I rotated at Penn State this year. The program is very strong, and has every specialty covered, inlcuding tumor. Conferences are held each morning, and they have fracture conference on Sat/Sun as well, to cover what came in the day prior. Still, if you aren't all call, the weekends are short mornings, and you get 1 off/month free(rotates among residents). The faculty are all fellowship trained. The residents are a fun group. There is a mix of married and unmarried residents in the program. You gain OR experience early, particularly on the sports and trauma services as a PGY2. The medical center covers a large portion of central PA, so they are rather busy. As far as a training program, things are comparable to many top programs around the country. Residents get great fellowships.
That being said, Hershey has a small town feel. It is definitely more "in the country". It is a great family oriented type place to train. For myself, this is a positive, not something that lessens the appeal of the program. Baltimore and Philly are nearby, about an hours drive (11/2 for Baltimore), so the city life is available for those free weekends. For others, it would not be a place for them to spend the next five years of their lives. That is something for each to decide.
