PSU BA/MD program?

<p>good luck ivyleague!! my status on the site doesn't say anything new, and the envelope was big with "congratulations" written on the outside...at first i thought it was just for undergrad but there were some extra letters inside talking about the program </p>

<p>And Michelle or anyone other acceptees, did you guys see the other email addresses in the email from Samira? LOLLLL it was all like Gupta, Kumar, Lee, Chan, Patel...for the first time ever my name seemed to fit perfectly in an email list...haha it makes me laugh :D And michelle at least one more canadian has been accepted...cuz one of the email addresses was for a toronto school...pretty cool eh?. LOL k i really need to stop staring at that email ...:rolleyes::D</p>

<p>and familydoctor i'll put my stats in that thread jabez made ... that's probably a better place than here...</p>

<p>Haha Anita, that's not surprising at all! Remember the day of the interview? :D
And yay...another Canadian! ^_^ </p>

<p>Are you going to the prog weekend? </p>

<p>Thefamilydoctor - here were my stats:
2230 SAT (790M 730V 710W)
800 Bio M, 800 Math IIC, 740 physics
4.0 Unweighted (no weighted GPA)
EC's include hospital volunteering, lab research, community service, and some leadership positions in school clubs </p>

<p>And Ivyleague... good luck!</p>

<p>EVERYONE SHOULD GO TO PROG WEEKEND! call or email a current prog soon if u haven't already.</p>

<p>yep i'm going michelle...lol i cant wait to pester the current students with my questions :p :D</p>

<p>Seriously, guys, I echo amarpan's comment. Come to prog Weekend because that's what all the cool kids are doing =P</p>

<p>lol, I just felt like saying that.</p>

<p>A question for present students at PSU: How many of you are in the six year program and how many in the seven year program? Advantages of the six vs. seven other than monetary. Does the summer school increase the burden? Any other info, such as matriculation rate for six and seven, is seven year considered the wrong path, etc. etc.
Thanks again.</p>

<p>out of 32 kids in the program, 27 are 6yr and 5 are 7yr. 7 yrs isn't a "wrong" path or anything, its just that those kids prefer to slow down a bit and not come to summers. the pros and cons mostly come down to your summers. cost is a bit cheaper for 6 yrs even with one summer. for 6yr kids, first summer classes are mandatory and second summer ones are optional, even though a lot of kids come back for the 2nd one since its more fun being at psu for the summer. usually, 6 yr kids come in with more AP credit to test out of general classes (i.e. math, general chem). some 7 yrs do also, but they generally retake the classes since they will be there for 3 yrs total. both 6 and 7 yrs can still go abroad and do research, but 7 yrs make it more flexible since they have more time. even so, they still have to take 15 total credits and 8 credits science each semester still.</p>

<p>however, the biggest drawback for 7 yrs is that they won't be with everyone else in med school, which could really suck. also, they're not their for the first summer, so they dont know everyone that well at first. lastly, they dont always take classes at the same time, so when all the 6 yrs are studying for an ochem test together, they usually need to study with less or other people. once again, its a tradeoff.</p>

<p>summer is actually really really relaxed and tons tons of fun. the school is somewhat empty so its easy to get everywhere and lines are short for food. classes are def easier since people who usually failed classes or need help also take them in the summer. you have tons of time for playing sports, watching movies, going to parties, and whatever you want pretty much anytime. at first you'll miss home, but then you'll hardly think about it since the summer goes by so fast also.</p>

<p>as far as matriculation path, its hard to tell. 6 yrs who havent passed by the end of their second year stay a year longer as a 7 yr since in essence its the same thing. having that said, its hard to keep track. but even so, you rarely hear about someone gettign dropped from the program. in the class 2 yrs above us, 1 kid who was in a frat failed out and the 2nd dropped out for other reasons. in the year above us, no one as far as i know has failed out. generally, the vast majority make it through, and if someone doesn't, it either because they don't want to be a doctor or because they're not academically inclined (i.e. getting caught cheating multiple times in multiple classes....that **** is just stupid).</p>

<p>its all up to you though. you can do everything a 7yr can in 6yrs with summers if you choose. you don't really relax more as a 7yr since you still take the same number of science credits, so its hard to tell. but if ur a 6yr, you'll be really close to those in you're year and you'll be with them through med school, which is the biggest reason i chose 6 yrs over 7 yrs.</p>

<p>nicely worded. i would have to say that summed up a lot of my feelings.</p>

<p>also, one can always switch from 6 to 7 years, but usually never from 7 to 6 years. i agree with the whole summer deal too. you may feel that you're giving up a lot by coming here your first summer, but it is sooo worth it. and you're given the chance to finish your requirements in 6 years, so why not try it?</p>

<p>I'm not saying either path is right or wrong, there are advantages to both. you really have to make that choice for yourself. if you have any things you want to talk about, feel free to bring them up.</p>

<p>Dorms: Can someone shed some light on the dorm system. Which dorms do you recommend for us newcomers at the combined program?</p>

<p>If you're coming to Prog Weekend, then we could tell you in much more detail.</p>

<p>Maybe I'll post later about it; I'm too tired right now =P</p>

<p>Most freshman get placed in balls East Halls. a lot of us requested West Halls because the area and dining commons is nicer but ended up in East. a lot of the girls requested South Halls and were placed there. South (mostly McElwain, an all girls dorm) is balls pretty nice/spacious. also, those that requested South ended up in South. however, it is very difficult to get into the honors dorms. you don't want to end up in South Halls outside of McElwain or honors housing because balls it's not the greatest of locations. the advantages of East balls halls are that it's a better community since it's all freshman and you are highly likely to get East upon request. </p>

<p>East- freshman friendly, decent dorms, close to some classes, nice sports facilities, cons: not the cleanest balls of places
South- honors/McElwain balls are spacious and cleaner, other halls are far, cons: no strong freshman community, some older people
Pollock- don't bother unless you balls have a mustache, come to prog weekend to find out why, you're gonna live here over the summer anyway
North- i didn't know we had a north but apparently it's up there, i hear it was the setting of brokeback mountain
(just kidding)
West- really good food, very nice area, best balls place to live but difficult to get as freshman</p>

<p>come to prog weekend to find balls out more</p>

<p>is that you satiiiiish?</p>

<p>alright, prog weekend is over and I hope whoever came enjoyed themselves because I know I did.</p>

<p>Good luck with your decisions everyone!</p>

<p>can you people who got accepted to the program post your stats
it would benefit people who will apply next year
thank you</p>

<p>yes please</p>

<p>anyone's brief stats? If you're accepted I know you could probably care less about posting your stats over and over, but it would help</p>

<p>um...im a second year now....so i dont know how much stats would help but ill give it to ya</p>

<p>SAT</p>

<p>V:780
M:780</p>

<p>valedictorian...national merit scholar...sports...clubs...church stuff....idk ur usual nothing to special...actually i wasnt even valedictorian when i applied i think i was third...all that matters is decent test scores...after that...if u get to the interview ur pretty much set...u just have to impress them there...</p>

<p>puch</p>

<p>does anyone know if the PSU program has an in-state preference??? I heard HPME accepts 25 students from Illonis and I was hoping PSU/Jeff will do that for PA residents too.</p>

<p>haha...im not too sure if there is preference like that...a lot...id say about half or prolly even more of the kids are out of state...for example im from ohio...other states represented ...few cali kids...lots of nj kids...ny...in...il...yeah so i dont think they have a set number since jefferson does the admitting and they are private...but this program is defn a steal for in state kids...cuz out of state tuition sucks....</p>

<p>puch'</p>