***The Official UPenn Class of 2023 Interview/Acceptance Thread***

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Can anyone tell me what hospital externships are like? Are they required? Are they recommended?
 
biohaz22 said:
Got accepted yesterday. Interviewed on February 15th.
I still can hardly believe this! Good luck to everyone who's still waiting to hear back.
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how was the interview?? I have one coming up and I have no idea what to expect
 
dentiff said:
how was the interview?? I have one coming up and I have no idea what to expect
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My interview was quite chill. One Close file and one open file. Both were very conversational. They asked me a lot about things in my application. So make sure you re-read your application and the supplemental essays. I wish you the best!:biglove:
 
Hey guys 🙂 I thought I'd compile a list of questions people have sent me in the DMs so that I can answer everyone at once. Obviously my answers will be subjective and may differ person to person, so take them for what they are.

1. What is the culture like at Penn?

I'd say this varies class to class, but overall everyone is really helpful and collaborative. Again, because there is not class ranking, there isn't a sense of competition between everyone. We're all just trying to get through school together.

2. What are the things I've liked/disliked so far?

Things I've liked:

- Halloween party. Seriously we throw an awesome halloween party. I can't wait for it to be October again.
- The grading system. Thank god for this. Seriously.
- I think Penn does a REALLY good job at balancing pre-clinic lab stuff with didactics. Talking to a bunch of my friends at other schools, I think we have one of the more balanced curriculums.
- Location: I like West Philly a lot actually. It feels a little bit neighborhood-y while at the same time having a big city feel. Everything in Philly is like a 15 minute uber ride away, so getting to center city is never an issue.
- Professors are pretty understanding for the most part. They'll drop unfair questions on the exams if there is a valid reason.
- Facilities. Aside from the dental school being newly renovated, we're allowed to use all the undergrad facilities (libraries, gym etc).

Things I dislike:

- Exams once a week. This is just my personal preference, but I think I'd enjoy block exams more. For us, as soon as one exam is over, you immediately have to start studying for the following week's exam. When you have block exams, you have like a week or so to just do nothing and relax after your exams are over. We can't do that. It feels like we're studying 24/7 :dead:

3. If I got into my state school which is cheaper, why'd I pick Penn?

- There's a million different threads on this topic 😀. Again, you have to figure out for yourself if you think it's worth spending more money. I will say though that I really like my classmates and my time so far, and would make the same decision again if I could.

P.S. The immediate past president and current president of ASDA go to Penn, so if you're trying to get heavily involved with ASDA, come to Penn 😛 (jk...no but seriously I think that's pretty cool).
 
Life of Pablo said:
Hey guys 🙂 I thought I'd compile a list of questions people have sent me in the DMs so that I can answer everyone at once. Obviously my answers will be subjective and may differ person to person, so take them for what they are.

1. What is the culture like at Penn?

I'd say this varies class to class, but overall everyone is really helpful and collaborative. Again, because there is not class ranking, there isn't a sense of competition between everyone. We're all just trying to get through school together.

2. What are the things I've liked/disliked so far?

Things I've liked:

- Halloween party. Seriously we throw an awesome halloween party. I can't wait for it to be October again.
- The grading system. Thank god for this. Seriously.
- I think Penn does a REALLY good job at balancing pre-clinic lab stuff with didactics. Talking to a bunch of my friends at other schools, I think we have one of the more balanced curriculums.
- Location: I like West Philly a lot actually. It feels a little bit neighborhood-y while at the same time having a big city feel. Everything in Philly is like a 15 minute uber ride away, so getting to center city is never an issue.
- Professors are pretty understanding for the most part. They'll drop unfair questions on the exams if there is a valid reason.
- Facilities. Aside from the dental school being newly renovated, we're allowed to use all the undergrad facilities (libraries, gym etc).

