Originally posted by ral:
•Hey, I'm curious if anyone has interviewed at both UHS and KCOM? If so, could you give me some insight into how the interviews differed and what to expect from both? I am interviewing at both schools next week (5th and 7th, respectively).
Thanks for any input.•••
I interviewed at UHS-COM on Halloween and at KCOM on November 1. I had interviewed at AZCOM and the University of Arizona before this.
UHS: I was almost late getting there because there was some major traffic problem between my brother's house and the school-- he lives in KC so I stayed with him. The interview day starts out watching a cheesy video (they send you this video if you are accepted) and then you hear about financial aid. They give you two huge folders of stuff plus a manilla envelope full of things to do in KC, so you're toting around a lot of stuff. Then you see an OMM demonstration. It's given by the OMM prof, and he is very long winded. He deomstrates on an interviewee, which was kind of neat. Then some UHS students take you on a tour and you see classrooms, the library, and some labs--no cadavers though. Then you eat lunch, which takes place int he school's cafeteria and is free. After lunch, if you didn't finish your tour, you finish it. Lunch was nice because a lot of students came over to talk to us and were very friendly. Some of them were wearing costumes. Then you try on white coats and there are financial aid and housing people. The financial aid and housing people served no purpose there, and no one talked to them. Then you are escorted to your interview, which is done by a faculty member and a member of the alumni. It's a pretty laid back interview. One thing we all noticed though was that the interviewers were complete opposites: I had a very jolly guy and a guy who was very rude, and another girl had a young woman and a very old lady. Stuff like that. After the interview was done, we were allowed to leave.
KCOM: I arrived in Kirksville at about 9pm on Halloween. I stayed with a first year student. I highly recommend staying with a student. The girl they had me with could have been my long lost sister. She took me on a personal tour of campus and I got to see her group's cadaver. She also told me a lot of the school's negatives and positives you wouldn't hear on a tour. Then I got to meet some of her friends, which was cool. They were supposed to be studying, but they were all watching the world series. Very very nice people. The interview day itself was extremely long. Too long. I was exhausted after the 3 hour drive back to KC. Everyone in Kirksville is super nice. We had a short presentation in the morning and a financial aid presentation immediately afterward--they talk about scholarships specific to KCOM here, so it was actually useful. Afterward were the interviews. They give you cards with all of the interviewers credentials and hobbies on them, which was nice. Both of my interviews were extremely laid back. After the interviews, we ate lunch (sandwiches, chips, and cookies) with some student ambassadors. Then we had an OMM demo done by a student on another student. We got to see the rec center after that. It is a really nice facility. We didn't see much of the school itself or the library (I hear the library is really sad) though. Then we toured the museum and saw a complete nervous system dissection, which was definitely cool. Then we were allowed to leave.
I personally liked the atmosphere at KCOM better than UHS because I thought that UHS was trying way too hard to seem great. I can't really explain it. I just didn't fit there. KCOM was great. I was accepted at both places, but declined my offers of admission to go to AZCOM instead.
I hope this helps.
