Interview Process

Pre-Med & Medical School Multiple Degree Programs
1

<p>Just sharing my experience from a parent perspective at the interviews at each of the places that I had been with my D (in the sequence that she attended). Lot of subjectivity (it is just my opinion!). It is lengthy, but wanted to share the info since each college has its own process! Regarding the results, shall post in the results thread.</p>

<p>VCU: </p>

<p>Length: 9am to 4pm
Number of candidates interviewed per day: 5
Interview notifications: Email. The students had a choice of 12 dates that they could rank their preference of for attending the interview. </p>

<p>The day:
It ran like a very well-oiled engine. The day was very well planned out. Every small detail was taken into account. Emails were sent two days before with even an update on the weather and how to dress etc... Parking instructions were provided as well. Every expense on the day was taken care of from the moment we landed on the campus till we left the campus (included lunch, parking, bus tickets to and from the medical college). Overall I would say they pampered the students as well as the parents. We got a very positive feeling at the end of the day! The morning began with an overview of the program. Then there were a panel of current students answering any question that the applicants or the parents had! After that there was a tour of the honors dorms. The dorms were excellent with single rooms with attached bathrooms! Then the applicants were called for one-on-one interviews. There were 5 faculty members. Each student was assigned to be interviewed with one faculty member of the honors college. After the student interview, parents were given a few minutes (for questions on the program) one-on-one with the faculty member who interviewed the child! After that there was a tour of the campus, followed by lunch with current GMED students. Parents joined them as well! After lunch they made sure we all boarded the bus to the med school. At the med school, there was someone from admissions who received us and took us to a conference room. The med school faculty/doctors were assigned to interview the candidates. Each doctor came and took the student for the interview. After the interview, again they gave parents time to ask questions! We were given return tickets as well to come back to the VCU UG campus from the med school.</p>

<p>Results Notification: VCU email !</p>

<p>Observations :
GMED program director has been running the program for a long time. She seemed very passionate to make sure the children succeed.
VCU med school is building a new building for the med school with state of the art technology and reviving its curriculum as well.
Very nurturing environment.
Non-binding, and several students take MCATs and have the flexibility to apply out!
Rank high on hospitality!
Not sure of the safety of the area.
It is not accelerated (8 years)
Parents are included in the whole process!</p>

<p>GW:
Length: 9am to 1pm
Number of candidates interviewed per day: 20-25 per day (2 days)
Interview notifications: Email.</p>

<p>The day:
When we arrived at the school, we were all asked to sit in a big conference room in Marvin center. The students were escorted by current students to the med school for interview. The med school was about 2 blocks from the Marvin center. While the students were interviewed, parents had the opportunity to talk to current UG students (not the students in the program though) and the admissions co-ordinator. After that, parents, candidates, and current GMED students had lunch together. We had the opportunity to talk to current students.</p>

<p>Results Notification: On the web site. Some students didn’t have the decision on the GW site, had a note that they would be mailed the notification! Even after a week, that notification didn’t come!!!</p>

<p>Observations:
Maximum 15 seats. (so very limited)
They give 15K scholarship for all accepted GMED students. They cap the tuition for the 7 years.
Too much flexibility in the curriculum. (do not force to take science courses, was not too sure if there is a mentor/program director who could guide the students to be well prepared for med school)
Was concerned a little bit about the readiness to med school after the UG.
We saw several legacy students among the candidates interviewed that day. (of both the UG as well as med school)
Med school had been under probation a few years ago, but now is fine. Not a concern now.
Parents didn’t have a chance to see the med school at all.</p>

<p>Drexel College of medicine:</p>

<p>Length: 9am to 1pm
Number of candidates interviewed per day: >50 per day ( may be 3 days?)
Interview notifications: Email.</p>

<p>The day:
The interview was only at the med school. No interview with the undergrad school at all! There were a lot of students (more than 50). The students were given an essay topic and were asked to write in 30 minutes or so. The program director explained about the different methods of teaching (problem based etc.). Then the students were taken on tours around the building. It is only one building. The cafeteria was really small. After the tour, candidates were interviewed with a faculty member. Then we went for lunch. Lunch was free for the students, but parents had to buy their own. The lunch was brought from outside (not cooked there), so it was boxed lunch. During lunch some current med school students were there to talk to. Then we were done for the day.</p>

<p>Results Notification: Snail mail</p>

<p>Observations:
Hospital was at least half hour away from the med school. (every other med school we visited had the hospital adjacent!)
Student housing was outside the med school. (appeared as if you had to take apts on your own... not too sure)
Med school building appeared small.
Appeared that the school was not too generous with the money. (Though it was a weekend, and the parking lot was empty, they made us pay for the parking, had parents pay for their lunch while students were given free lunch).</p>