Things I dislike:

- Exams once a week. This is just my personal preference, but I think I'd enjoy block exams more. For us, as soon as one exam is over, you immediately have to start studying for the following week's exam. When you have block exams, you have like a week or so to just do nothing and relax after your exams are over. We can't do that. It feels like we're studying 24/7 :dead:

3. If I got into my state school which is cheaper, why'd I pick Penn?

- There's a million different threads on this topic 😀. Again, you have to figure out for yourself if you think it's worth spending more money. I will say though that I really like my classmates and my time so far, and would make the same decision again if I could.

P.S. The immediate past president and current president of ASDA go to Penn, so if you're trying to get heavily involved with ASDA, come to Penn 😛 (jk...no but seriously I think that's pretty cool).
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Thanks so much for the answer! I like it so much, really apprecieted! 🙂
 
Declining my acceptance (10k scholarship) for my state school, very tough decision but in the end its about the money, good luck everyone
 
Life of Pablo said:
Hey guys 🙂 I thought I'd compile a list of questions people have sent me in the DMs so that I can answer everyone at once. Obviously my answers will be subjective and may differ person to person, so take them for what they are.

1. What is the culture like at Penn?

I'd say this varies class to class, but overall everyone is really helpful and collaborative. Again, because there is not class ranking, there isn't a sense of competition between everyone. We're all just trying to get through school together.

2. What are the things I've liked/disliked so far?

Things I've liked:

- Halloween party. Seriously we throw an awesome halloween party. I can't wait for it to be October again.
- The grading system. Thank god for this. Seriously.
- I think Penn does a REALLY good job at balancing pre-clinic lab stuff with didactics. Talking to a bunch of my friends at other schools, I think we have one of the more balanced curriculums.
- Location: I like West Philly a lot actually. It feels a little bit neighborhood-y while at the same time having a big city feel. Everything in Philly is like a 15 minute uber ride away, so getting to center city is never an issue.
- Professors are pretty understanding for the most part. They'll drop unfair questions on the exams if there is a valid reason.
- Facilities. Aside from the dental school being newly renovated, we're allowed to use all the undergrad facilities (libraries, gym etc).

Things I dislike:

- Exams once a week. This is just my personal preference, but I think I'd enjoy block exams more. For us, as soon as one exam is over, you immediately have to start studying for the following week's exam. When you have block exams, you have like a week or so to just do nothing and relax after your exams are over. We can't do that. It feels like we're studying 24/7 :dead:

3. If I got into my state school which is cheaper, why'd I pick Penn?

- There's a million different threads on this topic 😀. Again, you have to figure out for yourself if you think it's worth spending more money. I will say though that I really like my classmates and my time so far, and would make the same decision again if I could.

P.S. The immediate past president and current president of ASDA go to Penn, so if you're trying to get heavily involved with ASDA, come to Penn 😛 (jk...no but seriously I think that's pretty cool).
Click to expand...


I'm a current student, and I have to say, I pretty much have to very strongly disagree with almost everything that was said in this post. To each his/her own, but I personally think this school is highly malignant environment. If you have the choice, opt for a pass/fail school (the fact that Life of Pablo said that they love the grading system is absolutely MIND-BOGGLING). I wish I had done that. I certainly did not consider just how critical that aspect would be. Grading makes this place a horror show. The environment is terrible and the admin doesn't care about the students' well-being or mental health. I've never been in such a miserable, heartless, cold environment. It's hard to find a person here who is happy, and if they say that they are happy, it's probably just their coping mechanism to deal with their misery. Only positive: good facilities. That is it.
 
