Blacksburg, VA
Osteopathic Medical Schools | Private Non-Profit
Overall, applicants ranked the school in the top 22% of interviews, indicating it is highly regarded. They found the interview mixed with a low stress level, and felt they did well.
⭐ Overall Impressions ▼
How did the interview impress you?
Most respondents felt positively about their interview.
What was the stress level of the interview?
Most respondents rated their interview as low stress.
How you think you did?
Most respondents thought they performed well at the interview.
How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?
Most respondents rank this school above all other schools.
How do you rank this school among other schools to which you've applied?
Most respondents rank this school above other schools they applied to.
0 = Below, 10 = Above
💬 Interview Questions ▼
What is one of the specific questions they asked you?
The most commonly asked interview questions at medical schools include inquiries about clinical rotations, challenges faced, qualities valued in physicians, overcoming academic difficulties, leadership in the community, inspiration for pursuing medicine, future career aspirations, and reasons for choosing osteopathic medicine. Many respondents also mentioned questions related to ethics, study habits, personal traits, and scenarios involving patient care or societal issues. The interviews were conversational, with some focusing on specific application details or experiences. Some respondents noted repeated questions about why they chose the specific medical school and their long-term goals.
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(They have your file) Expand on a time when you were challenged.
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Describe a time where you worked in a dysfunctional group/bad group experience.
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What clinical rotation do you think will be hardest for you?
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Aside from the typical traits of physicians like empathy and integrity, what quality from your past experience as a patient will you use as a future physician?
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What was your most difficult course in undergrad and how did you overcome it and what did you learn from it?
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Why DO?
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How do you think physicians are leaders in the community? Should they be leaders in a community?
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In your secondaries you described a challenge, expand more on that and what you learned from the experience.
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Why do you want to be a DO? Why do you want to go here?
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Have you ever gotten OMM performed on you?
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Strengths/Weaknesses
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Who is a physician who inspired you to go into medicine?
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Where do you see yourself 15 years from now
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Why osteopathic medicine
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Why VCOM
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What drew you to osteopathic medicine?
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Where do you see yourself 15 years from now?
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why VCOM?
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How did your study abroad experiences impact your passion for medicine?
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What questions do you have for me?
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How have you been successful in the past in academics? What is your study style and how do you think it will help you in medical school?
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What is a time you dealt with conflict and how did you resolve it?
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Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
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Do you have an interest in going on a medical mission trip?
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What makes the process of applying to schools and becoming a doctor worth it for you?
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Who were you rooting for in the Super Bowl? (I'm not even kidding)
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What are your strongest qualities? What are your weaknesses?
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Why do you think you have what it takes to handle the rigors of medical school?
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Why osteopathic medicine? Why VCOM? Why medicine?
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If you could ask the President to enact one thing and him not be able to go back on it the next day, what would it be?
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As an out of state applicant, why VCOM?
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Out of all the schools you applied to, how much of a priority does VCOM have?
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Why do you want to be a DO instead of MD?
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How have your previous experiences prepared you for medical school?
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How have your previous experiences prepared you to be a physician?
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What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?
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What's your favorite book?
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Why medicine?
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Why will be the most challenging thing in medical school for you
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How did you prepare for the MCAT
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How would you handle a situation in which you have fallen behind in your work?
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What interests you about VCOM?
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Can you explain this grade in this class?
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If you were working in a group how would you handle someone not pulling their weight?
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Describe a time your ethics were challenged.
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What would you do if you had a noisy neighbor above you.
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Why D.O.
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The 2 faulty interviewers asked the typical why osteopathic, why do you want to be a doctor, why VCOM questions
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What are you passionate about? (he gave examples like abortion, politics, gay rights, etc....)
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If you are doing a group project and your group member is not carrying his/her weight, what would you do?
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What trait do you value most in someone?
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Should VCOM have regulations on what students can put on their social media pages?
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What is primary care medicine?
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Why are you interested in primary care?
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How did you hear about VCOM (I am out of state)?
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What is one important trait that didn't come through in your application?
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Very conversational. I was interviewed by a PhD and he asked me about research that I had done as an undergraduate.
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What do you want the admissions committee to know about you
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What traits or qualities frustrate you most about a person, and how do you deal with it
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If you were in a group with 5 people and one person had to be a leader and one had to be a recorder, would you be one of those two people or be someone in the background?
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Tell me about the bad grades you received in college? (I got 2 Cs)
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Tell me about yourself.
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What is your opinion on the current status of healthcare?
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Do you see yourself practicing in this region one day?
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What qualities do you think are important in a doctor? (whatever you say, don't forget integrity!)
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What specialty are you interested in pursuing?
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Even though I had taken every upper level bio class offered at my undergrad with mostly A or B grades, I was asked about the one C I did get.
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Why medicine
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Why osteopathic.
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What do you do to relax?
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Why do you want to come here from so far away?
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1st Interviewer: Why VCOM? Why DO? Favorite class? Lease favorite class? Proudest Moment? Biggest Failure? Most recent book read? Most unique thing about you?
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2nd Interviewer: Why DO? Why VCOM? How do you learn best? If you had the pres on the phone for 2 minutes what would you say to him on how to fix health care? What are your doubts? What do you know about OMM?
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3rd interviewer: very convrsational. Asked about me, my family. Where/what do you do for work now? He talked more than I did, mostly about VCOM and how they did things.
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Healthcare reform (there was no specific question addressing it or asked of me, I just discussed it and my thoughts with one of the interviewers, who also just kind of discussed and gave thoughts...very conversational)
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How would you handle all the stress associated with being a med student?
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What differences do you see between Osteopathic and Allopathic physicians?
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I was asked about my extracurricular activities
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What did I think of the area?
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Can you give an example of a time you worked as a team? Can you give me an example of a time you went against your ethics? Can you give me an example of a time you were proud?
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Tell me about your study abroad experiences. (VCOM has an extensive world and appalachia missions program), Why VCOM?, What did you like most about this school when you decided to apply?
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Why are you here? (I answered based on my medical interests) So why are you here? (I hesitated to find another appropriate answer... i think he was trying to trip me up)
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Why D.O.?
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Why do you want to be a physician?
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Why vcom, why DO
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Take me through your life after high school until now.
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Tell me what you know about OMM.
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What persuaded you to consider a career in Medicine.
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What do you want to do?
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What have you done in blacksburg during your time here?
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Where do you see yourself in residency? 10 years from now?
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Interviewer #3 asked a lot of situational questions-- give me an example of when you've helped someone, etc.
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My second interviewer was really looking to be asked more questions, and I don't know if he actually asked me any personal questions at all. He gave out a lot of school information though, and was very helpful.
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There were a lot of questions-- the first interviewer asked me a lot about m interest in rural medicine, how my experiences affected my interests, and what I thought of the school and why.
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How much money do you expect to make?
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What do you think about genetic engineering?
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Why VCOM? (Each one of my interviewers asked this question. By the third interview it was becoming a little difficult to reword the same answer, so be prepared. lol)
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What can you tell me about OMM? Have you observed it first hand?
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Tell me about yourself. Tell me about your medical mission trips and volunteer experiences.
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What to you is the most pressing issue facing healthcare today. How would you fix that?
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Why DO? Why VCOM?
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What are your weaknesses?
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What led you to medicine?
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The interviews were really conversational. I did most of the talking.
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Tell me about yourself? What have you learned from travel experiences? What do you enjoy doing for fun?
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What did you enjoy in your years of research and missions trips? WHy VCOM? Why D.O.?
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Why did you take the MCAT 3 times? Why do you feel we should accept you? How and why did you choose your undergraduate school?
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Tell me about your Undergrad Institution?
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What was your favorite/ and Least favorite class in undergrad and why?
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What will be the most difficult part of adjusting to med school? (this question was asked because I am a non-tradtional student)
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If you are living your dream career, where will you be in 15 years?
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If you could be the president of your undergraduate institution for a day, and any change you made would be permanent, what would be the first thing you change and why?
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What are three MATERIAL things that you cherish?
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Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
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What is the role of a primary care provider in a community?
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Why D.O.? Why VCOM?
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How would you deal with a patient who does not listen to what you tell them? Tell me about your research? What area of medicine do you see yourself going to? Tell me about a time you worked in a team?
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What is your favorite book? What do you do for fun?
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Why DO? Why VCOM? What are you most proud of?
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All three interviews were super low key and very conversational. The key is to be relaxed but still be professional. They really seem to want to get to know you - so let them! I also asked plenty of questions to each interviewer and interviewed them.
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Asked what part of Osteopathy was of the mot interest to me. Can you really see your self living in Blacksburg?
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Tell me about your research? Why do you want to work with the underserved?
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According to your MCAT scores, you should not even be here, why do you think you deserve to be here. How many D.O. physicians are there in the country?
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Case study: A 60 year old man taking certain meds for a certain condition has these symptoms..what are the steps you would take to treat the patient. --The interviewer told me he was impressed with my answer after this, however, he began to make fun of the "country bumpkin" in their before me, felt this was unprofessional...
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Tell me about yourself. Name a time that you went above and beyond the call of duty.
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Tell me a little bit about yourself. Tell me a time when you helped someone out. Tell me a time when you tried to help someone out, but your actions were detrimental to them. What would you do you made a mistake that lead to a patient's death? If you were the dictator of the U.S. (didn't have to deal with congress, etc.) and you had unlimited resources, what would be the first thing you would do to fix the health care system? Why DO? If I was to go to the admissions committee and tell them to accept you, what three aspects of yourself should I bring up?
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What differences have you seen in the way DOs practice vs MDs? Asked questions about my research. Talked about my tutoring experiences. Asked questions about a situation in my personal statement. Other questions specific to information in my application. This interview was also very conversational.
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Why DO? Where do think you will be practicing medicine in 10 years? What specialty? Asked specific questions about my community involvement. This interview was very conversational.
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If you were responsible for a patient's death how would you go about handling it?
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Why medicine? Why VCOM? ....then we spoke about my interests in volunteering etc.
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Why medicine? Why VCOM? ...then we spoke about our parents and Latin (one of my recommenders was my Latin teacher and my interviewer took Latin).
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How is your mother (I had written about her being sick in my personal statement).
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Tell me about your overseas travel (I had studied abroad).
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Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years?
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Did you always want to become a physician?
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Since your father is an allopathic physician how do you think he feels about you applying to this school?
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Tell me about the work you do with diabetics and the provider in the department of family medicine. (I work at a medical school in Eastern NC)
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First was just a conversation.
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Second interview was a conversation as well.
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Why D.O.? Why Tech? From your experience, what are differences between MD and DO? If you were president of VCOM for one day, what would you do?
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Have you had any leadership experiences? Can you think of a time when you resolved an argument?
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Some schools will help you become a clinician, while others will make you a researcher. Which one do you want to be? (clinician) Why do you want to be a clinician?
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The country is currently looking at paying 700 billion to support healthcare and another 700 billion for morgage buyouts. Where should spending be cut or how are we going to be able to pay for this 1.4 trillion?
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How did you get here?
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What do you think about {insert ethical issue}?
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Why osteopathic medicine?
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How will it affect you when/if you are sued by a patient?
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What is the greatest problem in healthcare today and how would you go about fixing it? What do you think of socialized medicine?
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Why DO?, Why VCOM? Why OMM?
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How did you see OMM used?
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Over the next 30 years the figure to care for Baby Boomers is equivalent to the current 700 Billion stimulus package. What is the importance of both and how do you feel the importance should be distributed?
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Tell me about yourself Discussion of personal statement
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Tell me about yourself, your values, and specifically how your values correlate with the mission of this school.
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Tell me about yourself. Then he asked like 20 ethical questions - (Yeah, all the big ones you can possibly imagine - this guy was tough, but good.)
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Ethical question
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What course in medical school will be the hardest for you?
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Who would be your Time Man/Woman of the year?
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explain your answer to the essay you wrote (regarding how to fix healthcare, was told it was the best essay he had ever read, and he just wanted to make sure *I* had wrote it and could back up my answers!)
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LOTS of app specific questions. LOTS AND LOTS!
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why do you want to go to school in VA (I live in the western US)?
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How does my drive to be a D.O. fit with entering the Army.
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If accepted, what would you need.
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The rest was conversation.
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Do you have a support network? Who are they? how do you feel you are prepard for medical school? If you could redo anything what would it be and why?
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Have you ever made a mistake?
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Why DO? Why VCOM? Why medicine? How do you study best? Asked about my chemistry grades. Jam's and jellies question. Why are you interested in DO/PhD?
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What is a non-health related social problem in the US?
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What salary do you hope to make as a DO?
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Who would you nominate for Time magazine's person of the year?
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question about one of my grades, various questions about my experiences I wrote in my essay (for conversational starters)
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What do you think about OMM?
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Why do you want to come here?
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do you have a support base? why do you want to do rural medicine?
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what is one thing you would do over in life? what is one example of a time you helped someone? why should I tell the ADCOM to let you be a student?
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why DO? why VCOM? why Medicine?
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If you had to amputate a patient's limb, what would you do?
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Who would you nominate to be TIME Magazine's person of the year?
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Describe your MCAT experience.
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What area of medicine do you want to specialize in?
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Why medicine? Why DO? Do you want to/are you willing to work in a rural area?
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Other specific questions about my file.
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Tell me about Ireland. (I worked abroad there)
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Tell me what an Osteopathic doctor is and what they do.
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Describe your MCAT experience
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What was your greatest accomplishment in college?
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Do you plan to stay in the military, and if so do you plan to return to rural medicine?
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What have you done in your current profession to work as a team?
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Why DO and not MD?
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Question about the free clinic mentioned in ''most interesting questions''
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Tell me about an experience that has shaped who you are.
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What made you consider DO? Why VCOM?
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When were you in a leadership role in the community when you had a problem and how did you solve/resolve the issue?
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Where do you see yourself in 10-15 years?
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Describe a strength and weakness. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? What specialty?
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What 3 material things are important to you? What determines a person's self worth?
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What are the differences between a DO and MD? Have you seen OMT done on a patient?
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What have you done to prepare yourself for the challenges that medical school will bring?
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Why do you want to become a DO vs being an MD?
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What do you know about Osteopathic manipulation?
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Why DO? What characteristics make a good doctor?
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Would you be interested in the PhD program?
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What is your greatest success?
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Why do you want to do medical missions?
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Why not continue in nursing? (I'm a nurse)
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What happened in general chemistry II? (regarding my application)
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Where do you see yourself in ten years?
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Why DO? Why VCOM? What are your hobbies?
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How do you handle stress?
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Other usual questions as well.
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What leadership experience have you had?
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First interviewer did not ask me any questions. His first comment was that ''My life is very interesting!''
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Second Interviewer drilled me on why rural medicine, because I come from a large city. Why D.O.? Describe a difficult situation I had to overcome?Ask about my background.
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Third interviewer asked some questions but it was more conversational. We talked for 45 min.
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tell me about your mcat experience
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What events solidified your desire for medicine?
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Why VCOM? Why DO? why rural medicine?
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Others specific to my application file.
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What qualties do you have that would benefit VCOM? (or a variation of this)
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If you could take 3 people to dinner (dead or alive), who would you take and why?
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Nothing difficult... the were asking random questions as you were talking... really getting to know you.
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Why Dr.? Why DO? Why military? Why VA?
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Alcohol on attendings breath, what do you do? How to solve the uninsured problem
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Tell me about your research, volunteer experience, work experience
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Why medicine, EVMS
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Intelligence aside, what qualities do you think make an exceptional osteopathic physician?
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MD vs. DO?
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Other questions related directly to my application.
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Do you feel you can handle the riggers/stress of Medical school?
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I am a non-traditional student (40 ish years old) So, a question: How will you fit in and get along with the rest of the class?
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nothing else that specific
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Tell me about your life (Growing up.. high school... college)
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Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
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See difficult question above.
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What shadowing experiences do you have?
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Why medicine, not public health? (B/c of my background). Why DO?
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What are your three most important material possessions? (All the other questions I was asked were VERY informal, asking about my interests, reasons for pursuing medicine, even HOBBIES that I enjoy.)
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Why did you go to undergrad. where you did? (*I went to a small, private school)
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How do you get adolescent females to stop smoking? (This was because of my undergraduate research)
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Is there anything you would like to talk about that we haven't talked about already?
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What are some qualities of an osteopathic physician?
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Are you interested in rural medicine?
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Questions related to my research.
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What is osteopathic medicine? Why D.O.?
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What was a major dissapointment in your life? What is the difference between MD and DO?
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Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years? What specialty are you interested in? Name a weakness. ( I told this interviewer I used to have a problem approaching others because I was shy but I have had experiences which helped me to lose this quality and he said its not a weakness b/c he likes shy ppl b/c they keep to themselves and all this other stuff)
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Why do you want to b/cm a physician? How do you feel about working in a rural area? Why DO? Why VCOM?
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How do I feel about working in rural underserved areas?
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Tell me about yourself?
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Tell me more about your experience working with Access to Rural Healthcare? (this was something from my file)
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Some of you grades concern us. How will you handle the difficult courses? What are you passionate about? Tell me about this experience?
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Tell me about your group interaction? How did you solve a problem when you disagreed? How do you see yourself in 10 years? What kind of practice will you have?
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Why DO? Why VCOM? How has your prospective of medicine changed? What kind of support system do you have?
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How do you feel abour rural medicine?
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What's a challenge you have overcome/problem you have solved?
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Why DO?/How did you learn about DO?
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What are some problems with healthcare? What solutions do you have to these problems?
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what do you think of giving healthcare away for free, on say a medical mission?
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Tell me about a time you helped someone, medically related or not.
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Tell me about a time you solved a problem, not medically related per se.
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Why DO school? What type of specialty are you interested in? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
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Difference between D.O. and M.D.
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Do you think you would be able to handle to workload of medical school?
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What would you do if you saw someone cheating?
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Tell me about yourself. What specialty are you thinking about?
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What is your greatest achievement? What made you apply to VCOM?
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Why DO vs. MD? Favorite book? What qualities can you bring to the class? What is one weak area?
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How would you fix healthcare in America?
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Why do you want to practice medicine because that's different from just being a doctor?
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Are you glad that you took a few years between undergrad and medical school to work? Why?
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Tell me about your missions trips
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Most questions were just about my background.
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Tell me about yourself. What would you bring to VCOM? How would your friends describe you?
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Where do you see yourself in ten years? What fields are you interested in?
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Why VCOM? Why osteopathic and not allopathic?
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Name a dissappointment in your life.
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What are some characteristics you think make a good doctor?
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Compare and contrast allopathic and osteopathic medicine for me.
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Of all of the science courses that you have completed, which was your favorite/least favorite and why?
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Who influenced your decision to pursue osteopathic medicine?
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How do you study? (that caught me off guard)
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Why VCOM? Why DO?
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If you had Pres. Bush on the phone for 1 minute what would you suggest him to do about health care today?
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Tell me about yourself.
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Were do you see yourself in 10 years?
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Explain how your experiences made you want to become a DO.
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What do you consider major issues in medicine right now?
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You have a lot of experience in research; how would you integrate that in your future career, if at all?
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List three weaknesses in your application.
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What are your hobbies?
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Why DO?
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Tell me about your experiences. Asked me about my DO experience.
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What characteristics should a good physician possess?
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Why VCOM? Why osteopathy? Asked me about my DO experience.
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See "most difficult question"
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Why are you here?
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What is osteopathy (actual first question I was asked there)
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Why did you apply to DO schools and not MD schools?
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Why did you choose to go to undergrad school where you did?
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What would you do if you caught someone cheating? Answer: Turn him or her in.
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Why osteopathic medicie? Would yu be willing to work in a rural/underserved area?
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Why VCOM? How many kids do you have?
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What would you do if you discovered another student cheating?
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Why DO? What do you know about DO?
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Would you be able to live in a smaller town like Blacksburg?
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How are you going to survive in such a small town?
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What was your favorite undergraduate class?
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first interviewer: why doctor? why DO? what was it like growing up in your hometown? she looked through my file and asked a couple more specific questions..no big deal.
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second interviewer: tell me about yourself. asked about one of my letters of rec. very informal.
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third interviewer: tell me about your family...really had a casual conversation. not stressful at all!
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lots of BS I can't even remember.
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Why rural medicine?
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questions specific to application for one interviewer
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what sets osteopathy apart?
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why did you apply to vcom?
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What is the story behind your nickname?
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Why do you love our school?
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Be prepared to explain what you know about Osteopathic medicine vs. allopathic
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Tell me about your MCAT experience (I did really poorly on my MCAT the first time but significantly improved the second time around)
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What questions do you have for me? Be prepared w/ some good questions to ask them--it really opens new directions or your interview to go in
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describe your research and it's medical significance? she was getting ready to do research in the same field so she was really interested, but was no intimidating at all, she was genuinely interested in hearing a very basic report of the research.
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where do you see yourself after residency? a rural area?
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Why do you want to become a doctor? When did it hit you? Why Osteopathy?-same question was asked twice by two different faculty members.
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Tell me why you would choose a particular specialty of medicine to practice.
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How would you lower cost of care?
