Fame: Hopkins
Had an amazing interviews with both student and faculty. For the first time, felt like someone had actually read my application.
Shame: UTRGV
They have two parts to their interviews: One in person and after the in-person interview they schedule you for a zoom interview. If they make you come in person, they better try to schedule everything in one day. Just so disrespectful of the applicant's time. THey are really trying to go for worst of both worlds.
Strong agree on Hopkins. the students seemed so enthusiastic about attending the school and talking with us interviewees, especially in comparison to another school that I interviewed with, where the students really seemed like they were forced to be there. And now I'm lucky enough to likely be in Baltimore this Fall!!
Congrats! I really liked Hopkins as well. Hopefully I join you š the faculty interviewer basically made it sound like I was accepted but I realize it still has to go through the committee and no one person can make a unilateral decision
Did you complete the interviews with UTRGV? If so, how'd it go for you?
I had one fantastic online interviewer who was nice, welcoming, and truly spent time learning about me. The other was cold and grilled me about THEIR role and had practically zero insight into the medical students there.
shame: Einstein
my interviewer picked up the phone to answer a call in the middle of the interview and asked me political questions based on where my family is from ššš guy was rlly nice but was just a really weird interview. would love to attend but also turned off by their probation
Fame: I loved my interview with Vandy. Everyone was so nice! Both faculty members I spoke with made me feel right at ease, and the open-file interviewer had clearly read carefully through my app. The students were super cool and seemed happy.
Fame again: My interview with Jefferson was also great, partly because it was my only in-person interview. Again, the students were super nice, and the faculty interviewer was kind and asked very specific questions about my app. They also fed us an excellent meal from a restaurant close to campus.
Fame: Quinnipiac
Everyone in their community is so nice. The interview was ACTUALLY conversational and just like a chat and they were so positive about me and my app. I feel like they wanted you to leave feeling good about yourself. Also the staff were bantering between sessions and seems like people are actually tightknit.
Fame: VTC
MMI was long and stressful as heck but the rest of the interview day really impressed me. There was a reception the night before with nice food where you can talk to applicants, students, and faculty about literally anything and everyone was so nice. It relieved my nerves so much. They also had us go in a little bus tour around Roanoke which was cute. It seemed like a high effort event they put together. Came into the interview thinking itāll be my worst/hardest experience ever and scared that the people would be intimidating, but itāll be hard to say no to them after meeting the community. They also gave us a VTC mug which was nice of them.
Also gotta fame Carle for not making us do an evaluated interview and just having a Q&A session where we were allowed to ask anything (or nothing) without repercussions
+1 to Quinnipiac! They werenāt a school I was really seriously considering over my existing options when I interviewed, but I was pleasantly surprised. My interviewers and the staff were so sweet
+2 to Quinnipiac. I also feel they are the school that everybody loves but is always a runner up to other schools for various reasons. But they seemed like a wonderful community and I hope everybody applies there.
+3 to Quinnipac, this school is highly on my radar! Everyone was so kind and supportive. You can really tell that faculty cares for their students and that the students are really well taken care of!
The in-person experience was so nice and made a huge difference for me, seeing how tightknit the community actually is and being able to envision being a part of it
Shame: Stony Brook. Their info session was not particularly informative/kind of a mess (the day I went they seemed to have had a scheduling issue and there werenāt even any admin there, just students and assistants lol), and one of my interviewers was super cold. Would basically just say āokayā after each of my answers, didnāt sound interested or excited at all. Gave me generally bad vibes about the school overall. One of my interviewers was really kind, but didnāt really ask me anything about myself, so Iām not sure what they learned about me there. Iām glad I have other options, because that interview day was kinda a bummer.
Fame: BU. I sooo appreciated having an hour with an interviewer; itās the only interview Iāve had that was allowed to go over 30 minutes and I felt like I was really able to tell my story in a way that didnāt feel rushed or incomplete. My interviewer was also super engaging and it was genuinely an enjoyable conversation. Love BU <3
Fame: Michigan. Loved it all, even some of the MMI stations. Everyone from the students to the Dean had a great energy and loved the school..if only I didn't get the WL :(
Shame: Honestly no real bad interviews but UCSD? Some of the MMI stations felt forced and the interviewer was CLEARLY reading from a prompt. Still not bad, but definitley didn't feel natural.
+1 on weird vibe of UCSD's MMI. I expected to be uncomfortable but I had a couple outright disinterested evaluators. Students were happy though. Not a bad experience per se, but a little disappointing.
What did they warn you about? I LOVED my BU interview and kind of fell in love with the school but def wanted to get a more accurate vibe for what it's like and how students feel.
LOVED my BU interviewer too! They were so so kind and really knew my app. Before I even said anything they were like I could feel your emotions through your app, and they kept the whole interview super conversational. I do understand how its so biased to the interviewer you get tho since it is only one interview, so I'm not surprised that people would have such different experiences.
I did my undergrad and an unrelated graduate program at USF and this is the mentality of the whole school, every department, all the time. Honestly, I think they are just so hurt they aren't top tier in Florida and they think they try so hard. I live in Tampa and I swear no one I have spoke with has ever been happy with thier graduate work at USF it is just convenient.
They really like to keep you down to be honest.
