Zagat meets SDN - interview dining

[i'm the map]

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I think it might be worthwhile to rank or at least characterize the wining and dining of applicants at med interview/tours. Useful classifications (1-5 high) might include 1. Food quality, 2. Atmosphere, 3. Choice. Give a holistic total score (1-10 (high))

So to start:

1st: Keck/USC
5 Food quality - huge portions of large gourmet club sandwiches prepared and served by faculty club dining staff. wedges of toasted bread (3 layer) enveloping turkey meat with bacon, avocado, and lettuce. and crispy fries, wonderful spicy ketchup. choice of lemonade, iced tea, or sodas.
5 Atmosphere - faculty club is dark, stately, nice.
4 Choice - pick the sandwiches, salad, or penne in tomato sauce. all looked good. no fries with the salad 🙁
9.5 Holistic total

2nd: Vanderbilt
4 Food quality - large gourmet sandwiches by "breadco" or something served in boxes. catered. plastic-wrapped. very good. included delicious gourmet cookie.
3 Atmosphere - ate at cramped conference table. room actually locks from the outside (need code to get out). at least the chairs were comfortable.
3 Choice - choice of five sandwich boxes. quite the rush on the roast beef!
7 Holistic total

3rd: UCDavis (05 edition, at Davis, not Sac campus)
4 Food quality - meal writeoff at cafeteria. can get large burritos as part of raid.
3 Atmosphere - dining commons seem pretty cafeteria-y. have to have student interview with a student who's stuffing his/her face while talking.
4 Choice - not so bad - pretty great stuff in this pretty standard cafeteria.
5 Holistic total

4th: AECOM
3 Food quality - meal ticket for the AECOM cafeteria. reuben sandwich was okay. salad bar available. things tended to be greasy.
2 Atmosphere - cafeteria had holes, water stains in acoustical tiles. loud, with interviewees stretched along a long table - can't hear student tour guides speak.
4 Choice - lots of options. few hot things looked healthful! pre-packaged sushi available, but most people were too chicken to snag them.
4 Holistic total

Thoughts? After all, med interviews should be a mini-vacation!

 

[ChessMess]

5th: Pritzker
5 Food quality - 3 types of deep dish Chicago pizza. Plus.
3 Atmosphere - Hanging out with the MS4's and fellow interviewees.
4 Choice - none. but what else would you want?
7 Holistic total

 

[PeripateticMD]

I think it might be worthwhile to rank or at least characterize the wining and dining of applicants at med interview/tours. Useful classifications (1-5 high) might include 1. Food quality, 2. Atmosphere, 3. Choice. Give a holistic total score (1-10 (high))

So to start:

1st: Keck/USC
5 Food quality - huge portions of large gourmet sandwiches prepared and served by faculty club dining staff. crispy fries, wonderful spicy ketchup.
5 Atmosphere - faculty club is dark, stately, nice.
3 Choice - choice of three club sandwiches?
9 Holistic total

2nd: Vanderbilt
4 Food quality - large gourmet sandwiches by "breadco" or something served in boxes. catered. plastic-wrapped. very good. included delicious gourmet cookie.
3 Atmosphere - ate at cramped conference table. room actually locks from the outside (need code to get out). at least the chairs were comfortable.
3 Choice - choice of five sandwich boxes. quite the rush on the roast beef!
7 Holistic total

3rd: UCDavis (05 edition, at Davis, not Sac campus)
4 Food quality - meal writeoff at cafeteria. can get large burritos as part of raid.
3 Atmosphere - dining commons seem pretty cafeteria-y. have to have student interview with a student who's stuffing his/her face while talking.
4 Choice - not so bad - pretty great stuff in this pretty standard cafeteria.
5 Holistic total

4th: AECOM
3 Food quality - meal ticket for the AECOM cafeteria. reuben sandwich was okay. salad bar available. things tended to be greasy.
2 Atmosphere - cafeteria had holes, water stains in acoustical tiles. loud, with interviewees stretched along a long table - can't hear student tour guides speak.
4 Choice - lots of options. few hot things looked healthful! pre-packaged sushi available, but most people were too chicken to snag them.
4 Holistic total

Thoughts? After all, med interviews should be a mini-vacation!

First of all - we have almost the exact same interviews... scary. I agree completely with USC and Vanderbilt (have yet to see AECOM)

UCSD:
4 Food quality. Better tasting sandwiches than GW, but not as good as Vanderbilt.
2 Atmosphere. You're in the same classroom you've been in all day. But the students are cool
3 Choice. The regular chicken, veggie, turkey, etc. I'm vegetarian, that makes it easy...
3.5 total

GWU:
3 Food quality. They look good, but the sandwich was actually kind of gross. But the brownie is good... they get brownie points... ummm, yeah.
3 Atmosphere. Conference room. With everyone's luggage and all. In the cafeteria. Since people have staggered interviews, it's always being interupted...
3 Choice. Also the regular. But they give out free mugs - like free souvenirs! yay.
3 total

 

[i'm the map]