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Why a osteopathic medicine?
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What my classmates would say about me that was a strength and a weakness.
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Why do you want to come back home?
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Why DO? Why not MD like my father?
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5-10 years from now?
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How would your friends describe you personally? As a healthcare provider?
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What are you most proud of from school, life, work?
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Do you have any questions for me?
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Explain yourself.
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What type of patient should receive OMT treatment? The answer is all patients, but the way the question was asked required me to think more than needed.
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Where do you see yourself in 15 years?
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Describe the MCAT experience?
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What would you do if you won the lottery?
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describe a complex analytical situation or event in your life?
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What I thought about healthcare in the US and what I could do to fix it?
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As described in other posts.
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A couple of questions about my volunteer experience, and then the rest of the conversation was about one of my hobbies that the interviewer shared (it was a really nice conversation.) If you emphasized any particular pastime in your application, they'll probably ask you about it.
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If you made a mistake and a patient died as a result, would you tell the family? Would you quit practicing medicine? What is your biggest regret? What would your best friend say about you? (as far as I can tell, everyone was asked these questions.)
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Please explain this grade, and tell me why you think you will be successful here. You're doing research now, is there any particular reason why you don't want to do it for a career?
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do you consider where you are living now to be rural? (the interviewer obviously knew it wasnt, and revealed later he had been there before.) since you dont, why is it that you are applying to a school with an emphasis on rural care?
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what is it about osteopathic medicine that makes it a more effective discipine than allopathic medicine?
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what is it about your d.o. shadowing and other medically related experiences that motivated you to apply to d.o. school?
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Most of the time was just general conversation trying to get to know you on a personal level. Just be yourself, no fancy questions or responses.
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Tell me about yourself and your healthcare experience.
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Why DO, VCOM.
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What are the biggest problems in healthcare today?
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What do you think about stem cell research?
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Why do you want to do osteopathic medicine?
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Expand on your essay on the biggest probelm in health care
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How do you feel about mangaged care
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What are you very proud about
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As a physician, how would I handle an uninsured patient who needed treatment? (I actually had an uncle who experienced this, so I gave what I thought was a good answer.)
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Describe one of your academic regrets.
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Given my weak grades in organic chemistry, how do I intend to make it through med school where the subject pops up a lot?
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(I just love this school's vision. For those who have medical mission in your heart, this is the school to be at. My first interviewer was talking about his numerous occassions taking medical students during break time to different countries to do medicine!)
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If you made a mistake that cost someone's life, what would you do or say to the family member.
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Just elaborate about yourself and your file.
-
Tell me about yourself
-
what omm have you specifically seen
-
why medicine, what do you do besides school
-
Every student reaches a point when they question this choice to becoming a doctor. How will you get over that wall?
-
What did you do in Australia?
-
Where do you see yourself practicing?
-
Tell me about your family.
-
Why Osteopathy
-
Why VCOM.
-
How do you handle stress? How do you manage your time?
-
Tell me about yourself. Why osteopathic and why a physician?
-
What will you do next year if you are not accepted into any med school? Are you interested in public health?
-
Where do you see yourself in 5 years/10 years?
-
Why DO/VCOM?
-
You live in a big city; why come to a small town school?
-
Why VCOM? What do you anticipate the hardest part of being in med school? What specialty? ... easy, low stress stuff. Just chill, trust me I am one who worries a lot. I had a very rough interview at DMU and they are supposed to be low stress, but VCOM is just awesome school and interview wise. Top notch!!!!!!
-
Asked me to expand on my rural practice plans. Asked specifics from my experiences. Why DO? Who influenced your decision the most? (Admissions staff)
-
Tell me about yourself? How did you get to this point? Why VCOM? Why VA? Why DO? (MD)
-
What happend with undergrad grades? What is the last book you read? Why DO? Why VCOM? Why VA? (Professor very dry)
-
Interview 1: Tell me "your story." Where do you see yourself in ten years? Do you have any concerns about VCOM? If you are accepted here and several other schools, what would keep you from choosing VCOM?
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Interview 2: What is compassion? What positive experiences did have when you were shadowing physicians? What negative experiences did you have? What are the traits of a good physician? Do you think you are well prepared for medical school?
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Interview 3: Mostly conversational with no real questions. Discussed the professors background, his interest in VCOM, status of D.O. hospitals, international D.O. schools versus U.S. schools, realities and practicalities use of O.M.M. in practices, trends in D.O. medicine, etc...
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Did you ever consider Veterinary medicine? Why did you choose not to follow that path?
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What do you see yourself doing in 10 years? Do you want to continue with research? What happened with X grade?
-
Why Osteopathic Medicine, Why Virginia, Why VCOM?
-
Where do you see yourself in 10 years.
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Who has most influenced your decision to pursue an osteopathic medical education?
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Have you shadowed a DO? What do you think about OMM?
-
Tell me about yourself. What experiences have you had with medicine?
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Why do you want to be a DO? Have you done any research?
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What are my strength and weakness?
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Why do I want to be a physician?
-
How did you deal with changing curriculum?
-
What are your strengths/weaknesses?
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What will you do if you do not get in this year?
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Why VCOM, why DO?
-
What field of medicine are you interested in?
-
Which science class did you like the best, the least?
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What are some important character traits for a physician to have?
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What type of setting do you see yourself practicing? What was your favorite volunteer activity?
-
Why VCOM? Why osteopathic medicine? Where do you see yourself in 10 years? ( asked in 2 of the interviews)
-
Where do you see yourself practicing in the future?
-
Why VCOM?
-
Tell me about your research?
-
What is one of your strength and weakness? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
-
Why DO? Why VCOM? Why rural? Do you see it as a negative to have no alumni to have out in the field?
-
Best/worst science/non-sciense class.
-
What would be the one reason you wouldn't come here?
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Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10?
-
They mainly just took many questions from my file and asked for more details.
-
Have you shadowed a DO?
-
Convince me that you want to be an Osteopathic physician.
-
What is euthanasia? I didn't know an exact definition. He told me "doctor-assisted suicide." I politely said nothing, but I WISH I had thought about the case of girl babies in China killed because the parents wanted a boy, or the killing of a retarded child. Neither case would be "suicide." F*CK HIM right in the ear! We were told that this school wanted us to feel comfortable, and he made me feel like my answer was dumb. I'd love to punch that focker! (My other two interviewers were awesome, don't get the wrong impression)
-
What is your greatest strength/weakness? (Came up in one shape or form in all 3 interviews)
-
Tell me 3 items you find important.
-
Tell me why you want to be a DO and not an MD.
-
Do you have any questions for me? (heheheh definitely ask some! it'll make a good impression and show you're interested in their school ;-))
-
What are some of the problems faced in healthcare today? What would you do to solve these? (similar to essay question)
-
What are your strengths/weaknesses?
-
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
-
What is the biggest problem facing healthcare today, and what would you do to correct it?
-
Why D.O. and why VCOM?
-
Tell me about this program that you volunteered in?
-
Why did you apply here?
-
Why osteopathic med?
-
What would you do if you saw a student cheating?
-
Why do you want to be a DO?
-
Why Virginia. (I'm from Alabama)
-
How best to motivate change of lifestyle in a rural community
-
How best to prepare and handle trauma in a rural community
-
Why rural
-
Name one thing that you have done in your life that you truly regret and wish you could change.
-
What do you consider to be an ethical problem in society today?
-
see above
-
Describe your work and medical experiences?
-
If you were accepted to all of the schools of which you applied, what would be the one reason you wouldn't choose EVVCOM?
-
What made you decide Osteopathic Medicine? Parallel's between the allopathic and osteopathic
-
What do you know about stem cell research? What areas of medicine are you interested in? What do you think will be hardest about medical school?
-
Why VCOM? Why DO? Why medical school after being a nurse practitioner?
-
Would you be interested in research?
-
Tell me how you got here. (I'm a nontraditional student)
-
Why DO? Why VCOM?
-
What are your three things? Above question.
-
Why do you want to come to VCOM?
-
How have your experiences in both rural and urban health care changed your perception of medicine?
-
What was your greatest struggle during undergrad?
-
Why D.O and what area of practice?
-
How did you get to this point?
-
Tell me about yourself. Why osteopathic medicine? Why EVVCOM?
-
Where do you see yourself in ten years? What are your weaknesses? What are your strengths?
-
Give a situation when you feel like you you miss it and what will you do to improve?
-
What will you do with a non-compliant patient
-
Why osteopathy?
-
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? What are you doing in Biochem right now?
-
Why didn't you handle (personal situation that affected my GPA)things better in that part of your life?
-
Favorite Class? What would I have changed about my undergraduate education? How did I balance all my activities?
-
My job experience? how it relates to medicine? how will it help me in medicine?
-
Did the family practitioner you worked with make good money? (No clue why he asked this; didn't know what to say)
-
Did you like growing up in MI? I'm from that state too.
-
Why VA? Why rural? Why DO? When did you decide to become a DO? GOOD LUCK!
-
Why doctor
-
If you could only keep 3 material possesions, what would they be?
-
What would you do if a teenage girl wanted birth control pills without her parents knowing?
-
What would you do with a non-compliant patient?
-
Where do you see yourself in 10 years
-
Why VA
-
My opinion on cloning
-
Were do I see myself in 10 years? ( all 3 interviewers ask this question)
-
How do you feel about abortion?
-
How do you feel about assisted suicide?
-
What types of qualities do you have that you will share with this institution?
-
What motivates you?
-
What was a disappointing moment in your life?
-
Who is your role model?
-
Why primary care and rural medicine?
-
Tell me about yourself? How will you handle stress during medical school?
-
Two characteristics that best describe you
-
where do you see yourself in 10 years, strenghts and weaknesses, why DO?
-
Should you be allowed to be a doctor if you have such a low MCAT score???
-
What osteoptahic Physician
-
Why physician
-
I was asked several scenerios about abortion and cheating and how I would have handled it.
-
Who is my biggest role model and why? What qualities do I look for in a physician?
-
Why Osteopathic Medicine, why VCOM? When and how did I decide I wanted to become a physician?
-
All three interviews asked Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
-
Tell me about your research...mentoring...etc (specifics about your application)
-
Tell me about yourself, something you would like me to know about you.
-
Where do you see yourself in 10 years (asked in all 3 interviews)?
-
Where did you first learn of Osteopathic Medicine and why Osteopathic and not Allopathic medicine?
-
Where do you see yourself in the future?
-
Who do you consider as your role models?
-
Since you are a science major, why medicine instead of doing research?
-
What is the biggest dissappointment in your life?
-
Why are you interested in osteopathic medicine?
-
why medicine, why physician?
-
why osteopahty?
-
What do you think of the person sueing MCDonalds for making them obese?
-
What reservations do you have about your undergraduate education?
-
Where did you learn about osteopathic medicine?
-
What field of medicine (subspecialty/primary care) do you see yourself doing?
-
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? This was the only question repeated between interviews.
-
Why do you want to go back to rural VA?
What was the most interesting question?
Students said most interesting question asked at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine - Virginia Campus discussed a wide range of topics, including ethical dilemmas, healthcare policy, personal experiences, and hypothetical scenarios. The interviews seemed conversational and engaging, covering questions about healthcare spending efficiency, personal accomplishments, ethical challenges, and future aspirations, among others. Some respondents mentioned a mix of standard and unexpected questions, with no specific standout questions reported.
-
Healthcare spends a lot of money on people during their last few year of their life. What do you recommend to do to help use that money for the most amount of good?
-
What were the positive and negative effects of the MCAT for you personally?
-
A classmate asked you about an exam they hadn't taken yet. How would you handle that situation?
-
How do you feel about County-level mask mandates? What can we do to increase vaccine uptake?
-
How would you handle someone who is not compliant with wearing a mask during COVID
-
If you were the Dean and a student got a DUI, what would you do?
-
Who would you pick living or dead for Time Person of the Year?
-
What is the most recent book your read?
-
Was given a scenario and asked what I would do. Scenario was about a young child who had become pregnant and wanted to get an abortion. She can't tell her parents because they would abandon her. As a doctor who she came to, what would you do?
-
Tell me about a time that you cared for someone else.
-
Ethical question - fellow student with a drug problem
-
Why DO, not MD? Did you apply to MD schools as well? (I did not, committed to osteopathic medicine was the main point of my answer, which they respected even though they were an MD)
-
How do you feel about Urban Meyer? ( went to undergrad where he currently coaches football and recently won the national championship)
-
Describe a time your ethics were challenged.
-
the student interview questions were ALL interesting- If your house was burning down what material item would you save? Do you think VCOM should monitor students' facebooks or ban their students from facebook entirely? If you were a fruit what fruit would you be?
-
N/A
-
How do you handle stress?
-
If you had a magic wand, what is one healthcare issue that you would do away with, and why?
-
Why isn't your GPA higher. Odd since it is over a 3.4 science/overall.
-
Last book I read.
-
What made you switch from fashion design to science?
-
I honestly don't remember any specific questions asked, everything was so conversational, I can't say I was ever really asked any pointed questions.
-
What three material things do you value?
-
If, for some reason, the new health care reform was not passed, what aspect of the bill is most important to keep by itself?
-
If you had $1.8B to spend on one thing to improve the health of people in Virginia, what would you spend it on?
-
What do you think are the pros/cons of VCOM?
-
if you were in charge of healthcare in the united states, and you had $1,000,000 to divide up, how would you do it?
-
What is the dream? What do you wish to accomplish after your residency?
-
None
-
None were really interesting, we were just conversing.
-
they were all pretty basic
-
What was the worst job you've ever had?
-
Why i took the MCAT three times?
-
What have your travel experiences taught you?
-
coming soon
-
Which science class did you dislike during undergrad - not hard just not expecting it.
-
How many D.O. physicians are there in the country.
-
Questions about a patient in my personal statement
-
They were pretty much what I expected except for the patient death question.
-
What is your favorite book? What is the last book you have read?
-
What's your favorite book, who wrote it, and why did you like the author so much.
-
conversations were interesting
-
We tell smokers that they will eventually have many health problems and they understand yet continue to smoke. Should we still offer these people healthcare? Should they be able to get something like a heart transplant?
-
The ethical ones were all great.
-
How will it affect you when/if you are sued by a patient?
-
I also telephone interviewed, what can you tell me about the experience (from my AACOMAS)?
-
Would you accept a bushel of corn and a butchered pig as payment for a medical procedure?
-
?What would you do . . .? Some ethical question I can't remember the specifics. I think it was on a 14 yr old wanting an abortion or someone refusing to get a limb amputated. The most interesting part of the interviews was speaking with the professors and learning about some of the research they were involved with.
-
Since you were a certified optician, recommend glasses for me that will work for me in a certain activity I participate in (profs hobby)? I haven't had any luck with anything else.
-
Nothing, the interviews went fine, they got into what my experience and knowledge I had from school, volunteer and shadowing.
-
med school is competitive. Why should I go to the admissions committee and tell them to let you in?
-
If I had to amputate someone's limb, what steps would I take post amputation?
-
What is the difference between physical therapy and OMM?
-
if you were paid for services in jams and jellies would you accept that if that was all patients could offer?
-
Who would you nominate for Time Magazine's person of the year?
-
If you could be president of your undergraduate university for one day, and you had all the funds and resources at your disposal, what changes would you make?
-
Who would you name as TIME magazine's person of the year 2007? (I was NOT prepared for this question and I could not think of anyone good so I made a joke out of it. I said ''Britney Spears for her incredible career suicide''. My interviewer laughed so hard and said he loved the answer!)
-
While working as a hospital corpsman and laboratory technician, what events stand out or have made the most impact on me?
-
If you were given unlimited funding to start a free clinic, and you could hire 7 practioners, from what specialties/areas would they be and why?
-
What's the most interesting book you've ever read? and What's the most interesting place you've ever visited?
-
How much do you feel you should earn after spending so much time getting your medical education?
-
Where do you see yourself in 10 years
-
Nothing out of the way or weird. All questions were straight forward and related back to my application materials.
-
All the questions were very general, such as, what are your hobbies?, Why DO? Why VCOM? Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
-
Why rural medicine? If I had three people to take to dinner (dead or alive) with all expenses paid who would I take?
-
what was a major disappointment in your life and how did you overcome it?
-
Nothing remarkable or unexpected. All questions were straightforward, fair and directed towards my application information.
-
Think ahead in 10-15 years and you're a general practioner. How many patients do you intend to see in a given day?
-
What do you think about the United States (asked in relation to my international background).
-
The impossible question.. Which would you rather be, the very best Diagnostic Doctor or the most compassionate Doctor? No matter which you choose the interviewer players devils advocate.
-
It was basically all conversational with me taking the lead sometimes.
-
If you had to pick 3 people to eat dinner with, with all expenses paid, who would you take?
-
What are your three most important material possessions?
-
What could you do as a physician for tobacco farm owners if people stopped smoking? (I had done a lot of undergraduate research on the cessation of tobacco use among adolescent females)
-
Questions regarding my research
-
Did I know my middle name was French? What do I like to do for fun? (Most questions were pretty standard just trying to get to know you as a person. There was no drilling, just conversational)
-
If I could do it all over what would I do differently? (Academics)
-
Name three material objects that are important to you?
-
What do you think about becoming a radiologist? (this is a primary care focused school)
-
Tell me about at time you helped someone, medically related or not.
-
What do I know about OMM
-
None, really. There wasn't many questions because of the conversational type interview. I did, however, have a question about Hurricane Katrina.
-
What's your favorite book?
-
What was the last book you read? The one before that? If you get Dr. Santo, dont just say "I read lots of books".
-
Tell me a story you remember from your Mythology class
-
If you could staff a free clinic with 8 people, what type of people would you hire? (i.e. types of doctors)
-
Do you think that science (which goal is "to Know") has shortcomings/failures in refernce to spiritual and mental aspects affecting health.
-
Name something that was a dissappointment in your life.
-
Tell me about the day you received your MCAT scores. How did you feel?
-
When I take your file to the committee what is the one thing you want me to remember or say about you?
-
If you were a mechanic you would only expect to be payed if you fixed the problem but as a DR you may not "fix the patients problem" but you still expect to be payed. How do you explain this??
-
nothing really... (see description)
-
Of the three people I had in my interview, one of them continued to talk about what kind of physician he wanted me to be and never gave me more then two minutes to answer a single question: for example: I see that you are a C.N.A. I talked to my wife about this, she is a R.N. I respect you for this. You work with a lot of sick people, that is very good, I want all of the future physicians to do this....on and on, I felt like I was in a lecture.
-
What are the qualities a physician should possess?
-
"tell me about yourself questions. Why DO? Why VCOM? Where do you see yourself in 10 years...rural setting? What characteristics should a good physician possess?
-
See "most difficult question"
-
What do you think your greatest accomplishment has been?
-
How many schools did you apply to? Did you apply to MD?
-
Give me an example of a disappointment in your life.
-
What is the one thing you have do that makes you most proud?
-
What's the most interesting place you've been?
-
what would I do if a teenager requested BCP?
-
How do you feel about herbals and homeopathy?
-
What was your favorite/least favorite undergrad course and why
-
What would you propose as a possible solution to the looming crisis in health care coverage?
-
How would I explain to a family that I was responsible for the death of a loved one.
-
Where was my accent?? I'm from southwest virginia but have lived in CT for a while and lost it. Everyone the interviewer had met from my county had thick southern accents.
-
When you decided on medical school, how did you decide/know, what led you to conclude medicine was your calling?
-
What type of patient should receive OMT treatment? The answer is all patients, but the way the question was asked required me to think more than needed.
-
The most interesting questions were about items in my file that they had pulled out unexpectedly. It was interesting to see someone read the file that close.
-
Describe an event or situation where by you had to use complex analytical skills?
-
None to orignial.
-
Here's your chance to convince me why you will succeed at this school. Let's hear it.
-
What is the biggest obstacle you've faced in your life?
-
When i become a physician what would i do to help the middle class that didnt have insurance at the legal level.
-
If I saw a student cheating, what would I do? (I had to stop and think about this one. I thought I gave a pretty good answer)
-
Do you know how kids get ADHD? (I did research dealing with ADHD students)
-
tell me about yourself
-
Every student reaches a point when they question this choice to becoming a doctor. How will you get over that wall?
-
Nothing weird
-
What does your family think about you applying to med school?
-
What would you do if you made a medical error?
-
What determines a person's self worth?
-
Most questions were standard.
-
Do you think that you will remain compassionate as a physician?
-
What do you see as the biggest problem in healthcare today, can you expand on your secondary statement?
-
How do you anticipate resolving the insurance/healthcare problems present in America today? (from my file)
-
Give an example of when osteopathic medicine is more effective than traditional medicine.
-
everything was from my file, nothing hard, don't stress this one!
-
Since my interview, I have been accepted to this program. I will be attending this school this fall. I am writing this in response to the post dated "4/10/2004 3:50:27 PM", and posted by the Engineering turn biochemistry major, who claims to have interviewed on 3-31-04
-
How do I perceive healing?
-
How would you feel practicing medicine in a rural setting?
