What should I expect from the interview? How do I get there from the airport? Where should I stay?
Getting to Claremont is pretty easy. There are many airports in the LA area and Ontario is the closest one to Claremont (about 10 miles east). I would rent a car because it's nearly impossible to get around the LA area without one. Claremont is just a short drive west down the 10 from Ontario Airport (exit on Monte Vista or Indian Hill). If you land at LAX, you can take the 405 North to the 10 East to Indian Hill. I would very much recommend not arriving the morning of your interview at LAX as depending on traffic this can be quite a long drive.
There is no formal student host program at Scripps, unfortunately. There are many hotels near Claremont, but since I lived in the area, I don't really know which ones are a good deal. The Doubletree is pretty close to campus, though, maybe 1 mile away.
The interview itself is typically about an hour long, and is usually with the Program Director, Jodi Olson, the Faculty Advisor, Dr. Naftilan, and a senior faculty member from the admissions committee. A 3 on 1 interview can be a little intimidating, but this is very good preparation for med school interviews.
Generally I would say that this interview was harder than any I've experienced so far in medical school, so I would prepare, but others have said that it was very relaxed. I suppose it depends on the individual person, but they are very interested in knowing whether you're truly committed to a career in medicine, understand the underlying issues, and can explain everything on your academic record.
Good cop/Bad Cop is a pretty common strategy during this interview, especially during ethical or health policy questions, which will always come up. A lot of these questions have no right or wrong answer, but make sure you take a defensible position and stand your ground.
Either before or after the interview, you'll be taken to a class by a current student, and they will also take you to lunch at the Scripps dining hall, which is a very nice cafeteria-style lunch facility where postbacs can eat lunch for $5 (your lunch and that of your escort will obviously be free). This is a great opportunity to meet the postbacs, many of which will eat lunch together.
After lunch, Jodi will usually take all of the interviewees on a campus tour. The Claremont Colleges are on a beautiful campus and most people will be very impressed.
After I interview, what next? When will I find out whether I'm accepted?
Decisions by the admissions committee usually take a few weeks, and prospective students can be put on an informal hold as well. You won't be notified of holds unless you are on a formal waitlist, which isn't usually until late in the application season. The earliest you will be notified is probably 2-3 weeks, though.
I don't know the total number of applicants/interviewees/accepted students for 2007, and I'm not sure if those statistics were published but if I had to guess by our interview schedule, probably 50 people were interviewed out of about 300 applicants, and of those, probably half were accepted for a class of about 15.
I do know that some very qualified candidates ended up not being granted admission for qualitative reasons. Scripps is very much about fit.
The admissions committee is looking for students that are 1) great candidates for medical school, both qualitatively and quantitatively, 2) great people with good personalties and an interesting story to tell, 3) hard-working people who will succeed in a very rigorous postbac program, and most importantly, 4) dedicated and passionate about a career in medicine.
How will I know if I am a competitive candidate?
Normal minimum GPA to apply to the program is around 3.3 but that's just a guideline. I'd say most competitive candidates will have 3.5 or above GPA and SAT > 1200. If you want to know where you stand, definitely call and set up an appointment to speak with Jodi Olson, the program director, who will usually give you a very candid assessment of your chances.