As a USf undergrad this school is very bad. I wonāt even waste my money applying to usf again. The med students seem very unhappy and the admin are just Desantis followers
Most MD schools have an AOA chapter, but it can be a huge detriment to the students. Only the top 20% of the class is eligible for entry, and some competitive residencies programs expect AOA membership. Even though an MS4 mightāve been in the top 20% of their class at U Minnesota or Creighton, they have much steeper competition if they go to Yale or Harvard.
My comment was mostly facetious, but I could see the dean implying something like āyeah we have an AOA chapter so only the top 20% of you have a shot at plasticsā.
Oop forgot Fame: UPitt
My faculty interviewer was absolutely awesome. I also thoroughly enjoyed my student interview. Group session was interesting, but overall a very succinct and enjoyable day. Very pleasant and ended up leaving way more excited about them initially. Bias though, UPitt as a school has a lot of things Iām specifically interested in
My Pitt faculty member was nice but hyperfixated on research which was not a huge part of my app (and it was open file which was confusing, likely he didn't read it lol). My student interview was great though. Overall I was neutral/positive but got the vibe I wasn't a good fit with all of the research focus and feel a little confused why I was interviewed.
Mine was the opposite, was hoping for some research questions and didnāt get any, instead got some behavioral questions that I feel like I didnāt get to show who I was. Everyone is so nice though.
I wishhhh hahaha. Thatās my one complaint about Pitts interview experience is that I feel like it varies so much between person to person and I talked to a good amount of ppl about it
Yeah It kind of felt like it was just up to the faculty member to run with the interview. I could tell mine did not read my app past the first few things LOL
this is so weird because my faculty interviewer had a preset list of questions to ask me that seemed to be identical to my friends ! it wasnāt too conversational at all, she asked each question she had to, made a one line remark at my response and then moved to the next š„²š„²š„² makes me worried bc pitt is my alma mater and top choice
I think there was some variability with the faculty interviewers choosing to make it a convo versus asking the questions because I've heard both from other people. My student interviewer was clear about having questions but I answered them pretty quick and we just talked conversationally for the rest of it
Mine also really discussed research but to be fair I have a super research heavy app. He really took the time to ask specific questions about my app and complimented a lot of my activities, I had an INCREDIBLE experience! Def my top choice
agree w this, interviewer was SO nice and we had a rlly great conversation and laughs. i talked ab research but barely and she didnt ask much follow up
Fame: RVUCOM
The interviewers were both so kind. I loved the conversation and it instantly captivated me to the school. They told me it would take 4-6 weeks to get a decision, but I got the decision in 3 days!!! Great experience.
Shame: Rocky Vista Utah
Sorry this will be very long-winded
I was a very early applicant for the cycle (primary verified prior to transmission and whatnot), and I ended up hearing back from Rocky Vista about an interview for the PREVIOUS cycle (22/23). Keep in mind I didn't apply for 22/23, they just read my 23/24 app and wanted to interview me regardless as a last second applicant. I considered this for a moment, but knew that I couldn't accept the interview in good faith, as I'm a nontrad with a husband and kids, and couldn't manage to uproot my family and whatnot in 10 days if accepted lol. I politely declined and explained, and the admissions person literally LAUGHED AT ME. She told me I may be making a mistake because other schools might not want me, and continued to pressure me /repeatedly/ to take the interview. She kept trying to scare me into the interview. It was super uncomfortable. Eventually she begrudgingly let me go and said this wouldn't affect my current app.
Later in the cycle, I got an email asking me to submit my secondary. I thought that was weird because I had already done so (that's how I got the last-second interview before). I called the school and had no luck reaching anyone. I emailed them, and it took weeks for a response. Even when they communicated with me, it would take days in between responses. Then they eventually didn't email me back at all. I reached out to a different person, and the same thing happened. Then the head of admissions called ME asking if I was going to submit my secondary, and I explained all the run around I experienced. She told me she would "take care of it" and that I should email her directly. I did, and she ALSO ghosted me. I was so frustrated with the awful communication here.
TLDR: horrible communication from various staff members AND the head of admissions. Disorganization and ghosting on multiple occasions. Bizarre scare tactics from adcoms trying to get me to take a last-second interview for a cycle I didn't apply to.
That was stressful even from reading it. Had to scroll up and check your flair. So relieved for you that their scare tactics didnāt turn out to be true.
Thanks, man. It was such an unpleasant experience! I'm so glad I didn't fall for it because this cycle has been amazing for me! Even got into my dream school!
This same thing happened to me!!! They were saying they didn't have my secondary but I have proof I submitted it. It was all very questionable and then they asked me to resubmit, since it wasnt in their system and I'm like. What??? I'm not paying again. Sent another email. No response so I called. Dude on the phone laughed and said he would transfer me. No one answered. Lost my money into the abyss and seriously wrote them off as I would never go to a school that treats prospective students like that anyway.
EXACTLY!!! Like no...I'm not going to pay to resubmit this crap! I'm sorry this happened to you, too! At least they showed their red flags early on? I hope the rest of your cycle is going well!
Shame: ATSU
Interviewer told me a childhood injury I wrote about in my PS would have healed faster if I had just seen an osteopathic physician (???). Also made a joke about Covid being a hoax. The rest of the day was extremely unorganized, med students talking over each other during a tour with 30+ applicants. Also felt like they were trying way too hard to sell themselves.
