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University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine

Philadelphia, PA

Allopathic Medical Schools | Private Non-Profit

⭐ Overall Impressions

How did the interview impress you?

Positively

What was the stress level of the interview?

2 out of 10

How you think you did?

No responses

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

No responses

How do you rank this school among other schools to which you've applied?

No responses
💬 Interview Questions

What is one of the specific questions they asked you?

Do you plan to get involved in research?
What do you think of Philadelphia?
Why Penn?

What was the most interesting question?

What was it like being actively involved in a sociocultural student group in college?

What was the most difficult question?

None of the questions were diffcult, my interviewers were very personable and easy to chat with.
🤝 Interview Format and Logistics

How long was the interview?

35 minutes

How many people interviewed you?

2

What was the style of the interview?

One-on-one

What type of interview was it?

Open file

Was this interview in-person or virtual?

No responses

Where did the interview take place?

At the school
📍 On-Site Experience

Who was the tour given by?

Student

How did the tour guide seem?

No responses

How do you rank the facilities?

No responses

What is your in-state status?

No responses

What were your total hours spent traveling?

No responses

What was your primary mode of travel?

No responses

About how much did you spend on room, food, and travel?

No responses

What airport did you fly into?

No responses

Where did you stay?

No responses

What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?

No responses

How would you rate the hotel?

No responses

Would you recommend the hotel?

No responses

What is your ranking of this school's location?

No responses

What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?

No responses

What are your comments on where you stayed?

No responses
✅ Interview Preparation and Impressions

How is the friendliness of the admissions office?

No responses

How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?

No responses

How did you prepare for the interview?

I read the SDN website, read about their unique curriculum, and talked to my student host.

What impressed you positively?

The faculty and staff were very personable. They made us feel so welcome and kept asking how we were doing during the many presentations that marked the day.

What impressed you negatively?

I had read from other students' interview experiences that the day would be very long, so I tried to prepare myself ahead of time. I was still exhausted by the end of the day though, so be forwarned (ladies, no high heel shoes if you can help it!)

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

The actual interviews are very short (compared to the rest of the day) and laid back, so don't stress out too much about it.

What are your general comments?

UPenn is a really good school and Philadelphia is a bustling city. Tons of people live here, so parking is very difficult (parking permits are ridiculously expensive!). Rent is not cheap, so it may be cheaper to live a bit far from school (many students said they lived in Center City, not West Philly). I didn't really get to see much of the campus, but the medical school is integrated with the undergraduate campus. Try to talk to as many current students as you can (student hosts, tour guides, even those who drop by for lunch). They are an excellent source of information and will tell you what they like and don't like about UPenn. The faculty and staff are very friendly and warm. My faculty interviewer was such a nice guy! I asked him a question about clerkships, and he escorted me to the admissions office to get a definite answer. He even came to meet me after my interview was over and gave me his card to contact him if I had any other questions. My student interviewer was actually very sick, but he still tried to answer my questions as best as he could. The tours were given by a group of 4th year students, and they were quite informative as well. Apparently, starting your clinical rotations in the second semester of your second year will free up more time for applying and interviewing for residency program. But, I also heard that the curriculum is quite hard in the beginning as many of the traditional courses are taught in shorter periods of time. We got to sit in one of the second year discussion classes and walked through the anatomy lab. All in all, I would say it was a very good (albeit rather long) day.

What are your suggestions for the admissions office?

No responses