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PENNSYLVANIA: Penn State PA Program 2018-2019 Cycle

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kmrh442

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1 hour ago, Ronin said:

Hey everyone! I just interviewed on 8/10 and wanted to share some of my thoughts about the interview process to possibly help ease minds!

First, try not to stress about how long the process is because it goes really fast! They do a great job of scheduling the entire day to flow smoothly, so there is virtually no time wasted just sitting and letting your mind wander (that's when I feel my nerves are the worst!). Before you know it, the morning is over and all the scoring is done.

Second, the staff and patient interviews are incredibly friendly and inviting! In no way do you feel like you're being scrutinized or judged, which makes it a whole lot easier to just smile and be yourself. The patient interview is just a normal conversation, not a patient assessment or anything of that nature.

Lastly, the students are all super friendly as well and you get to ask as many questions about the program as you want at lunch. The student lunch and TBL exercise is not a scored part of the application process. During the TBL experience you are actually incorporated in to their groups and help participate in answering case questions. The classroom was full of energy and they actually introduced and announced us like sports players and cheered before the start of the session!

If you are scheduled to interview in the upcoming months, just relax and have fun with it! You're going to really enjoy it. 

 

Congrats on the interview, and thank you for all the info!! If you don’t mind me asking, when did you submit your app/supplemental?

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ST@PSU

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7 hours ago, Ronin said:

Hey everyone! I just interviewed on 8/10 and wanted to share some of my thoughts about the interview process to possibly help ease minds!

First, try not to stress about how long the process is because it goes really fast! They do a great job of scheduling the entire day to flow smoothly, so there is virtually no time wasted just sitting and letting your mind wander (that's when I feel my nerves are the worst!). Before you know it, the morning is over and all the scoring is done.

Second, the staff and patient interviews are incredibly friendly and inviting! In no way do you feel like you're being scrutinized or judged, which makes it a whole lot easier to just smile and be yourself. The patient interview is just a normal conversation, not a patient assessment or anything of that nature.

Lastly, the students are all super friendly as well and you get to ask as many questions about the program as you want at lunch. The student lunch and TBL exercise is not a scored part of the application process. During the TBL experience you are actually incorporated in to their groups and help participate in answering case questions. The classroom was full of energy and they actually introduced and announced us like sports players and cheered before the start of the session!

If you are scheduled to interview in the upcoming months, just relax and have fun with it! You're going to really enjoy it. 

 

Thank you for sharing your experience for the benefit of all.  So glad you had a great day on campus!  What you shared is not unique and has been the experience of all of us who have interviewed with PSU.  Starting with the application cycle of 2015-16, participating in TBL (Team Based Learning) sessions has been regularly incorporated into the interview day and  is always a highlight.  It is also a core feature of our curriculum so a great way to really see if PSU is the right fit for you.  The lunch with current students is also a great time to get all of your questions answered knowing whatever is shared during that time is completely off the record- no faculty are present and the students are encouraged to be completely open, honest, and transparent about their opinions of and experience in the program.  Finally, if you are one of the approximately 1% of applicants ultimately accepted to PSU, you may be fortunate enough to be re-united with the standardized patient who you met on interview day during a welcome reception- it’s truly a special moment!

Again, thank you for sharing!  Continued good luck to all!

- Sue

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Ronin

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3 hours ago, kmrh442 said:

Congrats on the interview, and thank you for all the info!! If you don’t mind me asking, when did you submit your app/supplemental?

Thank you... and sure no problem!

CASPA: Submitted June 15th, verified July 2nd

PSU Supplemental: Received July 9 and submitted July 24. Interview invitation received on July 27th for August 10th.

Hope this helps!

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ealeyrer

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On 8/10/2018 at 2:27 PM, kmrh442 said:

I sent in my app at the beginning of July, received a confirmation of receipt email on 7/2. Has anyone who submitted around this time heard back from them, denial or interview invite?

My application was verified and my secondary application was submitted around that same time, however, I have not heard back from them yet

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mleej

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Philadelphia people! We are holding a Pre PA meet up event in center city Philadelphia on Friday, September 7th. The purpose is to give us a chance to talk about our interviews, schools, stats, fears, etc. If you are interested please follow the link attached to RSVP. Thanks!

 

 

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cgold13

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1 hour ago, CWell1901 said:

I just realized that I never received a confirmation that the program received my secondary application back in late early July. Did you receive verification for just your CASPA application or for your secondary, also? 

I got one on for both caspa and secondary 

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PennState_PA_Program

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On 8/21/2018 at 4:54 PM, CWell1901 said:

I just realized that I never received a confirmation that the program received my secondary application back in late early July. Did you receive verification for just your CASPA application or for your secondary, also? 

CWell1901 - We send two separate confirmation emails; the first when we receive the verified CASPA application and the second when we process a candidate's secondary application to Penn State.

Please contact the program so that I can verify your status; no sense playing the guessing game or stressing yourself out over something like this when a quick check in with me will make sure you're on track (or we'll get you on track should something have been missed).

Caryn Stopper
Director of Admissions

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ST@PSU

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21 hours ago, tannersteed93 said:

I got the notice that Penn State has received my secondary application on 7/10. I have not heard anything since then. Congrats to all those who have got interviews! Do you think that Penn State would send out rejection emails if the admissions team does not think you are a match for the program during the interview process or wait until the end after all the interviews are done? Checking the email everyday sucks! I hope to get an interview!

