I have not yet been invited for any interviews but I have relatives in several areas where I'm applying (NY, Boston, Philly, SoCal), have the time and would like to visit campuses and just get a feel for them. It might make me reconsider some schools that I have on my list, and might give me something more to talk about if a secondary asks,"Why our school?" I know most med schools don't want to hear if you're in town and want to tour the campus, but what kind of experience do you all have? Was it worth visiting ahead of time?
Visiting campuses
- Thread starter VanEman
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Visiting a campus as a rando, without access to students or verifiable information can only give the sketchiest of ideas about what the school has to offer.
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Really hard to say. Tours for the general public are usually more Disney than docent.
Save your $ for something useful.
I have read that the DO schools see this pre-interview visiting more positively, though.
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You might get a feel for the city and location, that is about it.
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Facilities are pretty low on the totem pole for what is important when choosing a school. An unguided tour of the med school? Not only sketchy, but uninformative and useless.
Checking out the city and what it has to offer, now that's a good idea and something you can talk about in interviews.
Checking out the city and what it has to offer, now that's a good idea and something you can talk about in interviews.
Haven't really gotten an answer to my question. Looks like people have opinions, but not experience. But I did find a worthwhile article on visiting medical schools as part of researching where to apply: http://www.usnews.com/education/blo...tor/2011/09/19/maximize-medical-school-visits
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There is nothing that randomly visiting a school will get you that you couldn't otherwise get from talking to current students or otherwise learning about the school. I can understand wanting to visit a city, but you'll get to do that as part of an interview. You should just apply to schools at which you have an interest. If you get invited to interview, you'll have your visit. If not, then you saved yourself the trouble.
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We had people show up wanting a tour outside the interviews. They were looked at negatively. If you want to get a feel for the city and check out the area around the campus, go for it, but it won't help you otherwise.
