Overall, applicants ranked the school in the top 29% of interviews, indicating it is moderately regarded. They found the interview mixed with a moderate 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 average 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 motivation for pursuing medicine over other healthcare professions, experiences related to ethics and patient care, challenges faced by physicians, hypothetical scenarios involving patient prioritization, and personal qualities that applicants can bring to the field. Some respondents mentioned scenarios involving Jehovah's Witness patients and blood transfusions, while others discussed their views on healthcare reform and specific aspects of their applications and experiences.
Describe a time in your clinical experience where medical care was not handled well. What went poorly and how would you address the situation differently?
You have 3 different patients of different ages and backgrounds with 3 different illnesses, they will all die within a month if left untreated. You can only treat one. Which one do you treat?
A lot of hypothetical questions: What would you do if your partner was overprescribing opioids and taking some on the side? What if they showed up to work high? Which patient would you save out of three: heart transplant smoker, breast cancer, AIDS patient?
You have lots of material to learn during med school and then we throw material at you that you don't think has anything to do with being a doctor. What do you do?
There was a family (mother, father, child) involved in an accident. The mother and child both need blood but the father insists they cannot receive it due to religious reasons. What do you do?
Scenario question: You have a father who was driving drunk with their 4 year old in the back seat. They get into an accident and are brought into the ER. The father is refusing treatment for him and child and is demanding to leave the hospital - what do you do?
Tell me about yourself? Why do you want to be a doctor? If you could do one thing to change health care, what would it be? Why did you choose to apply EDP?
20 years down the line you're a transplant surgeon. You have one set of organs to provide to either a 60-year old woman who has been successful in the community or a 25 year old man who has made some bad decisions. What are some of the thoughts that go through your head in the process?
At what point in your life did you feel that becoming a physician in medicine became necessary? What do you do in your free time? What is the biggest issue facing health care? Which course in your undergraduate career do you feel you 'got the most out of'?
Having been living in both large and small city, where do I see myself better?
Do you have any questions for us? What have you prepared but we haven't asked? Tell us about anything you want us to know.
If you see a car wreck on the way going to class, what are you going to do?
A guy who doesn't have insurance came into your office, what would you do?
All three interviewers asked questions specific to my experiences, personal statement and application (even the closed file interview had my experiences)
If your attending was really difficult to get along with, what would you do? Follow up question - you have a patient that tells you that they don't want you to touch them at all because you are a student. When the patient is anesthetized, your attending tells you to go ahead and perform whatever procedure was scheduled. What do you do?
A Jehovah's Witness needs a blood transfusion, what do you do? What if you knew their beliefs? If family was unreachable? Different for an adult vs. a child?
Tell us about yourself.
Explain such and such about your personal statement.
What is the most interesting medically related article or book you have read recently?
Hypothetical: 1 kidney to give to either a Single working mother, a Prostitute, or an alcoholic...who and why?
Followup:
Compatibility comes back...Alcoholic is most compatible, then prostitute, then the single mother...now who and why?
A random question on diversity. I was asked how I've handled diversity in the past. I gave what I thought was a good answer, but the interviewer didn't agree. Rephrased it to include that I couldn't have seen much diversity in my life due to where I grew up, went to high school, went to college, and the fact that I was in a fraternity. So how could I deal with "ignorant african americans" in the inner city. I wish I was making this up. Needless to say I was shocked, a little offended, and blew the rest of the interview.
what would you do if you caught someone cheating?
what are the issues facing health care in the US today? in the world? what would you do to solve them?
The interviewer told a short story about how a patient requested a script be written in his mother's name because she had insurance and he did not. How should he have responded?
Who has had the greatest influence in your life? Why? Who else? (This ''who else'' threw me for a second, because I had considered who I would say for my greatest influence, but not really beyond that.)
You are a pediatric surgeon, and you have just had two different babies born who both have life-threatening heart defects. If neither of them get a transplant, they are both expected to die in the next 36 hours. The only difference between the two is that one is completely normal, while the other has Down Syndrome. You get a call saying that a baby has been born with no brain, but his other organs are in perfect shape. Thus, you only have one heart to give. As the doctor, you must decide who receives the heart. Tell me about your thought process in making this decision.
If you had a minor whose religion prevented them from accepting blood transfusions dying in front of you and the child's parents weren't around (but you knew the family religion), would you give the transfusion?
How big of role do you feel scientific research will play in medicine in the future? What are some of major ethical issues in biomedical research? How about Medicine?
What is the biggest problem facing physicians today? There were a ton of other questions I'd say my KU interview had the largest breadth of questioning they really made sure to touch all basis clinical experience, research experience, where you want to go, ethical stuff etc.
A pretty standard Jehovah witness question: A five year old girl needs a blood transfusion to live, but her parents are Jehovah witnesses and say no blood products, what do you do?
You are the head transplant physician in a hospital and two patients arrive in the ER, and both of them need a heart in order to live. You only have one heart to give. The first is a 58 year old man who is very active in the community, and his family will give the hospital 5 million dollars if you give him the heart. The other patient is a 24 year old girl medical student, and she drinks a lot and isn't passing her classes. Who do you give the heart to?
What are the problems in health care today and how would you fix them?
Should taxpayers dollars be used to pay for preventative health care campaignes (ie, stop smoking, condoms, etc.)?
If a 16-year old of sound mind comes into the emergency room and needs a blood transfusion. He is a Jehovah's Witness and his parents say no blood. What would you do? (The difference between this and the typical question is that he is of sound mind, so would you ask him? And would the legal authority or his personal authority as a patient prevail?)
13 y/o female presents for bunion excision, directly before procedure, lab results indicate she's pregnant. What do you do? Do you tell her parents, etc...?
where will you practice, why there? I was rural, so they wanted to dig in on that one. Be prepared! Good Luck! Pray to Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Why ku, if not ku where, what will you do if not ku, what do you know about ku? Short and too the point answers. Answers that sell your position, answer the question and work in your strengths!
Strengths/Weaknesses? Characteristics of a good doctor, and how have you demonstrated that you have them? They asked about my undergrad at Tulane and why I picked it and how I was able to stay focused in New Orleans.
If you had 3 different patients (insert their problems and ages here), but you could only give treatment to one, who would you choose and why? What is your greatest strength? What is your greatest weakness? How do you know that you are prepared to go to medical school? Do you have any questions for us?
Tell me about yourself. How do you feel about stem cell research? Did you experience any ethical dilemmas in college? What is your favorite movie? Who is the one person that you would like to go to dinner with?
What do you think will be the biggest difficulty that you will experience in medical school and as a doctor? What type of patient would it be hardest for you to treat (for example, a drunk driver or someone with an infectious disease)? What is the greatest issue in the medical field today? What do you feel most contributes to the cost of health care? All of my interviewers asked where I saw myself in ten years.
Other people were asked about what you would do if parents had religious issues and didn't want you to treat their child.
What was your grandfather's occupation? (Still haven't figured out why they asked this. My grandfather wasn't ever mentioned in my statement or the interview).
Students said most interesting question asked at University of Kansas School of Medicine discussed a wide range of topics including defining life moments, memorable patients, ethical dilemmas, and personal attributes. The interview format may have been an MMI (Multiple Mini Interview) as some responses hinted at nondisclosure agreements, while questions focused on values, decision-making, healthcare scenarios, and personal reflections.
