u.penn: misleading?

[bugz]

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has anyone found u.penn to be misleading in the way they advertise their offerings?

during the interview day, they allow u to sit in on their small-group/case-based learning sessions. basically, it is a small-group lecture. not on the same page as pbl at cornell/harvard/u.rochester/u.conn. their curriculum is in essence traditional, with the mirage that it is more than that.

also, it seems they make a bigger deal of the virtual curriculum than they should. unlike the online "my courses" at harvard, where it truly seems it is fully integrated with the courses, virtual curriculum seems like window dressing.

am i being too harsh or is this true?

 

[Bonds756]

Ok, I am assuming you had an interview today? Like I said to a couple of applicants, we just started all new classes (in fact, a new curriculum of sorts- no long basic science courses like anatomy, micro, histo, etc; now we are done with everything else and learning as part of organ systems). Since it is so early in the semester (remember, you haven't started back at your college yet), we still need to learn basic information so that we can engage in the more student-run small groups that you are taking about. We have had plenty of case-based learning experiences in everything from biochem to micro. And they are good sessions that really help reinforce and strengthen our understanding of materials taught or that we were supposed to read. I think in general Penn actually does a really good balance of lecture vs small groups.
So no, I don't think you are being harsh, I think you jumped to conclusions by watching 20 minutes of the first week of our classes that were scheduled to help us learn, not to impress applicants and have the most interesting classes on Wed. and Fri. at 11am when applicants come into our classes.

 

[arsh]

hey bonds,

I was going to PM you, but I think some others may have the same questions: What exactly is the Virtual Curr? How does it work? Thanks for your input.

FYI, I had interviewed at UPenn a few months ago and truly thought it was incredible - I am just keeping all my fingers crossed between now and March.

 

[Bonds756]

Honestly, I am not really sure what the VC2000 means. It is the name they call the curriculum, which I am sure they explain to you how it is organized. A key thing about the curriclum is that the second years have already started rotations this week since Penn finishes class/course stuff in less than 1 1/2 yrs.
As far as other things go, we have a web site that has everything we could possibly want/need on, another strong point of VC2000. For instance, every lecture is audio and video taped and put on the website as well as powerpoint notes to the lecture within a couple hours after the lecture. We receive written copies of a syllabus for each class that basically has the material we need to know for the entire class submitted by each lecturer so we don't really have to take notes during lecture (as opposed to some schools having the note service or assigning someone to take notes). The website also has every slide we could possibly see in histology, pathology, etc so we don't have to come into lab rooms at night to study if we don't want. Similar resources are available for embryology, anatomy, radiology, etc so really everything is on the computer, we don't have to go to the labs, or track down resources. It has class photos of us broken down by classmates by every small group we have ever had (a good way to learn everyones names quickly- sounds weird, but it is useful). Palm pilot links, schedules, announcements, and lots more on the website.
Basically, VC2000 is just a fancy way of them saying they think they did a good job of designing the curriculum and they made everything convenient and easy for us.

 

[Bonds756]

BYW, good luck !!