Is it a problem if you don't know much about the med school's location

[wood41]

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as in for the questions that ask why you want to apply to the school.

 

[Smctbone]

as in for the questions that ask why you want to apply to the school.

school location shouldnt come up as a main reason for applying to a school (at least not in discussing it with the adcom)...so youre good 😉

 

[Law2Doc]

as in for the questions that ask why you want to apply to the school.

It always pays to know something about the school when trying to answer essay questions. You probably don't want your reason as to why you are applying to the school to depend on location -- many schools have regional competitors and they don't really like to hear that you are interested in them just to eg. be in NYC. Learn about the school and see if there is something there that attracts you to their program, ideally something that sets the school apart from the others.

 

[ADeadLois]

school location shouldnt come up as a main reason for applying to a school (at least not in discussing it with the adcom)...so youre good 😉

Umm...why not?

Schools that are in a rural location could offer a much different perspective on medicine than in an inner city school. Schools in a more culturally diverse area will offer a different perspective than a school in a homogenous suburb. Location is a very relevant, and your knowledge of the area is great fodder for interviews. That being said, it's not a huge deal if you don't much about the area, but it wouldn't hurt to take a few minutes to brush up.

As you'll find out, location is actually one the most important factor for people applying to residency programs. Location is a legitimate reason for choosing a school.

 

[ADeadLois]

It always pays to know something about the school when trying to answer essay questions. You probably don't want your reason as to why you are applying to the school to depend on location -- many schools have regional competitors and they don't really like to hear that you are interested in them just to eg. be in NYC. Learn about the school and see if there is something there that attracts you to their program, ideally something that sets the school apart from the others.

Hmm...good point. I should clarify my statement that location is a good fodder for interviews, only if it serves the purpose to enhance your interest in that particular school and the impact of its environment on your education.

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

At least look at the map before you fly somewhere, please.

No lie, I was in an interview in a Chicago medical school. They had a nice picture of the city framed by Lake Michigan on the wall of the waiting room I was sitting in with some other students before we get called for our interview (tour ended a bit early).

So I overhear two other students discussing the picture. It becomes obvious to me they don't know what body of water is in the picture.

"It's Lake Michigan" I whisper to them.

They look at me like I'm stupid.

"You mean one of the Great Lakes?"

"Yes"

"Chicago is on one of the Great Lakes?"

"Yeah"

"Really?"

For some reason they thought Chicago was in the dead center of Illinois and landlocked. I flipped over one of the papers they gave for us and sketched where exactly in Illinois we were. They were incredibly shocked to find out that we were as close to Indiana as I claimed.

 

[mave]

At least look at the map before you fly somewhere, please.

No lie, I was in an interview in a Chicago medical school. They had a nice picture of the city framed by Lake Michigan on the wall of the waiting room I was sitting in with some other students before we get called for our interview (tour ended a bit early).

So I overhear two other students discussing the picture. It becomes obvious to me they don't know what body of water is in the picture.

"It's Lake Michigan" I whisper to them.

They look at me like I'm stupid.

"You mean one of the Great Lakes?"

"Yes"

"Chicago is on one of the Great Lakes?"

"Yeah"

"Really?"

For some reason they thought Chicago was in the dead center of Illinois and landlocked. I flipped over one of the papers they gave for us and sketched where exactly in Illinois we were. They were incredibly shocked to find out that we were as close to Indiana as I claimed.

Wooooooooow.

 

[Smctbone]

Hmm...good point. I should clarify my statement that location is a good fodder for interviews, only if it serves the purpose to enhance your interest in that particular school and the impact of its environment on your education.

I'd agree, and, in the end, location definitely affects where I'll be going. But, like Law2Doc said, if an interviewer asks "why this school" I doubt theyll be too impressed if you start by saying "because I love this area" (I guess that's what I meant when I said it shouldnt be a main reason). I'm pretty sure adcoms give preference to students who are interested in the school (its programs, affiliated hospitals, research opps, ideals...) more than the location.

 

[nick_carraway]

At least look at the map before you fly somewhere, please.

No lie, I was in an interview in a Chicago medical school. They had a nice picture of the city framed by Lake Michigan on the wall of the waiting room I was sitting in with some other students before we get called for our interview (tour ended a bit early).

So I overhear two other students discussing the picture. It becomes obvious to me they don't know what body of water is in the picture.

"It's Lake Michigan" I whisper to them.

They look at me like I'm stupid.

"You mean one of the Great Lakes?"

"Yes"

"Chicago is on one of the Great Lakes?"

"Yeah"

"Really?"

For some reason they thought Chicago was in the dead center of Illinois and landlocked. I flipped over one of the papers they gave for us and sketched where exactly in Illinois we were. They were incredibly shocked to find out that we were as close to Indiana as I claimed.

I'm kinda embarassed by this but I didn't know either. The only view of Chicago I ever saw was in Road to Perdition 😀

I'll definitely take your advice to heart, now.

BTW, I always knew that Chicago was huge, but man. That's one big city.