What was one moment in your life that has defined who you are today?
situation: terminal life support patient, 2 sons are fighting over whether or not to take him off. One wants to one does not. Both lied about being power of attorney, real DPOA cannot be contacted. What do you do?
From the 4th year interviewer... Say you are sitting in my seat 4 years from now interviewing a student, what are three questions that you would ask them?
Ethical question about OBGYN treating a 14 year old pregnant girl... do you tell the parents? What if there is a law that the girl has rights to her own privacy? Would you still tell the mom who's there at your office with her daughter?
Scenario question-Who would you rather give money to? either 1. baby with Down's Syndrome for surgery 2. 40 yr old man with 3 sons and who needs liver transplant or 3. 3 Ethiopian ladies with HIV
While shadowing, what is one thing that you saw a doctor do that made you think "wow, that was a good thing to do" and what was one thing that made you think "i would have done that differently"
You're a surgeon and you are closing up and realize you forgot something inside the patient that probably won't have any negative side effects. What do you do? Go back and get it? Do you tell the patient?
Beware of the question: "is there anything you prepared for that we didn't ask?" This came right after the diversity question and I wasn't prepared.
What was my favorite class of undergrad and why? I answered it was a medical ethics class, and so he asked me to elaborate arguments for either side on euthanasia.
What does the government need to do to stop the problems of illegal immigration? Seemed like a question to test me as I am Hispanic, but those issues don't bother me and I told him how the problems should be fixed.
If you were a med student and had a Diabetic patient in a coma, the resident doctor presented the case as being DKA, but the patiend had no ketones in their urine. The resident was wrong, what would you do?
Do you think that you hold stereotypes and prejudices? (This was in response to me discussing how I was a minority in my community growing up, and how I wasn't necessarily the victim of blatant racism, but I felt that I people held prejudices against me and stereotyped me because they were ignorant.)
I was asked several questions involving Pharmacutical companies and whether or not they should provide free lunches and such for doctors and advertise their medicines on tv.
They asked me if as a non-trad student, if I would be more likely to study individually or in a group. I answered that in hands on activities, I would take advantage of the group atmosphere to learn from others, however, I would also spend a great deal of time studying on my own.
People from Spain and Colombia are considered Hispanic, yet they on two different continents, separated by a huge ocean. What is a difference between the Colombian and Spanish cultures? [I am from Colombia, and luckily have been to Spain, so I was able to give my opinion on both differences and similarities]
Taxpayer money is used to fund public awareness campaigns against issues such as HIV/AIDS, drug abuse and gang violence. Do you agree with the use of taxpayer money for this?
Students said most difficult question asked at University of Kansas School of Medicine discussed ethical scenarios like choosing between patients for treatment, controversial health policy decisions, and personal reflections on challenges in healthcare. Some responses referred to an MMI format with questions on ethical dilemmas, emphasizing the importance of preparedness due to nondisclosure agreements possibly in place.
What is the biggest issue with healthcare, and what would you do to solve it?
Lets say you are a physician and a patient comes into your clinic who doesn't have insurance and your facility will not take them as a patient. As a physician leader what would you do to change this in the future?
You have 3 different patients of different ages and backgrounds with 3 different illnesses, they will all die within a month if left untreated. You can only treat one. Which one do you treat?
Medical school, residency, and life as a physician is rough. It will grind you down again and again. How do you know that you are prepared for a career in medicine? How do you know that you can handle that?
20 years from now you are driving down a kansas road and you see an accident. You pull over and there are three people who are injured. One is an elderly scientist that has the cure for cancer, one is a single mother of three children, and one is an infant. You can only save one... Who do you save?
A colleague fudges the hematocrit numbers of a patient during your ER rounds a few years from now. You ask your colleague about the discrepancy, but they admit to nothing. What do you do?
I talked about specialization and how I've been told it's necessary if you want to run a successful practice, and they asked how I reconciled that belief with incontrovertible data that the country does not need more specialization but primary care doctors
From the 4th year interviewer... Say you are sitting in my seat 4 years from now interviewing a student, what are three questions that you would ask them?
Probably the professionalism question. I practiced answers to many questions to get a general feel of how I would answer but DID NOT memorize my answers but I had not practiced a question like this.
Probably, the candidate question. It was literally the first thing the first interviewer asked me. I know about socialized medicine, just not about the 2008 primary candidates' views.
If you personally had the opportunity to shape a new healthcare system what would be the first change you would make to improve the delivery of care and why?
How can we cut the cost of health care in the U.S? It was my first health care question on the interview trail and phrased differently than I expected to be.
If you were advisor to the president on the issue of providing pain killers to the 90% of people worldwide without them, what would you tell him to do?
The hypothetical questions can be a bit difficult as they say there is no right or wrong answer, but I am sure you look much better if you answer with the most correct response. Mine was of the typical Jahovah's Witness blood transufion variety. I researched what is actually done in that situation ahead of time and was able to respond with an educated anser that really pleased my interviewers.
What is the largest problem with healthcare today?
Not a difficult question, but I was challenged on my answer and had to defend myself for several minutes
You are an attending physician in a totally slammed ED. Trauma service brings in a 7 year-old boy, severe hypovolemia. ID card in boys wallet placed by parents says no blood products per religious preference, but the boy will die without a transfusion. Parents are not with the boy and can't be reached. What do you do?
Follow-up question: The parents arrive and tell you to stop immediately. What do you do?
Ethical question asked by a 4th year in the second interview. You have 300,000 to spend on one and only one of three patients. A 23 year old alcoholicand drug user with liver failure who needs a transplant. A 53 year old smoker who needs a heart transplant. Or a 33 year old mother of 3 with TERMINAL breast cancer. Which would you pick and why??? Follow up question - What about the kids?
What makes you a good candidate . . . (I answered and the guy said) "Yes, but why should we choose you?"
and
How would you fix the health care system?
A patient of yours has signed papers stating she does not want extraordinary measures to be taken to save her life if she were to fall extremely ill. You see that she has fallen into a coma in the ER...what do you do? (of course you respect her wishes) Now her family members have come and are screaming at you because you're not doing everything in your power to save her...what do you say to them?
You are a cashier at a grocery store, a blind woman with her seeing eye dog puts a number of items to check out. She pays with foodstamps (which wont let you pay for alcohol, tobacco, or dog food)...what do you do??
Mother and daughter come in to ER, husband killed in accident and mother has severe head trauma and daughter internal injuries. Before mother passes out, she says, no blood products. Both will likely die if not given blood? What do you do? Then other, lets pretend ?'s. There is really no good answer, just want to see your thought process.
Name one person in the whole world, alive or dead, that you'd want to go to dinner with.
(I was prepared for the version of this question that asked for THREE people, but I had a hard time picking just one, haha.)
If a child came into the ER and needed a blood transfusion to live but then the parents flew in and said they were Jehovah's Witnesses (who don't believe in receiving blood transfusions) and all the lawyers at your hospital and judges were at the Chief's game, would you give the child the blood transfusion or not?
Why did you decide on medical school as opposed to nursing school or social work? (Basically asking for elucidation of WHY and HOW I wanted to help people)
If you could change anything in your past, what would it be? I answered that there are many things that I wish I had chosen to do differently, however, I feel that you have to take the good with the bad and it is hard to place a value on what one can learn from their mistakes.
