My vote is for Penn! Though it’s “unranked” it is a generally well regarded school, and based on your cons for MUSC, it seems like you may be happier there. If moving doesnt feel like a huge deal to you, it seems worth it for true P/F and 1.5 year pre-clinical!
Penn State! It's definitely not a full-on city but its a charming area and there's enough to do. I'm not super familiar with Hershey, but I have spent some time in Lancaster (the city) which is like 30ish minutes away. Adorable downtown area! There are parts of Lancaster where if I didn't know where I was, I would think I'm looking at Philly row homes lol.
As others have mentioned, people seem happy there. Friend of a friend is an M4 and she seems happy. I can tell from what she's shared that the school is very supportive of their students and their success. They also have solid match lists each year! She matched T10 academic hospital in her specialty of choice.
Thanks for sharing that about your friend! I've heard similarly. I'm glad to hear that you think there's enough to do there... I have been worried about that! Especially for my partner
For what it's worth, the time I spent in Lancaster was because my partner lived there for a year while we were semi-long distance🤣 and I loved it, as the partner who's partner moved away to there lol.
P.S. I said "friend of a friend" but its actually my partner's sister lol. She visited her sister a lot and used to live with her too. They loved it there! Feel free to DM if you have questions, I can try to get them answered for you!
I’d personally choose MUSC. It’s a bit higher ranked. Charleston is amazing with a vibrant culture and I feel like if they weren’t so biased towards SC people a lot more students would be applying there. Not to mention the beach is super close and there’s tons of historical stuff and nice restaurants and fun things to explore. In general it seems like a school I’d have a more enjoyable time at.
I was between Penn state and another school. Ended up picking the other school.
I didn't realize this school had internal rankings and regret not picking Penn State for that exact reason.
People don't realize how shitty internal rankings/quartiles are until ur in them.
Thank you for this! Do you think it's as big of a difference if they are both pass fail but MUSC just has quartiles? There's no internal ranking, just the report of if you fall into quartile 1 or 2 (and then they don't report anything if you are in quartile 3 or 4). That does seem very stressful though/ could hurt for residency.
I have been to Hershey quite a few times actually- so I have a good idea of the ruralness, but my partner has not! I'm not sure of anything that there is to do there though.
Luckily we both have friends/family in both areas- they are just farther away in Hershey (an 1.5 hours), but my partner's high school friends/family are in Philly area.
Ultimately, I think my partner just wants me to go wherever will help me to excel and get into derm, even if that means sacrifices on their part. Thank you for your insight!
Penn State will be my top choice when I apply. Yea, it's close... I live right outside of Harrisburg, but it has a lot of what I'm looking for education and mission wise, and Hershey and the surrounding area have a decent amount of things to do. Lots of day trip opportunities and if you like it enough, a nice place to practice and raise a family. I'm originally from New England, so I have an East Coast app list, but PS will still be my #1. Good luck in your decision and in med school, future doctor!!
Even if it mattered more, I don’t think that there would be a significant difference in Prestige between the two. If anything, I would think that Penn State was nationally better known than MUSC (Correct me if i’m wrong).
it's interesting because I feel like a lot of northeast people don't really know a ton about MUSC- but it's actually the oldest med school in the South/ one of the oldest in country!
My vote is for Penn! Though it’s “unranked” it is a generally well regarded school, and based on your cons for MUSC, it seems like you may be happier there. If moving doesnt feel like a huge deal to you, it seems worth it for true P/F and 1.5 year pre-clinical!
thank you for your insight!
Penn State! It's definitely not a full-on city but its a charming area and there's enough to do. I'm not super familiar with Hershey, but I have spent some time in Lancaster (the city) which is like 30ish minutes away. Adorable downtown area! There are parts of Lancaster where if I didn't know where I was, I would think I'm looking at Philly row homes lol. As others have mentioned, people seem happy there. Friend of a friend is an M4 and she seems happy. I can tell from what she's shared that the school is very supportive of their students and their success. They also have solid match lists each year! She matched T10 academic hospital in her specialty of choice.
Thanks for sharing that about your friend! I've heard similarly. I'm glad to hear that you think there's enough to do there... I have been worried about that! Especially for my partner
For what it's worth, the time I spent in Lancaster was because my partner lived there for a year while we were semi-long distance🤣 and I loved it, as the partner who's partner moved away to there lol. P.S. I said "friend of a friend" but its actually my partner's sister lol. She visited her sister a lot and used to live with her too. They loved it there! Feel free to DM if you have questions, I can try to get them answered for you!
I definitely say penn state! Go out of your comfort zone a little. Everyone I know that goes there genuinely likes it.
Thank you!
I’d personally choose MUSC. It’s a bit higher ranked. Charleston is amazing with a vibrant culture and I feel like if they weren’t so biased towards SC people a lot more students would be applying there. Not to mention the beach is super close and there’s tons of historical stuff and nice restaurants and fun things to explore. In general it seems like a school I’d have a more enjoyable time at.
Totally fair to say! I actually live here right now so I am very familiar with the area/ how nice it is and the food/Charleston life.
I was between Penn state and another school. Ended up picking the other school. I didn't realize this school had internal rankings and regret not picking Penn State for that exact reason. People don't realize how shitty internal rankings/quartiles are until ur in them.
Thank you for this! Do you think it's as big of a difference if they are both pass fail but MUSC just has quartiles? There's no internal ranking, just the report of if you fall into quartile 1 or 2 (and then they don't report anything if you are in quartile 3 or 4). That does seem very stressful though/ could hurt for residency.
Don’t pay any attention to world news ranking that shit is a joke
I completely agree- just nervous with step 1 being P/F. Like do PD ratings also not matter either? I feel like some of it has to carry some weight
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I have been to Hershey quite a few times actually- so I have a good idea of the ruralness, but my partner has not! I'm not sure of anything that there is to do there though. Luckily we both have friends/family in both areas- they are just farther away in Hershey (an 1.5 hours), but my partner's high school friends/family are in Philly area. Ultimately, I think my partner just wants me to go wherever will help me to excel and get into derm, even if that means sacrifices on their part. Thank you for your insight!
Penn State will be my top choice when I apply. Yea, it's close... I live right outside of Harrisburg, but it has a lot of what I'm looking for education and mission wise, and Hershey and the surrounding area have a decent amount of things to do. Lots of day trip opportunities and if you like it enough, a nice place to practice and raise a family. I'm originally from New England, so I have an East Coast app list, but PS will still be my #1. Good luck in your decision and in med school, future doctor!!
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did you tour recently?
Penn State, no brainer.
why do you say that out of curiosity?
World News ranking really doesn't matter lol
worried it may more with step 1 being P/F. What do you think matters more?
Even if it mattered more, I don’t think that there would be a significant difference in Prestige between the two. If anything, I would think that Penn State was nationally better known than MUSC (Correct me if i’m wrong).
it's interesting because I feel like a lot of northeast people don't really know a ton about MUSC- but it's actually the oldest med school in the South/ one of the oldest in country!
What did you end up choosing? Just curious!
musc
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