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[SpreadKindness20]

Does Phi Beta Kappa count? National Merit Scholarships?

PBK is awarded at the school level as an evaluation of you against your peers at your school, so it would not be considered state/regional/national recognition.

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[ice cheems]

PBK is awarded at the school level as an evaluation of you against your peers at your school, so it would not be considered state/regional/national recognition.

Ah, school awards do not count at all? So I can't include the merit scholarships I applied for and received from my university? Darn

 

[SiberianIris]

Does Phi Beta Kappa count? National Merit Scholarships?

I'm including National Merit but not PBK (since, as noted above, it's awarded at specific chapters)

 

[SpreadKindness20]

Ah, school awards do not count at all? So I can't include the merit scholarships I applied for and received from my university? Darn

Unfortunately, for this particular question, I think not. You certainly could have included those as Honors/Awards in the activities section of your AMCAS. But here, a state-level award would be an award that people across your state were eligible for, out of which you were selected. Likewise, a national-level award would be an award that people across the country were eligible for, out of which you were selected.

 

[ice cheems]

Unfortunately, for this particular question, I think not. You certainly could have included those as Honors/Awards in the activities section of your AMCAS. But here, a state-level award would be an award that people across your state were eligible for, out of which you were selected. Likewise, a national-level award would be an award that people across the country were eligible for, out of which you were selected.

Makes sense, thank you! What exactly counts as a regional scholarship then? I applied to scholarships from an alumni club, and to qualify you had to be attending my university but also be from a specific area of the state. Would this still be too tied to the school level?

 

[notnotreggiebush]

For the "if you were offered an option to continue courses with a standard grading system or switch to Pass/Fail, and you chose Pass/Fail, please describe the reason(s) for your decision here" do I just not put anything if I didn't have the option? I was studying abroad and my only option was always P/F, even before COVID.

 

[mindstirfry]

can anyone check if they are able to save their response to the "why you elected for a pass/fail course" question. I want to know if it is an issue on my end or something wrong with the portal. i tried different browsers and still no fix. thanks!

 

[ice cheems]

For the "if you were offered an option to continue courses with a standard grading system or switch to Pass/Fail, and you chose Pass/Fail, please describe the reason(s) for your decision here" do I just not put anything if I didn't have the option? I was studying abroad and my only option was always P/F, even before COVID.

You can just write "My courses were mandated as Pass/Fail." Short and simple can't hurt if you're just explaining.

 

[Havelock Vetinari]

Submitted! Those character-count limits were like vices.

 

[Idahomie]

Submitted! Those character-count limits were like vices.

Yeah I had a hard time with a 1000 character why us essay, especially when Penn is my #1 dream school. Hopefully they think my desperation is sexy.

 

[electr!c]

Yeah I had a hard time with a 1000 character why us essay, especially when Penn is my #1 dream school. Hopefully they think my desperation is sexy.

Ugh same. I had like 3000 characters in my first draft of that one. So hard to decide what to cut out. Fingers crossed for us both!

 

[yellowranger]

Yeah I had a hard time with a 1000 character why us essay, especially when Penn is my #1 dream school. Hopefully they think my desperation is sexy.

feel like it kind of is tho right? like if they can feel u actually cringe level love the school feel like thats not a bad thing. it reminds me of sex - as quoted from a great hero of the springtime of youth, frank yang, "you wouldnt want to **** a corpse". the loving reciprocity matters

 

[ice cheems]

feel like it kind of is tho right? like if they can feel u actually cringe level love the school feel like thats not a bad thing. it reminds me of sex - as quoted from a great hero of the springtime of youth, frank yang, "you wouldnt want to **** a corpse". the loving reciprocity matters

every time I see your response on one of my watched threads I get so happy. I hope we get into the same school and can be friends <3 springtime of youth baby

 

[mindstirfry]

I also have a glitch

did you figure out how to fix it? I sent them an email hopefully they get back soon

 

[ice cheems]

Submitted! Those character-count limits were like vices.

for the why essay should I just stick with one interest/fit instead of trying to talk about multiple reasons for why Penn? because I feel like mine is basically just "because I like your research, service, and curriculum" ugh this essay rly making me feel like a clown

 

[yellowranger]

every time I see your response on one of my watched threads I get so happy. I hope we get into the same school and can be friends <3 springtime of youth baby

i feel the same way about ur doggo. odds are low but they were meant to beat - thats truly the springtime of youth

 

[Havelock Vetinari]

for the why essay should I just stick with one interest/fit instead of trying to talk about multiple reasons for why Penn? because I feel like mine is basically just "because I like your research, service, and curriculum" ugh this essay rly making me feel like a clown

I actually talked about CHOP. It’s the nation’s oldest children’s hospital, and it has a large global outreach arm. I know I want to work with kids, and I’ve some experience with medical work and program-building abroad, so it was perfect for me.

