So - Is Penn more or less done for 2014?

[sunnyshine]

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I am an IS resident who applied to Penn, but I haven't heard back from them since I sent in my VMCAS. Considering that it is almost March, is it safe to say that they are more or less done with interviews and acceptances at this point?

 

[Whyevernot55]

You should read the last page or two of this thread:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=677647

 

[dgm]

Neurotic much? You posted almost the same exact question on the Penn thread four days ago.

 

[Shanomong]

.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGKGDmc1pUI

 

[GellaBella]

Aww you know it's so hard when other people are hearing and you are still up in the air...especially if a school is your top choice or only school..not fun

Sunnyshine my completely uneducated guess is that Penn accepted those they liked, notified others they were on hold that they weren't sure about, and that those who haven't heard will probably not be gaining admission this year. I'm sorry

 

[nyanko]

Aww you know it's so hard when other people are hearing and you are still up in the air...especially if a school is your top choice or only school..not fun

Yeah, those PennWe first years can be pretty mean, can't they? 😉

 

[david594]

Yeah, those PennWe first years can be pretty mean, can't they? 😉

They are just mad that they are going to spend their entire career having to explain what the initials after their name mean. 😛

 

[Caninerepro]

They are just mad that they are going to spend their entire career having to explain what the initials after their name mean. 😛

Hahahahahaha Wannabees!

 

[vnair2]

This can only be settled by a 1st year cage match.

 

[eventualeventer]

Decisions, decisions....I'd put my money on the midwesterners but they're seriously outnumbered (or at least out-vocalized) by the PennWe's. Mud flinging in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .

 

[twelvetigers]

Bring it! I got 120 lbs of fury, right here.

 

[quantized]

Do they do file reviews? I'm pretty curious as to why I never heard a peep out of them.

 

[Ben and Me]

Do they do file reviews? I'm pretty curious as to why I never heard a peep out of them.

Quanitized - I'm not sure if they do official file reviews or not, but I do know that Roseanne Herpen was more than happy to sit down with me before I applied and tell me what areas I needed to improved - I followed her advice, and I'm pretty sure that's a big part of the reason that I got in. If they're willing to do it pre-application, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to do it afterwards! I flew up here over the summer, which I think is one of their less-busy times. If you do end up with a not-so-good letter, I'd shoot her an email in a few weeks and ask about setting up a meeting if you can get over here. I'm not sure if they'd do one over the phone, but you could always ask about that as well.

Have you heard from anywhere else?

 

[zeebra44]

I don't want to piss anyone off, but I don't think Penn likes students from Cornell. Last year, the ONLY guy from my major that even heard back from them was an in-stater. One girl e-mailed Penn about it, and they told her that if you are from Cornell with good stats AND also applied to Cornell, they'll assume you're just going there and won't waste an interview slot on you. Does this sound like a bunch of bull? I'm a little angry..because once again, none of us Cornellians (correct me if I'm wrong!) have heard from Penn. And one girl has amazing stats, seriously this girl is SUPER WOMAN, and got accepted everywhere else she applied. I'm just confused..😕

 

[turnbackhelly]

I don't want to piss anyone off, but I don't think Penn likes students from Cornell. Last year, the ONLY guy from my major that even heard back from them was an in-stater. One girl e-mailed Penn about it, and they told her that if you are from Cornell with good stats AND also applied to Cornell, they'll assume you're just going there and won't waste an interview slot on you. Does this sound like a bunch of bull? I'm a little angry..because once again, none of us Cornellians (correct me if I'm wrong!) have heard from Penn. And one girl has amazing stats, seriously this girl is SUPER WOMAN, and got accepted everywhere else she applied. I'm just confused..😕

I'm not a Cornell student, nor can I speak for this cycle specifically, but I do have a close friend who applied to vet school during the 03-04 cycle as a Cornell undergrad and was accepted to Penn. She did apply to and end up attending Cornell, but she was definitely accepted by Penn. Granted that's just one example, and not an incredibly recent one, but just wanted to throw that out there. I'm sorry you guys seem to be having a rough time with Penn!

