Penn State Class of 2012

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rogerwilco said:
I'm not gonna turn this into a stupid internet fight, but I was referring to his reply directly to me, which seemed to suggest he wanted me to acquiesce to his request. Of course, his statements are spacy enough to be interpreted many different ways.

To clarify my original post to him, I was explaining that saying Penn and saying Penn State was referring to two different schools. It was in no way a way to flaunt any of my acceptances.
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If you quote another person, it is sort of natural for that person to quote you back, especially in a forum. Anyways, good luck to you.
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Getting back on track . . .

Most of the current PSU med students I've met so far have had great things to say about the school. One thing I have been told is that it's not the best place for young single people. Now obviously Hershey isn't a bevy of young socialites, and I know Harrisburg is nearby, but the thing they mentioned specifically was that it seemed as if a larger-than-usual proportion of their class was married/engaged/in a serious relationship already, shrinking the already small pool of potential mates.

Clearly this shouldn't be the only thing someone bases their decision on, but I'm interested to hear from other current/past students on here. Thanks!
 
Shrink7 said:
Fitnesspremed, I would go to Tulane. I know a few people who have gone there. They all had good things to say about the teachers, education, and diversity of the student class. rogerwilco, you're a prick. I'm sorry, I just had to throw that out there. I can't wait to meet all of you guys in the near future. Congrats to all.
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So what does Tulane have over Penn State? Just wondering, since I'm concerned about post-Katrina stuff. Thanks for your help!
 
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just joined sdn so i could post to this thread :)
i'll be at 2nd look and i'm excited - most likely i'll be your classmate in the fall!
 
is it best to live on campus nest year or are people finding apratments elsewhere?
 
Hey everyone,

I will probably be attending Penn State in the Fall, but I've also been accepted at a cheaper state school, and I am still trying to decide between the two schools. I really liked Penn State when I visited, but I am concerned about living in Hershey. If any of the current medical students could let me know how they like the school and the location, I would really appreciate it.
Thanks! :)

Oh, and this is completely unrelated, but does anyone have the link for the facebook group? I couldn't find it whenever I searched on the site.
 
lilmisssunshine said:
is it best to live on campus nest year or are people finding apratments elsewhere?
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I'm looking off campus - the on campus housing doesn't look too spectacular and they wont allow pets - not even my tortoise which stays in a terrarium:rolleyes:

That being said (and if i don't hear good news from my state school this week) I'll be looking at apartments. I'm thinking of getting a townhome so I can have a garage to work on my car/friends' cars (hobby); most of which are 3-bedrooms, so if anyone is interested in going in on it with me, let me know. I'll probably be at the second look to find housing.
 
I'm not sure if anyone knows the answer to this, but if I get an apartment off campus will the school still provide aid to help me pay for it?
 
If you live off campus, the school will still give you aid. In fact, they will actually give you a little bit more money because off campus is slightly more expensive. Here's a link to the student budgets so you can see what aid you would receive: http://www.hmc.psu.edu/md/financialaid/budget.html. Hope that helps.
 
Man, this thread is pretty dead compared to last year's. Maybe it's because a lot of the talk last year was about the waitlist, whereas now people realize PSU's waitlist isn't always very kind? Either way, I'm really excited about second look . . . I live pretty close to Hershey but I've only been to the medical campus once for my interview so I'm looking forward to seeing/learning more in a lower stress situation.
 
Does anyone know the schedule of 2nd look? I have to be back in Virginia at 8 that night but really want to go. Thanks guys!
Also- I heard most students live on campus- is that true? And someone mentioned that they thought a lot of students were married/had families. I am not looking for that environment, so I was hoping you all could help me figure out what the student body is like :)
 
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From what I understand a lot of med schools have people who are married and or have kids. Reason being average age is going up and non traditional student matriculation is also rising. Also Hershey seems to be a nice safe community heck if I had a family I would move em there just for that. Quick question is class attendance mandatory? I mean I know anatomy and any clinical skills type classes will be. however, from what I've heard from old friends in med school and out of med school who have similar personality as myself in terms of motivation they found studying the through class time helped them more than afterwards. Is this possible to do?
 
