Hey guys,
So I was recently admitted to UPenn, and on my applicant portal I found a letter regarding the “Vagelos Scholars Program in the Molecular Life Sciences”. After taking a look at the website, it seems pretty interesting, but I am also not really sure what it is. Can anyone elaborate? If I want to pursue an MD/PhD in the future, will this program be beneficial? How does the stipend work?
@mrpotatoes4
Vagelos is an intense and very well regarded program at Penn. They way it works is that they review the people who state that they intend to major in chemistry or biochem and they extend an invitation to the most impressive applicants to join the vagelos program. So you were not only admitted to penn but also to the vagelos program, which means you are one of the most impressive penn admits interested in chem/biochem. They only accept about 50 people every year. You should be very proud. This is a huge deal and I am sure you are extremely talented to have achieved this. Yes it is very beneficial due to the prestige and recognition of the program. that said the program is quite intense and you should be prepared for extremely hard work if you choose to attend. About half the class drops by the end of first year so they are left with about 25 kids per year. However if you stick with it is really worth it. the small number of kids in the program allows for a lot of intdividual mentorship and access to resources and also a very tight knit (and obviously very well-connected and successful) alumni metwork Congrats! I don’t know how the stipend works. I am sure people from the Vagelos program will be reaching out to you shortly and if not you should reach out to them for clarification etc.
I was offered the same thing! I haven’t done much research yet on the program, but it is all very exciting. Hope to see you at Penn next year 
same here! does anyone know how intense it is and if it’s still possible to gain clinical experience or is this program all-consuming? @Penn95
The program is very intense and part of the deal is getting you guys a lot of lab/research experience which is great for med school. I don’t know specifically for clinical experience. there are quite a few vagelos kids who are pre-med so I m sure it is doable. This is a good question to ask during Quaker days. ( or other vagelos students—I am sure the program will assign you a current student as a mentor or something like that). During the summer you are required to do research ( and they pay you a stipend too).
I was also recently admitted to the Vagelos Program! I think it’s an amazing offer. It seems like a rigorous, but rewarding experience. Super excited to be a Quaker!
My D also got invited to the Vagelos MLS program and she is visiting during Quaker days. It seems to be a very structured pre-professional program geared more towards the eventual Ph.D. candidate rather than the pre-med. I have read a few threads from students in the program from a few years ago. Any current students who might be able to shed some light beyond what is available on the Penn MLS website? Is there an opportunity for the student to take some humanities/language classes as electives if they are interested?