UC San Diego
3.5 Food quality - catered box. dining-service-prepared ENORMOUS deli sandwiches (5 inches by 5 inches by 7 inches long) with too much cheese (inch and a half on some). chips, can of soda. perhaps too large to be appealing, especially as everyone gets crumbs all over their nice dark suits. the problem is that with too large of a sandwich, each bite is all bread, all meat, or all cheese. some sandwich!
3 Atmosphere - grad student lounge was upbeat - massages happening on the same day (though this may be a once-a-semester thing)
3 Choice - choice of several club sandwich boxes. vegetable sandwich is an absolute cheesefest. all sandwiches are too large.
5 Holistic total

UC Irvine
4 Food quality - catered spread of small croissant sandwiches - ham, turkey, chicken salad, roasted veggies. Vegetable spread, tarts, brownies. Macaroni salad was a bit undersalted, okay noodle texture.
3 Atmosphere - crowded conference room, almost cattle-call-ish. but the spread looked pretty attractive.
4 Choice - applicants were exhorted to take multiple sandwiches before the MS2s walked in to eat.
6 Holistic total

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Bravo for a unique thread, it is interesting how my order of choice of these schools is actually reflected in the holistic ranking, maybe the food had something to do with it:

Vanderbilt
5 Food quality - yummy food (sandwhiches), they had this cold pasta that was really good
2 Atmosphere - awkward, 2 rooms where we ate so the already small group got split up
5 Choice - great selection, they had sweet tea which made my day
7 Holistic total

Baylor
2 Food quality - not good, not bad, it was food pergatory
2 Atmosphere - in a quasi-lecture hall, it felt like I was a med student grabbing free food for the afternoon guest lecturer!
4 Choice - quesadillas all day!
8 Holistic total

UT-Memphis
1 Food quality - Subway wraps, not subs but wraps...sigh.
1 Atmosphere - oversized board room table, I felt so distant from everyone else, could have been much more casual
1 Choice - umm you could choose your soda
1 Holistic total

UCLA
4 Food quality - very nice, it was from a cafe at the med school where you could buy from a $10 voucher
4 Atmosphere - we took our food to the med student lounge room/building thingy (I went to a med student party that was at the place the night before, the empty bottles of liquor were still piled in the trash can👍 👍 👍 )
5 Choice - whatever you wanted from the cafe
9 Holistic total

UPenn
5 Food quality - great quality food, Penn treats their interviewees as if they weren't going to reject a third of them like they actually do!
5 Atmosphere - a somewhat crowded room at the top of some building (I couldnt tell where the hell I was), it had a nice view of UPenn and Philly itself
2 Choice - I was near the back for lunch so I got the stuff that was picked through, the breakfast selection could've been better (danished and donuts please), but the fresh orange juice was a major plus
8 Holistic total

 

[MedvacMoney]

I agree. USC = TOP NOTCH!

 

[LatinoMasFino]

TOP CHOICE:
UVA: by far the best dining experience of the whole interview trail. We got to eat at the faculty dining room, a full five course meal complete with a dessert buffet. All I would have needed is a bottle of wine to make this a meal I would actually pay good money for.

WORST:
Harvard: They gave us a meal ticket for their "cafeteria". The potatoes were undercooked and the meat tasted like cardboard. I felt like I was eating prison food. Would have preferred the standard turkey sandwich here.

 

[etf]

WORST:
Harvard: They gave us a meal ticket for their "cafeteria". The potatoes were undercooked and the meat tasted like cardboard. I felt like I was eating prison food. Would have preferred the standard turkey sandwich here.

lol, well apparently people are willing to eat "poop hotdogs" to get an interview at harvard, so i doubt they have any incentive to pull out all the stops catering-wise...

 

[Lolita624]

for Best, I totally vote for Columbia! They actually send a "menu" with their interview invite and you get to pick exactly what you want to eat/drink. Then, when you go, you get your own little bag with your name on it. No "hey, do you know what's in that one?" around the sandwich tray 🙂

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

UT Houston
9 Food quality - Pretty decent TexMex food. The breakfast was good.
6 Atmosphere - Nice cafeteria.
2 Choice - only one choice of main dish. Sides had multiple choices
8.5 Holistic total

UT San Antonio
5 Food quality - box lunches with chips and your typical sandwich sides
4 Atmosphere - Ate in a giant room that looked more like a lobby...
2 Choice - Choice of sandwich boxes
5.5 Holistic total

UT Galveston
8 Food Quality - Italian, lasagna, bread, etc.
7 Atmosphere - nice little presentation room
2 Choice - One main dish, different sides
7.9 Holistic Total

Stonybrook
4 Food Quality - sandwiches, cookies, looked like leftovers
3 Atmosphere - In a tiny waiting room.
2 Choice - different sandwiches and cookies
4 Holistic total

 

[i'm the map]

Brown
3.5 Food quality -Terrific breakfast spread of danishes and cupcakes, lunch was at the RI hospital cafeteria. Sandwiches large (and cheap, if they weren't subsidized), pasta casserole looked okay, soups rather undersalted.
3.5 Atmosphere - Nice hospital cafeteria. Not too crowded - was able to hear everyone talk.
5 Choice - many choices, including hot entrees, hot sandwiches, soup and salad bars - just had to keep total under five hospital bucks.
6 Holistic total

 

[i'm the map]

