So I interviewed this week with Dr. Lazar,
Awesome interview, very conversational, interesting and Dr. Lazar made me very excited about the prospect of medical school in Israel.
I think its all about the impression they get when you sit down and start talking. They want to know whether or not you have a good personality and if you are genuine about your application. What I mean by this is, they are very knowledgable and understand that most people have applied or are applying to US MDs and that Sackler may be a safety net for some.
I did face some tough on the spot questions which I was very ready for, and Dr. Lazar even told me that all my answers were well presented. As he put it, the sheet is blank when you go in for the interview and its up to your conversation abilities to fill it in.
As for me, my weaknesses were obvious (undergrad gpa) but my skills and successes (research, mcat) clearly showed my ability to be a successful student.
As for the timeline, Dr. Lazar pulled out the schedule at the end of the interview in order to tell me exactly when the committee would be meeting again (6/29), and he said that I would be discussed at that time, and would probably receive word soon after.
My thoughts: if you havent interviewed, or you are sending updates/letters of intent, I would try to be as genuine as possible. Remember, everyone is saying "how awesome Israel would be and how much they love it etc. etc." I think it will help more to show experiences from your own life that may correlate with a career in diverse and dynamic environment such as the middle east.
Dr. Lazar was very cool and down to earth and really let me lead the direction of the interview. It lasted about 40 minutes and I would say we both spoke for equal amounts of time. After meeting him and seeing his love for the school and israel, it was a very positive experience.
Good luck to all, there were my 2 cents, hopefully I will get lucky in this late stage... who knows