Just be yourself, and be calm. It's a very easy, conversational interview. Check out the interview feedback on KCUMB for some interview questions.
So anxiously waiting for their letter!
-
CycleTrack and SDN are teaming up to make medical school admissions more transparent and accessible! Read the announcement to learn how we’re supporting the future of CycleTrack’s free application-tracking tools .
KCUMB Discussion Thread 2011-2012
Started by ShyRem
Get help with your application
Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.
Just be yourself, and be calm. It's a very easy, conversational interview. Check out the interview feedback on KCUMB for some interview questions.
So anxiously waiting for their letter!
Yea, I'm curious to see how interviewees responded to this type of question?
This question came up in all of my osteopathic interviews. My answer never incited any defensiveness or aggression. I just told them that yes, I did, and then followed with the fact that medical schools are very competitive, and I wanted to maximize my chances for an acceptance. It seemed reasonable to me.
Also I might add, that you should be well versed on the differences between allopathic and osteopathic medicine, and know quite a bit about osteopathic medicine in general (which I'm sure you do and all applicants should by this point) because the afore-mentioned question usually leads into or follows that discussion.
I wasn't asked it very often but if I was, I said I applied to both schools because of my interest in medicine as a whole.
Do you have any good sources for a comparison/differences. I feel like I know the general overview of each but I feel like I could know more.
Accepted (interviewed on 9/19)
Thanks! I think third right now (after MSU and CCOM). I won't be accepting admission here
mind if i ask why you chose MSU and CCOM over KCUMB?
And mind if I ask where AZCOM and NSU fall on your list and why? Btw congrats on all the acceptances! I'm assuming Canadians have to pay OOS tuition at MSU which was just way too rich for my blood lol.
This is just my opinion and everyone is going to have varying views.
I feel MSU and CCOM rank amongst the top DO schools because of their establishment and prestige. MSU was the first publicly-funded DO school and gets the most NIH funding each year. CCOM is one of the original 5 DO schools and has great ties for rotations (?perhaps the best). Students at both schools rotate at great hospitals and are matched well as a result of this. MSU is my current first choice because they have Canadian support over there - they are giving us $20,000 off tuition each year and there is a possibility of rotations in Canada. At every single interview, I was the only interviewee from outside the US - MSU has 16 Canadians in the class of 2015 and will have ~25 Canadians in the class of 2016. About 50% of CCOM students match into ACGME residencies, which is something that I highly value (I need to match into an ACGME residency if I eventually want to practice back home in Canada).
Based on my interview and experience, I felt KCUMB had the strongest sense of community. The facilities are also arguably the best out of any of the schools I interviewed at. They are also one of the original 5 DO schools with strong establishment and ties. You can't go wrong going here!
For me: MSU>=CCOM>KCUMB>NSU>AZCOM
I knew MSU loved canadians but i didn't know they took 20k off...yea that would be a game changer for me but def didn't feel like it was worth the money they wanted from an OOS lol i havent visited kcumb yet but from what ive read and who ive spoken too it def ranks high on my list..cant wait for beginning of nov to visit
Outright rejected by KCUMB. Interviewed 9/19.
Bummer man. At least you are sitting on an acceptance. And I interviewed same day. Don't remember which one you are, but I don't remember anyone. Good luck with your remaining interviews.
Don't worry. I interviewed the week after and will probably join you, so you won't be lonely. 🙁
Do you know if you fumbled the interview like me? Did you interview with Dr. Cox?
I interviewed on 9/19 and I thought it was one of the worst experiences of my life! I had two male interviewers and one of them was beyond rude. He rolled his eyes and kept making strange faces when I would give an answer. In addition to this, I was in there for about 45 min and I think only about 15 minutes of it was about my application the other 30 minutes were spent asking me ethical questions compounded on each other. They gave me one scenario and I would give them an answer and then they would say "well using the same people in the same situation" and would add another issue and it just became ridiculous. I honestly felt like they were tearing me apart with ethics. I came expecting one or two but one of the interviewers asked me a total of 8! I think that is just too much.