Three patients arrive to your care needing a liver transplant. One is a 15 year old girl (with some crazy sounding disease), another is a 35 year old alcoholic, and the other is a 75 year old woman. The hospital you work for is breathing down your neck to bring in some revenue, and you find out that the only person who with insurance is the alcoholic. The hospital wants your input on the situation. What do you tell them?
Lots of hypothetical situation/ethics questions. Also, what about your personality will make med school a challenge for you? And what kind of people don't get along with you?
If you were a physician and found out through a series of laboratory tests that a twelve-year-old girl was pregnant, would you tell her parents that are standing in the room with her?
If a genetic screening test was accidentally performed on an unwitting patient and came back positive for Huntington's disease, would you tell the patient.
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 good.
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?
Applicants commonly prepared for their interviews by conducting mock interviews, reviewing their applications, practicing common interview questions, researching the school, and staying informed about current healthcare issues. Suggestions included practicing with friends or mentors, studying ethical principles, reviewing healthcare policies, and familiarizing oneself with the school's website and mission.
Mock interview with profs at my school, looking up common interview questions and responses from people who have interviewed before, typing up my possible responses to possible questions so they are at least in my head, rehearsing (out loud) responses to the big questions: why do you want to be a doc, tell me about yourself, etc. Also think of questions to ask them!
Reading online about ethical principles and the ACA, writing main ideas for common questions, practicing the important questions, friends helping me to practice answering questions on the spot.
Practiced a lot of general "traditional" questions I found on the internet and through advisors. Tried to be comfortable with the interview process so that my answers sounded genuine, and not rehearsed. Worked on feeling confident, and excited.
I read all the questions from SDN, read a few articles on healthcare, watched the news and made sure I understood what KU had to offer and their future plans.
I didn't prep for the interview as much as I should have. I was afraid my answers would sound too rehearsed, but it would have been good to go through some of the general questions and have a general idea of how to answer. In previous years, I've had verbal discussions with friends who applied about these questions so I had an idea of how I would answer some of the questions.
I read my own application (primary and secondary), read interview feedback, read up on health care reform and listened to NPR podcasts about health care.
For every experience listed in my applications I thought about what I learned from each and what I liked or disliked about each.
Regarding physicians I'd witnessed, I thought about things I'd want to emulate and things I'd want to avoid or try to do better.
Read SDN, made sure to read through and be able to refer to part of my primary and secondary essays, looked on their website to know about the school, talked with students I know that go there.
Read SDN, was very familiar with my applications both primary and secondary. Read about the school and their honor code for the inevitable cheating ethical question which I was asked.
Read SDN feedback, my personal statement, and secondary essays. Talked to current med students at KU. Read over all of my notes from last year (I'm a reapplicant).
Read AMCAS application, supplemental application, KU's website, info about the school, reviewed SDN info about interviews, mock interview, reviewed health care policies of presidential candidates and current health topics.
I printed off hundreds of questions and went over them with friends who were already accepted to KU Med. I went over personal statement and secondary app. I prayed!
I interviewed at KU last year, so I had a good idea of what was coming. Its good to go over the hypothetical question, review the AMCAS/supplemental applications and keep telling yourself its all going to be ok. I made a personal list of questions I expected to encounter, but did NOT have someone interview me beforehand. I feel that they can tell if your answered have been rehearsed (insincere), but good to go over them in your head so that you don't stumble or go blank through a question.
Look at my sec. application, have mock interview at my school, had one of my close friends interviewd 4x, and one medical student interviewed me one last time. I took note and video-taped all the mock interviews. I download questions fron SDN and come up with my answers.
SDN, mock interviews with premed advisor (who put together a committee), mock with doc friend, gathered info,trends,etc on school from web, prepared myself on a couple of biggies: tort and medicare/medicade (it helped!!)
I knew myself and had previous experience working in a hospital. Know as much about what you are going into and WHY you want to go into it. Love of and application of science to DIRECTLY improve the quality of someone else's life should be a prime motivation. If you are scientifically oriented and are compassionate, I suggest you be yourself. If you are neither, then medicine is probably not for you.
(1) Read all the stuff on this site for the school (2) Reviewed my personal statement (3) Went through some common questions about health issues, "why do I want to be a doctor," and
Read Newsweek, watched the news, reread my AMCAS and secondary applications, thought about my strengths and how I could relay those to the interviewers.
Applicants were consistently impressed by the friendliness and welcoming atmosphere at the school, including interactions with interviewers, staff, and students. They appreciated the open and supportive environment, the emphasis on student success, and the sense of community among students and faculty. Many highlighted the positive interactions with interviewers, the opportunity to meet current students, and the school's efforts to create a comfortable and stress-free interview experience.
The interviewers were able to joke and make it more nonchalant
Interviewers made me feel very comfortable! We also had the whole admissions decision process (timeline, type of correspondence, etc.) explained before the interview -- really helped put me at ease!
The entire administration and all of the students love their school. It is one school that really does feel like everyone is open to helping each other become the best physician possible. Doesn't feel cutthroat, or stuffy. Feels like a great place to learn medicine your way, and know you have plenty of support.
They actually seemed to care about the intellectual side of medicine and want the students to be scientists as well as practitioners of medicine. Also the food was awesome!
Yes. The staff and the students were very nice and welcoming. I loved how they listen to their students needs and concerns. Everyone seemed to enjoy the school.
How personable some of my interviewers were. They definitely eased the tension by making you feel comfortable. They weren't there to attack me but brought out my strengths and helped me reinforce it during the interview.
The students seem really happy. They all like their teachers, they like the curriculum set up (it's module based - not semester long classes or problem based). They also seemed to really enjoy the services provided to them by the school.
Everyone was extremely friendly. Seemed like they genuinely wanted us to go there. They have a very cooperative environment it is not cut-throat style.
Everyone was very kind and truly wanted you to succeed. All the students are friendly and help each other out by sharing notes, studying together, etc. Lectures can be podcast.
I really did like KU. I grew up literally right down the street and knew a lot of physicians who either worked at/were educated at KU. I know a bit about the school, and the new research areas and heart hospital are really nice.
Adm office very nice and extra willing to accomodate my special interview circumstances.
Students and interviewers very friendly and laid-back. Students seemed happy.
The second interview was closed file, and I felt more relaxed with them. Even though I don't think all of the staff were as well intentioned as they seemed, these two surgeons seemed genuinely interested.
Everyone at KU is very supportive, from the students to the staff. They are competitive, but not at the expense of their fellow students. You feel free to ask questions and get a sincere answer. Having current students around to talk about their classes and life as a med-student gives you a better understanding of what you are getting into.
the students are happy, the programs are amazing, the facilities are in much better shape than sdn makes it sound like! lots of amazing opportunities for students. if accepted i would have a very hard time turning it down.
The interview day, as a whole, was hands down the best I've been to. Financial aide, met with the dean, the admissions deans, a tour, lunch with students (who were more than enthusiastic), and very friendly interviewers. It seems goes to great lengths to improve its curriculum.
The people. Everyone was extremely nice and helpful. The students all seemed bright, motivated, and positive regarding the school. Also, the exercise center on campus is really, really good.
Everyone, and I mean everyone, is friendly. The administration is very approachable. KU is currently in the first year of their new block scheduling, where they integrate multiple areas of medicine and learn about body systems as a whole, as opposed to the usual first year anatomy, second year pathophys, etc. The curriculum is very much open to change at the students' request.
