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CASPA 2014-2015/Class of 2017


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Has anyone confirmed their slot yet? I put in my deposit and sent in my acceptance letter, but haven't heard anything since. I was just wondering if you get some kind of email confirming your seat. Don't want to show up next year and find out my letter got lost in the mail or something.

I called and confirmed mine Friday afternoon. Today, I received a receipt via email and in the mail.

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I will be interviewing next week and am wondering if any of you who have interviewed would be willing to share a bit about the 2 ethics essays required as part of the interview.  In earlier posts someone mentioned the abundance of pictures/crosses.  My beliefs do not always align with the Catholic church.  I feel strongly that I need to stay true to myself and my beliefs but am wondering if in doing so I may jeopardize my chances at being accepted.  Anyone care to comment?  Thank You

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Your tour guide through the new facility next week is a priest.  (He also has a PhD in molecular bio...interesting!)  You just have to decide what you're able to tolerate/accept and what you're not.  Obviously the academics are solid, but the question remains: to what extent does the Catholic culture at the school influence the medical atmosphere and human-contact aspect of patient care at DeSales.  At the student-lunch interview event, one student mentioned the ethics course being somewhat Catholic-centered.  Yet, the class I observed involved some pretty frank discussions about all the different types of birth control to offer a specific patient.  Although I do wonder to what extent the higher % of Catholic students affects classroom discussion and overall education?  Or, more accurately, what aspects of patient care are being glossed over or skipped?Interesting questions that are hard to ask at an interview: What happens when a patient wants information about abortions?  Birth control?  Does this have anything to do with why the DeSales Free Clinic doesn't treat women?  (maybe, maybe not...a question to investigate)  As an older applicant, I feel I can get through two years (one, really) on a Catholic campus and still emerge an excellent PA.  It's a really personal question that you will have to investigate over the coming weeks.  (I'd love to see someone post this as it's own discussion topic to hopefully draw some current student input.)  Good luck at your interview! 

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I will be interviewing next week and am wondering if any of you who have interviewed would be willing to share a bit about the 2 ethics essays required as part of the interview.  In earlier posts someone mentioned the abundance of pictures/crosses.  My beliefs do not always align with the Catholic church.  I feel strongly that I need to stay true to myself and my beliefs but am wondering if in doing so I may jeopardize my chances at being accepted.  Anyone care to comment?  Thank You

Congrats on your interview!  The process is actually really great.  I just interviewed today and it was definitely an enjoyable experience! We did not get to see the priest,  (Fr. Leonard, who is the Dean of Graduate Education) until the very end before lunch because he teaches Tuesday mornings.  Regarding your concern to what degree religion plays a role, I personally say don't worry about it.  I did my undergrad at The University of Scranton, which is a Jesuit school.  I chose that school for my undergrad for a variety of reasons, mostly because of their science reputation.  However, I myself am not Catholic and at no time did I feel that this was an issue, whatsoever.  It was kind of a situation where you chose just how much you were involved in that aspect of the university.  Yes I did have to take theology courses, but they were taught as history classes more than anything.  Yes, there are little crosses usually in each room - but maybe it's because something I've grown accustomed to, but trust me, you don't really notice them after awhile.  

 

In regard to zoopeda's major points, I think those are good concerns/questions to have, except I don't think that the fact DeSales is a Catholic university will be a problem.  I took a medical ethics class in my undergrad (taught by a priest) and he was not afraid to challenge the different aspects to different ethical situations. Just as much as they want others to be culturally sensitive, they want to be as well.  They are NOT about pushing their beliefs on to you, or change you in any way.  If anything, they just try to get you to think from a different perspective - you don't have to accept that belief.  It will be up to the student on where they go after school, and if those questions previously stated are an issue, then they probably won't work where that can be a conflict for them.  These are just my opinions however, but good questions to have from somebody who has never attended a Catholic university!  Once again, this is all just from my experiences at Scranton, but I got the same vibe from DeSales.

 

Do not worry about the religion aspect during your interview, just be yourself!  Best of luck! :)

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For those of you who have been accepted - have any of you looked into apartments? I'm not from the area so I don't know which specific town to look in.  I know there was an apartment complex that a lot of the PA students live in, but I'm not sure of the name.... thanks for any help!

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For those of you who have been accepted - have any of you looked into apartments? I'm not from the area so I don't know which specific town to look in.  I know there was an apartment complex that a lot of the PA students live in, but I'm not sure of the name.... thanks for any help!

mpsil, I was wondering the same thing. I heard Bethlehem is a prime location to live. Maybe we should start a Facebook group for accepted students to start the whole process. Good luck to all of you still waiting to hear back!

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mpsil, I was wondering the same thing. I heard Bethlehem is a prime location to live. Maybe we should start a Facebook group for accepted students to start the whole process. Good luck to all of you still waiting to hear back!

This is actually a great idea. I've been wondering about housing myself.

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I don't really know what to think at this point, I was hoping maybe by today we would know but they did say up to two weeks for a decision either way..

I tried calling the admissions but they didn't answer the call. I left a voice message asking if they have already sent the acceptance mails or not :/

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Congrats on your interview! The process is actually really great. I just interviewed today and it was definitely an enjoyable experience! We did not get to see the priest, (Fr. Leonard, who is the Dean of Graduate Education) until the very end before lunch because he teaches Tuesday mornings. Regarding your concern to what degree religion plays a role, I personally say don't worry about it. I did my undergrad at The University of Scranton, which is a Jesuit school. I chose that school for my undergrad for a variety of reasons, mostly because of their science reputation. However, I myself am not Catholic and at no time did I feel that this was an issue, whatsoever. It was kind of a situation where you chose just how much you were involved in that aspect of the university. Yes I did have to take theology courses, but they were taught as history classes more than anything. Yes, there are little crosses usually in each room - but maybe it's because something I've grown accustomed to, but trust me, you don't really notice them after awhile.

 

In regard to zoopeda's major points, I think those are good concerns/questions to have, except I don't think that the fact DeSales is a Catholic university will be a problem. I took a medical ethics class in my undergrad (taught by a priest) and he was not afraid to challenge the different aspects to different ethical situations. Just as much as they want others to be culturally sensitive, they want to be as well. They are NOT about pushing their beliefs on to you, or change you in any way. If anything, they just try to get you to think from a different perspective - you don't have to accept that belief. It will be up to the student on where they go after school, and if those questions previously stated are an issue, then they probably won't work where that can be a conflict for them. These are just my opinions however, but good questions to have from somebody who has never attended a Catholic university! Once again, this is all just from my experiences at Scranton, but I got the same vibe from DeSales.

 

Do not worry about the religion aspect during your interview, just be yourself! Best of luck! :)

Just to chime in, when I interviewed in September, we got to sit in on a Differential Diagnoses group discussion and one of the case studies was about a sexually active teenager. They just discussed the issue as I would guess a religiously-neutral program would and there was no slant toward Catholic beliefs. I too am not Catholic and don't foresee that being an issue with this program. I am still considering it fully upon my acceptance.
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