Poorly organized interviews?

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MrLahey said:
Anyone have any stories of schools having poorly organized interview days?
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Personally, I didn't like Einstein's interview day. I'm all for an informal environment, but I wanted to get some face time with people who could actually tell me what my chances were and give me more information about the school. What happened was that interviewees met no one from the admissions office except an administrator (yet a very nice one, don't get me wrong), were given a tour of the school by several students, ate lunch with those students, and went straight to the interview.

Dear schools,

If I'm making a trip out to you, I want to know you actually care.
 
At one interview, the tour guides kept asking us "what do you guys want to see?" instead of having a plan. The few things people asked to see (anatomy lab, lecture hall), we were told we couldn't see them. We also got lost in the hospital. Not a great impression.
 
Ismet said:
At one interview, the tour guides kept asking us "what do you guys want to see?" instead of having a plan. The few things people asked to see (anatomy lab, lecture hall), we were told we couldn't see them. We also got lost in the hospital. Not a great impression.
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Similar experiences here. At one school, the tour guides failed to show up. And at another there was no tour at all. These made memorable impressions. 🙂
 
Ismet said:
At one interview, the tour guides kept asking us "what do you guys want to see?" instead of having a plan. The few things people asked to see (anatomy lab, lecture hall), we were told we couldn't see them. We also got lost in the hospital. Not a great impression.
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Yeah that's sketchy...

I loved my tour at OUWB... very focused and directed. The facilities were impressive. Some of the things like the anatomy lab were shown to us. Which made it cool.
 
tantacles said:
Personally, I didn't like Einstein's interview day. I'm all for an informal environment, but I wanted to get some face time with people who could actually tell me what my chances were and give me more information about the school. What happened was that interviewees met no one from the admissions office except an administrator (yet a very nice one, don't get me wrong), were given a tour of the school by several students, ate lunch with those students, and went straight to the interview.

Dear schools,

If I'm making a trip out to you, I want to know you actually care.
Click to expand...

Agreed on their interview day...it was very unstructured and I felt like I didn't get to know the school that well. However, I was impressed by their accepted students dinner in Manhattan. Lots of alumni and current students came out to talk about their experiences, and they seemed like one big happy family!
 
The Harvard interview day is notoriously unstructured -- basically two interviews, a lunch and the rest of the day to do with as you please.
 
Before I was accepted, all I wanted to do was interview, leave, and then want to learn more when I got accepted.
 
candav said:
The Harvard interview day is notoriously unstructured -- basically two interviews, a lunch and the rest of the day to do with as you please.
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THE Harvard?????? You must be really smart. And humble. And socially adept.
 
Ismet said:
At one interview, the tour guides kept asking us "what do you guys want to see?" instead of having a plan. The few things people asked to see (anatomy lab, lecture hall), we were told we couldn't see them. We also got lost in the hospital. Not a great impression.
Click to expand...

Im going to defend the med students giving the tour here. Bear in mind that this isn't college and there is not a set official tour. Usually the dean of admissions simply catches an upper classman in the halls last minute and says will you please give a tour. Usually you can't remember what they showed you a few years ago, and can't even recall what things you wanted to see back then. So you show everybody the one or two things you personally think are unique or cool, and after that you ask what they want to see. but I think you kind of missed the point of the tour -- it is less about seeing the place -- most med schools and hospitals look similar give or take one or two wrinkles, it is more about letting you be alone with another med student, usually an upperclassman away from the ears of admissions where you can ask questions.

You will get very similarly disorganized and unrehearsed tours for residency. I wouldn't put much stock in it -- it's tough to give a tour if you've never done one and if you got enlisted to do one that afternoon without much time to prepare an itinerary.
 
betsywetsy said:
THE Harvard?????? You must be really smart. And humble. And socially adept.
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How intolerably arrogant and socially inept of him to mention that he had an interview at a good school in a comment that is completely unrelated to the point of the thread.

What would the alternative be?
A Harvard interview day is notoriously unstructured
Harvard interview day is notoriously unstructured

?
 
betsywetsy said:
THE Harvard?????? You must be really smart. And humble. And socially adept.
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Wow, Ditto what Nick said,

I read that as "the Harvard interview day" like "the long interview day" or "the boring interview day" not "THE Harvard" as in the one and only, most awesome. Take out Harvard and it still makes sense: "The interview day is notoriously unstructured."
 
classy+troll.jpg
 
Einstein had a lot of downtime, but it wasn't too bad.

