Alright, here are some of my impressions from the 8 interviews I have been on so far (in the order I went on them):
1) UCSF - Obviously SF is a great city (but bring an umbrella). The path and lab medicine depts are separate here, which can be a + or - depending on who you talk to. Lots of great, well known faculty. You have a lot of separate interviews and it lasts all day. The day starts with a morning conference where they give you breakfast. Lunch is with some residents at one of the restaurants near the hospital. Most of the day was very relaxed except for my interview with Dr. Abbas, who basically tried to tell me that I was wasting my time doing AP/CP when I want to stay in academics.
2) Stanford - I did my away here so I was already familiar with the place. Started with morning conference, coffee with a resident and then several interviews in the AM. They took me to the Hillview campus (where CP stuff goes down) since I hadn't been there during my rotation, then lunch at the hospital's upscale restaurant. Couple more interviews in the afternoon - overall very relaxed and good day and Palo Alto is beautiful.
3) Emory - Started with short meeting with the coordinator/grab a pastry, then scope conference. 5 interviews with faculty (I never met the PD) and short session with the coordinator who explains salary and benefits, etc. Meeting with chief residents in their office, then lunch and a tour with a couple of residents. We got a nice tour of the surrounding area since they drove us to lunch. Overall a nice, relaxed day. Word to the wise: the Emory Inn and the University Inn at Emory are NOT the same thing, don't get dropped off at the wrong one at 11pm like I did.
4) Methodist (Houston) - Morning conference/lecture, then meet with the PD first, then several interviews. Overall these interviews were more challenging than the others I had experienced. Lunch is with two residents and was nice. At the end of the day you attend Dr. Ro's conference, which apparently they consider the gem of the program. He may ask you questions but says that your answers aren't part of your interview.
5) Yale - This was the first place I had been that offered a night before social with the residents, which I attended and really enjoyed. The day started with breakfast and meeting with the department chairs. I had more cointerviewers on this one than any other - there were 6 of us. We then had morning scope conference and a chance to mingle with the residents on AP. For the actual interviews we all stayed in one room as a "home base" and the faculty we were to meet with would come to the room to get us and then bring us back to the room after the interview was over. Throughout the day residents would stop by the room to talk to us when we were in between meetings. Lunch was in the same room with the chief residents, along with several others. They then took us on a tour, and we met with the PD all together at the very end. I really appreciated the opportunities to meet residents before the faculty and the PD seemed very sincere and forthcoming - no game playing.
6) Mt. Sinai (NYC) - This interview started later in the day (after 9am) so no breakfast. After a short meeting with the coordinator I met with the PD and three other faculty. The place is being renovated and can be very hard to navigate, so the faculty take you from one place to another. I did not meet a resident until after my interviews were over and I was supposed to be taken to an unknown conference by a resident. What actually happened was that the resident dropped me off at the conference, which only 3 residents did end up attending, and the faculty never showed up. After deciding that it wasn't going to happen, I went back to the residents room and we went to the cafeteria for lunch. Near the end of lunch the chief residents joined us. The day was fairly short compared to the others I had been on - I was done by 2pm.
7) Albert Einstein - This interview also started later in the day, so no breakfast. My first interview was with the PD, who was very nice and went out of his way to make sure that I met the other residents from the same home state as me. After several more interviews we were met by some residents for a tour, and then we went out to lunch. We then caught the shuttle to the other campus, where we had one more interview then caught the shuttle back to the main campus, after which we were free to go.
8) UTMB (Galveston) - Started with meeting the coordinator to pick up the schedule and paperwork, then a series of three faculty interviews. Lunch with two residents, then a meeting with the PD. I go to school here so things might have been different for me than for someone who is new - for example I did not need a tour.
I hope this is more helpful than a list of places that have offered interviews... let me know if you have questions and I'll post more when I go on my other interviews. I hope others also post their experiences!
