Penn

[cyrille104]

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This thread is long-overdue. Two purposes to this thread:

1) For those who haven't gone to interviews yet/haven't gotten interviews yet, feel free to rant.

2) For people who have already gone to the interviews, did you think this was a school that would fit your needs? I ask this because I'm interested in wildlife/conservation, and I don't really know if Penn would be as good of a choice as, say, Illinois or Tufts. Does anyone have any insight on this?

 

[mistifical]

I have a friend who applied for the DVM/PhD program last year. At her interview, they pretty much said to her "why did you apply here if you have interests in wildlife? We don't do that here..."

She's at Davis 🙂

Just my input....

 

[tiddlywinks]

I'm glad you started this thread because I've been wondering the same things myself. With the interview group that I was in, they asked us what fields we were particularly interested in, and wildlife/conservation was brought up. In response to that the assistant dean made a point of saying something along the lines of how there's not a lot out there for those interested in wildlife medicine; he mentioned Tuft's clinic/wildlife program in particular, and maybe one other, I forget where. At Penn there's a couple of electives (intro to wildlife medicine) in the first year.

I would love to go into zoological medicine, and he told me that in senior year there's the possibility of doing rotations at a zoo. So in terms of really getting into specialized fields like these, maybe it comes down to taking advantage of opportunities outside of the school itself, like summer externships and such? I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing (except for probably not getting paid at all); I've also spoken to other vets who told me that it's very important to get the basics down, with the small/mixed animal stuff, before even branching out.

Given that, I'd love to hear from anyone who knows more about what Penn offers in these areas.

 

[k9 <3er]

i have gotten no love from penn. who else is with me?

 

[ri23]

I'm glad you started this thread because I've been wondering the same things myself. With the interview group that I was in, they asked us what fields we were particularly interested in, and wildlife/conservation was brought up. In response to that the assistant dean made a point of saying something along the lines of how there's not a lot out there for those interested in wildlife medicine; he mentioned Tuft's clinic/wildlife program in particular, and maybe one other, I forget where. At Penn there's a couple of electives (intro to wildlife medicine) in the first year.

I would love to go into zoological medicine, and he told me that in senior year there's the possibility of doing rotations at a zoo. So in terms of really getting into specialized fields like these, maybe it comes down to taking advantage of opportunities outside of the school itself, like summer externships and such? I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing (except for probably not getting paid at all); I've also spoken to other vets who told me that it's very important to get the basics down, with the small/mixed animal stuff, before even branching out.

Though this was brought up at my OSU interview not at Penn, I think it is relevant. I mentioned that I was interested in both Zoo Vet Med and Behavior and OSU is not particularly strong in either. The Dean of Admissions stated that with veterinary medicine becoming so diversified and advanced it is going to become impossible for each school to offer strong programs in each area. She also stressed the importance of the "basics" and said that schools have relationships with other schools/organizations to help those that are interested in fields that aren't the "strengths" of the school they go to. So I really got the impression that OSU would help find an externship or program to fit your area of interest.

i have gotten no love from penn. who else is with me?

same here! (as if I haven't mentioned that enough 😉

 

[JIKJen124]

No love from Penn yet... Thanking OSU and MSU even more for their early and prompt attention!!🙂

 

[su_grad2007]

I haven't heard anything from Penn since they sent out that little card. I've decided this process is some form of torture and they're really experimenting on us 🙁

 

[Ottolove]

I haven't heard anything from Penn since they sent out that little card. I've decided this process is some form of torture and they're really experimenting on us 🙁

I totally agree. Maybe it's some low level form of schizophrenia, but I'm beginning to think the craziest things. I work with a rabbit rescue/adoption organization and take a lot of phone calls from people who want to adopt or people with rabbit questions. I've started to suspect each and every caller of being a vet school that's on the fence about me (Penn in particular) doing some strange sort of sleuth interviews with me. I've been QUITE polite to everyone lately. Uh oh!!!! Thank god this will all be over in a few months!!!

