@AtticusFinchh, wait, so are you calling me a mother hen??? LOL. J.K. I guess the only thing left for me to do was pack you your lunch for tomorrow. LMAO. I know it’s felt like such a long time from this past August which seems so long ago! It’s been great finding that information and I’m hoping that it will end up being helpful to you, if not overpreparing you guys (and gals). I think as mentioned consistently by others here from last year, don’t overthink the questions. The goal of the MMI is not to trick you or give you “gotcha” questions. It’s getting you to confidently discuss and/or apply things from those competencies to a standardized situation, and not just say things that you think reads well off a script. Glad you brought your mother with you! I think all of us did, ha ha. Having our own cheerleader is always good for the psyche. Thank you for your great contributions and good luck to you tomorrow!!
@4beardolls, aw, thank you!! Great avatar pick by the way! I realize that the CC forums have quite a few parents on the website, who have really great insight, advice, and/or often have better questions than even some applicants, who often aren’t sure what questions they should be asking of places they are applying to. I definitely had no clue what questions I should be trying to get answers to on interview day or afterwards, when I was initially evaluating different combined programs and their medical schools in high school, and I’m someone who thought I had done a pretty good job with researching.
I can commiserate in a way, as kids tend to be nervous enough in this process as it is. It’s just the nature of the beast. I think the change to the MMI format in spring 2013 (so application cycle 2012-2013), kind of adds slightly to that since it’s different than what they have experienced up to that point in their life. All the more reason for applicants not to take themselves way too seriously on interview day. Regardless of whether you make it into this program, or into another combined program, or do the traditional route and get into med school like 98-99% of applicants (or to any professional school really), you’ll need the support of your parents more than ever, so helps to keep that in mind.
I think it’s great as a parent that you are investigating, along with your daughter different BA/MD and BS/MD programs, before she applies. You can teach all this stuff next year!! ha ha.
@Roentgen, what is your email address ? I like to contact you for some ideas .
Its kind of strange/funny to think that some kid in their MMI is sweating nervously about a question as I type this lol
I’m sure everyone in Group 2/29 will do great!
B-) how can I contact roentgen . Anybody have the email id please provide or how can we contact her persinally
@3kiddos, you can direct message me. Click in the Inbox icon at the top and click on New Message.
Hi everyone! Quick question for the ladies: should we bring a purse? If not, would we be able to leave our calculators/snacks in our cars and pick them up as needed? Thanks!
@yenluu98, so hopefully someone will come back and answer this from today’s interview day, to tell us, but I would not leave your calculators/snacks in your car, especially as you won’t know till you get there if you’ll be in the group doing the MMI first or the Toledo Chemistry Exam first. It would be a pain to have to walk all the way back to the parking garage, although you’ll get a better idea how far it is when you are there and if that is practical. They MIGHT have a holding closet for people to place their purses/coats/suit jackets but I am not at all sure about this.
If you’re coming with your parent, you can obviously have them hold your purse/calculator/snacks, but I’m guessing you’re asking since you’ll be coming by yourself.
Thank you for your answer @Roentgen! I will probably bring a small purse for my calculator/snacks, just in case. Can anyone who interviewed today let us know your if there is a holding closet for bags/costs? Thank you!!
Do you guys know if, during the interview, we just talk for 6 minutes or if we should talk for 3 and leave 3 minutes for questions?
@fifteenpapers, The 6 minutes is TOTAL for that particular station, outside of that 2 minute reading period. It’s not further apportioned any more than that. If you look at prior MMI videos, some of them recommend to quickly summarize the prompt in your own words just so that both you and the interviewer are on the same page, so that takes about a minute - minute and a half depending on how long the prompt is, then you can give your answer, after which the interviewer can ask any followup questions to that response, which you can then take a breath to think about in your head and then respond. But no, it’s usually not a soliloquy on your part for 6 minutes (thank God), for the stations in which it is only discussion.
Interview Reflection / Interview Info
It’s over!! You’ll feel so good when you’re done! There’s really no more responsibility on your part now. Just wait!
7:15-7:45 AM —> Arrive and Check-In; there is quite a line that forms and not enough seating area; just hang around and try to socialize if you can; most kids have parents with them.