 

[zeebra44]

I'm not a Cornell student, nor can I speak for this cycle specifically, but I do have a close friend who applied to vet school during the 03-04 cycle as a Cornell undergrad and was accepted to Penn. She did apply to and end up attending Cornell, but she was definitely accepted by Penn. Granted that's just one example, and not an incredibly recent one, but just wanted to throw that out there. I'm sorry you guys seem to be having a rough time with Penn!

Thanks 😳 I applied there on a whim. I know my GRE score is too low, but I just wanted to see if there was any truth to what that girl said.

 

[Angelus9]

I don't think Penn likes students from Cornell. ....I'm a little angry..because once again, none of us Cornellians (correct me if I'm wrong!) have heard from Penn. And one girl has amazing stats, seriously this girl is SUPER WOMAN, and got accepted everywhere else she applied.

I think that's hogwash. Every school wants to recruit the best students they can, so if they appeal to Penn, they'll get an invite. And like all schools, I'm sure they offer admission to more than they can seat, knowing some will decline, so interview slots are not "wasted."

Disingenous to be angry with Penn because they ignored you, propose it's because they don't like Cornell students, and then admit that your stats (GRE) are too low anyway.

And c'mon, again, like so many schools, Penn has literally hundreds & hundreds of "SUPER WOMEN" from which to choose. There are a number of eminently qualified candidates who just don't get chosen by a particular school, and it's no poor reflection on them. It's just that out of what, 1400 candidates? there's bound to be lots of excellent candidates that don't get interviews.

 

[Minnerbelle]

Decisions, decisions....I'd put my money on the midwesterners but they're seriously outnumbered (or at least out-vocalized) by the PennWe's. Mud flinging in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .

Man, this is going to be good. Maybe I should decide where to go based on the outcomes of this one! heh heh...

Pennwe neurotic pre-vet

Midwestern First-Years: <Argh! the Pennwe's are at it again!



In comes Pennwe support




(nooooooo! don't hurt the horse!!!!!)


sigh... i should really stop being a dork and go to work... but can you blame me for avoiding mini preps???

 

[Crazy Hippos]

lol who won? Poor neurotic pre-vet! Just sits there while they get poked in the eye.

 

[zeebra44]

I think that's hogwash. Every school wants to recruit the best students they can, so if they appeal to Penn, they'll get an invite. And like all schools, I'm sure they offer admission to more than they can seat, knowing some will decline, so interview slots are not "wasted."

Disingenous to be angry with Penn because they ignored you, propose it's because they don't like Cornell students, and then admit that your stats (GRE) are too low anyway.

And c'mon, again, like so many schools, Penn has literally hundreds & hundreds of "SUPER WOMEN" from which to choose. There are a number of eminently qualified candidates who just don't get chosen by a particular school, and it's no poor reflection on them. It's just that out of what, 1400 candidates? there's bound to be lots of excellent candidates that don't get interviews.

Hence the entire point of my post. I know exactly WHY I didn't get an invite, but there are very qualified candidates that didn't even get a second glance. I've been accepted to two schools, and I'm waiting to hear back from another..so it's really no skin off of my ass. Take a chill pill, geeze

 

[BlacKAT33]

lol this is so funny.
from what i found this cycle it is pretty random who schools choose. like it was mentioned above, there are a TON of people who apply, ESPECIALLY to penn because they take a lot of OOS students. maybe the people who did not get an interview did not have good experience. good stats dont guarentee anything. and just because you are accepted to one top school (cornell) does not mean you should/will be accepted to all the other schools you apply to

 

[zeebra44]

I never said that, I didn't even apply to Cornell! People sure are good at twisting your words around in forums. But it's true, there really is no rhyme or reason to this process. I'll stop pissing people off now. And congrats on your acceptance BlacKAT, I wasn't trying to undermine it in any way!

 

[eventualeventer]

lol this is so funny.
from what i found this cycle it is pretty random who schools choose. like it was mentioned above, there are a TON of people who apply, ESPECIALLY to penn because they take a lot of OOS students. maybe the people who did not get an interview did not have good experience. good stats dont guarentee anything. and just because you are accepted to one top school (cornell) does not mean you should/will be accepted to all the other schools you apply to

I'll say it seems random! I got invited to interview at UC Davis (which interviews 20-25 OOSers) but not Illinois or UPenn (who interview lots of OOSers). Just kidding, I'm not complaining, I've done better than I expected this year, but it shows that the different schools really do have different systems for evaluating applicants.