Students are very friendly and helpful. All lectures are podcasted, only 3 hours of lecture each day (more study time), plus I'm a fan of PBL. New Heart Hospital, Research Center. The faculty seems to really care about their students and their success. Campus has a real friendly mid-westish feel.
I have to admit I really liked KU...the facilities aren't the best but the people make up for that. The faculty members are very dedicated to the school. The students are very friendly and everyone said that its a great enviroment. Really liked the fact that students e-mail eachother study guides and have fun together (ie kegs in Wittson following test blocks)...Very impressed by the people and the location between westport and the plaza.
That they are expanding their curriculum so that it is more applicable to the actual practice of medicine. They are including a course in Medical Spanish, which I think is becoming increasing important to have. The facilities are also nice, and they seem to be trying to improve on them even more. That all students will be purchasing a HP-tablet PC.
KU is revamping their curriculum for next year, making it much more integrative and systems based. They're requiring the use of a Tablet computer, which is a super-portable laptop that you can "write on" with a "pen"...pretty neat. They're introducing new electives like, Medical Spanish, Domestic Violence, and Cultural Competency...all of which are great.
The facilities were nice, particularly the Clinical Skills lab (I was unaware they had this). Also, they seem to be incorporating a lot of technology into their curriculum. For instance, they are re-vamping the auditoriums so they are computer - friendly, since next year all incoming students will get an HP tablet PC. Lunch was also great, especially because each table had 2 current med students eating with us and answering any questions.
Nice facilities, weather, and females :)
Laid back, not very stressful...students seemed to like being there (even though they were doing their test blocks the same week)
Everyone was so laid back and easy going, both interviewers and staff really made it a point to promote a relaxed environment and try to eliminate any stress throughout the process.
Everybody seemed to be happy to be there. From one of my friends that goes to the school I got the impression that the University really takes care of its students and wants them to succeed.
They had a social for the minority students. They have a very good financial package. They have a good amount of underrepresented minority students and they are working on increasing the numbers. This was my first time in Kansas and I thought the city was pretty nice. i also met a student at the minority social who was willing to host me for the rest of my stay.
The students were really nice, and so were most of the interviewees (the less pretentious ones, at least). The boys held doors open for the girls! I didn't know what to do! They don't do that in the northeast!
everyone was so friendly and they are really commmited to creating a positive environment for their students and helping them find ways to fund their education
The interview is what you make of it. Some students interviewed with the same people I did and came away unhappy with the questions asked and material covered. My advice to you is to make good use of your time. Think before speaking and answer the question in as few words as possible. If the interviewer wants you to elaborate, they will ask you to do so. This means that you have struck a chord so to speak and they are interested in what you have to say. This is a good thing. If they just move on, then you know that you have answered the question to their satisfaction. This is a good thing also.
The people were very friendly and down-to-earth. The lunch tasted ok, but was cool because a physician and several current students came and ate with us. These are people that I would enjoy being around
(a) the students are SO friendly and laid back. No evident hypercompetition and neurosis, and they take joy in being there + each others' lives (b) the admissions staff are very nice and accomodating, and try to make the event less stressful, such as presenting info on international clerkship opportunities and speaking to students/faculty as they sit down to eat with you
The faculty and staff seemed to be genuinely interested in us and they wanted to make us feel welcome and comfortable. The students we spoke with seemed to be happy with the school and not overly stressed.
Applicants were commonly unimpressed by the outdated facilities, lack of organization during the interview day, excessive waiting times, and a perceived lack of attention to student well-being and diversity. Suggestions included updating facilities, improving organization, reducing wait times, and enhancing diversity and mental health support programs.
I got asked if I partied in my free time.. kind of threw me off.
Not sure this is a negative, per se, but the two interviews were quite different. There was some question overlap, but my first interviewer was more assertive in their line of questioning, while the second was more conversational.
KU didn't seem to have much about mental health services provided or address topics in diversity and marginalized populations. I also thought trying on white coats was fairly strange of an interview day practice.
The facilities were more than lackluster. The immense amount of down time as I was in the last group. We had more than an hour of waiting by ourselves. The day really needs to be re-formatted. No mention of board scores at all throughout the day. Finally, the students genuinely didn't seem happy.
The interviewer that questioned my "diversity" Really, really out of the blue. Also a bit of a shock considering I grew up in the shadow of the med school.
The lottery system for the Wichita campus if not enough people sign up.
The location where KU was located.
OOSers can't get instate tuition by claiming residency.
The first interviewer was an instructor. I believe his name was Edward, and he seemed very stand-offish. Also, I believe Edward was suggesting that my depression would negatively effect my studies. He mentioned it twice, and I had to explain it to him more than once. There are a total of two classrooms; one for each class. It didn't seem like I was at a school at all.
Nothing negative. The ONLY thing that may stand out to some is the state of the fitness center. It is a bit old and outdated, but has all the necessary equipment. Besides, the intensity of your workout, not the equipment, is what produces results. Also, it is a gym, so how great can one be?
the actual interview day seemed a little disorganized - probaly not reflective of much, but it made me rethink the logistical/red tape problems that go with a big school
The facilities are lackluster. Nothing really fancy, not that I'm that hard to please. I could definitely see myself going to school there, as I'm not averse to spartan surroundings, but I've definitely seen better medical schools.
The KU school isn't all that pretty. I felt that the hospital could be a depressing place. But I'm a naive MS0. The have no grants or scholarships for international electives.
That said, since this is the first year of the new lesson plan, it's hard to get a really good grasp of if it's working. The students I had talked to enjoyed the systems approach but had only been with it for three months.
You're forced to buy the $2500 laptop. Although, the textbook software is provided which helps a bit. Classrooms are older and real institutional looking.
The facilities were not what I would expect them to be. For $20,000/year in tution I would expect better up keep. Another person I interviewed with told me that the buildings were nicer than two other schools he had already interviewed at, but I can't imagine how they could be worse.
I have to say the facilities leave room for improvement, I am used to hospitals being in poor condition but the med school only parts are all 1960's institutional and compared to schools with new medical education centers there is no comparison. However, a new research building is almost up and honestly they are trying to update what they had...the first year lecture hall is being completely remodeled for next year which is something that was definitely needed. Student to cadever ratio is sub par...something like 1:9
The facilities were depressing, especially the classroom that first year students use. The clinical practice rooms were nice, but overall the entire campus was not that impressive.
The curriculum is getting a complete overhaul, which is a good thing, but the fact that next year's class will be the first that they are trying some of these things out on is a little worrisome. They seemed to have planned for every possible outcome, though, and sounded like they would provide tons of help to ensure that each student passes.
They had a negative trend in Step I scores for the past couple of years but are gradually improving...they've been constantly tweaking their curriculum over the past 5 years and it seems to be greatly improving Step I scores and the students seem happy about it
The facilities are not logically planned out and need to be updated. I did not see anything that set kansas apart as a good school. I wanted to be awed and I was let down. This is the only med school in Kansas and I expected a little more.
Out of state students can't pay resident tuition after a year. There didn't seem to be a nice spacious place place to study on campus, the study places seemed rather constricted.
The semi-condescending attitude of some of the PhD interviewers. The MD's seem fairly sympathetic to the interviewing plite and seem a little less formal. The PhD's just seem to have a chip on their shoulders.
