Penn State Class of 2012

[SpicyNoodles]

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?

i don't know anything about second look other than what i've read on your guys' posts. i assumed it's only for those who got accepted.

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[87138]

i don't know anything about second look other than what i've read on your guys' posts. i assumed it's only for those who got accepted.

Ah crap, maybe it is. Sorry. I know some schools invite waitlisters (or at least a portion of them) to the second look as well. My bad.

 

[swim2006]

Hi everyone, I just got accepted from the waitlist and I am 90% sure I will going to Penn State in the fall unless I hear from any other school I am waitlisted at. I really would like to be able to go to 2nd look but I just got the letter today so I don't think I will be able to get time off from work to go.

 

[peterngu]

Hi everyone, I just got accepted from the waitlist and I am 90% sure I will going to Penn State in the fall unless I hear from any other school I am waitlisted at. I really would like to be able to go to 2nd look but I just got the letter today so I don't think I will be able to get time off from work to go.

*gasp* i hope you don't mind me asking swim2006, but when did you interview?? i interviewed late feb and got wait listed late march...

 

[swim2006]

*gasp* i hope you don't mind me asking swim2006, but when did you interview?? i interviewed late feb and got wait listed late march...

Early Oct.

I have a question for current student. What is parking like at the med center? I am thinking of living off campus and will have a car.

 

[NatashaRachell]

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.

One last question about lectures being posted... does anyone know how quickly lectures are posted? I'll be commuting ~45 min, and it would be great to be able to watch from home occasionally.

 

[CHEEEZ]

Early Oct.

I have a question for current student. What is parking like at the med center? I am thinking of living off campus and will have a car.

There is plenty of parking on campus. Most people who live off campus park in the new parking structure on Centerview Drive, which is reserved for employees and students who live off campus. Others, park at the fitness center parking lot.

 

[CHEEEZ]

One last question about lectures being posted... does anyone know how quickly lectures are posted? I'll be commuting ~45 min, and it would be great to be able to watch from home occasionally.

Lecture videos are posted immediately after lectures finish. You should have no problem taking a couple days off and watching the lectures at home.

 

[swim2006]

Thanks for the info CHEEEZ

 

[lilmisssunshine]

Can someone please tell me what the dress code for ladies is for second look day? Thanks you guys!!

 

[lilmisssunshine]

can anyone tell me if penn state is a good school to go to if i am interested in cardiology. I see that the match list has no one doing cardiology, so now I am worried!

 

[PSUMS12011]

can anyone tell me if penn state is a good school to go to if i am interested in cardiology. I see that the match list has no one doing cardiology, so now I am worried!

You don't match directly into Cardio after medical school. Cardiology training is a fellowship that follows an Internal Medicine residency. Penn State will give you great training for Cardio. During my 2nd look, there was even a brief intro to heart sound recognition!

Dress code for 2nd look is variable, but business casual is safe.

 

[future_dr_house]

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.

i know there will be a mock pbl session, a little fun in harrisburg, and some other activities which i'm not at liberty to mention for fear of causing to much excitement

 

[future_dr_house]

can anyone tell me if penn state is a good school to go to if i am interested in cardiology. I see that the match list has no one doing cardiology, so now I am worried!

.

 

[PSUMS12011]

We match just as well if not better than average. I would not think of a school in terms of the number of people matching to a certain specialty. Look at the types of programs they got into. Did we have people match to Harvard (yes), Brigham Young, Mass Gen, etc. You'll find that interest vary between classes. If you want to go here and think you can thrive, you can match into anything you desire.

I'm pretty sure you meant Brigham and Women's Hospital. But, yes, Penn State has a great match list to many great programs.

 

[mdgator]

can anyone tell me if penn state is a good school to go to if i am interested in cardiology. I see that the match list has no one doing cardiology, so now I am worried!

As someone else said, you don't match directly into cardio. You go IM first, then a cardio fellowship. But, on a related note, you probably remember from interview day that they had the artificial cow heart on display that was developed at Penn State and placed in a calf. Has no revelance as far as matching into a particular specialty goes, but if you're interested in cardiology, you've gotta think that's pretty cool. I would imagine they probably have some great cardio research opportunities, and hey, we'll be doing research anyway, right?...