-
Absolutly nothing surprising. Just the typical interview questions. Why do you want to be a physician, why EVVCOM, etc....
-
All standard questions.
-
The majority of the interview content involved conversational exchange of information directly related to my file. It was very low stress and I felt that the faculty was just trying to get to know me.
-
Could you elaborate on your answer of providing healthcare for under- and uninsured people?
-
If you have enough funds to save five people with cancer or use those funds to screen and maybe save more lives what would you do? What if the person with cancer would die within six months,would you use your all you funds on him?
-
Ethical questions, about only having one pint of blood who would you give it to. A 70 year old man in a coma, a 7 year old girl with leukeima or a new mother. I thought it was obvious.
-
What nonscience class would you advise anyone to take?
-
How do you want to combine your engineering degree with your medical degree?
-
Role reversal- I was allowed to interview one of the interviewers for a little while.
-
Name three items that are important to you. Questions regarding my undergraduate research.
-
What undergraduate course would you recommend that every student take and why?
-
How do you think your business degree will help you in medical school?
-
nothing out of the ordinary
-
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
-
What I knew about exercise and its impact on the immune system (because of my research experience). He wanted specifics which I couldn't give him, but was nice and tried to explain to me that he didn't know an exact answer either.
-
I was asked by one of the interviewers to give him a quick shoulder massage because he wanted to feel my skills. I have been a therapist for seven years and you can tell a lot from depth of touch. He told me I would be everyone's best friend for palpation skills.
-
What has been your biggest disappointment?
-
If a woman's mother had cancer and told you not to tell her mother what would you do.
-
What ever happened to your mother? (I talked about her in my essay question)
-
Nothing...typical questions
-
For the most part, the standard/traditional questions were asked and then the interviews turned into more of a conversation.
-
What three things do you consider your most valuable possession?
-
Name a non-science class from undergrad that positively influenced you and think that everyone should take no matter their major.
-
Tell me everything about yourself and how you got to this point. I want to get a good sense of you.
-
You are a rural primary care physician and a member of the community has just been run over by a truck. There is no access to a Level I trauma unit. How, as a physician practicing in a rural environment, could you prepare for such a situation?
-
Why do you want to commit the rest and prime of your life to medicine?
-
What is compassion?
-
Scenario: 7 year old child, mother that just delivered a baby, and 70 year old man-one unit of blood-- Who will I give it to?
-
If I wanted to go into psychiatry because of my psychology background.
-
Do you run? (first question asked--out of the blue)
-
How are music and medicine tied together (I was a music major in college)?
-
What determines a person's worth?
-
My thoughts on cloning
-
What is my opinion on the current situation in Venezuela? What do I think will happen with President Chavez?
-
What ethical problems are happening in medicine today?
-
What is the most comples situation you have been in?
-
What is the greatest challenge facing medicine today?
-
Who is your role model and how have they effected you
-
Health care is changing. How do you think Medicine is going to be like in 10 years?
-
If I had all the power in the world, how would I use it to change Healthcare?
-
Question about ethics regarding abortion and Rural health clinic?
-
same as "most difficult question"
-
A question regarding genetic testing and my stance on the issue
-
How are you going to deal with death?
-
how do you feel about assisted suicide and how do you feel about compromising your or a patient's morals in order to treat the patient?
-
what is the most complex situation you've ever been in?
-
None really. ALl of the questions were to be expected.
What was the most difficult question?
Students said most difficult question asked at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine - Virginia Campus discussed various scenarios and ethical dilemmas, including how to handle conflicts with superiors, ethical considerations in patient care, and challenges in transitioning to medicine. Some respondents mentioned the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) format, suggesting a diverse range of questions were posed, potentially under a nondisclosure agreement.
-
nothing too difficult
-
What were the positives and negative effects of COVID?
-
If you did not get your first choice rotation site, how would you handle getting another location?
-
How do you think physicians are leaders in the community
-
none really
-
Tell me about a time that you had a conflict with a direct superior and how did you resolve it?
-
You are having a lunch with a friend you haven't seen in a while. Your professor decides to change the lecture schedule and have the lecture at the same time as your friend and you were going to meet. What do you do? Follow Up: Do you think the professor owes you and the class an explanation as to why he needed to reschedule?
-
None were difficult, pretty standard interview questions.
-
2 Ethics questions. 1- Your attending inappropriately touches a young woman patient, what do you do? 2- You observe another classmates cheating, what do you do?
-
What is a negative thing about you?
-
How are you going to make the transition to medicine from the military?
-
One thing you would do help with healthcare
-
Explain your low GPA, unimpressive MCAT. Are you going to be able to handle the workload of med school? Your stats tell us otherwise...
-
Do you think patients should take some responsibility with their own healthcare? (I basically answered the question similar to "you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink" and gave an experience example such as smoker who doesn't want to quit despite everything their doctor does to try and help them.
-
What will be your biggest challenge in medical school>?
-
Ethical question- What would you do if you had a patient in a vegetative state and the family was to emotional to make a decision?
-
None were particularly hard.
-
How should a preceptor handle a student who will not see patients asking for birth control?
-
None were very difficult
-
None were difficult.
-
Hypothetical question about prescribing medicine to a man who looked up his symptoms online.
-
About pharmacology and what I would suggest for a fictional patient.
-
What's the most unique thing about you - what sets you apart? (difficult to come up with a unique enough answer)
-
None. Three separate interviews, almost all just conversations about all kinds of stuff, related and unrelated to my file. Not sure if this was a good thing or not, but it was interesting nonetheless.
-
There are only two countries in the world that have an economy-driven healthcare system: the US and China. There are ___ billion people in China, only __ million have health insurance. What should we do?
-
How do you determine someone's worth?
-
Tell me the difference between a doctor and a physician. (WHAT?!)
-
Give me an example of a time when you led a group through a difficult situation.
-
none really too bad
-
What do you think are the pros/cons of VCOM?
-
you have $10,000 and two populations of patients. One group has 10 patients and if you treat them, one of them will get worse, the other group has 1 patient and will die if you do not treat him/her. Which group do you treat?
-
The situational questions are always really tough for me.
-
What are your 3 most important material possessions?
-
none
-
The healthcare and how to fix question.
-
Tell me how you would handle a noncompliant patient who was a repeat offender of some sort.
-
Explain your grades in Organic Chemistry.
-
Why i took the MCAT three times? (threw me off)
-
If you had a billboard to show/tell everyone about yourself, what would it say or show?
-
None were difficult, every interview was very conversational
-
coming soon
-
None.
-
According to your MCAT scores, you should not even be here, why do you think you deserve to be here. (not so difficult, b/c I was expecting it, however, he was pretty rude about it)
-
Dictator of the U.S. question
-
Patient death question.
-
Tell me about a time when you were disappointed.
-
Tell me your greatest weakness. (Typical self searching question to judge your reaction and response)
-
Do you think that physicians should be rewarded for their work? (in reference to the possibility of doctors making less money)
-
Nothing was difficult, and they didn't have any issues with my file.
-
What do you think of socialized medicine?
-
The baby boomer generation question.
-
If I gave you 100 million dollars that had to be entirely allocated to fixing a medically undeserved area, what would you do with the money?
-
Who should be the Time Man/Woman of the Year? It just caught me of guard. I think I recovered but I definitely did not have an answer for this. I was asked a similar question in the next interview as well. This seems like a favorite so I would think about this if I was interviewing at VCOM.
-
Fix the healthcare problem by changing ONE and only ONE thing.
-
whould you accept jams and jellies for medical work in a rural area?
-
See above
-
what should I tell the committee about you that would make them select you
-
If you were forced to amputate a patient's limb, what would you do?
-
If you could tell me anything up front about yourself, that you wanted me to know, like making a billboard for yourself, what would you say?
-
A child comes in and needs her leg amputated. What do you do? (my other interviewers were so conversational that this question caught me off guard)
-
First question of an interview: If you could tell me anything up front about yourself, that you wanted me to know, like making a billboard for yourself, what would you say?
-
None of the questions were difficult.
-
Describe a problem you solved individually and as part of a team, how you solved it, and what you learned from it.
-
None were really difficult. More just conversational.
-
All were pretty fair questions?
-
What do you think will be the most challenging thing about medical school for you?
-
What do you think will be your biggest challenge during Medical School? There weren't any really difficult questions.
-
None of their questions were difficult. The interview was very conversational. They really tried to make you feel comfortable.
-
None really! All simple and fair!
-
no real difficult questions
-
N/A. Again, all questions were straightforward and fair.
-
Something about if I had a patient who wouldn't comply with what I was telling him to do and he was on the road to passing away... what would I do.
-
Nothing too major. Only had one ethics question (alcohol on attendings breath), a couple of health care system questions (3 problems that would affect how you practice medicine, how to deal with uninsured), and the normal tell me about _____ (experience)
-
same
-
What can you offer the class?
-
same as above
-
Actually the most interesting question I was asked was also the most difficult.
-
None were difficult
-
There were no difficult questions.... Difference between DO and MD? Why I chose VCOM? Why did I decide to become a physician?
-
What determines a person's self worth?
-
What do you think about illegal Imegrants working and lving in the U.S.?
-
Tell me about a time you solved a problem, not medically related per se.
-
Most Interesting Course/Least Interesting
-
No real difficult questions.
-
"How would you fix healthcare in America?" there's no right answer so be honest.
-
See above.
-
Not really one difficult question rather the interviewer kept asking me to expand on my answers over and over.
-
There really wasn't one that stood out.
-
definitely nothing difficult!
-
The pure lack of questions
-
List three weaknesses in your application.
-
If George Bush was on the phone right now, and you had exactly one minute to tell him how to solve our healthcare crisis, what would you say? The interviewer then interrupted me (my ramblings I should say) by saying, "Your minute is up, he has hung up on you."
-
What is wrong with medicine today?
-
Describe the three most important material things in your life.
-
What is your favorite book? I don't read for leisure so this caught me off guard. I simply said I didn't read for leisure and enjoyed more out doorsy things. He said, "Well at least you are honest."
-
This question was previously posted. What would you do/tell the family who died due to your mistake as a doctor? The interviewer stressed that deaths occur every year due to medical errors before asking the question so interpret as you like.
-
One interviewer questioned me about expressing interest in alternative medicine.
-
you were a buisness major. why medicine?
-
How would I accomadate my lifestyle to associate with my patients OUTSIDE my practice in a rural community (or some sort of bs like this)
-
Name an instance in your life when you were wrong and had to confront it. what did you do and feel from there?
-
What about you do the numbers just not tell me?
-
Nothing--everything was very standard. Two of my interviews consisted of regular conversation (I talked about weddings w/ one of them!) and basic questions like why DO, why VCOM. Only one of my interviews really questioned me a lot but it was all on stuff from my file like classes and volunteer experience, etc
-
What would you propose as a possible solution to the looming crisis in health care coverage?
-
Why I decided to leave my PhD program with a masters and not continue research. The interviewer conducted research so I had to answer carefully.
-
where do you plan to be in 5-10 years? Describe your practice setting?
-
What type of patient should receive OMT treatment? The answer is all patients, but the way the question was asked required me to think more than needed.
-
Describe an event or situation where by you had to use complex analytical skills?
-
What mistake I have made and what did I do about it.
-
What is your biggest regret? (One interviewer asked all the questions you expect to get: "what would your best friend say about you, etc.") Not really difficult, just annoying that could guess all of the questions that would be asked.
-
What do you think about stem cell research? Do you think being a mathemetician influenced Descartes as a philosopher (question from a conversation regarding my personal statement)?
-
How i felt about abortion, euthenasia, and stem cell research all in one question what a bear that one was
-
No real difficult questions. Some interesting ethical/moral questions were posed, but naturally these have no right or wrong answer.
-
If you made a mistake as a doctor, what would you do?
-
tell me about yourself, why medicine
-
Nothing was difficult. Mainly it was just like having a conversation with someone.
-
All were very personal, and really not difficult
-
Nothing. Each interview was mostly conversational.
-
What was an experience you had where you gave selflessly of yourself?
-
None at all.
-
Do you think the government should be allowed to sue the tobacco companies? Should individuals be allowed to? I have no idea where this one came from. I think I ended up giving a general opinion about lottery style litigation and didn't really answer the question and he could tell.
-
I can't say that anything was difficult. Maybe, would you consider "oncology?" I would and in fact it had already crossed my mind.
-
Would you consider practicing in a rural area? I wanted to be honest in that I would but wasn't sure if it were I would end up.
-
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Kind of difficult to predict, especially when you are open to doing mission work, and/or are still pondering....
-
What are you most proud of? What are you most ashamed of/What decision have you made that you later realized was a mistake? How did you deal with your decision and learn from it? Now you are a doctor. What would you do if your mistake resulted in a patient's death? It was a two part question series and I suppose not really that difficult but I just could not think of a good example of a mistake I had made. Also if asked this do not say you would apologize to the patient's family, apparently this is a huge liability issue and my interviewer didn't appreciate the noble gesture.
-
no difficult questions, they just want to get to know you
-
How do I perceive healing?
-
Why did you change over to biochemistry from engineering? - Not really difficult - but this shows how low stress the interview really was.
-
How should physician deal with death? (that is an open-ended question and answer)
-
None were really that difficult, some just made you think.
-
None of the questions were difficult. The one question that I felt I answered the worst was "Tell me about yourself". Even though I had practiced answering this question, I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before the interview and I lost my train of thought in the middle of the response...looked bad I am sure!
-
Describe yourself. (I am not very good at self bragging)
-
No questions were difficult at all. I did not get any ethical questions or "what if..." questions. Just know your application and your motivations for osteopathic medicine.
-
Same as above. He kept re-wording the question to see if I would change my mind.
-
Nothing really was very difficult, they were all so nice and conversational. They just wanted to know why DO why Virgina, strenghs and weaknesses, nothing hard at all. DON'T be NERVOUS
-
None were difficult- it was very conversational. The only q I couldn't answer was which non-science class did you most dislike- I couldn't think of any!
-
How do you expect to be able to come into a rural community as a physician and gain the trust of the community? (phrased 3 different ways)
-
Teenage girl, raped, now pregnant. What do you advise her to do? What is euthanasia?
-
Name three items that are important to you. I was kinda stumped... I said my car, my tv, and my basketball... I am pretty good at BS so I might have gotten myself out of this question, but I doubt it.
-
What was the most difficult situation you've been in and how did you overcome it? (had trouble picking one :-p)
-
Nothing difficult, but the most thought-provoking question was a scenario where you have one unit of blood to give someone, but three people who need it to survive: a seven year-old girl with leukemia, a seventy year-old male who was in a car accident, and a mother who has just given birth to a baby. Who gets the blood, and why?
-
none- everything was very conversational
-
none really. All were mostly conversational
-
No question was really difficult. All the questions asked by the interviewers were very fair.
-
What was a significant point in your life?
-
No difficult questions, just be yourself
-
Tell me about a significant experience in your life.
-
What was your biggest disappointment and how did you deal with it.
-
You have one pint of blood for three patients who all need it or they will die - a seven year old girl with leukemia, a 70 year old man who was in a car accident, and a 30 year old who had just given birth to a baby. Who gets the blood? I was expecting this question, but I still had trouble answering it for some reason.
-
Same, above question.
-
Name a really hard incident in your life and how you overcame it. Tie it to your desire to become a physician.
-
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
-
If you were ask to keep three material things what would it be? I didn't know what to say initially but manage to say something later
-
Ethical question about rights of a patient to know about their terminal illness.
-
most were rather expected.
-
An old lady's daughther asks that you not tell her mother about her cancer. What do you do?
-
What do you think of the current issues involving malpractice insurance?
-
Same as above. I am Latinamerican so I guess the question makes sense. I am also very interested in Latinamerican politics so I had no problems answering this question. However, it fel like it came out of nowhere and I was certainly not prepared for a question like that!!!!!
-
What's your favorite book?
-
What was the most complex siutation you have been in?
-
What is your best quality and worst?
-
What are some of the ethical considerations with cloning?
-
Think about a conflict and how you resolved it
-
Case scenerio: A family asks you not to tell their old mother that she has MS. What do you do? What do you think of abortion and uthenesia?
-
A question about how my faith influences my view of death
-
How is the case against McDonalds food leading to obesity (and subsequent health problems) different from the case against the Tobacco Industry?
-
We all make mistakes. What is one decision you have made that you were ashamed of? What do you wish you had done differently?
-
none........the questions were on the most part expected
-
How are you going to deal with all the stress associated with medical school?
-
why rural medicine?
-
A scenario about abortion.
🤝 Interview Format and Logistics ▼
How long was the interview?
Most respondents had an interview of 20 - 30 minutes.
How many people interviewed you?
Most respondents were interviewed by 3 people.
What was the style of the interview?
Most respondents had a one-on-one interview.
What type of interview was it?
Most respondents had an open file interview.
Was this interview in-person or virtual?
Most respondents had a virtual interview.
Data includes both pre- and post-COVID interviews.
Where did the interview take place?
Most respondents were interviewed at the school.
📍 On-Site Experience ▼
Who was the tour given by?
Tours were most commonly given by Admissions staff personnel
How did the tour guide seem?
Most tour guides were enthusiastic about the school.
How do you rank the facilities?
Most respondents rank the facilities as above average.
What is your in-state status?
Most respondents rank the facilities as below average.
What were your total hours spent traveling?
Most respondents spent 4-6 hours traveling to the interview.
What was your primary mode of travel?
Most respondents traveled by automobile to the interview.
About how much did you spend on room, food, and travel?
Most respondents spent between $101 and $200.
What airport did you fly into?
Respondents who flew to the interview generally used Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport (ROA)
-
Spartanburg
-
Roanoke, VA airport
-
Roanoke, VA
-
Roanoke
-
Richmond
-
ROA
-
LAX/ATL/Roanoke
-
Greenville-Spartanburg
-
Greenville-Greer International (GSP)
-
GSO
-
DEN, MSP, CLT, ATL
Where did you stay?
Most respondents stayed either at a hotel or with friends or family.
What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?
-
none
-
a friend's house
-
Townplace suites by Marriot
-
The Inn at Virginia Tech -- the hotel on campus
-
The Inn at Virginia Tech
-
The Comfort Inn of Blacksburg
-
Residence Inn.
-
Red Carpet Inn
-
Ramada Inn
-
One of the ones across from Westgate Mall, can't remember which
-
Microtel
-
Marriot
-
Inn at Virginia Tech
-
Inn at VTech
-
Inn at VT
-
Inn at Blacksburg
-
Holiday Inn University
-
Holiday Inn Express
-
Holiday Inn Blacksburg - more llike motel... kinda creepy
-
Holiday Inn Blacksburg
-
Holiday Inn
-
Hilton Garden Inn
-
Hawthorn Inn
-
Hampton Inn in Roanoke
-
Hampton Inn in Christiansburg
-
Hampton Inn Christiansburg/Blacksburg
-
Hampton Inn (great rate)
-
Hampton Inn
-
Hampton -Christiansburg
-
Fairfield Inn
-
Courtyard by Mariot (do priceline!)
-
Courtyard Marriott
-
Courtyard Marriot off of I-85 BUS, only 8 minutes from campus
-
Courtyard Marriot Spartanburg
-
Comfot Inn
-
Comfort Suites at Woodgate Mall
-
Comfort Inn--Blacksburg
-
Comfort Inn of Blacksburg
-
Comfort Inn Blacksburg
-
Comfort Inn - Blacksburg
-
Comfort Inn
-
Best Western Holiday Sands Inn & Suites
-
Amerisuites
-
AmeriSuites (aka Hawthorne Suites)
How would you rate the hotel?
Most respondents rated their hotel as good.
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
Would you recommend the hotel?
Most respondents would recommend their hotel.
What is your ranking of this school's location?
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?
-
Super nice hotel and easy to access. Breakfast was not good though.
✅ Interview Preparation and Impressions ▼
How is the friendliness of the admissions office?
Most respondents said the admissions office was friendly.
How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?
Most respondents said the admissions office was responsive.
How did you prepare for the interview?
Most applicants prepared for the interview by practicing common questions, reviewing their application materials, reading feedback on Student Doctor Network (SDN), and researching the school's website. Many also engaged in mock interviews and sought advice from current students or medical professionals.
-
SDN
-
SDN interview feedback
-
Practice questions, reviewed my essays
-
VCOM's website, looked up faculty profiles for my interviewers, watched their open house recordings
-
Looked at all SDN questions, practiced common interview questions
-
SDN, mock interview, looking at the school's website
-
Prepared answers to basic questions, read SDN, reviewed my resume and application
-
Read SDN, practiced my answers to common questions
-
SDN Interview Feedback, Reading through primary application and secondary application
-
SDN, reading over my application and their website
-
Read SDN, Reread my own application and secondary answers.
-
online questions, practiced with previous admissions members and med students, SDN
-
I read books, had a nice suit. I flew there from the other side of the country. When I got there, I realized my suit pants were missing! Interviewed without dress pants, just a casual pair of khakis. Got accepted anyway.
-
ACCOMAS File, SDN, Internet
-
Research questions, mock interviews with family
-
SDN, mock interviews, looking over application and secondary
-
SDN forums, school website.