 

[rinnyroo]

Has anyone been rejected from Penn yet? I haven't received a interview offer or a rejection...is there still hope?😕

 

[thesonofdarwin]

Has anyone been rejected from Penn yet? I haven't received a interview offer or a rejection...is there still hope?😕

Same here. I better get one or the other. I think my application fee can pay for the 10 minutes, envelope, stamp, and minute ink usage to send me something even if I'm rejected. I've pretty much given up hope at this point. My hope-O-meter only began at around 60%. Lowering 10% per interview group I wasn't included in and I'm in negative hope. At this point receiving a rejection letter might bring me back to zero hope - at least then I know they care.

 

[Keygirl1]

i have gotten no love from penn. who else is with me?

i've heard nothing since the little postcard in december. if they aren't offering me an interview, why not send me a rejection at the beginning of the process instead of making us wait like this? not cool...

 

[silverelf]

i love how they aren't even bothering to pick up their phones anymore.

Bastards.

 

[ri23]

haha ... i called today and they answered. They said that they are still sending interview invites.

 

[cyrille104]

Same here. I better get one or the other. I think my application fee can pay for the 10 minutes, envelope, stamp, and minute ink usage to send me something even if I'm rejected. I've pretty much given up hope at this point. My hope-O-meter only began at around 60%. Lowering 10% per interview group I wasn't included in and I'm in negative hope. At this point receiving a rejection letter might bring me back to zero hope - at least then I know they care.

Apparently they're very understaffed. I emailed them this week and they said that they don't even have anyone to send out the acceptances 👎

 

[Emio]

Though this was brought up at my OSU interview not at Penn, I think it is relevant. I mentioned that I was interested in both Zoo Vet Med and Behavior and OSU is not particularly strong in either. The Dean of Admissions stated that with veterinary medicine becoming so diversified and advanced it is going to become impossible for each school to offer strong programs in each area. She also stressed the importance of the "basics" and said that schools have relationships with other schools/organizations to help those that are interested in fields that aren't the "strengths" of the school they go to. So I really got the impression that OSU would help find an externship or program to fit your area of interest.

hey, just like everything else in life, vet school will be what you make it.

cyrille, i think you'd be far better off at tufts than penn if you really want to do wildlife. does pennsylvania even have a wildlife center? i know there's one in harrisburg, but thats not commuting distance from upenn. howeva, penn is a damn good school....

penn: my two loves are equine and zoo/wildlife. equine has a much stronger hold on me, so if i get accepted to penn it will be very difficult to turn it down. and if i do go, i'll have to work out the details of as many possible zoo trips as i can. the few wildlife electives are actually encouraging... i didn't know they had anything at all in that department.

tufts: if it comes down to it, i'd by no means be disappointed in going there; i may just slightly tweak my efforts to a wildlife/conservation focus, while doing as much as possible with their apparently limited equine case load.


is that what you were going for? lol, tried to think out loud to give you my thoughts.

 

[Quaggi]

'

hey, just like everything else in life, vet school will be what you make it.

cyrille, i think you'd be far better off at tufts than penn if you really want to do wildlife. does pennsylvania even have a wildlife center? i know there's one in harrisburg, but thats not commuting distance from upenn. howeva, penn is a damn good school....

tufts: if it comes down to it, i'd by no means be disappointed in going there; i may just slightly tweak my efforts to a wildlife/conservation focus, while doing as much as possible with their apparently limited equine case load.

first let me start by saying that Penn is a great school...but, if you want to do wildlife/conservation med etc, you really should seriously consider tufts. We have a ton of core courses that deal with wildlife, (we have one of the strongest core non-traditional species programs). Also, it's pretty easy to get involved with wildlife-related research projects. Although I do have to say, if what you want is to step right into vet school and get your hands on wildlife patients, don't get your hopes up too high for tufts, because most of the treatments etc are done by 4th year students. At cornell for example lowerclassmen have more chance to actually treat wildlife. But - this also means less time in 4th year rotation in the clinic, and tufts wildlife clinic is one of the leading wildlife hospitals in the country, so when you do get there, it'l be worth it. Also, we have something like 18 weeks of electives 4th year, a lot of schools have like 2-3.

