Hey guys. Thought I'd drop by and offer my prospective as a student at Penn State COM on the preclinical years. LT2 is a classmate of mine, though to be honest I have no idea who she/he is (we're on a first name basis here
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Anyway, thought I'd try to answer some of the questions I saw from my own perspective. I'm a little bit less gung-ho about everything in general, but I still love Penn State and think it's a great place to be to learn medicine.
--Someone asked about Californians. We have tons of em. Like 15-20% of our class is from Cali. Second only to Pennsylvania. You won't be alone.
--Someone asked about notes/scribe/video lectures. We don't have it, plain and simple. However, all the professors are required to put their powerpoint presentations online for download at least 48hrs before a lecture and about half of them put up very detailed notes as well. Many of them put up notes that are pretty much a transcript of their lecture. I go to very very few lectures, don't purchace any textbooks, and still pass the tests comfortably. I was concerned about the lack of video or note taking service, but it has not been a problem.
--Someone asked about a typical day. We have good bit of lecture here. If you go to all the classes (and I'd say about 50% of our class goes to absolutely everything while 10% goes to absolutely nothing with the rest somewhere inbetween) you'll probably spend an average of 4 hours a day in lecture. Lectures start anywhere from 8am-1pm on a given day, but probably average 10am. Unfortunately, when something is a required attendance class (where they take attendance and your ass is grass if you're not there), it's usually at 8am.
--Someone asked about lecture v PBL. The PBL curriculum is integrated in to the lecture cirriculum here. Unlike regular lecture you are required to show up for PBL. During your first year, PBL will only happen once every 3-4 weeks. During your second year, it is much more frequent. Some PBL sessions are in the afternoon and some are early in the morning. Material from PBL is tested on the regular exams along with lecture material. Participation and attendance at PBL is graded seprately and subjectively and is subject to the H/HP/P/F system, although this is a point of currently between the students and curriculum directors.
--No one asked about the humanities curriculum here, but they really push it down here so I thought I'd comment. They ask us to do some strange stuff in terms of humanities. We have the patient project, which you probably already know about. Some people enjoy this while others don't get much out of it. We also have sessions on various aspects of health and medicine that require us to do things that might seem foreign to medical school curriculum such as writing poetry and reading Kafka. If that's your bag, more power to you. Personally, I do not like this part of the curriculum and wish they would just bag it all together. I am sure that will never happen though because they really pride themselves on that part of the program. It is, however, an insignificant enough portion of my week that I can overlook it.
--There is a big focus from the powers that be on family and community medicine here. This is understandable as the school exists partially to fill the medical needs including physician training of central pennsylvania. While there are many required activities to make sure we are sufficiently exposed to the field of family medicine (sometimes to what feels like extremes), Penn State students seem to do quite well matching in to all manners of residencies.
--People asked about housing. A good number of students live on campus. The dorms are okay, but nothing spectacular. By the time you guys get here, they will all have been remodeled and will feature new appliances and what not, so you'll have that to your benefit. There are a number of apartments just off campus where you can expect to pay $400-1000/mo in rent depending on whether or not you have a roomate and how big of a place you want. Also, many students buy houses in the area, and finding a townhouse or condominium within 10-12 miles for under $150,000 is not too difficult. If you come here and consider living in Briarcrest Gardens (right across from the medical center), please send me a private message. I can get $100 cash for "referring" another resident if you sign a lease and I will split the cash with you. $50 isn't much, but it's a days grocery shopping or 2 cases of Yuengling Lager. It's better than nothing.
--Someone expressed concerns about the location. Hershey is definitely not the booming metropolis of nearby Philadelphia, Pitsburgh, New York, or Baltimore, but there are definite benefits to living in this community. First, housing is a whole lot cheaper. This of course effects how much you are allowed to borrow, but it will also impact how much you have to pay back! Hershey has a lot of outdoor activities as there are many surrounding parks, trails, streams, golf courses, and the like. If that's your bag, this place may be perfect for you. If you need a nightlife outside of the small "townie" bars of Hershey, Harrisburg has a surprisingly vibrant bar and club scene. The census will tell you that Harrisburgs population is only like 50,000, but the surrounding metro area is something like 700,000, so it's not like no one is here. Most everything you want is here, though not to the degree you would have in a city. We have good resteraunts, though certain ethnic foods are lacking. We have minor league baseball and hockey. Hersheypark has a major music venue that brings in a number of national acts. The jazz scene sucks here
. Museums exist, though not with the grandeur of the big cities. However, if you get homesick for smog and skyscrapers you can drive 3 hours to NYC, or about 1.5 to both Baltimore and Philly.
--If you come to Penn State, you are a student of Penn State and you are eligible to purchace season football tickets. University Park (the main undergraduate campus) is about 1:45 drive to the northwest and features what ESPN college game day called "the best student section in the nation." Tailgating and football are what Penn State does best, so when you get a free weekend (and unless you're totally paranoid about your grades or absolutely gunning for honors, you will have free time during your first year) do yourself a favor and go up to Penn State. Just don't forget to have multiple forms of ID and a patience when trying to get in to the bars. Trust me, it's worth it.
Congratulations Nubs! Shes really cute! 