I think you will see that several of my earlier posts speak to this question in detail.  In short, all applicants remain under active consideration until they are notified otherwise by the Program and until all 30 seats are filled.  This usually occurs by early March which is when the majority of applicants are updated as to their status.  Again, based on my own experience, those of my Class of 2017 colleagues and other Program allumni, and trends documented on the forum, applicants TYPICALLY receive interview invites within a few weeks (sometimes within days) of their secondary being received.  Likewise, TYPICALLY decisions to accept, waitlist, or decline interviewed applicants occur within a few weeks (sometimes as soon as the next day) of the interview session.

Hope this helps.  I ABSOLUTELY know how difficulty the waiting game can be as I was in your shoes TWICE- the second time as a waitlisted candidate for over 6 months.  So hang in there.  Best of luck!

- Sue, PA-C, PSU PA Class of 2017

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ST@PSU

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5 hours ago, futurePAmb said:

Has anyone who has been accepted started looking into housing? I’m not sure I want to live on campus, so I’m trying to find people who are interested in off campus housing.  

Congrats!! And welcome to PSU and Hershey!  By all means, you can start working on your housing and roommate logistics now.  However, just FYI, when the class is close to being filled (usually January), the program will invite all accepted and deposited students to join a closed social media group in which you can all begin to “meet” each other.  This is also where the Program will let you know about off campus housing opportunities and communicate various “onboarding” information until classes begin and you have full Penn State College of Medicine access, including email.  Regarding off campus housing, a tip if you are looking to save money- consider locations with Hummelstown, Middletown, or Palmyra addresses as they are all within 15-20 minute drives of campus and are usually much cheaper (or you can get more space for the same as it would cost to live in something smaller in Hershey).  Quite a few alums of this year’s class also lived in Harrisburg.  You might also want to get in touch with the Program and see if any of the students graduating next May have a great place that they will be moving out of.  You’ve got plenty of options!

Again, CONGRATS!!  #WeAre

- Sue

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nakialewis531

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On 5/14/2018 at 5:11 PM, PennState_PA_Program said:

Greetings from Hershey, PA and to all those who have gotten a jump start on the CASPA cycle for 2018-2019. 

As the Director of Admissions for the program, I'll be on this thread as much as possible to help answer any questions about the 18-19 cycle or share  program updates, as I'm sure some of our alum and current students will also join when they are able.

May is a busy time of year in the program as the 2nd year students graduate, our rising students begin clinical rotations and our incoming class begins...Yes, this all happens in a one week time span in May. We are very proud of our soon-to-be-graduates, excited for the students beginning their clinical rotations, and look forward to welcoming the new students at orientation.

I will do everything I can to provide a detailed and clear understanding of our application process by way of this thread, online information sessions, and email correspondence. 

Good luck with your CASPA and Penn State secondary applications.

Caryn Stopper
Director of Admissions

2

Hi Ms. Stopper,

Thank you for your help thus far! I have a quick question hopefully you can give me some insight.

I had a few "writing intensive" courses in my last year of undergrad however based on the course description nothing is mentioned about the writing aspect because they were health-based courses. If the description does not explicitly state the writing intensity should I rethink apply to Penn State? 

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PennState_PA_Program

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On 9/8/2018 at 6:43 PM, nakialewis531 said:

Hi Ms. Stopper,

Thank you for your help thus far! I have a quick question hopefully you can give me some insight.

I had a few "writing intensive" courses in my last year of undergrad however based on the course description nothing is mentioned about the writing aspect because they were health-based courses. If the description does not explicitly state the writing intensity should I rethink apply to Penn State? 

My recommendation for providing more information on writing intensive courses is to include documentation, whether it be a course syallbus or a letter from an institution official verifying that said course(s) is deemed writing intensive. It may satisfy a writing requirement to graduate.

Generally, a course syllabus will give us the details we need if a transcript doesn't designate it a writing-intensive course. 

This documentation should be uploaded to your CASPA application specifically for Penn State in the "Program Documents" tab. It is the easiest way to get us this information. 

Please let me know if you have any other questions -

Caryn Stopper
Director of Admissions

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ST@PSU

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On 9/11/2018 at 5:36 PM, LBrophy23 said:

If you don't mind me asking what were your credentials? 

Have you checked out the Program’s website for detailed stats on current and graduated classes?  If not, I would encourage you to do this!  Keep in mind that one person’s stats will not represent the diversity that PSU strives to attain in each of it’s 30 student classes.  No one type of HCE, GPA, or GRE score is going to increase your chances of an interview or acceptance.  On the contrary, figuring out what makes you DIFFERENT is key and what you should sell yourself on.  Use the class profiles as a guide- so long as you meet the minimum scores/values in each area, you will be considered.  Certainly, however, it is beneficial to have strengths that offset areas that may not shine as brightly (for me, this was low GRE scores).  But keep in mind that strengths do not have to be objective data- they can be characteristics and experiences and achievements that can be communicated and “sold” elsewhere in your application, personal statement, supplemental app, and references.

This is a point emphasized in article just released by NCCPA about on our director, Chris Bruce:

https://pasdothat.net/PA-Profiles/Christine-Bruce

As the CASPA cycle moves forward, continued best of luck to all!

- Sue

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