Overall, applicants ranked the school in the top 28% of interviews, indicating it is moderately regarded. They found the interview mixed with a low stress level, and felt they did well.
Most respondents felt positively about their interview.
What was the stress level of the interview?
Most respondents rated their interview as low stress.
How you think you did?
Most respondents thought they performed well at the interview.
How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?
Most respondents rank this school above all other schools.
How do you rank this school among other schools to which you've applied?
Most respondents rank this school above other schools they applied to.
0 = Below, 10 = Above
💬 Interview Questions ▼
What is one of the specific questions they asked you?
The most commonly asked interview questions at medical schools include inquiries about the applicant's motivation for pursuing medicine, challenges faced and how they were overcome, experiences with research or volunteering, future career goals, hobbies and interests, as well as their ability to handle stress and adversity in healthcare. Respondents also encountered questions about their academic background, strengths and weaknesses, reading habits, travel experiences, and their vision for the future in terms of personal and professional growth. Some respondents mentioned being asked about their preparation for the MCAT, their response to potential rejection from medical school, and their views on healthcare and medical practice models. Additionally, there were mentions of questions related to specific coursework, personal qualities of a good physician, and the applicant's ability to adapt to the demands of medical education and practice.
Name a time when you experienced a challenge and how did that affect you?
Do you plan to retake the MCAT?
What was your biggest obstacle with the MCAT?
What has been your biggest academic challenge or obstacle as an undergrad?
Where else are you applying?
Tell me about yourself.
Let's start from the beginning, explain to me how you got to where you were born and raised to the present?
Where did your desire to want to understand your culture more come from?
Explain a certain section of the MCAT that may not have been as good as it should have been. I did not do as well on the reading section as I would have liked.
Tell me about your research experience. My first interviewer had the same speciality as what I was doing my research in, so that was pretty easy and fun to explain.
What is your most recent book you read? What is your favorite book? Tell me about it. How do you teamplay in sports and in life? What is one quality you think is most important for a physician to have? Describe how your friends would describe you in 3 words? Why medicine?
Why do you want to be a doctor? They also focused on all of the weakness on the application like poor grades or scores and requested to justify that. If you can turn anything negative into positive learning experience they really loved to hear that. Why all the volunteer experiences were important to you? How will you prepare for the boards? How will you handle an emergency situation? How do you work under pressure and stress? You had some time off from undergrad to med school, how do you feel about the challenges that will come the first year in adapting to the stress level?
Students said most interesting question asked at Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine discussed a wide range of topics, including meaningful experiences, de-stressing activities, impactful international experiences, book preferences, and ethical dilemmas. While some respondents mentioned MMI format and nondisclosure agreements, typical questions revolved around personal experiences, motivations for medicine, overcoming challenges, and leisure activities, showcasing a holistic approach to evaluating candidates.
Tell me about one of your most meaningful experiences from your primary application
Through all of your international traveling and volunteer work, what was the most impacting thing that you experienced or observed?
How do you compare getting access to healthcare in the local WV community versus abroad internationally? What do you think contributes to this?
See, the way my interview went was I just started talking about myself, they were pretty relaxed and it seemed like they had a list of questions, but I guess I supplied them with enough information i.e. Who I am, Why medicine, Why marshall, What I like to do for fun, What books do I read,
Can you explain why your grades improved as you progressed through college?
I remembered this because I didn't think my grades DID improve. I actually thought they got worse, and I told her as such.
You are taking anatomy course with me. You work so hard, invest so many hours for preparation. You walk into the exam room and after the test feel that you have done extremely well at the level of A+++. WHen you receive your test you notice you have missed so many q's and have gotten a C+. What would you do? How would you react?
Students said most difficult question asked at Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine discussed a wide range of topics including handling academic challenges, personal weaknesses, healthcare issues, and motivations for attending the school. Some respondents mentioned the challenge of open-ended questions like "Tell me about yourself" and "Why should admissions take you?" while others highlighted specific inquiries about managing workloads, explaining low MCAT scores, and addressing grades in particular courses.
What would you do if you started falling behind in med school?