-
researched VCOM, looked at SDN, googled medical school interview questions (basically everything)
-
This page and mock interviews
-
I found a list of the most common interview questions on the internet and read over them.
-
I read the website and SDN
-
VCOM's website, SDN
-
Reading SDN
-
Googled practice medical school interview questions
-
Make a list of questions I expected to be asked and/or knew would be difficult for me if asked. Compiled the list mostly from books on the subject. Had a friend asked me the questions. Attended 2 mock interviews at my undergraduate school.
-
SDN, schools site.
-
Read SDN feedback and reread my primary and secondary applications.
-
Using this site, mock interview, talking to others.
-
Read reviews on SDN, reviewed my essays, relaxed.
-
SDN, read over my own AACOMAS file, practiced interview questions.
-
Reviewed my primary and secondary applications, studied the schools website from history to curriculm, did a mock interview, and reviewed the feedback on here
-
SDN - I read up on the school's programs and style
-
Reviewed apps, websites, common interview questions.
-
snd, mock interview
-
Reviewed Primary/Secondary, SDN, School Catalog
-
mock interview
-
Looked over my essays. SDN
-
Reviewed the VCOM web site, my own application.
-
Website and forums
-
SDN feedback, read over my application, had a mock interview with friends.
-
SDN, interview feedback, mock interview at my school, family members and coworkers asking me questions.
-
SDN, practice, typing answers out
-
Read interview feedback, SDN, my secondary app and AACOMAS
-
SDN, mock interviews with doctors at work and friends
-
SDN,previous interviews
-
VCOM website, SDN, mock interviews, read through application, etc
-
SDN, school website,
-
I spent some time reviewing SDN, reading my application and LOR's and brushing up on the details of my research. Big dinner and good night sleep and then I relaxed.
-
SDN, visited the school, web-site
-
Interviewed myself on the car ride down, SDN, re-read my primary and secondary apps.
-
SDN, the VCOM website, looked over my application and essays.
-
SDN, looked up health care info on wikipedia, mock interviews, read VCOM's website
-
VCOM website, UWash website, SDN, mock interviews, internet
-
SDN, mock questions with my girlfriend, researching the school, had dinner with a research graduate beforehand
-
Read the interview feedback on SDN, re-read my primary and secondary apps, and had a couple of beers the night before.
-
read over supp app and SDN forums
-
U of Washington ethics website, read papers from my ethics class, read past feadback, read secondary application again
-
SDN, re-read submitted materials
-
The VCOM website, VCOM handbook obtained prior to interview, SDN, mock interviews, asking various physicians ethical questions that I thought would be asked of me.
-
SDN Interview Feedback, VCOM's site
-
This site, mock interviews, an ethics book.
-
SDN feedback, practice interviews, read over my primary and secondary apps
-
interview feedbacks, rereading my essays
-
This site, days of mock interviews, shadowing, volunteering.
-
you name it... I did it.
-
I read their website, SDN and the OMC info book for 2008.
-
hiked in the mountains to relax
-
a lot of stuff. Too much to post
-
I read everything on their website and the AACOM page
-
Read SDN, read over my application, read the VCOM website
-
Read SDN, read over my application materials
-
Read over AACOMAS, Secondary, SDN, current events, and read practically everything on the school's website
-
Reviewed my secondary application, used Student Doctor and practiced questions.
-
SDN, the BBC webpage's science and nature section, my application materials, and conversations with current medical students. I also reviewed the specifics of my published research to be prepared to answer questions about my methods, and its relevance to the practice of medicine.
-
SDN, AACOMAS application/secondary review.
-
Read interview feedback, SDN, mock interview, read over website.
-
Reviewed my secondary application, personal statement, and familiarized myself with all aspects of the school...including curriculum, campus setting, programs offered and recent events
-
Read over my application and essays, student doctor, VCOM website
-
SDN, reviewed my publications, experiences, ACOMAS application
-
Reviewed my primary & secondary. SDN interview feedbacks.
-
Reviewed primary, secondary, SDN, and mock interview.
-
Reviewed AACOMS and Secondary Application. Talked to a friend that went to school there. SDN of course!
-
Read SDN, looked at secondary application
-
VCOM website, SDN and reviewed my application.
-
I re-read my AACOMAS and secondary application materials. I prayed alot too...
-
Several mock interviews, read interview feedback, UW bioethics page, found some articles on organ transplantation and other topics off pubmed
-
Student Doctor.com, my primary application, researched the school.
-
web site, and re-read my secondary application.
-
Read the feedback on here and stayed relaxed.
-
SDN, read over primary and secondary application, practice responses
-
I read through my AACOMAS application and these SDN interview reviews.
-
SDN and school's website
-
SDN, AACOMAS and VCOM applications
-
Read AACOMAS, My primary and secondary applications, SDN forums and interview feedback, online research of potential questions, mock interviews with friends, just relaxed.
-
Questions on studentdoctor.net, reviewed my applications (AACOMAS, secondary)
-
I read my application, looked at the questions on SDN, and also looked at the question bank at my undergraduate instition's website.
-
Read over application, SDN posts.
-
School Website, AACOM.org, Mock Interview at work and school, Articles on topics like abortion, euthanasia, HMO's, PPO's and studentdoctor.net
-
Read my application essay, read some DO articles off the internet, read SDN.
-
Read over this site a little. I tried not to stress myself out by worrying about what they might ask. Thought about other things.
-
SDN Interview Feedback, Internet sites with Medical School questions, Interview Workshop booklet, Family
-
SDN, Primary and secondary apps, talked to current students
-
SDN, mock interview with prof., practice with family.
-
SDN website, practiced with family
-
SDN, school's website, practiced with family
-
SDN, read over my application.
-
Researched osteopathy, read applications, and SDN
-
Studied my applications and SDN
-
SDN, my secondary and primary application, and spoke with friends who had interviews.
-
SDN website, reviewed my application, VCOM website.
-
read school's website, applications, SDN
-
SDN, prior interivews and application
-
SDN, talked with students.
-
SDN, read over my aacomas app and secondary app, mock interview, talked to myself a lot
-
SDN, prepared questions, talked to myself..a lot:)
-
Did some research on the school. Actually I went in pretty cold because I think it allowed me to be myself not some prepared false perception.
-
Had 4 other interviews and also read my app again and studentdoctor.net
-
My app and SDN.
-
read SDN interview feedback, reviewed application, read up on VCOM
-
SDN, mock interview, practice questions.
-
read over my app again, my secondary, SDN, mock interview
-
SDN, read website
-
school website, mock interview, sdn
-
I read books on interviewing and checked sites for sample questions that I might be asked and that I might ask the interviewers.
-
SND, reviewd application, reviewed school website and school's mission
-
SDN, reviewed my research, though about my homestate and what questions they could ask about why I wanted to leave their
-
Reviewed my AACOMAS, secondary application, SDN reviews, the VCOM website, and the VCOM student handbook.
-
SDN, Friends, read handbook
-
read this site, looked over my file, and made sure why I wanted to come back to southwest virginia, and be a DO.
-
Reviewed applications, essays, studentdoctor, school webpage
-
Relaxed the night before - I didn't really need to prepare because I had already been accepted to other schools.
-
Read my application.
-
Asked people at other interviews, looked on student doctor, read the school's website.
-
I read over interview feedback from SDN, checked out their web-site, and conducted e-mail interviews with current students.
-
Read my app and statments.
-
Downloaded the handbook and read the whole thing, studentdoctor.net, read the website. Got there a day early and walked around the campus/town.
-
SDN, VCOM website
-
Student Doctor; Spoke with a current student
-
Read my app and sdn
-
Read SDN Interview feedback, practiced talking to myself by answering questions I thought I would be asked (and never was), skimmed through file.
-
studentdoctor.net, VCOM website, hanging out with Hokies, and touring the campus
-
secondary, website
-
Didn't
-
SDN; VCOM Web site; researched current healthcare and other political hot topics on the Web.
-
SDN, relaxed before
-
SDN, VCOM website, my applications
-
SDN, VCOM's website
-
SDN, Gevitz book, VCOM website
-
I read my app(primary and secondaries), read their website, read over general DO information, spoke to my DO recommender, made lists of possible questions, relaxed.
-
SDN, school website, read literature on history of osteopathic literature and philosophy, and shadowed a DO(VERY IMPORTANT)
-
I looked over typical interveiw question. I reviewed this website, and extensively looked over the school website and the information mailed to me by the school.
-
Read this website and the VCOM website and student handbook (VERY IMPORTANT!! - This tells you a lot about the school that they fail to tell you)
-
Look at the school's website and at my application. This was sufficient.
-
VCOM website, SDN, and read my application
-
read this website, practiced answering general questions with friends, re-read my application
-
SDN, Read my applications, talked to friends
-
I read my primary and secondary, "osteopathic Medicine: A Reformation in Progress," "Epidemic of Care," this website, other websites dealing with medical school interviews, and medical student feedback.
-
Read secondary application and SDN
-
I looked at their website and this one reread my application, which helps ALOT
-
SDN, read school website
-
Read this site and my applications.
-
Gevitz, preped for interview questions, read over application
-
SDN, School website. Always rehearsing and asking myself questions. Practice NOT saying "um." You'd probably be surprised at how much you say it w/o realizing.
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read this webpage
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SDN, looked over my application and answers to essay questions, looked over notes from ethics class
-
Read the interview feedback at SDN, studied my application that was sent to VCOM, and thought about how I would answer the typical interview questions.
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reading interview feedback and website and several previous interviews
-
read SDN and AACOMAS
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sdn, website, secondary application
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I have been prepared for this for a long time.
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SDN website, VCOM website, AACOMAS application, talked to people who had interviewed at VCOM and other schools
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Student doctor website, read over my application
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Read application, review current events
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Website, SDN
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SDN, other web sites, college's web site
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SDN, mock interviews, planning certain answers to standard interview questions
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School interviews, student doctor info., and interviewing for other jobs.
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read this site, their website and info, read over my AACOMAS and secondary applications
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SDN interview feedback, review application.
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This website
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Read over Primary and secondary application, web page, and SDN interview feedback (very helpful)
-
Read the web site, SDN, interview feedback, read books about DO's
-
website, SDN, read app
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I reviewed the information sent to me and looked at the website
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School's website, SDN.
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Read SDN and VCOM's website
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Read this site
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SDN, internet, books, friends in med school
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Mock Interviews, school web page, SDN.
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Internet, other students, reviewing ACCOMAS and 2ndry application...
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Reading things on the net, being myself.
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Gevitz, AACOM website, EVVCOM website
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i have been preparing for the interview for years now, by going to college, taking mcat, doing community work, learning, etc.. so it is just a matter of speaking from your heart and using your head the day of the interview. you just have to be able to formulate all your experiences into answers.
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Gevitz, VCOM website, DO websites
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SND, VCOM website, and read over my application
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The VCOM website, SDN interview feedbacks, made flashcards with possible questions to get an idea of what I wanted to say
-
Read VCOM website, SDN, ethics background...read over my own application.
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Interview Feedback, EVVCOM website, reviewed my apps and essays
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Reviewed SDN website, EVVCOM site, Medical school admissions guide, and varied internet sites on interviewing
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read over my application, looked over the VCOM website, researched osteopathic medicine
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studied the school's website, info on osteopathy and how it compares to allopathy, studied my aacomas application, also did some mock interviews
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website, gevitz, AACOM website
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Read evvcom website. Look at other DO school interview feeedbacks.
What impressed you positively?
Applicants were overwhelmingly impressed by the friendliness and welcoming atmosphere of the interview day, the genuine interest of faculty and staff in getting to know them, the state-of-the-art facilities, the emphasis on a low-stress and conversational interview experience, and the school's strong sense of community and support for students. Many highlighted the modern technology, the beautiful campus, the affiliation with Virginia Tech, the innovative curriculum, and the opportunities for medical missions as standout features that left a positive impression. Some also appreciated the emphasis on primary care, the family-like atmosphere, and the focus on student success.
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Interviewers were extremely friendly and seemed to care about what I said.
-
The interviewers were so extremely kind and welcoming. Very personable and made it feel like they were actually interested in YOU.
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Very organized interview day, very efficient on time
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Each staff member is incredibly kind. They all thanked me for sharing my experiences and were very open to a conversation-style interview. Communication from the ADCOM was consistent and they were reassuring.
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Everyone was friendly felt like they were asking questions to genuinely get to know you not stump you
-
how nice and informative the faculty were, the interview was very smooth and comforting instead of scary
-
The interviewers were all very friendly, one of them commented specifically (when asked) that they loved the work environment and how friendly and supportive all the staff is
-
How nice the admissions staff was
-
legit everything
-
Wonderfully friendly staff, very welcoming and genuinely happy/excited.
-
everyone at VCOM was super nice, they kept telling us over and over to relax and they honestly were super chill. Most of the interviewers are young(er) and are chill to communicate with. All my interviews were more of a conversation than a heres the questions give me answer type of thing.
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The questions were very thoughtful and personalized - they really cared about who I was as a person. Didn't share those for fear of sharing personal info.
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Very friendly and attentive
-
Incredibly friendly atmosphere, very low stress, conversational interviewers
-
Facilities and Sports Medicine program
-
Very, very friendly atmosphere. Felt like a family. They also seem to really be concentrating on boards and how to best prepare students.
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the students were really friendly and happy, the program had an above average board pass rate, the ties with virginia tech's athletic programs, I could go on and on...
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Modern equipment- each cadaver lab has its own ventilation system. Every student I've talked to really like the school.
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There was a family atmosphere. Everyone knew everyone else and was happy to see them.
-
Everything-- from the admissions staff, to the area, and the facilities.
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They faculty seemed to be extremely caring of the students. I saw a lot of faculty members just chatting with students in the hallways and it seemed very friendly and conversational. Their facilities are new and incredibly nice. They took us on a brief tour of Spartanburg, and for me this helped solidify how committed they are to the community.
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The campus and the friendliness of the people
-
Friendliness of professors and staff. Beautiful brand new campus. Technology in lecture halls.
-
Facilities looked top notch.
-
Facilities and admissions office.
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The amazing attitudes and calmness of everyone who worked there.
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The relaxed atmosphere - they really just want to get to you know you, so be open and honest.
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Very up-to-date technology throughout the school (they are heavily associated with VA Tech and VA Tech alumni, so they are well funded...plus, it is a fairly new school, accepting their first class in 2003); very friendly staff and administration; very kind, polite students; Blacksburg area is gorgeous; systems based approach to curriculum.
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The friendliness of the admissions office, students.
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The welcoming atmosphere of students and staff.
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Students can use all the Virginia Tech facilities and attend games, join clubs, etc. I like how non-competitive the class is even though they are on letter grade system. The students were challenged but had fantastic feedback about professors being fair and pretty understanding. The admission staff took us on a tour of Blacksburg to know about the apartments there, see the VTech campus, etc. - very helpful and beautiful! I like that there is a block at the end of first year dedicated strictly to board prep. There are lots of bike trails connecting the town as well as a free bus service from VTech that helps to cut down on gas/hassle. I thought the cost of tuition compared to other schools and what is included is phenomenal! Also, the structure of classes has more frequent tests built in so students can stay up to date with the material AND redeem themselves after one bad test. Anatomy lab is all throughout first year not just crammed into 3 months.
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Faculty, staff, facilities, curriculum, students.
-
how fast the admissions committee was in responding, how great the day was, how nice and laid back the interviewers were.
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Everything
-
atmosphere and welcoming attitude
-
The Sim labs, the Anatomy lab, the opportunity to do international missions. The week off after finishing every block. Increased time off to study for boards. They give you a practice test before you take it.
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The Anatomy lab! The global health program. How friendly everyone was.
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The people at this school are absolutely amazing. If you really want a nice, comfortable, hassle-free environment, this is a great choice. Plus, it is REALLY cheap to live here, which is always a great plus.
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The anatomy lab is fantastic and it does not smell.
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The attitude of everyone there, including the students. They had a big test that day and were still happy to meet people.
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how friendly everyone was
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Facilities, Virginia Tech affiliation, Blacksburg. The anatomy lab is one of the best I've ever seen.
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The facilities are nice.
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Time efficient, the most friendliest group of staff members and profs ever met, very encouraging, relaxed interview, helpful....lunch 2nd yr student excellent in answering questions
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Very impressive anatomy lab with many cadavers. The admissions office could possibily contain the nicest people I have ever met! Great Sim lab in the near future.
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Anat. lab, curriculum, facilities, international program, staff (very friendly), the surrounding area (its beautiful in virginia)
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Very low stress day, I had the opportunity to have good conversations with the interviewers. Everyone involved in the day was very friendly and helpful. The campus is new and very modern, the students seem happy. This school has built quite a solid reputation for being so young.
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facilities were good, VT affiliation, and all the expansions. Seems like a great place to go to med school!
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The affiliation with VTech, how modern the facilities are, the anatomy lab - NO SMELL!!!, the OMM and sim rooms.
-
The staff is very helpful and treat everyone nicely and with respect...before acceptance.
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I like how they integrate clinical aspects of medicine throughout all of the classes. Everyone in the admissions office is amazing. The overall atmosphere of the school seems helpful and non-competitive. The facilities are great. The anatomy lab is outstanding. The new OMM/simulated patient facilities are nice too. The block schedule. The school's association with Virginia Tech is a huge plus.
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The community atmosphere at the school. There was no competition among students and the faculty cared about the well-being of the students. It's basically a brand new with more additions for the next year. Blacksburg is a beautiful town with lots of things to do and very cheap housing compared to where I went for undergrad.
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Overall, the facilities are very good. The best part of the school is the anatomy lab (there wasn't a trace of odor). Everyone was very warm. Virtually every VCOM faculty or staff member thanked me for coming to the interview. Blacksburg is a very nice town.
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Everything. Virginia Tech has worked hard to build this program into something rivaling UVA, EVMS, and MCV. The facilities are great and the response from the admissions department and all of the staff in general is warm and welcoming.
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the new curriculum and school improvements. new buildings and anatomy lab.
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How much progress the school has made and how much potential it has, it's one of the top three schools (md and do) for international medicine programs, anatomy lab
-
EVERYTHING - campus, affiliation with VA Tech, area, town (adorable), everyone I met, cadaver lab!!!
-
The anatomy lab was the only positive component this school has to offer.
-
Administrative staff attitude, fellow interviewees, "new" approach to clinical education, ANATOMY LAB - no smell at all--other schools you can smell the lab as soon as you get on the floor
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Everything else but the van tour. The school is small but it's a new place and they are growing. I really enjoyed it and definitely see myself gong there.
-
For a new, one building school, VCOM has some nice facilities. The anatomy lab is outstanding! Their association with Virginia Tech was a plus for me. I also liked the fact that they are actively trying to improve the ''campus.'' The students they sent to have lunch with us were informative and enthusiastic. I like the way the school year was set up with breaks between blocks. I was very excited about the chance to go on medical mission trips. The staff and faculty gave the impression that they cared about the students.
-
great school, affiliation with VTech, great facilities, wonderful profs, AMAZING fin aide presentation!!!
-
the anatomy lab, nice building,
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The affiliation of VCOM with Virginia Tech.
-
The admissions staff was very friendly. The interviewers were friendly. They seemed to just want to make sure you would be happy at their school.
-
students, labs, lectures were very well structured, rural medicine
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They gave us information about financial aid that applies to any school. It was very helpful and appreciated.
-
The anatomy lab, the international medical missions program, and the school's affiliation with Virginia Tech
-
The anatomy lab!!! It was incredible. The best technology paired with the greatest view of the mountains. The people were so friendly. I felt very welcome. Also, the International missions program is unbelievable with a number of options of countries to do rotations in.
-
The schools mission for service through medicine
-
Everything.
-
How friendly EVERYONE was. From the students to the cafeteria staff, everyone was warm, welcoming, and happy to have us there.
-
Facilities: were new, clean, modern. The whole campus is wireless. Anatomy lab has ventilation technology that is brand new.
-
The town, the students and staff were super friendly. The professor knew every student by name and told me some info about each one..they stressed cooperation and not competition! The dual Ph.D and the medical missions.
-
The enthusiasm of all of the administration and faculty and the new and clean facilities especially the anatomy lab
-
The welcoming positive attitudes of the faculty and students. The anatomy lab and technology utilized at the school. All of my interviewers were wonderful, very personable, and easy to talk to.
-
Anatomy lab, medical missions program (can spend 3rd and 4th years in Africa)
-
The lab was state-of-the art,
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Everything is state-of-the-art and in excellent condition.
-
Anatomy Lab! DO/PhD program can be done in 5 years without having to pay tuition during your fifth year. Medical Mission program. Curriculm is on Block system and you get one to two weeks off after each block. Access to Virgina Tech's Campus. Free Transportation System. 3rd year rotation site in New Jersey.
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The school facility is incredible! The anatomy lab and classrooms are real new and nice!