Boston University
4 Food quality - make-your-own sandwich/wrap spread. Cold cuts (including a rather good roast beef) and cheeses. Pasta salad, salads. Overall quality of your sandwich/wrap depended on the individual's sandwich-artist prowess. Bottled/canned drinks - included a limited number of Nantucket Nectars juices.
2.5 Atmosphere - 30 applicants plus several medical students made for a very crowded room (you eat at a desk). Felt a bit like a cattle call. As desks were arranged in several largish circles, it became hard to hear comments from people who sat any significant distance from me. Since all second flight interviews don't get out at the same time, some people walked into a crowded room with no seats.
4 Choice - good collection of meats, breads, and cheeses to put together any sandwich that you wanted.
5 Holistic total

 

[Lorienne7]

Wash U
5 Food quality - Hot food, not cold sandwiches! There's a buffet but it's so much better to order the yummy burgers, sandwiches or salads that are available.
5 Atmosphere - Fancy restaurant overlooking St. Louis and the park with a menu, silverware, cloth napkins and everything!
5 Choice - plenty of choice, especially in the warm food department which is really important to me seeing as how I hate cold stuff
10 Holistic total - by far the best lunch I've had thus far. I rarely eat much of the food that's served on interview day but at WashU I cleaned my plate

Harvard (echoing previous sentiments)
1 Food quality - Meatloaf...nuff' said
4 Atmosphere - The atrium of the student center. It's filled with students, next to a lecture hall and some of the student lounges. Nice, spacious, and well-lit.
1 Choice - Hah! Doesn't exist. Either you eat the one meal that's prepared or you go hungry.
2 Holistic - I gave it and extra point because it's Harvard but seriously they've got enough money, they can really do better.

 

[Funky]

this thread is awesome

 

[mikeinsd]

........Mayo.

Ill just put it this way: Fully comped lunch (pick whatever you want) from the staff cafeteria at Mayo - where the doctors eat. Best lunch I may have every had, ever.

10 Food quality: Sure, I would like a roasted turkey and bacon sandwich. Provolone pleaseOh, on the gourmet thick wheat bread. Sure, with mayo, dijon, lettuce and red onions (sorry i can't stand tomatoes). ---excuse me?, oh, sure, lightly toasted would be great!

not to mention the other 6 food stations plus salad bar...

10 Atmosphere: In case you didnt see what I wrote above, I said - in the cafeteria where the doctors eat - yup. Plus the nine of us were joined by 4 med students.

10 Choice: Seriously, anything...

10.5 Holistic Choice: I challenge anywhere to beat this...

 

[Rocket3004]

2 Holistic - I gave it and extra point because it's Harvard but seriously they've got enough money, they can really do better.

 

[Funky]

1st: Keck/USC
5 Food quality - huge portions of large gourmet sandwiches prepared and served by faculty club dining staff. crispy fries, wonderful spicy ketchup.
5 Atmosphere - faculty club is dark, stately, nice.
3 Choice - choice of three club sandwiches?
9 Holistic total

hmm. i wonder what spicy ketchup is

 

[i'm the map]

i think it was plain 'ol heinz given a dash and stir of tabasco. tastes great if you try it.

 

[foofish]

I think any school that serves tuna and holds interviews after lunch gets an automatic point deduction.

 

[Funky]

i think it was plain 'ol heinz given a dash and stir of tabasco. tastes great if you try it.

ohh..just tabasco and ketchup? eh..nothing new to me. i thought it was something more special

 

[maestro1625]

in the order that I went there

Wayne State:
2 Food Quality - meal in the cafeteria...cafeteria food in its most basic form
3 Atmosphere - again, a cafeteria, but with the added bonus of having the entire room stare at the interviewees as they're paraded into the room
5 Choice - decent
3 Holistic total

Jefferson
8 Food quality - good selection of lots of stuff, quite tasty
8 Atmosphere - well dressed up room with lunch with the students
6 Choice - not as good as some cafeterias, but the food was consideraby better so you can't complain
8 Holistic total - I'd have given it a better rating but something in the food contained curry (never figured out what), and the food comes before the interviews... WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY THINKING!?

Case
5 food quality - box lunches with subs and an apple
0 atmosphere - they gave the financial aid lecture during lunch, not allowing the interviewees to sit and chat with each other, which really contributed to the most icy interview I've been at thus far.
1 Choice - just subs
2 Holistic total

Wake Forest
6 food quality - for a hospital cafeteria, it was actually rather tasty
6 atmosphere - just a good conversational chat with the med students
7 choice
6 Holistic total

and I've never even heard of Zagat before this thread, I just tried to copy the format.

 

[CardiacIntensivist]

Robert Wood Johnson

1 Food quality - Soggy, Soggy, SOGGY wraps with stale cookies and soda
2 Atmosphere - Ate in the board room. Medical students didn't try to speak to everyone
1 Choice - Hard to differentiate what had meat and what didn't. Oh, did I mention soggy?
2 Holistic total


SUNY Upstate

7 Food quality - Individually wrapped sandwiches and Salads. Everything tasted fresh and was packaged in an appetizing manner
8 Atmosphere - Ate in the waiting room. Had chance to joke around with everyone
6 Choice - Choice of Sandwiches (variety of them) and Salad which I thought was nice. Fruit Cup came along with it. Choice of Juice, Soda, or water for drinks.
8 Holistic total

 

[Creightonite]

most useless thread on SDN

 

[holyroller212]

most useless thread on SDN

But so informative! In the absence of any other determining factors, I'd choose med schools based on the quality of their cookies 🙂

 

[reverend doc]

For places that don't have many choices (ie. box lunches), are there usually vegetarian options?

