2010-2011 Interviews and Acceptances

This is a common problem among some people. My advice is to refer to the refund policy that the school has.


Some schools, regardless of when you withdraw have a no refund policy. However, others will have a decreasing percentage policy. So after the first month, you get 75% back, and so on.


The question you need to ask yourself you have already done so. What if this is the only acceptance?


Applying to medical school is very expensive if you include application fees and travel. But also remember that it is only for 4 years or at minimum 2 if the school you choose does not have its own hospital association.


Good luck.

I haven’t decided what to do about LECOM yet, but I still have time.


However, I got an interview at DMU! I’m pretty excited about that one, so we’ll see.



I just checked my status and I have an interview at Temple!!! I am so excited it is my first interview invite. Any thoughts on what issues or questions I should research and practice? Any other advice? What does everyone think about staying with a student host vs hotel? I am leaning towards the host just because i am trying to keep cost down. Are there any drawbacks?

I didn’t do that while I was interviewing, but I know several folks that did and they all had positive things to say about how it gave them a much better picture of what it would be like to go to that school.


Kate

I just received an e-mail this morning inviting me to interview at University of Missouri School of Medicine!!! I am so pumped!! Now I just have to gear up for the big day. Any suggestions are welcome.

I have to pick an interview date. Any sage advice whether it is better to interview earlier or later in the interview process? Would it be better to interview on the first two days or push it toward the end, or does it matter? Thanks for the suggestions.


Sean

Sean


Congrats, that’s great.


Why postpone? I would just go right away. Although I don’t know what is the strategy to adopt. I see it as the first to come is always motivated. Like the guys who sleep two days in front of a Mac Store to get the latest gadget…

As far as i learn is that if the school admits on a rolling basis, it might be an advantage to inteview as early as possible. Although this is my understanding, i am not at interview stage as yet and have no experience with the interview process. Good luck.

  • spowellod Said:
I have to pick an interview date. Any sage advice whether it is better to interview earlier or later in the interview process? Would it be better to interview on the first two days or push it toward the end, or does it matter? Thanks for the suggestions.

Sean



If they do rolling admissions, it's definitely to your advantage to interview earlier. If they don't do rolling admissions, then there are pros and cons to both interview strategies.
  • spowellod Said:
I just received an e-mail this morning inviting me to interview at University of Missouri School of Medicine!!!! I am so pumped!! Now I just have to gear up for the big day. Any suggestions are welcome.



Just amazing how time flies! It almost seems like yesterday I was in the throes of applications!

In fact I actually still have an unfinished item on my To-Do list to write to a school and find out why they rejected my applicaton! Guess that item is never going to get completed...

Dazed


this is the kind of item that gets done when you are not accepted anywhere. Otherwise you probably too happy or busy to find out.


Received e-mail today inviting me for interview at University of Kansas!! This is my first choice so am really excited. Interview is November 9th. Need to start preparing for the interviews now. Any sage advice is welcome.

Good luck at your interview!

Lucky you, congrats.


Can’t help here. But I would read a lot about politics, healthcare and stuff like that.


Could you give us some info on your path (MCAT score, GPA, shadowing and stuff like that)? It seems you are pretty succesful so I wanted to know a bit more (if it is too personal, I understand).


Thank you

Advice to Ace your interviews:

  1. Review your application and personal statement

  2. Read about the school. You have to know why you want to go to that school.

  3. Remember, they like you so far and they just want to get to know you.

  4. You always have questions, there is no way you know everything about the school. If you do not have questions, you did not prepare enough.

  5. Practice for the interview. Set up a mock interview and use a video camera to record yourself. Then review the tape and note any problems (no movement, no eye contact),

  6. Talk to everyone in the room. Make eye contact with everyone.

  7. A strong handshake promotes confidence.

  8. It is alright to think for a few seconds before answering the question. It shows that you will formulate an intelligent answer (note I said seconds and not minutes)

  9. Relax.

  10. See #9

Gabe


once more, thx. I am saving the post.

Congratulations on the interviews, Sean. Gabe posted all the sage advice you’ll need. I can’t offer any advice but would like to comment that there are school-specific pages on SDN for people to post their interview experiences. You may already be aware of this, but just in case you were not…

Yeah, everything Gabe said. Reviewing what you said in your application is important because they may ask you about it and it doesn’t seem sincere if you can’t remember what it is that you said! Also, regarding questions - my mind tends to go blank if I’m a bit nervous, so I was worried they would ask me if I had any questions and I wouldn’t remember what they were. So…I asked if it was ok if I took a few notes. Had my (professional looking black) folder, opened it, and had a sheet to write on - with my questions. Kept me from stresing about it.

First, Gabe, thank you once again for good advice.


I do not mind sharing my story at all. It is a little long so forgive me in advance if I seem like I am rambling, but the big picture is what is important.


My undergrad GPA is a 3.5, not stellar but not embarassing either. My explanation for this is that I had to work full time and put myself through undergrad. GPA started out lower but trend was always up as I learned to better manage my time. Core science clasess were mostly A with couple B and one stupid C in last quarter of Physics because entire grade was based on 4 midterm and 4 final grades and I blew an entire question on Bozons on the final.


By graduate GPA was a 3.45 in optometry school and 4.0 in my post-doctoral masters degree. I am currently an optometrist and perform a lot of clinical trials and research in my practice. Although it has been a long time since I finished undergrad I feel like this makes me a competative candidate. I also do a lot of speaking for continuing education conferences and meetings.


My MCAT was a 27 S: 10 bio, 10 verbal, 7 physical. My physical science was very disappointing, however I have purchased a chem textbook and review it every night. I also am currently enrolled in Cell biology at the University of Kansas just to get me in shape for the classroom setting once again.


Let me know if I can give you any other info. Always happy to help.

spowellod


thank you very much. The info you gave is pretty helpful and describes your path (and what makes you a good candidate) clearly.


You have a very heavy medical background already. No doubt that this made you stand out.


Well let us know how your interviews go. Again thank you for sharing your story. I (and I am sure others) appreciate this.