The only interview day that I did not appreciate was at UMass. No one told me where my second interview was, just an address and a map (with no building numbers on the map). Interview ended up being in an incredibly difficult place to find.
 
tantacles said:
Personally, I didn't like Einstein's interview day. I'm all for an informal environment, but I wanted to get some face time with people who could actually tell me what my chances were and give me more information about the school. What happened was that interviewees met no one from the admissions office except an administrator (yet a very nice one, don't get me wrong), were given a tour of the school by several students, ate lunch with those students, and went straight to the interview.

Dear schools,

If I'm making a trip out to you, I want to know you actually care.
Click to expand...

Out of my (admittedly few) interviews, I'd say Einstein was probably my favourite. Not too early of a start, not a lot of waiting around (for me at least it was interview lunch tour home). I agree that it probably would have been nice to talk to someone else from the admissions office but I truly appreciated how succinct the day was.

My least favourite was Buffalo. The tour went on and on and on and on. We practically saw the entire school. You were also not told the time for your interview. You just had to sit in a room and wait. For some people the wait was only 30 minutes but for others it was a couple of hours. Many people had had both interviews (and gone home) before I had my first.
 
Law2Doc said:
Im going to defend the med students giving the tour here. Bear in mind that this isn't college and there is not a set official tour. Usually the dean of admissions simply catches an upper classman in the halls last minute and says will you please give a tour. Usually you can't remember what they showed you a few years ago, and can't even recall what things you wanted to see back then. So you show everybody the one or two things you personally think are unique or cool, and after that you ask what they want to see. but I think you kind of missed the point of the tour -- it is less about seeing the place -- most med schools and hospitals look similar give or take one or two wrinkles, it is more about letting you be alone with another med student, usually an upperclassman away from the ears of admissions where you can ask questions.

You will get very similarly disorganized and unrehearsed tours for residency. I wouldn't put much stock in it -- it's tough to give a tour if you've never done one and if you got enlisted to do one that afternoon without much time to prepare an itinerary.
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I completely understand where you're coming from, but the tour guides were introduced to us as "their best tour guides," so I'm assuming these weren't just random M2's who were plucked from the hallway. It was the disorganization in addition to the "mood" of the tour. The guides were really depressed and unhappy during the tour and lunch (the one even told us he was depressed when we asked him about the curriculum). I know that medical school is rigorous and I definitely won't be peppy and happy all the time, and the guides could have been having a bad day/had a test coming up, but there is something to be said about tour guides who can be proud and enthusiastic about their school during the tour. I just toured VCU with M2 tour guides who had a cardiology final the next day, and they couldn't be happier to share their school with us for a 2-hour lunch and tour.

Basically, I understand that the tour is not the important part of the application/interview process, and I shouldn't base an entire school on an hour's tour or two of the med students, but it's a gut feeling and it's the only opportunity to get any semblance of the "feel" of a school. The tour guides are representing the school, and when the only 2 med students you see are depressed and disengaged, it does leave an impression.
 
Drexel's interview day was a hot mess.

Half the students had interviews off site (in the hospitals which are a shuttle ride away from the school of medicine building), which meant that they had to leave as the tour was beginning, meaning they didn't get a tour. My interview was in the first time slot on site, which started 10 minutes into the tour... which means I didn't get a tour either. The student interviewers basically just ate lunch with us and talked about how super the school was for 30 mins and didn't ask any questions. And then, they neglected to tell us until some of us had been just sitting and waiting around for 30 mins that the curriculum presentation that we were waiting for had been cancelled so we were all free to go (convenient when staying with family 'in the area' who dropped me off and had a set time to come pick me up... ha). Oh, and having to write an essay AT the interview was also weird.

Kentucky's interview was a bad experience - but maybe just for me. My first interviewer didn't show up, so they called in a 'sub' who came in 15 mins later and angrily marched to a room and interviewed me with hostility, asked personal questions, and told me that it was silly of me to come to the interview if I already had an acceptance because most people go to the school they get accepted to first (??), so he knew I wasn't going to attend UK. Second interviewer had hearing aids, whose batteries conveniently died as we began talking. So, he took them out and I yelled.

