Bentonville, AR
Allopathic Medical Schools | Public Non-Profit
Faith-Based
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⭐ Overall Impressions ▼
SDN Interview Experience Score
6.7
Mixed
Mixed experience; organization and communication appear average with varied impressions and occasional stress.
Based on 8 responses
Score Reference:
9–10 Exceptional
8–8.9 Very Good
7–7.9 Good
6–6.9 Mixed
< 6 Needs Improvement
The SDN Interview Experience Score (SIES) is a composite metric that represents applicants overall impressions of their interview experience, based on multiple factors such as professionalism, facilities, responsiveness, and stress levels.
What was the stress level of the interview?
Most respondents rated their interview as low stress.
How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?
Most respondents rank this school above all other schools.
How did the interview impress you?
Most respondents were neutral about their interview.
Positively (50%)
Negatively (50%)
How you think you did?
Most respondents thought they performed well at the interview.
Great (50%)
Average (50%)
What are your general comments?
Applicants commonly noted that the interview process was comprehensive and time-consuming, lasting around 5 hours with multiple sessions and breaks. They emphasized the importance of being prepared with a packed lunch and engaging with current students for insights and questions during downtime.
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Very new school where you can see the gaps of it being a new program. They only have one class, which makes it really hard to get the generational knowledge you need to have a high-quality education. The tuition free aspect is the tradeoff for students being guinea pigs at this program. Seems like they are grateful to be there, but not having a match list or enough shadowing opportunities in basic specialities like psychiatry is concerning.
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The whole thing was about 5 hours. It begins with a 1.5hr session school overview about the curriculum, mission, campus, local NWA area, and a brief Q&A. Be sure to have a lunch packed because you have little time in between that first session and interviews that run for the next 2.5hrs. Each are 30min long with either a 30min to 1hr break in between, depending on which block you get. While waiting for interviews, they bring in current students that you can ask questions and then you all come back together to wrap it all up.
💬 Interview Process ▼
Length, number, and type of interviews
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Length:
30 Minutes Average
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Number:
1.5 Interviews Average
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Interview Type (Interaction):
100% One-on-One
0% Group Interview
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File Type:
100% Open-File
0% Closed-File
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Interview Modality:
100% Virtual
0% In-Person
AWSOM-COMP interviews are an average of 30 minutes, with an average of 1.5 interviews. 100% of interviews are one-on-one, 0% are in-person, and 0% are closed-file.
What is one of the specific questions they asked you?
Applicants were commonly asked about the school's values during their interviews. Additionally, some responses indicate that the interviews may have been in MMI format, with potential nondisclosure agreements in place.
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Tell me abt a time you made a mistake, how did you learn from it, how did you change your way of thinking?
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What are the school's values?
What was the most interesting question?
Students said most interesting question asked at Alice L. Walton School of Medicine discussed various topics, including personal routines like rice preparation at home.
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What is the most important ethical decision in medicine today - both sides of issue? And how do you think of self-care in your day-to-day life and training?
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Rice is a common food eaten by people around the world. How do you prepare your rice at home?
How did you prepare for the interview?
Most applicants prepared for the interview by practicing questions, participating in mock interviews, shadowing experiences, and gaining knowledge about the healthcare system to enhance their understanding and performance during the interview process.
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I've had a lot of mock interviews throughout the cycle so instead of that, I just filled out the template that I use for all interviews which includes info about the school's mission and vision, what kind of student they say they're looking for (usually if they mention it, either on the website or 2ndary portal), my secondary essays main takeaways, quick biography of my interviewers (and questions I want to ask them), and the 4 reasons I wanna go to this school (buckets: research, clinical, community, and curriculum). The question I usually struggle answering eloquently the most is "why this specific school?" and "why do you want to be a physician?" so I usually write down my answer to that first, then I practice answering it once, then I'm golden. Strongly recommend you do this, too. Covers all your bases and should not take more than 1-2 hrs once you do it a couple of times.
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Practice questions, mock interviews, shadowing in different places, and learning about the healthcare system.
What was the most difficult question?
Students said most difficult question asked at Alice L. Walton School of Medicine discussed the biggest issue in healthcare and how they would solve it.
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Can you share an example of a time when you solved a conflict between peers, group project, etc. how can you resolve conflict afterwards after a misunderstanding? How do you do things differently after that?
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What is the biggest issue in healthcare, and how would you solve it?
What impressed you positively?
Applicants commonly mentioned that they were impressed by the laid-back and comfortable interview atmosphere, which made them feel at ease and not under pressure. This positive experience contributed to a more relaxed and conversational interaction during the interview process.
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The facilities, very beautiful, the faculty are also very supportive. Bentonville is beautiful.
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The interviews were very laid back. It didn't feel like I was being grilled.
What impressed you negatively?
Applicants commonly expressed disappointment with the limited time available for asking questions during interviews, particularly about the interviewer's background. They suggested allowing more time for candidate inquiries to enhance the interview experience.
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So many things... the way the curriculum is developing means that you will be a guinea pig in their curriculum. Not many shadowing opportunities, no anatomy or dissection at all (not good for surgical specialties)
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The time is really short by the end when you can ask questions yourself, especially about the interviewer's background.
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
Applicants commonly expressed a desire to know that interviewers would focus on their personal statement and experiences, asking questions about their unique story and seeking additional details beyond what was included in their application. This highlights the importance of being prepared to discuss aspects not explicitly mentioned in the written materials.
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More info about curriculum + faculty there
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The interviewers read your personal statement and experiences beforehand, so they ask questions about your particular story and ask you to talk about things you didn't have in your application.
🤝 Campus and Facilities ▼
How do you rank the facilities?
Most respondents rank the facilities as below average.
No responses
How would you rate the Location and Cultural Life?
0 = Low, 10 = High
How is the friendliness of the admissions office?
Most respondents said the admissions office was friendly.
How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?
Most respondents said the admissions office was responsive.
What are your suggestions for the admissions office?
Applicants commonly suggested that the admissions office provide information about interviewers in advance and include an 'About Me' page in the secondary application portal to facilitate preparation for interviews.
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One of the directors could be better at answering questions
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You get to see who your interviewers are a couple of days before interview day. It would be nice to have an About Me page in the secondary application portal, otherwise a google search isn't a bad idea.
📍 Travel and Logistics ▼
What is your in-state status?
Most respondents are out of state students.
No responses
Where did you stay?
Most respondents stayed either Other or at another housing option.
No responses
Who was the tour given by?
Tours were most commonly given by a Student
No responses
How did the tour guide seem?
Most tour guides were discouraging about the school.
No responses
All Responses
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