And just to throw in my opinion on the equine thing, i work in the large animal hospital, and there seem to be plenty of horses there all the time! So, I think those rumors might be a little off. Plus, unlike Penn, you dont have to drive an hour to see the horses, they're right on campus with the rest of the school.

 

[cyrille104]

'

first let me start by saying that Penn is a great school...but, if you want to do wildlife/conservation med etc, you really should seriously consider tufts. We have a ton of core courses that deal with wildlife, (we have one of the strongest core non-traditional species programs). Also, it's pretty easy to get involved with wildlife-related research projects. Although I do have to say, if what you want is to step right into vet school and get your hands on wildlife patients, don't get your hopes up too high for tufts, because most of the treatments etc are done by 4th year students. At cornell for example lowerclassmen have more chance to actually treat wildlife. But - this also means less time in 4th year rotation in the clinic, and tufts wildlife clinic is one of the leading wildlife hospitals in the country, so when you do get there, it'l be worth it. Also, we have something like 18 weeks of electives 4th year, a lot of schools have like 2-3.

And just to throw in my opinion on the equine thing, i work in the large animal hospital, and there seem to be plenty of horses there all the time! So, I think those rumors might be a little off. Plus, unlike Penn, you dont have to drive an hour to see the horses, they're right on campus with the rest of the school.

I understand what you're staying. I actually don't really want to do wildlife per se...I'm more interested in conservation medicine. I know that Tufts has the center for conservation medicine, but I heard it's hard to get involved with. Penn is starting to get really involved in that field too, like with avian flu. I have a feeling that where I go to school won't matter as much as what I do after - everyone says that you don't really learn how to be a vet at vet school...that comes after.

Obviously we'll see where I get in, but I also heard that it's easier to get grants for research and stuff coming from Penn...

 

[Emio]

And just to throw in my opinion on the equine thing, i work in the large animal hospital, and there seem to be plenty of horses there all the time! So, I think those rumors might be a little off. Plus, unlike Penn, you dont have to drive an hour to see the horses, they're right on campus with the rest of the school.

thankyouthankyouthankyou!

the hour drive to nbc doesnt bother me in the least; i'm a foal sitter there now, have friends in the area, and often just hang out in unionville. BUT, i do have some questions for you (not to steal penn's thunder in this thread):

1) what is the equestrian scene like in north grafton? competitive? trail horses?

2) what, in your estimation, is probably the most common reason horses come to tufts? is it truly for sports medicine? orthopedics? colic referrals? repro?

3) when i went up there for the open house in september, there was a small herd in the field; are those research horses?

4) what is a student's role in care of the horses?

i know i can ask these at the interview, but it's so great to have current students as a reference. thanks, quaggi!

 

[Quaggi]

thankyouthankyouthankyou!

the hour drive to nbc doesnt bother me in the least; i'm a foal sitter there now, have friends in the area, and often just hang out in unionville. BUT, i do have some questions for you (not to steal penn's thunder in this thread):

1) what is the equestrian scene like in north grafton? competitive? trail horses?

2) what, in your estimation, is probably the most common reason horses come to tufts? is it truly for sports medicine? orthopedics? colic referrals? repro?

3) when i went up there for the open house in september, there was a small herd in the field; are those research horses?

4) what is a student's role in care of the horses?

i know i can ask these at the interview, but it's so great to have current students as a reference. thanks, quaggi!

Hey Emio

1 and 2 - So, basically I decided to get a job at the large animal hospital because that was the area that I felt least comfortable in, and I want to get some more experience. So I'm not a horse person at all. I'm on the student tech team at the large animal hospital, where our job is split between medicine shifts, which involve doing treatments when the techs are really busy, and then being called in for emergency surgeries and being the surgery tech. So, to be perfectly honest i have no idea what the equestrian scene is like here, so that would be a good thing to ask at your interview. Also, the caseload seems to be a ton of orthopedics, lots of colics, babies in the spring/summer, and then lots of other different things. Tons of alpacas too 🙂 I do think that they do a lot of sports medicine, I havent spent too many hours in the hospital but I have seen horses on the treadmill quite a few times. But again, you should definitely ask that at your interview.

