Vermont, Finch, and Temple Interview Help! (please?)

[Doctora Foxy]

Hi Everyone <img src="http://www.contrabandent.com/cwm/s/contrib/legionxs/wavey.gif" alt="" />

Since interviewfeedback.com doesn't look like it'll be up anytime soon, I would really appreciate ANY info you think would be helpful on interview day at Vermont, Finch/Chicago Med and Temple . I'll be there 4/2, 4/3 and 4/11 (respectively), so I'm trying to get info early so I don't panic later on.

I would REALLY appreciate stuff about how the day is structured, how many interviews will be given, length of the day, and interesting/difficult questions. Thank you SO MUCH in advance.

I will also be checking SDN's feedback site, so feel free to update that as well!: <a href="http://www.studentdoctor.net/interview/" target="_blank">http://www.studentdoctor.net/interview/</a>

Please be sure to write which school you're referring to.

Muchas gracias!!!!!

Dra. Foxy <img src="http://www.contrabandent.com/cwm/s/contrib/legionxs/wavey.gif" alt="" />

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[nap]

I interviewed at Temple, and something that I think can be useful information to know, is that your interviewer actually presents you to the adcom...they dont just score you or whatever. So, for Temple, I would definately come prepared to suggest anything about yourself that you think is really important and that you want stressed/explained to the adcom. Even if your interviewer doesnt ask you, tell him what you want him to say about you.

Also-there is only one interview, and the day was laid back, and when i was there only two other students were interviewing. They also have the guy from financial aid come in and talk about paying for med school, which can be useful regardless of where you choose to attend.

Good luck!! And stress what makes you special!

 

[vinsanity]

I had an interview with Temple back in November and got in a month later. I can tell you that they are really really laid back. They do not stress interview at all. The interviewer really tries his/her best to make the interviewee comfortable. I would advise you to relax and be yourself it will be an easy one. Just review your application and P.S because they do read it before hand and generate questions from it. My interviewer told me he read my application over the weekend and had written some questions he wanted to ask me.

No te preocupes todo va a salir bien. Te deseo buena suerte.

 

[operadoc]

I interviewed at CMS and UVM. At UVM you are not interviewed until the end of the day. You are first given a slide show by the dean of admissions and then you have lunch with a med student. After lunch you get a tour of the school and then the Med student brings you to the place where you will be picked up by your interviewer. Some people are interviewed by a faculty member and a med student, and some are just interviewed by a faculty member. The person who interviewed me was extremely nice and did everything in his power to make me feel at ease. Just be yourself in the Vermont interview and you will be fine.
At CMS you first watch a video about the school and then you have your interview. There were two interviews schedualed one was a md and the other was a phd. The md guy for me was a tough nut to crack and it seemed that he was trying to make me nervous. I just kept a smile on my face the whole time. the phd guy was really nice and he asked me a billion ethical questions, such as what do I think about jack kevorkian an why is it good/bad to have genetic testing. Just be relaxed and you should do fine. I was accepted at both schools, so even though the guy was mean spirited at CMS I must have done something right. Hope this helps

 

[PunkRockDoc]

Hey Foxy,

In general, the interview at Temple is laid back. Mine wasn't though. I wouldn't consider it a stress interview, but my interviewer was hard to talk to. One of the other people that day interviewed with the same guy, and he felt the same way. Later, when we went on the tour(which was a blast, by the way), the tour guides told us that all of the interviewers were pretty laid back EXCEPT for the guy that I interviewed with. He was a nice guy, but I just couldn't get a conversation going with him. It couldn't have been all that bad, though, since I got in :wink:

Good Luck!

 

[trout]

I only interviewed at uvm...the slide show goes over the characteristics that they are looking for...and the questions are suppose to be geared around these...my interview experience however was hell....I had a psychiatrist and ever other question for an hour and 45 minutes was why not psychiatry???? It was killing me (I wrote in my vision statement I want to go into neurology)...overall he was *nice* but I was ready to go after about 20 minutes....

 

[Doctora Foxy]

Thanks everyone!

Does anyone else have more info?

