Penn State 3+7

[Guest]

As a current college student who wants to pursue neurosurgery, I was wondering how competitive the penn state 3+ 7 neurosurgery program is. Are there any numbers on how many people apply and how many ultimately get into the program? I have about 1000 hours of total medical exposure (research, volunteering, shadowing, etc), mcat 518-520, and a 4.0. A current junior. Stay safe

[Guest]

(04-17-2020, 04:43 PM)Guest Wrote: As a current college student who wants to pursue neurosurgery, I was wondering how competitive the penn state 3+ 7 neurosurgery program is. Are there any numbers on how many people apply and how many ultimately get into the program? I have about 1000 hours of total medical exposure (research, volunteering, shadowing, etc), mcat 518-520, and a 4.0. A current junior. Stay safe

I would ask the neurosurgery program coordinator at Penn State and ask about prior applicants stats and an overview of the program. There is another thread on the forum discussing the 3+7 at Penn State but does not answer your particular question. You have great scores and depending on how much research you have you'd probably be competitive for the program.

[Guest]

(04-17-2020, 04:43 PM)Guest Wrote: As a current college student who wants to pursue neurosurgery, I was wondering how competitive the penn state 3+ 7 neurosurgery program is. Are there any numbers on how many people apply and how many ultimately get into the program? I have about 1000 hours of total medical exposure (research, volunteering, shadowing, etc), mcat 518-520, and a 4.0. A current junior. Stay safe

I usually don't comment on these forums but I really want you to think about the pros and cons of doing something like this. Personally, I think it would be really silly to commit to a SEVEN YEAR residency at a single program this far in advance (especially to a program that isn't particularly strong or desirable). There are numerous early medical school acceptance programs (eg Brown, Case Western) that really talented students take, just to get that assurance and peace of mind (even though most of those students would have gotten into better schools later on). This tradeoff is somewhat justified because it doesn't really limit your options down the line. As long as you do really well in medical school you'll likely be able to go elsewhere for residency. For residency though, this doesn't make a lot of sense. 

In this case, you're a really great applicant. You have a 4.0, 98th percentile MCAT, and all the bells and whistles med school admissions committees are looking for. You KNOW you're going to get into a mid or top tier MD school. You KNOW that you have the study skills, raw memory/recall, and work ethic to do well. If you really apply yourself and do all the right things (and you clearly will because you're on this forum): early research, early studying (in your case it will be for Step 2 CK since Step 1 is going P/F), building connections, you'll have a shot at any program. Who knows what you'll want in 5 years? What if you meet your SO in med school and they want to be closer to family in LA or some other part of the country? Going through the match will give you so much more flexibility in terms of picking a program that suits your needs.

Second, and I think this is the more important point, residency is NOT like medical school where you can just join a class of 150 other students without really knowing anyone else or seeing if you like them. In a small specialty like neurosurgery, "fit" is REALLY important. How well you get along with your chiefs (this is why PGY-5s frequently interview applicants), your other co-residents, and attendings plays a huge role in succeeding and thus making a rank list. Right now, you have *no idea* who is going to be there 6 years down the line. Which faculty members will come/go, which residents you'll be working 100 hours/week with, or literally anything else about what you're committing to. Finally, I just don't see a big upside to this. I understand that any accredited program will allow you to be ABNS BE, but there isn't anything about Penn State that makes it a big draw that would justify sacrificing all of the flexibility and choice you would have later on if you just keep doing what you're doing.

[Guest]

(04-17-2020, 09:24 PM)Guest Wrote:

(04-17-2020, 04:43 PM)Guest Wrote: As a current college student who wants to pursue neurosurgery, I was wondering how competitive the penn state 3+ 7 neurosurgery program is. Are there any numbers on how many people apply and how many ultimately get into the program? I have about 1000 hours of total medical exposure (research, volunteering, shadowing, etc), mcat 518-520, and a 4.0. A current junior. Stay safe

I usually don't comment on these forums but I really want you to think about the pros and cons of doing something like this. Personally, I think it would be really silly to commit to a SEVEN YEAR residency at a single program this far in advance (especially to a program that isn't particularly strong or desirable). There are numerous early medical school acceptance programs (eg Brown, Case Western) that really talented students take, just to get that assurance and peace of mind (even though most of those students would have gotten into better schools later on). This tradeoff is somewhat justified because it doesn't really limit your options down the line. As long as you do really well in medical school you'll likely be able to go elsewhere for residency. For residency though, this doesn't make a lot of sense. 

In this case, you're a really great applicant. You have a 4.0, 98th percentile MCAT, and all the bells and whistles med school admissions committees are looking for. You KNOW you're going to get into a mid or top tier MD school. You KNOW that you have the study skills, raw memory/recall, and work ethic to do well. If you really apply yourself and do all the right things (and you clearly will because you're on this forum): early research, early studying (in your case it will be for Step 2 CK since Step 1 is going P/F), building connections, you'll have a shot at any program. Who knows what you'll want in 5 years? What if you meet your SO in med school and they want to be closer to family in LA or some other part of the country? Going through the match will give you so much more flexibility in terms of picking a program that suits your needs.

Second, and I think this is the more important point, residency is NOT like medical school where you can just join a class of 150 other students without really knowing anyone else or seeing if you like them. In a small specialty like neurosurgery, "fit" is REALLY important. How well you get along with your chiefs (this is why PGY-5s frequently interview applicants), your other co-residents, and attendings plays a huge role in succeeding and thus making a rank list. Right now, you have *no idea* who is going to be there 6 years down the line. Which faculty members will come/go, which residents you'll be working 100 hours/week with, or literally anything else about what you're committing to. Finally, I just don't see a big upside to this. I understand that any accredited program will allow you to be ABNS BE, but there isn't anything about Penn State that makes it a big draw that would justify sacrificing all of the flexibility and choice you would have later on if you just keep doing what you're doing.

Bahaha the classic “I don’t usually post here” bullshit

[Guest]

He makes really good points and puts in the effort to help out someone, and you act like the toxic person everyone hopes not to match with. I pity you

[Guest]

Don’t you have to commit to penn state before they even consider you for the program?

[Guest]

Anyone?^^

[Guest]

Looks like you have to be accepted to PSCOM for you to then enter the pathway. It sounds like a good deal if you have a preexisting relationship with the department through research or shadowing and you know you want to live/practice in PA.

[Guest]

How many people do you think apply for that program?

[Guest]

Anyone^^