Should I visit the campus after receiving an interview invite?

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mrgame

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I received an interview with an MD school in Michigan about a week ago and was wondering if I should visit the campus to get a better understanding of the community and maybe meet some current students there. If I do visit should I talk about it during my interview to show my dedication to pursuing this school? In your opinion do you think it is worth the trip? Thanks!!!
 
mrgame said:
I received an interview with an MD school in Michigan about a week ago and was wondering if I should visit the campus to get a better understanding of the community and maybe meet some current students there. If I do visit should I talk about it during my interview to show my dedication to pursuing this school? In your opinion do you think it is worth the trip? Thanks!!!
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If it's not an in-person interview and you are not local, I think it's a bit over the top and might not go over well.

A significant part of schools' continuing to do virtual interviews is to level the playing field for people who cannot afford to travel around the country obtaining a better understanding of the community and maybe meeting some current students. People on the adcom sensitive to such things might not be receptive to your efforts, since plenty of fellow applicants are not in a position to replicate them.

Do it for yourself if you must. Trying to get brownie points by mentioning it could end up backfiring. You will have ample opportunity to get a feel for wherever you are ultimately accepted during second looks next spring. I wouldn't try to one-up the competition by doing this.
 
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I disagree.

Medical school admissions is a numbers game. Now that you have secured an interview invite, visiting a medical school that you potentially will be spending 4+ years will be a wise choice if you have the means. You are in a competition to secure one of those few lucky spots and if you happen to have the means to do so, then do it without fear that the admissions committee will look down upon you. You are doing your due diligence, research as you might be pouring over a 6 figure tuition into your med education and moving to a new state for the next few years.

How you impress during your interview will determine whether you get an acceptance at this point. But doing your due diligence will arm you with more info than your next competitor. After your interview, if you happen to be at the on the cusp of being offered an acceptance or not, knowing that you made the effort to check out the campus and talk to current medical students there might tip you in the favor of being offered an acceptance. Just don't do something weird that will leave a negative impression upon someone when you visit that might come up during your interview or during admissions committee discussions.

I wouldn't bring it up during your interview except when this question comes up, "What made you choose Michigan MD school?"
 
What exactly do you imagine you would do on this trip? Just show up randomly and wander into the anatomy lab to talk to current students?

There is a reason this school (and most) have elected to do virtual interviews. In addition to it saving applicants a ton of money, it also saves them the hassle of having to plan a bunch of interviews. I don’t think you can just show up unannounced, nor should you ask for them to arrange a private tour for you.

By all means, DO talk to current students, either here on SDN or through whatever resources they have to connect you with current students. Having concrete answers to “why this school” based on real conversations with students would definitely come across well in an interview.
 
OP. Now that COVID restrictions have loosen and campuses are opening up again, there are places during lunch that students congregate. On my campus its the outdoor area where there are tables where students eat and buy lunch at campus restaurants. I imagine being able to grab lunch there and perhaps starting a conversation with a current med student as well as eating lunch there and observing to get a vibe for the campus life. Just a thought if you decide to visit.
 
mrgame said:
I received an interview with an MD school in Michigan about a week ago and was wondering if I should visit the campus to get a better understanding of the community and maybe meet some current students there. If I do visit should I talk about it during my interview to show my dedication to pursuing this school? In your opinion do you think it is worth the trip? Thanks!!!
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It never, ever works in the way that pre-meds think it does.

You'll come off more as a stalker.

Visit after acceptance.
 
HopelessMS said:
OP. Now that COVID restrictions have loosen and campuses are opening up again, there are places during lunch that students congregate. On my campus its the outdoor area where there are tables where students eat and buy lunch at campus restaurants. I imagine being able to grab lunch there and perhaps starting a conversation with a current med student as well as eating lunch there and observing to get a vibe for the campus life. Just a thought if you decide to visit.
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While that is true at lots of places for the OP it would be a long way to go for lunch. Good luck with the interview OP.
 
If it is an in-person interview, can you schedule a couple of days before your interview to fly in and visit? Check out some neighborhoods and restaurants. Don't book otherwise because you never know what else is going on (like exams).

Network before you interview. Websites, social media, student clubs. I say you should do it before you apply so you already much less awkward by this point.
 
SooConfused said:
If it's not an in-person interview and you are not local, I think it's a bit over the top and might not go over well.

A significant part of schools' continuing to do virtual interviews is to level the playing field for people who cannot afford to travel around the country obtaining a better understanding of the community and maybe meeting some current students. People on the adcom sensitive to such things might not be receptive to your efforts, since plenty of fellow applicants are not in a position to replicate them.

Do it for yourself if you must. Trying to get brownie points by mentioning it could end up backfiring. You will have ample opportunity to get a feel for wherever you are ultimately accepted during second looks next spring. I wouldn't try to one-up the competition by doing this.
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I disagree, if the OP can afford to visit the area, then he or she should. I'm not advocating for stalking students or trying to obtain brownie points before the interview, but if you are turned off by the campus, city, whatever, then it may help make your decision.

