Your Interview Impressions

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

aznwangsta

Senior Member
20+ Year Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2002
Messages
140
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Baltimore
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Not much to do at work now (I work on Medicare Payment Policy...yeah, I know zzzzzzzzz)
With all this talk about wanting to get into greener pastures, just wanted you guys to give your impression of how it was at interviews, i.e. did your perception of med school change afterwards. Nothing complex, just initial impressions.

Here's mine, in list format.
1) You see one hospital, you seen 'em all. They're all nice, they're all clean...don't tire me out before my interviews.
2) Facilities for med students vary GREATLY. Public schools tended to have worse facilities for them, with exception of MCV which has that awesome Egyptian building.
Private schools have more money: e.g. Penn State has jaw-dropping facilities and PBL labs.
3) Generally, med students are a good-looking bunch. I think adcoms want ppl that are at least presentable so they can be good advocates for their alma mater. (Aside: seems like most med students tend to date other med students)
4) Med students are in general very friendly and outgoing people. This is comforting, given they will be our colleagues soon, and give us old tests.
5) I think there's very minimal difference between a school in the top tier and one that isn't. It seems that the stuff learned is the same, and the facilities at non-ranked are on par if not better.
 
1) There's enough variation in hospitals that they're occasionally interesting. Los Angeles County Hospital and Grady Memorial Hospital were a little different than Ohio State University Medical Center.

2) Penn State is a public institution. I didn't really see a trend towards which schools had better teaching facilities than others.

3) Agreed.

4) Agreed.

5) Can't comment, never saw the lower tier schools.
 
Originally posted by aznwangsta
3) Generally, med students are a good-looking bunch. I think adcoms want ppl that are at least presentable so they can be good advocates for their alma mater. (Aside: seems like most med students tend to date other med students)

Yeahhhhhhhhhhhh! haha, there's just something really cute about those groggy looking guys and contrary to belief, some of the guys are really, really in-shape.

Originally posted by aznwangsta
4) Med students are in general very friendly and outgoing people. This is comforting, given they will be our colleagues soon, and give us old tests.

Ay curumba! Yes, I had the same impression. I was so afraid that the people in med school would be rigid and unfunny but they were so nice, especially the ones at UofMiami and Yale ...those students crack me up...they've the funniest bunch of students I've talked to.
 
Originally posted by aznwangsta

5) I think there's very minimal difference between a school in the top tier and one that isn't. It seems that the stuff learned is the same, and the facilities at non-ranked are on par if not better.

I agree.


FYI
be careful some top tier schools have an emphasis on research. If that is what you want thats great.

However, if you want to be a clinician some top tier schools may not be for you.
 
There are big differences in quality of research between the highly ranked schools and the lower ranked schools. There are also big differences in the quality of MSTPs. Generally, MSTP quality does improve with the USNews rank of the medical school. It certainly correlates with the number of big name researchers that you can do you work with. Even beyond that, the big name programs tend to have well funded and well integrated programs.
 
Originally posted by xaelia
1) ...2) Penn State is a public institution. I didn't really see a trend towards which schools had better teaching facilities than others...

Penn State undergrad is a public University.

Penn State's Medical School is a PRIVATE INSTITUTION (It was started with some money from the Hershey's)
 
yeah, I was suprised too
 
Top Bottom