Overall, applicants ranked the school in the top 19% of interviews, indicating it is highly 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 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 revolve around the applicant's motivations for pursuing medicine, their experiences in healthcare, strengths and weaknesses, past achievements, and their views on the doctor-patient relationship. Additionally, many interviews follow a conversational format and focus on the activities and experiences listed on the applicant's application. Some responses mentioned a specific focus on MMI format, while others explored a wide range of questions tailored to the individual applicant's background and interests.
Tell me more about your experience with language barriers (something I talked about on my secondary)
Tell me about yourself. Tell me about: Volunteer work, how it affected me, what I learned from it, what kind of doctor I wanted to be, what specific event made me interested in medicine.
Tell me about: Where Im from, church, research, job shadowing and what I learned, volunteer work and how it affected me, Phillies or Yankees, Alabama football, high school activities, Greek activities.
Tell me about this ____(weakness)on your transcript/application.
Tell me about your EMT-B experience.
Tell me about a time where you have empathized with someone.
Tell me about yourself. Why do you want to do medicine.
Fill in the Blank:
You are most like you mother in that you are ________.
You are most like your father in that you are ________.
I don't actually remember specific questions, all the interviews were more like conversations, and the interviewers asked me questions about the activities i wrote about (one interviewer had all my info, and the 2 others only had titles of activities, so i explained them).
We are the richest country in the world, and yet we have (x number) of people in Alabama with no insurance and receiving substandard care. What do you think about that?
What do you do to get away from the stresses of your job?
Tell me something about yourself that I wouldn't know from reading your application.
Give me 2 strengths and a weakness about yourself.
Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
Talk to me about your shadowing experiences. Which one was the most significant in solidifying your decision to enter medicine?
I wasnt asked this but its a good qstn : what makes you a better applicant than others....think about this one, dont come up with the obvious answers..keep it in mind
How you describe yourself? What are three of your strengths? What is one of your weaknesses? Name a time when you have failed. This interview was also very pleasant though- very conversational!
Pick an issue that you have special knowledge in or have a particularly strong opinion on. I think this guy just wanted to sit an argue about something, and we did: all about healthcare. This was my only slightly irritating experience the entire day; luckily, I'm used to people who like to argue for the sake of arguing.
Where do I see myself in 10 years? Most (95%) of the questions related to what I put on my application; this interview was more like a conversation than an interview- extremely enjoyable!
Why did you lie on your essay by saying that you went to a "top ranked" undergraduate school? (School was ranked #1 by US News and World Report while I was attending. Interviewer disagreed.)
What, in your opinion, is the difference between a physician and a scientist? (My interviewer argued that there isn't any difference... this ended up being the bulk of my interview with him)
Would you participate in research here at UAB? Which area would you like to do research in? Why would you like to do that? How does that fit in to your goal of becoming a __________ (for me, it was emergency physician, but I imagine he could have asked this about any field of interest you may have mentioned).
Students said most interesting question asked at University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine discussed various topics such as career motivations, experiences with underserved groups, and personal characteristics. The interview format may have been an MMI based on responses mentioning nondisclosure, but the questions primarily focused on personal insights, career choices, and problem-solving scenarios.
If you could have dinner with anyone alive or dead, who would it be? Also, if you could snap your fingers and be anywhere in the world any time of the year, where would you go?
Do you believe in global warming? Do you think man is causing it? Are we out of time to do anything?
Also, I went to a class and the professor asked me a question about the material he was covering. I guessed and got it right and was rewarded with a key chain.
There is a growing disparity between the number of family practice physicians in this country and the number of specialty physicians. The US needs more family practice doctors. How would you fix the problem?
What do you do in your spare time?
(not an interesting question, but for everyone who's about to have their interviews, I know it helps to know as many of the questions as possible :)
Unfortunately my interviewer did not ask any terribly interesting questions. He stated the comment areas on the eval form and asked me to emphasize things that he would be able to comment on.
What are your biggest fears regarding a career in medicine? (This is if you consider the question "How would you compare yourself to an apple?" to be a joke question... it WAS a joke question, right???)
There were no surprise questions asked. Mainly, the interviewer wanted to know my motivations for applying and why they should accept me to their school.
