Was not going to respond b/c my perspective may be outdated (I applied for residencies 4 years ago), but above post is so negative I had to chime in. When I was applying, I thought Penn state was an excellent program. Now things may have dramatically changed over the last 4 years, which is possible but unlikely to that degree. I spent a few days there for a "second look" after I interviewed and my take was that the program was well-rounded with all subspecialties covered. I ranked it very high on my list. I know a couple of their staff left for Maryland after former chairman Pelligrini went to Maryland. I don't know how much of an effect this has had on the program. At that time, it was one of the few programs I visited that that truly had EVERY subspecialty covered by at least 2 attendings, including tumor. Previous post makes some strong statements about resident capabilities in the OR which I would be careful about. "Incompetent" residents are scattered throughout the country and often it's a reflection on the resident and not necessarily the program.
In any case, my impression of PSU was exactly the opposite of that described above. I would spend some time there before you let above post influence you in any way. This forum is dangerous for this very reason. Strong opinions one way or the other are frequently misleading.