3 - the horses out back are the teaching horses. We use them in clinical skills class for non-invasive teaching procedures. we also have teaching herds of sheep, beef, dairy, pigs, and dogs.

4 - you can join the tech team, they always need people, its paid, and its a lot of fun. you learn a lot, get to do anything you're comfortable doing, and you get to watch some pretty cool surgieries. That starts pretty much right at the beginning of first year. Also, theres the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit which you can volunteer for, probably similar to what you've been doing at Penn. And, there's also opportunities to do selectives in the large animal hospital and work with the vets in medicine or surgery.

hope that helps a little! But at least you know you have some great questions to ask at your interview! Good luck, i'll be wandering around during interviews so maybe we'll run into eachother 🙂

Bari

 

[Quaggi]

I understand what you're staying. I actually don't really want to do wildlife per se...I'm more interested in conservation medicine. I know that Tufts has the center for conservation medicine, but I heard it's hard to get involved with. Penn is starting to get really involved in that field too, like with avian flu. I have a feeling that where I go to school won't matter as much as what I do after - everyone says that you don't really learn how to be a vet at vet school...that comes after.

Obviously we'll see where I get in, but I also heard that it's easier to get grants for research and stuff coming from Penn...

Yeah, I mean I obviously don't know how easy it is at Penn, but people don't typically get turned down for funding here if they have a solid project proposal. I don't think it's too hard to get involved with the conservation med center, the profs there are so awesome and will definitely help anyone out to set up a project. i guess it just depends on your interests.

 

[thesonofdarwin]

Apparently they're very understaffed. I emailed them this week and they said that they don't even have anyone to send out the acceptances 👎

I can think of a few dozen willing volunteers who'd spend a week taking care of sending out the invites/acceptances. The entering class may be 500, but it'd get done 😀

 

[kate_g]

I have a friend who applied for the DVM/PhD program last year. At her interview, they pretty much said to her "why did you apply here if you have interests in wildlife? We don't do that here..."

Wow, that's pretty surprising. For one thing, the wildlife elective is the only first-year elective they offer, and something like 70% of the current first-year class is taking it. At yesterday's interview the assistant admissions dean and one of my interviewers each emphasized how supportive Penn is of sending you wherever you need to go to learn what you want to learn (e.g. summer projects and fourth-year externships and whatnot). I'm in a similar boat, in terms of my current interests not being something Penn has a lot of, and I definitely got "come here, and we'll help you get whatever you want out of your education."

I'm going back and forth... such a good school... but I won't have early exposure to my interests... but I really like the strong biomedical foundation... and there's a high probability that one's interests change during vet school anyway... it's such a large caseload!... but not necessarily the cases I want to see... etc.

At yesterday's interview one of the current students was totally into small camelids (llamas/alpacas). Some of us said "then why Penn, rather than the schools that have camelid programs?" and *her* justification, which I'm passing on without any particular endorsement, was that the quality of the basic education and the quality of the other students made it worthwhile, and she'd do externships to get camelid exposure.

I dunno, it seems like doing all your basics on dog/cat/cow/horse/poultry and then going and doing clinicals on camelids... Like you'd miss something by not being able to actually have a camelid lecture course, if that's what you're really into. Just takes a dedication to self-study, I guess, and maybe a good mentor.

 

[kate_g]

My biggest source of angst about Penn right now is that it's so expensive. And there are no Penn scholarships for incoming students, only the loans and whatever private scholarships you can find. And they don't allow you to petition to be considered in-state after the first year, no matter how old you are or what your residence/tax status is. And all of the first-years sounded pretty hopeless about opportunities for campus jobs, unlike apparently Tufts where Quaggi suggested loads of first-years work in the hospital.