 

[IHeartNerds]

Schools that are in a rural location could offer a much different perspective on medicine than in an inner city school.

There are medical schools in rural areas? 😕 Which ones? (honestly, no sarcasm here)

Penn State @ Hershey? University of Utah (but isn't that in SLC)?

 

[wood41]

darn in one of my essays for another school, i wrote a good part of it about location!!

 

[armybound]

Almost all of the schools I applied to had at least something to do with location, and I let them all know that.

 

[nick_carraway]

Almost all of the schools I applied to had at least something to do with location, and I let them all know that.

I think that's fine as long as the specific city isn't home to a bajillion med schools (read: Chicago, NYC)

As long as the location is exclusive to one school, you're fine.

 

[mave]

There are medical schools in rural areas? 😕 Which ones? (honestly, no sarcasm here)

Penn State @ Hershey? University of Utah (but isn't that in SLC)?

It depends on what you consider "rural", I guess. There are certainly some medical schools that tend to serve more rural areas.

University of Missouri really encourages rural medicine, and lots of students do rural preceptorships. kU has a program where you have the option of doing your last two years in Topeka, which is decidedly rural. Penn State isn't in a huge town, but the hospital is a Level I, and it sees lots of patients from the surrounding rural areas.

In rural areas, you might not see some of the "sexier" problems that you might see in bigger cities, but you will see your fair share of bad farm implement accidents. Plus, if you're a city person, a rural area will be a very big adjustment (and vice versa... I hate driving in Chicago... a lot). It would definitely be advantageous to have at least a barebones knowledge of where you might end up.

 

[Compass]

Know your school. Back when I was interviewing for UG, Rice asked me if I had ever been to campus before. I was like no, and the guy sighed and then pulled out a map to describe the campus to me. And I was like "Nope, I got Rejected."

 

[wood41]

yeah i did it for NYC, but i did mention a tidbit about the schools specific curriculum.

 

[mvenus929]

Well, I think that location has something to do with some of the programs schools have. AECOM, for instance, has a volunteer clinic in Manhattan, I believe, and they pride themselves in it. So the fact that it's in NYC, where you'd get lots of exposure to different things, is a good thing.

 

[armybound]

Know your school. Back when I was interviewing for UG, Rice asked me if I had ever been to campus before. I was like no, and the guy sighed and then pulled out a map to describe the campus to me. And I was like "Nope, I got Rejected."

you interviewed for your UG?

 

[alwaysaangel]

I mentioned location to a lot of my schools as a reason to apply - I would do at least a little bit of research and know a few things about the area that may attract you there. It obviously shouldn't be the only reason in your answer to "why here" but it can certainly be part of it. Because really - at some point you run out of research opportunities and curriculum advantages and dogawnit - its ok to say - "I'd be happiest here also because of location because I'm 1.5hrs from my bf, 1.5 hrs from my best friend and 1.5 hrs from my parents - its really central to my support system..." or "Most of my extended family lives in x state and I would love to be closer to them for several years, establish myself here and likely stay here" or "I've always wanted to try living on the east coast and DC is a great place, not too cold, plenty of theaters and other cultural opportunities, plus I'm interested in some political aspects of healthcare and what better place to be than right in the center of it all" etc.

I think it adds to your answer and gives you more to talk about - especially if you end up with an interviewer who's not really involved with the medical school except for interviewing. With people like that (pretty common) they don't have much to discuss with you in terms of curriculum etc. but they probably know the area really well and will be happy to chat about that for a bit.

 

[OCallag]

you interviewed for your UG?

I think you just called someone out!

 

[armybound]

I think you just called someone out!

Nah, I'm just asking. It seems awfully strange, but I'm guessing it's not unheard of, especially if she was up for some big scholarship or program.

 

[nick_carraway]

Nah, I'm just asking. It seems awfully strange, but I'm guessing it's not unheard of, especially if she was up for some big scholarship or program.

Private schools interview for UG pretty routinely, don't they? I thought it was pretty normal.

 

[armybound]

Private schools interview for UG pretty routinely, don't they? Especially the Ivy's.

I never interviewed for mine.

of course my school isn't Ivy, but neither is Rice.

 

[OCallag]

There are medical schools in rural areas? 😕 Which ones? (honestly, no sarcasm here)

Penn State @ Hershey? University of Utah (but isn't that in SLC)?

Like someone else said, it really depends on what you think "rural" is. If you're from LA or NYC then both of the WV schools would be rural. Hell, Vermont's city has less than 40,00 people. ETSU is in Johnson City, TN, which has about 50,000 people, but the surrounding areas like where I live are definitely RURAL rural, with sparsely populated counties whose emphases are still on agriculture, mining, etc...

 

[nick_carraway]

I never interviewed for mine.

of course my school isn't Ivy, but neither is Rice.

Well I didn't either but I didn't apply to those schools. 4 years ago is a little fuzzy but I think friends interviewed for USC and Brown.

 

[OCallag]

Nah, I'm just asking. It seems awfully strange, but I'm guessing it's not unheard of, especially if she was up for some big scholarship or program.