 

[XildUpNawth]

Miami

I gotta say, after 5 or so coldcut sandwich experiences, Miami's pasta bar rocked. Except, there was red sauce AND white sauce galore BEFORE interviews, which made me a nervous wreck while trying to eat without getting it on my suit.

Food: 5, a nice variety of pasta choices and sauces, with salad and cookies
Atmosphere: 2, there were 2 smallish classroom and the buffet was squeezed into one of them, causing a horrible traffic-flow problem
Choice: 4, veg and non-veg choices, 2 sauces, etc.
Holistic total: 9

South Alabama

They were pretty awesome too. Nice hot lasagna, veggies, salad, amazing chocolate cake and sweet tea. Again, the red sauce vs. interview suit issue.

Food: 5
Atmosphere: 4, one of the few places where there was plenty of space but we weren't so far apart that we couldn't hear one another.
Choice: 4
Holistic total: 9

Einstein

I loved how 1960's Gotham the caf was, especially the polyester dresses that the staff had for uniforms and the hair nets. It really looked bleak. It had perhaps the worst lighting that has ever disgraced a turkey sandwich; nothing would have looked appetizing under those lights. Being Kosher, I guess it sort of goes in a class by itself and shouldn't be judged quite as harshly as the others.

Food: 2, mine was pretty icky (fish).
Atmosphere: 3, the service area was as above, but the seating area was quite nice, despite the long table mentioned elsewhere.
Choice: 4, there were lots of choices, although none of them involved a cheeseburger.
Holistic total: 6

BU

As described elsewhere, it was a cattle call with do-it-yourself coldcut sandwiches. Not a good experience. It was inescapable that you were one of 1100 interviewees for the year.

Food: 2, I didn't feel like building my own sandwich in a line with 20 other ravenous premeds, and they didn't taste that great anyway.
Atmosphere: 2, crowded into a classroom with those awful little desks with a postage-stamp sized writing surface, that SLANTS.
Choice: 2, there were veg options but they were unimpressive.
Holistic total: 4

Harvard

I actually thought it was one of the better lunches. They had 2 hot entree choices as well as cold cut sandwiches and salads. Good selection of beverages and desserts. I had roast chicken and mashed potatoes, and they were tasty.

Food: 4
Atmosphere: 4, in the med student dining area, which is attractive and you can see how relaxed they all look.
Choice: 3, not any really great veg options that I could see.
Holistic total: 8

UF

Eh, coldcuts strike again. Another cattle-call experience, though not nearly as bad as BU. At least we didn't have to make them ourselves, and they were tastier too. The dessert platter was great, and was available all day for a much-needed post-interview sugar rush.

Food: 3
Atmosphere: 3, in a classroom but at nice long tables. However, they were set up in rows so you couldn't see anyone behind you.
Choice: 2, only choice was between different species of coldcuts or mushy veggies.
Holistic total: 6

UAB

Cold cut sandwiches, big bowl of potato chips, sweet tea was great, some cookies for dessert. Not that fabulous, but not heinous either.

Food: 3, tasty yet uninteresting, and preassembled at least. I am a sucker for some sweet tea.
Atmosphere: 4, in a study room with nice big tables, pretty comfy and enough room for all. Less of a cattle-call feel than BU.
Choice: 2, none to speak of, especially if you're a vegetarian.
Holistic total: 7

 

[i'm the map]

Yale
5 Food quality - magnolia dining commons in medical campus. given $9 voucher to go for salads (pasta/veg salad was flavorful and wonderful) as well as made-to-order deli sandwiches and crispy corned beef sandwiches. amazingly, this cafeteria food was absolutely delicious.
3 Atmosphere - scarfed down lunch in cafeteria dining room. as time was tight, conversations with 1st year students was touch-and-go, and some felt compelled to wolf down their food in ten minutes before the campus tours departed. cafeteria was clean, sun-lit, and generally happy looking.
4 Choice - many choices from salad bar to grill to deli to boxes of cereal and pop tarts. would have been a 5 otherwise, but 3 because of the price. the 9 dollar voucher couldn't cover a sandwich, pasta salad, and OJ (10.50) - paying for a med interview lunch is ludicrous. supposedly, this place is subsidized!
7.5 Holistic total - can't get over price and rush.

 

[i'm the map]

Weill Cornell
3.5 Food quality - deli sandwiches in transparent plastic clamshells, communal pickles, 6-packs of sodas, and a basket of bags of chips. Sandwiches tasted okay - nothing amazing, but definitely not bad. bread was different kinds of sliced bread - nothing artisan or anything.
3.5 Atmosphere - table in the meeting room is so large as to segregate applicants from MS1s. since applicants are already seated before med students arrive, med students tend to sit together in one part of the room, applicants on another. well-lit, not rushed.
3.5 Choice - sandwich choices are labeled on boxes - tuna, ham, turkey, etc on different kinds of breads. if you're a weirdo who doesn't eat normal people food, your plastic clamshell has your name on it. drinks - if coca-cola cans it, you've got it.
5.5 Holistic total - just another deli sandwich interview lunch. make sure you grab your sandwich before the ms1 hordes flood in.

