be pumping a lot of cash into HMC.

 

[Avianburner]

It's pretty well known that Hershey is the most underfunded public medical school in the country. But pay attention to the wording...public medical schools are funded by the state. Since Hershey has such a large endowment and Penn State in general is a cash cow, the state decreases its funding for Hershey to use it elsewhere. Also for me, that magazine was the only place I've seen an article like that (nice catch on the propaganda thought!)

 

[Scalpellum]

If your interested here is the new info from the 2007-2008 MSAR for Penn State:

V: Just under 10
P: Just under 10
B: Just under 11
Writing: Q

Median GPA: 3.71
Median Science GPA: 3.67

Proportion of Accepted students w/:
- Community Service/Volunteer: 67%
- Medically-Related Work: 81%
- Research: 81%

Applied: 5546
Interviewed: 918
Deferred: 2
EAP: 8
MD/PhD: 8
Marticulated: 135

2001-2003 Graduates, Specialty Choice:
- Anesthesiology: 6%
- Emergency Medicine: 5%
- Family Practice: 12%
- Internal Medicine: 17%
- Obstetrics/Gynecology: 4%
- Orthopedic Surgery: 6%
- Pediatrics: 12%
- Psychiatry: 4%
- Radiology: 3%
- Surgery: 5%

 

[ashabee4]

Hello all,

I've been accepted to Penn State, as well as two of my own state schools (Buffalo and Stony Brook). I've been stuck in a rut the last few weeks trying to make a decision about these 3 schools. Question: for those who aren't PA residents, what about Penn State makes it worth the extra $20,000 a year you will pay (that's at least what I would pay)? If you have a choice between Penn State and another school, public or private, why are you choosing Penn State? The more I think about it, the less I can justify putting myself in that much debt when *I believe* I'll be able to receive just as good of an education at one of my state schools. Any thoughts?

 

[PhillyEaglesFan]

Ashabee, as much as I love Penn State, if I was in your position, I would choose the state school. In general, I can't think of any such variation between med schools that would be worth $20,000/year. 😱

Although we'd love to have you 😉

 

[Apparition]

If your interested here is the new info from the 2007-2008 MSAR for Penn State:

V: Just under 10
P: Just under 10
B: Just under 11
Writing: Q

Median GPA: 3.71
Median Science GPA: 3.67

Proportion of Accepted students w/:
- Community Service/Volunteer: 67%
- Medically-Related Work: 81%
- Research: 81%

Applied: 5546
Interviewed: 918
Deferred: 2
EAP: 8
MD/PhD: 8
Marticulated: 135

2001-2003 Graduates, Specialty Choice:
- Anesthesiology: 6%
- Emergency Medicine: 5%
- Family Practice: 12%
- Internal Medicine: 17%
- Obstetrics/Gynecology: 4%
- Orthopedic Surgery: 6%
- Pediatrics: 12%
- Psychiatry: 4%
- Radiology: 3%
- Surgery: 5%

How can they already have this info if people will still be accepted off the waitlist? Or do they have to give out the stats so far to make it into the curren't year's MSAR? Also, I thought the class size was 145.

 

[Scalpellum]

How can they already have this info if people will still be accepted off the waitlist? Or do they have to give out the stats so far to make it into the curren't year's MSAR? Also, I thought the class size was 145.

I believe the information is for those students who got accepted in 2005 (so last years cycle). The MSAR says class size is 135. You can also go here to confirm some of the information above. I am not sure why the MSAR says 2007-2008 on the cover though. 😕 Maybe the students who use this MSAR will start medical school in 2007.

 

[Apparition]

I believe the information is for those students who got accepted in 2005 (so last years cycle). The MSAR says class size is 135. You can also go here to confirm some of the information above. I am not sure why the MSAR says 2007-2008 on the cover though. 😕 Maybe the students who use this MSAR will start medical school in 2007.

Thanks for clearing that up! MSAR is confusing and lacks some of the most important info -- how many students were actually accepted and stats for matriculated class.

 

[LT2]

Hello all,

I've been accepted to Penn State, as well as two of my own state schools (Buffalo and Stony Brook). I've been stuck in a rut the last few weeks trying to make a decision about these 3 schools. Question: for those who aren't PA residents, what about Penn State makes it worth the extra $20,000 a year you will pay (that's at least what I would pay)? If you have a choice between Penn State and another school, public or private, why are you choosing Penn State? The more I think about it, the less I can justify putting myself in that much debt when *I believe* I'll be able to receive just as good of an education at one of my state schools. Any thoughts?

hey ashabee-

i've chosen penn state for a few reasons (price is not one of them!). i really like the location (despite the "rurality" of hershey), the resources, the faculty, and the STUDENTS! they were amazing. when i interviewed, i felt comfortable and i just knew i'd do well at the school. that being said, i'm on the waitlist at one of my state schools, and if they come calling, i'll be staying at home for a number of reasons, obvious and not. i don't know if that helps at all; sorry i couldn't give you a more concrete answer! best of luck with your decision!