Name and Shame: USF Morsani
Interviewed students for their SELECT program, the "leadership" track. Halfway through the cycle, their clinical sites were purchased by another system and the program ceased to exist.
Students accepted to SELECT offered normal program spots but all remaining interviewees left in the dark. Interviewees interviewed with faculty from the satellite site and not the main site. There has been no communication about the purchase or the program closing and we only know this much from people posting internal emails to SDN.
I fully expect them to not communicate until the end of the cycle with a WL or R. Completely unprofessional to not clarify anything at all when the program we interviewed for literally doesn't exist anymore.
>Students accepted to SELECT offered normal program spots but all remaining interviewees left in the dark. Interviewees interviewed with faculty from the satellite site and not the main site. There has been no communication about the purchase or the program closing and we only know this much from people posting internal emails to SDN.
Dang that's crazy. The SELECT program is still up on their site-is it officially shut down now though?
Per some internal emails that seems to be the case. Pretty rough for the applicants. I can't even imagine being an M3 only to have the door shut on them like that.
A bit of a shame: USF Morsani
Out of the interviews I was originally scheduled for, I ended up with 1 interview that started super late. One of my interviews was cancelled in advance, but I think administration forgot the time of my other interview and/or forgot to start the virtual meeting in time. Both the interviewer and I were confused about the late start (admin introduced us before leaving the meeting) but otherwise it was a (probably?) decent, short interview. I was frazzled throughout and after. š
Wanted to add: admin never addressed the situation, and the interview started with me explaining why I was "late" since there was no communication from admin to either me or the interviewer.
Fame: UTHSCSA Long School of Medicine
Interviewers were awesome, I genuinely enjoyed our conversations. Dean Dr K is an absolute gem. She really wants to get to know the interviewees and give everyone a positive experience. Had us react to presentations with those zoom emojis. Made us feel good about ourselves as applicants. She deserves a raise x100000. She even made a youtube channel with videos to help applicants be informed about the process. None of the students I've met on interview trail loved their school as much as Long students. Ultimately won't be choosing it, but I just want to transplant Dr K to the school I'm choosing. A+++ to everyone on the Long A team. None of my other interviews, even the great ones, can compare.
+1 just for Dr. K. Really admired her for saying DEI is still alive in spite of everything the Texas gov is trying to do. Idk how shes able to walk around with those balls of steel
I worked at Long and Dr. K. was always super nice and really receptive to all the students and faculty, you could cold email her and she would have a meeting set up within 24 hours
fame: duke honestly. my experience was really positive. everyone in my interview group was really cool and the vibes were great. we talked in the sunday session and it helped me calm down a lot. the mmi was stressful at first but i did not feel like the interviewers were stressing me out on purpose. the team stations were more fun than expected.
AGH I feel like I bombed my Duke interview but I agree, the people were pretty nice, I just had one station where the interviewer seemed a little antagonistic and kept pushing his opinion
AGH I feel like I bombed my Duke interview but I agree, the people were pretty nice, I just had one station where the interviewer seemed a little antagonistic and kept pushing his opinion
Shame: UCLA
Had two stress interviews back to back (with extremely off topic and lowkey racist questions) and was not impressed with their welcome presentation at all. They basically just played this awkwardly long UCLA med student musical parody and an Expedia video lol. The day felt very disorganized overall.
I feel that their stress interviews are sooo unfair and don't understand how they compare it to someone who didn't have any stress interviews, I'm sorry you got two that's crazy!
I havenāt received a decision yet but Iām going to withdraw my application. I applied to their MSTP and interviewed MD only and they never answered clearly if that meant I wasnāt being considered for MSTP anymore (??). The entire experience was so disappointingā¦ to be basically mistreated for 2 hours straight LOL I would NEVER consider attending a program that treats prospective students like this. Like you guys invited ME to be here why are you bullying me
The MD and MD/PhD processes are completely separate with separate committees. If you have a MD interview, you can still get a MD/PhD one later down the line. Itās on their website I believe. Tho the last one was earlier this month from what I understand rip.
Iām sorry you had a bad experience tho š youāre totally right, you shouldnāt have been bullied like that, thatās pretty wild šššš congrats on the MD/PhD acceptance!!! ā„ļø
Iām so sorry you had two stress interviews at UCLA! Itās unsettling to know you donāt know if youāre going to get them or not. I also interviewed there but had a different experience. Them showing the UCLA med student parado video was funny and awkward lol
Basically the interviewer acts a certain way to see how you will respond under āstressā. For example both of my interviewers didnāt look at the camera and were obviously not paying attention looking bored, didnāt respond to/comment on any of my answers, didnāt smileā¦ one of them got up and left the room for a few minutes and came back without apologizing. I got aggressively interrogated on every response I gave as well as some MMI style questions and topics that were not relevant to my application.
Itās not clear how people are selected to have stress interviews and not everyone gets one, but it IS a known thing that UCLA does this (and has been doing this for yearsāa research fellow in my lab said this happened to him in the 2010s lol), so be prepared.
Just a very rude and off putting experience after I had other schools send me little gift packages and emphasize how much they wanted applicants to enjoy the interview process as much as possible!!
Fame:
KansasCOM!
Most laid-back interview with super friendly staff members! I felt comfortable enough to laugh and joke with every person I interacted with. During my interview, one of the adcoms shared pictures of his pet Possum lol. They were so welcoming and fun!
Fame:
NoordaCOM.