Interview was somewhat unprofessional and unorganized. One of my intviewers was late and as a result I didn't get to have that interview. Don't know how that will affect my app.
They did absolutely nothing to give me a reason to attend their school. I felt like they assumed because I was interviewing there I would automatically want to go. As an in-state student, I was very unimpressed and disappointed overall. Also, they served spaghetti! Who serves pasta to nervous interviewees in suits?
Students seemed to have a little too much free time on their hands. The facilities aren't bad, but not impressive either. Having just the one hospital on site was a little disappointing, compared to other schools I'd visited.
The staff/faculty did not present themselves as very proffesional. One faculty interviewer would not make eye contact with me during the interview and was generally disengaged from the interview. He struggled to come up with questions to ask me.
I wasn't exactly impressed with the rooms in which we were interviewed. We were interviewed in the examination rooms in the school's clinical studies lab.
(a) Tuition is rising fast. Too fast. (b) Spent most of the time sitting in one room with hours (plural) between interviews. Although, this does offer the chance to talk with other interviewees
The fact that tuition is expected to go up 20% each year for the next X amount of years (as in they don't know when it will stabilize), and the financial aid and "meet the deans" talked seemed rushed and boring
most learning during the first and second years takes place in one large lecture hall with the intructors and professors filing in and out. not much flexibility with the curriculum.
The school did a poor job of representing itself. They had no sodas or snacks, a lot of waiting time, lunch was poor quality, the TV they showed a small video on was literally about 10inches wide for all of us to view, and one of the tour guides spent his time flirting with an interviewee instead of providing useful info. Speaking of the tour--we couldn't even get inside the any of the labs or lecture halls because they were in use--poor planning all around.
Applicants commonly wished they had known more about the interview format, the diversity of interviewers, the emphasis on being relaxed and authentic, the importance of preparing for ethical and political healthcare questions, and the need to arrive early due to parking challenges. They also highlighted the requirement to purchase a tablet computer, changes in curriculum, and the emphasis on diversity at the school.
There weren't many ethical questions but rather more political type questions concerning healthcare
We didn't know the identity of our interviewers ahead of time, but they are a diverse bunch - faculty, practicing MDs from the community, PhDs who work on Health Policy and Health Management, and 4th year medical students.
All of the questions they were going to ask! Ha! I made a few visits before my interview, and have known about the school my whole life, so there weren't many surprises.
The food at lunch was really unhealthy (chicken fried chicken and mashed potatoes), so maybe bring a snack if this is something you care about. Did not have to go outside on the tour.
After getting an interview request, a few days later an email was sent out with names with contact info for students from the school to stay with - I had already arranged plans with a friend to stay with, but wish I had known that this really nice gesture would be provided.
I had some difficulty getting from the parking garage to the area of registration, so it would have been nice if I had a map or something a little clearer.
that if you move to Kansas only to go to school, you cannot legally become a resident simply because you moved there only for that purpose, and as a result, you'll have to pay full out-of-state tuition all four years.
Again, since I was here last year, nothing came as a shock. If you interview with a PhD, they are very interested in GPA and MCAT whereas if you get an MD, they like to hear more about your experiences and character.
I already knew that they will have a new curriculum for the upcoming students and they're required to buy the PC tablet from the school. Oh yeah, if you claimed in ur sec. application that you're KS resident, they will check that again once you're in med. school to confirm that you're authentic KS residents.
Details on the revised curriculum...normal and abnormal are being combined in more of a PBL based curriculum. The fact everyone has to have the same HP tablet PC next year...its a good idea I just wish they would wire their anatomy lab with CCD cameras in addition to the virtual microscopy for histology so one can review without the smell of formalyn.
For their third and fourth years, some students have to go to Wichita. They typically ask for volunteers, but if they don't have enough people to fill the 55 spots, they do a random lottery drawing to see who will go. They also mentioned that it does not matter if a student is married and their spouse has a good job in Kansas City or if they own a house. They basically said if they want you to go to Wichita you go to Wichita. They are also forcing every new student to purchase a tablet computer, which from their comments I gather is fairly expensive.
They are constantly tweaking their curriculum and its hard to gauge how efective it is considering it was vastly different from the year before.
Also, they dont tell you who your interviewers are until you meet them face to face
They said that all EDP applicants must have a good GPA and MCAT scores or they would not have been invited to the interview. If I had known that, I wouldn't have been fretting about justifying the dip in my GPA.
I had a difficult time getting there because the exit was closed, then the parking garage was full. I was almost late and I had left for the interview with more than enough time to get there.
There's a rural preceptorship where they send you (mostly) to western Kansas for a month. If you've ever been to western Kansas, you'd see my concern. I would deal with it though in the end.
that this interview is no stress, aside from what you impose on yourself, that it's a number of friendly individuals who are just interested in you and meeting you, instead of grilling or frightening you.
That you may not find out whether you are accepted until march. The majority of the people who were being interviewed at the same time as me attend(ed) KU or K-State (I didn't) and most of them had already finished their undergrad degrees (as I have).
In between interviews, the applicants all sit together in a large room. Many of them are kind of tweeky at this point, don't spend too much time with them - it's contagious. I thought that I was fine, but in the hour between my interviews I became quite nervous.
That all the other applicants had spent money on NICE suits, while all I had was nice khaki pants and a sport coat. If I could have done that again, I would have worn a nice DARK SUIT!
Being a state school in the midwest they tell people that they are "blue collar," ie the working man's/woman's med school. However almost every applicant there was an alumni's child or the child of some physician. Not a bad thing but it tends to run counter to the persona they claim to have.
The Days Inn is a little questionable, but it is literally across the street from the school, and it saves from trying to find a place to park if you drive.
As many others have said, that the interviews were much more laid-back than I expected. The interviewers really just wanted to talk and get a peak inside your head.
The interviewers actually come get you for your interviewer, not the other way around. The med center can be a little difficult to get around, so allow yourself some extra time.
They are revamping the curiculum for the class of 2005 or 2006 which means there is a flaw in it now and I will be taught under that cirriculum. The faculty did not want to talk about it very much and I recieved conflicting stories from them regarding the resons for the change.
The person who does your one-on-one interview will present your file to the selection committee. Therefore, their impression of you carries A LOT of weight. Each member of the selection committee assigns you a numerical score after your file is presented and they offer admission to the top 175-200 numerical scores.
Applicants generally found the interview experience at KU Med to be positive and low-stress, with a focus on getting to know the candidates. They appreciated the conversational nature of the interviews and the friendly atmosphere created by the faculty and students. Some applicants mentioned aspects they wished were improved, such as more information about the school and better organization of the day's schedule.
I did early decision so it is very competitive but we hear back quickly. I think the interview helped me reiterate why I wanted to go to KU med and would be a good candidate for their program
This is a nice interview day. Your questions about curriculum and financial aid will be answered in group presentations, and you get to meet multiple current students over the course of lunch and your tour. The new HEB is very cool - they even have a model hospital where nurses and MDs in training work together on simulation cases. A major emphasis throughout the day is that KU Med seeks to train clinicians to serve in Kansas.
The current student was unsure what to show us on the tour, and the non-faculty physician at my open-file interview seemed uncomfortable with his role. Overall, it seemed a little loose, but not bad.
Read "Medical school Interview," it's going to help you get in. You can come up with answers to the general questions ahead of time and not sound like a cookie cutter robot.
