Penn State Interview Recap

My day at Penn State went well. The campus was absolutely beautiful. The medical school and hospital complex is set on 550 acres of land. A large portion of that land is grassy area and the complex is situated in the middle of the Pennsylvania mountains. The drive to campus was really pretty as well. The town itself is a small town with the infamous chocolate factory and theme park. Considering just the campus aspect, Penn State is my favorite that I have seen to this point.

I checked in to the admissions office around 10:30am. The format was similar to Wright State where there was a morning interview group and an afternoon interview group. The morning group of five applicants had already done their interviews when I arrived on campus. Both groups were given a presentation about the school around 11:00am.

Following the presentation, the eight applicants ate lunch with five medical students. Four of the students were first-year students and one was a second-year student. As usual, we asked them lots of questions about the school, housing, student life, etc.

After lunch, around 1:00pm, we were led on a tour of the facilities. The medical school and hospital share a building, which is convenient. The building itself is nice, and the area is constantly being improved and added to. Penn State is currently completing a brand new cancer center and the next project is to build a brand new pediatric hospital which is expected to be completed around 2012. There is housing on campus specifically for medical students. The location is extremely convenient and the price is reasonable. There is also a brand new fitness center that is available free of charge for students.

After the tour, the afternoon group of three applicants had their interviews scheduled from 2-4pm. For some reason though, my first interview wasn’t until 2:45 so I had some time to sit around and talk with some medical students. I was impressed that as the medical students passed us in the hall, at least twenty of them wished us good luck (we were all dressed up so they knew we were interviewing). A few of the students stopped what they were doing and talked with me for roughly twenty minutes about anything I wanted to know. All of the students I ran into at PSU were extremely friendly and helpful.

My first interview was around 2:45 and was with a doctor in the complex. He was a nice guy, but it was extremely hard to read him and get a sense for what he was thinking. The interview was somewhat awkward because of the way he was acting, but I think it went well overall. The strangest question he asked me was what my opinion was on the Wall Street bailout. Shortly after he asked me, he got a phone call (which he answered) telling him the bill had been turned down. This interview lasted around thirty or forty minutes.

My second interview was at 3:30pm and was with an extremely nice and enthusiastic doctor. This interviewer said he was impressed with my application and that he didn’t really know anything else he wanted to know about me. He asked a few questions, but most of the time I was just asking him questions about the school. This interview went really well and only lasted about fifteen minutes and he couldn’t think of anything else he needed to know about me.

Around 3:45, I was basically done. I had a short survey to fill out asking for feedback on my day then I was free to go. Because the school is in Hershey, PA I was also given a Hershey’s kiss on my way out. (The school itself was largely funded by Milton Hershey’s foundation at its start).

Strengths:
Located in a beautiful area
Small town feel, extremely safe area
Connected to a good hospital
Good reputation
Friendly atmosphere
Good class size
Reasonable cost of living

Weaknesses:
Cost (much higher than anywhere else I’m looking)
Distance from home

At this point, based on what I know – I think Wake Forest would be my top choice of the three interviews I’ve had so far. Although I loved the setting of PSU, the cost seems unrealistic. Those decisions will come later though, when I see who I will actually receive acceptances from. PSU told me I could expect to hear from them in 6-8 weeks.