===Penn State Class of 2011===

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me too, I have not received mine yet. By the way, did you guys get your second look schedule? I have nothing so far. :(
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I haven't gotten the schedule either--didn't they say in the initial email that it would be sent as soon as we rsvp-d?
 
Nothing here..after i sent in the RSVP i just got a confirmation email saying we would get the schedule later
 
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Hey everyone, what are you all doing the summer before med school? Also, when is everyone planning on moving in? I'm thinking the last week of July ?
 
hey any advice for someone trying to get off Penn State's Wait List?? HELP! I think it is the perfect school for me---i would be SO SO Happy there...<sigh>

Also, does anyone know when the start date is?
 
Keep in touch with the Admissions Office if you are waitlisted. Send this semester grades, a letter of intention, a sheet of additions to your resume. Let them know that you will come if you are accepted. Traditionally, Penn State continues to accept people right up to orientation. Don't give up if you think it is the school for you.
 
LilMango said:
hey any advice for someone trying to get off Penn State's Wait List?? HELP! I think it is the perfect school for me---i would be SO SO Happy there...<sigh>

Also, does anyone know when the start date is?
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Like MDMAMA said, all you can really do is show them how much you love PSU. Good luck! :luck:
 
Finally got my financial aid letter..... all loans here too.
 
Carmenita79 said:
Finally got my financial aid letter..... all loans here too.
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Your post has led to me calling my house to see if I got mine too... too bad noone is home. I received a confirmation of second-look today as well.
 
NYyanx28 said:
Your post has led to me calling my house to see if I got mine too... too bad noone is home. I received a confirmation of second-look today as well.
Click to expand...
I just got in touch with the financial office...

$2,000 Perkins loan
$8,500 Subsidized Stafford loan
$34,222 Unsubsidized Stafford loan
$14,986 Grad PLUS loan

Excellent. $59,708 in loans.
 
Today, No Financial Aid yet.
Just wondering, how many schools you guys here get accepted and why you guys picked PSU? I've accepted to 3 MD schools (included my state school). The cost of tution here looks scary. After 4 years, we're in debt for 240,000. That's a LOT of money. Are you guys going for specialities or primary care?
Thanks for your sharing your thoughts.
 
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8500 sub
34222 unsub
5120 grad plus

what is this grad plus about? is this going to be enough to cover my expenses??
Soooo confused :(
 
How is it that they allocate 355 dollars per month for rent and utilities in our budget?? is that enough? i highly doubt it...if its not, what do people do? can you take out more loans or do you have to find a way to pay out of pocket?
 
Also, will the amount change per year?
 
yalla22 said:
How is it that they allocate 355 dollars per month for rent and utilities in our budget?? is that enough? i highly doubt it...if its not, what do people do? can you take out more loans or do you have to find a way to pay out of pocket?
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I was confused about this also, esp since on-campus is the cheapest alternative. Unless they are figuring for only 9-10 months w/o the summer? I was just going to take the extra money from "transportation" and allocate it to housing since my car is all paid off.
 
DrAverageJoe said:
I just got an updated Fin Aid Letter.

Fed Pell Grant $0
Fed Sub Stafford Loan $8500
Fed Unsub Stafford Loan $34222

Total: $42722


Estimated Total Educational Expenses: $59708


Ugh :(
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Thats strange that they didn't include the grad plus loan for you.... do you have a really high EFC or something?
 
catau said:
Today, No Financial Aid yet.
Just wondering, how many schools you guys here get accepted and why you guys picked PSU? I've accepted to 3 MD schools (included my state school). The cost of tution here looks scary. After 4 years, we're in debt for 240,000. That's a LOT of money. Are you guys going for specialities or primary care?
Thanks for your sharing your thoughts.
Click to expand...