 

[cherubean]

I am also having an issue with the Pass/Fail prompt! The text I enter gets deleted every time I save my progress.

 

[nap4life]

did you figure out how to fix it? I sent them an email hopefully they get back soon

I'm also having the same problem would you please let us know what they say in the email?

 

[mdpls!]

for the why essay should I just stick with one interest/fit instead of trying to talk about multiple reasons for why Penn? because I feel like mine is basically just "because I like your research, service, and curriculum" ugh this essay rly making me feel like a clown

I briefly touched on each of these things, I didn't think to just focus on one thing

 

[frenchfries7]

When "describing your global activities outside the US", if you only had one experience (medial mission trip), how are you guys describing it? Simply just describing your tasks or writing about what you learned/get out of it?

 

[mdpls!]

When "describing your global activities outside the US", if you only had one experience (medial mission trip), how are you guys describing it? Simply just describing your tasks or writing about what you learned/get out of it?

the latter

 

[Lemonlime98]

Hey guys for the "describing your global activities" question, I was the president of a medical mission club and organized the trip but couldn't go last minute due to an illness. Should I write something to answer that question or no (bc I technically didn't volunteer abroad)

 

[SpreadKindness20]

Hey guys for the "describing your global activities" question, I was the president of a medical mission club and organized the trip but couldn't go last minute due to an illness. Should I write something to answer that question or no (bc I technically didn't volunteer abroad)

I likewise was lined up for a summer international internship but it fell through last minute due to funding. I haven't decided yet whether or not to mention it.

I think you probably could mention it, but I might suggest doing so in no more than a couple sentences since the prompt is really meant for actual experiences.

 

[frenchfries7]

How are we supposed to fit multiple legit, specific reasons for wanting to attend Perelman in 1000 CHARACTERS

 

[deleted1058832]

For the global activities prompt, should we only include stuff from college? I studied abroad and did an international volunteering trip during my senior year of high school, but it seems kind of silly to put high school stuff on my medical school application

 

[theOshow]

Is anyone else having a bug where the Pass/Fail question does not save your response?

 

[mindstirfry]

i just tried to save the pass/fail question and it works now I think! They still have not got back to my email yet tho

 

[SpreadKindness20]

Does anyone know if Penn is one of the schools conducting online interviews?

Also, do any of you know if Penn has an update portal? I heard most schools have one that opens in September, but I was wondering if Penn has one and when it would open.
By update portal, I mean it's where you add what you have done in your ECs in the months after you submitted your application.

Every school is conducting online interviews.

 

[ice cheems]

How are we supposed to fit multiple legit, specific reasons for wanting to attend Perelman in 1000 CHARACTERS

Someone gets me I know I could probably just pick one reason so I can expand more, but it feels crazy to only put ONE reason down for a Why Us essay. Like, what if they don't like that one reason? I might keep my multiple (non-expanded) reasons just to cover more ground, even though it's more shallow.

 

[theOshow]

i just tried to save the pass/fail question and it works now I think! They still have not got back to my email yet tho

they replied to my email. the bug is fixed!

 

[frenchfries7]

Someone gets me I know I could probably just pick one reason so I can expand more, but it feels crazy to only put ONE reason down for a Why Us essay. Like, what if they don't like that one reason? I might keep my multiple (non-expanded) reasons just to cover more ground, even though it's more shallow.

I literally just wrote about how I wanna pursue my research interests in-depth at Perelman as my research coincides with the mission of one of their specific institutes and then I talked about this one specific program in their curriculum that I liked since I have had a similar experience in undergrad... Barely fit it all and feels so empty with no intro/conclusion. Oh well.

 

[Snaketail]

Has anyone received a confirmation email after submitting? Have not received anything and just wanted to make sure that it was not just from my end...