I have a really important question. I am trying to decide between schools, and penn state is where I want to go but---for some of the other schools I have been accepted to I know that their USMLE pass rate is high and in the 90th percentile. Does anyone here know Penn States? They didn't mention anything in the interview, which really worries me. If anyone can give me a number or any more insight on this it would be great! Thank you so much.
 
lilmisssunshine said:
I have a really important question. I am trying to decide between schools, and penn state is where I want to go but---for some of the other schools I have been accepted to I know that their USMLE pass rate is high and in the 90th percentile. Does anyone here know Penn States? They didn't mention anything in the interview, which really worries me. If anyone can give me a number or any more insight on this it would be great! Thank you so much.
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They just gave us the info for the current 3rd year class. Our average score was 222 (I think...it was one point higher than the national avg, whatever that is) and of 151 people taking the test for the first time, 149 passed, putting our pass rate at almost 99% (national avg 94). In the second year, Penn State requires you to take the NBME comprehensive basic science test and although passing is not required, a very low score will get you a meeting with one of the deans to make sure you are on track for the USMLE. How well you do is up to you, but this years data suggests that Penn State gives you the tools to succeed.
 
I know matchlists aren't a good reason at all to pick a school, but I'm just curious to see PSU's list from this year. Anyone have it?
 
Hey all,
Current students- what is your daily/weekly class schedule like- as in, are you in class from 8-5 everyday? Or on a given week is it more variable day by day. A few schools I'm looking at really stressed how few hours they spend in class and how that really helps with study time, so I'm wondering how much time we'll actually spend in school. Thanks!!
 
Hey guys. Just got my acceptance letter today! I'll probably be seeing some of you at second look.
 
Hey everyone, if you have a minute today, can you go to the website below and vote for the Penn State Children's Hospital?

http://www.colgate.com/app/Colgate/...ght-Childrens-Foundation/vote/Pittsburgh.cvsp

We're in competition with a few other hospitals to get a brand new playground for the Children's Hospital and voting ends soon. Right now we are in second place by only 1% and only the winner gets the playground. You can only vote once in a 24 hr period. Please vote today and tomorrow.

Thanks!
 
fitnesspremed said:
Hey all,
Current students- what is your daily/weekly class schedule like- as in, are you in class from 8-5 everyday? Or on a given week is it more variable day by day. A few schools I'm looking at really stressed how few hours they spend in class and how that really helps with study time, so I'm wondering how much time we'll actually spend in school. Thanks!!
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I've attached our spring schedule in two parts, a single pdf was over the 300 kb limit.

That should provide the best view of a typical day of first year after anatomy ends.

On average, I'd say we have between 9 & 12 lectures a week and 2-3 outside commitments (humanities, microbio lab, pbl, patient encounters, etc).

Does that help? Feel free to ask, I'm a first year and will help if I can.

Also, someone asked about being single here. Yeah, it can be a downer sometimes but there is always H-burg & it's not that impossible to go to Boston, NY, Philly, etc on the weekends if you manage your time.
 

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  • CMBMP Spring Schedule.pdf
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Thanks for the PDF, future_dr_house! Quick question . . . do you ever feel like you're in class "too much?" Or at least compared to any other med students you know at other schools. I know Maryland almost only has morning lectures/labs (with a few exceptions). Do you ever feel like you're in class too long and don't have enough time to actually study and learn the stuff on your own?
 
thanks so much for the info!
my parents both went to school up there and said a lot of the younger traditional students hung out together in the on campus apts and went out together- so it wasn't too lonely for the younger/single crowd- is that still the case or is it more nontrads?
i love central PA, but if i'm going to school up there i was hoping the class would be close and hang out together a lot to avoid being bored... :)
 
By the way, I don't know if this is helpful to anyone, but here's a breakdown of how many people matched into their specialties (but with location omitted, sorry).


