Question for med students and higher: Was the interview perception “real”?

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

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Things like social atmosphere, engagement amongst students, respect the school has for their students, etc....

Did the interview realistically portray these aspects of your particular medical school or did you feel a drastic change once you started?

 

[Spectar]

This is actually an excellent question. I look forward to hearing responses.

 

[NotASerialKiller]

No

But that's to be expected, it's not a "drastic change" as much as it's simply difficult to get an accurate picture of a school from a brief glimpse. The best thing you can do is talk to current students, but even then people's perspectives differ wildly so unless you find someone who is exactly like yourself you might end up feeling very differently. Also any presentations from the program itself are likely BS so I wouldn't put much stock in them. Look at concrete things like whether it's P/F etc., your perception of an atmosphere may be extremely inaccurate.

edit: Oh and it's also tough to answer this question because in all cases n=1. I guess if someone ends up loving their school they'd likely say they made the right call and they knew it from the start, and if they end up hating it they'd say it seemed like it would be a lot better from the interview/tour. Take my comment and everyone else's with a grain of salt. Then just go to the city with the best food, that's all that matters anyway.

 

[HomeSkool]

My impressions from the interview day were all accurate, but they still provided a woefully incomplete view of the school. As my serial killing friend noted above, the small glimpse you'll get at an interview can't do justice to the reality of attending a school full-time for four years. And the food's important, because food is srs bsns.

If the food's equally good in two places, go to the city with the warmer climate. You can always take off your clothes if it gets too hot, but frostbite is like leprosy: your toes will fall off, and there's nothing you can do but watch 'em go.

 

[libertyyne]

Things like social atmosphere, engagement amongst students, respect the school has for their students, etc....

Did the interview realistically portray these aspects of your particular medical school or did you feel a drastic change once you started?

interviewing is like dating, everyone puts their best foot forward. Talking to upperclassmen in anonymous forums is way more predictive of what your experience is going to be like.

 

[21Rush12]

I think overall yes, I thought the fit was good and the people were relaxed and it was the case.

You have to be able to see through the fluff though.

 

[ekmf27050]

You can always take off your clothes if it gets too hot, but frostbite is like leprosy: your toes will fall off, and there's nothing you can do but watch 'em go.

See, that's always my argument for cooler climates. You can keep putting on layers until you get warm if it's cold out. But if it's hot out, you've taken off all your clothes, and you're still sweating, then you have a couple of problems...

 

[Medic741]

Nope.

Question I wish I had asked

“Who will be teaching us our clinical skills? How are they trained?”

>>>are they second years teaching clinical skills to first years?

 

[Xavieous]

It gives a general sense of the atmosphere of the school, but you won't get a day-to-day impression with just a walk around interview. Plus, you perspective is skewed anyway with being nervous and trying not to look like a dolt, so you won't get a good idea. My interview walk around put us in a clinical lab with first years, then went into the cadaver lab where they were dissecting. Other than thinking "cool, they teach you about the body and how to take blood pressure" I didn't form a grand, true impression. I got a better sense after when I googled the school, people's impressions, and came up with an idea of how I could make it home. that has been more accurate for my actual experience.

 

[Goro]

If the food's equally good in two places, go to the city with the warmer climate. You can always take off your clothes if it gets too hot, but frostbite is like leprosy: your toes will fall off, and there's nothing you can do but watch 'em go.

The two Mayos actually illustrate the extremes of what my learned colleague is trying to get across. In MN, Winter make s serious attempt to kill you in January and February.

In AZ, it gets triple digit hot. "But it's a dry heat!" you say? Yeah, but so is your oven.

 

[begoood95]

The two Mayos actually illustrate the extremes of what my learned colleague is trying to get across. In MN, Winter make s serious attempt to kill you in January and February.

In AZ, it gets triple digit hot. "But it's a dry heat!" you say? Yeah, but so is your oven.

The solution? Build a Mayonnaise in Oklahoma, where you can experience both extremes: ice-cold winters and hell-hot summers! The best of both worlds😉

 

[nymd22]

The two Mayos actually illustrate the extremes of what my learned colleague is trying to get across. In MN, Winter make s serious attempt to kill you in January and February.

In AZ, it gets triple digit hot. "But it's a dry heat!" you say? Yeah, but so is your oven.

In AZ you go from your air conditioned office to your air conditioned car to your air conditioned house. In Boston, where I currently live, I feel like the summers are actually more unbearable because oftentimes places aren't air conditioned. PLUS there are the winters to deal with.