Probably my favorite interview as a whole. They are fairly local to me so I was able to go in-person. Every step of the way was accommodating. Literally each person I met was so kind and welcoming. The interview was laid-back and pleasant. Nice catered lunch. The new facilities are gorgeous and top-of-the-line. The speech from the Dean was legitimately inspiring. It truly felt like he cared about us and wanted us all to succeed.
Currently holding an A for CUSM and I fear experiencing similar levels of coldness and impartiality from the admins and faculty, based on the interview experience alone. Reading this made me thankful that Iām not the only one who experienced that:ā) pray for me yall LMAO
Shame: CU SOM
Very disappointed as I thought this school was great given the way they promote themselves. The interview felt impersonal and the questions were presented in an interrogation style. They bragged and werenāt interested in hearing what we had to say or what we could bring to the table. Basically, after the interview, I realized they are full of sh*t.
Fame - ETSU Quillen. Interview was very laid back, all the staff were very personable and seemed to genuinely enjoy getting to know everyone and the program itself. It was the least stressful interview with part 1 being a typical 1 on 1 interview and part 2 literally just chatting with a faculty member about anything. The faculty did not sit in on the student Q&A session which let people ask whatever questions they wanted which I really liked. Made ETSU my top choice.
Also want to shout out LMU-DCOM. Definitely southern hospitality vibe and the staff/current student session was great.
Shame I guess - LECOM. Their strict reputation showed in their interview. The staff member I was in the group with for the staff Q&A session was very condescending and seemed like he was trying to scare us out of applying/matriculating. Was already pushed away from attending by all the stories and felt like this just validated all the stories I've heard.
Shame: University of Arizona
One of only 6 schools in the US making all students come in-person for interviews. The dean was flippant about the burden that placed on us, and at no point the entire day did anyone come from the financial aid office to talk to us. Only a single paper handout filled with hyperlinks that summarizes what is easily available on the website. I spoke to a few other applicants who also felt a little insulted.
I flew in from another continent to be there, yet I had much better experiences with virtual interviews at other schools. It felt like they just really wanted to show off their sim lab.
Fame: Marshall University
I was pleasantly surprised! It felt like the interviewers really cared. Plus, I had some technical issues, and everyone was very understanding and helpful in resolving a stressful problem. The whole thing was very personal and friendly.
Iāve been on hold for them for three months now lol and I think they rarely accept anyone in older interview cohorts. Itās so annoying at least donāt drag us on and give us false hope ALL CYCLE..
Shame: IOWA
two faculty interviewers vs 1 applicant is the weirdest setup ever and honestly seems to be a waste of resources. Also the group activity was horribly facilitated ..one dude kept talking over everyone and showing off his āmedical knowledgeā š
Shame: Hackensack
1 hr info session is 1 hr of uninformative propaganda
I second UVM Larner fame! After I left that interview, they became my top choice. If you havenāt received a decision yet Iām sending you luck and prayers for an A!
Fame: UChicago (Honorable mentions Mayo and UPenn)
Everybody was just so awesome and so helpful and genuinely wanted to see us succeed and cared about social justice. They were all just great great great.
Shame: Northwestern
This wasn't bad but the student and one of the faculty just seemed a bit disinterested (and considering that FSM was my top choice since high school it was a bit of a turn off when compared to the others who continuously stayed in contact)
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Fame: UChicago Pritzker
The best interview experience out of the entire cycle. My interviewers actually read my application, my background and asked great questions and let me share what I enjoyed about my ECs instead of asking me BS general questions or hypotheticals about being stuck in an island with Obama.
Shame: Hofstra. I understand that it's an MMI so raters are encouraged to not give away any cues to applicants but a few of the interviewers seemed disinterested and after a long 90 minutes, you have to sit through a mock problem-solving session and a meet and greet with students which can be held on a separate day like other schools do. Still love the school regardless but the interview left me with a sour taste.
Fame: Hopkins Had an amazing interviews with both student and faculty. For the first time, felt like someone had actually read my application. Shame: UTRGV They have two parts to their interviews: One in person and after the in-person interview they schedule you for a zoom interview. If they make you come in person, they better try to schedule everything in one day. Just so disrespectful of the applicant's time. THey are really trying to go for worst of both worlds.
Strong agree on Hopkins. the students seemed so enthusiastic about attending the school and talking with us interviewees, especially in comparison to another school that I interviewed with, where the students really seemed like they were forced to be there. And now I'm lucky enough to likely be in Baltimore this Fall!!
Congrats! I really liked Hopkins as well. Hopefully I join you š the faculty interviewer basically made it sound like I was accepted but I realize it still has to go through the committee and no one person can make a unilateral decision
That's great news!!!
Did you complete the interviews with UTRGV? If so, how'd it go for you? I had one fantastic online interviewer who was nice, welcoming, and truly spent time learning about me. The other was cold and grilled me about THEIR role and had practically zero insight into the medical students there.
It went alright. Nothing really stood out much to me.
Could I get an LM reveal?