Penn State

Family Medicine
Anesthesiology
Anesthesiology
Anesthesiology
Anesthesiology
Anesthesiology
Anesthesiology
Anesthesiology
Anesthesiology
Anesthesiology
Anesthesiology
Dermatology
Dermatology
Emergency Medicine
Emergency Medicine
Emergency Medicine
Emergency Medicine
Emergency Medicine
Family Medicine
Family Medicine
Family Medicine
Family Medicine
Family Medicine
Family Medicine
Family Medicine
Family Medicine
Family Medicine
Family Medicine
Family Medicine
Family Medicine
Family Medicine
Family Medicine
Family Medicine
Family Medicine
Family Medicine
General Surgery
General Surgery
General Surgery
General Surgery
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine
Internal Medicine- Prelim
Medicine-Pediatrics
Medicine-Pediatrics
Medicine-Pediatrics
Medicine-Pediatrics
Medicine-Pediatrics
Medicine-Preliminary
Neurosurgery
Obstetrics-Gynecology
Obstetrics-Gynecology
Obstetrics-Gynecology
Obstetrics-Gynecology
Obstetrics-Gynecology
Obstetrics-Gynecology
Obstetrics-Gynecology
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology
Orthopaedic Surgery
Orthopaedic Surgery
Orthopaedic Surgery
Orthopaedic Surgery
Otolaryngology
Pathology
Pathology
Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry
Rad-Diag/Research
Radiology-Diagnostic
Radiology-Diagnostic
Radiology-Diagnostic
Radiology-Diagnostic
Surgery- Prelim
Surgery- Prelim
Surgery- Prelim
Surgery- Preliminary
Transitional
Urology
 
How many of you are going to the second look day? It's still scheduled for Saturday, April 12 right?
 
rogerwilco said:
do you ever feel like you're in class "too much?" Or at least compared to any other med students you know at other schools. I know Maryland almost only has morning lectures/labs (with a few exceptions). Do you ever feel like you're in class too long and don't have enough time to actually study and learn the stuff on your own?
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.
 
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future_dr_house said:
The beauty of it, is that with our online video system (mediasite) if it sucks, you don't go to the next one.
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Is this a site where all lectures are recorded/posted? I seem to recall someone asking about videotaped lectures at PSU during my interview day and we were told there was no such thing. I could be confusing this with another school though.
 
Oh, for second look, what's the appropriate attire? Sorry for all the posts.
 
rogerwilco said:
Is this a site where all lectures are recorded/posted? I seem to recall someone asking about videotaped lectures at PSU during my interview day and we were told there was no such thing. I could be confusing this with another school though.
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Yep. Here's a link with some general lectures: http://media1.hmc.psu.edu/mediasite/Catalog/

Our lectures are in a specific place on the site and require a psu id and password otherwise I'd give you a link to our lectures.
 
rogerwilco said:
Oh, for second look, what's the appropriate attire? Sorry for all the posts.
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You're activities will include seeing the campus, meeting other ppl from your class and our class, so probably business casual (dress shirt/polo and khakis)

Late night activities will probably include dinner and bars or something, our activities planner hasn't let us know what it is unless we're hosting students. So bring a change of clothes for that if you like.

Or just pack a banana hammock, we don't care that much.
 
future_dr_house said:
Yep. Here's a link with some general lectures: http://media1.hmc.psu.edu/mediasite/Catalog/

Our lectures are in a specific place on the site and require a psu id and password otherwise I'd give you a link to our lectures.
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This might be a dumb question, but are all your normal daily lectures recorded? Or is it just special seminars/guest lecturers? I'm just wondering since I know some schools record (either visually or auditory) all lectures given every day and post them online.
 
rogerwilco said:
Same here.
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ditto. at least it sounds like theres already a handful of us looking to have fun along with being huge nerds.

Dangerzone, I don't have my flight set up yet, but I'm most likely going to 2nd look - gotta find an apartment (and roommates?)
 
future_dr_house said:
You're activities will include seeing the campus, meeting other ppl from your class and our class, so probably business casual (dress shirt/polo and khakis)

Late night activities will probably include dinner and bars or something, our activities planner hasn't let us know what it is unless we're hosting students. So bring a change of clothes for that if you like.