Tell me about your life.
How do you feel about leadership and following?
What's the situation in healthcare today? (all of the above were difficult because of their open-endedness more than anything)
In one sentence, please sum up any points that describe you overall as an applicant or any information about yourself that you think I have not covered.
If there was one thing you could do over in your life, what would you do over?
So you've never had a summer job or one outside of the academic setting. Why?
I thought this was just a mean question to make me feel like I was a spoiled brat, when during the school year, I worked at least 2 work-study jobs a semester
No difficult questions really. Very conversational. One lady did ask: "where do you see yourself in 10 years?". Now the question was not difficult but I guess she expected more for me to say after I had given my full answer, so I was scrambling to say more for a little bit. Hopefully that wasn't too big of a slip.
To see if my mind gets diverted from my aim of being a physician they asked, "A health commissoner is a better person than a physician because he is responsible for sanitation." What do you think? Isn't he?
Most respondents rate the school location as good.
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?
Most respondents rate the area’s cultural life as average.
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
What are your comments on where you stayed?
No responses
✅ Interview Preparation and Impressions ▼
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.
How did you prepare for the interview?
Most applicants prepared for the interview by conducting mock interviews, reviewing their application materials, practicing with friends or family, and researching the school through Student Doctor Network and the institution's website. Many also sought advice from current students or alumni, read common interview questions, and utilized resources such as books and online platforms to enhance their interview skills and knowledge.
Checked SDN, re-read my secondaries, read the schools mission
SDN, mock interview with pre-professional adviser and family, read up on current issues,tried to relax, didn't work. I think my nerves showed through and i didn't do as well as i would have liked
this website, looking over my documents, going through school's website http://musom.marshall.edu/index2.asp?x=1024&y=768
,and mock interview at my university's career services center.
I reviewed the most recent Kaplan & Princeton review 2004 book of interview tips. I studied over 500 various types of interview questions from all categories: Medicine, Philosophy, Spirituality, News, etc. And, I performed mock interviews on people.
Applicants were consistently impressed by the friendliness and warmth of the interviewers, faculty, and staff, as well as the supportive and collaborative atmosphere at the school. They appreciated the small class sizes, personalized attention, and the genuine interest shown towards their success and well-being.
The interviewers engaged with me and conversed with me as opposed to just asking interview questions. There was no pressure and the interviewers were so kind!
Friendly and laidback interviewers, kindness and warmth of faculty, close-knit sense of community, small class sizes, supportive and collaborative atmosphere, genuinely want students to succeed
Dean of students was frank about the present shortcomings of the program but very assuring that progress is dramatically being made. The staff was so welcoming. 5 stars. Could not be kinder.
The integrated curriculum. I love Huntington!!! The school's community-based approach. How Ms. Warren seemed to be really concerned about each of us. The rural and international options.
The admissions staff answered any and all questions I had regarding Marshall Medical School and even supplied more information on top of that. I received a folder of information about the school including residency placements of former classes of students. Each of the interviewees were giving a complimentary duffel bag after the interview which was a nice gesture.
facilities seemed nice, they are in the process of adding a new building which looks like it is going to be impressive, everyone was kind and encouraging
NOTHING. It is a weak program who tried to impress us that they were the easist school in the country once you got in. I don't want easy .... I want to learn.
The facilities. Also, the people are so helpful and nice!!! Ms. Warren is extremely sweet, and the general attitude is relaxed. They realize you've worked hard to get to this point! In terms of application process, they (rather Ms. Warren) does everything in a timely fashion, you never feel stranded as most other med schools do. The environment is one that promotes nurturing to students, not torturing!
Ms. Warren is extremely nice. Both interviewers treated me with respect and made me feel like a friend. Ms. Warren made me feel as if she was trying to sell the school to me, not as if she was testing me to get in. Very nice people and cool medical facilities.
The facilities and efficiency of the school, in addition the school was very prompt with the whole application process. They even gave me my secondary app before my primary totally went through.