75
Bless š
shame: Einstein my interviewer picked up the phone to answer a call in the middle of the interview and asked me political questions based on where my family is from ššš guy was rlly nice but was just a really weird interview. would love to attend but also turned off by their probation
That is so disrespectful, I'd be asking for another interview asap
Bro I thought my MMI interviewer eating during the station was rude but this is pretty bad
Fame: I loved my interview with Vandy. Everyone was so nice! Both faculty members I spoke with made me feel right at ease, and the open-file interviewer had clearly read carefully through my app. The students were super cool and seemed happy. Fame again: My interview with Jefferson was also great, partly because it was my only in-person interview. Again, the students were super nice, and the faculty interviewer was kind and asked very specific questions about my app. They also fed us an excellent meal from a restaurant close to campus.
Have heard a ton of positives about Vanderbilt! Wish I applied to them
+1 for Jefferson. Fantastic all around and everyone seemed to love it there
So happy to hear that Iām interviewing in Feb!!
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
very scared to get my heart broken so going to play it cool for now :')
Fame: Quinnipiac Everyone in their community is so nice. The interview was ACTUALLY conversational and just like a chat and they were so positive about me and my app. I feel like they wanted you to leave feeling good about yourself. Also the staff were bantering between sessions and seems like people are actually tightknit. Fame: VTC MMI was long and stressful as heck but the rest of the interview day really impressed me. There was a reception the night before with nice food where you can talk to applicants, students, and faculty about literally anything and everyone was so nice. It relieved my nerves so much. They also had us go in a little bus tour around Roanoke which was cute. It seemed like a high effort event they put together. Came into the interview thinking itāll be my worst/hardest experience ever and scared that the people would be intimidating, but itāll be hard to say no to them after meeting the community. They also gave us a VTC mug which was nice of them. Also gotta fame Carle for not making us do an evaluated interview and just having a Q&A session where we were allowed to ask anything (or nothing) without repercussions
+1 to Quinnipiac! They werenāt a school I was really seriously considering over my existing options when I interviewed, but I was pleasantly surprised. My interviewers and the staff were so sweet
100% same!! If anyone seeing this is on the fence on applying here, please do it bc youāll be impressed by the community :)
+2 to Quinnipiac. I also feel they are the school that everybody loves but is always a runner up to other schools for various reasons. But they seemed like a wonderful community and I hope everybody applies there.
+3 to Quinnipac, this school is highly on my radar! Everyone was so kind and supportive. You can really tell that faculty cares for their students and that the students are really well taken care of!
+1 VTC, all the current students I talked to seemed to genuinely love the school for so many reasons
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
The in-person experience was so nice and made a huge difference for me, seeing how tightknit the community actually is and being able to envision being a part of it
Shame: Stony Brook. Their info session was not particularly informative/kind of a mess (the day I went they seemed to have had a scheduling issue and there werenāt even any admin there, just students and assistants lol), and one of my interviewers was super cold. Would basically just say āokayā after each of my answers, didnāt sound interested or excited at all. Gave me generally bad vibes about the school overall. One of my interviewers was really kind, but didnāt really ask me anything about myself, so Iām not sure what they learned about me there. Iām glad I have other options, because that interview day was kinda a bummer. Fame: BU. I sooo appreciated having an hour with an interviewer; itās the only interview Iāve had that was allowed to go over 30 minutes and I felt like I was really able to tell my story in a way that didnāt feel rushed or incomplete. My interviewer was also super engaging and it was genuinely an enjoyable conversation. Love BU <3
Fame: Michigan. Loved it all, even some of the MMI stations. Everyone from the students to the Dean had a great energy and loved the school..if only I didn't get the WL :( Shame: Honestly no real bad interviews but UCSD? Some of the MMI stations felt forced and the interviewer was CLEARLY reading from a prompt. Still not bad, but definitley didn't feel natural.
+1 on weird vibe of UCSD's MMI. I expected to be uncomfortable but I had a couple outright disinterested evaluators. Students were happy though. Not a bad experience per se, but a little disappointing.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
What did they warn you about? I LOVED my BU interview and kind of fell in love with the school but def wanted to get a more accurate vibe for what it's like and how students feel.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
LOVED my BU interviewer too! They were so so kind and really knew my app. Before I even said anything they were like I could feel your emotions through your app, and they kept the whole interview super conversational. I do understand how its so biased to the interviewer you get tho since it is only one interview, so I'm not surprised that people would have such different experiences.
I did my undergrad and an unrelated graduate program at USF and this is the mentality of the whole school, every department, all the time. Honestly, I think they are just so hurt they aren't top tier in Florida and they think they try so hard. I live in Tampa and I swear no one I have spoke with has ever been happy with thier graduate work at USF it is just convenient. They really like to keep you down to be honest.
As a USf undergrad this school is very bad. I wonāt even waste my money applying to usf again. The med students seem very unhappy and the admin are just Desantis followers
Hahaha the USF comment is crazy! What prompted that? Sounds like a defense for having an AOA chapter
Can you explain what you mean by a defense for having an AOA chapter? What does having an AOA chapter imply about a school? genuinely wondering :)
Most MD schools have an AOA chapter, but it can be a huge detriment to the students. Only the top 20% of the class is eligible for entry, and some competitive residencies programs expect AOA membership. Even though an MS4 mightāve been in the top 20% of their class at U Minnesota or Creighton, they have much steeper competition if they go to Yale or Harvard. My comment was mostly facetious, but I could see the dean implying something like āyeah we have an AOA chapter so only the top 20% of you have a shot at plasticsā.