*There is no place to put your stuff; most girls had a small kind of purse; some guys just put the calculator in their coat’s pocket; or just give it to mom/dad!
•You *will be receiving a folder; don’t even think it’s necessary to bring your own as most kids did not; the folder is “customized” for you! There is a custom schedule that has your name on it and what “rotation” you will have as far as MMI goes (start station, room#, etc) and when you’re taking the Chem Exam
•Parents will get their own folder with info/ a schedule for them!
8:00-8:45 AM —> Welcome Session in the theater; the dean, Dr. Arredondo goes over the procedures of the day and how things will go; she also tells what the MMI is like, lunchtime, and about the 6-year BA/MD program, answering anyone’s questions on the way regarding the program and the interview day––it does run later than 45 minutes.
8:45-9:15 AM —> Financial Aid session in the theater; presentation by a man who is the Asst. Director of FinAid. He tells about the costs, scholarships available, FAFSA (deadline is March 1st! Get it done!). He also briefly answers question due to less time.
9:15-9:45 AM —> School of Medicine Student Affairs Q&A in the theater; A lady in the student affairs office talks about “stuff” and the advising opportunities and how “great” the support system is.
Here is where each person’s schedule changes:
•You will need to KEEP YOUR SCHEDULE with you! It has your MMI start station; don’t be the kid who looses it or gives it to mom or dad for safe keeping when they’re not with you!
•Some kids will now (9:45 AM) go take the Toledo exam upstairs; some will go up for the MMI (MMI is also broken up into at least two sub-groups!)
If Toledo First – 10:00-11:00 AM –– There is only one spare calculator in the room! As long as it’s not graphing you’re fine; it can be scientific if you want–simple works; you’ll sit on a table that can seat two students; be friendly to that person! There will be one proctor per room. They will continue to repeat that it is *not used for admissions! So don’t cheat!
If MMI First — 10:00ish-12:00ish PM –– It’s on the fourth floor; parents can come with you all the way up to the entry door to the multipurpose rooms where the interviews are done! You can only take your folder/purse/water with you in there. I suggest mom/dad coming up to the room as most did and holding on to your extra stuff. You will enter in; black curtains will be set up dividing the regions; many asked if the volume gets distracting: No, it does not. Most of the time, you’re too caught up in answering the questions/reading that you won’t even realize there are people by you. I couldn’t even hear the person by me. One you enter, there will be a table set up in the center where the moderator is sitting with pitchers full of flavored water/lime/berries so you can have a drink if you want. You will have to put all of your stuff/folders/purses/phones in the center of the room.
•MMI is not bad at all! If you read any of the resources that were posted here, you should be fine; many questions were generic and not hard; don’t stress; they really aren’t there to get you; interviewers are nice; some are old, some are younger; they don’t expect you to actually talk the entire 6 minutes; they *tell you that it is not necessary; the interviewers are actually given a list of follow up questions because they know you will end early. Some stations actually finished so early that kids were sent back out! It will not be that bad; I can’t really post what kind of questions there were, but I will say that they were definitely “familiar” with all the prep we did!-–
There is NOT a “Rest” station; however half-way done, they WILL have a 5-Minute BREAK! You can go out of the room and have a drink; talk to mom/dad; snack; whatever.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Then depending on what shift you had Toledo Chem Exam or the MMI, you go directly to lunch until everyone is done.
•There is more than enough lunch for all parents and students; multiple vegetarian options; multiple non-vegetarian options as well; food is catered through the undergrad campus I believe; very nicely packaged; some people even had seconds; no formal seating–sit anywhere in the student union-keep track of your schedule so you get to the next activity (student panel) on time. Relax and chill!
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Then there is a student panel in the theater for about half-an-hour. Ask the questions! Don’t be scared to ask tough ones, the students are here for that and take advantage of it–some parents asked some hard questions and it was nice to see them look at each other. There are a wide range of students from early years to later.
After that, there are photos are taken; for some it may be in the morning; for some in the afternoon. SMILE! It’s just against a white wall. Nothing too formal.
Now the afternoon “shift” starts:
–––MMI is 1:00-3:00 PM (most ended around 2:45)
–––Toledo Chem Exam Between that time period as well. (ended early)
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
There is no formal “farewell” ; They will have people walking around to collect your name tags for some reason; perhaps to reuse the plastic badges for the next day?