I got through undergrad on scholarship, and I'm getting paid a stipend to be a grad student, so I guess I find the whole idea of financing vet school stomach-churning. Penn certainly gives the impression that with a VMD the world will be knocking on your door, but even so I don't want to be in a position where I have to make post-graduation career decisions based on what the salary offers are...

 

[cyrille104]

My biggest source of angst about Penn right now is that it's so expensive. And there are no Penn scholarships for incoming students, only the loans and whatever private scholarships you can find. And they don't allow you to petition to be considered in-state after the first year, no matter how old you are or what your residence/tax status is. And all of the first-years sounded pretty hopeless about opportunities for campus jobs, unlike apparently Tufts where Quaggi suggested loads of first-years work in the hospital.

I got through undergrad on scholarship, and I'm getting paid a stipend to be a grad student, so I guess I find the whole idea of financing vet school stomach-churning. Penn certainly gives the impression that with a VMD the world will be knocking on your door, but even so I don't want to be in a position where I have to make post-graduation career decisions based on what the salary offers are...

It's not the most expensive vet school by any means. In fact, the majority of vet schools are this expensive out-of-state...unless you are in state, and even then it may not be that cheap. Penn is still 28k/yr in-state.

 

[kate_g]

It's not the most expensive vet school by any means. In fact, the majority of vet schools are this expensive out-of-state...unless you are in state, and even then it may not be that cheap. Penn is still 28k/yr in-state.

This is true... But Penn seems to take such a hard line about their tuition, and they don't seem to be very interested in helping you reduce it in any way - if you start out-of-state, you're out-of-state forever; no first-year scholarships; not that many school-based scholarships, period; apparently not much available in the way of low-impact jobs on campus. I suppose when the assistant dean suggested that the best way to make money was to wait tables on weekends, I just found that particularly disheartening... 🙂

 

[silverelf]

This is true... But Penn seems to take such a hard line about their tuition, and they don't seem to be very interested in helping you reduce it in any way - if you start out-of-state, you're out-of-state forever; no first-year scholarships; not that many school-based scholarships, period; apparently not much available in the way of low-impact jobs on campus. I suppose when the assistant dean suggested that the best way to make money was to wait tables on weekends, I just found that particularly disheartening... 🙂

if tuition is really that hard for you to handle, then get residency somewhere and apply. Both Tufts and Penn being "marginal" state schools at best (aka they are mostly private and don't accept as many in-state kids as other schools) yes they are going to be expensive regardless of your residency.

to be completely honest, penn really isn't that expensive AND if this is going to be the first time you're taking out loans, you're a lot better off than a lot of people

 

[cyrille104]

This is true... But Penn seems to take such a hard line about their tuition, and they don't seem to be very interested in helping you reduce it in any way - if you start out-of-state, you're out-of-state forever; no first-year scholarships; not that many school-based scholarships, period; apparently not much available in the way of low-impact jobs on campus. I suppose when the assistant dean suggested that the best way to make money was to wait tables on weekends, I just found that particularly disheartening... 🙂

They told me to wait tables at CSU also...that's just how it works I guess. If you really want to get in-state tuition, you can defer for a year and declare residency in PA. Ms. Herpen told me that's perfectly acceptable. But for 6k/yr...not worth it.

Not many schools let you declare residency in the state in which you're going to school. At CSU, they told me there are laws that specifically prevent vet students from declaring residency. The state only wants to finance those who have a high likelihood of staying in the state. It makes sense. Besides, if it were up to the school I'm sure they would love for the government to pay part of everyone's tuition...but it's not.

 

[kate_g]

if tuition is really that hard for you to handle, then get residency somewhere and apply. Both Tufts and Penn being "marginal" state schools at best (aka they are mostly private and don't accept as many in-state kids as other schools) yes they are going to be expensive regardless of your residency.

Erm... I seem to have made you angry, for which I apologize. The stated purpose of the thread being venting of angst for those considering Penn, I don't think it was bad to express the opinion that Penn's attitude toward finances is disheartening. (About which I could be wrong - it was only one day, maybe I just got a bad impression based on the way people chose their words.) I do have residency "somewhere," and "somewhere" has a pretty good school of its own. And of course I understand that Penn is essentially a private school and therefore more expensive. I also understand that the "better" or more competitive a school is, the more tuition it can get away with charging - it stands to reason that the more I'm impressed and really like a program, the more expensive it's likely to be.

