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crimsonkid85

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  1. MD/PhD Student
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upenn just finished its interview season and is ready to make it's initial round of acceptance offers. did anyone else get another email from skip asking for updates? 😱 how many times do you think we have to pledge interest? 😕
 
My PI told me that they met yesterday to decide. I didn't get an interview from Dr. Brass... just a letter telling me to keep in touch from Dr. Koretzky. Hmmm...

Edit: Do you think they are going to inform the mudphuds before they make the MD decisions this year? In the letter they said something like, "we may not be able to inform you until mid march" or something like that. I thought the wording was rather odd.
 
I got it too, but after the interview I did not contact them again to manifest interest, so I guess you are fine if you did not.
 
i don't want to post the entire email, but other than the "Hi _______," there was nothing to indicate that he couldn't have sent the EXACT same email to all the other applicants. i did interview with dr. brass.

however, key sentences:

"We've finally finished our interview season here at Penn, which means that this is the time that I start contacting candidates to see how things are going." this reinforces the fact that this is a mass email???


"I am doing what I have done each of the past several years - trying to
make sure that at least some of our initial offers end up in the hands of folks who feel that Penn is a particularly good match for their interests - and who would like to be here with us next year. Is that something that you would be willing to share with me?"

i am totally confuzzled as to what this means. realize that 1. i sent him a thank you email which expressed my interest post-interview to which he replied and acknowledged. 2. there was the mass-SNAIL mail which requested another update. and 3. there is AGAIN another email.

thoughts?
 
crimsonkid85 said:
i don't want to post the entire email, but other than the "Hi _______," there was nothing to indicate that he couldn't have sent the EXACT same email to all the other applicants. i did interview with dr. brass.

however, key sentences:

"We've finally finished our interview season here at Penn, which means that this is the time that I start contacting candidates to see how things are going." this reinforces the fact that this is a mass email???


"I am doing what I have done each of the past several years - trying to
make sure that at least some of our initial offers end up in the hands of folks who feel that Penn is a particularly good match for their interests - and who would like to be here with us next year. Is that something that you would be willing to share with me?"

i am totally confuzzled as to what this means. realize that 1. i sent him a thank you email which expressed my interest post-interview to which he replied and acknowledged. 2. there was the mass-SNAIL mail which requested another update. and 3. there is AGAIN another email.

thoughts?
Click to expand...


Hmmmm... seems like he's looking for a letter of intent or something close. Maybe he just sent it to you. He's gotta know that you have (or will have) some awesome offers and wants to get a feel for how highly you rank Penn. 😕

As for the snail mail update, I have no clue what to tell them. it's not like I've done anything great in the past month other than beat Zelda twice. WTF... I'm still waiting to hear back on my publication. 🙄
 
congrats severus on the publication! ;D

yea i have no idea what the email means. *sigh* well i'll just write another email back, i guess...
 
Severus said:
Hmmmm... seems like he's looking for a letter of intent or something close. Maybe he just sent it to you
Click to expand...

Again, I got it too. It is exactly the same e-mail, so it is a mass one...so I guess we can't feel special now!
 
jeniffer lopez said:
Again, I got it too. It is exactly the same e-mail, so it is a mass one...so I guess we can't feel special now!
Click to expand...

Sorry about that... I misread your initial post to mean that you got the letter not the email. Reading comprehension is so overrated. 🙄 😉

And thanks, crimson...
 
i heard a story that i can't really repeat but that suggests that penn does this to make sure the majority of the people they accept will matriculate. the email you got seems to support this -- i mean, he's basically asking you to tell him that it's your first choice.
 
MD/PhDs are quite possibly the most poopy humans alive. Once I pooped out an MD/PhD student!

The End
 
You all have faces. And that disgusts me.
 
Sounds like a confusing thread, but perfectly appropriate for a confusing time of year. I wouldn't say any of you are reading this completely wrong. I think you're right when you surmise that Skip, much more so than some other program directors, really wants to fill the MSTP with students that want to come to Penn. It is the time of the year when they've most likely made some decisions. There are people they definitely want and that they'll fight tooth and nail for, but others on the borderline where it might make a difference if the committee knew about some new development or felt Penn would be best for them. They might think maybe you'd prefer to go someplace else.

I think it honestly comes from a place of wanting to make the most number of people happy (and obviously Penn's MSTP a better place) but when I was applying, it definitely made some people nervous. It's not always very subtle.

Of course, if ANY school right now is your definite first choice (by a wide margin), you should let them know. Always a good idea. But remember, people have a way of talking, and it goes without saying that these sorts of things should be communicated only if they're quite clear and truly held beliefs.