Or just pack a banana hammock, we don't care that much.
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Tempting... but I think I'll stick with jeans lol. So if we're staying with a student Friday night do you think we'll be going out- or is that a Saturday night thing? I'm excited to meet you all!
 
fitnesspremed said:
my parents both went to school up there and said a lot of the younger traditional students hung out together in the on campus apts and went out together- so it wasn't too lonely for the younger/single crowd- is that still the case or is it more nontrads?
i love central PA, but if i'm going to school up there i was hoping the class would be close and hang out together a lot to avoid being bored... :)
Click to expand...
Yes we definitely hang out with each other a lot. Coming from an urban environment, I think I would go stir crazy without close friends here. People throw a lot of apartment parties, have pot lucks, general hanging out stuff. You quickly find your niche and it's great.

rogerwilco said:
are all your normal daily lectures recorded? Or is it just special seminars/guest lecturers? I'm just wondering since I know some schools record (either visually or auditory) all lectures given every day and post them online.
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All of them are recorded except anatomy, which you won't want to miss. Dr. Zagon and Evey are wonderful teachers and you make friends in class.

fitnesspremed said:
So if we're staying with a student Friday night do you think we'll be going out- or is that a Saturday night thing?
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Sorry, I'm not sure. We have a test on Thursday so I'm a little out of the loop for 2nd look.
 
Thanks for all the info, fdh. Do you (or anyone else) know what the agenda is for second look? Even just a rough outline would be great.
 
hi everyone. congrats to those who got in!! i absolutely loved penn state when i interviewed. unfortunately, im wait listed...

does anyone know how admission works after interviews? do they reject those who interviewed at all, or do they just wait list everyone if they're not accepted? do people get off the wait list before may 15?

i want to get in so much... :(
 
hey everybody!

I was just wondering what any of the girls plan on wearing to the second look day? Does anyone in general know what the dress code is or what is traditionally worn?? thanks!
 
SpicyNoodles said:
hi everyone. congrats to those who got in!! i absolutely loved penn state when i interviewed. unfortunately, im wait listed...

does anyone know how admission works after interviews? do they reject those who interviewed at all, or do they just wait list everyone if they're not accepted? do people get off the wait list before may 15?

i want to get in so much... :(
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I had the same feelings about Penn St. Unfortunately for me, PSU costs more than twice as much as one of my state schools. I am agonizing over the decision of where to go.
I haven't heard much talk about the WL situation at Penn St, so I can't really answer your question. But if you haven't already, I would write them a letter of interest, since you loved the school so much. I'm not much of an LOI writer, but I wrote a very sincere thank you note/letter of interest to Penn State a couple of weeks after my interview, and I got a very prompt acceptance. I'm not sure if my letter made a difference, but it couldn't hurt.
Good luck!
 
mdgator said:
I had the same feelings about Penn St. Unfortunately for me, PSU costs more than twice as much as one of my state schools. I am agonizing over the decision of where to go.
I haven't heard much talk about the WL situation at Penn St, so I can't really answer your question. But if you haven't already, I would write them a letter of interest, since you loved the school so much. I'm not much of an LOI writer, but I wrote a very sincere thank you note/letter of interest to Penn State a couple of weeks after my interview, and I got a very prompt acceptance. I'm not sure if my letter made a difference, but it couldn't hurt.
Good luck!
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Hey congrats on the FSU acceptance, I just saw that. In all honesty, as much as I love PSU and as great a school I feel it to be, I can't imagine you'd be getting any where near twice the education than at FSU. At nearly half the price, FSU is probably your best option. Of course, I have never been to FSU and maybe they have serial killers that teach the lectures, but assuming there are no such extreme problems, FSU (and a hell of a lot less debt) is probably looking pretty good for you.
 
SpicyNoodles said:
hi everyone. congrats to those who got in!! i absolutely loved penn state when i interviewed. unfortunately, im wait listed...

does anyone know how admission works after interviews? do they reject those who interviewed at all, or do they just wait list everyone if they're not accepted? do people get off the wait list before may 15?

i want to get in so much... :(
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I don't know about this year, but I believe in the past few years there has been very very little waitlist movement (last year they even overaccepted I think, and offered accepted students incentives to defer a year). I'd imagine they've been a good bit more conservative with the number of outright acceptances they're doling out this year, so maybe there will be some more waitlist movement.

You going to second look?
 
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