DO schools without Interview?

[iowagirl]

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I know MSUCOM doesnt do interview as well as WVSOM if you have a certain criteria. Are there any other schools that doesnt require interview?

Thanks guys🙂

 

[PunkmedGirl]

I believe those are the only two.

 

[swamprat]

i rlly never heard of that. my advisor once told me that when the prehealth advising ppl analyze schools for students to apply to there are 2 main criteria for it to be OK 1) requires mcat scores 2) requires interviews

 

[dozitgetchahi]

i rlly never heard of that. my advisor once told me that when the prehealth advising ppl analyze schools for students to apply to there are 2 main criteria for it to be OK 1) requires mcat scores 2) requires interviews

MSUCOM is very well regarded and does not require interviews in most cases because its secondary is very elaborate and collects a lot of information about you. This generally enables the school to decide who it will accept without an interview.

 

[ShyRem]

MSU changed that in the middle of the application season for entering class 2006, moving from interview required to no interviews at all.

 

[BabyKangaroo]

Personally, before I had any interviews I thought "It would be awesome if I didn't have to go through all of that and the school just accepted me." But now that I have been through all of the interviews, I made my #1 choice my last, and one of my last my first! In other words, it is just as much you interviewing them, as the institution is interviewing you. I know no one implied that they wanted to sidestep the whole interview process, but a combination of my intuition and empathy says someone doesn't want to go to interviews... My advice - Say "bring it on!" and conquer that beast. Good luck with interviews!

 

[235750]

In other words, it is just as much you interviewing them, as the institution is interviewing you.

I completely agree! Well said

 

[dominate]

I had no idea you could get into med school without an interview!! I'm not sure any complicated secondary can replace an in person interview. Having said that.. I know that MSU COM has been very successfull and is respected, so it must work. For applicants who are considering schools that don't require interview, I would encourage you to at least tour the school if you are serious about it.

 

[brucecanbeatyou]

My advice - Say "bring it on!" and conquer that beast. Good luck with interviews!

Could we expect any different advice from Mr. Libre himself? I fully concur.

 

[not so calm now]

I feel that in some instances, a phone interview (or series of) would do just fine, especially if you've visited the school already. It could be a conference call if necessary. Why gouge applicants more? It's not like a day long visit is going to really give you a sense for the school and camaraderie with your future classmates.

 

[Semicolon]

I feel that in some instances, a phone interview (or series of) would do just fine, especially if you've visited the school already. It could be a conference call if necessary. Why gouge applicants more? It's not like a day long visit is going to really give you a sense for the school and camaraderie with your future classmates.

I don't think that's true at all; I think plenty of people can get a sense for the school they're interviewing at, even if it is for just one day.

 

[dozitgetchahi]

I feel that in some instances, a phone interview (or series of) would do just fine, especially if you've visited the school already. It could be a conference call if necessary. Why gouge applicants more? It's not like a day long visit is going to really give you a sense for the school and camaraderie with your future classmates.

I must say I agree with you. There needs to be a serious reconsideration of making students pay travel costs for med school interviews - frankly they form a barrier to allowing underprivileged students to enter med school and limit the admissions options of even average middle-class kids. Travel costs are very expensive; heck, I wasn't able to attend some of my most desired interviews simply because my parents didn't have the money to keep paying for all sorts of plane tickets, and I don't exactly come from a "disadvantaged" background.

On top of all that, I also didn't feel that I was getting a real and accurate picture of day-to-day life at some of my interviews. I often got the distinct impression that some schools were keeping some things hidden while presenting a shiny facade of what it was like to be a student there. I left a couple of interviews feeling kind of let down after having paid so much money (and spending so much time) to get there and attend.

 

[Deceptacon]

The interview is part of the game, and you have to play it. End of story!

 

[dozitgetchahi]

The interview is part of the game, and you have to play it. End of story!

Yeah, but what if you're truly poor and you literally have no way to get to any interviews? Your sort of attitude exemplifies why I don't believe the medical profession is very serious about giving disadvantaged applicants a fair shake. Even the fact that middle-class people often have trouble paying all the fees associated with applying to medical school seems to indicate a subtle bias in the process toward selecting wealthier applicants.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

There's no reason schools shouldn't be able to do phone interviews with applicants. And then after that, they can allow the accepted students to come tour the campus if they want and check it out for themselves. I understand MSUCOM does this and it works out well. Other schools need to catch up.

 

[not so calm now]

I don't think that's true at all; I think plenty of people can get a sense for the school they're interviewing at, even if it is for just one day.

You may get a sense of the people that you meet with (i.e., a few faculty members and current students) but you have no idea what your classmates are going to be like, and ultimately these are the people you're going to deal with the most.

 

[not so calm now]

I must say I agree with you. There needs to be a serious reconsideration of making students pay travel costs for med school interviews - frankly they form a barrier to allowing underprivileged students to enter med school and limit the admissions options of even average middle-class kids. Travel costs are very expensive; heck, I wasn't able to attend some of my most desired interviews simply because my parents didn't have the money to keep paying for all sorts of plane tickets, and I don't exactly come from a "disadvantaged" background.

Exactly - add to that the cost of mcat prep and you have a recipe for excluding underprivileged kids.