 

[CagedBird]

Haha You guys can't be serious.....always look to SDN for entertainment.

 

[GoinBack2Cali?]

Dr. Montalban says

UCSD
5 Food quality - Very nice Asian Fusion restaurant, didn't like the idea of them ordering the courses for us but whatever. They picked up the tab on alcohol as well! A++++
5 Atmosphere - We were joined by 2nd and 3rd years. The general conversation was a mix of med school and living in SD. The restaurant was a little dark, but service was awesome.
4 Choice - The program ordered everything. It was 3 courses. Very good salad with mozzarella to start. Then pad thai shrimp, bbq tofu, egg plant, chicken curry.
10 Holistic total - Boozing it up with current students was nice, if I was going to get a straight answer from them it would be with 3 or 4 beers already in them.

Yale
4 Food quality - Thai restaurant was good, but not great. They did not pick up the tab on alcohol 👎 . But they did let us order whatever we wanted and however much 👍 "Do I want a 4th Thai Iced Tea? Why yes. "
3 Atmosphere- It was a pretty packed place and it was loud was conversation wasn't easy.
4 Choice - Shrimp Pad Thai, Spring Rolls, Thai Iced Tea, Tofu kabobs (not as bad as you think)
8 Holistic Total - The food was decent and it was close. We had to walk maybe a total of 3 blocks.

NYU
5 Food Quality - If you want sushi outside of Japan, California and New York are your places to go. Nuff Said. And "Do I want a 12th bottle of sake? Why yes. 👍 "
5. Atmosphere - They connected 3 or 4 regular tables to accomadate us all, whatever, we were eating free sushi.
5. Choice - Dragon roll, spider roll, (2) sake samplers, too much unfiltered sake, nigiri sampler, another spider roll, and a saporro.
10. Holistic Total - Don't you wish you were there?? $1200 bill!

UCSF
5 Food Quality - See NYU but subtract the sake. Bonus points for the person in charge to suggest gelato for desert from a place down the street. They had a flavor of gelato called the Condoleeza ( it was Rice Pudding).
3 Atmosphere - It was kind of a hole in the wall, but the food was excellent.
5. Choice - Dragon Roll, Vegetable Tempura, Miso Soup, green tea and prawns !!!
9 Holistic Total - The restaurant decor was lacking but the hip gelato place made up for it.

Harvard
4 Food Quality - They ordered take out for us to eat there. The food was good don't get me wrong. But I've been to Boston before, there are a ton of places to go.
3 Atmosphere - Since we really didnt leave the Med School Area, some people were afraid to let their guard down = crappy conversations about curriculum.
4 Choice - I didn't have one. But the stuff they selected was delicious.
7 Holistic Total - You are Harvard, take us out somewhere.

Stanford
4 Food Quality - Some of the best Indian food I have ever had. No booze 👎 👎 👎
2 Atmosphere - A couple of the current students that joined us were a little odd which translated into an odd experience.
5 Choice - Lamb. You need to order the lamb. 👍 👍 But I didn't get my own little basket of naan 👎
7 Holistic Total. Indian food = good . No alcohol = bad

 

[GoinBack2Cali?]

You're joking, right?

Nope.

 

[deleted103644]

You're clearly not getting standard applicant fare... what are you applying for (M.D./Ph.D./A/B/C/D/E/F/G/H/I/J/etc.)/what's making these schools pull out all the stops for you?

 

[GoinBack2Cali?]

You're clearly not getting standard applicant fare... what are you applying for (M.D./Ph.D./A/B/C/D/E/F/G/H/I/J/etc.)/what's making these schools pull out all the stops for you?

MSTP.

 

[future_dr_house]

i'm guessing you are applying mstp right? med schools don't cater like this unless you're committing to 7+yrs.

Dr. Montalban says

UCSD
5 Food quality - Very nice Asian Fusion restaurant, didn't like the idea of them ordering the courses for us but whatever. They picked up the tab on alcohol as well! A++++
5 Atmosphere - We were joined by 2nd and 3rd years. The general conversation was a mix of med school and living in SD. The restaurant was a little dark, but service was awesome.
4 Choice - The program ordered everything. It was 3 courses. Very good salad with mozzarella to start. Then pad thai shrimp, bbq tofu, egg plant, chicken curry.
10 Holistic total - Boozing it up with current students was nice, if I was going to get a straight answer from them it would be with 3 or 4 beers already in them.

Yale
4 Food quality - Thai restaurant was good, but not great. They did not pick up the tab on alcohol 👎 . But they did let us order whatever we wanted and however much 👍 "Do I want a 4th Thai Iced Tea? Why yes. "
3 Atmosphere- It was a pretty packed place and it was loud was conversation wasn't easy.
4 Choice - Shrimp Pad Thai, Spring Rolls, Thai Iced Tea, Tofu kabobs (not as bad as you think)
8 Holistic Total - The food was decent and it was close. We had to walk maybe a total of 3 blocks.