:smack:
 
Ucla was the worst. "please be there at 745" "oh your interview is at 2, find something to do till then, here's $4 for lunch..." lol
 
Law2Doc said:
Im going to defend the med students giving the tour here. Bear in mind that this isn't college and there is not a set official tour. Usually the dean of admissions simply catches an upper classman in the halls last minute and says will you please give a tour. Usually you can't remember what they showed you a few years ago, and can't even recall what things you wanted to see back then. So you show everybody the one or two things you personally think are unique or cool, and after that you ask what they want to see. but I think you kind of missed the point of the tour -- it is less about seeing the place -- most med schools and hospitals look similar give or take one or two wrinkles, it is more about letting you be alone with another med student, usually an upperclassman away from the ears of admissions where you can ask questions.

You will get very similarly disorganized and unrehearsed tours for residency. I wouldn't put much stock in it -- it's tough to give a tour if you've never done one and if you got enlisted to do one that afternoon without much time to prepare an itinerary.
Click to expand...

Very much agree! I don't think many med students that give tours understand this either. I don't want a preplanned presentation intended to sell the school, that's what the admissions staff is for. I just want to have a conversation about why you like the school and maybe get some questions answered. Mostly I just want to know that the students that go to the school are honest and socially capable. 🙂
 
glasshalfMD said:
Drexel's interview day was a hot mess.
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Similar experience at Drexel. I was actually happy about the shuttle though. I didn't get much sleep the night before, so I got a much needed nap on the shuttle ride to Hahnemann. 😀

drizzt3117 said:
Ucla was the worst. "please be there at 745" "oh your interview is at 2, find something to do till then, here's $4 for lunch..." lol
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lol :laugh:
 
Dartmouth...I met only one student the whole day (and he was the guy who gave us the tour + ate lunch with us...). Also, I didn't get to see the medical school, only dhmc
 
I do agree that Harvard was pretty bad. The shuttle system = fail.
 
I actually liked Einstein's interview day. I thought it was the most organized out of the group and they even facilitated thank you notes by providing the interviewer's address and an envelope.

I did not care for NYMC's interview day. I have nothing against the staff, but I did not meet a single doctor or faculty (physician, PhD, etc.) the entire day. I missed half the financial aid talk because my interview was scheduled right in that time frame.
 
ActiveSite said:
Very much agree! I don't think many med students that give tours understand this either. I don't want a preplanned presentation intended to sell the school, that's what the admissions staff is for. I just want to have a conversation about why you like the school and maybe get some questions answered. Mostly I just want to know that the students that go to the school are honest and socially capable. 🙂
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Yeah, on residency tours (basically the same thing) I'd say the most useful tour i had was the one where the resident just brought everybody to the residents lounge, sat down and let us ask her questions for 20 minutes. We didn't see much of the hospital but I got a much better picture about what residency was like there.
 
Ismet said:
I completely understand where you're coming from, but the tour guides were introduced to us as "their best tour guides," so I'm assuming these weren't just random M2's who were plucked from the hallway...
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I'd actually say that's exactly the intro youd give if you just plucked a random upperclassman out of the hallway.
 
Law2Doc said:
I'd actually say that's exactly the intro youd give if you just plucked a random upperclassman out of the hallway.
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:laugh: lol

Anonymous01 said:
What is this? An essay at the interview? Could you give some more details?
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I only saw this done at Drexel, but you're basically given 30 minutes to write your answer to an ethical dilemma question. It wasn't very stressful.
 
Napaholic said:
I only saw this done at Drexel, but you're basically given 30 minutes to write your answer to an ethical dilemma question. It wasn't very stressful.
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I think you have to write an essay at the SUNY Downstate interview as well. (I didn't interview there but people talk about it in the SUNY downstate school specific thread. Also there might be an essay at the other SUNY schools.). It seems like theirs has nothing to do with an ethical dilemma though. From what I can gather from the posts on that thread, you are given a random picture and then have to write an essay about it. Nothing too stressful.
 