-
Everything. The admissions director is an extraordinary person. As well, the staff and faculty are great. Top-notch program and facilities. Students are required to take the USMLE. The education and training emphasizes primary care in the rural setting. Professional-casual dress code. Students are encouraged to work together for a common goal. The program is tough but the staff and faculty make themselves available to assist you any way they can. Clinicals are offered at affiliated sights throughout Virginia. Blacksburg is a charming town and not too far away from metropolitan areas.
-
I interviewed with the director of the missions medicine department. He told me about some opportunities for international medical missions. Megan, the director of admissions and Bea a student services coordinator were great too, they were very friendly.
-
How happy everyone seemed
-
Their missionary work program! and of course the fact that they are authentically nice people! Also, the curriculum, affiliation with VTech, the facilities (which blew me away - namely the anatomy lab) and the marvellous nature and pure air!
-
Their association with Virginia Tech, and the amount of research facilities they have and plan to build.
-
The building is all new and the facilities were awesome... the staff is very friendly... the students seem to enjoy the school.. The close link with VTech.
-
The facilities, the wonderful admissions staff, the friendly students, and the very friendly faculty
-
The relaxed atmosphere, great facilities, the tour of the town, and the strength of intellect I found in the interviewers.
-
Everything. I was expecting the school to be great but it went beyond my expectations. Facilities are great, faculty members are great, and there seems to be a lot of opportunities for mission work.
-
The faculty and admissions staff go out of their way to make you feel at ease. State-of-the-art facilities.
-
The growth of the school, SMARTboards! are very cool, the fact that Blacksburg is a pretty rural area yet there are things to do downtown and VTechs college atmosphere is literally 5 mins away. The closeness of staff, faculty and students, seems like everyone knows eachother by name
-
It was amazing how friendly and warm everyone was. The facilities were great and I loved the area.
-
The admission staff and most of the interviewers were very friendly. The technology at the facility was state of the art. They have these awesome smart boards (white boards), that prints what you write on them. You can even post it on your website. The anatomy lab was also wonderful. Each table had its own vent. There were also windows, as it was on the third floor, and you could see the mountains. The faculty, staff, and students also seemed very caring about their community.
-
Students, faculty and staff were all very happy with the school. The professors have an open door policy, and students spoke highly of their professors. The interviewers were open and honest about their feelings on the school, students, and town.
-
the state of the art facilities, how happy the Dean of admissions was about the facility and the program, The medical mission rotations for 3rd and 4th years. Overall i jsut felt at home
-
The facilities are top-notch, better than any other school I visited, DO or MD. Anatomy lab, OMM rooms, and study rooms are sweet. The association with VT gives students at VCOM a huge amount of extracurricular activites, assuming you have time to use them. Low cost of living, investment opportuinties if you buy a house/townhouse, nice scenery, decent restaurant & bar scene. The VT undergrads and the other graduate school students I met the night before the interview were very friendly and seemed to enjoy their school.
-
Everyone from the faculty to the students love to be there. Very family oriented. They want you to do your best.
-
Anatomy lab, new facilities, laid-back, very friendly staff
-
The facilities and technology were awesome. The staff was also very friendly, warm, and excited to have us there. The anatomy lab and software is the best I've seen so far.
-
The facilities are amazing and the people they have teaching and the admin. go above and beyond what I expected.
-
The facilities are awesome! The interviewers also made it clear that they judged applications beyond MCAT scores and grades. They were more interested in knowing who I was.
-
Everything! The technology was awesome and the students and staff were extremely warm and inviting.
-
The technology, how friendly everyone was, the anatomy lab was great (wonderful ventilation system + very big windows with great views). I love the campus at Tech and Blacksburg is a great town (Note: I'm a bit biased since I'm a VT undergrad :) )
-
Relaxed atmosphere
-
The faculty members and students were enthusiastic about the school. The level or employment of digital technology was impressive and the anatomy lab was outstanding!
-
Super technologically advanced. They are affiliated with Virginia Tech which is neat because you get the feel of a large school. Everyone was super nice and the students LOVED their school.
-
I liked everything about it. Especially the anatomy lab, it did not smell, state of the art facilities,the town of Blacksburg, and the people were really friendly.
-
The school is new but feels like it's very established partly b/c of the affiliation with VTech, but mostly b/c it seems they did it right-- they planned and and built the facility well before admitting their first class. Thank goodness for grants, huh? Also, unlike most DO schools, your 3rd and 4th years can all be spent within a 3 hr drive of the area-- good for students with families.
-
The Virginia Tech campus
-
Friendliness, enthusiasm; the anatomy lab was the best I have ever seen.
-
the technology, friendly students and staff, new facilities
-
The friendliness of the staff, the nice facilities (anatomy lab is amazing), the proximity to VA Tech.
-
Facilities were amazing, people were really nice and down to earth, VATech is a great place to be around, sports medicine, etc.
-
I love this school. The curriculum is top-notch, the resources are unbelievable, and the technology is nothing short of impressive. The people are also unbelievably friendly and it's affiliated with Virginia Tech, giving you all the benefits of a bigger campus.
-
The technology and the location
-
Everyone is extremely friendly. The time taken to familiarize applicants with VCOM, V Tech, and the area.
-
Enthusiasm and friendliness of faculty and students, facilities, impressive track record for such a young school.
-
everyone is SO nice!!
-
fascilities
-
top-notch facilities, enthusiastic staff, great location
-
VCOM is a new facility with top of the line instructors, technology and student services. VT is in itself a great school. Everyone loves it there, students and instructors.
-
Faculty seem really concerned about students success and about their students significant others and their families, which is important to me
-
EVERYONE WAS SO NICE!!!!
-
The high level of academics at the school, the superiority of the facilities, the friendliness of everyone we met, and the close knit feel of the program. Basically I was positively impressed by the entire program.
-
SUPER nice people, very kicked back and easy going at the school. The catered lunch.
-
As everyone else has said, the technology and facilities are amazing. Everyone seems happy and excited.
-
the staff was extremely enthusiastic and friendly. Have a lot of faith in the class about to take their boards.
-
Technology is amazing, far better than any program on the east coast I visited. School administrators and MI//MII attitudes and positivity...everyone is really excited about the program and direction for the future.
-
The state-of-the-art technology, anatomy lab, and the enthusiasm and optimism of the students and faculty.
-
Facilities, friendliness of staff.
-
The dress code. I know you are going to say that it shouldn't matter, but I guess my age and work experience makes me realize the importance...at least to me. The focus by everyone to do have the students do well. The technology is highly impressive. They also pay the clinical teaching staff, and not every school does this.
-
The staff was very organized, and a friendly environment.
-
They do project and aura of professionalism and aspirations to greatness.
-
This school is going to do well. I earned a masters degree at an allopathic medical school, and VCOM's facilities were every bit as nice, the staff is far more friendly, and they seem to be more supportive of the students. The match won't be a problem; there are plenty of hospitals for people interested in primary care. This school has something to prove and they are bending over backwards to ensure their reputation as a good school (like requiring both boards), and that the students are happy. The other students being interviewed seemed smart and sincerely friendly, so I felt like I was in good company.
-
the whole day was well planned out, informative and laid back, and really gave a good feel for the school. all of the staff members, profs included, were really out of control nice, supportive, and available. i really got the feel of a strong community at vcom, minimal competitiveness. also, the technology used was beyond anything ive ever seen before.
-
Faculity, other students
-
State of the art facility; Friendly administration; Students were pleased; VCOM students get same priveleges as Virginia Tech students; Seems to be going to the top in a few years
-
Everyone was so nice, they really act as if they want you there, loved two of the people that interviewed me
-
Everything. The school is great, the faculty and staff are great, the association with VT is great. My number one choice, and I'm afraid to find out what happens.
-
THEY ARE SO NICE!!! EVERYBODY!!! YOU FEEL SO WELCOMED ONCE YOU WALK THROUGH THE DOORS!
-
great technology new amazing school great enthusiasm of faculty/staff
-
facilities, anatomy lab!!!, require you to take both the COMLEX and USMLE
-
Blacksburg
-
Everything impressed me. This school was awesome! All high tech, wireless, best ventilation system in anatomy lab, location is amazing, and the staff is completely focused on the students.
-
Everyone, from the students we met to the interviewers, to the admissions staff is really happy and loves VCOM. It's a very high tech place, all around. Wireless network baby!!
-
The new campus, the AWESOME, supportive faculty and administration, access to Virginia Tech campus ,etc.
-
Everyone there was so enthusiastic about the place and life in general. The students said they got all the help necessary from professors that there is an open door policy. Cutthroat competition is highly discouraged. Even the people at visitor info on the V-Tech campus were very nice. A professor saw me looking at a campus map and offered to help me. They have a great transit system so you would not have to worry about driving in the snow.
-
All most everything seemed positive. The students seemed genuinely happy. The professors seemed to be so excited about the school. There seemed to be a real vision full of grandiose expectations for the future of this school. I was very interested in the medical missions program, the incredible technology the school has built in, and the atmosphere they are creating there.
-
High tech, very friendly, laid back faculty and staff, students happy and enthusiastic, amazing anatomy lab (absolutely 0 smell), family oriented school, medical missions and opportunities, innovative curriculum with frequent but short breaks year round, well organized and definite sense of compassion and eagerness to help in the faculty, the area is absolutely stunning beautiful and peaceful
-
Very nice staff/faculty (except for one interviewer), integrated program, pro-student, technology (anatomy Lab does not smell like formaldehyde AT ALL!), small and close-knit student environment, great interviewers (except for one--the particular person seemed detached and impersonal).
-
The facilities are amazing, the curriculum is cutting edge, and the people are so friendly. This school will really be the best DO school out there within the next few years!
-
Everyone was very friendly. The student who ate lunch with us offered to go out that night and talk to us more about the school. A very nice gesture!
-
Everyone was friendly and made me feel comfortable.
-
How nice the facilities were. However, they were confined to one building, and one of the students commented on how we were going to feel like there was not enough space with more than one class present. The staff kept saying how students could use VTech facilities, which is OFF campus.
-
Every person in that building has open arms to the interviewers. They are so nice and positive. I felt very comfortable.
-
The facilities are amazing, and the staff are great. Every aspect of the school left a positive impression
-
The faculty and admissions staff were friendly and caring, they really strive to make you feel welcome. The campus is beautiful and the college has state of the art technology!
-
The student to faculty interaction and the beautiful scenery from nearly every room in the building.
-
I cannot begin to list them all. The facilities are extraordinary, state-of-the-art! The curriculum is systems based block model somewhat similar to KCOM but not the blocks - this is going to be integral to learning and retaining info for the boards and future knowledge. STRONG sense of community and comraderie which I think is essential for student success. They are and will be a top pioneering institution in medicine! The staff and faculty are top notch and really do care for the students. They have collaborations with Virginia Tech for research and will be offering a dual DO/PhD degree. Again, they are focusing on medicine for the future!
-
Everthing- how excited the staff was, the school, the technolog, the area (especially how cheap it was to live down there). The school and area just seemed to fit me.
-
The school is beautiful, the people are nice. Its associated with Virgina Tech. The anatomy lab is so awesome with incredible views and the air is cirulated like 17 times a minute and they have candy!!
-
Just about everything- brand new facilities, the people were fantastic, so open and nice, wireless campus, these smartboard things, everything!
-
Technology at the school.
-
The people seem really excited to be there and to recruit the best and the brightest. They seem to be looking for visionaries to shape the future of the school. The area is beautiful and the rent cheap.
-
The technology, no doubt. Ask about the dry-erase boards in many of the smaller rooms (ALL of the study rooms, and all of the OMM rooms). Friendliness of the staff. Everyone is happy to see you, really wants the school to succeed.
-
the technology in this school is nothing shy of crazy. The staff are pretty friendly.
-
The building and facilities are brand new and very high-tech.
-
The high-quality faculty that was hand picked by the Dean, the enthusiasm of the faculty and staff, the affiliation with Virginia Tech, the high-tech building and classrooms, and their mission to make the school top notch in every area.
-
The high tech. building. Virginia Tech campus was quite nice. The faculty and admissions personnel were all very nice and didn't hound you about any shortcomings (MCAT) but highlighted the positives. They made you feel welcome and want to sell the school to you by allaying any worries concerning the school's newness.
-
New facilities and school is associated with Virginia Tech.
-
very laid back environment
-
Everything. The kindness of the students and staff, the beautiful building, and not to mention the technological level of the school. How at home the faculty made the visit. It was a good fit for me.
-
Everyone at VCOM is extremely friendly and down to earth. I was really impressed by the warmth of the school and their eagerness to make the day really special and stress free. I felt like I was at home with friends. The Admissions Director even took us out to give us a tour of Blacksburg and showed us different places where we should live, and places to shop and eat at. It was really awesome. Plus the school is very technologically advanced.
-
The fact that every thing was so high tech and board reviews offer by the school for free
-
The technology of the school was Awesome!! The anatomy lab was spectacular and the faculty and students were very approachable
-
I liked the school facilities. Very modern and wireless. Plenty of parking. You can live across the street from the school and walk to class in less than 5 minutes. Everyone seemed to genuinely enjoy being there. The town is small so there are less distractions. No traffic. Diverse first class. Impressive anatomy lab. The interactions between faculty and students.
-
Everything! The facilities, latest technology and labs, the students.
-
VCOM is on top of things. The first block went smoothly. The students who had trouble with the first block were given extra help to pass - it sounded like a "leave no student behind" kind of plan. Also, the anatomy lab is state of the art.
-
The staff cook and set of food for the students during finals week.
-
facilities are state-of-the-art! students seemed happy, desire of interviewers to get to know me well, and their enthusiasm.
-
The facilities are fabulous, very modern. Wireless internet access. The anatomy lab has individual ventilated "boxes" for each cadaver as well as filtering/recycling the air frequently (I forgot the turnover rate--maybe it was 15 times per hour). It's also on the top floor with large windows for natural lighting. We also got a nice tour of Blacksburg, apartments, townhouses, etc.
-
Great facilities, enthusiastic staff and students, the anatomy lab is phenomenal. The dean has brought in people from all over the country so it seems that everyone brought a lot of experience to the table when planning the medical school. Looks like it's about half MD/half DO which is nice.
-
state-of-the art technology, affiliation with Virginia Tech and the niceness of the staff and faculty that interview me. The interview was not stressful.
-
The facilities, great technology, awesome labs!!
-
I LOVED the facilities. They are states of the art and very technologically advanced. I thought the admissions staff was amazing especially Megan Settle. She was truly a pleasure to work with! THe lunch was really yummy also.
-
The environment the school is located in is absolutely beautiful. Even if I don't go here, I will someday want to live in VA.
-
The admissions committee was really friendly and interested in getting to know the applicant as a person. Also the school is going to be state of the art.
-
The staff and faculty were great. They really went out of their way to make us comfortable. The program sounds awesome.
-
friendly staff/faculty, new buildings
-
The campus is gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!! The building is new, The school sounds like it's going to be great and they'll be doing research with VA Tech (one of the top 50 research schools in the nation). The staff was very friendly and made us feel pretty confortable about everything.
-
The people! Everyone was amazing.
-
I liked the Virginia Tech campus.
-
The positive atmposhere and excitement of the staff.
-
Everyone there is top notch. Dr. Dubin's presentation in the morning was excellent!! The curriculum is based upon a rational design for medical practice in the future.
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Faculty and staff are very enthusiastic about the new school. The curriculum is very innovative and appealing, and they have some top notch researchers joining the school (partially due to reasearch collaboration with VA Tech). The town of Blacksburg is just a huge campus with a lot of diversity in the mountains.
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The facility and thier vision of the future physician.
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The outlook and vision of the school. Everything is state-of-the-art, new facilities and technology, the faculty are all high quality from diverse backgrounds and education, their affiliation with VaTech (yes, we are Hokies!!), and the interview experience was designed to be laid back and low-stress. There was a strong emphasis on this first entering class to be the fore-runner to a successful program.
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The positive attitude of the faculty and the staff. I was also surprised at how much I liked Blacksburg... Also, they have such an attentive staff! There is practically no waiting throughout the process.
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The quality of the faculty and the enthusiasm of everyone. Being taken out to lunch and driven around the town to see good places to live. Having the opportunity to talk with the other people that were interviewing.
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The positivity of the entire staff along with the state of the art facilities being completed
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I was really impressed with the excitement of the faculty and staff. The facilities are going to be state-of-the-art.
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everything about the school is very impressive: the staff, the faculty they have recruited, the facilities (and future facilities), blacksburg is great college town
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schools organization, motivation of faculty and staff to make VCOM the best of the best, area is nice
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The positive direction of the school and its philosophy to spare no expense for good faculty and buildings.
What impressed you negatively?
Applicants commonly expressed concerns about the lack of enthusiasm from some interviewers, mandatory attendance and dress code policies, the surrounding area being unimpressive, the school's incomplete status, and a lack of clarity on certain aspects like clinical rotations and board passing rates. Suggestions included addressing the issues with interviewers, providing more flexibility with policies, enhancing the campus area, and improving communication about school details and outcomes.
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Nothing
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Nothing.
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Not all the interviewers seemed interested
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N/A
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NOTHING!
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mandatory attendance and mandatory business casual dress code
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Nothing, really.
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The surrounding area seemed a bit "sketchy"
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Mandatory lecture attendance, dress code
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The town- doesn't seem like there's much to do which would minimize distractions so I don't view it too negatively
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The area around the school seems a bit lacking in activities.
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Their match list
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Spartanburg. It's just not a great place, and the school's location within the city isn't the best either. Lack of safe/clean/modern housing in the area.
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The dean. He was the rudest of all my interviewers and the most unprofessional of all the deans I met during the cycle....just made the school look bad.
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The school not being complete yet (Carolinas Campus).
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Nothing I can really think of.
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How the school is not stand alone - the students stated they go to VA tech for the gym, study rooms, restaurants, etc.
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Dress code :(
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Dress code: at first I thought this was cool to keep the school professional and classy but, let's be honest, there are some days I'd like to roll outta bed in sweatpants after a long night of studying! Other than that, the school exceeded my expectations! I saved it for last to interview bc I wasn't sure it sounded like a good fit - WOW was I wrong!
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The building needs to be done! I want to see it!
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I was really confused...and still am...about the 3rd year match lottery system. How is that decided etc. The students seemed blah. Maybe it was the end of a Block or something. They just seemed aloof and unknowledgeable. The ones I spoke to, really did not have the answers to my questions.
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It was a long interview day.
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The fact that they change the schedule of the curriculum every year. I felt that the students were being experimented with every year. However, in all honesty, this is a new school and they have done very well considering the short amount of time they have been open.
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Nothing really.
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one of the interviewers may or may not have told one of the interviewees who of course told the other interviewees that there were no more spots left for the next class and we were interviewing just for waitlist spots. not the best idea.
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The van tour was a little long.
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that our 1st year school tour guide couldn't answer some of our questions, very pleased with what she could tell us tough
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I wish our tour would have been with a second year student. Our guide did a good job, but as a first year she couldnt answer some questions. There arent a standardized labtops withs standardized programs.
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There were not a lot of student facilities in the main building (small library, small commons area, no cafeteria), though there are plenty of facilities at VT that VCOM students have access to
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Nothing really stood out as negative, all schools have some issues but VCOM seems very actively involved in finding and fixing shortcomings. A couple of applicants acted as if they were bored and did not want to be there (maybe nerves), I found that a little odd.
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I heard a number of times of how some professors were nice people but not so great teachers ( pathology maybe? )
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The cap on financial aid .. i have A LOT of debt from my Masters degree and i will have to do some creative bookkeeping to go here -but i think it is super worth it.
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Nothing really
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Nothing really. The 12 month school year took me back a little but they have many breaks. The cost of attendance is kinda steep (but debt is debt).
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I'm still not sure how the OMM labs work because they have several small labs instead of one big one. The students may be slightly cramped in their classrooms.
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I went to VTech for undergrad, so i'm used to the area. Some people say rural blacksburg is boring.
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I wish there was a large teaching hospital closer than Roanoke
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Nothing, seriously
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The temperature of the van for the tour until we got the AC on.
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The van tour of the city was not very helpful.
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There really isn't much of a campus to speak of. They are very lucky to have Virginia Tech there to make it more enticing, otherwise well there isn't much room and isn't much there at the moment. The students we saw that did not meet us for lunch where not enthusiastic and seemed to try and avoid us. They did not seem happy to be there. The tour of Virginia Tech was done in a van with not enough room. The cirriculum seems to change a lot more than one would think is necessary. Most of the negatives in my expereince came after the itnerview and what I have heard current students and alumni say.
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whole underlying issues with problems @ the school.
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The whole ordeal, I even stabilized a local resident with local ambulance team, and this school did not even care. Its really hard to believe. They assured me to my face, they did not doubt my abilities and things looked well, then to receive info saying historically this and that and I need another year of school. My gpa was 3.6 with science of the same. The whole admissions team was fake. Too bad I can not attend school in my own state at this school.
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the lunch, the car ride around town was cramped. They need to invest in a van. The library looks like they threw it together overnight and got some osteopathic artifacts on loan from PCOM. They have a lack of a cafeteria and students seemed like they didnt hang out in the building.