NYU
5 Food Quality - If you want sushi outside of Japan, California and New York are your places to go. Nuff Said. And "Do I want a 12th bottle of sake? Why yes. 👍 "
5. Atmosphere - They connected 3 or 4 regular tables to accomadate us all, whatever, we were eating free sushi.
5. Choice - Dragon roll, spider roll, (2) sake samplers, too much unfiltered sake, nigiri sampler, another spider roll, and a saporro.
10. Holistic Total - Don't you wish you were there?? $1200 bill!

UCSF
5 Food Quality - See NYU but subtract the sake. Bonus points for the person in charge to suggest gelato for desert from a place down the street. They had a flavor of gelato called the Condoleeza ( it was Rice Pudding).
3 Atmosphere - It was kind of a hole in the wall, but the food was excellent.
5. Choice - Dragon Roll, Vegetable Tempura, Miso Soup, green tea and prawns !!!
9 Holistic Total - The restaurant decor was lacking but the hip gelato place made up for it.

Harvard
4 Food Quality - They ordered take out for us to eat there. The food was good don't get me wrong. But I've been to Boston before, there are a ton of places to go.
3 Atmosphere - Since we really didnt leave the Med School Area, some people were afraid to let their guard down = crappy conversations about curriculum.
4 Choice - I didn't have one. But the stuff they selected was delicious.
7 Holistic Total - You are Harvard, take us out somewhere.

Stanford
4 Food Quality - Some of the best Indian food I have ever had. No booze 👎 👎 👎
2 Atmosphere - A couple of the current students that joined us were a little odd which translated into an odd experience.
5 Choice - Lamb. You need to order the lamb. 👍 👍 But I didn't get my own little basket of naan 👎
7 Holistic Total. Indian food = good . No alcohol = bad

 

[i'm the map]

Harvard - regular
2 Food quality - Hot foods served in faux-catered style. Didn't taste that exciting (fish tasted like "fish", and chicken tasted like protein). Refrigerated boxed salads available to go.
3 Atmosphere - Atrium served as a social space/cafeteria. Problem was that too much other stuff was going on in the room, making conversation among applicants and med students rather difficult. At least people seemed to be happy to be there. Eating out of styrofoam clamshells wasn't the greatest.
3 Choice - Four hot items in sterno-heated catering wells. Salads pre-packed by Harvard dining services. 8 bucks to spend (stuff is cheap enough that it would be hard to blow through the whole allowance).
3.5 Holistic total - Food wasn't fantastic, neither was the lunchtime talk with the med students. In fact, logistics of the interview day as a whole seemed kinda phoned in.

Northwestern
4 Food quality - Gourmet-looking pastas and salads and individual-sized pizzas. While the pizzas were definitely not as good as those at UNO's just six or so blocks away, they were much better than passable. SOBE drinks and the like.
4.5 Atmosphere - Ate in cafeteria-style section of the enormous atrium of a research building. Unfortunately, as the pasta bar seemed so delicious, a long line of med applicants formed, holding up the eventual conversations with med students in the eating area. Fortunately, the lunch was arranged right - circular tables with 4-5 applicants per med students, leading to solid conversation in which everyone could hear.
4.5 Choice - Diverse slate of pasta choices at the pasta bar. Pizzas available in veggie, sausage, pepperoni, cheese, and other cool toppings.
8 Holistic total - Nice place, good food, and solid conversations with MS2s makes for a good experience.

 

[chad5871]

This thread got me thinking....

I am a vegetarian (mainly for health reasons). I will eat dairy and seafood, but no land or air animals (poultry, beef, pork, etc.) Are there plent of vegetarian options on the interview trail or am I going to have an interesting dilemma?

At the VCU Pre-Med Open House this month, we have a vegetarian option for lunch, so I am hoping that other medical schools would offer something similar to their interviewees.

 

[i'm the map]

it seems to me that if you go out of your way to be different - eat plants exclusively or claim to be kosher, you get a better meal at the schools with mediocre/bad normal fare. the inverse usually holds at the terrific schools - how does one improve upon a sausage lasagna?

 

[i'm the map]

Mount Sinai
5 Food quality - Ham-and-bacon croissant-wiches and veggie/vinaigrette wraps - both very very good. Who woulda guessed bacon would be served up by a historically Jewish hospital/med school? Cookie selection was wide, soft, and absolutely delicious. Chips were same 'ol Frito-Lay selection. That said, it's good to claim to be Kosher - the obviously Jewish kids got individually packed and wrapped pastries that looked spectacular.
4 Atmosphere - Ate in the student lounge with MS1s. Was able to hear most discussion around a large rectangular table. No real complaints, but it wasn't spectacular either.
4 Choice - Two or three types of sandwiches and the veggie wrap. Four or so kinds of supercookies. The best part was that they made extras - several interviewees had the chance to go snag seconds.
8 Holistic total - Food was surprisingly good and plentiful. Med students were friendly and audible.