If you could only pick one of the following issues to address, which would it be: prescription drugs for senior citizens, HIV drugs for countries that cannot afford them, or the cost of luxury drugs?
What would your sister say is your worst characteristic? (After I gave my answer, he asked me how my worst characteristic could be a good thing) What would your brother say is your best characteristic? (Again, he asked me to turn my answer around and say how it could be a bad thing)
Not really that many questions, just had interesting, relaxed conversations with all three interviewers. They make it a point not to stress you out--interviews are just to find out more about you.
Students said most difficult question asked at University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine discussed a range of topics including ethical dilemmas, personal resilience, insights on the doctor-patient relationship, and views on healthcare reform. While there were no specific mentions of MMI or nondisclosure agreements, the questions varied from scenarios about patient interactions to inquiries about personal experiences and opinions on healthcare policies.
Asked me an ethical question about one of the EMS calls I ran that I talked about in my secondary
Probably #3. I didn't know what else to say. Honestly, all three of the interviewers were so congenial that I didn't feel like I was being interviewed at all. I could pretty much control what I wanted to talk about. It was on of those experiences that really make you feel confident in yourself when you leave.
No very difficult questions. One out of four interviews was friendly but conversation was formal and forced. My other three were conversational and relaxing.
I had bad grades one semester due to family problems, etc and was asked knowing what I know now, and how my GPA was affected, would I go back and change anything.
I know you've been around medicine for a while (my parents are physicians), but tell me about the first experience that made you realize that medicine really was for you.
No really difficult questions...I guess one could be, ''Tell me something that you took away with you after volunteering at a charity hospital that summer.''
The follow-up to the above, in which the interviewer aggresively advocated a socialized medicine model, while I argued against it and also tried to incorporate the prior family medicine changes at the same time.
None were too tough, it was more conversational than anything else. Maybe "What one thing would you erase from your transcript if you could?"
Nothing, really. All questions were typical, "to be expected" sort of questions.Perhaps, if I could pick one it would be "Tell me about yourself?"
If I knew I wanted to return to Alabama, why did I leave the state for a college education? What did Georgia offer that the University of Alabama did not?
How many Americans are currently living without health insurance? (This from the guy who told me that he was going to be my easiest interviewer! Needless to say, he was far from it.)
One interviewer drilled me on my personal statement. It wasn't "difficult" per say, but it was a bit nerve-racking. He even began one question with "I'm going to challenge a statement you made in your personal statement". None of the questions, however, were all that difficult.
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 reviewing their primary and secondary applications, practicing with mock interviews, utilizing resources like Student Doctor Network (SDN), and researching the school's website. Many applicants also focused on preparing answers to common questions and staying updated on current healthcare issues to feel more confident during the interview.
SDN, re-read my application, various online MMI resources
I looked over my secondary application and checked out the UASOM website a little bit. I also had a pre-professional practice interview at my undergrad university. Plus I rocked out to some tunes before, did my devotional, and called my best friend. It's important to unwind right before, especially if you get anxious about these sorts of things (like me). I really didn't do any hardcore preparation. Be yourself.
Read every question on this site for UAB and made a Q and A sheet. Listen to stuff u should know podcast and this american life podcast on health reform and read about it in the economist. Knew my AMCAS stuff backwards and forwards and knew every aspect of my research.
SDN interviews, read their website (reading the ''State of the School'' address and referencing seemed to really impress one of the interviewers), read books/websites/journals about healthcare coverage
SDN, googled ''medical school interview questions'' and practiced, UAB's website, brushed up on recent health insurance policies (some people did get that question), reread my applications, essay, and research papers.
Read over my application materials (which was good because one interviewer asked questions based on the AMCAS essay), researched the school, read up on current health issues (it made me feel more confidant going in, but they didn't ask me any questions in this area)
Applicants were overwhelmingly impressed by the friendliness and welcoming atmosphere of the school, including the faculty, staff, and students. They also appreciated the emphasis on student feedback, the customizable curriculum, extensive research opportunities, and the high-quality facilities and hospitals associated with the program.
It seems like the admin puts a lot of effort into making a large class size feel smaller/more like a community, which I really appreciate. Students said they share resources despite the ranking system/AOA.
