I got my first interview invitation!
Penn State!!!
I’m going to call them tomorrow and schedule the interview ;).
I’m so excited, and happy that finally I heard from someone. And I’m surprised how fast they replied. I sent my secondary on August 7th.
Happy Kasia
Congrats, Kasia! 
WOW! Super! Go, Kasia!
Kasia that is wonderful!!! Congratulations! 
Great news! Congratulations! 
Congrats!! Penn State is a great school too!!
Tim
Congrats!!!
Kasia,
Congrats!! Enjoy they smell of cholcolate on campus there…mmm The campus is beautiful. I really liked it when I interviewed there for residency. The hospital is building lots of news space. If only it hadn’t been so close to Balitmore…(we just really wanted to go further away).
Tara
I’ve never been to Hershey, but I think I’ll like it. I heard a lot about it, did some research + I really love small towns and rural countryside!
I scheduled my interview for Friday, September 22nd. They wanted to schedule me as early as September 11, but on this day I’ll be travelling back from home. And I thought that Friday would be nicer, so I could stay there over the weekend and just explore some more + have some fun.
I looked up interview feedback on sdn.net and I’m going to practice. Meanwhile is someone has anything to say about Penn State from their own experience, it would be welcome.
Kasia
Don’t forget to visit the world famous creamery on campus! 
Regards,
eagleeye
I grew up near there and when I was little there was an amusement park there with roller coaster rides and everything! I don’t know if it is still there or not. But the streetlamps are shaped like kisses!
I am interivewing at Western U and AZCOM nest month!
I forgot to mention that the creamery is at the main campus in State College, Pa. Have a visit when you get the chance.
Regards,
eagleeye
Hershey Park is still there along with the Chocolate Factory. You can smell the chocolate on campus…mmm 
Tara
Next to the park there is a gift shop where you can buy all things Hershey at a discount. Mmmmmmm. I looove their newest invention, “Kissables,” which are mini-kiss shapes with a candy coating, like M&Ms only it’s Hershey chocolate which is absolutely, positively better.
Kasia I am very happy for you!
Mary
hi! I cross posted this at MomMD, but since I’m a 32 year old non-trad, I thought I’d post here too. I’ve been a premed for 4 years and I geared my whole application to appy early decision at my state school (the university of Minnesota).
I couldn’t have asked for a better interview. Interview day started with an 8:15 check in at the admissions office. There were four of us who were interviewing for EDP. Later the admissions people said there were 3 batches of EDP interviewees, but I’m not sure of the exact number of EDP candidates for my school. Three of us in our group were women, and there was one guy. The other three were traditional students- one girl still had a year of undergrad left. At 32, I felt old! We all wore black suits. The guy wore a really fancy silk suit, but I was the only woman in a skirt suit. This morning I was smart enough to stick a pair of comfortable walking shoes in my bag for the tour.
My interview started at 8:30 and lasted for about 45 minutes. My interviewer is a tenured cardio-thoracic surgeon at the U, and he must have been in his late 60s, early 70s. He was kind of an impatient cranky old guy who didn’t hear too well, so I ended up having to explain things several times, hoping I was making myself clear.
He began by asking me where I grew up, and I told him my background. (Long, complicated story, including living in a large city in Asia) I was adopted in Japan and he asked my why my mother gave me up. I was a little taken aback, but old people tend to be both blunt and curious about this. Since I don’t know anything about my birth family, I gave him the PC story about my birth mother wanted a better life for me and more opportunities than she could provide. He nodded and we moved on. That was really the only uncomfortable question he asked me, and it was only uncomfortable because I’m not used to talking to strangers about being adopted.
He went through my list of ECs and I explained in more detail each of my activities. We talked about my change from being an English major to being interested in medicine. I was prepared to give him the whole song and dance about why I wanted to be a doctor, but he never grilled me about that. He treated me very professionally and I think he assumed that if I had gotten this far that I knew what I was doing. My boyfriend thought that perhaps he had assessed me early in the interview and found me competent - he might have pressed a more unsure applicant harder on his or her motivations.