The "interview is part of the game" attitude isn't productive. Segregation was "part of the game" before the MLKs and Rosa Parks of the world came along, realized it didn't make sense, and changed it. Likewise countless other examples.

 

[Vita]

WVSOM does interviews. They don't send a secondary until you are granted an interview, but I think they have been doing interviews for a few years now (as I understand it, they used to let some people in without interviews, but now they interview each student being considered).

 

[Deceptacon]

I honestly don't think anything needs to be changed regarding the interview process, and I think you guys are taking what I said a little too far! The admissions committee's are in no way trying to segregate to the wealthier people of the the world. It's the final step in a long process of weeding out scrubs. It has to be there. Medical school is something you should have known you wanted to go into for a long time, it's not like traveling around the continental US is something that should have taken you off guard. If it did then you probably did not prepare adequately, which, by the way, doesn't mean you are being discriminated against!

 

[MedStudentWanna]

I honestly don't think anything needs to be changed regarding the interview process, and I think you guys are taking what I said a little too far! The admissions committee's are in no way trying to segregate to the wealthier people of the the world. It's the final step in a long process of weeding out scrubs. It has to be there. Medical school is something you should have known you wanted to go into for a long time, it's not like traveling around the continental US is something that should have taken you off guard. If it did then you probably did not prepare adequately, which, by the way, doesn't mean you are being discriminated against!

Why does it "have to be there"? Why are phone interviews not adequate? Why do you think that if someone wasn't born with a stethoscope around the neck, that person shouldn't be a doctor?

 

[Deceptacon]

Neither of my parents were doctors and I made it in just fine. I think you are worrying about something that is very unlikely to change in the immediate future, at least not soon enough for it to impact you. Besides, a couple pre-meds whining about it on an internet forum isn't likely to help your cause either. Your argument isn't with me, it's with a set of schools that have been around for decades. Take it up with them and let me know how it goes.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

Neither of my parents were doctors and I made it in just fine.

What does that have to do with anything? We're talking about money for interviews, not who your parents are helping you get in. Try reading the posts.

I think you are worrying about something that is very unlikely to change in the immediate future, at least not soon enough for it to impact you. Besides, a couple pre-meds whining about it on an internet forum isn't likely to help your cause either. Your argument isn't with me, it's with a set of schools that have been around for decades. Take it up with them and let me know how it goes.

Since when does stating an opinion on SDN mean that we're ready to organize protests? Lose the condescending attitude and understand that we disagree with your opinion.

 

[Deceptacon]

I think you are getting a little too worked up over nothing, just take a chill pill! On another note, I think you've strayed from the purpose of this thread so lets get back on track... together? <3

 

[Chocolate Bear]

Interviews suck. They can cost you $10,000+, introduce you to the joys of credit card debt, cause you to miss classes and tests, sometimes feel like torture, often give you a sugar coated view of the school, often don't have any 3rd or 4th year students around (the ones who actually have something useful to say about something that matters)...the list goes on.

That being said, I think there's a lot of value in them being able to meet and interact with you, as well as your being able to speak with students and admins face-to-face.

I'm not sure that everyone going to phone interviews would be the best case scenario, but perhaps if it was an option if you/your parents are at a certain income level, it would be a nice workaround for those who couldn't otherwise attend.

 

[MedStudentWanna]

I think you are getting a little too worked up over nothing, just take a chill pill! On another note, I think you've strayed from the purpose of this thread so lets get back on track... together? <3

And I think you need to understand that just because you say something, doesn't make it true. Your attitude is very condescending. Maybe take a dose of Manners 101.

 

[Semicolon]

Once again, I disagree that the interview process should be changed; I think Deceptacon is right in saying that you should know what you're getting yourself into. This is a part of the process and it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Phone interviews lack something very important - you. Yes, they can ask questions and you can answer them on the phone, true. But they don't see you. If you know anything about interviews, BODY language is one of the most significant factors in how you portray yourself. Knowing how to conduct yourself professionally in a moment of stress and pressure is a very good thing to know generally and a very important trait to have as a physician, regardless of specialty. None of the medical schools want to make you broke or intentionally have you spend a lot of money; it's just the way it is.

HOWEVER, in more extreme circumstances, I DO believe that phone interviews should be an option for those that truly cannot make it in person. I just don't feel that they are more effective than "in-person" interviews.

 

[FlaMedic]

I never heard that WVSOM didn't do interviews....at mine they said they interviewed approx. 700+ people for the 150 spots...., there were 10 other people in my group interviewing the day I did.
Anyone else know anything about this?

 

[ShyRem]

I know a couple people who got accepted to WVSOM without interview because their numbers were high enough. I don't know what the cutoff is, but they were told something along the lines of "we'd like to offer you an acceptance based on your outstanding application".

 

[Peptoboy]

i rlly never heard of that. my advisor once told me that when the prehealth advising ppl analyze schools for students to apply to there are 2 main criteria for it to be OK 1) requires mcat scores 2) requires interviews

Sometimes pre-health advisors aren't 100% correct.🙂
http://grad-schools.usnews.rankings...ed/search/order+c_rank_mdp_final_overall_sort
MSUCOM does encourage all applicants to schedule an interview and tour with the school, they just evaluate differently than other schools. Appearantly it is not hurting their reputation too badly.