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How fake some of the admissions people were. I felt like I was in the middle of a 7th grade popularity contest based on two minutes of interaction.
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You probably have to go out of state for your clerkships.
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I felt like I was having to be on the defense about my application at times. interviews were interrupted at times by people comming in the office. They also need to buy a new van to transport students on their tour. Be prepared to be jammed into a small vehicle for 45 mins
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It seemed like the admissions folks were a bit fake. Can they really be that happy? I know current students say they are but how often do they really see them? I felt more comfortable with admissions staff at other interviews.
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Blacksburg is a rather small town and in the middle of nowhere
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That there was not a hospital attached to the school
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Small town, not much to do there. Housing seemed less than ideal.
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Everything was ideal, only thing would be how was away the airport is.
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The surrounding area...there is not much to do except outdoor activities. Which is really ok because there probably won't be much time for relaxing anyway
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New school; no one seemed to know the first and second classes boards passing rate
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That you have to have life insurance prior to matriculating.
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Dress Code. Mandatory Attendance. Location some what. The walls of the classrooms kinda make the room feel like a jail-cell. But I am just nit-picking. The campus is not that bad. No Work-study program.
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The area doesnt have much around it. There's not much to do on a rainy day
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VCOM goes to school year round and does not have a break during the summer. But you do not finish any earlier because you get 1-2 wks between blocks of instruction.
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nothing except not having a big airport very close. Unless Roanoke counts.
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I knew Blacksburg was very rural so if you are from a big city you may be underimpressed
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Honestly, there was no part of the day which I thought shouldn't be included.
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The school had a dress code, requires attendence (not really that negative), and doesn't have online videos of lectures like some schools do.
-
1200 deposit!
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Everything was great.
-
Didn't find anything negative.
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Two days notice between invitation and interview. The redneck element at the school, lack of diversity in the students, cultural dependence on VT football and Nascar, more religous undercurrents than I would prefer in conversations with faculty. I was looking for a Charleston, SC vibe, what I got was more Jackson, MS. Quite honestly, some of the other interviewees came across as beer swilling country bumpkins. The fact that VT is a huge party school despite what they might try to tell you(great for undergrad, not so for Medical School). See below, big time negative!
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Nothing at all.
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Nothing really, except there were no board reviews
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The town of Blacksburg and the VCOM cafeteria. I come from a small city and Blacksburg just wasn't a good fit for me. I don't like the rural aspect that you are so far aways from everything but know what works for you. I was disappointed with the cafeteria because it really isn't a cafeteria, more of a sandwich shop. The food was edible but it wasn't great. But it was free so I can't complain too much.
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It's easy to get lost in Blacksburg.
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Nothing really, I thought their library was small but all their books are found online. The cold weather is scary.
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The town of Blacksburg-- it is the ultimate college town (mostly b/c of there not being much else around). If you aren't a Hokie fan, and don't like being surrounded with partying undergrads, I would suggest planning on living at least as far as Christiansburg (10 minutes) or maybe even closer to Roanoke. Graduate/professional housing rentals in the area are quite expensive for Southern VA and have unreasonable pet fees. Notice I did not say anything bad about VCOM-- it is GREAT!
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No graduating class (very, very negative, talk to any doctor), no scholarships so expect to pay A LOT. No aggreements for clinical experience or residency programs outside of VA, not good for someone from PA. They had the answer to acceptance immediatly after the interview was over and sent letters out as you were sitting in the very seat.
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None.
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The cafeteria was pathetic, the library is sparse (even though it's mostly electronic, I like to see some hardbacks)
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Cost, I think its the most expensive school I've interviewed at.
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That I'd have to wait an entire week to know if I got in.
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Small cafeteria without variety--which is not big deal to me, especially since most students go elsewhere or home for lunch. The library is also small, but by the same token, most the things you will need can be/are downloaded off your computer.
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The building was smaller than I thought and made me wonder how they could have 300 students (1st and 2nd years since 3rd year was rotating).
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Very short track record since it's only accepted three classes so far, isolated location, year-round schedule.
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INTERVIEWERS!!!!! They were AWFUL!!!! Everyone kept saying how laid back and easy-going they would be...they were NOT!!! I've had two other interviews and both were much more laid back than this one. One interviewer made no sort of response to any of my questions, one kept telling me "If you don't get into med school this year, keep trying" REPEATEDLY, and the other was making no sense what so ever and asking me all these BS questions about rural medicine that made absolutely no sense!
-
had trouble understanding one interviewer
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Nada
-
I wouldn't say it negatively impressed me but all of the technology was almost intimidating!
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Not a single thing
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nothing except all the fog on the drive in.
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attendance policy
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Cost of program seems a touch high, especially for a new program.
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The cost of attendance, and the fact that it is a new school. I also wish there were more sites for MSIII and MSIV rotations.
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Everyone was so friendly and said point blank you are wonderful. To be here for an interview, you must be wonderful. THe first interviewer told me my file was great and what could he do to persuade me to attend VCOM... I loved the school to find out that it was all fake. I was not accepted even though 2 of 3 interviewers said unless I was "an ax murderer", I was in. Don't joke with that with premeds.
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Nothing really. Sure I'd like that the school had some board scores to look at but they don't.
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I had visited the school during Open House and had an opportunity to speak with current students. Besides not having a wet-lab I could not find anything negative. VCOM was my 1st choice!
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Nobody can tell me what it will be like for the clinical rotations since noone has done it yet.
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The town is even smaller than I expected, and a large percentage of the students are married. Health insurance doesn't come through the school.
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i already knew this before the visit, but year round school, business casual everyday, not yet accredited, and no graduating class, so no match stats or links with residency programs established.
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No accrediation yet, year round school and 2 boards to take.
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Dress Code; Otherwise, I was very impressed
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YOu have to take the DO and MD boards only school that does that and there is a dress code and year round school
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Nothing in particular about this school -- it's great. However, one thing that bugs me is that schools can still reject or waitlist students who interviewed because of GPA or MCAT scores; couldn't they have saved us the money for the trip and not offered an interview if our GPA or MCAT was too low?
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This question is harder than my interview questions. :)
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not too much
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such a new school, no one has taken the boards yet
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Couldn't get a straight answer on rotations, the students that ate lunch with us were kind of annoying, and talked way to much.
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Not fully accredited, no microscopes for histology(I prefer my own slides/scope). Some students mentioned that some of the students don't get along but it's a personal thing, which I think is ridiculous since we are supposed to be professionals!
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It's a new school and this one Physio instructor who was stoked that his class is by far the hardest class in the school etc.
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Not much at all to say negative. As other posts have mentioned there are a lot of unknowns. I would love to know the percentage of students that are going to pass the boards this year and in the future how many match with their top pick for residency.
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Very little. I had no real doubts about their clinical aspects but they did seem like they were trying to avoid the topic. Every time someone brought it up, it seemed as though the answers were "we don't know yet" or "we will know better next year when the current 2nd year class moves into clinicals" or "the Dean is working on that." Here are my reservations. While I am certain that the excellence of the school will continue through clinicals, there is no concrete evidence of this as of yet. Words are words. You can choose to believe them but there is no evidence. This is in no way the fault of the school. They are new and will soon have a reputation and I'm certain it will be tremendous but they just do not have one as of yet. As I make a decision on whether or not to attend this school, I feel I may be taking a slight gamble on the clinicals. I feel the first two years are excellent and of course with the faculty being together, excellence can be monitored and enhanced. The clinicals sites will be new. There will be some "kinks" to be worked out and this may be more difficult given that the hospitals and sites are not in the same building as the Dean. Will all 160 students be placed locally or will some have to travel to Ohio or Florida or somewhere else in order to do a surgery rotation or whatever else? These are questions I will need to have settled before I decide on going here.
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School is new and untried or tested, curriculum is not proven effective because no class has taken or passed the boards yet (there is a strong feeling and confidence in the students but nothing beats proof), library is pitiful (yes VTech has library but the study space seemed lacking)
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I have read other postings, and personally am not a big fan of the dress code. It is not too bad, however, requiring that students only adhere to it while in lecture, and not in OMM labs, Anatomy Labs, or while studying. Required attendance is a small problem as well, because in medical school, each person develops their own approach, and that requirement may prevent some students from developing their own individualized study habits. Did not like that a member of the staff sat in during the lunch period--it should have been an open session for current/prospective students to share their honest opinions and experiences about VCOM. Lack of study hours is one of my concerns, as med students study at odd hours.
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The weather was awful, but that was hardly the schools fault. It was just the only bad part of my visit! And I guess it was sad at the end of the day to find out we could only be waitlisted at best, but I knew that going in thanks to this site. Also none of my intervieweres seemed to know anything about me going in. They had just gotten the files that morning I think, but atleast that made their questions more focused on me instead of ethics and issues in healthcare so it wasn't really a bad thing.
-
Year round classes, dress code, mandatory attendance, you cannot do out of state electives because they want you to practice in VA. This could severely limit residency options.
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The first thing I witnessed as I walked in was a secretary giving a student this snotty attitude because he missed a class and was trying to be excused. In case you haven't done your research, class is absolutely mandatory, and you have to apply for an excused absence before you miss class. I also did not like that we were not left alone with the students. Lunch with a med student was soooo awkward, because an admissions person was there. She kept offsetting any slightly negative comments from the student.
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Nothing really, I think we were all disappointed at the end of the day when we were informed that all of the seats were full and we would only be eligible for the waitlist. Maybe this should have been told to us when we scheduled the interview so we could have opted out if we so desired.
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Its a new school, still working on ciriculum, summer school, not accredited yet require both COmlex and USMLE, which is good i guess. but still NEW SCHOOL!! and expensive ANd blacksburg doesn't really have anything to do. its a small town where the majority of the population is students. which could be fun, but again NOTHING to DO. They also stress Rural area ALOT
-
The only things I didn't like were the fact that classes are mandatory, there is a dress code- business casual. Oh, and the building (including library) closes at 10pm. But then you can go use the libraries at VTech- so it's not a big deal.
-
Would take a lot of time from day to travel to campus (workout, etc.), because, if I am correct, VCOM parking does not work in the undergraduate parking lots.
-
they specifically told us they were only sending yes or no answers at this time; oddly, I was put on the alternate list.
-
School year is 12 months. Aside from having lunch with a student, there was pretty much NO opportunity to talk to current students, or sit in on lectures. I bumped into a few studnets in the hallway, and although they spoke positively about the school, they weren't excessively friendly. This could have been due to sleep deprivation-they had a big exam the day of my visit.
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These 2 reasons are why I am indifferent about the school. It seems to be a risk. This is the first year of the school. There are no stats about VCOM because stats dont yet exist. While the technology seems great and the people are nice there is no promise the school will be a good one. I dont want to take that risk on my medical education. Second, everywhere you look the school says there is a focus on rural medicine. Thats fine and dandy, but that focus seems to be very very large. While I have not said I will not be a rural doctor, I have not ruled out practicing in non-rural areas. The clinical rotations seems to put a person at a disadvantage if they apply to non-rural residencies.
-
Two of the three interviewers seemed more nervous than I was!
-
For me personally, the fact that they really stress rural medicine was a bit of a concern since I am pretty certain that I don't want to go that route.
-
vague responses regarding how they integrate early clinical experiences into the curriculum and exactly how they mesh the systems-based curriculum in with individual classes such as epidemiology.
-
New school with no track record.
-
Absolutely nothing.
-
I felt the interviews were a little to short, I felt rushed at times, as if I didn't get to talk about everything.
-
The tuition is pricey and you need a laptop. There is also a dress code for class. The school is so new so won't know how the class does on boards for a few years (although I like the curriculum)
-
One interview seemed rushed - no time to ask questions.
-
Nothing. Although I do have to say people from Blacksburg love their Hokies!
-
I can not remember one thing.
-
Limited access to the building and anatomy lab.
-
I would have like to have spoken to Dean Tooke-Rawlins for a little bit. She introduced herself as we were walking out the door.
-
New school, won't get accredited until 1st class graduates. However, they have a provisional accredidation which is impressive for their first year in business.
-
Nothing really, but I would have love to meet more students and talk to them.
-
The lunch room and break area are too small and may not handle both MSI and MSII when they both will be there starting next year
-
Unsure whether or not the students and professors were happy to be there
-
It's a new school and its track record isn't established. THat honeslt yabout it. I wish it were a couple years older and then I would have felt more comfortable going there.
-
Nothing negatively impressed me except that my last interviewer seemed a bit uneasy. However, that could be because I was her last interviewee.
-
Two of the three interviewers were great, one was a little uneasing, even though they said it would be a relaxed day/atmosphere.
-
Blacksburg didn't impress me. It's a city built around a college. Only good thing about a town like that: cheap housing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-
The school requires an HIV and Hep C test before entering. This is extremely controversial and some believe it to be unconstitutional.
-
The people all seemed faked happy and wanted to make excitable false impressions upon you...they also seems somewhat nervous.
-
Vagueness about the selection process and when the last interviews will be conducted.
-
The school has lots of UNKNOWNS, there is an escrow account setup so if the school for some reason shuts down you might have to finish your education somewhere else...I am glad they thought about that, but it just shows how even they are not 100% sure about the school,,,AND its 30,000 dollars a year, a lot more expensive than the other DO schools that are established
-
The whole area is under construction- bulldozers and dirt piles everywhere. But by April the academic building should be complete and ready for use.
-
Not given a lot of financial aid information...but that is a minor point. Nothing else was negative.
-
Nothing. I was very impressed with the whole experience.
-
not that many clinical rotation sites and none outside the southern Virginia area as far as I can see...
-
NEw school.
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
Most applicants wished they had known ahead of time that the interviews would be extremely conversational and relaxed. Many also mentioned the importance of being well-prepared, asking quality questions, and not stressing too much about the process.
-
Interview is super conversational
-
How conversational it was going to be. Literally did not need to be nervous at all.
-
How quickly three 30-minute interviews would go.
-
To just relax.
-
That it would be more casual than nerve-wrecking
-
how easy and relaxed the interview would be
-
How low-stress and conversational the interview day was going to be
-
how much I would fall in love
-
How laid back the interviews would be.
-
how nice and relaxing the interview was.
-
I felt well-prepared.
-
How low stress the environment is
-
That I was interviewing for waitlist only (interview mid-March)
-
How relaxed the interview day was.
-
That the student interview was serious and they had a list of questions to ask. It was after lunch and I think I was feeling a little to relaxed.
-
Would have got to town earlier to explore the area a bit.
-
Some of the staff members are allopathic doctors and they will ask why you want to be an osteopath.
-
Nothing
-
That I was interviewing for a wait list (even though I did eventually get in, be prepared to be told this during the interview. Don't act surprised)
-
Ask a lot of quality questions.
-
I wish I gave myself some time to explore the area.
-
That the second half of the interview day was mostly just touring Blacksburg and getting information on the area. I have plenty of friends that went/go to VA Tech, so getting to know the area was really not necessary.
-
That the interviewers want you to ask the questions - they didn't spend much time asking me anything.
-
I wish I had known how awesome this school is even though it is tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mts of Virginia: I would have cancelled more of my other interviews if I hadn't put this one off! The Virginia Tech mascot (the Hokie) is a ficticious bird.
-
How lax it was going to be.
-
how layed back it was going to be
-
The weather was warm.
-
Cold? Virginia? Snow?
-
DRESS CODE! I didn't know anyone but LECOM had a dress code. :(... Major bummer.
-
Nothing.
-
You can order as much food as you like, so you can get a salad too. I was hungry. But don't go overboard!
-
how windy it actually was. i may have thought about rethinking the skirt thing
-
Three interviewers isn't as intimidating as it sounds.
-
That my neck must have grown since I last wore my white shirt and tie! I just hope my face wasn't red all day.
-
I cannot help feel that some decisions regarding an applicant were already determined before he/she stepped into the school for interview day. I felt my interview went very well and all my stats were right up there with their averages but then I got a rejection letter.
-
I felt pretty prepared...I rocked the interview
-
How laid back most of the day is. Don't stress too much.
-
Nothing was unexpected and they informed you on anything you wanted to know.
-
There is a back side to the lunch request form that you fill out.
-
I could have ordered more food for lunch.
-
a better understanding of physician salaries
-
The cops are sneaky on 81
-
It it is laid back...but it is not that laid back. They attempt to create a relaxed environment; however, do not allow this to steer you away from acting professionally. Some other candidates that were interviewing became slightly too comfortable and did display a lack of professionalism and maturity.
-
The cap on debt allowed between undergrad and medical school. I have some debt from undergrad which may potentially be a problem if I go here.
-
To not stress ahead of time...the staff did EVERYTHING they could do to make you feel comfortable, it was amazing. And don't stay in the Inn at Virginia Tech...I had a bad experience on many levels. The staff weren't entirely prepared to help and/or fix their problems until I decided to throw a cross-eyed fit...then they fixed the problems, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.
-
This is where my opinion of the interview turned from very positive to negative. I was very excited to attend VCOM and was impressed with all of my interactions with the admissions department and faculty but I basically had no chance at acceptance. I don?t want to bash the school and I genuinely liked the staff of the admissions department. The admissions department seemed very helpful throughout the application process and tried to keep my best interests in mind. They were quick with responses to questions and provided what I thought was great support and advice. In the end it appeared as though there are some contrasting forces at work like the admissions department did not understand what was important to the admissions committee (they are separate entities and do not seem to communicate much with each other). Some of the advice I was given ending up being detrimental to my application. In the end I felt I had interviewed well, I was told I interviewed well and that and there was nothing I could have done differently when I asked for a review of my application after I received their decision, but was not accepted. The reasons why I was rejected were set before I even got to the interview. What is worse, the all of these reasons could have been fixed in the 3+ months between when I got they received my material and when I interviewed, or if (like I have seen recommended on the SDN forums) I had just lied to get in. I would not be comfortable lying to get into medical school but apparently that would have helped. So to sum up, I wish I known that I would not have a chance at the interview so I did not waste my time and theirs by going down there. As I said the admissions committee was genuinely interested in us and they even helpful after I was rejected but this could all have been addressed before I got there. I am very thankful for the help they gave after the interview and I believe that VCOM could be a great school it just seems like they have some internal issues that can completely blind side applicants. Unfortunately I am not the only one that has experienced this inconsistency and the feeling that they lead on applicants.
-
how relaxed the interviews were, wish there had been more time to interact with students and ask q's
-
That it was a popularity contest, or something. There is no way they were interested in a dedicated individual and its alright, cause four other schools have already accepted me, both allopathic and osteopathic.
-
that I would waste my money on travel and hotel.
-
VCOM has a dual PhD/DO program.
-
You probably have to go out of state for your clerkships.
-
that I would be rejected. I wouldnt have wasted all that money to travel there.
-
I discovered that VCOM offers a lot of programs that they do not mention on their webpage.
-
Attendance policy, dress code, and many of the third year clinical rotations in very rural areas
-
The deposit is not due until Dec 15th (very nice).
-
How friendly and helpful everyone was!
-
I had done extensive research on the school and there was nothing I did not already know.
-
That there are no available spots in the class right now.
-
Most of the seats were already full.
-
That I would love Blacksburg and the people soo much!! Not as rural as I thought and the people are some of the nicest people I ever met!
-
Nothing really, I live in B'burg and have become pretty familiar with the school.
-
This school has significantly lower MCAT standards than other schools--I wouldn't have had to re-take the MCAT!
-
The mandatory rotation in primary care in a rural area for 2 months.
-
DO/PhD program! If you go there you are required to have life insurance. There is a cap on the amount of loans you can take out especially for stafford loans.
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the rotations are kinda spread out and confusing
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N/A
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Nothing, I just wish I hadn't wasted money applying to other schools.
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The missionary work program!
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Basically the block method of instruction.
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everything as expected
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Nothing, I knew that a $1200 deposit would have to put down 3 weeks after acceptance to reserve a spot in the class
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That there is NO REASON to be overly stressed for this interview.
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The 3 one hour interviews were not as bad as I expected. They were very laid back.
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Nothing. Everything that might be surprising (mandatory attendance, dress code, class year round, etc) I learned from SDN
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I visited the campus for their open house a few weeks before my interview, therefore I was pretty much aware of everything.
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That ALL the spaces in the 2006 class were already filled and people who interviewed around the time I did and subsequent to my visit were at best vying for wait list spots. Additionally, that last year they hardly used their wait list but that they would offer a very select few waitlisted persons early admission for 2007. NO advance notice of this, highly unprofessional IMO and primary reason for my negative rating.
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That most of the seats were filled up.
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I was pretty familiar with the school so I have to say nothing I discovered that I didn't know. I would advise that you find out when you would have to pay your $1,000 acceptance fee before you interview.
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How laid back the interview really is. They do everything to help you relax. It's a fun day.
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How low stress the interview was. I was really worried about it, but the interviewers were so nice and laid back.
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After you are accepted you have around three weeks to fork over 1,000 (nonrefundable) to hold your seat.
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Everyone said that it was going to be really laid back and I wish I completely believed them because it was.
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How huge a presence VTech really is. Over half the population of Blacksburg is made up of students. The area is pretty but I imagine how many drunk kids roam around on game day...