Columbia
3.5 Food quality - As mentioned earlier, interviewees pre-ordered lunches which arrived in brown bags. The fresh mozzarella wrap was wonderful - moist and wrapped in what seemed a gordita wrap (this stuff doesn't really exist outside of Taco Bell in NorCal...) with tomatoes and a fresh sprig of some herb. Alternatively, the other kids ordered bagels with cream cheese. What a downer for those losers.
3.5 Atmosphere - Ate in Bard Hall dorm cafe "Recovery Room" (how clever?). Circular tables brought together led to the group being split into two pods, each with an talky med student. Cool view of New York. Felt a bit rushed to go start the tour.
3 Choice - Pre-choice of food means that you're SOL if you don't like what Columbia decided to pack in your bag. Either that or you could resort to 3rd-grade lunch bartering.
5 Holistic total - Food quality varies a great deal among meal choices (unless those bagels were damn good). Pleasant talk with MS1s. Don't order the bagel.

 

[Shpamme]

Tulane had this amazing gourmet cafeteria type place. Different stations you could go to with your coupon. On my day the chef was making this intense spinach-four cheese sausage mushroom pasta. He basically showed me and my student interviewer how to make it--it was like a mini cooking lesson. MSU had some cool homemade-style food--I can't remember what it was, but the dessert was absolutely amazing and really chocolatey and gooey-rich.

Tulane
9 Food quality - Great variety, free cooking lessons
7 Atmosphere - festive, lots of people around, really nice shefs, recently renovated post-Katrina
8 Choice - different stations you could go to. A pasta station, a pizza station, a sandwich/salad case etc
8 Holistic Total

MSU
8 Food quality - felt homemade, pasta sauce tasted really rich and good. I think there were cannolis or something similar. Just felt really good to be eating that type of food on a snowy, dark day. Garlic breadsticks were excellent.
5 Atmosphere - we ate in the orientation room, which wasn't that festive.
3 Choice - menu was preplanned.
6 Holistic Total

Toledo
8 Food quality - For a boxed lunch, actually very good. Sandwiches were very fresh and cookie was delectable.
7 Atmosphere - Okay, so we ate in the orientation room. But dang, the views from that room were spectacular. Beautiful trees, snow covered valleys. Very calming. And med students came to eat with us and we all had fun talking at a roundtable-type setup. Very relaxing lunch.
5 Choice - Um.. at least you could pick between different sandwiches?
7 Holistic total. Gotta give it bonus points for the view. Spectacular.

 

[crimsonkid85]

Cornell/Weill: we broke up into big groups. i went with the ethiopian food group. (i never had ethiopian food before, and it seemed adventurous...best decision of my life! i loved it!) it was a really interesting experience...you get to eat with your hands. (although, at first it was a little awkward...) they picked up tab on the alcohol (which was distressingly sweet wine, btw)...

Columbia: what was that chicken place that the students took us to the night before interviews? it was supposed to be good, but i got there late, and i mean, it WAS just chicken, after all. the lemon/lime sauce was pretty good, tho. the catered lunch the next day was great. mm salmon and chicken, plus cake, and fresh fruit!! 😀 😀

Yale: the Thai place that we went to was standard. the food was filling, but not exactly spectacular (i mean, no better or worse than what you would get in boston...i ordered pad thai of some sort). myself and the people around me didn't order alcohol, so i'm not sure if we were allowed to...

Stanford: the food was definately not as great as some available in other places... they took us to a bar (with a restaurant), where the restaurant was definately kind of an afterthought...and we weren't allowed to get alcohol. definately try some of the chocolate desserts, though. you'll die of a sugar high. 😀 the students there were very nice, so the atmosphere was very laid back and nice.

Baylor: i missed the dinner the night before, but baylor, in true texas fashion, NEVER STOPS FEEDING YOU. for breakfast on the day of interviews, there are bagels, fruit, coffee, danishes, etc. in between morning interviews, they give you snacks, candy bars, water, sodas, etc. for lunch, we joined the med students for finger foods and fruit. then at the end of the day, there was more catered sandwiches, cookies, cakes, wraps, etc etc. i swear, i gained 5 lbs in one day.

UTSW: again, i missed the dinner before.... 🙁 but my student host took me to freebirds (is that the name?). SUCH GOOD WRAPS. 😀 there was NO BREAKFAST the next day, but lunch was catered from a mexican restaurant. fajitas..mm mm gooood.

Johns Hopkins: I missed the dinner the night before, but the interview coordinator picked me up and bought me dinner at the airport, and brought a special vegan dinner for another applicant who also arrived late. this school also never stops feeding you. for breakfast the day of: bagels, fruit, coffee, juice, etc. for lunch, catered thai food, with homemake pound cake! for dinner, upscale restaurant at some art museum. i had a great crab truffle something or other... 😀 😀

UPenn: Kolbe beef! They actually ran out of the cut that they were supposed to have, and gave us a better one instead! 😀 😀 i hear (and saw) great things about the 5-cheese lasagna, for all your vegetarians out there..

ok i'm too tired to type. i'll finish later. 🙂

 

[RuthP]

This thread got me thinking....

I am a vegetarian (mainly for health reasons). I will eat dairy and seafood, but no land or air animals (poultry, beef, pork, etc.) Are there plent of vegetarian options on the interview trail or am I going to have an interesting dilemma?

