2014-2015 University of Rochester Application Thread

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Interview invite today! I was complete in the first week of August.

The available interview dates are in November and January. There were dates in December but they were all listed as full.
 
I'm scared. Complete 7/31 (would have been earlier due to late receipt of committee letter). I love this school. LM ~68, non-trad. Does UR do silent rejections?
 
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I'm so excited to visit this school!!!! 🙂 ahh!!
 
I want to note that the admissions office was very helpful with an interview scheduling snafu of my own creation. I called them and they sorted it right out.
 
Interviewed here early. Pretty awesome school. Very chill interview day, and super nice. Love Rochester for this.

Interview was fairly straightforward for me. From my experience, it seems like the first interview is super chill and I have a feeling it doesn't really count for anything admissions wise. The second interview was a bit more serious toned and it seems like this is the one that counts. My first interview was ridiculously good. Not that I was amazing, it was just the interviewer was incredibly friendly and conversational. He and I vibed really well and had a good back and forth about random things we had done in our lives. The second interview was a bit tougher. More of a one way street here, where I felt I was prompted with a question, responded, prompted with a follow up, and then moving on to the next. Less of a back and forth. Questions in the first and second interview were pretty much the same, so it was nice basically repeating and making better things I had said earlier in the day.

My advice is to remain calm. Rochester really made an impression by their friendliness. Almost ever student who walked by us "suits" introduced themselves and told us a bit about their time at rochester as well as asking us about our lives. These guys are going to make great docs one day. The interviewers and faculty were super nice and I think rochester has done a remarkable job about recruiting and keeping passionate, smart, and incredibly friendly medical professionals part of their staff.

I walked out of my second interview unsure how it went. I was a little worried about the quality of some of my responses since they were followed with little more than a nod, even though my first interviewer commented on them and appreciated them openly. We'll see how it goes! Great school, great people, great area, great research what more could an applicant want haha.

Good luck to all interviewing! (actually no luck involved, I should say "you'll crush your interviews!")
 
Complete 08/05 or so. Silent rejection?
 
sghos said:
Complete 08/05 or so. Silent rejection?
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That was only a month ago!! I think it's far, far too early to count yourself out. I know it's hard to keep from speculating, but I think it's best to assume you're still in the game until you get an actual rejection. After the first wave of IIs went out at another school, for example, I thought I had been rejected because people on my completion date heard news but I didn't hear anything. However, I got an II two weeks later. You just never know. I personally think you're still in this 🙂
 
sunflower18 said:
That was only a month ago!! I think it's far, far too early to count yourself out. I know it's hard to keep from speculating, but I think it's best to assume you're still in the game until you get an actual rejection. After the first wave of IIs went out at another school, for example, I thought I had been rejected because people on my completion date heard news but I didn't hear anything. However, I got an II two weeks later. You just never know. I personally think you're still in this 🙂
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I saw that you got an II at NYU. I also have one schedule mid October (don't know when yours is). I was complete early August most places due to the committee letter (damn you committee!) I'm just hoping my cycle turns out as well as yours especially since we have some similar stats (34 mcat, 3.84gpa)
 
sghos said:
I saw that you got an II at NYU. I also have one schedule mid October (don't know when yours is). I was complete early August most places due to the committee letter (damn you committee!) I'm just hoping my cycle turns out as well as yours especially since we have some similar stats (34 mcat, 3.84gpa)
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Congrats on NYU!! 🙂 mine is in a few days (Monday) so we won't cross paths unfortunately 🙁 But they don't release decisions until December so you won't be at a disadvantage at all if that was a concern 🙂 sorry your letter delayed things! But an II from a top 20 school within a month of being completed bodes well, so I'm sure you will have an excellent cycle. Looks like we applied to a few of the same schools too! Best of luck with all of your apps!! I think it'll be a long, exciting, nervewracking cycle for everyone. But optimism helps make things less painful in my opinion, so I'm doing my best to focus on the good instead of worrying about the bad! Hopefully it helps my sanity over the next few months 🙂
 
complete Early August
II about a couple of weeks ago.
first available dates were late October.
OOS, Lizzy M of 74
 
Interview here today was great. Faculty and students all seemed really happy with the school. The two interviews I had each lasted over an hour and were very conversational and friendly. No need to feel stressed if you are coming here for an interview.
 
I also interviewed here today. One interview was very casual and conversational, while the other was much more rigorous with a series of difficult questions followed by no signs of approval or confirmation. Definitely made me nervous! But this is a great school, so I would love some good news in a month and ten days 😉

I really liked the emphasis on art and science, as that is very important to me. There is a very comprehensive medical education pathway too, which appeals to me due to my passion for teaching. The students were very friendly and went out of their way to talk to us and tell us how much they loved the school, which I really appreciated. It seemed like a very close knit group of students, which I am certainly looking for.

Overall, I'm a bit nervous about how the interviews went, but I think I'd be really happy attending this school so I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.
 
sunflower18 said:
I also interviewed here today. One interview was very casual and conversational, while the other was much more rigorous with a series of difficult questions followed by no signs of approval or confirmation. Definitely made me nervous! But this is a great school, so I would love some good news in a month and ten days 😉
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seems like we had similar interview experiences! Let's hope this means we crushed it!
 
stevvo111 said:
seems like we had similar interview experiences! Let's hope this means we crushed it!
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I wonder if that is how they are trying to do it or you two simply had the same interviewers!!! weird!
 