I hope that all is clear and reduces stress a little. It is most certainly just my honest opinion (informed by limited experience and no inside information)!
:luck:
 
Shatterstar17 said:
Sounds like a confusing thread, but perfectly appropriate for a confusing time of year. I wouldn't say any of you are reading this completely wrong. I think you're right when you surmise that Skip, much more so than some other program directors, really wants to fill the MSTP with students that want to come to Penn. It is the time of the year when they've most likely made some decisions. There are people they definitely want and that they'll fight tooth and nail for, but others on the borderline where it might make a difference if the committee knew about some new development or felt Penn would be best for them. They might think maybe you'd prefer to go someplace else.

I think it honestly comes from a place of wanting to make the most number of people happy (and obviously Penn's MSTP a better place) but when I was applying, it definitely made some people nervous. It's not always very subtle.

Of course, if ANY school right now is your definite first choice (by a wide margin), you should let them know. Always a good idea. But remember, people have a way of talking, and it goes without saying that these sorts of things should be communicated only if they're quite clear and truly held beliefs.

I hope that all is clear and reduces stress a little. It is most certainly just my honest opinion (informed by limited experience and no inside information)!
:luck:
Click to expand...

so if you get an email, you're borderline-maybe-maybenot? :scared: :scared:

hpchope: if you don't get an email, apparantly they could KNOW for SURE that they want you!
 
crimsonkid85 said:
so if you get an email, you're borderline-maybe-maybenot? :scared: :scared:
Click to expand...

My feeling is if you get an e-mail, you're still in the running.

You could get an e-mail because:
1. you're loved, and they want to keep that love going.
AND/OR
2. they'd love you more if you'd love them more.
AND/OR
3. they love you so much that they want you to love them and no one else

Not helpful, I'll admit. Keep the faith. 👍
 
I think it's gotta be like the third option. I wouldn't imagine they'd email people they were so-so about.


But maybe I'm just full of ****.
 
Hate to be an attention *****, but I'm dissapointed that nobody liked my (witty) dingus comment to the troll.
 
Guys, the whole application process for MSTPs is pretty shady, so don't stress over subtle things like the e-mail. From my understanding, Skip sends out the e-mails to get a feel for whether people are interested in the program. Some people may have already been accepted into their number one program, and are no longer interested in Penn, so clearly he has an interest in making sure that they're not considering people who will definitely not matriculate.
 
well, i emailed dr. brass back-and got a reply back pretty quick. it basically said, 1. thanks for getting back to me, and 2. letters will be in the mail march 20 something. uhmmmmmm..... i'm going to try not to read into that. either way.
 
solitude said:
Hate to be an attention *****, but I'm dissapointed that nobody liked my (witty) dingus comment to the troll.
Click to expand...

I noticed it...just upset I didn't think of it first.....
 
Has anybody still not gotten this email other than me?
 
crimsonkid85 said:
well, i emailed dr. brass back-and got a reply back pretty quick. it basically said, 1. thanks for getting back to me, and 2. letters will be in the mail march 20 something. uhmmmmmm..... i'm going to try not to read into that. either way.
Click to expand...

i got the same response. we got in. i can tell.
 
well...let's definately hope for the best! i'll still keep my fingers crossed, just in case, though! 🙂
 
Does anyone know when Penn's revisit weekend is?
 
Did anyone reply to Skip and get an encouraging email back?
 
Just so everyone knows: Skip said in an email on Saturday that he is still hoping decisions will go out "20ish."
 
Do *all* decisions (accepted/rejected/waitlist) go out the same week?
 
All decisions, MD and MD/PhD, come out on the same day. Nobody is rejected post-inteview, only accepted or waitlisted. They give you your "tier" on the waitlist, which can be one of top of tier 1, tier 1, or tier 2 and in the past 2 years they told you your tier on your status page the day the decisions were relased.
 
Neuronix said:
All decisions, MD and MD/PhD, come out on the same day. Nobody is rejected post-inteview, only accepted or waitlisted. They give you your "tier" on the waitlist, which can be one of top of tier 1, tier 1, or tier 2 and in the past 2 years they told you your tier on your status page the day the decisions were relased.
Click to expand...

True, but I don't know about you but I got a personal email from Maggie telling me I got in before I actually received the packet (not sure they still do this since I am an old codger)

Does anyone know when Penn's revisit weekend is?
Click to expand...

Penn preview is always the last weekend in April, since that is when Penn relays is.

solitude said:
Hate to be an attention *****, but I'm dissapointed that nobody liked my (witty) dingus comment to the troll.
Click to expand...