And of course I got my letter in the mail and i dont think it could have been any more hypocritical. They said "the admissions committee was impressed with your credentials and accomplishments, and we believe you would be a wonderful addition to KCUMB, however we are simply unable to offer you a seat in the Class of 2016." then they went on to put me on the wait list.
I wouldnt be as upset about this letter if my interviewers were respectful. I really enjoyed the school and know current and past students of KCUMB. It was one of my top choices, but in regards to how I was treated in my interview I'm not sure I would even go there if they call me back. (and I discussed my ethical answers with a doctor and she said that they were all correct in what a doctor should do so I know that my answers should not have received that reaction from the professor)
And of course I got my letter in the mail and i dont think it could have been any more hypocritical. They said "the admissions committee was impressed with your credentials and accomplishments, and we believe you would be a wonderful addition to KCUMB, however we are simply unable to offer you a seat in the Class of 2016." then they went on to put me on the wait list.
I wouldnt be as upset about this letter if my interviewers were respectful. I really enjoyed the school and know current and past students of KCUMB. It was one of my top choices, but in regards to how I was treated in my interview I'm not sure I would even go there if they call me back. (and I discussed my ethical answers with a doctor and she said that they were all correct in what a doctor should do so I know that my answers should not have received that reaction from the professor)
Pink- could you see the interview room from where you sit and wait? I had two guys and they were both way nice to me. In fact, it was because of them that makes me regret declining the acceptance. I don't regret it a lot, but I thought, "if these two guys represent the entire faculty accurately, this may be the best faculty in the nation."
That would be kind of awkward if it was the same two guys.
That would be kind of awkward if it was the same two guys.
Why NSU > AZCOM?
Third year here. Anatomy is taught on the systems level. After a section called Foundations of Medicine which has no anatomy, you begin with Musculoskeletal, which should be called the anatomy section because you spend A LOT of time in the anatomy lab. After that section, anatomy eases up big time. You go into Cardiopulmonary I and II after that (CP II has no anatomy). Then it's GI and more time in the lab and then it's Renal. End first year.
Second year, you begin Neuroscience I and you only have anatomy for the first four weeks. Then when you move into Neuroscience II, you're done with anatomy for the rest of your med school days.
Lab practicals are part of your grade for each section. The written exam for each section will include the written anatomy questions as well. It's comprehensive since it's systems based so you won't be taking exams in individual subjects outside of lab practicals and OMT of course.
Each section, anatomy is taught by a different professor. They're all pretty good though.
I asked another poster this, but was one of their name Dr. Cox? I'm being serious about this question, but anyway. I felt awful and know I'll get rejected from this school. Just a few complaints. Sometimes it's not how you interview, but who you interview. For all purposes, I dont think they should have an open file when they interview. In my case, they were digging around bad grades I had 4 years ago in undergrad and not seeing what I'm doing now and last year. I thought once you interview they would let bygones be bygones....guess not. That's all they really harped on and was out to get me it felt. BTW, anyone else interviewing here...be ready for broad and not well thought out questions e.g. Why are you here? and Name an ethical issue and how you would deal with it. The former being a LAME question.
I interviewed with Dr. Cox on 9/15 and was not a big fan. I have had three interviews so far and the one at KCUMB was by far the worst. I fumbled the interview and ended up receiving a rejection letter two weeks later.
That's not exactly fair. Perhaps you just had interviewers who weren't at the top of their game for whatever reason. Or perhaps you weren't. Who knows. But I can tell you that my interview experience and the interview experience of anyone I've talked to has been radically different.
If I were you, I would call the school and talk to them about what happened from your point of view. Perhaps they'll take that into consideration. If you're close by, maybe they'll even schedule another interview and if you're not close by, maybe they could set up a phone interview. Give them a call and see what they say. You have nothing to lose.