The whole equity notion of making the interviews virtual was always a bad idea if you ask me. As I have said, the very same people they think they are helping are actually hurting.....virtual interviews can never take the place of in-person where for example, those coming from lower tiered programs that don't necessarily have the numbers of a top applicant, can really impress the interviewers in a way that would not have occurred behind a computer screen and thus make them more competitive. Some people just feel akward behind a screen where those very same people given the chance for an in-person interview would really impress. Let us not forget that the virtual interview process, especially for the competitive fields will also likely result in your top applicants holding onto more of them and making less available for others that may have come during 2nd rounds.

I get the whole money issue, but if you made it this far and don't have the means, you likely borrowed money and the extra costs associated with the travel for interviews/city visit would be minimal when you match, hopefully at one of your top programs.
 
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Browns99 said:
I disagree, if the OP can afford to visit the area, then he or she should. I'm not advocating for stalking students or trying to obtain brownie points before the interview, but if you are turned off by the campus, city, whatever, then it may help make your decision.

The whole equity notion of making the interviews virtual was always a bad idea if you ask me. As I have said, the very same people they think they are helping are actually hurting.....virtual interviews can never take the place of in-person where for example, those coming from lower tiered programs that don't necessarily have the numbers of a top applicant, can really impress the interviewers in a way that would not have occurred behind a computer screen and thus make them more competitive. Some people just feel award behind a screen where those very same people given the chance for an in-person interview would really impress. Let us not forget that the virtual interview process, especially for the competitive fields will also likely result in your top applicants holding onto more of them and making less available for others that may have come during 2nd rounds.

I get the whole money issue, but if you made it this far and don't have the means, you likely borrowed money and the extra costs associated with the travel for interviews/city visit would be minimal when you match, hopefully at one of your top programs.
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True, but this was apparently not necessary prior to submitting the application or accepting the interview, so I don't think it's necessary before actually receiving an acceptance.

I get that you, and many others, don't buy into the equity thing. The fact remains that many people do, including adcoms that have chosen to stay virtual although they would probably love the opportunity to meet students in person and sell them on the school and the area.

One-upping people by making the trip, and then talking about it, risks alienating these adcoms. And it's unnecessary, since everyone has an opportunity to visit before making a commitment, assuming they are one of the fortunate ~20% of applicants with more than one choice next April.
 
I don't think it will necessarily help your application but I agree it's reasonable to want to visit in person to a place you'll be spending the next few years of your life. You might consider calling the admissions office and saying "I have been offered an interview, and since I'm not from the area I'd love to be able to visit the campus in person. Do you have any opportunities for in person interviews or for second looks, admissions events, or scheduled visits for candidates or accepted students if I end up being accepted?" There were certainly some schools who did this in the before times and I don't think this is an unreasonable ask. That said, I think it would be weird to just show up unannounced and try to hunt down and quiz med students. If you can't do it formally through the school I wouldn't do it at all.
 
No one has mentioned that this is prior to an interview. With current rates of acceptance, the OP must have an inordinate amount of disposable time (and money?) to be able to gather information on something that very possibly will be a nonissue in their life. Why not wait until you have that A so you know it is a real possibility?
 
Browns99 said:
I disagree, if the OP can afford to visit the area, then he or she should. I'm not advocating for stalking students or trying to obtain brownie points before the interview, but if you are turned off by the campus, city, whatever, then it may help make your decision.

The whole equity notion of making the interviews virtual was always a bad idea if you ask me. As I have said, the very same people they think they are helping are actually hurting.....virtual interviews can never take the place of in-person where for example, those coming from lower tiered programs that don't necessarily have the numbers of a top applicant, can really impress the interviewers in a way that would not have occurred behind a computer screen and thus make them more competitive. Some people just feel award behind a screen where those very same people given the chance for an in-person interview would really impress. Let us not forget that the virtual interview process, especially for the competitive fields will also likely result in your top applicants holding onto more of them and making less available for others that may have come during 2nd rounds.

I get the whole money issue, but if you made it this far and don't have the means, you likely borrowed money and the extra costs associated with the travel for interviews/city visit would be minimal when you match, hopefully at one of your top programs.
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I assume Lizzy doesn't approve of the argument against "virtual interviews in the name of equity", based on the downvote. That's ok though because we all have opinions for and against.
 
Can the OP find out when the school will host a recruitment event on campus? Plenty of current applicants show up for those open houses (before the pandemic).

You also need clearance from campus security. You can't just walk into medical school. Given the US gun violence issues, one doesn't simply walk into a school anymore.
 
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As someone who both gives tours and interviews candidates at a Michigan MD school, I would not care in the slightest if you visited prior to interview. It would not affect my scoring of you at all. It's more important to us that you understand the school's mission and would be a good community fit.