Night before we went to restaurant for dinner. Great turn out by residents and food was great. We met at 6am at hotel, went to Grand Rounds. Then half of applicants interviewed while others took tour, then switched. After interviews and tour, ate lunch and headed home.
KU is a great place to learn medicine. The people are friendly, and supportive. The goal is for YOU to be your best, and not worry about everyone else. A big emphasis on keeping Kansas residents in-state, which for me at least is a plus. Overall an exciting place to be, and you feel at home within the first few minutes of being there.
I wish they had sold their school to me more. They didn't give me much information, financial aid barely spent five minutes with us, and they just didn't make me WANT to go there. I always figured that was the goal of the interview day.
Overall great experience. The fact that one of my interviewers kept looking at the clock during the 2nd interview was a little unsettling for me. I kept dwelling for weeks! Although, my first interview went really well and my last question to him was "Do you think there are weaknesses in my application that I should address in the case that I don't get accepted this time around?" He gave me some good advice for the second part of the interview.
The school seems really great. For the first two years, all the students are located on the Kansas City campus. During third and fourth year students get to pick whether or not they want to stay in KC or move to Wichita. Seems like the students are really happy. They get awesome opportunities to work in the community, and to go abroad. A great focus on cross-cultural understanding.
First interview is with the member of the adcom who will be presenting your file to the rest of the committee, so you want to be warmed up and ready for that one. I did much better in the second interview - should've been more prepared for the first.
Two 30 minute interviews; the first with an MD from the admissions committee (who will later present my file at the committee meeting); the second with a research faculty (PhD) and another MD.
Two 30-minute interviews...the first one is open file and one-on-one. Mine was with a PhD. This is the person that will actually be presenting your file to the Selections Committee. The second interview is closed file with two people. I had a 4th year med student and another PhD.
There were two 30 min. interviews back to back. The first with one interviewer that was open-file, the second with two interviewers that was closed-file.
There were two thirty minute interviews. The first was open file with the person who will represent you to the adcom. The second is limited file (PS, secondary, activities from AMCAS) with faculty + student.
I really "bit my tongue" and held off from writing this critique, also complaining about MD admissions does nothing. But, I wanted people to beware, and hopefully be prepared for some offensive interviewers. I really was hoping to attend KU, but it left such a bad taste in my mouth I'll never think of it the same way. Thank God I had other acceptances to choose from.
the KU curriculum is very unique and gives the students the chance to take tests twice!! Awesome, so you can literally be as good of a student as you want to be.
Overall they put on a good show. Kind of wish they would have asked if any of us were vegetarians (even though it was an extremely small group) before they ordered the sandwiches.
First, mine was an EDP interview, so the setup might be slightly different from regular app interviews. Overall though, it was nowhere near as bad as I thought it'd be. There were 2 interviews, 30 min each back-2-back. First was open file and one on one with PhD prof. Second was semi-closed file, with MD prof and 4th year med student. Both were very low stress and conversational. MD was clearly disappointed I hadn't shadowed any, which was the low point of the interview, otherwise it went well. They never seemed to be out to get me. Interviewees were invited in groups of 8, with 4 students interviewing per hour. During the down time while the other gruop interviewed, just hung out and talked with other applicants and ate snacks. At the end of the 2 hour process, there was a brief financial aid talk with time for any questions. No tour, but that's because they couldn't get student guides for all the tours (an alumni event had claimed most of the free students).
And that was it. From check-in to driving away took about 3.5 hours.
I felt like the interview went really well. It was mostly just a conversation wanting to get to know me...no trick questions, etc. The first was open-file and focused more on my grades. The next was closed-file and I enjoyed it a lot more. Both interviewers were doctors who are faculty at KU Med. The second interview typically has two people, but one of the interviewers wasn't able to make it. Everyone seemed very helpful, informative, and I enjoyed the day overall.
Since my interview was in the afternoon, I had the morning to get rid of my nerves. Talking with the med students really helped because they were reassuring and my interviewers were very laid back so I was not as nervous as I thought I would be. Overall, the day went very well
Overall, it was a great interview experience with great interviewers. They were all very nice; none tried to trick me or make me uncomfortable with questions.
when you arrive, you'll get a name tag and then go to a room with the other applicants. everyone was OOS, so we had a lot to talk about.
the first meeting of the day was about an hour where a very nice lady explains the interview schedule, and tells to relax and enjoy the day. then we went back to the room and waited to be called by our first interview, which was one-on-one, open file, with the person who would be presenting us to the committee. my interviewer was very nice. i completely froze for the first question (why medicine?) and she kept asking it in different ways so that i would have a chance to do well. that was awesome - it seemed like the more i was able to talk, the more i relaxed, so i'm glad she was so patient. next, the second interview was with another faculty member and a 4th year, closed file (they had personal statement and experiences, but no grades or scores). i felt like that interview was a lot easier, maybe because i had practice with the previous one. then it was lunch time (lasagna, broccoli, salad, strawberry cheesecake or lemon cake, yum). a third-year sat at our table and we were able to ask questions and talk about the school candidly. after lunch was the financial aid presentation. kinda boring, but i don't know how they could have made it better. then was the student-led tour, except we didn't see much because it was snowing, and too cold to go outside so we toured the areas that could be accessed by enclosed walkways - some classrooms, stood outside the anatomy lab, book store, library. then there was a reception with the office of cultural enhancement and diversity - we just sat in a comfortable room, ate snacks, talked about school and how friendly and supportive everyone was.
It was okay. I was very nervous because this was my first and only interview. The process is not stressful unless you make it that way. They served great food but I couldnt eat because I wasnt feeling well (lasagna, broccoli, salad, and cheesecake). Also the people I interviewed with were great. I would love to have them as classmates. They can be a litte intimidating when discussing their backgrounds and how they were accepted to 2-3 schools already.
I was a repeat interviewer from last year, so my interview day went by very well as I knew what to expect from KU. It definitely helps with the nerves. I knew coming in that the focus would be on what I have done to strengthen my candidacy, so I really focused on that. My GPA and MCAT are a little average, and last year the PhD I interviewed with was most interested in the academic side of it. This year, I was lucky to interview with an MD which wanted to talk most about my shadowing/volunteer experiences and my work as an EMT. I think PhD's care more about which candidate would make the better STUDENT whereas the MD's focus on who would make the better doctor. I can only hope that I am right. The first interview is one-on-one with the person who is presenting your file to the admissions committee, therefore it is open file. The second, is two-on-one and they have only seen your personal statement and secondary applications. Overall, my day went well and I went back to the hotel (Best Western is the best choice for anyone coming in) feeling like I may have got in this time. You have a 1 in 4 chance of acceptance, so why not me!
Overall, an exciting experience. The students absolutely loved to be there! The lunch with the 2nd yr students was very helpful. And lectures on Podcast....amazing!
Overall I thought it was a pretty good day. It was very organized and the people seemed friendly. The interviews were relaxed for the most part, but you still have to be prepared to answer some tough questions.
Interviewers were nice, positive people. Everyone seemed helpful and enthusiastic about the school. While the facilities were not the greatest, they were adequate. My fellow interviewees were also all very cool, and I would definitely enjoy having them as classmates.
The overall experience was great. I had very friendly interviewers, and my interview could not have gone better. I was shocked that they did not ask me about my grades or mcat score as I've been given the impression that they are high on numbers. They were geniunely interested in me as a person, and how well I would fit into this profession. There were not pressing and very relaxed.