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See above.
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They require all students to have life insurance.
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Everyone was so warm, interested in you, and there to help you in any way possible.
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Nothing, they had laid out the interview day nicely and there were no surprises
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That several of my former class members were already at school there.
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The school is so safe that people leave their stuff on a study table and don't think twice - including computers, purses, etc. Also the cafeteria is small but doesn't ever close - you can take drinks/snacks on an honor system. There's just a jar there to pay with.
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Nothing really
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Blacksburg is not that rural or small (at least it blends with Christiansburg which is bigger).
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the tour of blacksburg...ha, I graduated from virginia tech...so i kinda know the area ;)
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That the profs. were not easy going like everyone else said.
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Nothing, I was well prepared.
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If accepted the tuition deposit is $1000.00 and can not be charged to your credit card. You must pay w/ cash, check or money order--a little difficult for some of us to come up with in 10 days.
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That this school is so awesome. It's year-round, but these students look the happiest of all the school i have been at. Block schedule makes more sense for learning. only slightly negative is that they only had 8 seats left and there would be over twenty of us in the last admissions committee.
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Nada...
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Year round schedules and you have to take both board tests.
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I had already met with the admissions staff previously so nothing suprised me.
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there was an attendance policy
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Very little surprises, learned that they were planning a dental school to open in next few years.
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Nothing - alternate the previous year.
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Year-round school. Dress code.
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Nothing!
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I was excited about the medical missions program that explained on the post on 9/22/04. The previous applicant stated you could work overseas for a year after residency in one of VCOM's sites for 100K off your loans, but when I asked about this, they had no clue what I was talking about. If someone has more info on this or can tell me where that information came from please place another post.
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Getting from Roanoke to Blacksburg is very easy and cheap. Don't worry about hotel shuttles or an airport van: take the SmartWay, which is a subsidized bus service that leaves from the Roanoke Airport and takes you to the Blacksburg campus, with a few stops along the way. It's direct, it takes about an hour, and it's three ($3) dollars. No kidding. No reservations required. Also, the Holiday Inn near the school is within walking distance of the undergrad campus and a shopping plaza, and they have a shuttle to the med school (the med school might be a bit of a hike from any hotel. You don't need to rent a car, though, no matter where you are flying in from. If you need a cab in Blacksburg, take the Hooptie Ride, it's fun.
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They are going to also have a dental school open up at Virgnia Tech along with the medical and vet school.
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More information about stem cell research
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That it was year round school
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Nothing. I felt I knew as much about the school as a non-student could, just from reading about it and asking questsions of students. I do wish I knew the Godfather was playing the night before the interview; I stayed up way too late watching it and the election coverage during commercial breaks. (But it did give me something else to talk about!)
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You can get a visitor pass to park at the VTECH campus. The pass allows you even to park in a teacher's spot! :)
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where ramble road was!
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What a Hokie was.
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It's not that I didn't know, I just didn't focus on it as much that the school isn't fully accredited.
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The affiliation with Virginia Tech! It's awesome.
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That it can take 8 months or longer to get your Hepatitis B immunizations and you need to have these before doing rotations, which start immediately. I had an opportunity to get the series through my university and didn't do it.
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The medical missions program is so incredible. During your third and fourth years, you will be allowed to select an overseas rotation (4-8 weeks) in Guatemala, Inida, or Siberia (others may be added later). If you then select to complete a Family Medicine residency through VCOM, you can also complete portions of your residency in one of their international sites. Upon completion of your residency, you will then have an opportunity to spend one full year practicing in one of their international sites and be reimbursed plus have 100K of your loans paid off by VCOM. Pretty cool!
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international medical missions and opportunities!
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That all the spots were full...
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The waitlist is nowhere near a rejection, Megan Price the Director of Admissions, who is fantastic I might add, explained it like this if you had been here a couple of months ago you would be in. Also it is ranked by merit of applicant as well and they pull from the top as positions open. The student we talked with interviewed last year in April and was waitlisted as were 2 other members of the group he interviewed with and they all ended up getting in. I was just really dissapointed before I ever got there, because I thought there was no chance, but now I know there is still some hope! I just wish i had applied earlier!
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That the building seems too small for 2 classes of med students to be there. Also, there will not be enough parking next year. One person in my group asked what to do about this and their response was "maybe people will bike to school". Not an adequate answer for the $$$ they want to attend here.
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How nervous I was going to be, because I didn't need to be.
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I spent a good deal of money flying out to VA. After being led on during the whole interview process, the director tells us that they have already offered all the available seats, and the best situation would be the waitlist. I actually found this out the day before I flew out because I read a review from this website. They should have been honest with people, lying is never tactful. Interviewees are deceived by how nice they appear and the low stress level of the interviews, but it seems that there are numerous underlying issues they don't want you to know about.
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see above
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That the staff was so friendly that I really did not need to stress about my interview.
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Definitely fly into Roanoke even though it is more expensive. This will save you the stress and anxiety of having to rent a car and drive several hours and worrying if you'll miss your flight. Traffic can sometimes come to a complete stop.
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How pretty the campus and the area is. Its bigger than what I expected.
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VIRGINA IS GORGEOUS!!
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It's not quite on-campus (of V Tech)... the research park is a few miles away, but not far.
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I interviewed on Monday and they were making decisions on Thursday. Make sure you have shadowed a DO. I didn't think this was possible since I work full time, but that question took many points away; needless to say, I'm taking the day off Monday to do so before my next interview.
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That I would end up liking VCOM as much as I did. I still have two more interviews scheduled next week, but they've got a hard act to follow. Yahoo! directions were incomplete/hard to understand. Make sure you know where the school is the night before.
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The extent of the school's focus on rural medicine.
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You have two weeks to respond to an acceptance offer. A $1,000 non-refundable deposit is required at that time, which makes it tough if you're still waiting to hear from other schools.
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use the school's map on the website to get there- not yahoo maps or any other outdated map- was lost a long time before finding the school and because the school is so new many people in the area haven't heard of the school yet so they can't offer you good directions
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If you use Rand Mcnally online for your map DON'T! My map failed to mention a few streets and I could not find the school for a while.
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Everyone there lives in condos/townhouses, not many houses for rent.
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That there was no reason for me to stress about the interview at all.
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Dress code(that is not strictly enforced now), $1000.00 deposit due upon acceptance
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That classes usually go from 8-12 so less total days off but leaves plenty of study time. How small the library is. I guess everything has gone wireless.(I am a little old fashioned, still like to read from books now and then.)
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Big town.
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The rental market is great - tons of apartments to choose from. However, if you are looking to buy in Blacksburg, the search may be long and drawn out.
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Two weeks off after basic science, one week for christmas, one week for spring break, and only three weeks off for summer. School runs all year long.
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they have a dress code and attend classes year-around, require a laptop which is not part of student fees, offer no student health insurance, association with only small hospitals.
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Requirement to take both Complex and USMLE (that's good), short summer break (not good)
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Grades are not pass/fail but rather A, B, C, D,and F. Not a big thing, but would have been nice to be informed abot this before I went.
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No NHSC scholarships are accepted at this school No summer break
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That the school still wasn't built--even in May. I wish I could've walked in and around the building.
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The school doesn't really have a summer break after the first year. I think the break is 2 weeks.
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requirement to take both USMLE and COMLEX, required to have own health insurance-no school health program
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I think I was too stressed out about this interview. They were pretty relaxed about the whole process. I wouldn't have stressed out so much had I known how relaxed it was going to be.
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That they were rushing to finish filling the positions for thier first year class.
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How many students had been accepted.
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I wish I would have applied to this school earlier in the process. After interviewing here, this is my first choice. I would have saved alot of money by interviewing elsewhere
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You are required to take COMLEX and USMLE. You can only go to the barns of virginia for clinical rotations and they are highly selective and strict in maintaining the rotation sites to be in rural area. Basically they want to force students to endure 4 years of rural life so they will opt to do their residency in the rural virginia area
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The location of my interview and where I was to be @ 9:00am.
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I got all worked up and stressed out because this was my first interview and my top choice- but honestly, Mr. Hincker (Admissions) made it known that it was supposed to be very low-key and relaxing, and it really was. So don't wig yourself out!! :)
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I wish I had known how quickly I would know about being accepted. I also wish I had realized how laid back the interview process would be.
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the location of the interview was not at the school(its still under construction) but I got there the night before and found their temporary offices fairly easily
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The actual medical building won't be finished till April and meeting for the actual interview takes place at their temporary location, make sure you get that address! P.S. VCOM wants its grads to take both COMLEX and USMLE throughout.
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that there were 3 seperate interviews
What are your general comments?
Applicants generally found the interview experience at the school to be positive, with interviewers being friendly and conversational, emphasizing getting to know the applicants as individuals. The school was praised for its state-of-the-art facilities, enthusiastic staff, emphasis on technology, and commitment to creating a supportive learning environment. Some concerns were raised about the school's accreditation status, rural location, dress code, and policies on attendance and building hours.
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Great school. Lots of alumni connections. Good price.
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Loved this school post-interview. Everyone was super kind and helpful. Admin seems so willing to help its students and this school feels like a home.
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Was very impressed with how organized the process was
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Good interview day, good school. Hoping to attend!
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Virtual interview but they did a good job at trying to give us a feel for the school
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I liked VCOM so much I am going there.
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Impressed by the school, friendliness of the interviewers- one of which said he spent 2 hours reviewing my file because he thought I was "so interesting." 2 interviews from professors (both MD) and one by an administrator. They actually told me numbers aren't everything, they wanted to here from me, as a person, why my GPA and MCAT weren't the only things to look at. They WERE trying to find a reason to let me in, not keep me out. I interviewed at the Carolinas Campus.
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I definitely enjoyed my interview experience at VCOM! My interviewers were very laid back and we basically just had a conversation.
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If I hadn't already been accepted into a more reputable school, this would have been my first choice by a landslide.
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GREAT SCHOOL
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This is a wonderful school!
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Wonderful school!!!!
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I love this school!
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Be yourself! Relax and be confident but humble. Send thank you letters with specific comments for each interviewer that are relevant to what you talked about.
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I had two acceptances within a week of my interview at the Carolina's Campus, I wish I had saved the travel money and not bothered with VCOM.
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Great day and awesome school. I will be attending in the fall of 2012.
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Its a great school and I will be starting at VCOM in a month because the interview impressed me so much!
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Don't stress about the interviews - but do know your stuff on VCOM, DO, and OMM. Most of the interviewers were very conversational, so make sure that you have questions to ask them as well.
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Overall the school is very well organized, very advanced in technology, great access to high-tech research facilities with their association with VA Tech, and their systems based approach to the curriculum is very appealing. You could not ask for kinder, friendlier staff, admin, and students. Very much a family-like feeling there. And Blacksburg/Christiansburg area is just beautiful, so, overall, this is definitely a school on the top of my list.
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Long day of them expecting you to ask questions. The school was not impressive, but the tour was nice, and the admissions office is very friendly and willing to be a resource.
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VCOM has so much to offer! I was blown away by their state-of-the-art facilities and technology as well as the perks of being 2 miles from a 30,000+ university. The area is beautiful and VCOM is tucked away from the undergrads but close enough for convenient food, shopping, rec, etc. This school has lots to offer in research too if thats something that interests you. the cost of living is low and the students here were so friendly! After my visit here, this school went from the bottom of my list straight to the top - can't wait for fall!
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Excellent experience. Tough questions asked in a conversational, non-threatening manner.
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VCOM is by far the most impressive medical school out there. I love this place!
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I still came away with alot more questions than answers.
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Everyone was incredibly helpful and friendly. Great experience.
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No matter what, this is a great school. The major decision really comes in when it comes to the rural surrounding area. It essentially all depends on preference.
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The interview is very, very conversational. Just be yourself and really get to know your interviewers. They were very interesting people and really wanted to get to know you.
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Very conversational, it was great talking with the faculty. They seemed genuinely interested in meeting with me and getting to know me. After the interview, a 4th year called me to ask if I had any other questions. They are really great there. Very organized.
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very laid back interview. conversational. good times. awesome anatomy lab, bright and good ventilation system. tour was fun.
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Don't judge this school because other feedback slams the admissions office. You'll only deal with them once or twice in your four-year career. VCOM is an awesome school and I'm happy to be attending there next fall! Several of my classmates turned down some really good schools to go to VCOM.
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The interviews were very conversational. One interview was briefly interrupted by someone dropping off paperwork, but this was not too distracting.
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Reading some of the negative feedback from past interviewees had me a bit worried. It seems to me that those remarks were totally unfounded. My experience was great, my guess is that the negative feedback came after getting a rejection letter....
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Great school, great reputation, dynamic curriculum, happy students and dedicated faculty and staff.
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Great school however, I wish the admissions committee were a bit more consistent.
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I was very impressed with the school - especially having attended and worked at school whose med school is ranked 14th in the country. I think the curriculum is very forward and i feel they are truly trying to make it a cutting edge school. Everyone is beyond super nice. Students seemed generally happy - it IS med school you cant be happy all the time but generally speaking.
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I am from a small town, thus I liked the atmoshpere at VCOM. However, I feel some of the staff are small minded, and treat situations as if they were still in high school...which is a turn off. Even though I have accepted my spot, I still am waiting for acceptance at two other institutions, and may take acceptance elsewhere due to the experiences I have endured after my acceptance.
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This is a great school
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I love the school....you will too as long as you like the idea of living in a community focused around culture rather than shopping centers (which they do have).
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Great school! I'm probably going there.
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If you are considering VCOM good for you, and good luck at your interview!
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First impression during open house 2 years back was great. . this time around it was even better.
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Note that you have 3 separate, short interviews with 3 interviewers. It seemed to be one basic science prof, one clinical prof, and one adminstrator.
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This school is a tiny depressing building that seemed deserted and lifeless the minute I walked in. The students seemed slightly dull and the admissions staff are a throw back to a highschool popularity contest. They are looking for people who will play their game. Also, Megan and Bea were obsessed with the whole "hokie" thing. They also presented a rather scewed version of what osteopathy actually is and made a rather pathetic attempt to make this school look better than it actually is. They should choose admissions people who's IQ's exceed 75 to present the school and the practice of osteopathic medicine.
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Overall, great school.
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The interviews themselves were not stressful, this just happened to be my first interview. The school has some very positive points and it could become a high quality institution but the experience after was both disappointing and very frustrating. I was very excited to attend this school but after my experience I had to give it a negative rating.
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Two interviews were highly positive, thought it was great I was there to interview. The other, was supposed to be the dean, but she could not even show up. Its interesting that people can see your ability and drive, but in the end they are collecting thousands in secondary application fees. Nice image for the growing osteopathic profession
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For a second year. The interview was the same. This time around it wasnt as stressful except when one interviewer decided to put me on the spot and stated that my MCAT was not good and to give him reasons he should vote for me at the meeting. Our interview was then broken up by staff members who messed up. The day was long but nice. I'm less than pleased with the admissions office and their help while I reapplied. If you went to VT then you will probably get in with no problem.
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Some of the interviewers/admissions staffers seemed a bit immature. Other than that, great facilities, great affiliations with VT, I hope I get to attend!
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Three interviews - all separate 20 minute blocks. The first one was with an immunology professor, who played soothing (but good) music in the background. The second was a foreign trained MD, who just seemed to want to know who I was. The third was an OMM professor and DO, who seems to try to intimidate at first, but really has a heart and just wants to make sure you will be happy there. It was laid back, and I left feeling happy and confident. A tour was given by admissions and included the local town and VTech campus. Also, someone gave us a tour inside the school
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I thought my interview went very well. I thought I performed extremely well. It wasnt stressful and it's a nice school
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The interview was ok but not the most comfortable interview I have ever had. I did not feel like I connected with the faculty/staff members at VCOM as much as I did at other schools.
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There were three one on one interviews and each lasted about 30 minutes. All the interviewers had access to your materials. Everyone asked different questions. Most of the questions were the standard interview questions. All three interviewers were pretty laid back.
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There were three one on one interviews and lasted about 30 minutes each. They each had access to all of your materials. Everyone asked different questions. For example, the first guy asked me a lot about my past experiences, the next guy asked me the standard strength and weaknesses questions, and the third asked me about grades/mcat. All three were pretty laid back and mainly just conversational. I made some jokes and stumbled a couple of times but it didn't matter I suppose because I got accepted!
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I left with a very positive feeling, the interviews were more like a conversation rather than a ''drill.''
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Believe all the comments posted. There are really know reasons to be nervous. The staff is incredible and the interviewers are extremely nice. Even though I read all the information on this web page I was still really nervous. I struggled through the first couple minutes of my first interview because of nerves but was able to recover and still have a nice conversation interview with the interviewer. My advice, stay calm and try to stay as calm as possible.
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Very relaxed, everyone was extremely nice and personable. They really try to sell the school to the interviewees rather than asking tough questions, etc.
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Arrived at VCOM at 8:30, 5 other students. Met Megan, the sweetest, most bubbly person ever! She really does a great job of selling the school. An overiew of VCOM given until 9:30am and then the interviewers come and pick you up. My interviews were all great, very converstational, the last one had a list of questions he asked me..not hard..then we were given a tour of the school..great Anatomy lab(no smell), had lunch and then taken on a tour of the town and VTech campus. At 2pm we were given a presentation on from finacial aid and the registrar's office. Then the day was ended by talking about the admission process and how many seats were left(scary) and how the waitlist works. All in all a fantastic day and experience..I loved everything about VCOM!!
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The interview expereince was GREAT! Overall it was very laid back and everyone made you feel welcome with their enthusiasm.
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There were 3 one-on-one interviews each lasting around 40min. The interviews were very conversational. No trick questions.
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Pretty good--I had to travel a lot so I was tired. It was my first interview so I was nervous. It was pretty laid-back. The admissions staff is very welcoming and warm, very excited you are there.
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Megan Price, the admissions staff and the faculty all seemed very nice and friendly. Megan was sick, so she didn't give us the tour. It was another staff personnel. The interviewers kept mentioning their medical missions program. One of the doctors didn't ask me any questions, he said he just wanted me to tell him more about myself. Overall, I really liked the campus and the people. I am really glad to be starting there this fall.
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Great school. Everyone is so nice. I especially liked how Megan Price, the Director of Admissions, personally took us on a tour of Blacksburg.
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Wonderful. Very relaxed. They make you feel like your accepted already by showing you different housing sites on the tour and the discussion on financing your education. They talk to you like a VCOM student.
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it was great! everyone was extremely nice
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The interview day went well and was well organized. The day started with an overview of osteopathy and VCOM. About 30 minutes later the interviews started. There are three interviews, 30 minutes in length and they are given in succesion. My interviewers consisted of two Ph.D.s and one M.D. The interviewers were professional and personable. The interviews were conversational for the most part. After the interviews, a campus tour was given by a staff member. The facilities and technology are incredible. Every school boasts about their anatomy lab, but VCOM should be reserved the right. Seriously, the anatomy lab is state-of-the-art and has many windows that provides increased light and a nice view. After the tour, lunch was served. At the start of the day, I was allowed to select my lunch, which is ordered from a local cafe. Needless to say, lunch was great. I had lunch with a student and gained a wealth of information about the medical school experience. After lunch, a tour of Blacksburg was given by the admissions director. This tour provides opportunity to learn which living facilities are good and which to stay away from. The day ended with the registrar and financial aid director giving their presentations. This school is great. When coming to interview at VCOM, leave your nervousness/anxieties at home. The staff and faculty have a genuine professionalism, cordialness and are friendly down-to-earth people. I believe this school is and will continue to be in a class of its own. My thoughts and impression is that they are not looking for those with the highest g.p.a. or MCAT. Rather, it seems they are interested in mature candidates who are academic sound, understand the osteopathic tenets and are interested in primary practice in the rural setting. If offered a seat at VCOM, I will accept it. VCOM has an added depth to it that distinguishes it from other programs. To understand completely, you will need to experience it.
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It was very comfortable and conversational.
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I actually thought I hadn't done too well in the interview. It was a bit stressful, but I've had worse interviews. The panel format really isn't as bad as most people make it out to be. The standardized patient was a very interesting experience. Don't be afraid to volunteer.
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Great experience! It was so refreshing to be treated like a human being during the interview! No drilling or stress type interview. Very conversational and friendly. Just be yourself while remaining professional and you'll be fine. Although many may be tempted to go to schools which are older and have been established for a longer period of time, I think it is important to keep in mind that a new school can be a better match. Furthermore, this school has a serious future, has been proving itself and I'm sure will continue to do so. I am choosing to attend this school over more prestigious ones because it fits me. It's important to go where you feel you belong. I am very thrilled to be starting there in August 2007!
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Great school, great professors, great location - but the method of instruction kind of threw me. They do have one on one instructor tutoring if you ask or start to have difficulties.
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Fun.. Just as I expected from reading the comments here. I like the campus of VTech. Awesome faculty and staff.
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Great staff, faculty, and facilities. Seems like the students are not crazy competitive and are friendly with each other. Great informative day.