I was impressed with how student-centered this school is. They ask for feedback from students, and then immediately make changes to the school to fit what the students request. They also emphasize a great work-life balance, and the school is a very low-stress environment overall.
The people. My first interviewer told me that he could tell I had put my heart into my personal statement and into the secondary essays. It meant a lot to me that he had read them in detail, since I worked so much on them. The second and third interviewers also went out of their way to get to know me and convey that they were glad I was there.
On another note, I'm kinda an art kid at heart, so the interior design of the building impressed me. (kinda weird, I know.) It's a really aesthetically pleasing place compared to a lot of the other schools and hospitals. A good learning environment.
Professionalism of admissions staff, size and quality of medical education facilities, the expansive health care infrastructure in Birmingham, the comments from current students.
Everyone was very friendly and really tried to relax us. The hospital system is very extensive and they are constantly trying to improve the facilities.
New building looks awesome. The students were very helpful and friendly, and admissions staff was on top of their game and very helpful.
The interviewers were very relaxed, and it was not hard to talk to them at all. This was my first interview, so I'm glad that it went so well.
The facilities, the students, and most of all, the faculty. The area was beautiful, and I could honestly see myself attending school there. My interviewers were awesome!
Friendliness of the students; new, beautiful facilities; how easy going/interesting the interviewers were; enthusiasm of the students to meet the interviewees and stay in contact if we had questions; better than I expected match list
The M4 that lead our tour was very helpful and had nothing but incredible things to say about the school. It seemed to have given him the education, experience, and contacts he needs to land him whatever residency he wants.
The friendliness of everyone there, not just the students and faculty, but the group of interviewees that were also present. It says alot about the type of people they potentially want in their school.
Everyone was very friendly, the interview process was well organized and ran smoothly, and the student tour gave us a good opportunity to interact with students other than the hand picked tour guide - and they also were very excited about the school. Also, the 2007 class will be the first to use an integrated, organ-based curriculum.
all three interviewers were very nice, the new parts of the hospital are great (they didn't really show us any of the older parts), tons of study space for the students in the medical school building (computer labs, study carrols, lounge areas, study rooms, etc)
The students that gave us our tour were not *props* - it was obvious they really did like the school and that they were very well treated by the school, faculty, other students, etc.
Access to UAB's facilities, including new medical buildings, new gym, newly renovated med school, etc.
Interviewers were really interesting and interested people.
Other than that, the day went well, with three interviews, some that were open disussions of practicing medicine in Alabama and others where interviewers asked preprepared questions. Also, the medical students that I met were actually really nice and seemed happy with their time at UAB. The hospital tour was inspiring - there are so many research and clinical opportunities available to UAB students!
The entire experience was impressive. It was obvious that the interviewers really loved medicine and deeply cared about the future generations of physicians. Students seemed to genuinely love their school.
A very well organized admissions office - extremely helpful. Nice facilities, incredible depth and breadth of clinical opportunities. Opportunity to choose among 3 campuses for 3rd and 4th years, offering different environments for rotations.
Happiness and friendliness of everyone involved, from the students to the interviewers to my fellow applicants, the superior level of the 3rd and 4th year training
Extremely well organized. Student tour guides seemed to genuinely love their medical school experience. The newly renovated Volker Hall (where most 1st & 2nd year classes are held) is beautiful. Laid-back, conversational interviews.
The opening presentation was given by the dean. He repeatedly stressed that the interviews were designed only to get to know the applicants better, there were no "high pressure" situations, and any concerns should be addressed directly to him...gave direct contact numbers and email. (Although it was curious to me that he spent so much time talking about how to resolve interview problems/handle concerns or inappropriate questions.)
I had visited UAB before so I knew about the great facilities and the new hospital. Everyone was extremely friendly and did everything possible to make me feel relaxed.
UAB has an incredible number of facilities. You really need to see them all in person to fully appreciate it, but with the school having so many opportunities at students disposal, it has got to be an excellent place to study medicine.
Applicants were commonly negatively impressed by factors such as outdated facilities, lack of information on Step scores, unenthusiastic tour guides, long interview days, lack of diversity, competitive grading systems, and disorganization during tours. Suggestions included improving facilities, providing more detailed information, ensuring enthusiastic and informative tours, and addressing concerns about diversity and competitiveness.