About half way through the interview we talked about my research. I had gotten an REU fellowship to do research and he asked who it was funded by. I said NSF, and then realized I hadn’t put that in my application. I apologized for omitting that, and he said it was no problem, the reason for the interview was to clarify things like that. I had a small version of the poster I had presented at a poster conference and showed it to him. I think it was helpful to have a visual - I could briefly explain my research and point to the pictures instead of having a long boring explanation of what I did. After we talked about my research he said I was well qualified and that he hoped I got into medical school.
I immediately relaxed after he said that. We talked about my shadowing experience and my volunteer activities at the hospital and the nursing home. I told him I would play the piano for the old people, and he asked about my musical background. I told him I played the clarinet in my college orchestra and he told me about the orchestra made up of doctors at the U and suggested I join it. He said that playing music shows I’ll be a good surgeon.
Back before I was a pre-med, I was in an 8 week mentorship program for writers. I put that down in my ECs, and he was confused by it. I briefly told him about it and he still looked confused, so I said it wasn’t anything medically related. He said that didn’t matter, it was good to have a broad background.
He then gave me a long lecture. Basically he said there are two components to medical school, first of all I need to pay attention and find out what I’m interested in. I had told him I was interested in being an OB/GYN, and he thought that would be a good profession for me, but I need to keep an open mind. The second component is to figure out if I have the capabilities to excell in that field. He gave an example of a classmate of his who wanted to be a neurosurgeon but found out he didn’t have the skills for it, so then ended up being a very successful gastroenterologist. He also talked about the different types of doctors, the ones who interact with patients - surgeons, FPs, etc, and the ones who don’t - pathologists, radiologists etc.
Somewhere during the conversation I told him about my car being vandalized and my 4 wheels being stolen. He went off on crime in the city and said some things I would classify as mildly bigoted, but I wasn’t about to argue with him. He gave me friendly, grandpa like advice and said I should move out of my area of town to a safer neighborhood.
He asked if I had any questions. I had researched him on the internet and knew he had studied under a renowned surgeon who had a building named after him at the U. I asked him if this guy’s spirit still lived on at the school. That was the RIGHT question to ask. He pointed to a portrait hanging on his wall and said that was the surgeon, and gave me a brief history of the man’s philanthropy. He ended the interview by saying he’d recommend me to the committee and he hoped I would go to school there.
Whew! Afterwards I had an hour and a half to kill before the presentation and tour. The presentation was formal and helpful. One of the deans came and talked to us and underscored the accomplishments and the community at the U. Two current medical students gave us a tour and answered our questions. If I get accepted, I think I want to be one of those tour quides because they were definitely helpful.
Like I said, I couldn’t have asked for a better interview. My interviewer was kind and treated me like a young professional. I wasn’t asked any ethical questions or healthcare questions and he didn’t ask me any questions that were meant to make me squirm. He was straightforward and let me know his opinion of me so I didn’t have to second guess myself. I really think I lucked out getting this interviewer. I feel great about my chances of getting into medical school now.
oh - if you didn’t want to read my big long post, one thing I did that was very helpful was to bring a condensed copy of my research poster to my interview. It was much easier to explain what I did when I had some pretty pictures to show him.
Orb–great post, sounds very promising. Good luck!
Kasia-
Congrats and good luck! Let us know how it goes! I am sure you will knock 'em dead!!
Orb-
That sounds amazing. Thanks for sharing the details - those of us who are in the prelim stages of premed appreciate it…
Good luck (though I’m not sure you need it!)
Note: The following is a cross-post of one of my posts from another thread. Perhaps this way I’ll get more, varied responses:
What do they mean by “research experience”?
I have worked in aerospace/mechanical engineering for the last 11 years, but never in a pure research capacity. However perhaps a med school’s definition of research is subjective relative to various professions. On a weekly basis throughout my career thus far I have ‘researched’ different ways of building or repairing parts or systems. I research material properties, research different construction configurations, do all the associated number crunching, etc. But within my profession that barely qualifies as ‘research’. However compared to certain other professions, perhaps my experience would be considered as research experience.
So, as far as you know, what is a medical school looking for in regard to research experience?