I knew I wasn't the only crazy person out there...and it'll probably seal my fate that I'm for sure will get the reject letter. Everything happens for a reason though. I'm glad I still have my top choices in play and will learn from this experience.
Sigh. I will agree with you that it may have been the combination of the two. I knew I said some honest answers that could have sounded wrong if they paid close attention. It's one of those things where you said something, and want to take it back. Still, Dr. Cox is a military man. The other guy was so nice to me, but Dr. Cox...omg. The 2nd year KCUMB student even warned me about him minutes before lol and I STILL got owned. It's a shame too. KCUMB is a great school.
A lot of people said their interviews were good. I feel really bad for the bad ones. My interviewers were very nice to me...perhaps too nice. They kept giving me compliments and sweets. I walked out thinking whether or not it was a trap interview.
Last edited:
You have a thread about this exact thing. PM him if you want specifics, but this is a thread about KCUMB, not what school you should attend that isn't KCUMB.
I'm starting to get a little nervous after hearing all of these negative interview experiences! I am interviewing in a month, so I guess it's time I start heavily preparing for this, just in case I happen to get Dr. Cox lol Thanks for the warning
Haha, you will be fine. There are like 10 interview panels and I'm just complaining because it took me a long time to drive there and got a horrible interview experience that never has happened to me before at other places.
I'm starting to get a little nervous after hearing all of these negative interview experiences! I am interviewing in a month, so I guess it's time I start heavily preparing for this, just in case I happen to get Dr. Cox lol Thanks for the warning
I interviewed at KCUMB on Wednesday and I actually thought it was great. I had Mr. Viebrock and Dr. Taylor. The interview was very conversational and I enjoyed it completely. Of course they asked some ethical questions and quizzed me on some bad grades but that should be expected. You have nothing to worry about.
I interviewed here on 9/30 and wanted to share about my experience. I interviewed with Ray (basically sounds like he is the on staff tutor for the first years?? Someone can correct me if I am wrong about that) and a PhD researcher in pharm. They were both extremely nice and laid back. They asked specifics about my application...
What did you do to improve your MCAT score?
Tell me about this professor's teaching style that wrote you a LOR.
They wanted to know about the only bad grade I made in college, and after convincing them that I know I can succeed in medical school they shook their heads and said "No, no, we know you will succeed and you wouldn't be here if we didn't have faith in you. We want to know that you are okay with not being the best in your class. Studies have shown that doctors who are obsessed with making good grades make the worst doctors." Was not expecting that but I think I recovered well.
They asked me to name an ethical dilemma and how I would handle it.
Anyways, my experience during the interview was positive. Hope this helps. Good luck to everyone!
What did you do to improve your MCAT score?
Tell me about this professor's teaching style that wrote you a LOR.
They wanted to know about the only bad grade I made in college, and after convincing them that I know I can succeed in medical school they shook their heads and said "No, no, we know you will succeed and you wouldn't be here if we didn't have faith in you. We want to know that you are okay with not being the best in your class. Studies have shown that doctors who are obsessed with making good grades make the worst doctors." Was not expecting that but I think I recovered well.
They asked me to name an ethical dilemma and how I would handle it.
Anyways, my experience during the interview was positive. Hope this helps. Good luck to everyone!
Ray is the 1st year academic advisor - helps anyone who runs into or thinks they are running into academic problems. Stan Viebrock is the 2nd year academic advisor and is head of the academic advising support program for students. Fabulous resources. They are in all our lectures and are very accessible.