Minnerbelle, good narration!

 

[Shanomong]

.

 

[zeebra44]

Penn does do formal file reviews, and I definitely recommend going to one if you're rejected and plan to apply again. You will, however, hear from them. They don't just not notify people of anything. They send out rejections in March so if you waited until March with not a peep and got a rejection, you have over 1-2,000 friends whe experienced the same thing (including me the first time I applied).

As for the Cornell thing, we have at least 2 Cornell students in our class. I think the thing with Penn that tends to piss people off is that they do put weight on the undergrad school you attended, but they also put a lot of weight on you as an individual and if you've done little more than go to a good school and get good grades they aren't particularly impressed. They like to see a lot of personality in applications from what I can gather, a lot of our students are non-trad and a lot have done things in life that add some interest to their applications. That is definitely not to imply that you or your friend haven't, just that I've seen students from Ivy League undergrads get pissed b/c they got in everywhere else with their grades and GRE and didn't hear back from Penn. So that's one possibility as to why. But like BlacKat said, it's hard to figure out the rhyme and reason to every acceptance/rejection without hearing it straight from them.

I'm really very sorry, I wasn't trying to say that students from Ivy Leagues deserve to go to Penn vet. I just wanted to know if there was any truth to what that girl told me last year. I can't imagine they'd actually e-mail her something like that. Forgive me guys!

 

[BlacKAT33]

And congrats on your acceptance BlacKAT, I wasn't trying to undermine it in any way!

no worries!! i didnt think that at all 😀

I agree with Shanomong that they do look into personality a lot, and I think that is one reason they like to have the grad students involved with the interviews. They can get a sense of each student's personality. (not saying you don't have personality if u didnt get in!!) just that i think they look at a huge package of things not just the application, but every bit counts 🙂 I got the feeling they really liked my random experiences too.

sry that your comment was misread zeebra! congrats on your acceptances!!

 

[vnair2]

You shall never be forgiven. Prepare for your lashings.

Edit: And to contribute something to the actual discussion - There may be some amount of truth to your statement. At least as an undergraduate institution Penn (and other ivies) are quite obsessed with their image and worried about their statistics. Schools like to admit students that will accept offers, because they dont like diving too deep into their waitlist. I definitely remember hearing that similarly Penn students can have a harder time getting admitted to Cornell.

Moral of the story - Going to Cornell was a bad choice. What were you thinking?

 

[vnair2]

no worries!! i didnt think that at all 😀
I agree with Shanomong that they do look into personality a lot, and I think that is one reason they like to have the VET students involved with the interviews.

Fixed that for you. Getting accepted is hard, we earned that title.

 

[nyanko]

Fixed that for you. Getting accepted is hard, we earned that title.

Getting accepted into Ph.D. programs and becoming a grad student is no walk in the park either (learned that the hard way!).

Obviously I did not get an interview for Penn because of my lack of experience, particularly in research. I'm sure it had nothing to do with my mediocre undergraduate grades from crappy schools. 😉

edit: maybe I can be like a Cornellian and pretend that they didn't interview me because I am a UC Davis graduate student and they assume I'm going to go to UC Davis. Yeah...that seems pretentious enough for me. I'm gonna go with it, peace!

 

[zeebra44]

You shall never be forgiven. Prepare for your lashings.

Edit: And to contribute something to the actual discussion - There may be some amount of truth to your statement. At least as an undergraduate institution Penn (and other ivies) are quite obsessed with their image and worried about their statistics. Schools like to admit students that will accept offers, because they dont like diving too deep into their waitlist. I definitely remember hearing that similarly Penn students can have a harder time getting admitted to Cornell.

Moral of the story - Going to Cornell was a bad choice. What were you thinking?