Students are ranked by quartiles using both their clinical grades and nonclinical grades. Also, AOA.
The school's building itself seemed pretty unwelcoming. I didn't get a "camaraderie is important" vibe, either. The students were friendly enough, but our tour guide was unprofessional in how lackadaisical his attitude was. We didn't get to see the cadaver lab or any of the simulation rooms - if there were any.
The absence of an anatomy/histology course. I like the new "integrated" curriculum, but it's a shame that new students are missing out on hardcore anatomic knowledge.
The grading system. Pass/Fail with Quartile ranking that ''you only have to know about if you so desire.'' Please. It is a highly ranked state school which must show preference to Alabama residents: the competition is necessary to help the superstar graduates attain residencies from similarly ranked institutions.
The three campuses and the ''Preference Questionnaire.''
Nothing, really. My only complaint was that every sandwich served at lunch was soaked in mayo, which I can't stand...see how hard I'm having to dig to criticize the school?
Out of state tuition is unavoidable and pretty expensive; seemed to focus way too much of the USNews Rankings and their improvement; I'm not a huge fan of Alabama overall after Nick Saban
I'm a 34yo non-traditional student with an extremely varied (and somewhat checkered) academic and work history. While I understand that the interview committee needs to address those issues, I was essentially asked about nothing else. Questions like why UAB?, why be a doctor?, what are your strengths/weaknesses?, etc. never came up.
The clinical facilities were okay but lacked the high volume and bustle that I would have liked to see. Could have just been that I saw some of the less busy areas.
Although my interview was conducted with a factulty member at the medical school, he was not a physician or teacher of human medicine. Although I'm sure his experience with the school was extensive, I felt that it was hard to relate my experiences in medicine (ie. volunteering, in-hospital work, issues related to practice, etc).
The manner in which the dean of admissions talked about the way you must select either the birmingham, huntsville, or tuscaloosa campus for your last two years. he made it sound like the school was doing us such a big favor to allow us to have some imput on where we will be placed for the last two years, even if it is not our first choice. also, there are three interviews that count for admissions, but if you have impressive research, you get an interview/informational session, and if you are a minority, you also have an inteview/informational session, so i ended up having 5 interviews in a row, while some of my counterparts had 3 and were able to take a break in between.
The tour guides were friendly & enthusiastic, but the tour was lackluster. How can I believe that your hospital is so great if we never see anything but the lobby?
Tour guide lacked a little enthusiasm, less structured tour than other places. He pretty much asked us where we wanted to go...but I didn't know that much about the hospital, I didn't say anything in particular
UAB didn't seem to have the research focus that I thought; you could possibly be place on one of three campuses for your last two years (your top choice is not guaranteed)
There were quite a few students, about 20-25 students interviewing that day. The medical students' biggest piece of advice was to not go to class and to choose the ones to attend very, very selectively. I feel conflicted about this because it means low student morale, low student participation and faculty interaction, and means that if you do go to class, you're penalized for not spending time doing other stuff. The medical students that led my tour group almost seem to brag that out of a lecture of 160 enrolled students, the smallest attendance was 8. Also, the grading and ranking system sound really competitive. The class of 160 is divided into quartiles and grades are awarded by your class standing, which seems like it would foster much more competition and constant comparision among the student body. Also, filling out the campus selection form within 2 weeks of the interview can be daunting when you don't know much about the Huntsville and Tuscaloosa campuses, other than what you've read from the website and the short video that is shown during Dr. Smith's opening address. It seems like those campuses are better if you want to eventually go into community health.
The interviewers were all physicians, which was nice, but they didn't seem to know as much about the school as they could have. They actually answered some of my questions incorrectly (according to the students I talked with later).
The quasi-illegal questions (age, significant other, kids). No clear info about whether one could establish in-state residency for tuition purposes after 1 year. The low value that the students placed on their course lectures, not a well-integrated curriculum.
That I only got to talk to two current students, and they were fourth years. Interviewees had very little contact with current students- which struck me as odd.
How very segregated the medical center is: students were primarily white, patients African-American, researchers Asian-American....the whole thing was a bad stereotype.