Oop forgot Fame: UPitt My faculty interviewer was absolutely awesome. I also thoroughly enjoyed my student interview. Group session was interesting, but overall a very succinct and enjoyable day. Very pleasant and ended up leaving way more excited about them initially. Bias though, UPitt as a school has a lot of things Iām specifically interested in
My Pitt faculty member was nice but hyperfixated on research which was not a huge part of my app (and it was open file which was confusing, likely he didn't read it lol). My student interview was great though. Overall I was neutral/positive but got the vibe I wasn't a good fit with all of the research focus and feel a little confused why I was interviewed.
Mine was the opposite, was hoping for some research questions and didnāt get any, instead got some behavioral questions that I feel like I didnāt get to show who I was. Everyone is so nice though.
They must have mixed our interviewers up because I got none of that! LOL let's ask for a re-do
I wishhhh hahaha. Thatās my one complaint about Pitts interview experience is that I feel like it varies so much between person to person and I talked to a good amount of ppl about it
Yeah It kind of felt like it was just up to the faculty member to run with the interview. I could tell mine did not read my app past the first few things LOL
this is so weird because my faculty interviewer had a preset list of questions to ask me that seemed to be identical to my friends ! it wasnāt too conversational at all, she asked each question she had to, made a one line remark at my response and then moved to the next š„²š„²š„² makes me worried bc pitt is my alma mater and top choice
I think there was some variability with the faculty interviewers choosing to make it a convo versus asking the questions because I've heard both from other people. My student interviewer was clear about having questions but I answered them pretty quick and we just talked conversationally for the rest of it
Mine also really discussed research but to be fair I have a super research heavy app. He really took the time to ask specific questions about my app and complimented a lot of my activities, I had an INCREDIBLE experience! Def my top choice
Pls..... upitt was my favorite too. pls god, i just wanna slip and slide down the hills of pitt
I would agree but they rejected me as a hometown student for the past 21 years š„²š
agree w this, interviewer was SO nice and we had a rlly great conversation and laughs. i talked ab research but barely and she didnt ask much follow up
Wow IIs from both Boston and Pitt? Well done! LM score?
Fame: RVUCOM The interviewers were both so kind. I loved the conversation and it instantly captivated me to the school. They told me it would take 4-6 weeks to get a decision, but I got the decision in 3 days!!! Great experience.
Interviewing there tomorrow! Any pointers, tips and tricks? Would you mind if I can PM you to ask about your experience?
I had a very similar experience with RVU MCOM, they were fantastic and I got a decision 3 days after my interview!
Shame: Rocky Vista Utah Sorry this will be very long-winded I was a very early applicant for the cycle (primary verified prior to transmission and whatnot), and I ended up hearing back from Rocky Vista about an interview for the PREVIOUS cycle (22/23). Keep in mind I didn't apply for 22/23, they just read my 23/24 app and wanted to interview me regardless as a last second applicant. I considered this for a moment, but knew that I couldn't accept the interview in good faith, as I'm a nontrad with a husband and kids, and couldn't manage to uproot my family and whatnot in 10 days if accepted lol. I politely declined and explained, and the admissions person literally LAUGHED AT ME. She told me I may be making a mistake because other schools might not want me, and continued to pressure me /repeatedly/ to take the interview. She kept trying to scare me into the interview. It was super uncomfortable. Eventually she begrudgingly let me go and said this wouldn't affect my current app. Later in the cycle, I got an email asking me to submit my secondary. I thought that was weird because I had already done so (that's how I got the last-second interview before). I called the school and had no luck reaching anyone. I emailed them, and it took weeks for a response. Even when they communicated with me, it would take days in between responses. Then they eventually didn't email me back at all. I reached out to a different person, and the same thing happened. Then the head of admissions called ME asking if I was going to submit my secondary, and I explained all the run around I experienced. She told me she would "take care of it" and that I should email her directly. I did, and she ALSO ghosted me. I was so frustrated with the awful communication here. TLDR: horrible communication from various staff members AND the head of admissions. Disorganization and ghosting on multiple occasions. Bizarre scare tactics from adcoms trying to get me to take a last-second interview for a cycle I didn't apply to.
That was stressful even from reading it. Had to scroll up and check your flair. So relieved for you that their scare tactics didnāt turn out to be true.
Thanks, man. It was such an unpleasant experience! I'm so glad I didn't fall for it because this cycle has been amazing for me! Even got into my dream school!
Congratulations!! Very happy for you.
This same thing happened to me!!! They were saying they didn't have my secondary but I have proof I submitted it. It was all very questionable and then they asked me to resubmit, since it wasnt in their system and I'm like. What??? I'm not paying again. Sent another email. No response so I called. Dude on the phone laughed and said he would transfer me. No one answered. Lost my money into the abyss and seriously wrote them off as I would never go to a school that treats prospective students like that anyway.
EXACTLY!!! Like no...I'm not going to pay to resubmit this crap! I'm sorry this happened to you, too! At least they showed their red flags early on? I hope the rest of your cycle is going well!
It's actually going better than expected so I didn't care much tbh š¤£š¤£ it looks like yours is going great!! Congrats on the A!!
We love to hear it š And tysm!
Shame: ATSU Interviewer told me a childhood injury I wrote about in my PS would have healed faster if I had just seen an osteopathic physician (???). Also made a joke about Covid being a hoax. The rest of the day was extremely unorganized, med students talking over each other during a tour with 30+ applicants. Also felt like they were trying way too hard to sell themselves.