When I arrived I knew KU was a good school and I was willing to go there. When I left I was excited about the possibility of attending an excellent school.
The whole experience was nice. Some boring parts, e.g. FAFSA info, but this is difficult to make interesting, I'm sure. The interviewers were cool, and their questions weren't as lame as I had expected them to be (fellow interviewees claimed that KU's questions were more ''intense'' than the other schools they had interviewed at. This may be true, but I didn't find them to be too bad.)
It was definitely positive as a whole. The students we met were nice and very honest. The interview is split into two parts, with the first being a 1 on 1 open file interview. My interviewer wasn't necessarily hostile but definitely challenged me on the majority of my answers and I feel like he spent just as much time telling me what HE thought was the right answer as opposed to just letting me say my piece. Still, he was engaged in the conversation and that made the process go a lot faster. The second interview is 2 on 1 and is closed file. Most of these questions are hypothetical (''what would you do if you were in this scenario, etc.''). My interviewers were a lot more laid back and it seemed like much more of a conversation than an interogation. All in all a positive experience.
The day went fairly smooth. First was an info session, followed by financial aid and lunch with medical students. Next was a meeting with the deans and a student led facility tour. Unfortunately I was in the last block of interviewers, we had about an hour to wait after the tour before we were called back. Overall the day was stress free and they seemed to really be interested in me as a person.
The first interview was very intense but the second was very conversational. However, both were good experiences. Overall it is very low stress and the day moves at a good pace.
I had 2, 30 minute interviews. The first was open file with one physician, on the commitee. The second was a M3 and a PhD, who had my personal statement, supplemental, and activities. They were nice and wanted to get to know me.
Anticipated for more challenging and ethical questions but none were asked during the interview. My 2nd interview was not 100% closed file; the two interviewers already read my essay and some of my volunteer activities; I guess they just haven't got access to my grades and test score...whew thank GOD. KU has a lot of rural programs as well as international programs for their students so I can't wait to enter this school. In addition, some of the abroad programs even grant scholarships to eligible students, how awesome is that.
Overall it was good, you have one open file interview that is one on one and then a two on one that is closed file. One of my two on one interviewers seemed like a jerk and was very full of himself. The others were nice though.
Great experience. I am an out of state and interviewed in the first block. Thus I had an 8 am and 9 am interview followed by a personal discussion with the associate dean about the admissions timeline (they rank and get back to people quickly but don't deny anyone until March). The tour was comprehensive. The facilities aren't the best but they are adequate. The fitness center is fantastic considering the amount of people it serves. Short financial aid presentation followed by lunch with current M1's. All students were relaxed and had personalities...something I can't say for all the schools I've visited. Food was decent. Associate dean's gave a short presentation on the new curriculum and use of tablet PC's and then we were free to go. I headed to the book store and used the 20% off ticket they gave me to nab a $10 "jaydoc" t-shirt to work out in...All in all a place worth looking at.
The first interview is conducted by a member of the selection committee and is open file. The second interview is conducted by two people and closed file (they only see your essay and secondary app I think). After the interview there was lunch with med students, a presentation about financial aid and curriculum and finally a tour
There are two 30 minute interviews. The first one is open file and the second one is semi-closed file (no GPA or MCAT scores). I was very impressed with everyone I met as well as the facilities.
The overall experience was good. Everyone had 2 back to back 30 minute one-on-one interviews. The first interviewer has access to your entire file, including grades, and the other interviewer can only see your essay and activities. I had a great first interviewer who really just tried to get to know me and focused on what I had done to prepare for medical school. My second interviewer was a little different from the others because he was put in on short notice, so unfortunately he had not seen my file and could only ask me basic questions. The only negative part of the day was that we had a whole hour to wait around by ourselves, so I wish I had brought a magazine or something.
The first interview was a one-on-one open file conducted by a faculty member. The second interview was immediately after that and was a two-on-one closed file. One was a clinical preceptor at KU Med and one was a private physician who drove all the way out from Garden City just to do interviews for KU.
The two on one was a little strange for me because they just kinda shot questions at me. After I finished answering one question, the other person was immediately ready to ask another one. Tip: if you have a choice...make the interviewers sit close to one another so you don't have to keep on turning your head to make eye contact with both.
There were a lot of people interviewing (30-40)that day, split up into groups. Each hour a different group interviews. Your first interviewer is a member of the admissions committee, and that interview lasts about 30 minutes and is open file. The second interview consisted of a faculty member and a physician from the community. They had access to your personal statement and to your activities listed on AMCAS, but did not have any grades/MCAT. That interview lasted 30 minutes, and it seemed as though they had a prescribed set of questions to get through, whereas the first interview was more conversational.
Good interview...~50 students there during the whole day, but interviews were spread throughout the whole day. Lots of information thrown at once without any handouts...in one ear and out the other. First interview date for regular admissions.
There were 2 interviews. The first was open file with a member of the selection committee...consisted a total of 30 minutes. Directly afterwards was another interview that was semi closed (no access to grades, courses taken, GPA, MCAT) and was done with a physician (alumni) and a 4th year med school.
There was a 30-minute open file one-on-one interview followed by a 30-minute closed file two-person interview. It was really low stress. The interviers were not given a prescribed set of questions, so they were just trying to get to know us better so that they could fill out an evaluation sheet.
Signed in, had plenty of time to relax and talk to other students before my own interview (great cookies provided). The first interview was by a PhD instructor for 30 min, this one was open file. The second interview directly afterwards was with a 4th year med student and an MD and was closed file, also 30 mins long. I knew they were important interviews, but they seemed much more like conversations with new friends rather than stressful judgements. If you're interviewing here, just relax and be honest. I applied early decision, which meant no time for a tour, but they can arrange a tour for you beforehand if you ask. I think regular decision applicants get a tour. A tour after the interview is pointless for ED applicants because admission decisions are made the next day.
Overall it was a great experience wether I get in or not. The adminastration was very friendly. The interviewers were respectful and during the interview they seemed to be interested in what I had to say.
First interview is one on one and open file. You stay in the same room and then two more interviewers come to you. One is a fourth year student and the other a physician. This interview is closed file. The interviews were low stress and very enjoyable. It's not a walk in the park but they are very kind and not in attack mode. In some ways that makes it harder to get a read on how you are doing. Most people feel like they do quite well in interviews like that so only time will tell who get's in and who does not. It takes more than a month to hear from them (that's what they told us anyway). Someone asked about in state and out of state acceptance and the answer given was not really an answer at all. So they avoided that question and I have no idea how they do it.
I loved my first interviewer, he seemed down to earth and I just enjoyed the conversation. The first interview was open file. The second interview was closed file and it was two on one. This was my first two on one interview and I found it quite difficult. I also wasn't getting very positive vibes from the interviewers...although they did crack a few jokes in the beggining.
The first interview was open file and the doc didn't bring my file, but knew it very well! They wanted to know about me as a person, where i came from, how i got here, why i'm here, etc. Digging in on me. Sell, Sell, Sell!! The 2nd was closed file and we did alot of why KU, lets pretend, etc. Both were relaxed, yet wanted specific answers
There are actually two interviews, one after the other. The first is with one person (doctor in my case), who has your entire file at his disposal. He is the one presenting you to the adcom. The second interview was with two people (a doctor and a 4th yr med student in my case), and they only had your ECs and personal statement. My two interviews were awesome, especially the second one, which was really just like a conversation rather than a situation where I had to work really hard to sell myself.