At the VCU Pre-Med Open House this month, we have a vegetarian option for lunch, so I am hoping that other medical schools would offer something similar to their interviewees.

Depends on the school really... I'm in the same boat - vegetarian who will occasionally eat seafood. One of my interviews the week before thanksgiving was literally a turkey dinner. We had turkey, mashed potatos, stuffing, gravy, salad, and cranberry sauce. I just skipped the turkey and gravy and it was good enough, but they definetly didn't think about the fact that there might be some vegetarians who weren't excited about eating a bird. 😱 Other schools seem to have more variety and are more conscious of the veggies in the bunch.

...To be safe I always had a protein lunch bar in my purse. If a meal was totally non-veggie friendly, I knew I had the last resort of quickly chowing that down in a bathroom or what not. Not too classy, but you gotta do what you gotta do. 🙂

 

[i'm the map]

Stanford
4 Food quality - I had an italian sandwich (salami, ham, pepperoni) from the med school cafe. sushi, salad were other options. they were fine, but not spectacular. little known fact - you can order as much as you want - you just have to have the balls to circle more stuff on the menu that you get at orientation.
4 Atmosphere - Alway cafe was bustling with med students at lunch - some stopped by to chat. assigned ms1 was chatty and full of info. problem was that some interviews kinda overlapped with lunch, so had to redo some introductions.
4 Choice - sandwiches, soups, salads, sushi. applicants are given a menu in the morning by cassandra sooter in which you circle what you want for lunch.
7 Holistic Total - good food, and in plain view of beautiful california weather.

 

[stoppushingit]

1st: Case
7 Food quality - it was a wrap/sub, apple, bag of chips (i think), cookie, and canned soft drink
2 Atmosphere - you ate while listening to financial aid info. way to make students lose their appetite.
4 Choice - I think there were <5 choices. Don't remember.
6 Holistic total - Food was OK, more than I could eat...especially with distracting/unappealing serious-talk

2nd: Columbia
5 Food quality - You chose what you wanted beforehand. I forgot what I wanted (I chose whatever didn't have garlic/onions) but it was a tiny portion that I gobbled up in 5 minutes
8 Atmosphere - very relaxing, ate during a break from our dorm tour in cafe in dorm with overlooked Hudson. well, only 3 people interviewing that day and 2 tour guides, so great conversation and interaction.
8 Choice - Easy to choose since it was done beforehand. Many choices too. Plus, no fighting over the last roast beef etc.
7.5 Holistic total - Would have been better with more food

3rd: Duke
6 Food Quality - Yeah it was okay. Nothing special. Chosen beforehand so no fighting. got a fruit cup which was a nice addition.
6 Atmosphere - in a conference room with current students. laid back.
8 Choice - Not many but good that it was done beforehand online
7 holistic total - pretty ordinary.

4th Northwestern
10 Food quality - great that it was more or less like we could by anything with a $10 voucher. great pasta i had.
9 Atmosphere - great students to talk to, great cafe area
10 Choice - again, whatever you wanted. you could spend it all on bottled water or ovaltine if you wished
10 holistic total - by far my best interview dining experience

5th Cornell
6 food quality - again stingy with the portions, but there was extra so that's okay. i got potato chip crumbs all over my suit (my fault though)
4 atmosphere - a lot of people, but not much conversation. the same room we spent waiting forever in, staring at each other, and talking with the dean. tour guides were quiet people, which made for some awkwardness
4 choice - it was your standard sandwich choices, nothing extraordinary
5 holistic total - boring, but adequate

 

[HreComesTheSun]

Dr. Montalban says


NYU
5 Food Quality - If you want sushi outside of Japan, California and New York are your places to go. Nuff Said. And "Do I want a 12th bottle of sake? Why yes. 👍 "
5. Atmosphere - They connected 3 or 4 regular tables to accomadate us all, whatever, we were eating free sushi.
5. Choice - Dragon roll, spider roll, (2) sake samplers, too much unfiltered sake, nigiri sampler, another spider roll, and a saporro.
10. Holistic Total - Don't you wish you were there?? $1200 bill!

definitely had to be mstp...this sounds alot like my interview dinner at NYU for grad school. we ordered oysters on a half shell for part of our appetizer, one from like 6 different places on the east coast. the bill was similar to yours (and followed by an awesome broadway show). yum!!!!!

 

[dabiophyz]

I personally would be insulted if I interviewed at Columbia and they didn't take me to Per Se. Unacceptable.

 

[i'm the map]

bump

 

[Drogba]

bump

Wait your not still a premed are you? Not with all those interviews...

 

[Dendrite]

I think any school that serves tuna and holds interviews after lunch gets an automatic point deduction.

Seconded. Would hate to be the interviewer for that.

 

[littlealex]

TOP CHOICE:
UVA: by far the best dining experience of the whole interview trail. We got to eat at the faculty dining room, a full five course meal complete with a dessert buffet. All I would have needed is a bottle of wine to make this a meal I would actually pay good money for.

I'm sad that I didn't apply to UVA. It would be so awesome to interview there.

 

[orient03]

lol this thread is useless but awesome.