<p>BU:</p>

<p>Length: 11am to 3pm
Number of candidates interviewed per day: ~4 or 5 per day
Interview notifications: Phone (scheduled the date of the interview on phone)</p>

<p>There was one interview with a faculty member of the biology department. The second one was at the med school. We arrived at the school an hour early. When we stopped at the admissions, they just gave us the map and the schedule for the day. We were on our own to go to the biology building. When we arrived at the biology building, the secretary had no information that there would be a candidate for interview. She had to call the admissions office and wait for 15 minutes to hear from them! At all other places, the student was escorted by current students to the place of the interview. After the biology department's interview, met the current students at the admissions office, who took my D to lunch. At lunch, they said that the SMED students are a tight knit group and work together for the courses are tough.
After lunch, we waited for the bus to go to med school. It was cold and the bus didn't arrive for 10 minutes or so. With the cold, we were impatient and took the cab. When we arrived at the med school, we were a bit early. However the admissions office staff there was nice and even started the interview earlier than the scheduled time as the med school faculty member was available. After that interview we were done for the day.</p>

<p>Results Notification: Web site along with RD decisions</p>

<p>Observations:
It is a large school, no special attention unlike in other schools!
It is a city school. Expect students to be independent.
Place appeared cold (literally and figuratively) (may be it is just a perception! SMED students were very nice though!)
BU Med School is highly ranked and its location (Boston!) makes it highly desirable.
Not sure of the safety of the area</p>

<p>NJ Med School:</p>

<p>Length: 12-3pm
Number of candidates interviewed per day: ~4 or 5 per day
Interview notifications: Phone (scheduled the date of the interview on phone) for TCNJ (UG School). The med school interview notification came in snail mail. Had to call the med school to schedule an interview</p>

<p>The day:
At the med school, the first one hour was a tour of the school. An interview was done with the undergrad school a month earlier.
The students who took us on the tour were very enthusiastic. Took us to every place that we probably would want to see, including the anatomy lab, hospital, ER etc...
The students mentioned that though they are only freshman, they could go to the hospital in the nights or whenever they are free and ask the residents if they could learn from them. They felt very happy for all the opportunities to learn! They were indeed excited.
Then there was an hour long interview with a med school faculty member. We were given coupons to use for lunch in the cafe.
We saw groups of students working together in some rooms.</p>

<p>Results Notification: Phone call from the program director of the UG</p>

<p>Observations:
The UG school (TCNJ) has a beautiful campus and is ranked in the PR 365 best colleges book for value. The students are happy, and down to earth.
The director of the program at TCNJ is very well organized. He even had statistics of all the residency placements of the students who went through the program!
The med school's proximity to hospital and the opportunities given to students to learn are remarkable.
The school, the hospital and the student housing are all connected. So, if it rains/snows, you wouldn't need an umbrella/jacket!
Due to the interconnection between the buildings, you feel a lot safer than having to walk outside, especially if you work late in the night! (area outside the hospital didn’t seem safe).</p>

2

<p>hypermom - WOW! Thanks so much!! What a thoughtful service back to CC community. It’s a nice diary of events & observations that would be helpful to the future applicants and parents as well.</p>

3

<p>This is very useful for future applicants so I should add</p>

<p>PSU/Jefferson </p>

<p>Length: Forget specifics (also varies based on grouping) But typical Morning to Afternoon
Number of candidates interviewed per day: ~100
Interview notifications: Email I believe?</p>

<p>The day:
Went rather well, especially for the number of people being interviewed on the same day. Everyone was split up into four groups designated by the color sticker on the student’s designated folder. Each group had different time intervals for their student and faculty interviews. The day opened with an introduction followed by first years talking about different aspects of the program. Then first group went for student interviews followed by the second, so on and so forth. These were rather short (~15 min?), less formal. Then lunch was served while different groups went for their faculty interview (also short, <30min) at different times. Tours were held afterwords and then we were free to go.</p>

<p>Results Notification: By mail, almost exactly a month after interviews. Accepted I believe 50/~100</p>

<p>Observations :
-JMC had a nice campus and in a good part of the city
-Program kids were very nice and welcoming
-Stressed how 6yrs isn’t as difficult as it sounds, but also encouraged people to consider 7yr route if unsure
-Stressed quality of clinical training</p>

<p>UMIAMI
Length: Forget specifics, but full Morning to Afternoon deal
Number of Candidates: ~10?
Notification via e-mail, registered for date.</p>