I often ask myself that exact question...1,000 lashings for me

 

[aspiringDVM]

Man, this is going to be good. Maybe I should decide where to go based on the outcomes of this one! heh heh...

Pennwe neurotic pre-vet

Midwestern First-Years: <Argh! the Pennwe's are at it again!



In comes Pennwe support




(nooooooo! don't hurt the horse!!!!!)


sigh... i should really stop being a dork and go to work... but can you blame me for avoiding mini preps???

Oh, BRAVO MINNERBELLE!!!

 

[sunnyshine]

Well thanks for all the advice and sorry about posting like the exact same thing twice. I was just on needles waiting for Penn, but I know I am not going to probably get in. It is just hard to hear because I have always wanted to got to Penn and my stats aren't terrible. I have other schools still, so I guess I should just let this one go. Thanks for the help!

 

[Ben and Me]

Guys, if you try to figure out a rhyme or reason for why others get in and you didn't, you'll drive yourself crazy. Unless you have the entire application in front of you, you really have no idea what others presented to the admissions committee. Who knows, maybe "super girl" had a horrible personal statement? Or just didn't stand out? Or was on SDN making negative comments? Remember, these are public forums...and people do put a lot of info out there.... 😉 I often wonder if that played a role in why I wasn't accepted to NCSU.

It still blows my mind that I was accepted to Penn (1:1400) and not to NCSU (1:250). I try not to think about it too much. Stuff generally works out for the best, and I am pretty happy up here.

And I can think of at least 3 folks off the top of my head who at least spent time at Cornell in our class alone...one for both her undergrad and masters. We also have kids from colleges that most people have never heard of. So, like I said, who knows what they're looking for. And, when the shoe is on the other foot, my friend who was a Penn grad was also accepted to Cornell.

 

[nyanko]

Guys, if you try to figure out a rhyme or reason for why others get in and you didn't, you'll drive yourself crazy. Unless you have the entire application in front of you, you really have no idea what others presented to the admissions committee. Who knows, maybe "super girl" had a horrible personal statement? Or just didn't stand out? Or was on SDN making negative comments? Remember, these are public forums...and people do put a lot of info out there.... 😉 I often wonder if that played a role in why I wasn't accepted to NCSU.

Or maybe it wasn't actually anything the person did wrong at all, and just that the adcoms thought enough others were better prepared and suited for the program. You know, the whole fact is that probably most of the people who actually put the effort into doing the prereqs, getting vet experience and taking the GRE are perfectly capable and there are just so many spots.

I know I know, crazy thought!!

 

[Ben and Me]

Or maybe it wasn't actually anything the person did wrong at all, and just that the adcoms thought enough others were better prepared and suited for the program. You know, the whole fact is that probably most of the people who actually put the effort into doing the prereqs, getting vet experience and taking the GRE are perfectly capable and there are just so many spots.

I know I know, crazy thought!!

Exactly - well said, nyanko.

I also know that it's easier said than done!

 

[zeebra44]

Is it just me, or is the application process to vet school kind of like American Idol?

 

[BlacKAT33]

Is it just me, or is the application process to vet school kind of like American Idol?

damn, and to think i could have met adam lambert during this process!! its a mad world...

 

[katryn]

LOL!!!! 🤣

Sometimes I think I would have a better chance of getting on to American idol.....and I have zilch singing talent. But then i'm still waiting to hear from my IS school so maybe that's just the neurosis talking.

 

[HandD42]

Is it just me, or is the application process to vet school kind of like American Idol?

Hrmm I like to liken it to Project Runway, somewhat based on talent but still lots of randomness and luck involved🙄

 

[Crazy Hippos]

Hrmm I like to liken it to Project Runway, somewhat based on talent but still lots of randomness and luck involved🙄

Or Top Chef. You make some strong dishes, like soups, but you also have some weaknesses, like pastries, and you pray that they all taste good, but it all depends on who is tasting it and what everyone else is cooking. 🙁

 

[rileyroo]

Or Top Chef. You make some strong dishes, like soups, but you also have some weaknesses, like pastries, and you pray that they all taste good, but it all depends on who is tasting it and what everyone else is cooking. 🙁

and if you get everything plated in time 😀