The whole point of venting is that I can understand all the rationalities and still feel upset about the situation... 😀

 

[tapir]

And there are no Penn scholarships for incoming students

This is not true. There are a number of scholarships (http://www.vet.upenn.edu/studentresources/financialaid/ScholarshipInformation.html), and I was offered one with my acceptance. It doesn't come close to the full cost, but it still helps a lot! 😀 Basically, if you want to go to a professional school, you have to borrow a lot.

 

[Aninha]

This is not true. There are a number of scholarships (http://www.vet.upenn.edu/studentresources/financialaid/ScholarshipInformation.html), and I was offered one with my acceptance. It doesn't come close to the full cost, but it still helps a lot! 😀 Basically, if you want to go to a professional school, you have to borrow a lot.

congrats on your acceptance!🙂 Are you in-state? do you know if they offer scholarships to out-of-state?

 

[cyrille104]

This is not true. There are a number of scholarships (http://www.vet.upenn.edu/studentresources/financialaid/ScholarshipInformation.html), and I was offered one with my acceptance. It doesn't come close to the full cost, but it still helps a lot! 😀 Basically, if you want to go to a professional school, you have to borrow a lot.

All in-state students get a scholarship every year

 

[Emio]

Hey Emio

1 and 2 - So, basically I decided to get a job at the large animal hospital because that was the area that I felt least comfortable in, and I want to get some more experience. So I'm not a horse person at all. I'm on the student tech team at the large animal hospital, where our job is split between medicine shifts, which involve doing treatments when the techs are really busy, and then being called in for emergency surgeries and being the surgery tech. So, to be perfectly honest i have no idea what the equestrian scene is like here, so that would be a good thing to ask at your interview. Also, the caseload seems to be a ton of orthopedics, lots of colics, babies in the spring/summer, and then lots of other different things. Tons of alpacas too 🙂 I do think that they do a lot of sports medicine, I havent spent too many hours in the hospital but I have seen horses on the treadmill quite a few times. But again, you should definitely ask that at your interview.

3 - the horses out back are the teaching horses. We use them in clinical skills class for non-invasive teaching procedures. we also have teaching herds of sheep, beef, dairy, pigs, and dogs.

4 - you can join the tech team, they always need people, its paid, and its a lot of fun. you learn a lot, get to do anything you're comfortable doing, and you get to watch some pretty cool surgieries. That starts pretty much right at the beginning of first year. Also, theres the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit which you can volunteer for, probably similar to what you've been doing at Penn. And, there's also opportunities to do selectives in the large animal hospital and work with the vets in medicine or surgery.

hope that helps a little! But at least you know you have some great questions to ask at your interview! Good luck, i'll be wandering around during interviews so maybe we'll run into eachother 🙂

Bari

thank you Bari, i very much appreciate it!

i didnt know about the in state scholarship at penn... this is going to turn out to be cheaper than undergrad. i think i just made my decision, lol.

 

[tapir]

All in-state students get a scholarship every year

According to the admissions letter, all in-state students get a credit (which has been $4,200 for the last few years, but the amount is TBD for 07-08), but the scholarship was listed separately in the letter and is listed separately on the web page. I didn't mean this to be a discussion of my aid package - I just wanted people to know that Penn does offer some scholarships aside from the in-state discount for both PA and nonresidents. According to the web site, you can apply for some during orientation and some are offered after the first year as well.

congrats on your acceptance! Are you in-state? do you know if they offer scholarships to out-of-state?

Thanks! I'm in-state, but if you look at the scholarship page I posted earlier, a number of them are available for out-of-state students.

 

[kate_g]

the scholarship was listed separately in the letter and is listed separately on the web page.