I'm starting to get a little nervous after hearing all of these negative interview experiences! I am interviewing in a month, so I guess it's time I start heavily preparing for this, just in case I happen to get Dr. Cox lol Thanks for the warning
Dr. Cox will just be trying to rattle you to see if you:
a: can handle a bit of high pressure and
b: will stay within your ethics and principals under said stress
He is actually a very effective and articulate professor. His function in the interview is to try to get you to set off his bs meter or lose your composure. The likelihood is that if you draw Dr Cox as an interviewer, it's because this is the part of your application they're most concerned about. Above all, don't be afraid of Dr Cox, or any other interviewer for that matter. Be professional and polite, but firm and confident in your principles. The best response to an ethical question, or any question for that matter is one that is sincere and well reasoned, and NOT the answer you think the interviewer might want to hear. If you can stay within this with Dr Cox intently staring at you
, he will respect you and you will probably get a positive result. If you begin to contradict yourself, Dr Cox will smell blood in the water and you will be eaten alive.He was just answering a question asked by someone!
wait, wuuut?? don't mean to join in on beating the dead horse here, but xajtx was asking a question, and stok was saying that the question isn't pertinent to this thread. am I missing something here?
anyways, just wanted to say that in contrast to some others, I had nice interviewers: a PhD (basic science) and an alumni relations person (non-science/medicine). hopefully the ratio of nice interviewers to not-so-nice ones is high!! I feel for those who have difficult interviewers...it isn't very fun at all.
I believe no matter what, though, you won't ever know what type of interviewer you're gonna have before interview day, so the best and most sensible way to prepare is to have the fundamentals down (i.e. why medicine? why DO? why KCUMB? why your activities and what you learned from them?), and to be as relaxed as possible, and I know everyone says this (believe me, I'm a skeptic too when it comes to this), but I've found that the best way for me to relax is to do two things: remind myself continuously that my purpose is to see if the school is the right fit for me (because this way you can maintain integrity and won't appear desperate), AND to pretend that I already have an acceptance under my belt. if you're able to do these, I believe you will be much more confident and the confidence will show and probably will be the most important and lasting impression upon the interviewers... (assuming of course that you are not disrespectful)
so, in other words, whether you work your butt off preparing or not, your interviewer(s) can find ways to make it difficult, so the best thing is to look deep inside for the honest reasons to the fundamentals (mentioned above) and to chillllllaaaaaxxxx...
okay, time to go back to hurrying up to wait...hopefully my group will hear sometime this week! I will probably give them a call sometime after Tues. if I don't get anything in the mail...
Dr. Cox will just be trying to rattle you to see if you:
a: can handle a bit of high pressure and
b: will stay within your ethics and principals under said stress
He is actually a very effective and articulate professor. His function in the interview is to try to get you to set off his bs meter or lose your composure. The likelihood is that if you draw Dr Cox as an interviewer, it's because this is the part of your application they're most concerned about. Above all, don't be afraid of Dr Cox, or any other interviewer for that matter. Be professional and polite, but firm and confident in your principles. The best response to an ethical question, or any question for that matter is one that is sincere and well reasoned, and NOT the answer you think the interviewer might want to hear. If you can stay within this with Dr Cox intently staring at you
ha, very well put 👍...that smiley is like an exact replica of some interviewers I've had lol
I think your point is valid and extremely important...no matter what expression/attitude the interviewer has, be polite, professional and stick to your principles...this is what will really get you respect, and remember that some interviewers will pretend to be displeased on purpose only to see how you respond, but oftentimes in reality they are pleased with your performance...(hence the large number of interviewees that come out with an acceptance from a school in which they thought their interview didn't go well...key word here is 'thought')
Thanks man. Having one acceptance does make this rejection bearable.
You never know though. You may be underestimating your interview. I may have a problem overestimating my interviews, but I thought my interview went decent. It wasn't amazing, but I didn't feel like I tanked it. I interviewed with Dr. Taylor and Dr. Clay. I feel my problem is that though my GPA is within range for most DO schools, I really don't have a strong upward trend. So during final review, it could have been a strong factor.
i wonder if it has to do with your sgpa being below a 3.25 which is the minimum for kcumb according to their website....just wondering
That's true. I think I will call them up monday and ask about my admissions decision.