docdew said:
I'm a current student, and I have to say, I pretty much have to very strongly disagree with almost everything that was said in this post. To each his/her own, but I personally think this school is highly malignant environment. If you have the choice, opt for a pass/fail school (the fact that Life of Pablo said that they love the grading system is absolutely MIND-BOGGLING). I wish I had done that. I certainly did not consider just how critical that aspect would be. Grading makes this place a horror show. The environment is terrible and the admin doesn't care about the students' well-being or mental health. I've never been in such a miserable, heartless, cold environment. It's hard to find a person here who is happy, and if they say that they are happy, it's probably just their coping mechanism to deal with their misery. Only positive: good facilities. That is it.
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I'm also a current student, and I completely disagree with everything YOU just said. In what way, shape or form does Penn have a malignant environment? They want you to succeed - they reach out to you and set up tutors for you if you are struggling whether it's in lab or in a class. The fact that you don't like the grading system makes me think that you probably don't even go to Penn. Everyone at Penn knows we have a more lenient grading system. Lab is P/F and an 89.5% IS AN A (not an A-). If you're lazy and don't want to put the work in, then there is no dental school that will baby you and award you with a degree you do not deserve.

Dental school is hard and demanding, but it has also been a lot of fun. Obviously not everyone is going to enjoy their time, but I've been happy so far.
 
MagicDentist said:
I'm also a current student, and I completely disagree with everything YOU just said. In what way, shape or form does Penn have a malignant environment? They want you to succeed - they reach out to you and set up tutors for you if you are struggling whether it's in lab or in a class. The fact that you don't like the grading system makes me think that you probably don't even go to Penn. Everyone at Penn knows we have a more lenient grading system. Lab is P/F and an 89.5% IS AN A (not an A-). If you're lazy and don't want to put the work in, then there is no dental school that will baby you and award you with a degree you do not deserve.

Dental school is hard and demanding, but it has also been a lot of fun. Obviously not everyone is going to enjoy their time, but I've been happy so far.
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I believe you are in the minority my friend. And as you only joined SDN in 2017, my guess is that you are a D1 and haven't been through the full gauntlet yet. Of course, this is anecdotal, but I think the vast majority of students would align with what I said. I've never heard of the admin reaching out to anyone for tutoring. Weekly graded exams is an all-out assault to the system. The toll that two years straight of weekly, intense, graded, extremely difficult exams, is immense psychologically, mentally, physically, and emotionally. All this, in addition to being surrounded with the most intense, competitive, cutthroat student body, is a recipe for misery.

Advice for incoming students: Contact current dental students. See what they have to say, and really try to dig the info out of them. It isn't always easy to get people to tell you the full truth about this stuff.

Glad you're enjoying it though. Have no clue how lol.

If anyone is interested to hear more, feel free to DM.
 
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docdew said:
I'm a current student, and I have to say, I pretty much have to very strongly disagree with almost everything that was said in this post. To each his/her own, but I personally think this school is highly malignant environment. If you have the choice, opt for a pass/fail school (the fact that Life of Pablo said that they love the grading system is absolutely MIND-BOGGLING). I wish I had done that. I certainly did not consider just how critical that aspect would be. Grading makes this place a horror show. The environment is terrible and the admin doesn't care about the students' well-being or mental health. I've never been in such a miserable, heartless, cold environment. It's hard to find a person here who is happy, and if they say that they are happy, it's probably just their coping mechanism to deal with their misery. Only positive: good facilities. That is it.
Click to expand...
Honestly it sucks that you feel that way...

I don't fully understand where you get the malignant environment from; at least my class isn't like that at all. I've met plenty of people from other classes too and everyone seems pretty chill for the most part. As for the grading system, in my opinion it is favorable because there are no A-'s, B-'s etc, a B+ is a 3.5 GPA, and our averages are always like 84-88% (sometimes up to a 91). At least for me in undergrad, an A was always a 93%+. Additionally, as the poster above said, classmates who are struggling do get contacted about tutoring. One of our professors even offered to come in on a weekend and hold a q&a session.

I agree the weekly exams are a struggle, which is what I put in my original post. With that being said, every dental school is tough and has aspects that students don't like.
 