Yeah, its definitely a lot and I was feeling really worried about it too, but a friend of mine reminded me that the interest is tax deductable, so I did the math and say you have $250,000 in loans at 6.8%, and pay it back over 15years. And say you make $200,000 when you are done with residency, your take home pay after loans and federal taxes would be:

WITH SCHOOL DEBT=$132,990 ($11,083/mo)
NO SCHOOL DEBT= $154,018 ($12,834/mo)

You have to admit that the lifestyle difference between 11k/mo and 12.8k wouldn't be that bad. Granted if you were going into something where the pay is closer to 100k/year, it might be more dramatic
 
Carmenita79 said:
Yeah, its definitely a lot and I was feeling really worried about it too, but a friend of mine reminded me that the interest is tax deductable, so I did the math and say you have $250,000 in loans at 6.8%, and pay it back over 15years. And say you make $200,000 when you are done with residency, your take home pay after loans and federal taxes would be:

Without SCHOOL DEBT=$132,990 ($11,083/mo)
WithSCHOOL DEBT= $154,018 ($12,834/mo)

You have to admit that the lifestyle difference between 11k/mo and 12.8k wouldn't be that bad. Granted if you were going into something where the pay is closer to 100k/year, it might be more dramatic
Click to expand...

I think... right?
 
NYyanx28 said:
I think... right?
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The way I had it was right, because I subracted out taxes and your student loan payments..... so the people with loans would have less at the end (but still a pretty comfortable living).... hope that makes sense.
 
Carmenita79 said:
The way I had it was right, because I subracted out taxes and your student loan payments..... so the people with loans would have less at the end (but still a pretty comfortable living).... hope that makes sense.
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Yea yea, I see now... good point, it really isn't that big of a deal. Also think about it this way, that is $200,000 of your salary. Remember that by the time we are all out of residency, we may be married and have a joint income of >$300,000... not too shabby.
 
In regards to the student loans interest

May I refer you to the IRS website
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p970/ch04.html#d0e5087

Your student loan interest deduction for 2006 is generally the smaller of:

$2,500, or

The interest you paid in 2006.

However, the amount determined above may be gradually reduced (phased out) or eliminated based on your filing status and modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) as explained below.


The amount of your student loan interest deduction is phased out (gradually reduced) if your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is between $50,000 and $65,000 ($105,000 and $135,000 if you file a joint return). You cannot take a student loan interest deduction if your MAGI is $65,000 or more ($135,000 or more if you file a joint return).
 
Ok, so I got my updated financial aid award letter:

Perkins--4000
Sub. Stafford--8500
Unsub. Stafford--34222

Where's my GradPlus loan? My EFC is 0! Is this a mistake? Does anyone have advice?
 
Call the fin aid office..they will go through it all with you, including many scenarios of changing EFC. Overall, it looks like we will all be in debt up to our elbows no matter what - PSU does not like parting with free money.
 
Lets get a list of housing places people are looking into together:

I've heard that people live in "briarcrest" - i did some investigation and its gotten absolutely terrible reviews...
http://www.apartmentratings.com/rate/PA-Hershey-Briarcrest-Gardens.html
So i'm staying away from that....other than that, what are some other apt complexes that first years usually live in?
 
i am glad you posted that....that sounds miserable to live there and that was what I was thinking...I think there is something else called rosedale and somewhere else thats like arctic place or something? anyone there feel free to correct me or comment
 
I actually went down to look at a few places already...

Here are some suggestions -
www.desouzabrown.com has a few places in the area - springford and terraces at springford are nice, and about a 15 minute drive. Click on the luxery apt. link to see all they have.

Briarcrest looks ghetto...but is a decent price, and VERY close to the med center (walking distance).

Alpine Heights is nice, and very close (walking distance).

There are actually a ton of places around. I suggest looking at Harrisburg as well as Hershey - they are very close together, and Harrisburg has better prices.

Private apartments are available from www.pennlive.com real estate section.

Good luck!
 
freetheyaz said:
I actually went down to look at a few places already...

Here are some suggestions -
www.desouzabrown.com has a few places in the area - springford and terraces at springford are nice, and about a 15 minute drive. Click on the luxery apt. link to see all they have.