I thought it was very clever and funny, sorry I didn't say so earlier - here ya go: :laugh:
 
Hard24Get said:
True, but I don't know about you but I got a personal email from Maggie telling me I got in before I actually received the packet (not sure they still do this since I am an old codger)
Click to expand...

That didn't happen to me but that's probably because I was on the waitlist until June. I do know they will tell people if they're rejected pretty quickly if they know them. My girlfriend, for example, was encouraged to apply by both Maggie and Skip (I didn't think she had a chance) and Maggie was nice enough to e-mail her promptly that she had been rejected.

As for accpetances, they say they don't let anyone know early, but who knows if that's true. It obviously hasn't been true forever.
 
Neuronix said:
That didn't happen to me but that's probably because I was on the waitlist until June. I do know they will tell people if they're rejected pretty quickly if they know them. My girlfriend, for example, was encouraged to apply by both Maggie and Skip (I didn't think she had a chance) and Maggie was nice enough to e-mail her promptly that she had been rejected.

As for accpetances, they say they don't let anyone know early, but who knows if that's true. It obviously hasn't been true forever.
Click to expand...

Since you were on waitlist, maybe you could answer a few questions. In the past, what has Penn's waitlist movement looked like? And since you may find out after the May 15 deadline for other schools, do you accept another offer and turn them down once you get Penn?
 
It's 20.
 
anka24 said:
In the past, what has Penn's waitlist movement looked like?
Click to expand...

Highly variable from year to year. Sometimes the waitlist barely moves and not everyone on top of tier 1 gets a spot. Sometimes we reach into tier 2. It's that hard to predict. Sometimes dozens of waitlist spots are offered, sometimes only a couple. Though from what I can tell, it has been getting more competitive over the years.

I was top of tier 1 with LOI and all that and I got off at the very end of May. In past years though I remember hearing that the waitlist didn't move as a matter of principle until after May 15h. That has changed because the later it gets the less people want to switch. For example, if I had heard from Penn a week later I probably wouldn't have come.

And since you may find out after the May 15 deadline for other schools, do you accept another offer and turn them down once you get Penn?
Click to expand...

The May 15th deadline is for holding 1 acceptance. If you get a second acceptance after that date, I think the AAMC guideline is that you get 2 weeks to decide on that second offer. You go back to holding one acceptance, it's just a question of whether it's the original acceptance or the new acceptance.
 
totalcommand said:
Did anyone here from them?

Are they mailing it out snail mail?
Click to expand...

(Quoting myself from the pre-allo UPenn decisions thread)
About MD/PhD decisions, they will come out the same day as MD decisions. Don't take Skip's word on the date. It's not up to him as to when the decisions are released.

All decisions will be posted to your admissions status page as well as sent out snail mail.
 
From the application status webpage:

ALL ADMISSIONS DECISIONS WILL BE ANNOUNCED THE WEEK OF MARCH 26.
 
Sashko said:
From the application status webpage:

ALL ADMISSIONS DECISIONS WILL BE ANNOUNCED THE WEEK OF MARCH 26.
Click to expand...

Yeah, my student group sent out an email saying the acceptances would be posted outside of suite 100 and sent to (or received by?) applicants on Monday. In any case, our interest group is doing a phone-a-thon Tuesday for Penn Preview, so you should know by then....

:luck: :luck: :luck:
 
I take it that the Penn MSTP second look (or "preview") is set for the weekend of April 28, is that right?
 
Oh Monday, an email may be sent, and the snail mail letters will definately be sent for MSTPers. I take 'may' to imply only those accepted will get a email.
 
So, will the page be updated then for all MSTP applicants? I was under the impression that everyone was sent an email informing them that decisions have been made. Yes, no, maybe?
 
Severus said:
So, will the page be updated then for all MSTP applicants? I was under the impression that everyone was sent an email informing them that decisions have been made. Yes, no, maybe?
Click to expand...

That's the way it's been in past years. If I remember correctly everyone got an e-mail regardless of their status and everyone's statuses are updated at the same time. Things do change from year to year so I can't say for sure how things will be this year.

Also, Penn Preview is the weekend mentioned, yes.
 
How are we holding up. Word is midnight tonight, although I think Tues/Weds is more realistic.
 
good luck everyone!
 
Accepted!!!!! Wooohoo!!!!

Good luck to everyone waiting!
 
Does anyone know if the PennPreview for MSTP is on the same days as the MD program, and whether the MSTP program will reimburse for travel expenses?

Congrats to all who's accepted 🙂.
 
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