 

[altaskier]

I interviewed at UVM in November. You are suppose to arrive at the admissions office in the morning and check in. Next, you are given a slide show presentation and a talk about UVM by the Dean of Admissions. Then, you have lunch with a couple of med students. Next is a financial aid talk. Then, you interview at the end of the day. I was interviewed by 2 faculty, at the same time, for about an hour. Some people that day were only interviewed by 1 faculty. No one that day was interviewed by students. But I guess others posted that they were interviewed by students....so students do do interviews. What happened was that the people who interviewed me also interviewed a girl after me. That seemed to be common. So....it may happen that however interviews you from 2-3pm will interview someone else from 3-4pm, etc. I wasn't asked any ethical or HMO type questions. They have your file right in front of them. They asked me a lot of questions off of my personal statement. I think the most important thing they wanted to get out of me is that I'd be serious in coming to UVM and that I'd like it there. The interviewer mentioned that I was from So Cal and then he proceeded to ask me why the heck I'd want to live in Vermont. AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, WOULD I STAY AND PRACTICE IN VERMONT. He bluntly asked me, "So would you live in Vermont and stay around as a doc?" At first I immediately said "yes", and then he looked over to his colleague with a smirk that said, "Yeh right, this kid's BSing us". So then I proceeded to tell him why I'd live in Vermont, but that nothing is sure in life and that there is no way of saying whether I'd stay in Vermont in the future. A lot of stuff happens throughout ones life and there is no way, that I at the age of 24, can know what i'll be doing in the future. They asked me a lot about my clinical experiences, any hard circumstances I've had to overcome in my life, a death in the family and how I dealt with it, why medicine, any failures in my life, etc. All in all, I think the interview was really relaxed and the doctors were really nice. I really did have a blast at that interview because after a while, it was as if I was just sitting at a bar talking to 2 guys. Just make sure you know WHY VERMONT. THAT WAS REALLY BIG FOR MY INTERVIEWER. If you got more questions, send me a private message.

Good Luck

 

[altaskier]

What I'd recommend is have thank you cards written out and right after the interview, just fill in the name(s) of your interviewer on it and post it to UVM while you are still in Vermont. I didn't do this, but my friend recommended it to me. Hopefully they'll get the card before they write your eval.

 

[Doctora Foxy]

wow, thanks altaskier, you are awesome!!

I was actually thinking about that idea to have the TY notes with me. I can just write them right after my interview and give them to the office right then and there.

geez, I haven't even sent TY notes to my interviewers from 2 weeks ago. I have aleady been discussed and evaluated and everything. I'm a very good procrastinator!

 

[TweetiePie]

i interview at both finch and temple in nov/dec. besides being in a ghetto, temple seems to be a nice place. very relaxed interview. i am on the wait list there. u have 2 interviews at finch. i had one with md and one with a student. honestly i was not impressed with the school at all. out of the 10 places i interviewed at, finch was at the bottom of my list. so when i got my acceptance letter, i turned it down.

 

[trout]

I am not sure this is necessary...I am still waiting from a jan interview...so they may not go to comm that fast...also I think having the letter written and handing it to the admissions office (or even mailing them in vt) would be wierd and show that you have a pre-written letter and didn't put any attention into it...just my thoughts...remember ty letters are for thanking someone not kissing their ass!!!

•••quote:•••Originally posted by altaskier:
•What I'd recommend is have thank you cards written out and right after the interview, just fill in the name(s) of your interviewer on it and post it to UVM while you are still in Vermont. I didn't do this, but my friend recommended it to me. Hopefully they'll get the card before they write your eval.•••••

 

[Doctora Foxy]

right trout, but you can write the whole thing out right after the interview and personalize it. That's what I was thinking of doing.

 

[altaskier]

Yes....that too is what I meant for you to do...not to have a generic one written because there might be something in the interview that captivated both of you that you could include, giving it the personal touch. I guess my idea was to just mail it while you are in Vermont. I need to not be so lazy and elaborate more.

 

[Doctora Foxy]

bump bump bump

 

[otter]

I interviewed at Temple in December and, like everyone says here, it was very laidback. My interview was very short, but the student guide told me to not worry as that interviewer is known to keep the interviews short for everyone. The student guides were incredibly nice and they're not on the adcom. So the tour and the lunch with them are great opportunities to ask questions. By the way, I have been put on their "competitive list," which I have been told is what most of the out-of-staters get put on post-interview.