 

[Bushido416]

just got the final confirmation email with the itinerary attached. Looks pretty cool especially Ceolta's their website made it seem like a good comparison to the pubs i've visited in Ireland. Hope to see you guys there. One question for current students....how hard is it to get out of the research requirement through the exemption committee? I've been doing research for over a year full time now and it's the main reason why I'm going into medicine. I've got several presentations under my belt and I'm working on a publication and I will be co-author on a few more that will come out within a year. I'm pretty much tired of basic research and I feel like I've paid my dues in that aspect of training and would like to do more clinical experiences in the place of that required research project.

 

[PSUMS12011]

just got the final confirmation email with the itinerary attached. Looks pretty cool especially Ceolta's their website made it seem like a good comparison to the pubs i've visited in Ireland. Hope to see you guys there. One question for current students....how hard is it to get out of the research requirement through the exemption committee? I've been doing research for over a year full time now and it's the main reason why I'm going into medicine. I've got several presentations under my belt and I'm working on a publication and I will be co-author on a few more that will come out within a year. I'm pretty much tired of basic research and I feel like I've paid my dues in that aspect of training and would like to do more clinical experiences in the place of that required research project.

You will need a publication to even have a chance at exemption.

 

[87138]

This might be a dumb question, but how does one go about getting a research project at PSU? In other words, is it something you just go and find on your own? Or is there a program in place to match people up to some research going on at PSU currently that they are interested in? I know that the research project is of course a requirement, but there wasn't a lot of details during my interview day.

I've never really been involved with research, but I'm looking forward to getting involved, provided it's not something dreadfully boring.

So, any and all information would be helpful. I've browsed the website where they explain it but again, I'm still a little unsure about how it all works.

Thanks.

 

[PSUMS12011]

This might be a dumb question, but how does one go about getting a research project at PSU? In other words, is it something you just go and find on your own? Or is there a program in place to match people up to some research going on at PSU currently that they are interested in? I know that the research project is of course a requirement, but there wasn't a lot of details during my interview day.

I've never really been involved with research, but I'm looking forward to getting involved, provided it's not something dreadfully boring.

So, any and all information would be helpful. I've browsed the website where they explain it but again, I'm still a little unsure about how it all works.

Thanks.

There is a binder of available projects for the MSR. You can also take initiative and ask investigators if they are looking for medical students to work on their current or prospective research projects.

 

[fuuiin]

Friday, April 11:

8:30 pm - Pizza Party!!! C-1847.

10:00 pm – Bar event at Ceolta’s in downtown Harrisburg.

Saturday, April 12:

5:00pm - BBQ !!!

 

[fuuiin]

There were a lot of questions in the thread and I'm not sure if they were all answered. If you want I'm a current first year student and I can answer your questions if you PM me.

Looking forward to meeting some of you at second look!

 

[87138]

The good news: It's supposed to be 69 and 66 degrees in Hershey on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

The bad news: It's supposed to rain/thunder both days.


It rained all day during my interview day, and I was hoping the second look would be a real sunny, nice day. Bummer.

 

[87138]

I got a note from the financial aid office in the mail today regarding verifying SS# and such, but it freaked me out because it was sent from the undergrad campus and for a minute I thought I accidentally had my FAFSA sent there rather than specifically to the medical campus in Hershey. Is everyone else's letter addressed from University Park, PA?

 

[fuuiin]

i think you should call the hershey financial office to ask them whether you should send the verification to university park or to the hershey office. eventually it'll all go to the right place but if you send to university park, then your stuff will be grouped along with the many other undergrads at state college. so, double check and don't send ur stuff to university park unless you have to.

 

[Rowdy]

Is anyone going to the thing at Ceolta’s tonight? My flight doesnt get in until 9:00 but I'm gonna try to make it to meet everyone.

 

[87138]

i think you should call the hershey financial office to ask them whether you should send the verification to university park or to the hershey office. eventually it'll all go to the right place but if you send to university park, then your stuff will be grouped along with the many other undergrads at state college. so, double check and don't send ur stuff to university park unless you have to.

I called today and the lady said it should still be sent to the Shields Building in University Park.

 

[NatashaRachell]

Anybody watch Scrubs last night?

The only doctor show worth watching...

 

[Bushido416]

of course I watched scrubs that is a silly question to ask....also second look weekend was pretty cool

 

[fitnesspremed]

hey all, i had to leave second look at lunch time to get home for my formal. how was the rest of the day?

 

[250kInDebt]

hey all, i had to leave second look at lunch time to get home for my formal. how was the rest of the day?