<p>The day:
Everyone met up at UG campus outside parking garage before everyone was given a metro pass to take to the Med School. Walked to medical campus, went up to interview floor. Split up into two groups, one had faculty interview first, the other had the group session. Faculty interview varied in length (30 min-1hr). Group session consisted of watching a scene from a movie and making comments/discussing. Lunch with 1st year meds proceeded followed by a tour of the med campus. We then moved back to the UG campus and toured there before the day finished. </p>

<p>Results Notification: via E-mail initially, March 20s. Accepted 23/80 interviewed </p>

<p>Observations:
-UG campus was nice, safety outside questionable.
-Med campus seemed to be very active (served poorer areas)
-Teaching facilities admittedly not very nice.
-Current students seemed to like the opportunities offered by the program.</p>

<p>Albany Med</p>

<p>Length: Morning to early afternoon
Number of candidates: ~10
Interview notifications: via Email</p>

<p>Day:
Went alright. Met up at Med admissions office, taken to a briefing room to discuss the day. Current students came in while we had lunch, the we were given a tour. When we cam back, there was a group activity in which we had to work together to create a presentation. Then we had to sit down and answer some questions about what we do for fun etc in the group. Then back to admissions office where faculty took people at different time intervals to the interview location. End day.</p>

<p>Observations:
-Med campus wasn’t stellar, not in a major city
-Each program affiliated looks for different things, liked the research focus of the RPI one.
-UG campus (RPI) nice, though overall a cold feel (Upstate NY).</p>

4

<p>UConn</p>

<p>Length: Started around noon, ran till mid afternoon, maybe 3 hours or so
Number of candidates: ~15
Interview notification: By email. Invited in early Feb, interviewed in mid Feb</p>

<p>Day:
They used group interviews. I and around 8 others had 2 physicians in our group for the first hour, and then we switched to having 2 med students in the group. They also gave a tour for around an hour.</p>

<p>Observations:

  • Location is almost desolate compared to Boston, Miami, or even the suburbs
  • Med school rank is decent
  • OOS cost wasn’t excessive but not cheap either
  • I hated the group interview format</p>
5

<p>Penn State / Jefferson</p>

<p>Length: There was a mixer the night before (no presentaton or events of real importance)
On interview day, it was from 10:30 to around 3</p>

<p>Candidates: ~100, everyone was on one day</p>

<p>Notification: By email in late January for an early February interview</p>

<p>Day: We each had a 20 min student and 30 min faculty interview along with tours and information about the program. There was a cookie hour at the end to chat with prog students which was optional.</p>

<p>Observations:

  • Located in a nicer part of Philly
  • Decent med school rank
  • I didn’t like the short interviews</p>
6

<p>Hypermom- This is a great idea! Thanks for taking the time to share all that info, I know it would have helped me a lot had I known this a few months ago, and hopefully it will help future applicants :slight_smile: I’ll add Northwestern and Case to the list.</p>

<p>Northwestern HPME:</p>

<p>Length: 8 am to 2 pm ish
Number of candidates interviewed per day: 8-10
Interview notifications: Email. Notifications came out throughout January and February, and I was given a choice of three dates in my email.</p>

<p>The day:
I did an overnight the night before, which I strongly suggest because if they match you with a current HPME, you can find out a lot about the school and the program, which you can later talk about in your interview. The day started at 9 am in Chicago at Feinberg SOM, which is about 30-60 min from the Evanston campus (plan accordingly if you are doing an overnight!). First of all, the medical school is in a BEAUTIFUL location right along the water and in a rich part of Chicago (I remember seeing a Chanel, Louis Vuitton, etc. along the same road as the medical school… felt like 5th Ave. in NYC). When I entered the medical school, I was directed to the admissions office, where I was given a clearly planned out schedule for the day. There are three interviews during the day: one with Dr. Green, the HPME director, one with a medical school faculty member, and one with an MS4 who was in the program. Dr. Green’s interview was 15 minutes long, the other two were 30 minutes each. All interviewers have our files in front of them, and are very familiar with our entire application. All three of my interviewers quoted my essays (which they all said they liked a lot… I still didn’t get in though, go figure.) and asked me questions about my activities. Dr. Green’s interview was probably the trickiest of them all. She’s a very nice person, but it felt like she was testing us in the interview. She would ask us random questions that there is no way we could have prepared for, and I think she wants to see if you can formulate a coherent argument on the spot. All the other interviewees said they felt the same way during their interview with her. Just make sure you stay calm and stick to your instincts. The MS4 interview was very straightforward, but keep in mind that this student is not much older than you- he/she can see right through you if you lie or make up random stuff so just be yourself and be sincere. Every applicant’s interview schedule is different, but all of us sat together in a waiting room with snacks in between interviews. I have to admit, everyone who was interviewing that day seemed very unique and intelligent, and I really loved meeting everyone. There were people from all over the country, from Florida to California to Illinois. We all came together again after the interviews for an informal lunch with MS2’s who were in the program- I’m pretty sure this lunch is just a chance to talk to the current students. It was very informal, and not an evaluation of any kind. Anyway, the day was planned out well, and someone from admissions directed us to our interviews and to the lunch and back. Both my parents and I left Chicago with a great impression of the school and the program. </p>