I got an email basically immediately after submitting this weekend (probably auto-generated). It says: "Your application to the Perelman School of Medicine is now complete and is in the screening process." Does it say complete on your portal?

 

[LaPioche37]

Does anyone know if Penn is one of the schools conducting online interviews?

Also, do any of you know if Penn has an update portal? I heard most schools have one that opens in September, but I was wondering if Penn has one and when it would open.
By update portal, I mean it's where you add what you have done in your ECs in the months after you submitted your application.

Yea, I'm pretty sure they have an update portal. I remember them mentioning this during an info session before. Believe they said you could upload update letters/ docs through there. Not sure when it would open tho

 

[soccerplayerjc5]

Reposting: CA resident here, got 2° today. For #4 (state/regional/national award), does anyone know if a Regents Scholarship counts?

 

[squids82]

Reposting: CA resident here, got 2° today. For #4 (state/regional/national award), does anyone know if a Regents Scholarship counts?

I believe that's college-specific so I'd assume not

 

[soccerplayerjc5]

I believe that's college-specific so I'd assume not

Well, yes, sorta. It's specific to the UC system, but all UCs offer it. I received it at all of the UCs that I applied to, so that's why I'm not clear on whether or not it counts

 

[squids82]

Well, yes, sorta. It's specific to the UC system, but all UCs offer it. I received it at all of the UCs that I applied to, so that's why I'm not clear on whether or not it counts

I go to a state university as well and my state has something similar, but I'm only listing national and regional research awards since I think that's more in the spirit of what they're asking. You can always list it if you feel it qualifies since the worst thing that can happen is that it won't move the needle. I guess it just depends on how we read it

 

[katty213]

Well, yes, sorta. It's specific to the UC system, but all UCs offer it. I received it at all of the UCs that I applied to, so that's why I'm not clear on whether or not it counts

Since you can receive it at one UC and not another (I speak from experience), it's still college specific. I don't think it qualifies.

 

[soccerplayerjc5]

Since you can receive it at one UC and not another (I speak from experience), it's still college specific. I don't think it qualifies.

Bummer, thanks for your help!

 

[notyetaDr]

How should I address their school name. With only 1000 characters I can't waste them writing out Perelman School of Medicine multiple times. Is it ok to say UPenn or Perelman SOM or is that too informal? Can I say "your" or "this" school?

 

[Havelock Vetinari]

How should I address their school name. With only 1000 characters I can't waste them writing out Perelman School of Medicine multiple times. Is it ok to say UPenn or Perelman SOM or is that too informal? Can I say "your" or "this" school?

I used “PSOM.”

 

[jm95]

Should I answer the COVID-19 prompt if I wasn't personally affected other than disruptions in my volunteering plans?

 

[darwin101]

For the question about working at Penn or at CHOP, would doing an unpaid internship at a lab in CHOP count or no?

 

[deleted1038508]

nah, they ask about employment specifically. unpaid internship isn’t employment

Yeah "employment" means PAID @darwin101

 

[darwin101]

Thank you!

 

[rep_the_don]

For the gap year 500-character essay, how did others respond if they worked in a completely different career before deciding on medicine? I'm having trouble writing more than a brief summary of what I've done before deciding on medicine due to the brevity allowed.

 

[SpreadKindness20]

For the gap year 500-character essay, how did others respond if they worked in a completely different career before deciding on medicine? I'm having trouble writing more than a brief summary of what I've done before deciding on medicine due to the brevity allowed.

I, too, have several years of experience doing various things between college and application.

I would guess that if they only allot 500 characters, then all they want is a brief summary.

 

[rep_the_don]

I, too, have several years of experience doing various things between college and application.

I would guess that if they only allot 500 characters, then all they want is a brief summary.

Thanks for your reply. I figured that's likely what they wanted as well with only 500 characters. I've probably gotten too used to seeing the lengthier character maximums so I was unsure at first. It feels odd at first squeezing years of post-grad experience into a sentence or two, but hopefully I'd get to dive into relevant stories if given an interview.

Thanks again!

 

[456432]

Odd question, but what would you guys consider the lowest MCAT to still have a fair shot at UPenn? My GPA is stellar but MCAT isn't...optimal lol. Perelman would be a dream come true though.