Ah yeah, you're right, I didn't think about that.

 

[drizzt3117]

Private schools interview for UG pretty routinely, don't they? I thought it was pretty normal.

For undergrad, I interviewed at 4 schools (Princeton, Yale, Harvard, MIT) I don't think any of the others (including some other Ivies) interviewed. All of them were alumni interviews in my hometown.

 

[MassTransport]

I interviewed for Rice. Didn't get in, though. It was real casual.

 

[armybound]

I honestly did not know that any undergraduate schools interviewed applicants.

 

[MassTransport]

I think the schools that think they're hot stuff/ultra competitive do it. Usually it's just a regional alumni interview.

 

[nick_carraway]

I think the schools that think they're hot stuff/ultra competitive do it. Usually it's just a regional alumni interview.

Y'know this thread got me looking at the prospective freshmen sites at colleges and it's so sad how easy it was to get in. UC Davis, for instance, has a 70% acceptance rate. That's effing crazy. Even Stanford's 10% makes for good times compared to the crap we're going through now.

 

[armybound]

Y'know this thread got me looking at the prospective freshmen sites at colleges and it's so sad how easy it was to get in. UC Davis, for instance, has a 70% acceptance rate. That's effing crazy. Even Stanford's 10% makes for good times compared to the crap we're going through now. Kinda makes me wish I applied to Stanford when I had a chance 🙂

don't tell Mr. 3.8/37, he doesn't understand 😛

 

[nick_carraway]

don't tell Mr. 3.8/37, he doesn't understand 😛

Haha I was in too much shock to realize he even had an MDapps profile. 70%.

Ridiculous. No wonder I never worried about getting into UG back in the day.

 

[armybound]

Haha I was in too much shock to realize he even had an MDapps profile. 70%.

Ridiculous. No wonder I never worried about getting into UG back in the day.

My experience applying to UG emphasizes exactly why my freshman grades were so poor.

I applied to one undergraduate school. And it's a private school.. still relatively easy to get into, but who the hell only applies to 1 school? I was so arrogant back then.. it amazes me.

 

[MassTransport]

😛

I applied to three, but Texas has this thing that if you're in the top 10% of your high school you get an assured acceptance to UT Austin.

 

[armybound]

😛

I applied to three, but Texas has this thing that if you're in the top 10% of your high school you get an assured acceptance to UT Austin.

I thought it was just guaranteed acceptance to a Texas school.. not necessarily one particular school.

But yeah, I'm extremely jealous of your app. I wish I had worked harder back when class was easy. Gotta pay for it for the rest of my life... argh

 

[nick_carraway]

My experience applying to UG emphasizes exactly why my freshman grades were so poor.

I applied to one undergraduate school. And it's a private school.. still relatively easy to get into, but who the hell only applies to 1 school? I was so arrogant back then.. it amazes me.

I applied to 4 or 5 of the UCs. I was about as mediocre in high school as I was in college, but it never ever occurred to me that I wouldn't get in anywhere. Like... it was a non-issue.

I used to think that I was lucky that I got in anywhere with that attitude and my record, but I guess not. Few things in life give you better chances than 50/50.

 

[nick_carraway]

I thought it was just guaranteed acceptance to a Texas school.. not necessarily one particular school.

But yeah, I'm extremely jealous of your app. I wish I had worked harder back when class was easy. Gotta pay for it for the rest of my life... argh

I know. I have so many regrets from every stage of my life. The sad thing is that you never appreciate the advice you're given (or even remember it) until after all is said and done and all you can do is pass on that advice to the next generation who will hopefully be smarter than you.

The sad thing is that studying for UG really was the easiest thing to do compared to working full-time.

 

[MassTransport]

Few things in life give you better chances than 50/50.

Death and taxes. Guaranteed.

The grass is always greener, armybound. I'm pretty envious of your ECs.

 

[armybound]

Death and taxes. Guaranteed.

The grass is always greener, armybound. I'm pretty envious of your ECs.

trade you ECs for some GPA points 🙂

man, we got way off topic.

 

[nick_carraway]

trade you ECs for some GPA points

man, we got way off topic.

Haha well I think the OP's question was answered a while ago. (I hope).

 

[OCallag]

Haha well I think the OP's question was answered a while ago. (I hope).

Psh, I think your guys' conversation was a lot better. If the OP was really that worried, s/he would have just wikipedia'ed said city.

 

[nick_carraway]

Psh, I think your guys' conversation was a lot better. If the OP was really that worried, s/he would have just wikipedia'ed said city.

Oh wiki... from you, I've learned more than I ever wanted to about Charlottesville, Boston, Newark, Brooklyn, and Ohio.

 

[postbacker]

Private schools interview for UG pretty routinely, don't they? I thought it was pretty normal.

Most colleges eliminated interviews years ago...too many applicants...some colleges will grant a "courtesy interview" if you request it, but it is not required and of dubious value to the applicant...I bet that the number of colleges with mandatory interviews is very small, less than a dozen if that many...