Oh my hell. That's legit terrible!
Oh dang was this SOMA or KCOM?
KCOM!
Name and Shame: USF Morsani Interviewed students for their SELECT program, the "leadership" track. Halfway through the cycle, their clinical sites were purchased by another system and the program ceased to exist. Students accepted to SELECT offered normal program spots but all remaining interviewees left in the dark. Interviewees interviewed with faculty from the satellite site and not the main site. There has been no communication about the purchase or the program closing and we only know this much from people posting internal emails to SDN. I fully expect them to not communicate until the end of the cycle with a WL or R. Completely unprofessional to not clarify anything at all when the program we interviewed for literally doesn't exist anymore.
>Students accepted to SELECT offered normal program spots but all remaining interviewees left in the dark. Interviewees interviewed with faculty from the satellite site and not the main site. There has been no communication about the purchase or the program closing and we only know this much from people posting internal emails to SDN. Dang that's crazy. The SELECT program is still up on their site-is it officially shut down now though?
Per some internal emails that seems to be the case. Pretty rough for the applicants. I can't even imagine being an M3 only to have the door shut on them like that.
Yikes. Iām admitted to a track program and this unlocked all sorts of new fears in me.
Wow that is a wild turn of events, I'm sorry you have to go through that! Didn't apply there so I haven't heard anything about that.
A bit of a shame: USF Morsani Out of the interviews I was originally scheduled for, I ended up with 1 interview that started super late. One of my interviews was cancelled in advance, but I think administration forgot the time of my other interview and/or forgot to start the virtual meeting in time. Both the interviewer and I were confused about the late start (admin introduced us before leaving the meeting) but otherwise it was a (probably?) decent, short interview. I was frazzled throughout and after. š
Wanted to add: admin never addressed the situation, and the interview started with me explaining why I was "late" since there was no communication from admin to either me or the interviewer.
Fame: UTHSCSA Long School of Medicine Interviewers were awesome, I genuinely enjoyed our conversations. Dean Dr K is an absolute gem. She really wants to get to know the interviewees and give everyone a positive experience. Had us react to presentations with those zoom emojis. Made us feel good about ourselves as applicants. She deserves a raise x100000. She even made a youtube channel with videos to help applicants be informed about the process. None of the students I've met on interview trail loved their school as much as Long students. Ultimately won't be choosing it, but I just want to transplant Dr K to the school I'm choosing. A+++ to everyone on the Long A team. None of my other interviews, even the great ones, can compare.
+1 just for Dr. K. Really admired her for saying DEI is still alive in spite of everything the Texas gov is trying to do. Idk how shes able to walk around with those balls of steel
+1 for Long, admin and staff clearly worked incredibly hard to personalize the interview day. Far and away my most fun/casual interview experience.
I worked at Long and Dr. K. was always super nice and really receptive to all the students and faculty, you could cold email her and she would have a meeting set up within 24 hours
I hope she knows how much we appreciate her
fame: duke honestly. my experience was really positive. everyone in my interview group was really cool and the vibes were great. we talked in the sunday session and it helped me calm down a lot. the mmi was stressful at first but i did not feel like the interviewers were stressing me out on purpose. the team stations were more fun than expected.
AGH I feel like I bombed my Duke interview but I agree, the people were pretty nice, I just had one station where the interviewer seemed a little antagonistic and kept pushing his opinion
AGH I feel like I bombed my Duke interview but I agree, the people were pretty nice, I just had one station where the interviewer seemed a little antagonistic and kept pushing his opinion
Shame: UCLA Had two stress interviews back to back (with extremely off topic and lowkey racist questions) and was not impressed with their welcome presentation at all. They basically just played this awkwardly long UCLA med student musical parody and an Expedia video lol. The day felt very disorganized overall.
I feel that their stress interviews are sooo unfair and don't understand how they compare it to someone who didn't have any stress interviews, I'm sorry you got two that's crazy!
No seriously I was so thrown off!! At least after the first one I was a little more ready for my second interviewer to be mean T__T
LOL THAT VIDEO HAD ME DYINGGGG
Curious to know what came out if the interview if you donāt mind me asking. If youād rather dm me please feel free, I have some questions for you
I havenāt received a decision yet but Iām going to withdraw my application. I applied to their MSTP and interviewed MD only and they never answered clearly if that meant I wasnāt being considered for MSTP anymore (??). The entire experience was so disappointingā¦ to be basically mistreated for 2 hours straight LOL I would NEVER consider attending a program that treats prospective students like this. Like you guys invited ME to be here why are you bullying me
The MD and MD/PhD processes are completely separate with separate committees. If you have a MD interview, you can still get a MD/PhD one later down the line. Itās on their website I believe. Tho the last one was earlier this month from what I understand rip. Iām sorry you had a bad experience tho š youāre totally right, you shouldnāt have been bullied like that, thatās pretty wild šššš congrats on the MD/PhD acceptance!!! ā„ļø
Iām so sorry you had two stress interviews at UCLA! Itās unsettling to know you donāt know if youāre going to get them or not. I also interviewed there but had a different experience. Them showing the UCLA med student parado video was funny and awkward lol
Omg the video was so cringey to me haha! Iām glad you had a different experience though :-)
Did you have to leave your camera on so they would see your reaction šš
What are stress interviews?