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docdew said:
I'm a current student, and I have to say, I pretty much have to very strongly disagree with almost everything that was said in this post. To each his/her own, but I personally think this school is highly malignant environment. If you have the choice, opt for a pass/fail school (the fact that Life of Pablo said that they love the grading system is absolutely MIND-BOGGLING). I wish I had done that. I certainly did not consider just how critical that aspect would be. Grading makes this place a horror show. The environment is terrible and the admin doesn't care about the students' well-being or mental health. I've never been in such a miserable, heartless, cold environment. It's hard to find a person here who is happy, and if they say that they are happy, it's probably just their coping mechanism to deal with their misery. Only positive: good facilities. That is it.
Click to expand...

Very sorry you feel that way my dude. I am just a lowly D1, but we are well on our way, and I have had the opposite experience. The administration is great starting day one of orientation. They provide us with multiple resources for counseling and psychological services. A CAPS counselor is in the school for office hours multiple times each week. Unfair questions are dropped from each exam. Professors have offered to (and actually have) come in on weekends to hold review sessions for us. I was just told, "you are the best! You will be very successful" in lab. Definitely feel like it is a supportive environment. We are all in it together. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk.
 
PSUDent18 said:
Very sorry you feel that way my dude. I am just a lowly D1, but we are well on our way, and I have had the opposite experience. The administration is great starting day one of orientation. They provide us with multiple resources for counseling and psychological services. A CAPS counselor is in the school for office hours multiple times each week. Unfair questions are dropped from each exam. Professors have offered to (and actually have) come in on weekends to hold review sessions for us. I was just told, "you are the best! You will be very successful" in lab. Definitely feel like it is a supportive environment. We are all in it together. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk.
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GRD faculty is supportive and great. Academic faculty and student life faculty is not, in my opinion.
 
docdew said:
GRD faculty is supportive and great. Academic faculty and student life faculty is not, in my opinion.
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In my experience and from all my friends experience, I am under the current impression that the majority of students feel as I do about Penn. I personally think it’s an awful, hostile environment, particularly in the first two years.

But of course I encourage everyone to speak to as many students as they can to try get the best picture.

Good luck!
 
docdew said:
In my experience and from all my friends experience, I am under the current impression that the majority of students feel as I do about Penn. I personally think it’s an awful, hostile environment, particularly in the first two years.

But of course I encourage everyone to speak to as many students as they can to try get the best picture.

Good luck!
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For those accepted and attending, has anyone received the first class mailing yet?
 
Has anyone had difficulty sending in their forms and deposit? I mailed mine in over a week ago, but Penn still hasn't received it 🙁
 
Does anyone who is currently attending or have heard know how accurate the 4-year expense budget is?
 
rkhim said:
Does anyone who is currently attending or have heard know how accurate the 4-year expense budget is?
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I think most people agree that it is an overestimate. Cost of living in Philadelphia is generally much lower than $20,000/year. We don't have to buy books, etc.
 
for those accepted and paid both deposits, what does your status say on the aadsas portal? thanks!
 
lkim7 said:
for those accepted and paid both deposits, what does your status say on the aadsas portal? thanks!
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I received the confirmation emails for both deposits yesterday and my AADSAS status says Offer Made
 
lkim7 said:
did you receive the emails from certiphi as well? thanks 🙂
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My status also says Offer Made. Just the first general background check! The PA specific ones will be sent out in the next few weeks.
 
I haven't received any emails about background checks :/

Also If anyone wants to live together or need another roommate dm me LOL
 
any out of stater do the identogo FBI civil applicant response? where did you get a fingerprint card from and how did you fill it out?
 
pugme said:
any out of stater do the identogo FBI civil applicant response? where did you get a fingerprint card from and how did you fill it out?
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I got mine done at a fingerprinting agency (google ones nearby you) or you can go to a police station to get it done.
 
If anyone's still looking for housing, please message me! 🙂 My roommate and I have one more room to fill (females preferred)
 
Hey guys! Just a heads up, I received my direct loan award on the 23rd, but never received any notification about it. I just checked the loan status through Penn InTouch yesterday and realized that my award has been given. So if anyone is stressing because you haven’t heard anything about loans, you might have them but just haven’t been updated!
 
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