I happily stand corrected. I might be crazy, or maybe it was the jet lag, but I could have sworn that both Mr. Keiter and one of the current students said that beyond the credit for PA residents there was no support available in the first year - all you could do was apply in the first year for merit-based scholarships given for the second year and beyond.

Maybe this is another one of those things like them having you fill out the contact info sheet "in the rare case that somebody might want to call and ask additional questions or clarify something after your interview." (Rather than admitting that they phone acceptances right away.)

Gah. Now I'm going to have butterflies until I get the official acceptance letter in the mail and see if they offer me anything.

 

[cyrille104]

I happily stand corrected. I might be crazy, or maybe it was the jet lag, but I could have sworn that both Mr. Keiter and one of the current students said that beyond the credit for PA residents there was no support available in the first year - all you could do was apply in the first year for merit-based scholarships given for the second year and beyond.

Maybe this is another one of those things like them having you fill out the contact info sheet "in the rare case that somebody might want to call and ask additional questions or clarify something after your interview." (Rather than admitting that they phone acceptances right away.)

Gah. Now I'm going to have butterflies until I get the official acceptance letter in the mail and see if they offer me anything.

I think you might be confused...they didn't offer anyone a scholarship, you have to apply for it during orientation. They give in-state students credit from a grant that they get every year, but the amount may vary from year to year.

 

[ri23]

According to the admissions letter, all in-state students get a credit (which has been $4,200 for the last few years, but the amount is TBD for 07-08), but the scholarship was listed separately in the letter and is listed separately on the web page.

I think you might be confused...they didn't offer anyone a scholarship, you have to apply for it during orientation. They give in-state students credit from a grant that they get every year, but the amount may vary from year to year.

apparently they do

 

[cyrille104]

I think we need some clarification here. In addition to the in-state discount, I THINK all in-state students are awarded the following:

Commonwealth Scholarships in the amount of $20,000 ($5,000 per academic year) are awarded to residents of the State of Pennsylvania. Students are selected based on academic merit at their undergraduate institution and financial need. This scholarship has no application process.

Even though it says students are selected based on merit and need, it is my understanding from talking to Rosanne Herpen that all in-state students receive this scholarship.

This is what I meant when I said that all in-state students receive a scholarship. I think the $4200 credit is just the in-state deduction, and everyone gets another $5000 in-state...did I interpret this incorrectly?

 

[tiddlywinks]

Interesting. If they were just going to offer it to all the in-state students, why not just lower the in-state tuition?

 

[RemyRipper315]

Don't know if you are exactly correct about that Cyrille.

I am in-state and my admissions letter did not mention anything about the Commonwealth scholarship. However, I really don't know! I hope that is true..!

I'll try to check into it eventually. 🙂

 

[silverelf]

Interesting. If they were just going to offer it to all the in-state students, why not just lower the in-state tuition?

because that would make things easy. And we all know how much vet schools hate to do THAT....

 

[cyrille104]

Don't know if you are exactly correct about that Cyrille.

I am in-state and my admissions letter did not mention anything about the Commonwealth scholarship. However, I really don't know! I hope that is true..!

I'll try to check into it eventually. 🙂

Whether or not those are the logistics of it, Ms. Herpen told me that in-state tuition is in actuality $4-5k/yr less because of some scholarship that varies or something

 

[tiddlywinks]

Whether or not those are the logistics of it, Ms. Herpen told me that in-state tuition is in actuality $4-5k/yr less because of some scholarship that varies or something

Ah, that sounds like the Pennsylvania state grant. Last year it was $4200, this year they haven't decided. This would be a deduction on top of the already reduced tuition for instate. And the Commonwealth scholarships are a separate matter.

All in all, it's fairly reasonable for Pennsylvania residents.

 

[PiddlingFish]

Does Penn have a decent poultry program? I'm interviewing with the food/large animal people on Friday and would like to have a heads up if they don't offer much in poultry.

 

[kate_g]

Does Penn have a decent poultry program? I'm interviewing with the food/large animal people on Friday and would like to have a heads up if they don't offer much in poultry.