But I do 100% agree that you should visit if accepted, even before if you'd like. With my school in particular, I'd want you to know what kind of living and study environment you're getting yourself into.
 
Right. That's why I didn't go out of my way to say my experiences were better. Our experiences are different and have different values.

OP: I had a number of friends who interviewed at smaller and new programs and at the tours, faculty, in some cases, flat out told them they would be accepted or gave strong indications of admissions. I also knew upperclassmen across different programs who stated that faculty solicited their input on students who toured.

There's really no one size fits all answer to med school admissions. I've personally received poor advice from admissions advisors that I ignored to have a successful application cycle. Pay attention to mission fit and don't be a weirdo if you do tour.
 
2022MedApplicant said:
Pay attention to mission fit and don't be a weirdo if you do tour.
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This is the most important point.
I can't say that tour participation has ever had a positive impact at our school, but I do recall at least a couple of students who ruled themselves out by their behavior.
 
If it is a smaller community, I would certainly consider a visit if time and money are not considerations. BUT, it would be a visit to the COMMUNITY to evaluate the feasibility of a 4 or more year residence. Leave the school out of it. You may find you just could not live in the middle of a corn field ala’ Champaign-Urbana. And you can get enough of a feel of a smaller berg in a day or two. No point in “ visiting“ NYC, LA, CHI, etc to get a local feel. Too big.
 
2022MedApplicant said:
Right. That's why I didn't go out of my way to say my experiences were better. Our experiences are different and have different values.

OP: I had a number of friends who interviewed at smaller and new programs and at the tours, faculty, in some cases, flat out told them they would be accepted or gave strong indications of admissions. I also knew upperclassmen across different programs who stated that faculty solicited their input on students who toured.

There's really no one size fits all answer to med school admissions. I've personally received poor advice from admissions advisors that I ignored to have a successful application cycle. Pay attention to mission fit and don't be a weirdo if you do tour.
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1) any given faculty member does not have the knowledge or power to say that a candidate will be accepted or not. It's not up to any one person, nor does your typical faculty member have access to all the info that goes into the admissions decision. I don't doubt that the faculty members said that stuff, they just don't have as much as an impact as they think (or may have just been making a prediction based on what they know about the student). Plenty of SDN posts over the years from students who were baffled because their interviewer or someone they met when they visited seemed to have a positive impression and spoke optimistically about their admissions chances, and then they got waitlisted or rejected.
2) Yes, we absolutely solicit input from people who met the student on a visit. But a visit can hurt or be neutral just as often, if not more often than it helps. Even when it does help, it is just one more piece of information and is rarely going to be what makes the decision to admit or not.
3) You're also making an assumption that the positive signals that were given by the faculty members or the acceptances were a result of the visit itself rather than the application as a whole. These students may have been admitted regardless of their choice to visit.

I can understand why you feel the way you do and how it looks from the applicant perspective, but it's a lot more complicated behind the scenes than I ever realized as an applicant.
 
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Update: I decided to visit and had an amazing experience. Learned more about the city and the area around the campus. Met a bunch of M1s and M2s who were more than happy to give me a campus tour and provide advice on how to do well in the interview. Played basketball and chilled with them and overall just loved the vibe there. Also since the campus was open to the public I was able to explore and get some work done in the library. Very productive visit, got a bunch of contact numbers, made a bunch of friends 🙂
 
SooConfused said:
If it's not an in-person interview and you are not local, I think it's a bit over the top and might not go over well.

A significant part of schools' continuing to do virtual interviews is to level the playing field for people who cannot afford to travel around the country obtaining a better understanding of the community and maybe meeting some current students. People on the adcom sensitive to such things might not be receptive to your efforts, since plenty of fellow applicants are not in a position to replicate them.

Do it for yourself if you must. Trying to get brownie points by mentioning it could end up backfiring. You will have ample opportunity to get a feel for wherever you are ultimately accepted during second looks next spring. I wouldn't try to one-up the competition by doing this.
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i think if u narrow search and u reaaly want a particlar school u could visit the town before ranking.
If you want to visit a town of a school u want to rank highly Do it for your own knowledge of the town and where u would live i would not do it to visit the administration or other students
 
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doc111111 said:
i think if u narrow search and u reaaly want a particlar school u could visit the town before ranking.

If you want to visit a town of a school u want to rank highly Do it for your own knowledge of the town and where u would live i would not do it to visit the administration or other students
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???? What ranking? This isn't the residency match!

Yes, of course you should visit before making a 4 year commitment. That is what second looks are for in the spring, assuming you have more than one choice before the 4/30 deadline to reduce to one acceptance.

There is simply no good reason for anyone to invest the time and expense of long distance travel to visit a school that is conducting virtual interviews, prior to receiving an acceptance and needing to make a final decision. Trying to get an advantage over people who do not have the resources to also do it is as likely to backfire as succeed. It is really highly unlikely to have any impact at all, which is why it's not a great idea.
 
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