Temple is in a rough neighborhood, but I felt very safe in the immediate area around the school and the hospitals. But for your interview, I'd probably either take a rental car or a cab, as opposed to public transportation. If you get a rental car, you can park at Temple University Hospital's garage for about $6-7/day.

 

[Doc Oc]

I interviewed at Vermont last year, and so far what everyone has written was exactly how it went last year. You check in at the admin office, have aslide show, lunch w/ med student, tour, then they take you to a room for the interviewers to come get you from. Usually, the interviewees are split into two groups, one having interviews at 2pm and one having interviews at 3pm. I interviewed in September and had a 4th year students and an ER doc formy interviewers. They too were very big on "why Vermont" and asked questions like "What is your best personality trait", "What is your worst", "How did you pick your undergrad university/major" and then alot of specific questions about my file like jobs I had and research I'd done, etc. The interview was one hour, and they saved the last 20 minutes for questions. I felt like I was asking questions for a very LONG time, and I am a question-asker anyway. I finally decided to end the interview myself when I noticed their watches and saw it was 3:00. I thanked them for the interview,etc., stood up to shake their hands, and passed out cold (no joke)! They had to use smelling salts and a sugar cube (I'm hypoglycemic), plus I sprained my ankle on the way down, so I left the interview on crutches. I had a 2pm interview, so I got to crutch by the room full of other people waiting for their interviews. Heard all kinds of gasps when I went by, but I didn't dare look. I got waitlisted (i'm an out-of-stater, and waitlisting is pretty standard, although some do get in without being wait-listed). Last year, they did reviews of apps in Dec, Feb, and Apr and sent out letters then. I got my acceptance letter off the waitlist in June, but I had decided to go somewhere else. Overall though, the interview was fun and my interviewers were very nice. It was a "be yourself" interview, don't sweat it. Hey, and you can pass out and still get in, so if you mess up or do something weird, apparently it doesn't matter

Good luck!!

 

[intraining]

Doctora Foxy:

All this time I thought you were hispanic as you often use spanish in your postings...until I looked at your picture. Since you are trying.. I'll give you a break.

 

[Doctora Foxy]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by intraining:
•Doctora Foxy:

All this time I thought you were hispanic as you often use spanish in your postings...until I looked at your picture. Since you are trying.. I'll give you a break.•••••I'm not Hispanic, just a Spanish major. What do you mean give me a break? Did I post something in Spanish with bad grammar or something?

And by the way, thanks for all the advice everyone!

 

[cipher]

My interview at Finch was very disappointing. Before I even got to the school, though, I knew it wasn't the place for me because of its location. It's located WAY out in the middle of nowhere (and I mean right in the middle) and the surrounding area is barren. Some people claim to like the quiet atmosphere, but I'm a big city person and I don't think I could make the adjustment. I was surprised by how many people interviewed on my day (~35-40) and I felt a little lost in the crowd. Most of the students I met weren't the happiest bunch and I came across many California residents who got the shaft from all the UC schools. My student interviewer wasn't thrilled about attending Finch initially but she said she was happy with her education there and she got into a residency at Stanford in pediatrics. You get to do rotations at Cook county hospital which is a great place for clinical exposure.
Anyway, CMS appeals to some people, but I'm not one of them.
Good luck!

 

[Doctora Foxy]

Bump one last time before I leave for interviews on Monday.

I would appreciate interesting/difficult questions and any advice you can give me.

Thank you!!

Foxy

 

[Tuesday Weld]

I've heard that the Vermont campus is absolutely gorgeous! Very quaint, New England-ish. It's also known for a very laid back setting and the students are really cool.

I also heard from a friend about Temple's 'infamous' interviewer. The others are supposedly nice, but this one guy is all in your face and asking personal questions like "what do you think about abortion", <img border="0" alt="[Wowie]" title="" src="graemlins/wowie.gif" /> and stuff like that. I don't think you should sweat it, but I would definitely be prepared in case you get this guy! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" /> Good luck!