One of my interviewers was hostile, condescending, and confrontational. He essentially asked me NO questions and spent our entire time lecturing me about how I wasn't good enough to get in. (This was the same interviewer who accused me of lying on my essay.) Also, I was very disappointed to hear the upper classmen extolling the virtues of how you can get through your first two years (including anatomy lab) without attending any classes...you can hire a scribe, study anatomy from a book, and only show up for tests. Why should I pay tuition and relocate when it could just be an online degree???
The interviewers didn't seem to have read my application even though they had most of my information and it was supposed to partly open file.
I had to travel from New York on less than one week's notice (I didn't want to postpone it).
The lecture rooms are a little dingy but they are building a great new building. Also, I'm not really keen on not being guaranteed which campus you'll be at for years 3 and 4. Also, students there said that there is somewhat of an overcompetitive atmosphere.
We were herded around like cattle from room to room. Each interviewer spoke with at least 5 applicants in a 3 hour period. Only 25 minutes were alotted for each interview and I don't think that that is enough time to get to know someone.
Not much diversity, ethnically or religiously. It really is in the Bible Belt, and is very WASPish. That said, everyone is super nice, and if you've grown up in the south, like me, it shouldn't be a big deal.
Applicants commonly wished they had known more about the relaxed and low-stress nature of the interviews at UAB, the importance of bringing a pen, the need to familiarize themselves with the campus and parking ahead of time, and the requirement to select a campus for clinical rotations soon after the interview. Some also mentioned the number of other interviewees present, the emphasis on GPAs and MCAT scores in the admissions process, and the availability of resources and information provided by the school.
Not much! I think UAB did a really good job of providing a lot of resources beforehand for us to learn about the school.
I wish I had known who my interviewer was going to be. I also wish I had known how lonnnng the interview day was going to be - I was there for seven hours!
That they weren't going to give me a sressful interview. And that there were going to be about 20 other interviewees there alongside me for the day. (I had interviewed 2 days prior in Memphis, and there were only 5 of us.)
How the day was structured. Interviews are given in the morning after a general introduction to the school and information about the curriculum. Video and lunch follows the interviews. The day is ended with a walking tour of the hospital.
How many interviews there were. Though they were all relaxing and ''easy'', the day leaves you mentally exhausted and very, very glad to be done with the whole thing.
I wish I had known the name of my interviewers before-hand. The UASOM contains a link several faculty members who are part of the admissions commitee on their website. Their bio's can be found on a web search engine.
I actually didn't know there are 3 different campuses; starting your third year, 106 students stay at the birmingham campus, 35 go to tuscaloosa, and 35 go to huntsville.
I think their parking maps are wrong so you may want to check out the parking situation. One of the streets (15th?) is closed as well. I got there early but the staff didnt show up until 7:45am so no need to get their too early.
That you MUST select the location where you want to do your 3rd & 4th year rotations soon after the interview. You can choose from Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and Huntsville.
They have a "scoring sheet" that goes from 1 or 2 to 8 or 9. There are guidelines on the form for where a student must be placed, based on scores. They go strictly by scores (GPA, MCAT). The interviews are essentially irrelevant. "Interviews can only move you up a maximum of one point. Negative interviews can move you down onw or more points."The decisions are based on the numbers with little leeway for personal impressions by the interviewers. This was repeated by all 3 interviewers. Made the trip seem like a waste of everybody's time.
The area the medcial school is in seemed a little grotty, and the buildings were really old and dingy, BUT they're builidng a huge new hall where most the medical stuff will be that's going to be open soon and looks really nice.
Applicants generally found the interview experience at UAB to be laid-back and conversational, with interviewers being friendly and interested in getting to know them personally. Many appreciated the welcoming atmosphere, the interaction with faculty and students, and the balanced mix of personal and structured components throughout the day.
I think the combination of MMIs and 30-minute one-on-one interviews is a good balance between the personal aspect of a traditional interview and the various supposed benefits of MMIs.
This looks like a great school! Opportunities to care for the underserved, as well as tons of research opportunities. The interviewers, admissions committee members, and students were all extremely friendly and welcoming. Birmingham was also a great place to hang out after the interview. There are great restaurants, shopping, and places to go running/walking/hiking.