Regardless of stated interest (small/large/etc.), *all* first-years have to take a poultry class. The area around Penn (particularly Delaware) is a huge poultry production region, and I believe someone said that Penn runs the state poultry lab (or... something like that... the poultry facility that the state uses for tests and trials and whatnot, I guess).

Whether their program is actually good, I can't say, but I believe it's pretty substantial anyway.

 

[spikey]

just a question i figured i'd ask in the PENN thread.

i see from interview feedback that the cold interviewer first asks, "tell me about yourself." into how much detail did you go into with that question if you've had an interview already?

 

[RemyRipper315]

just a question i figured i'd ask in the PENN thread.

i see from interview feedback that the cold interviewer first asks, "tell me about yourself." into how much detail did you go into with that question if you've had an interview already?

I don't know the "best" way to approach this question, but I'll tell ya what I did! I don't remember my exact wording, but this is pretty much how I answered it. Kinda brief, but it told them a bit about my background.

I told them I was born and raised in Pennsylvania, a little about my small town/community, mentioned we had dogs/cats/chickens as pets growing up. Then, I said how I wanted to start exploring veterinary medicine more, so I started volunteering at XXXXXXX veterinary hospital in my senior year in high school. I talked a little bit about that experience, and then my hot interviewer asked me to tell them about the other veterinary experience I had...... then the interview continued from there!

Like I said, I really DON'T know if that was a good approach or not, but that's the way I answered the first question..... 🙂

hmmm, what else?? BE YOURSELF & GOOD LUCK!!!!

PM me if you wanna chat. 🙂

 

[spikey]

I don't know the "best" way to approach this question, but I'll tell ya what I did! I don't remember my exact wording, but this is pretty much how I answered it. Kinda brief, but it told them a bit about my background.

I told them I was born and raised in Pennsylvania, a little about my small town/community, mentioned we had dogs/cats/chickens as pets growing up. Then, I said how I wanted to start exploring veterinary medicine more, so I started volunteering at XXXXXXX veterinary hospital in my senior year in high school. I talked a little bit about that experience, and then my hot interviewer asked me to tell them about the other veterinary experience I had...... then the interview continued from there!

Like I said, I really DON'T know if that was a good approach or not, but that's the way I answered the first question..... 🙂

hmmm, what else?? BE YOURSELF & GOOD LUCK!!!!

PM me if you wanna chat. 🙂

thanks, and i PMed you! 🙂

 

[kate_g]

into how much detail did you go into with that question if you've had an interview already?

My interviewer phrased the question as something like "how did you come to be here?" Whatever it was exactly that he said, it was something that led me to open my answer with "Have you ever had a gut feeling that just won't go away no matter how much you try to ignore it?"

It wasn't what I'd been planning to say, and it might have been a hair on the "too honest" side, but it seemed to work out OK. 😀 I didn't have any relevatory childhood experiences or anything, so after that opening I started my story with liking biology but being adamantly against going into medicine in college, then getting adopted by some stray kittens and volunteering in a shelter, discovering I enjoyed vet med, etc...

 

[Monkey85]

To those still wondering when you will hear something from Penn, I just got my invitation for an interview yesterday (the 10th). The interview is on February 23rd. So they are still sending invitations out. The waiting was horrible, but getting that envelope from them was quiet exciting.

I do have a few questions for those who have already had their interviews:

1) How many people were in the interview groups?
2) Has anybody claiming NJ residency had an interview yet? (NJ has a contract w/ Penn)

 

[silverelf]

To those still wondering when you will hear something from Penn, I just got my invitation for an interview yesterday (the 10th). The interview is on February 23rd. So they are still sending invitations out. The waiting was horrible, but getting that envelope from them was quiet exciting.

I do have a few questions for those who have already had their interviews:

1) How many people were in the interview groups?
2) Has anybody claiming NJ residency had an interview yet? (NJ has a contract w/ Penn)

my friend has jersey residency and got in, they didn't tell him anything about the contract seat and whether or not he was in contention for it. Problem is, due to NJ financial cuts, there may not BE a seat anymore....or at least not as many as there were.