The rest of the day went really well - we split up into small groups and did "mock" PBL sessions, got scared ****less about how much med school is gonna cost, then got reassured that loans would cover it all. There was a student panel that dealt with a lot of housing and elective rotation questions... it was informative, you are more than welcome to PM if you have any specific Qs that you wanted to ask that they may have discussed.

I enjoyed 2nd look - I'm still waiting to hear back from 1 more school but i may tell them they waiting too long since PSU sold themselves well to me!

But you didnt really miss anything that I think you should be worried about!

 

[lostkat]

Has anyone who interviewed in March heard from PSUCOM? I interviewed mid-March and I know that it has only been 4 weeks and they gave us a 6 - 8 week time table, but the waiting is killing me.

 

[lilmisssunshine]

what are some nice apartment complexes i can look at near by?

 

[PSUFamDoc]

Hey All, I'm a first year med student. I live on campus and really like it because its so easy to walk back and forth to class and the apts are really spacious. I know that a bunch of people live across the street at Briarcrest. Others live in the townhouses at the Reserve and some live in Hershey Heights. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!

 

[NatashaRachell]

Does anyone have any idea when orientation and class start date will be for class of 2012?

 

[PSUFamDoc]

My academic calendar says classes start Aug 11th. That means orientation is Aug 4th.

 

[NatashaRachell]

You have an academic calendar? Where'd you get it?

 

[swim2006]

Does anyone have any idea when orientation and class start date will be for class of 2012?

All of the forms I got said orientation starts Aug 1. I called a week or so ago and they also said that white coat is Aug 8th.

 

[lilmisssunshine]

did you get all of these forms after confirming that you will marticulate at penn state and withdarw from all other schools?

 

[87138]

did you get all of these forms after confirming that you will marticulate at penn state and withdarw from all other schools?

Maybe we don't get them until we send in our deposit? I sent my "hold my spot" paper back in December but I still haven't sent in my deposit since it said we had until May 15th. I don't recall them saying any specific orientation date on those papers, but I could be wrong.

 

[lilmisssunshine]

I gave in my deposit when I recieved the acceptance because they said it was refundable....either way I am set on going there and am still curious whereswim2006 got these forms with theses dates on them...let me know if you find out

 

[swim2006]

I gave in my deposit when I recieved the acceptance because they said it was refundable....either way I am set on going there and am still curious whereswim2006 got these forms with theses dates on them...let me know if you find out

I don't know if the form that I signed to hold my spot is more updated because I was just accepted but it said that the first mandatory day was Aug. 1st (I thought that was a bit early and odd because that is a Fri) but when I called to ask about white coat they said Aug 8th

 

[lilmisssunshine]

Can anyone tell me what the average cost of utilities for a month is for a person living off campus. I know this may vary but I woudl be nice to have an estimate. Thanks.

 

[Soca]

Congratulations to everyone who has been accepted. I just received my acceptance this week. I am a non-traditional student and I am wondering if there are any other non-trads out there. At my interview it seemed like everyone was pretty young. Any other older folks out there?

 

[Bushido416]

Second look had a good many people who were older with families. So i imagine there will be some. I'm kind of non traditional I have another career and I'm quite tired of it so I'm going into medicine. But as far as my age I'm not really "older" so sorry I can only half relate to non-trad experiences =) Look forward to meeting you.

 

[NatashaRachell]

I'm not "older" - only 23 - but will be starting school with a hubby and 5-month old. Can't wait!

 

[87138]

I'm not sure if this has been addressed, but does PSU grade on a strict bell curve or anything? Like, is it basically mandated that 2 or 3 people will fail each test? How does that all work? I know the grading system is H/HP/P/F.

 

[swim2006]

I'm not sure if this has been addressed, but does PSU grade on a strict bell curve or anything? Like, is it basically mandated that 2 or 3 people will fail each test? How does that all work? I know the grading system is H/HP/P/F.

bump

 

[PSUFamDoc]

For Anatomy, passing is 60%. The top 10% of the class gets honors and the next 10-15% get High Pass.

For all other classes and I hope this is true for second year, passing is 68%, 90% and above is Honors (or top 10% of class, whichever includes more student), 85%-89% is High Pass ( or next 15% of class, whichever includes more students).

Don't worry about grades yet, there's plenty of time for that. Have fun this summer!

 

[Bushido416]

Would love to have fun this summer but I work until mid july