Briarcrest looks ghetto...but is a decent price, and VERY close to the med center (walking distance).

Alpine Heights is nice, and very close (walking distance).

There are actually a ton of places around. I suggest looking at Harrisburg as well as Hershey - they are very close together, and Harrisburg has better prices.

Private apartments are available from www.pennlive.com real estate section.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the post! the first link has some really nice apts on it that i definitely plan on checking out..i still cant get over their 400 dollar per month housing budget :( seriously, thats crazy, all of these places are like 850-900 per month!
 
catau said:
Today, No Financial Aid yet.
Just wondering, how many schools you guys here get accepted and why you guys picked PSU? I've accepted to 3 MD schools (included my state school). The cost of tution here looks scary. After 4 years, we're in debt for 240,000. That's a LOT of money. Are you guys going for specialities or primary care?
Thanks for your sharing your thoughts.
Click to expand...

Hey Catau, I just called Fin Aid, they said they are uploading AMCAS info tonight for Admission and financial aid purposes. If everything goes smoothly and proper changes were made, we should get ours around April 25th. Also, the financial package will matter more if you submitted your FAFSA by the deadline as oppose to all these delays (which hopefully is true).
 
catau said:
Today, No Financial Aid yet.
Just wondering, how many schools you guys here get accepted and why you guys picked PSU? I've accepted to 3 MD schools (included my state school). The cost of tution here looks scary. After 4 years, we're in debt for 240,000. That's a LOT of money. Are you guys going for specialities or primary care?
Thanks for your sharing your thoughts.
Click to expand...

Hey catau,

I've been accepted to 4 schools--PSU, 2 other private schools, and one of my state schools. Although I am heavily leaning towards PSU, it is the most expensive of the four. I've gotten my award letter from PSU (it's expensive) and I'm waiting on the award letter from my state school, which should arrive by the end of this week. If they offer me a lot of money (and the tuition alone is already half that of PSU), I'll have to do some seriously thinking.

As for why I like PSU and am inclined to choose it over the others, PM me and I'll let you know in full detail. :)
 
bunsoy5,
thanks for your information. I'm going to call Fin Aid this Friday to see my status. What do you mean by "FA package will matter more if you submitted by deadline" Are you going to this second look?
Thanks.
P/S did you get accepted some where else?

Bunsoy5 said:
Hey Catau, I just called Fin Aid, they said they are uploading AMCAS info tonight for Admission and financial aid purposes. If everything goes smoothly and proper changes were made, we should get ours around April 25th. Also, the financial package will matter more if you submitted your FAFSA by the deadline as oppose to all these delays (which hopefully is true).
Click to expand...
 
catau said:
bunsoy5,
thanks for your information. I'm going to call Fin Aid this Friday to see my status. What do you mean by "FA package will matter more if you submitted by deadline" Are you going to this second look?
Thanks.
P/S did you get accepted some where else?
Click to expand...

I called today and they still haven't uploaded my AMCAS info. They said that both preferred and permanent addresses should match my state residence. It's a little frustating b/c I want to get everything taken care of before I leave the country, they said check back next week. As for second look, I'm not sure yet, probably not though. Penn State is an easy choice for me; it's the only school that has accepted me (Amen!) and I'm wait-listed at 2 other schools (which I think are of lower caliber anyway, so I'm likely to withdraw them). I can go on and on about this, e-mail me if you want to further discuss this. Ciao!
 
For the current med. students at Penn State, do you guys think you are happier than most other medical students? I was wondering and hoping this is true.

When I interviewed, I met two first years and a second year. I was relieved to find out that they did not seem like they were totally burnt out and completely hated life. Instead, they seemed laid back and content, some students actually approached me in the hallway to say they loved Penn State!! This is in great contrast to my other interviews where our group tour would be interrupted by stressed out students telling us not to go to medical school and that they hated this or that about the school. Is this your impression???