 

[wistarrat]

Hello all,

I've been accepted to Penn State, as well as two of my own state schools (Buffalo and Stony Brook). I've been stuck in a rut the last few weeks trying to make a decision about these 3 schools. Question: for those who aren't PA residents, what about Penn State makes it worth the extra $20,000 a year you will pay (that's at least what I would pay)? If you have a choice between Penn State and another school, public or private, why are you choosing Penn State? The more I think about it, the less I can justify putting myself in that much debt when *I believe* I'll be able to receive just as good of an education at one of my state schools. Any thoughts?

I had the same state-school vs. OOS and the price difference solidified my decision. Regarding your options:
Why I think Hershey is better if price were not a factor-- at Stony Brook, the curriculum is more "traditional," and I believe there is much less case-based learning. Also, just in case you have problems in school, it's good to know where they stand with supporting you. I believe Penn State would have better checks-and-balances before you'd be worried about getting booted out of school. (disclaimer: my knowledge of Stony Brook is 3-years old. Things might be different now, like the fuzziness of my memory). As for Buffalo, I don't even have outdated fuzzy knowledge of them.

But, $80K difference over 4 years is a ton.

 

[The JockDoc]

Does anyone know what the next step is for financial aid? The timeline they have posted on the psu website says that we should have selected a lender and filled out a promissary note by the end of this month. How is all of this done? Is more stuff going to be sent to us, or do we have to arrange this with the lenders?

 

[FDoRoML]

Does anyone know what the next step is for financial aid? The timeline they have posted on the psu website says that we should have selected a lender and filled out a promissary note by the end of this month. How is all of this done? Is more stuff going to be sent to us, or do we have to arrange this with the lenders?

It's up to you now. Go to PSU's website to start with (they have 4 preferred lenders listed) and check out the terms for all the possible loans you need (Stafford Sub/Unsub + alternate):
http://www.hmc.psu.edu/md/financialaid/staffordloans.html

For alternate, you can shop around but with the new GradPLUS loans available to us lowly med students, it's tough to find a better deal (you can consolidate the PLUS loans along with Stafford after graduation, and the interest rate is controlled vs. normal private loans with largely variable APRs). Keep in mind you can pick whichever lender you like (nothing saying you HAVE to use PSU's "preferred" list) but be cautious about the terms of the loan (origination fees, payback terms, deferment terms, bonuses, customer service, etc).

Not an endorsement here, but I'm using THE-- they have great terms and a good track record, plus electronic MPN and application/account info. I'm spoiled by my internet. 🙂
(not to mention I'm just too friggin' busy to take time out of the regular business day to do banking!)

Oh, yeah, one more comment-- for Stafford you only need references (two, living at different addresses and one *needs* to be a parent). No credit check and the loan goes to you. Your question makes me think you probably don't have much experience with banking and loans, so you may or may not need a cosigner for the alternate loan (it's credit-based and they WILL check, so be prepared to have a parent as a cosigner if they require it). If you don't have much of a credit history (or a bad one), you probably will do better shopping around different lenders. I knkow they do a credit check for the PLUS loan but I'm not sure what numbers and credit history they look for with that one-- you'd think it would be kinder and gentler since it's gov't sponsored.

Oh heck, one more on more... the MPN does not mean you have borrowed the money yet-- just a promise that when you borrow, you agree to all the terms of the loan. I think the actual loan disbursement (when it'd show up on your credit report) is around July (when the semester bills get mailed and we have to "pay" them).

 

[Scalpellum]

Does anyone know what the next step is for financial aid? The timeline they have posted on the psu website says that we should have selected a lender and filled out a promissary note by the end of this month. How is all of this done? Is more stuff going to be sent to us, or do we have to arrange this with the lenders?

I would also look at the Education Maximizer Loan from Bank of America for a private loan. Go here for more information. I also am using THE as my lender for the stafford loans.

 

[The JockDoc]

Thanks FDoRoML - that was outrageously helpful. 👍

I'll do some research on lenders this weekend. I will probably use PLUS as well becuase of the fixed interest, although I didn't see it as an option when I quickly browsed through the THE website. 😕