<p>Results Notification: UG results come out first via a link in an email. This year was very frustrating- the server was down for 12+ hours and it was an agonizing wait. HPME results come out also via email 2-3 days after. I believe UG came out on a Friday this year, and HPME came out the next Monday. </p>

<p>Observations :
Dr. Green has been running the program for a long time.
Feinberg SOM is in a beautiful location right along the water. It seemed like a very safe (and affluent…) part of Chicago.
HPME provides a lot of flexibility throughout the undergrad years. Every student is doing something uniqyue. My host was an economics major, as was my MS4 interviewer, and the MS2’s at lunch majored in history and chemistry- I didn’t meet any typical bio pre-med majors, to my surprise!
Non-binding, and several students take MCATs and have the flexibility to apply out!
Very highly ranked medical school. Even though Feinberg is in an affluent part of Chicago, they have many clinics/ service learning opportunities throughout Chicago.
Where do medical students live?? I imagine it would be ridiculously expensive to get housing within walking distance of the medical school.
7 year program, but because of the quarter system at Northwestern, they don’t have a more difficult course load than other students.
No organized parent program during interviews- bring a book and plan to sit in the cafeteria or lobby.
Many HPME students study abroad.</p>

7

<p>Case Western PPSP:</p>

<p>Length: 2 days- 8 am first day-4 pm second day.
Number of candidates interviewed per day: 35? 70 PPSP interviewees total (including medicine, dental medicine, social work, and law, but the vast majority are medicine applicants)
Interview notifications: Email. Notifications came out in early February, I believe. We were required to stay on campus the entire duration of the program, and were strongly encouraged to do an overnight stay with a student.</p>

<p>The day(s):
First off, let me just say that I was EXTREMELY impressed by CWRU’s planning. The PPSP interview days coincided with an accepted students open house (all interviewees were accepted, most with enormous merit scholarships, about a month before). When you arrive on campus at 8am the first day, you are given a huge itinerary/ schedule of things to do. PPSP interviewees have the following mandatory events: Interview with a rep from undergraduate admissions and a medical school faculty member (both at once); Group “interview”/seminar-style discussion with a few faculty members and about 10-12 other students (this is supposed to be a mock-seminar of the SAGES program at Case, which is a series of seminars that all undergraduates take. They start out by giving everyone an excerpt of an article to read, and then we just have a discussion about it. It may or may not be medically-related, depending on your group.); a dinner with current PPSP students (let me just say that the food at Case was very impressive!); closing remarks on the second day. We get a tour of the medical school the day of our interview. Case has so much planned for the two days that you can really pick and choose which events you want to go to. You can tour research labs, tour dorms, sit in on classes, eat in dining halls, etc. One unique event was CWRU Live! on the first day of the open house. It was essentially an indoor fair, with booths from various clubs and students groups on campus. Students presented research projects, groups performed a capella, dance, etc. There was lots of free food (including a fresh lemonade stand, snow cone stand, ice cream, pretzels, funnel cake, cotton candy), free bags, cups, and shirts, and many carnival style events. Case did an AMAZING job of planning out the entire two days and it was great that parents were able to be very involved in it. They pampered us a lot with endless free meal vouchers, and the entire staff and student body at Case was amazing.</p>

<p>Results Notification: Came out by e-mail exactly one week after the interviews- Case is really on top of things.</p>

