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Penn State PA program


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For anyone interested, the interview process at Penn State is amazing!  It's a long day, but doesn't feel like one, with how comfortable and interesting the whole process is.  We had individual interviews with different program staff, but they all ended up feeling more like conversations than running through lists of questions with a right answer.  There was a timed writing sample where we had to answer various questions, and we got to type it (yay for people like me with atrocious and slow handwriting!).   They fed us lunch with current students, then we went on a tour of the campus and hospital (so wear comfortable shoes).   They have amazing facilities with top of the line simulation manikins and current equipment (so you're not using a cardiac monitor from the 80s in practice).   The interview group was really small, which was cool, as I was able to talk to all the other applicants and get to know them to.  Everyone at the interview was so friendly, and my fellow interviewees all had really unique and interesting background!    Oh, and the program director Ms. Bruce was very open about the interview and acceptance process, telling us we should hear back in a month, then have another month to decide if we want to accept the spot.  They explained some challenges they had as a first year program, and what they plan to change for next year.    We got to see the classes in action and sit in with current students, who were super welcoming and friendly; the team based learning that they have for some sessions is great, they utilize discussions for learning (which other people had told me is impossible to do in PA school).  

 

Overall the interview leap frogged Penn State to my top choice for PA school, anyone who gets in here will be attending an amazing program.  

If anyone has any questions PM me! 

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For anyone interested, the interview process at Penn State is amazing!  It's a long day, but doesn't feel like one, with how comfortable and interesting the whole process is.  We had individual interviews with different program staff, but they all ended up feeling more like conversations than running through lists of questions with a right answer.  There was a timed writing sample where we had to answer various questions, and we got to type it (yay for people like me with atrocious and slow handwriting!).   They fed us lunch with current students, then we went on a tour of the campus and hospital (so wear comfortable shoes).   They have amazing facilities with top of the line simulation manikins and current equipment (so you're not using a cardiac monitor from the 80s in practice).   The interview group was really small, which was cool, as I was able to talk to all the other applicants and get to know them to.  Everyone at the interview was so friendly, and my fellow interviewees all had really unique and interesting background!    Oh, and the program director Ms. Bruce was very open about the interview and acceptance process, telling us we should hear back in a month, then have another month to decide if we want to accept the spot.  They explained some challenges they had as a first year program, and what they plan to change for next year.    We got to see the classes in action and sit in with current students, who were super welcoming and friendly; the team based learning that they have for some sessions is great, they utilize discussions for learning (which other people had told me is impossible to do in PA school).  

 

Overall the interview leap frogged Penn State to my top choice for PA school, anyone who gets in here will be attending an amazing program.  

If anyone has any questions PM me! 

 

 

Glad you liked our program :)

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PSU received my secondary application on August 21st and I hope that hear from them every day! Does anyone know when the next round of interview invites will go out?

 

I just recently graduated from PSU, so I'm hoping to go all the way with them! Love the community and especially the hospital! I've taken trips with THON organizations, and the chance to see what they do there is amazing.

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This month is going so slow waiting to hear back!

 

I can't remember the answer to this for sure, perhaps someone here might no; will we only hear a yes or no, or is it possible they'll also place some people who interviewed on a hold, to decide to accept or not later?

 

Yep, there's a waiting list as well as a straight up acceptance/rejection.

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You will all be blown away, trust me. I shared many of the same thoughts as fakingpatience. However, I would like to add to that by saying I had one of the most unique experiences I could have ever imagined. Not only did I get to sit in on a lecture, a Team Based Learning session (where the interviewees had the opportunity to "compete"), and get a peek at the cadaver lab, but I also got to watch the program director get a cortisone shot in her knee AND was given a ride to the airport by one of the faculty. These people are class acts.

 

Mrs. Bruce definitely presented herself well through my research into the program, but actually meeting her, seeing her vision for the program, passion for the future of the profession, and learning even more about her history really leads me to believe that, under her direction, Penn State is going to soon be leading PA education.

 

The interview process is set up the way that you would expect it to be in a perfect world: they get to know your application, they get to know you, they let you know their program, and they try to accommodate you as best as possible so that you can succeed in your career.

 

The people involved with this program deserve a lot of respect, and I would be privileged to be trained by them.

I wish the best to all of the future interviewees. 

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You will all be blown away, trust me. I shared many of the same thoughts as fakingpatience. However, I would like to add to that by saying I had one of the most unique experiences I could have ever imagined. Not only did I get to sit in on a lecture, a Team Based Learning session (where the interviewees had the opportunity to "compete"), and get a peek at the cadaver lab, but I also got to watch the program director get a cortisone shot in her knee AND was given a ride to the airport by one of the faculty. These people are class acts.

 

Mrs. Bruce definitely presented herself well through my research into the program, but actually meeting her, seeing her vision for the program, passion for the future of the profession, and learning even more about her history really leads me to believe that, under her direction, Penn State is going to soon be leading PA education.

 

The interview process is set up the way that you would expect it to be in a perfect world: they get to know your application, they get to know you, they let you know their program, and they try to accommodate you as best as possible so that you can succeed in your career.

 

The people involved with this program deserve a lot of respect, and I would be privileged to be trained by them.

 

I wish the best to all of the future interviewees. 

 

Nice to know people currently outside of the program are impressed with what is going on. Also, nice job showing up us current students in the team based learning session. 

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I am disappointed that our interview session in August did not include the opportunity to participate in classroom sessions or see the cadaver lab. Maybe this is something that was added based on feedback?

 

To those of you who have interviewed and are waiting to hear back, just an FYI that myself and another interviewee from early August are still waiting. We likely think that this unfortunately means we did not get in but just wanted people to know that it has been more than the one month that was promised.

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I am disappointed that our interview session in August did not include the opportunity to participate in classroom sessions or see the cadaver lab. Maybe this is something that was added based on feedback?

 

To those of you who have interviewed and are waiting to hear back, just an FYI that myself and another interviewee from early August are still waiting. We likely think that this unfortunately means we did not get in but just wanted people to know that it has been more than the one month that was promised.

Neither was planned, just so you know. I was walking with Jason and he had to run into the cadaver lab briefly. So I literally only got a peek into it. And the TBL session was something that we found out throughout our interview and requested that we stay for (and we only stayed for 4 questions)

 

 

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