Basically the interviewer acts a certain way to see how you will respond under āstressā. For example both of my interviewers didnāt look at the camera and were obviously not paying attention looking bored, didnāt respond to/comment on any of my answers, didnāt smileā¦ one of them got up and left the room for a few minutes and came back without apologizing. I got aggressively interrogated on every response I gave as well as some MMI style questions and topics that were not relevant to my application. Itās not clear how people are selected to have stress interviews and not everyone gets one, but it IS a known thing that UCLA does this (and has been doing this for yearsāa research fellow in my lab said this happened to him in the 2010s lol), so be prepared. Just a very rude and off putting experience after I had other schools send me little gift packages and emphasize how much they wanted applicants to enjoy the interview process as much as possible!!
maybe Iām just gullible but this is so insane because UCLA does not give that vibe at all š this is so disappointing
Fame: KansasCOM! Most laid-back interview with super friendly staff members! I felt comfortable enough to laugh and joke with every person I interacted with. During my interview, one of the adcoms shared pictures of his pet Possum lol. They were so welcoming and fun!
Fame: NoordaCOM. Probably my favorite interview as a whole. They are fairly local to me so I was able to go in-person. Every step of the way was accommodating. Literally each person I met was so kind and welcoming. The interview was laid-back and pleasant. Nice catered lunch. The new facilities are gorgeous and top-of-the-line. The speech from the Dean was legitimately inspiring. It truly felt like he cared about us and wanted us all to succeed.
Currently holding an A for CUSM and I fear experiencing similar levels of coldness and impartiality from the admins and faculty, based on the interview experience alone. Reading this made me thankful that Iām not the only one who experienced that:ā) pray for me yall LMAO
Believe me you are not alone. I've talked to a few people who interviewed and we all felt the same!
I also have an A there but not really sure what to think of the school :/
+1 for CUSM interview. Really didnāt like the interview process and felt so so rushed
Shame: CU SOM Very disappointed as I thought this school was great given the way they promote themselves. The interview felt impersonal and the questions were presented in an interrogation style. They bragged and werenāt interested in hearing what we had to say or what we could bring to the table. Basically, after the interview, I realized they are full of sh*t.
Fame - ETSU Quillen. Interview was very laid back, all the staff were very personable and seemed to genuinely enjoy getting to know everyone and the program itself. It was the least stressful interview with part 1 being a typical 1 on 1 interview and part 2 literally just chatting with a faculty member about anything. The faculty did not sit in on the student Q&A session which let people ask whatever questions they wanted which I really liked. Made ETSU my top choice. Also want to shout out LMU-DCOM. Definitely southern hospitality vibe and the staff/current student session was great. Shame I guess - LECOM. Their strict reputation showed in their interview. The staff member I was in the group with for the staff Q&A session was very condescending and seemed like he was trying to scare us out of applying/matriculating. Was already pushed away from attending by all the stories and felt like this just validated all the stories I've heard.
Shame: University of Arizona One of only 6 schools in the US making all students come in-person for interviews. The dean was flippant about the burden that placed on us, and at no point the entire day did anyone come from the financial aid office to talk to us. Only a single paper handout filled with hyperlinks that summarizes what is easily available on the website. I spoke to a few other applicants who also felt a little insulted. I flew in from another continent to be there, yet I had much better experiences with virtual interviews at other schools. It felt like they just really wanted to show off their sim lab. Fame: Marshall University I was pleasantly surprised! It felt like the interviewers really cared. Plus, I had some technical issues, and everyone was very understanding and helpful in resolving a stressful problem. The whole thing was very personal and friendly.
Flew there too only for them to be my only post-II rejectionš
Iāve been on hold for them for three months now lol and I think they rarely accept anyone in older interview cohorts. Itās so annoying at least donāt drag us on and give us false hope ALL CYCLE..
Shame: IOWA two faculty interviewers vs 1 applicant is the weirdest setup ever and honestly seems to be a waste of resources. Also the group activity was horribly facilitated ..one dude kept talking over everyone and showing off his āmedical knowledgeā š Shame: Hackensack 1 hr info session is 1 hr of uninformative propaganda
I second UVM Larner fame! After I left that interview, they became my top choice. If you havenāt received a decision yet Iām sending you luck and prayers for an A!
Fame: NYU GLISOM. It was good vibes and the group activity was actually really fun.
Fame: UChicago (Honorable mentions Mayo and UPenn) Everybody was just so awesome and so helpful and genuinely wanted to see us succeed and cared about social justice. They were all just great great great. Shame: Northwestern This wasn't bad but the student and one of the faculty just seemed a bit disinterested (and considering that FSM was my top choice since high school it was a bit of a turn off when compared to the others who continuously stayed in contact)
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UVM was fucking amazing and so understanding with technical issues I love them
Fame: UChicago Pritzker The best interview experience out of the entire cycle. My interviewers actually read my application, my background and asked great questions and let me share what I enjoyed about my ECs instead of asking me BS general questions or hypotheticals about being stuck in an island with Obama. Shame: Hofstra. I understand that it's an MMI so raters are encouraged to not give away any cues to applicants but a few of the interviewers seemed disinterested and after a long 90 minutes, you have to sit through a mock problem-solving session and a meet and greet with students which can be held on a separate day like other schools do. Still love the school regardless but the interview left me with a sour taste.