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
3:00-4:00PM – Optional Tour of the UMKC Volker Campus; meet in theater; some went, some did not; your choice!
3:30-4:00PM - Optional Tour of the UMKC School of Medicine; meed in School of Medicine Lobby, Hospital Hill
4:30-5:00PM - Optional Tour of the UMKC School of Medicine; meed in School of Medicine Lobby, Hospital Hill
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Any questions? I’ll try to answer before tonight if you have any! I can’t be specific about MMI–even though they did not make us sign anything.
Good luck!
Statistics: 352 students picked for interviews this year; class size is supposed to be 115ish; I don’t remember how many people applied; ACT range: 24(i think) to 36; Offer for admissions: March 27-end of month; May 2nd: Deadline to accept offer of admission; May 2016 (ongoing): Admission offers extended to alternates!
@AtticusFinchh, always giving back to the team, thank you!! It’s great that things now are very organized, and that students AND parents are being given things in terms of presentations, paperwork to take home, and parents having things to do during the interview day to learn more about the school itself and the program. I remember in my time, after an initial presentation or two, parents kind of just sat in the lobby of the med school waiting for us, while we all did our traditional interviews.
I did expect the MMI for you guys to be modified somewhat as no matter how great an applicant you are, a 17/18 year old is just not going to have the number and breadth of life experiences that the traditional 21/22 year old applicant, who has almost completed a full undergraduate education, will have. This worked the same way when it was 2 traditional interviews also. I expected the resources I posted would most likely overprepare you, which is always nice to be in that scenario.
Part of my concern I had with the change is that in a traditional interview, you can ask questions back of the interviewer regarding the program (although you might have had to filter the questions you really wanted to ask) – they would almost always ask you “Do you have any questions?” at the end to conclude the interview. Glad they added a student panel for both students and parents to ask questions.
Quick question about the student panel: Did the students range from Years 1 to 6, or was it mainly just Years 1 & 2, maybe a 3, etc. since it is at the Volker campus now, and not the med school? I’m glad that parents are going deep and really asking questions. Like a pseudo reverse MMI (lol, totally kidding).
@AtticusFinchh How was the Toledo in terms of difficulty?
@Roentgen
Yes the students in the panel ranged from Year2-Year5.
Also, I forgot to mention there is even more stuff for parents to do! When students are gone to their respective “rotation” there is a special Parent Q&A session for parents only so they may ask other questions and discuss issues they may not feel comfortable discussing around the “kids”. It’s another nice touch to helping the parents understand the program. My parent said that things like attrition rates to MMI benefits to part time jobs and finances were discussed by parents and MedSchool Staff/Administration.
Also, there is a large refreshments room or “lounge” for parents with water and coffee refilled throughout the day!
@Watang
Toledo: algebra questions and simple math. Some don’t even need a calculator! Know basic high school chemistry from properties of chemical changes, bonds, ions, titrations/stoichiometry, naming, reading graphs, etc.
A periodic table is provided in the test booklet, it also is the other symbols/formulas available, including Avogadros #. There is a scantron bubble sheet. Scratch paper is provided. You are *not allowed to write in the test booklet; something that kinda annoyed me.
Also, they said that you need a 40/60 to pass.
If you pass and get admitted, you’ll get a congrats email; you may call and ask your specific score if you’re interested.
If you fail and get admitted, you’ll get a congrats email and your score will be posted in the email with directions for summer classes.
@AtticusFinchh, my guess is that the Toledo Chemistry Exam test booklets are ordered directly from the American Chemical Society (they write and have copyright on the exam). It’s definitely not worth buying and having to find permanent storage for 352 exams which are used one time a year, rather than just buying enough for half an interview group, and then just reusing them for each half interview group. That money saved can be used much more wisely for other admissions interview day expenses.
@Watang, you can also see the topics and how many questions in each category here 20/20/20: http://www.messiah.edu/info/20201/department_of_chemistry_and_biochemistry/566/general_chemistry_placement_exam (Click on “Placement Exam Topics”)
Did you bring a backup or just like a pencil pouch?
*backpack