The school is definitely true to its mission. It's very service-oriented and aimed at producing the best clinicians, but that's not to say research opportunities are lacking if that's your goal. In other words, the environment here accommodates a broad range of interests. There are a lot of volunteer opportunities available, especially through campus ministry if that's your thing. We're also required to participate and reflect on at least one community service project our first year, but it doesn't have to be a huge commitment if you don't want it to be. I mentored some high school students once a week for about a month and had a great time.
But yeah I totally agree with you. I lumped two separate research internships together into one entry and also lumped in two different E-board positions for an organization into one entry as well. Quality is always better than quantity. I hope they see it this way as well.
Would you recomend applying if I'm not religious? The service focus is a big draw for me. I assume Loyola isn't like Loma Linda, but is Catholicism a big deal for many students or not so much?
I interviewed on a Saturday and my experience was very similar, although M.MD is correct in saying the groups are bigger on the weekend. There were about 15 of us and we started the morning off by gathering around a large table and filling out some paperwork. The Dean of Admissions then joined us, and we went about the room introducing ourselves. We all talked for about an hour before interviews started. I had one hour long student interview, followed by an hour long faculty/physician interview. We then had lunch on the main floor with current students, and broke up into groups of 3 afterwards for a tour of the school. We then met up to fill out some interview feedback surveys and that was it! Overall, this was one of my best interview experiences. Everyone was extremely helpful, and you can tell they really tried to make us feel comfortable!