I ended up sitting through an hour of lecture on microbial diseases and then another hour in PBL. The tour they gave us afterwards was upwards of an hour and 15 minutes when it really only needed to be like 30. Also they gave us no information about the school. Very boring and pretty pointless.
 
nuance said:
I think you have to write an essay at the SUNY Downstate interview as well. (I didn't interview there but people talk about it in the SUNY downstate school specific thread. Also there might be an essay at the other SUNY schools.). It seems like theirs has nothing to do with an ethical dilemma though. From what I can gather from the posts on that thread, you are given a random picture and then have to write an essay about it. Nothing too stressful.
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Drexel's was an ethical dilemma from what I remember last year. Downstates was just a picture that you could write free style on.
 
At a certain school in Washington, D.C. that wasn't GW or Howard, the applicants' "home base" area was a little windowed enclosure inside the building's main lobby (rather than an admissions office or conference room, or something like that). All the applicants felt like we were animals at the zoo :laugh:.
 
EK601 said:
My least favourite was Buffalo. The tour went on and on and on and on. We practically saw the entire school. You were also not told the time for your interview. You just had to sit in a room and wait. For some people the wait was only 30 minutes but for others it was a couple of hours. Many people had had both interviews (and gone home) before I had my first.
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nuance said:
I think you have to write an essay at the SUNY Downstate interview as well. (I didn't interview there but people talk about it in the SUNY downstate school specific thread. Also there might be an essay at the other SUNY schools.). It seems like theirs has nothing to do with an ethical dilemma though. From what I can gather from the posts on that thread, you are given a random picture and then have to write an essay about it. Nothing too stressful.
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i dont remember having to write an essay at downstate. upstate has essays that you write before the interview and stony brook gets all the essays out of the way in the secondary.

the SUNY that definitely has an essay which i remember quite vividly, and which was quite annoying, was buffalo (something along the lines of "what does empathy mean to you"). also i hated the fact that buffalo has canned questions. makes the interaction very artificial. I hated having to spend so much time before the interview preparing for 50+ possible questions and giving canned answers. i also didn't like that there were so many people at my interview day. every other school had at most a dozen interviewees whereas buffalo had ~30! As was mentioned, not cluing us in on when our interviews were scheduled was also very annoying.

i was not fond of albany's interview day. one of my interviewers had not looked at my app at all and started reading my committee letter while i sat there awkwardly, sometimes reading it out loud to me and commenting or asking questions along the way. my second interviewer was a mean old lady and the interview amounted to her berating me for being a city boy and not knowing anything about rural medicine. the tour guides also left a poor impression, one thing that has stuck out in my mind was that it was the only place where someone repeatedly mentioned "P=MD" ...made me feel like the student's weren't top notch or didn't have much in the way of aspirations.
 
In general, the more students and faculty members I get to have conversations with, the more I feel like I learn about the school. At my MMI interview day, I only got to talk with one student (the tour guide, who wasn't very knowledgeable) and no faculty members, and I felt like I still had a lot of questions about the school when I left.
 
KLycos said:
Before I was accepted, all I wanted to do was interview, leave, and then want to learn more when I got accepted.
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+infinity

I don't care what your school is like if you don't let me into it.
 
skinMD said:
i dont remember having to write an essay at downstate. upstate has essays that you write before the interview and stony brook gets all the essays out of the way in the secondary.
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I think this is the first year downstate is doing it, but I'm not positive about that.
 
Napaholic said:
lol :laugh: 👍. Was still a fun experience though for some of the schools at least.
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Yeah, and honestly, it was all about learning about the school, either. Jefferson for example, served an amazing lunch, which is something I'll definitely remember. They thought about what we wanted, which meant a lot. Most schools just send you off to the cafeteria with a coupon to get mediocre food, but I really appreciated the time it took to have a catered meal. I bet that meal alone won them an applicant or ten.
 
mmmcdowe said:
This thread exactly is the reason why Columbia has been tryingn to improve their day.
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I thought their lunch menu was a very nice touch 🙂.

tantacles said:
Yeah, and honestly, it was all about learning about the school, either. Jefferson for example, served an amazing lunch, which is something I'll definitely remember. They thought about what we wanted, which meant a lot. Most schools just send you off to the cafeteria with a coupon to get mediocre food, but I really appreciated the time it took to have a catered meal. I bet that meal alone won them an applicant or ten.
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Not all sandwiches are created equal 😛. I remember UPitt's lunch was pretty good, we actually ate with forks and knives. Fancy 😍.
 
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