Also, is it common at Penn State, as it seems to be at other schools, for a majority of students NOT to attend lecture?

Thanks!!
 
Leslieanne said:
For the current med. students at Penn State, do you guys think you are happier than most other medical students? I was wondering and hoping this is true.

When I interviewed, I met two first years and a second year. I was relieved to find out that they did not seem like they were totally burnt out and completely hated life. Instead, they seemed laid back and content, some students actually approached me in the hallway to say they loved Penn State!! This is in great contrast to my other interviews where our group tour would be interrupted by stressed out students telling us not to go to medical school and that they hated this or that about the school. Is this your impression???

Also, is it common at Penn State, as it seems to be at other schools, for a majority of students NOT to attend lecture?

Thanks!!
Click to expand...

Hi-

now isn't the best time to ask these questions. we just had our final exam in statistics and we've got our first micro/immunology exam on monday. :) either way, personally, i'm pretty content here (as far as school goes). when i interviewed, i noticed the students at PSU were very friendly and not stressed out (this is one of the things that really struck me about the school) and it's not just for show. i think, now that the first year is almost over, that most of us are a bit burnt out, but who wouldn't be after a year of intense studying? the group (at least my class) works hard but they play hard too. as for attending lecture, the majority of our class DOES attend lecture. there are the occasional professors who aren't the best lecturers and attendance does drop. however, most of the time the classroom is pretty full.

as for housing...many people live in briarcrest. others in rosedale, alpine heights, hershey heights and others yet live in houses they've found. the first years are working on a housing list for attendees of second look. we're planning on sending an email out to the student body asking for open houses/rooms/etc, price, availability and contact info so that might be something to consider as well if you can afford to wait a couple of weeks.

-lt
 
bunsoy05,
I called Fin Aid yesterday and they told me that I was recognized as an international student ( what the heck???). I told them my problem and the promised to help. Today, Admissions sent me an email tell me to correct the problem with AMCAS. I'm really frustrated because it took them 2 weeks to say that I need to go back to AMCAS. Anyway, thanks for those who read this. I'll see you guys all soon.
My state school offered me a partial scholarship, however, I'm still waiting for Fin Aid from PSU.
To current student: how you guys doing on MSR so far? Did you have to pick a topic by the end of this year? I would love to hear more about this. MD/PhD is too long for me but an MD with thesis is great enough.
 
L2T...

Can you please make that housing list available to some of us who are not able to make the second look? I am really interested to see some of the options other then those I have seen on apartment search engines and what not. Thanks,

Nubs
 
catau said:
bunsoy05,
I called Fin Aid yesterday and they told me that I was recognized as an international student ( what the heck???). I told them my problem and the promised to help. Today, Admissions sent me an email tell me to correct the problem with AMCAS. I'm really frustrated because it took them 2 weeks to say that I need to go back to AMCAS. Anyway, thanks for those who read this. I'll see you guys all soon.
My state school offered me a partial scholarship, however, I'm still waiting for Fin Aid from PSU.
To current student: how you guys doing on MSR so far? Did you have to pick a topic by the end of this year? I would love to hear more about this. MD/PhD is too long for me but an MD with thesis is great enough.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's part of the whole database/system change. . . we should demand a full-ride scholarship (lol)! Also, a follow-up question from catau, when is the MSR usually done (summer, first year, whenever?)
 
L2T or any other med students,

do most students live off campus first year or in the dorms? i am thinking that i want to live in an area with the most first years, whether that is off or on campus. also, do most people find roommates for first year?
 
yalla22 said:
L2T or any other med students,

do most students live off campus first year or in the dorms? i am thinking that i want to live in an area with the most first years, whether that is off or on campus. also, do most people find roommates for first year?
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat... I applied for on-campus housing already and just put down "Any first year M.D. student" under preference. If anyone on here would like to room on-campus give a holler. I figure it's better to do that then to go in completely blind as per the roommate situation.
 