Added Rochester over the weekend and submitted the secondary this morning. Hoping for some late applicant love!
 
Congrats to everyone who had interviews! 🙂 I am sure you will all hear good news in October! I was wondering if you could comment on the easiness of finding the interviewers' rooms?
Thank you!!
 
Also...How did the small group discussion go?? 😀
 
I still do not have a secondary 🙁 Do they screen applicants? Who should I contact by phone/email, any help!!
 
NewTima said:
Congrats to everyone who had interviews! 🙂 I am sure you will all hear good news in October! I was wondering if you could comment on the easiness of finding the interviewers' rooms?
Thank you!!
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The school is best described as labyrinthine. Some other interviewees I talked to had to go on all fours through crawl spaces in the basement to get to their interview "rooms." The "rooms" are better described as bare cells, and instead of questions, the interviewers kept shouting "it rubs the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again."

So overall, easy to find the rooms. Plus the person at the front desk was really helpful.
 
Member 303956 said:
The school is best described as labyrinthine. Some other interviewees I talked to had to go on all fours through crawl spaces in the basement to get to their interview "rooms." The "rooms" are better described as bare cells, and instead of questions, the interviewers kept shouting "it rubs the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again."

So overall, easy to find the rooms. Plus the person at the front desk was really helpful.
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Member 303956 said:
Really laid back. I can't imagine that it actually counted toward or against any of us in any way.
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Thank youuuuuu!!! Hope your interview went well!!
 
Do any of y'all know if they still are planning to not record lectures for the 2015 matriculants? I was crazy about this school until I discovered that part. Now I'm still crazy about it, but slightly less so. Definitely one of those things that depends on the applicant.
 
AspiringERMD said:
Do any of y'all know if they still are planning to not record lectures for the 2015 matriculants? I was crazy about this school until I discovered that part. Now I'm still crazy about it, but slightly less so. Definitely one of those things that depends on the applicant.
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They seem to feel very strongly about not recording lectures. I want to say someone asked and they said they would not start recording, but I'm not totally sure.
 
areserine said:
They seem to feel very strongly about not recording lectures. I want to say someone asked and they said they would not start recording, but I'm not totally sure.
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This is what I remember as well. One of the students did say that many of the syllabi are very detailed and comprehensive and so it's possible to self-study without attending lecture if that's what you're interested in.

When asked, the only negative thing that students could come up with about Rochester was that there was a lot of structured time. They said that the majority of days there is something (class problem based learning etc.) scheduled from 8 to 5.
 
interviewing later this week, my first one! excited but very nervous..
 
Does anyone know if you can still get an interview if you are out of the country during their interview period (Sept - March)?
 
Neuronah said:
Does anyone know if you can still get an interview if you are out of the country during their interview period (Sept - March)?
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I have no idea, but I suspect that they would expect you to come to Rochester for the interview. I would just call and explain my circumstances if you are offered an interview.
 
demystifie said:
Is Rochester receptive to in the area emails?
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I've never actually heard of any school actually offering someone an interview, to whom they haven't already offered an interview, just because you're going to be in the area. I have however heard of schools being very flexible with your interview dates once they've offered you an interview to try and help you minimize your travel expenses.

That said, I can't imagine it would hurt to let them know you're going to be in the area in case they were thinking of offering you an interview soon.
 
Member 303956 said:
I've never actually heard of any school actually offering someone an interview, to whom they haven't already offered an interview, just because you're going to be in the area. I have however heard of schools being very flexible with your interview dates once they've offered you an interview to try and help you minimize your travel expenses.

That said, I can't imagine it would hurt to let them know you're going to be in the area in case they were thinking of offering you an interview soon.
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I think the idea is that some schools are receptive to reviewing your application slightly earlier than normal to help you make travel arrangements. So if they are receptive, ITA emails can be helpful even prior to II. Of course you are right in that sending an email is not going to increase the chance of that school sending you an invite overall.
 
Just interviewed a couple hours ago. Came here not really sure what to expect but ended up falling in love with the school. Cannot wait to hear back! Literally everybody (1st/2nd/4th years, professors, admission staff, and even the other interviewees) were so kind, welcoming, and outgoing. Can't say anything negative about this school. Wonder if anyone else from my group is on sdn lol
 
JingleChips said:
Just interviewed a couple hours ago. Came here not really sure what to expect but ended up falling in love with the school. Cannot wait to hear back! Literally everybody (1st/2nd/4th years, professors, admission staff, and even the other interviewees) were so kind, welcoming, and outgoing. Can't say anything negative about this school. Wonder if anyone else from my group is on sdn lol
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How's the area??
 
Jr MD said:
How's the area??
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Here are the various responses I received in response to your question:

Students and random guy I shared a cab from the airport with: "Meh."
Retired physician interviewers who had lived in the area for 40+ years: "Wonderful place to live and practice medicine."

My own observations: Rochester is a city with high unemployment and crime rates. There is a lot of need in this city and if you are truly interested in service it really would be a good place to be. As a non-trad student with a family of my own, I like the low cost of living in suburbs with good schools, the cultural diversity (relative to the cultural void of Colorado where I've lived for the past 6 years), the plentiful outdoor activities, and the utter lack of traffic. The winter in Rochester scares me.

It is a decidedly "non-hip" place to live and I can understand why typical, younger students would not find the city of Rochester incredibly appealing. I would likely have crossed it off my list had I been applying 10 years ago.
 
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