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Anyone here on the Unranked alternate list and has interviewed the 2nd time around?
UWSOM unranked Alternate list
- Thread starter travelingdoctor
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Nice to meet you. I also have an interview coming up. How was the 2nd interview for you? May I ask what the general mood was and how the interview was structured? Still a lot of the same policy questions? I wish the best of luck to you. UWSOM told me that there is only 1 more person to take off the ranked list.
Thanks!
Perhaps I misunderstood you...I didn't have a formal 2nd interview (in front of a committee), rather I met with Dr. Samson a couple of weeks ago in a one-on-one sit-down. Is this what you meant or do you actually have a full-bore interview coming up? If so, when did you get that notification? Thanks!
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Oh sorry. I meant to ask if you about the 1-1 sit down with Dr. Samson. This is the interview that is recommended for people in our situation. Can I ask what type of topics came up, the length and things I should have a heads up on?
D
deleted128318
jazzman,
I have the head-to-head with the big guy coming up... what was it like? I get the feeling that it is really rushed and that I won't really have time to bombard him with questions the way I want to. Was it helpful? Was he encouraging? Did he ask you any interview-ish questions? Did they give you more cookies?
Thanks for the info.
Good luck with the alternate list... I am thinking they are dipping in for sure this year.
I have the head-to-head with the big guy coming up... what was it like? I get the feeling that it is really rushed and that I won't really have time to bombard him with questions the way I want to. Was it helpful? Was he encouraging? Did he ask you any interview-ish questions? Did they give you more cookies?
Thanks for the info.
Good luck with the alternate list... I am thinking they are dipping in for sure this year.
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Glad to see some others in the same position. Given that there is only 1 more person to be taken off the ranked list, hopefully we can all get in! I agree, I think the interivew may be a bit rushed due to the time limit.
Yeah, the interview is pretty quick and you're probably going to be waiting for a while since they pretty consistently seem to run behind schedule. I'd recommend bringing a magazine or book because all they have in the reception area are those UW newspapers
What I did was write a ~1 page letter to Dr. Samson updating him on stuff I've done since my first interview (GRE, thesis, background, whatever) as well as restating my intense (bordering on obsessive) interest in UW. I just e-mailed this to Stella Yee and he got it. This helps lessen the time crunch, though he does tend to re-cover what was in the letter.
First, he started by giving me feedback on my application, going over each of the admissions criteria (grades, MCAT, interview, etc.) and telling me how I stacked up against the rest of the applicant pool. Unfortunately (I guess) he told me that there wasn't anything wrong with my application but that I happen to fall in the meaty part of the curve along with a lot of other people, so he couldn't give me any tips on how to improve if I have to apply again. Then I asked him a couple of questions about what he would recommend to fill out my application (I'm pretty weak in volunteer/service), but he just said that I should do what interests me. He asked a couple of questions like "why medicine?" and "why UW?" that should be pretty familiar to people by now, as well as what I see myself doing in (5 or 10?) years. The whole thing was about 20 minutes.
I made a point to restate, point-blank, my desire to go to UW and the reasons behind it, as I felt that the time for subtlety had passed. One interesting comment he made, though, was that "everyone who applies says that they want to practice in rural and underserved communities" in a kind of joking manner. So, I recommend that unless you really do want to do those things, don't lie. Don't absolutely rule them out, but I think he really appreciates genuine sincerity over pandering. He's pretty old-school.
I think that covers it. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. Good luck to everyone! I hope you all get in (but not until I do )
edit: there's candy in a jar on the reception desk. With ninja skills, it can be yours.
What I did was write a ~1 page letter to Dr. Samson updating him on stuff I've done since my first interview (GRE, thesis, background, whatever) as well as restating my intense (bordering on obsessive) interest in UW. I just e-mailed this to Stella Yee and he got it. This helps lessen the time crunch, though he does tend to re-cover what was in the letter.
First, he started by giving me feedback on my application, going over each of the admissions criteria (grades, MCAT, interview, etc.) and telling me how I stacked up against the rest of the applicant pool. Unfortunately (I guess) he told me that there wasn't anything wrong with my application but that I happen to fall in the meaty part of the curve along with a lot of other people, so he couldn't give me any tips on how to improve if I have to apply again. Then I asked him a couple of questions about what he would recommend to fill out my application (I'm pretty weak in volunteer/service), but he just said that I should do what interests me. He asked a couple of questions like "why medicine?" and "why UW?" that should be pretty familiar to people by now, as well as what I see myself doing in (5 or 10?) years. The whole thing was about 20 minutes.
I made a point to restate, point-blank, my desire to go to UW and the reasons behind it, as I felt that the time for subtlety had passed. One interesting comment he made, though, was that "everyone who applies says that they want to practice in rural and underserved communities" in a kind of joking manner. So, I recommend that unless you really do want to do those things, don't lie. Don't absolutely rule them out, but I think he really appreciates genuine sincerity over pandering. He's pretty old-school.
I think that covers it. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. Good luck to everyone! I hope you all get in (but not until I do
)edit: there's candy in a jar on the reception desk. With ninja skills, it can be yours.