<p>Observations :
The two-day event was amazing. They had so much planned out for us in addition to the interviews, and the admitted student event was intertwined with the interview dates very well. To be honest, they completely sold me on Case and I would have loved to attend (I was waitlisted by the program).
The students, both in the undergrad and at the medical school seemed really happy. The medical school has harry potter style houses, and it seems to foster a nice sense of community. Their testing schedule is unique- they learn for 13 weeks straight, then have 2 weeks of clinical rounds, then they have a test, so unlike at other medical schools, they aren’t studying for tests every few weeks. The students say this system alleviates a lot of stress.
The medical school is very highly-ranked and has an AMAZING match list. They seem to crank out students in the most competitive specialties (dermatology, radiology, orthopedic surgery, anaesthesiology, etc.)
I expected that Case wouldn’t have a campus feel since it was located in Cleveland, a major city, but it was actually a very nice, safe, green campus. There were actually quads with a lot of grass in the campus, despite being in a major city. The architecture was also gorgeous and each building has a unique style. The entire campus is beautiful, and the medical school is literally across the street from the undergrad campus. Also, Cleveland Clinic is just down the street…</p>

<p>8-year program- plenty of time to enjoy the entire undergrad experience. MCAT not required, but if you take it, you are expected to get a 32 or 33, I can’t remember which… If you apply out, I think you lose the guarantee, but I don’t know why you would apply out since the medical school is great.
I noticed that all the undergrads seemed very intelligent, and the school as a whole seems to be recruiting smart kids very actively. They pampered us with free stuff and a well-planned out stay, and I have a feeling their ranking will climb in the next few years.
The dorms were wonderful. Freshmen live in residential colleges, which help establish a nice sense of community.
The school is very vegetarian friendly- this was the only school I have visited that asked all interviewees about dietary concerns. The students also proudly point out that CWRU was voted one of the most vegetarian friendly schools, and their freshman dining hall is the best I have seen, hands down.
The school is extremely generous with merit scholarships.
I really could go on and on praising the school, and I wish I had gotten into PPSP! The only downside to the school is the weather. It was incredibly warm when we visited (70’s and 80’s), but students admitted that it was an anomaly and the weather is not usually that nice in March.
Both my parents and I absolutely loved the school.</p>

8

<p>Thanks so much! I hope to get an interview to some programs, and I was always worried about what it would be like. Reading your comments makes me feel a bit more aware about what will happen.</p>

9

<p>This is a great service. Thank you so much. If others have these kind of notes on other schools, please add on.</p>

10

<p>Anyone:
How many students interviewed and how many accepted to UM , Honors program in Medicine at previous year ?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

11

<p>Is CWRU’s interviews on the weekends since it’s two days? Missing 2 days of school would be very tough…</p>

12

<p>@sanguinee</p>

<p>Not sure if this will help, but my daughter’s interview at CWRU in March 2010 was on a Thursday and was only one day.</p>

13

<p>Can anyone explain how a group interview works? I have an interview at SBU/GW and have no idea what that means!</p>

14

<p>@Dual, thanks. That helps. I wonder why the person above said CWRU was 2 day.</p>

15

<p>^
Perhaps they’ve changed it in recent years? I think this year it is also a weekend. Can’t wait for the results from PPSP though! It’s amazing.</p>

16

<p>Anyone have advice for the RPI/AMC interview?
How in depth are the medical ethics questions (if there are any)?</p>

<p>Thanks, I’m nervous and freaking out a bit right now.</p>

17

<p>^
Congrats on your interview! When did you submit your application to RPI/AMC and when did you receive the supplement from AMC? I still haven’t heard back…</p>

18

<p>I submitted my application for RPI/AMC on nov.1 and got the secondary from AMC around two-three weeks ago. I had a week to fill it out and then got an email about 3 days after saying I can schedule an interview.</p>

19

<p>For RPI/Albany interview the format is as follows: You take a tour of the building first with the rest of the interviewees and program students guiding or answering questions. Then as a group they put the interviewers around a table with med school panel on the other side. Everyone goes around the table answering “why medicine” in front of the panel and also stuff like where you’re from and hobbies. It’s a little tense to be honest but definitely not that bad. You’re then given a group activity to accomplish (in my case it was having to develop a plan to advise a high school freshmen how to prepare for college admissions) and they try to see how you work in a group/who’s a leader so try hard to stick out and make a good impression. After that activity are the individual interviews, about thirty minutes long. In terms of ethics I think they just asked me about one ethical dilemma in medicine that I know/passionate about and I just talked about euthanasia. Beyond that it was normal med school interview questions like why medicine, talking more about experiences and how that links to you wanting to become a physician, talking about why RPI/Albany and of course mention how being a physician-scientist is valuable to you (aka talk about some of your research and stuff). My phone even rang during the interview and interviewer was chill with it (rookie mistake haha). Good luck with the interview! It’s not anything to fret about once you know what to expect and you practice/prepare for it (just being yourself is probably not adequate preparation haha). Good luck, and let me know if you have any other questions!</p>

20

<p>How were the other people at the interview? Were there any really bossy/shy people during the group work?</p>