Well I hope that's not why. If it is, that means they were yanking his chain by interviewing him, which leaves me to think that KCUMB uses the interview to obviously feel you out, and if the interviewers give the go sign to the office, they will accept you. If not they put you for further review and who knows, if you have baller stats they might still take you.
I had Dr. Glaros and one other guy but he was the rude one.
My interview room was also all the way across campus so by the time I got there, I was sweating from the walk and tired. They definitely should have had interviews first if they were going to walk us all over the place.
My interview room was also all the way across campus so by the time I got there, I was sweating from the walk and tired. They definitely should have had interviews first if they were going to walk us all over the place.
Well if you guys get Dr. Taylor and Dr. Ballam, they are way nice and make you feel welcome. They ask some tough questions but they made me want to go to the school. Both are professors that seemed great to work with.
Dr. Cox will just be trying to rattle you to see if you:
a: can handle a bit of high pressure and
b: will stay within your ethics and principals under said stress
He is actually a very effective and articulate professor. His function in the interview is to try to get you to set off his bs meter or lose your composure. The likelihood is that if you draw Dr Cox as an interviewer, it's because this is the part of your application they're most concerned about. Above all, don't be afraid of Dr Cox, or any other interviewer for that matter. Be professional and polite, but firm and confident in your principles. The best response to an ethical question, or any question for that matter is one that is sincere and well reasoned, and NOT the answer you think the interviewer might want to hear. If you can stay within this with Dr Cox intently staring at you
Well said. Didn't think you were coming back to the SDN world... Welcome back!
Hi everyone,
I interviewed on 09/19 and had a wonderful experience. I'm surprised at some of the feedback I've been reading on this thread. My interview was super laid back and they did everything to make me feel at ease. I felt that the questions asked were nothing out of left field. No ethical questions. I was asked a few application based questions, then one of my interviewers asked what my fav book & movie were (unexpected but broke the ice) and a couple of other straight forward q's.
Seriously, its not that bad! Just be yourself and be sincere, they just want to make sure you are what your application says you are. I guarantee they are not there to rip you to shreds, they have other things to tend to and am sure they wouldn't waste their day interviewing students just to make them feel badly about themselves/app.
I heard back exactly 2 weeks after that.
Good luck everyone
I interviewed on 09/19 and had a wonderful experience. I'm surprised at some of the feedback I've been reading on this thread. My interview was super laid back and they did everything to make me feel at ease. I felt that the questions asked were nothing out of left field. No ethical questions. I was asked a few application based questions, then one of my interviewers asked what my fav book & movie were (unexpected but broke the ice) and a couple of other straight forward q's.
Seriously, its not that bad! Just be yourself and be sincere, they just want to make sure you are what your application says you are. I guarantee they are not there to rip you to shreds, they have other things to tend to and am sure they wouldn't waste their day interviewing students just to make them feel badly about themselves/app.
I heard back exactly 2 weeks after that.
Good luck everyone
Hi everyone,
I interviewed on 09/19 and had a wonderful experience. I'm surprised at some of the feedback I've been reading on this thread. My interview was super laid back and they did everything to make me feel at ease. I felt that the questions asked were nothing out of left field. No ethical questions. I was asked a few application based questions, then one of my interviewers asked what my fav book & movie were (unexpected but broke the ice) and a couple of other straight forward q's.
Seriously, its not that bad! Just be yourself and be sincere, they just want to make sure you are what your application says you are. I guarantee they are not there to rip you to shreds, they have other things to tend to and am sure they wouldn't waste their day interviewing students just to make them feel badly about themselves/app.
I heard back exactly 2 weeks after that.
Good luck everyone
My interview was on 9/19 and pretty laid back too. I had Dr. White and LeAnn. I was the first to interview and the book/movie questions kind of caught me off guard but I had thought about those so it worked out well for me.
So, I did in fact speak with KCUMB about my rejection. The person I spoke with over the phone said that they do not tell applicants why they were rejected. Would've been great to know if it was my interview or my application.