The atmosphere is really really great. Now this may not be for everyone, but since there are only about 50 students the class is very close knit with themselves and their professors. The professors offices are on the same floor or the floor below, so they are easily accessible for help. I like the fact that you can just walk in to a professors office at 9pm uninvited to ask a question or to just chat.
Everyone treated me like I was already a student. As soon as I entered the building, the admissions director began speaking with me. She answered all of my questions about medical school, the town, the extracurricular activities, etc. After the interviews, she took me on a tour and explained to me how things would work and where things take place within the school.
Friendly, non-competitive environment, small class sizes, committed to growth and development of the students, and willingness to evaluate the student as a whole rather than just looking at the numbers.
Both of the interviewers seemed genuinely interested in me as an applicant. Also, both wanted to know how best to represent me in front of the committee.
The Assistant Dean of Admissions is incredibly friendly and made me feel immediately comfortable. She also gave me a bit of background information about my interviewers before I met them, which I really appreciated. The atmosphere in the admissions office feels almost casual, and the interviews felt more like conversations than a Q&A session.
The connection, the quality of people, the warmth, caring, compassion, and ability to adjust to your personality and make you feel comfortable throughout the interview. IT was like a homely conversation with one of my interviers.
Applicants commonly expressed negative impressions about the lack of a comprehensive campus tour, disorganized tours, limited interactions with current students, small city location, and unenthusiastic interviewers. Suggestions included providing more informative tours, ensuring better organization, facilitating student interactions, addressing the small city setting, and improving interviewer engagement.
I did not get a full tour of the school and the neighboring buildings. I was just given the description; it would have been nice to be given an official tour.
no tour was given as a part of the interview day, however, the school does seem to be a little more spread out than some which would probably make it difficult to have a fairly informative tour. also, even though i got a 24 on the MCAT, i could tell one interviewer thought that it would be a problem when she presented to the admissions committee. I'm sorry, if someone as a 3.94 overall gpa and a 3.89 science gpa,can the MCAT maybe not be taken as seriously, should i really have been wait listed
I would have liked to have talked to a few med students at the school. The place where the interview takes place isn't the same place where the first and second year med students are at. Also, a tour of the rest of the campus would have been nice.
this not necessarily negative, but more of a "heads-up". Huntington is small. They still have practically every store or amenity that you could possibly need as a medical student but if you are looking for a town like chicago, or new york, this is not it. But then again, how much free time will you have anyway?
Many applicants wished they had known ahead of time that the interviews would be more casual and laid-back than expected, allowing them to relax and be themselves. Additionally, several applicants mentioned the importance of arriving early, preparing questions for the interviewers, and being aware of the location of student facilities and classes.
I did not get to tour the hospital or classrooms; did so independently at a later date. Cabell Huntington was extremely busy and I even got preoccupied during the interview watching people come in. (interview was at 8AM)
The student facilities were separate from the admissions office, and by the time I got out of my interview and drove over to check it out, most of the building was closed.
Of the two interviewers it appeared one was a primary interviewer who will represent you to the admissions committee and the second interviewer to ensure the accuracy of your answers.
There were 25 people on the committee including the two interviewers. They all sit down and represent your personality as a whole to the committee and then they all take a vote on whether to accept or hold the applicant.
Applicants generally found the interview experience at Marshall University to be positive, with a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere. They appreciated the friendly and conversational nature of the interviews, as well as the supportive and nurturing environment of the school community.
Great experience and the culture of the school seems positive and welcoming!
No frills interview--no tour unless you asked for it (that was of the second year's facility); no breakfast, drinks, snack, or lunch. The admissions office seems to be a one-woman shop, but she does a great job--very friendly and helpful. Just from the admissions process it seems like a very family-like school. Take the extra time to orient yourself to Huntington. It's a wonderful town and a lot of the facilities of the University and the Medical school are new. Everyone seems happy to help-- you just have to let them know it's something you'd like to know about.
the day was fairly standard, no tour, however, Cyndi Warren was very nice and encouraged students to not be so nervous. you come in and talk with Ms. Warren, have your two interviews, and then they show you the door. the day could have been a little better, a little more informative
I really enjoyed the experience, like I mentioned before, they are very relaxed and genuinely helpful people. They aren't out there to get you and be tough on you, they realize that if you've gotten to this point, you've gone through all of that. They make a lot of jokes. I remember the my second interviewer had told someone that they haven't accepted any of his interviewees in seven years. He was describing the face on that interviewee, and we were just sitting there being grateful we weren't the ones he said that too! He was teasing though, but no one is hardcore ''WHAT are you DOING here???''