Just being neurotic, but we didn't have to reply or sign anything on the financial aid award letter, correct? My mom opened it for me and surprisingly I didn't have worry about signing it since I'm 160 miles from home.
 
NYyanx28 said:
Just being neurotic, but we didn't have to reply or sign anything on the financial aid award letter, correct? My mom opened it for me and surprisingly I didn't have worry about signing it since I'm 160 miles from home.
Click to expand...

No need to worry, there wasn't a place for a signature.
 
Hello fellow Penn Staters... As of 12/21 I have been accepted to Penn State! :)
I'm also on a few waitlists- so we'll see how this plays out...
I just have a quick question. Is anyone that plans to attend PSU a practicing Jew? Thanks!
 
hey all, I was accepted in Dec but just discovered this thread. I got the same financial aid package and found it pretty depressing, but a friend in med school reassured me that I'd have enough money to live on.

how many students have cars? i'm going to try to live on campus and not get a car for the first year, does that seem plausible?

I can't wait to start school already!
 
Hello all, I have been accepted to Penn State since early March. I had not been on this thread that much. I actually discovered it yesterday. As of this point, this is my only acceptance. I am on my state school's hold list, and I have to hear back from a private school. I called them today, and even though it has been exactly 2 months from my interview, they told me that they had not made a decision yet.

Any way, I am sorry if this may sound redundant, but I did not have time to read all the posts in this thread. I was one of the people to receive that email from Penn State regarding me not being a US Citizen and how I should change my state of residency to blank. The email was sent about 20 days ago, but I complied very quickly. I thought the problem was the fact that in my AMCAS it listed me as permanent resident, but during the application process I got my citizenship. So after talking to AMCAS, I decided that I should just change my status to US citizen on AMCAS.

Anyway, I also went to my premed advisor and showed her the email and my response to Penn State. She was confused and called Penn State right in front of me. They told her that this is something new that Penn State is trying, and as long as I complied I would be OK. I was also told that I would be contacted if there were any problems. My advisor even told me to go back to see her after a week. I did, but by that time I had not heard anything from them. Today I called financial aid to ask them about my financial aid application. They told me that I was not in the system yet, because I was one of the people who received one of those emails. The nice lady told me to call back on Wed. By that time, they probably will have me in their system.

As days go by, it seems that I will most likely be going to Penn State next year. I just heard back from my state school that I was put on a post-interview hold. All these said, I am trying my best to speed up my financial aid, etc. at Penn State.

I should also start looking into housing. By the way, have you guys paid the deposit fee yet. Now that I did not get into my state school right away I should probably send in my check ASAP.

Anyway, do you guys have any suggestions for housings? I have looked into their website, but I would also appreciate your feedback. Sorry for the long post! I hope to see you all in Aug.! :)
 
Welcome Futuredoc1364!
 
On campus housing is great, Recently updated, washer and dryer in apts. It is convenient and a great way to meet fellow students. Lots of people have cars so you don't absolutely need one. Good luck to all
 
WCGee said:
Welcome Futuredoc1364!
Click to expand...

Thanks WCGee!

Just to be sure, could I possibly get a timeline of the things we need to send in to the admissions office?

So far I have only submitted the interest form for financial aid along with my indication of acceptance of course.:rolleyes:

I know the deposit is due May 15, and the health forms are due June 1st. As long as I have realized, it seems that the housing forms don't have a due date and housing is assigned on a first come first serve basis, right?

Am I missing any other things here? Since this is my only acceptance, I have to do everything right. :laugh:

Can't wait to meet you all in August! :cool:
 
Don't forget your immunization/health history forms are due by June 1st...
 
I have a question about campus housing (I haven't read through all of the campus housing info yet, so the answer may be in there) but does anyone know if the campus housing has a "lease"? For me, I am moving out in July and my boyfriend wants to move out too but not until the fall (maybe October), would it be possible just to request campus housing for a couple of months and then move out mid-semester. Also what is the policy on guests? I have been looking at other options online, but the campus apts seem so convenient.
 
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