Take the essays seriously if you haven't done them yet. I really think that's what helped me get accepted as an out-of-state applicant so quickly. A great mcat score and gpa only go so far. All they know about you is what you tell them, and you might get an interview based on how well you communicate your genuine passion to them. Also, it helped me to talk to the other interviewees throughout the day. We all opened up and encouraged one another as we went in for interviews. By the end of the day, I felt like I had known a few of them for forever. This really dispels anxiety and puts you in a good mental state for the interviews.
Three interviews @ 25 minutes each, one-on-one with each interviewer. The interviewers were incredibly nice and easygoing -- by the end of my second interview I was giving book recommendations to my interviewer. Very low-stress, they simply want to see that you're able to talk as a person.
Interviews are open file, but your MCAT/GPA are blacked out, so they can see the rest of your AMCAS (essays/ECs/LoRs) -- they will have read your app and they WILL ask questions about your essays, so be prepared to field questions about anything you wrote in your essay.
Questions I thought I was gonna be asked but wasn't: Why do u wanna be a doctor? Why UAB? Healthcare reform. My MCAT stuff. My classes and GPA.
Everything was basically tell me and elaborate on... Volunteer work, shadowing, research, and how it has effected me and my medical interest.
The School of Medicine at UAB is definitely an underdog in terms of prestige. The high quality of their educational and residency programs don't reflect that status, though.
Also, please realize that there are 3-5 INDIVIDUAL interviews that last for 25 minutes each. This questionnaire doesn't have a good way to convey that fact.
All of the questions were straight foreward, applicable, and appropriate. The interviewers were very friendly and laid back. As long as you prepare yourself for the general questions "why medicine, why UASOM, strenghts, etc." you will do fine.
Sort of a long day, with interviews, info sessions, and a student-led tour. The whole experience left me with a good impression of the school.
I had 4 interviewers, 3 MD's from the admissions committee and one PhD, because I had a lot of research interests. The PhD interviewer does not factor into the admissions decision (supposedly).
The whole interview experience is really laid back and more conversational get to know you type of stuff. Everyone at the school is really friendly and I was surprised that I thourougly enjoyed the whole day. The hot undergrad students didn't hurt my opinion of the school either.
Overall, a great school, and the price is right (although the tuition is deceptively low...a full accounting includes many thousand in ''fees'' which bring the total budget to $37k/year.
UAB doesn't believe in "stress interviews," so I basically had three conversations. I couldn't believe how nice everyone was about my record. I knew that each of my interviewers really wanted to represent me well by the efforts they made to really get to know me. In fact, most of the time was spent trying to recruit me. One interviewer even gave me tips for the next one! I left feeling fantastic.
Great school. Three, really low-key interviews. I said that they were open file, however, one is completely open file and two are given only partial files. Didn't seem to matter though since the interviewers I had were far more interested in personal things than they were about clubs or whatever. Like everyone has said, everyone is very friendly and seem genuinely excited about being there. The new hospital is beautiful.
Pretty laid back interview. Make sure that you know yourself and can answer the most obvious questions such as 'Tell me about yourself' and 'Why do you want to do medicine'. You should also have answers for questions like ' Why do you want to come to UAB medical college' and 'How would you contribute to UASOM'
The interviews were more like 1 on 1 conversations, not intimidating. Each applicant is given 3 different interviewers in case they don't click with one of them.
Good experience. If you're from Alabama don't pass up this opportunity. They have also changed their curriculum this year to more organ-based. Oh, and you don't have to do your own cadaver disections so that will reduce your lab time.
Overall a pretty good experience; I had a meeting with a doctor to talk about research, and three other interviews. The morning info session was relatively dull, but it provided a lot of info. It took me a long time to find the parking lot from the hotel; I would recommend finging it the night before.
I was really impressed with the whole day. It wasn't very stressfull and most of the interviewers are on the same hall, so no worries about getting lost or being late. I also really liked how the lunch/tour with med students was set up. There was about five people for every one med student so we were able to get answers for a lot of our questions.
Overall, it was a positive experience. The faculty and students both seemed to care about the school, and the students that I talked to were pleased about the quality of education they had received.