My first interview with the student was informative, but I felt they weren't trying to get to know me, so much as sell the school to me.
The second interview was brutal, the woman just kept scanning my file and finding things to ask me.
It seemed to go alright...I wasn't nervous since I had already accepted a seat at another school and wasn't expecting to get any more interviews. When I arrived I spoke with the admissions director for a few minutes, then we watched a brief video and then my first interviewer came to get me. 20-30 minute interview, then went back to the admissions office, then to second interview, then brief tour of the hospital. The whole time spent there was only about 2 hours, and much less thorough than any of my other interviews. It was mostly time for me to ask questions...they didn't have any presentations or too much prepared.
I had a wonderful interview experience and I'm really hoping to be accepted at Marshall. It seemed like such a nurturing environment and like the perfect place for me.
The interview process was very laid back and the interviewers showed a genuine interest in showing me in a positive light to the admissions committee. I was treated very well from the moment I arrived until the moment I left. The staff was very polite and didn't just leave you sitting around while you waited to be interviewed.
I went in and met with the asst. dean of admissions for a few minutes, and then was taken to my first interview. I was super nervous, but it tended to be more conversational rather than confrontational. Then I waited for my 2nd interview, which was much more relaxed than the first. Dunno if it was me or the interviewer or both, but I felt that one was even more relaxed than the first. Then we went on a short tour of the hospital.
Overall, I thought the interview experience was very good. The school is really nice, and I like that since the class size is so small, the students get more attention from faculty. I had 2 interviews which both ran about 45-50 minutes. Cindy Warren, the assistant-dean ( i think) is the biggest sweet heart. She makes you feel sooo comfortable. It was definetly different from my other experiences because of how nice and personal everyone is. I even went in the night before to check out the class and anatomy lab and met about 10 students, which is 1/5 of the class. They were are all really friendly too.
Very good. The second interviewer seemed unsure of my file..saying everything was great but one MCAT score. I think I convinced her otherwise by the end, but the first interviewer had no concerns and was very down-to-earth.
Everyone was very friendly. My primary interviewer was very well prepared. He was knowledgable of my application and able to conduct the interview in a conversation format as opposed to question and answer.
I feel that the interviews went well!! When I first left the school, I felt that the questions that I was asked were not the ones that I had prepared for. They were less formal and more about me as an individual!
Both interviews were informal. The first one lasted 45 minutes because we were just freely talking. The second one didn't last as long, but it was still informal. In both cases, it didn't feel like I was being grilled, and I left feeling good about it. I didn't have "Oh, why did I say that" moments.
Interviewers were very pleasant and seemed to be on my side so that they could present my case to the rest of the Admissions Board. In general, they concentrated on my weaknesses and the questions that they believed the Board would raise. Other then that, they just wanted to get to know me and the reasons I wanted to be a doctor. It is very important that you bring up your weaknesses if they do not come up during the interview, b/c someone on the Board will bring it up and come to their own conclusions.
There were two interviews, which each lasted about 15-20 minutes. Both of the interviewers were extremely well prepared; it seems as if they knew my entire file by heart.
Great! Very low-key, friendly atmosphere. I liked how one of my interviewers took time to tell me a lot about the social aspect of the school and of the town of Huntington.
My first interview was slightly difficult because I had a really hard time answering "Who are you?" However, by the time I met my second interviewer, I felt at ease and the conversation was seamless.
What are your suggestions for the admissions office?
Applicants appreciate the friendly and welcoming atmosphere of the admissions office and suggest offering a brief orientation before interviews to further enhance the experience. Providing helpful resources, such as water, school information, and branded items, also stood out as a positive aspect of the admissions process.