Also, if anyone is curious, I'm an out-of-state applicant, so never fear, it IS possible to get an interview if you are in that situation.
A wonderful day, including a pretty good lunch, they have a fitness center thats free for students and well equiped, the whole place seems well organized and people are working hard, but are still down to earth and friendly
Overall, I think the interview questions were predictable. The first interview was open file and the second was closed file. They occurred one after another and the interviews were VERY laid back.
I was the morning session, so I had to get there between 7:45 and 8:00 am, first we had a talk by the admissions dean, then interviews started, my first wasn't until 9:30, so I had an hour to wait, my first interview was my one-on-one open file interview, mine was with a PhD, this is the person that presents your file to the admissions committee, then you wait an hour between interviews, my second interview was partially closed file (the can see your activities and personal statement, but no grades or MCAT), this interview was with a fourth year med student, and another PhD. After the interviews we had a speech on financial aid, then lunch, then the assistant dean of student affairs spoke, then we had a short tour, and that was the end. Both interviews are very relaxed and more conversation like than stressful interview. Be prepared to wait and to make small talk with the other interviewees. I was pleasantly surprised that I was not asked any questions about my grades or MCAT score.
It went pretty well. Just remember that you are not going to click with every interviewer and try to keep your cool and remain relaxed inbetween interviewers.
It was a very laid back process and the other applicants were very friendly so we had a good atmosphere. Get to know the other applicants and it will ease any anxieties you have. You may already know this but there are two interviews, a one-on-one and a two-on-one. Good Luck!!!
I had afternoon interviews, so the morning was filled with talks about what to expect, how they accept students, financial aid discussion, lunch, and waiting! My first interview was open-file, one-on-one. The second interview was closed-file, two-on-one. Each interview lasted 30 minutes. I was asked many, many questions! The other students who were also interviewing that day were really friendly. You spend a lot of time waiting, so be prepared to sit around a bit.
First interview just couldn't have gone better. This was obviouly the relaxed, get-to-know-you-interview. I was very happy with this one. The second interview was two on one. They were a little more aggresive than the first interview - intensionally I think. I got rattled and lost my cool. If the interviewers get a little aggresive and even seem rude you must take it in stride. Show no signs of frustration, they want to know whether you can be cool.
The interviews at KU are a little strange, so I'll try to clarify here. There are 2 thirty minute interviews. The first is open file and conducted by a MD or PhD who teaches at the school. The second is closed file and conducted by an MD or PhD and a medical student.
Both interviews were very relaxed in informal. More like a conversation than an traditional interview.
DON'T GIVE UP! Medical school admissions EVERYWHERE is screwed up. I was waitlisted and got accepted 2 weeks before school started. There are people who were accepted shortly after their interviews and I am doing better than more than half of my class. It just goes to show that medical admissions committees do not have the ability to accurately judge someone's potential. The have only markers (MCAT, GPA, etc.) Admissions committees LIKE candidates who bettered themselves (taking extra classes and excelling, getting more clinical or research experience, etc.) and re-applied as stronger candidates. I was one of those re-applicants who got in. DO NOT GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS!!! God has given me everything I have and made me everything I am! JESUS LOVES YOU!!! :)
I've known this school for quite a while and nothing really suprised me. Was not impressed with anything they had to show. That being said it wasn't a bad experience either. Would be an OK place to go to school.
I came away extremely disappointed from the interview. I went into it wanting to be impressed, but since I had already interviewed elsewhere, I knew what to expect. This was much below my expectations for an interview. Also, almost everyone else I was interviewing with was older than me, had been rejected by KU once already, and was only applying to KU.
When we applicants arrived, we were given short talks about how the admissions committee works and financial aid. Then we ate lunch with a few of the students there. After lunch, we sat around for quite some time while waiting for our 2 interviews (One was 1-on-1, open file; the other was 2-on-1, semi-open). The waiting made the day seem rather drawn-out, but conversation killed time pretty well.
I don't want to go there, but I'm glad I had the chance to practice my interviewing on them.... very low stress. They are polite and just want to get to know you.
There are two interviews: one open-file, one mostly-closed-file. I had a Ph.D. for the first, and two surgeons for the second. The first was somewhat business-like, but still positive. The second was even better. Getting in KU from out of state is difficult; only 10% of the class goes to out-of-staters. Good luck!
I thought the interview was unproffesional and one of my interviewers should not have been allowed to speak w/ prospective students. I was accepted last week and if I chose to attend KU I will try to help change the interview process.
Two interviews, one open file (with the Selection Committee member who will present your file to the Committee) + one closed file with two people (doc + 4th yr student in my case). The first interview was a bit stressful and it's important to persuade the person of the strength of your app so (s)he will take that to make a case for you to be there. Judging from others' experiences, this can be a random conversation about nothing, a nice conversation, or a blunt defense of your application. The second interview was mostly ethical & activities questions. In both, it's useful to know your app well and point to details of things you have experienced, link this to thoughts about ethical issues.
Overall my experience at my KU-med interview was a good one, mainly because of the quality of conversation that I had with each of my interviewer. Although I was asked some ethical questions and the "why medicine question", those types of questions constituted a minimal amount of each interview.....both of my interviews were very conversational. The stress level was minimal, and the KU faculty and students that I met where extremely kind and very supportive of their school.
Overall the interview was easy. They just wanted to get to know you. There were no trick questions or questions requiring correct answers. They simply want to know what makes you tick.
It was a very low stress process, except for the two interviews being back-to-back with no break. First interview was one-on-one (this interviewer presents you to the committee) and the second was two-on-one including a 4th year student.
talk to your fellow applicants. it helps to relax and get your mind into the interview mode. overall, i had a great time and got to know a group of about 10 other applicants a little better.
It was a nice day overall. For the few hours when your group is interviewing, you just hang out in a room and chat. Talking with the med students at lunch is definitely a good way to hear about what it is like as a student.
I was underimpressed --plus they kept saying how they didn't have money for anything (like soda or a technician) and tuition is increasing 20% for the next 5 years! (each year I believe)
The interviews were a mix of conversation and ethical/hypothetical questions. The interviewers were very nice and didn't seem to pressure you at all. Be prepared for alot of waiting around before, inbetween, and after interviews. Overall, I think that the day could have been better organized, but was still enjoyable.
Overall, it was a stressful but good interview. I found out about my interview just two days before due to an email error, so I would have felt more together, prepared and less stressed if I would have known about it sooner. So, if anybody out there has applied to KU and has not heard back, I recommend you call because they communicate through email and it's possible you didn't get it.
What are your suggestions for the admissions office?
Applicants commonly suggested improving the efficiency of the admissions decision process, providing more thorough and longer tours of the facilities, and enhancing communication by providing the names of interviewers in advance and using email for decisions.
It's a long wait until March to find out if you get in or not.
Allow time for a longer tour. We only got to see the outside of many of the buildings because we didn't have time to go in and actually see the facilities.
No suggestions to the admissions office. They were very nice, and responsive to any requests of mine. They also were very good to detail all the information of the interview date (schedule, parking, location, etc). It made it very easy to plan for the day and to know how long to expect to stay.