The three interviewers asked mostly the same questions. They had a sheet with about six things to find out on it, and they all basically went down the sheet asking the same questions in the same order. As far as I can remember, the topics were: your strengths and weaknesses, motivation for medicine, volunteer experience, campus involvement, hobbies/interests, and other (which is where the most interesting questions came in)
It went very well. I was very stressed going in because this was my first interview and it was late in the year, but 2 seconds into my first interview, I completely relaxed. The interviewers were really enthusiastic and friendly. The interviews are conversational and I even had one interviewer who wished we could have talked longer because we had so much in common! My advice to anyone interviewing at UAB is to
1. know your application materials
2. if you've had research experience, be prepared to talk about it.
and most importantly:
3. BE FRIENDLY. They invited you to interview, so that means you're qualified for med school. Now they just want to see that you can carry on a good conversation and are enthusiastic about becoming a doctor.
Not all the interviewers had the complete file. Each interviewer had to complete a task: one tried to find out how academically motivated i was; another asked me questions about my personal/home life; another asked me about my research experiences and what i want to do in medicine.
laid back. interviewers were nice, one was very outgoing, and one didn't seem to care much ab anything. talked for awhile ab whether it was a good idea for him to fly into New Orleans and rent a car bc he has a meeting next week in lake charles (no airport).
Overall good. My interview with a local physician was not only relaxed and informative, it was actually enjoyable! Be prepared for this interview to be long - mine was over 90 minutes. But, it passed unnoticably.
overall, a very good experience. facilities are great, the medical students were very informative and definitely were happy to be there. inteviews were quite conversational, very low pressure
Interviewing was great, though one of the interviewers was more nervous than I was! The school is great, the facilities nice, the students we met were the kind of people you don't mind having as friends. I felt like I bonded with my interviewers as well as the other interviewees. Kudos to UAB for everything except the hospital tour.
Overall, the day went well. It starts out with a speech by Dr. Smith. He kinda lays the day out for you and ultimately put you at ease. All interviewers had at least 3 interviews that were done by the interview committee members. Some students (myself included) had a 4th or 5th interview based on 'special interests' indicated by the student. I made some reference to conducting research in med school, so I had a separate interview with a guy who pretty much talked about clinical investigation. The first interview started slowly, but the second and fourth (the ones that counted) ended up pretty well. Looking back, i could have answered a couple of questions differently (better), but I suppose there's no use crying over spilled milk.
Introduction by Dr. Smith wasn't that interesting, but it was held in a very nice little auditorium. The interviews were all in the same nice building, which was convenient. Questions were very low-pressure, mostly just to talk about yourself. Lunch was decent, but some of the students who were supposed to answer questions were half-dead from exhaustion. (Reality in advertising?) :)
Overall, I really enjoyed interviewing at UAB and being able to get a better sense of attending medical school there. The interview is fairly low stress, with interviewers having different amounts of information from your application about you. So, keep it in mind and don't assume that your interviewer knows all that you've ever written to UAB.
The students seemed very happy to be there and were a great source of pros and cons. The interviewers help you feel right at home and simply carry on a conversation with you about life in general. It is very laid back, but still very professional.
Pleasant over all. This is my first choice, so I definitely wanted to get all my questions answered, and I think I did. I like the school and the area.
Began with a few breakfast snaks. Then, Dr. Smith talked for a bit and showed us a video. Afterwards, the interviews began. Finally, we had lunch with medical school students and proceeded with the tour.
Try to visit before you interview so that you wont get lost. It is pretty big. Overall, the interview is laidback and low stress. Also, you eat luch with 4th year med students who are very informative and easy to talk to.
Overall a very low stress experience, take it easy, they aren't their to grill you, just put a face to your application and you will be fine. Tell the truth too...it always makes for better conversation.
The intro starts at a little before 8. So get there early. Students seemed to be very happy there. The new Volker Hall is awesome. Be prepare to ask lots of questions to interviewers cuz they ask you that at least 3 times. Overall, it was a pleasant experience.
Very nice interviewers, all practicing MDs in various types of practice. Relaxed and pleasant. Questions were mostly based on AMCAS (1 interviewer has full file, 2 have a summary of the info). Talked a lot about state health issues, clinical experiences, rural practice, etc.. No ethics questions.
Two interviewers were great, the third was a little looney. She started disparaging mental patients and psychiatrists in the interview. I didn't know if she was trying to test me or if she was just a little odd. Other than that, it was pretty impressive.