 

[INeedAdvice]

Hi Doctora Foxy,

How did your Vermont interview go? I have also been told nice things about its environment, but I have never seen it.

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Doctora Foxy:
•Hi Everyone <img src="http://www.contrabandent.com/cwm/s/contrib/legionxs/wavey.gif" alt="" />

Since interviewfeedback.com doesn't look like it'll be up anytime soon, I would really appreciate ANY info you think would be helpful on interview day at Vermont, Finch/Chicago Med and Temple . I'll be there 4/2, 4/3 and 4/11 (respectively), so I'm trying to get info early so I don't panic later on.

I would REALLY appreciate stuff about how the day is structured, how many interviews will be given, length of the day, and interesting/difficult questions. Thank you SO MUCH in advance.

I will also be checking SDN's feedback site, so feel free to update that as well!: <a href="http://www.studentdoctor.net/interview/" target="_blank">http://www.studentdoctor.net/interview/</a>

Please be sure to write which school you're referring to.

Muchas gracias!!!!!

Dra. Foxy <img src="http://www.contrabandent.com/cwm/s/contrib/legionxs/wavey.gif" alt="" />•••••

 

[Doctora Foxy]

Just bumping this up since I know a lot of people have Finch interviews coming up, and singingdoc will be at Vermont pretty soon. I will be at Temple next week.

INeedAdvice: My Vermont interview went well, but I can't really see myself going there. I liked Finch a lot better.

For people going to Finch, please see <a href="http://www.studentdoctor.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=010650" target="_blank">this thread</a> for info on the interview.

For singingdoc and others going to visit Vermont: my Vermont interviewer was very nice and easy to talk to. She's a retired child psychiatrist. The first question she asked me was why I wanted to come to Vermont, so be sure to know your reasons! She also asked me about my family, my experiences, my friends, etc. At the end, she asked me if I thought she was going to ask other questions, so that I could tell her if there was anything I didn't get to discuss. This is a good opportunity to say "I would like you to tell the admissions committee...." and then succinctly say what you can bring to the class and why you are unique. It was a very pleasant interview, and the mountain view there is pretty. You will go to the admissions office when you get there, and they will direct you to the gallery to wait, which is right downstairs from where you walk in (I couldn't find it at first). You will either have the 2 or 3 o'clock interview, and are free to leave right after. There is free time from 1:30-2 also.

Anyone else have any info about the Temple interview?

Thanks for all your advice everyone. I printed all this stuff out last week and read it on the plane

~~Foxy~~

 

[Dr. Kermit]

Hey Foxy-

If you're flying into Philly, you can take the R1 local commuter train to Center City (30th Street station.) Taking the train will save you the flat rate $20 cab ride. From the train station, you can take the subway or a cab to your hotel. Whereever you stay the night before your interview is probably accessible to the subway. You can take the Broad Street line (Orange line) to Temple. It's $2 for a ride. Take the Broad line (local) north to the Allegheny stop (do not get off at Temple's Main Campus) and walk toward the maroon flags (north) OR take the Broad line (express) north to the Erie stop and walk toward the flags (south). The subway is a little sketchy around the stops, but you'll be safe. The locals will probably just heckle with you.

The interview day officially starts at 11am with a meeting in a common room with the Dean (Audrey Ukanis, I think). Then Dr. Hough comes and talks about FA. A tour and lunch follow at noon. The session usually ends around 1:00pm or 2:00pm. Interviewers my day had morning interviews 9:30am-10:30am. I had an afternoon interview, so I just got there at 11am like the letter stated.

My interview was really quick. It took about 15 minutes total. I wasn't worried though because the doctor was the head of the Cardiac Transplant unit and interviewed 4 of us from 2-3pm! I interviewed on the first day of the season and was accepted 4 weeks later. I'm a PA resident and probably will be withdrawing my acceptance in a few weeks. (Their FA package will be mailed in a couple of weeks, so I'll know then if I got any $$ from them).

Good luck on your interview

 

[chopsuey]

Dr. Kermit:

If you're still checking, what was the first day of the season last year? I'm just curious....

 

[Dr. Kermit]

It was by pure coincidence I checked this thread! It was 9/24.