Great experience, UAB is my choice over Vandy, Hopkins, Baylor and Emory. This is especially a great school if going into surgery, peds, OB/GYN, or rural med.
8:00 - 9:00 - Introduction / Schedule Outline / Short movie
9:00/9:30/10:00/10:30/11:00 - Staggered 25 min. interviews w/ 3 members of Admissions Committee
12:00 - 12:30 - Lunch
12:30 - ~1:45 - Tour
Interviewers were not intimidating. They seemed to really want to get to know you. No pressure tactics were used.
Despite the initially positive impression of the dean, it was overall a very negative experience. I am glad that I went because it confirmed that I did NOT want to be affiliated with UAB...I withdrew my application the next day.
One of my interviewers told me that they didn't want "any strictly religious people to become doctors; for example, a Catholic who doesn't believe in abortions." I was stunned at this direct religious discrimination in a state-supported school. Per the dean's instructions re: contacting him about any inappropriate interviews or questions, I emailed the dean the following day (and contacted the equal opportunity compliance officer). After "reviewing" the situation, the dean told me that they had decided to grant me another interview to replace the one in question. I believed this would only be a further waste of my time and was an indication that the dean wasn't serious about addressing problems. I subsequently spoke with other applicants to UAB from various years and found that many had similarly inappropriate experiences. Even though UAB has a good reputation, my advice is to SERIOUSLY evaluate your options and talk to as many previous applicants and students as possible before applying. I want a school that can TEACH me and teach me HOW to learn...not teach me how to get by with as little effort as possible.
Do not stress at all. The interviewers are really friendly and just want to know all they can about you. Relax and be yourself. Also, before your interview you can ask about medical students that host applicants, I had one and she was really nice, it can also save you some money.
A great, easygoing interview. This is REALLY just a conversation. One interviewer spoke with me about professional football for over half the interview. Relax and be yourself.
To be honest, I did not know a lot about UAB before going, but I left with a huge smile. This school has everything going for it. The faculty and interviewers were all nice. the student led tour was great, my tour guide happily answered every question and seemed to really love her time there. It is definitely one of my top choices now.
UAB is a great school. The people were the nicest I've met, outside of Texas, they were open-minded, and the administration was wholly dedicated to the students. I left very impressed.
I participated in a program at UAB med school this past summer and I was impressed, so I had high expectations for the interviews. I was happy that all interviews were in the same place, but I think that the interviewers were tired from interviewing so many students at once. One interviewer seemed very disinterested and asked me if I had considered going to graduate school. I took this to mean that she felt I wasn't qualified for medical school. She was hard to talk to and wasn't very friendly. The other two interviewers were pretty nice, but one didn't ask many questions we had casual conversation about non-related topics.
first interviewer was late, so he hadn't read my file, and seemed as though he really didn't want to be there. second interview was conversational, though interviewer seemed to talk more than me. third was hard to read, she had positive and negative comments about my application.
If it wasn't raining, I probably would have liked it better. I had a HUGE umbrella and I was still soaked. Don't park where they tell you, and just bite the $15 parking fee for the closer lot.
In one word, FRIENDLY. Everyone was so nice and so helpful. Even though the school isn't number one in the rankings and Birmingham isn't exactly a wonderful city, the people more than made up for any not so great things about the school. I don't think you could go there and not make friends.
I enjoyed visiting UAB and was very excited by my acceptance and am looking forward to being a member of the Class of 2006. Everything is low stress and beware, the tour was kind of long so wear comfy shoes. Also, give yourself time if you're driving, B'ham traffic can be a pain.
I think UAB gives low stress interviews, as compared to other interviews I have had including work and med school. They give a good synopsis of what kind of students the school is looking for and what the school can offer for the student. I do wish that they would structure the tour a little better, but I know its hard for the medical students to find time to tour students every week.
What are your suggestions for the admissions office?
Applicants commonly suggested selecting more enthusiastic student tour guides, providing more detailed information on resources and outcomes, improving communication by allowing direct email to interviewers, expediting decision notifications, and enhancing the depth of the medical campus tour experience.
The virtual interviews are bound to have awkward moment and technical difficulties, but overall I'd say the admissions process went as smooth as I could've asked for.
include information on what step resources are given by the school, step scores, % of medical students who publish as a result of their scholarly activity would also be interesting