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Although I had read the SDN interviews that students had posted saying not to stress, I went in to the day feeling quite nervous. This, afterall, was a MEDICAL SCHOOL interview, which I expected to be very rigorous. In hindsight I have found no reason that I needed to be nervous. Although I found it beneficial to have a healthy anxiety, if YOU are interviewing at VCOM: relax, be yourself, be very honest, and enjoy the experience for what it is (in other words, it's not pleasant or comfortable to interview, but it's very important in each interviewee's life.) Megan Price, the admissions staff, and the faculty at VCOM are fantastic and good at what they do, however take the day with a grain of salt remembering that it is there JOB to have students pursue VCOM. BUT, from what I hear, they are TRULY as excited about the school as they are on interview day, which is very good to know. Overall fun day though. I was contacted by phone the next week about my acceptance (and I'm going). I did apply Early Decision.
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Arrived at VCOM at 8:30 AM. Provided water and an informational presentation. The first interview was with Dr. Prater. She was great and seemed to be finding out who I was and how the school matched my goals and needs. The second interview was with Dr. Wyeth. He seemed to be the only interviewer that asked really difficult questions. He was a really nice guy though. The final interview was with Dr. Kerger. He was very laid back and listed the benefits of all the schools I had applied. He was interested in me finding the best match. After interviews we took a tour of the school and then took lunch back to the informational room where we ate with two students. Afterwards, we went on a tour of Blacksburg to learn about VT and housing opportunities. Finally, we received a presentation from the registrar office and financial aid. Overall, the interview day was long but helpful and exciting.
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Very laid back. The day has pushed VCOM into one of my top choices!
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Excellent! They made us feel very comfortable
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GREAT, AWESOME, WONDERFUL.
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The day starts at 8:30 Am. First there is a presentation of osteopathic medicine and VCOM. Then at 9:30 AM the interviews start. There are three one on one interviews (supposedly one of them are on the admissions committee and the other two present to the panel). Each interview is about 30 minutes. It is mostly conversational and they ask questions from your application. Only one of my interviewers seemed to be a bit drilling. The interviews end around 11:30 AM and was followed by a tour of the awesome facility. A lot of the faculty have dual appointments at VCOM and Virginia Tech. So the school also has a research component to it. After the tour we had a lunch with a first year and second year student. Then we took a tour of Blacksburg in a Van. This was nice because they showed us VT and various housing complexes. At 2:15 we had a financial aide and registrar presentation and then a wrap up. The interview ended around 3:00. Overall it was a great experience.
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Laid back. Not many difficult questions. Their interested in you as a person and wanted to see if you were a good fit for the school. Asked me how I felt about rural medicine, but did not push it on me. Overall it was stress free.
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VCOM was a great place to interview, the three interviews were very laid back, mostly about who I was with the occasional
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The Edward Via building gives a great first impression, modern, clean, organized, bright and full of activity. Good presentation on the school direction, philosophy and financial aid. Overall the school has a helpful, enthusiastic administration staff, especially the finacial aid woman. My first interview was terrible, the Dr. I met did not give me anything to work with and basically just sat back and said "talk". Impossible to connect with this first Doctor, we are from different worlds and he was unwilling or unable to bridge the gap despite my efforts. Second interview went great, very personable and conversationally adept professor, enjoyed this one the most. 3rd interview was rough, questions were of that terrible generic variety, felt like this Dr. was just going through the motions. The students I met were happy to be there, didnt have any concerns over the as of yet accreditation. Those we met all had some tie to VT undergraduate. They did mention that if you were planning on taking the M.D. boards in order to be more competitive for residency that the first class didnt do too well on them. The feeling I got overall was that you are pretty much chosen before you get to the school and that as long as you fit their preferred profile(southerner, country lovin', VT undergrad) that you will get in. I being from a major metropolitan area and doing my undergraduate work outside of VT felt at a great disadvantage. The interviewers made me feel like they didnt believe there was any way I would be happy doing clinicals in tiny rural towns. They also incorrectly refused to believe I ever intended to end up practicing somewhere near Blacksburg or in rural Virginia which is their big objective. Sadly, I really wanted to like VCOM and be a student there since I'm instate and enjoy the Shenandoah/New River Valleys' natural beauty and outdoor activities. I made the best effort to make it happen but I dont think this school was a fit. Had there been open spots for the 2006 class when I interviewed, even with my poor interview performance and personality differences, I would have given a glowing, positive review of the school. The fact that they bring people in without divulging they have little to no chance of getting in this year is bullshit, and this review would be longer and twice as vehement had I needed to fly in and drop a chunk of money to get there.
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It was really laid back. They really want to get to know you. The interviewers have all the info they need in front of them.
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Very relaxing and I wish I could have gotten in.
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The interview is pretty much like everyone else has already said. Laid back and they really stress that you have nothing to be nervous about you. They also really stress how much they want to get to know you as a person. I was a little upset that my first interview was over in 15 min which meant I had to wait 20+ minutes for the next one which started late. But they were mostly like having a conversation than the interviewer drilling you with questions. They are really big on how much technology they have and the smart boards are the coolest thing I have ever seen (and only seen it at VCOM). They tell you they don't play games with the interviews either. We were told if all of us are good, we get accepted but they don't interview a certain number and only accept a certain % of the group. I'm not sure how I feel with not having practical labs for histology and microbiology but I guess it's not a huge deal. Overall, fairly stressless experience as interviews go.
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It was an excellent experience overall. The interviewers did a great job by not making it stressful at all. I didnt have ANY ethical questions and I was ready for them. They'll tell you that what they need to know is on your file and they've all read them. Just tell them who you are b/c that's what they want to know.
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The interviews were not difficult; I was not asked a lot of questions. The interviewers were more interested in the questions that I had for them, so make sure you have some!!
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It was great. There was nothing to be nervous about.
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Overall it was a good experience. The morning started with a presentation on VCOM and osteopathic medicine, then we had the actual interviews, then a tour of the med school, followed by lunch, a tour of Blacksburg, financial aid meeting, and then a meeting detailing how you would be contacted if accepted, how many seats were left, etc.
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Overall good experience. One interviewer seemed more stressful then the others but then people from the school said he is really nice and just wants to make sure you are making the right decision.
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The overall interview experience was great. All of the interviews were more conversational and low stress. The interviewers are really trying to get to know more about you and are truthful in telling you that they are not there to ask any trick questions. Be open and honest and you should be fine.
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It was awesome, we got to see the town of Blacksburg, and the students at the school would peak in and say hello and offer advice and just chat with us which was neat. A lot of people are worried because they have not graduated a class yet but they are so state of the art and have the best faculty I really doubt they will have problems with their accrediation. Make sure you have lots of questions because they will ask you if you do...millions of times.
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The interview process was very low stress and you interview with three seperate faculty members one at a time. The interviews were more conversation like than anything else. The school is amazing, I have visited other schools and those do not even compare. I do not like city life so VCOMs location was perfect because Blacksburg is a very small town. I can not wait to get there in August.
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The commitment the school has made to serving Appalachia is refreshing. They stay true to this mission in rural education and try to give students the chance to stay local for rotations (most DO schools guarantee you will be at least a quick plane ride away for a clerkship or two). They have a great afilliation with VTech that allows them to have more resources than almost all DO schools, with opportunity to do research and other studies. The students were very friendly and down to earth, as was the admissions staff. The faculty interviews were so laid back and conversational that I don't really recall being asked specific questions. It was more a give and take... a real conversation where they get to know you as a human being first. They do, after all, have your file so they already know you as a student. They are open to questions and answer honestly.
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The interview was laid back, too laid back. They will continue to talk and talk and give you little time to respond. The whole attraction to the school is their "relationship" to VTEC which, even they admit, is not set in stone. NO accrediation which means if they do not get accredited you are shit out of luck.At the end they informed us that they made their decisions already and we would be hearing the next day. Basically, they wanted you in or out even before the seat was cold.
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Three one-on-one interviews. Very low-pressure.
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The lowest stress interview you will have. The interviewers just want to get to know you as person. Speak honestly and openly. I found out of my acceptance the evening after my interviews.
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From the very beginning, I was impressed. The interview group was small (three others) and they started with an overview of the school. The individual interviews took place afterwards (40 min. each X three interviews) and they were all very laid back, and mostly conversation-style. Each interviewer had their own style, but they were all nice and helpful. After a tour of the facilities, we had lunch, which was horrendous, but we were accompanied by a couple of students, which made it informative at least. They seemed very happy to be there. Then, one of the nicest ladies you'll ever meet, Megan Price, took us on a tour of Blacksburg, Tech, and the surrounding areas. Finally, the financial aid meeting and the day ended ala 3:30.
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Fairly easy and laid back. Three seperate, half-hour interviews with a DO PhD and admissions staffer. Questions werent easy but not terribly difficult. Had some ethical issues brought up as well as current events.
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Amazing. If I get in I'm going here.
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Overall, it was a great experience. The staff seem uniquely interested in their students and are very polite. The interview was very laid back and conversational.
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It was very relaxing and had a friendly atmosphere. One interviewer was a bit standoffish but perhaps that interviewer was the "bad cop" of the day.
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VERY relaxed. Three individual interviews with faculty members. Mostly conversational, only a few direct questions asked. One interviewer said I would get in and admissions staff called me later that day to confirm acceptance.
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Whole day was casual...really LOW stress. We were given a good background intro on VCOM, then the interviews, tour of VCOM, the tour of blacksburg, and some financial aid info.
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Not impressive. Te school iself seemed great and the students seemed to like it. Good fascilities. BUT the interviewers really turned me off. I think it's my last choice now.
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i really enjoyed the school and blacksburg. although i did have trouble understanding one faculty member the other two interviews went very well. the interviews are very conversational and its a very informal process
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Professional, Plesant, Honest... We were offered a good look at Virginia Tech. The interviewers were looking to see us as people, to see how we conducted ourselves and what we were interested in.
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The interviews were very relaxed and all seemed interested in getting to know my personality rather than what kind of numbers I could post
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although they were three different interviews and we ran over on time on two of them it was awesome. everyone was so nice.
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I have interviewed at several other schools, all of which were MD programs. This was the first DO program I was interviewed and was more impressed by this program than the MD programs I interviewed at. This school is so far ahead of so many other programs, it is incredible. I look forward to begin attending in August as I was informed yesterday that I have been accepted to the c/o 2009.
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Very good, I have known this site for awhile, but have been to lazy to post. Go to this school. I am from Utah and picked it above for other places!
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Excellent. The faculty are hand picked throughout the country to form an incredible school. I am very pleased to be attending in the fall.
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Casual questions and mostly conversation, at this point they just want a general feel for you, background, goals, attitude.
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Arrived, short power point presenation, interviews (mostly conversational), tour of facilities,lunch with 1st and 2nd year student, tour of Blacksburg, financial aid presentation (Overall time there: 9am-3pm).
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Everyone was so nice and kept saying to the students we were wonderful.. and the interviewers seemed to be recruiting students rather than interviewing..and even said, we're doing the interview to be sure your file's correct and you're not an ax murderer... but are they still accepting students??..NO, only waitlisting. So why not tell you that upfront????
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Overall I was really impressed. Sure it is a young school but they look to be on the right track.
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I was greeted early in the morning by a wonderful admissions director. Six of us were interviewing on this day and we had a chance to relieve any unnecessary stress via general conversation. Two of us were from VA and the rest were out of state. The interview itself was pretty much like a general conversation sprinkled with questions about healthcare in US, and how it could be fixed, my favorite type of music and letting them know a little about myself. On the other hand, I did have an interviewer who pulled out a list of questions and proceeded to run one off right after the other. I became stuck on one or two but the next interviewer was a person who enjoyed talking and we had a nice conversation...
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The faculty and staff are coming from other schools and have done this before. Quality of the education shouldn't be a concern for anyone. I think the year-round schedule is better than the traditional schedule, actually; you get more vacation. Two of the three interviewers had clearly read my file carefully and asked good questions, one interviewer seemed to ask everyone the same questions without having read our files carefully, but even that wasn't too bad. Don't let yourself get rattled; if they invited you down for an interview, they're definitely interested in you.
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the funny thing about this interview is that the interviewers talked about themselves the majority of the time! i had to struggle to get a word in edgewise. i enjoyed 2 of the 3 interviewers very much and they seemed very enthused about their school (the other interviewer was a bit intense in that jumping on everything you say and interpreting it negatively kind of way. i think he was just tired of interviewing.)
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I go in to this school and will probably be going here next august, 05. Great school.
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VCOM was my first choice, so I was pretty stressed going into it. However, they made the interviews very relaxed, which was so important. They were more organized and treated me better than other schools. I was accepted yesterday and I'm very excited about going to school there. Great experience.
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It was a pretty low key interview realacxing for once
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Overall experience was really great. The interviewers really just want to get to know you, and I wasn't really asked anything too difficult. I didn't notice any of the interviewers taking actual notes, so either they have really good memories, wrote notes after I left, or I was too tired to notice them writing during the interview. I get the feeling that, for some students, there is already a preliminary decision on what to do with them regarding admission, but I could be wrong.
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It was great! The whole day is very organized and the interviews are very low stress interviews. The campus is great and the technology used in the class room is amazing. I think I'm spoiled now. This is my first interview..I don't know how the other schools are going to even compete. I will hear this coming Friday if I got in or not, so they are pretty quick to let you know! I hope I get in!
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Great school will go far... was expecting more boondack like surroundings.. pleasantly surprised
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Great! If it wasn't such a new school and located in such a small town, I would definitly go there. Everyone was super nice and this was the most relaxing interview I have been on.
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The school is going to be a good school in a few years. It bothered me that they haven't proven their cirriculum with boards yet.
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The school is going to be great and the location is beautiful. The curriculum seems to be focused on what's best for the students. The faculty and staff are all so nice and make you feel at home. I think the dress code is appropriate for the field we are embarking upon, and the year-round calendar is fine with me as well.
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It was really great. The other 5 interviewees were talkative, which was nice. Candy and water when you arrive; the interviewers picked you up from the conference room that served as home base. Admissions staff was really pleasant. They actually put you ina minivan abnd take you around the VCOM/Virginia tech campuses, and Blacksburg. Find out what a Hokie is before you come. It's really great that V-Tech is close by. Besutiful campus, and adds a lot of life to the area. registrar and Fin Aid ladies were very straigtforward, and really made me believe that VCOM goes the extra mile and spends a lot of time on helping each student. Great day. Blue Ridge Mts are stunning!
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It was just one of the most relaxed, low stress interviews possible. A wonderful group of people.
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There were 6 of us interviewing that day. The others all seemed to have great backgrounds so I felt good to be a part of that group. The faculty and staff made us very comfortable. The whole day was done very professionally. They even had the interviewers come to pick us up in the conference room so we did not have to go looking for any hidden offices so that was very nice. They gave a lot of good information during presentations. Like out of the first class 4 students left. 1 for academic reasons, 1 will drop down to the next class because of a medical reason, 2 left for personal reasons. We were given tons of information about housing and even which apt complexes are known for partying. I had a great day and felt like I got all the information I need to know about the school to make a clear decision about attending there.
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There is so much to love, it almost seems to overshadow my concerns. The family friendly environment. The professors frequently have potlucks for the student where the profs bring the food. They have movie nights in the auditoriums with kids in one room and adults in the other. Everyone is full of vision and hope. A great sign. Professors are there because they want to be. Many of them have designed the program and have a great deal of pride in it. It is very obvious that this school has great things in store.
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The day was long but the staff and faculty went all out to make us comfortable and happy. We had water and candy when we got there and the day went very smoothly. Every single person we came in contact with seemed sincerely interested in selling the school to us and in showing us how close and family-oriented they are. Three back-to-back interviews in the morning with faculty members seemed long and hard before we got there but they were in fact very nice conversations and it was a pleasure to meet each of my interviewers.
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I did not expect the school to be located where it was, but I quickly grew fond of it after having many of my questions answered during the interviews. I like the block system, and do not like it. It keeps your mind fresh with information, but cuts down on your vacations--which is a sacrifice that I am more than happy to make because it is medical school after all. The weather was not all that nice, but the school makes a genuine effort to get to know you, and "sell" themselves to you.
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The entire day was so awesome. First you are introduced to the program and a little background on the school through a presentation. They give you candy and bottled water from the start. You also get a folder with spaces for business cards and everyone you meet gives you their card so you can't forget names. There are 3 seperate one-on one interviews, about 40 minutes each. I had 2 PhD's and a DO. My first interview was a little tense and stressful. I had a hard time understanding what he was saying (thick accent)and his questions were more ethical. He also was the least friendly of anyone I met and I did not think he liked me. The other 2 interviews were awesome. My second interviewer talked so much that it felt more like I was interviewing him. He could not say enough good things about VCOM and he was so nice. I was still in his office when I was supposed to be at my next interview we talked so long. My third interview was my DO interview. All his questions dealt with shadowing a DO. They do not want a candidate who has just read about it so find a doctor to shadow! He was the OMM chair so we mostly talked about that, but it was so relaxed and even fun. Then there was a tour of Blacksburg and we got tons of apartment information and a yummy lunch from a local cafe. Hope that you really like lunch because it is the place that caters the cafeteris and is your only choice for food on VCOM's campus.
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This is to the person who has been accepted to VCOM who has a problem with the post on 4/10/2004. You have no right to criticize this person for their post. The purpose of this web site is to rate medical schools so that other applicants may have more knowledge and a better feel for the school when they visit. I have personally been accepted to VCOM and have decided not to attend for reasons similar to those posted on 4/10. While you may think that not being able to wear jeans to class and mandatory attendance is no big deal, it is. Medical school is hard. It is one of the hardest things we will ever do. It is important as a medical student, at least for me, to go to a school which is "prostudent". I always go to class. That said, I may choose to miss a class at some point during medical school. We are not in kindergarten, we are in professional school. We should not have to be "excused" for making a personal decision. I imagine this situation is worse at VCOM because school is year round. Do you really want to go to a school where missing a class can affect your grade? This has nothing to do with how good of a physician you will become and as for me personally, I prefer not to be treated like a child in professional school. The same is true with the dress code. I understand that we are going to be professionals and I am all for looking professional in front of patients but why not be relaxed and comfortable in class. I personally learn more that way. As for your comment about full accredidation, it IS IMPORTANT! Wake up people. If a certain percentage of the first class does not pass boards, they are not accredited. While I think this is a very unlikely scenario, it is something to think about. On the positive side, everyone at VCOM IS REALLY NICE. They just are. While I think this is great, I think that VCOM severely limits its students in their career. The building only being open until 10pm is RIDICULOUS!! If you go to this school, you are paying $52000 a year. You should be able to use the facilities. This and the other rules lead me to believe that VCOM does not trust its students to know what is in their best interests and therefore the school is attempting to control many aspects of student life. Once again, medical school is stressful! Why add extra, unneeded stressors to the situation? It makes no sense to me. On the other hand, if this does not bother you and you want to do primary care in rural virginia, you will probably be very happy at this school. I just cannot get past the negatives so I will be attending elsewhere.
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Dear applicant: I am very uncertain about why you have chosen to attend medical school. You seem very immature by your responses. Allow me to address each concern of yours. 1.“You can't wear jeans to classâ€Â: Unfortunately you are applying to professional school, and not a community college. Learn to dress responsibly at all times. 2.“The school building is only open from 7AM to 10PMâ€Â: Well I agree with you, as this is a legitimate concern. I also mentioned my concerns to the 1st year class during my interview. They are currently working on it. 3.“Yes, they were extremely nice but the students did not look happyâ€Â. My friend, I don’t know about you, but while I was working on my Master’s Degree, and taking classes with medical students, I did not have a smiley face on me at all times. You obviously have no clue about the rigors of medical school. There are times to smile and be happy, and times to frown and be unhappy. Medical school is more challenging than your undergraduate biochemistry course, from your mediocre college. 4.“They are NOT fully-accredited yetâ€Â. Hello! This is a new school. There is no way they can receive full accreditation until they graduate their first class. 5.“It seems they brag more about their intramural soccer championship than about how safe their curriculum isâ€Â: You are comparing apples and oranges. Their curriculum is probably one of the best you would find for integrative learning. You obviously have no idea about a medical curriculum. 6.“It also seemed like they look down upon medical specialties, and train you for family practice. They also stress that they would love for you to stay in the Appalachian region.â€Â: You warn other students to do their research- well, why don’t you just take a minute or two to go to the website online. Turn your computer on, click on the e-sign, go to google.com and type in Edward via Virginia College of osteopathic medicine. Once you arrive at the site, go to the mission statement. Read it. It should say something about training physicians (primary/rural) for the Appalachian area. If you are unable to read, send me an e-mail (www.readersaid.com) 7.“The first thing I witnessed as I walked in was a secretary giving a student this snotty attitude because he missed a class and was trying to be excusedâ€Â: Well learn to be disciplined. I am sure you could miss as many classes in your engineering program. You might consider switching back to that program. 8.“Lunch with a med student was soooo awkward, because an admissions person was there. She kept offsetting any slightly negative comments from the student†: I am pleased to inform you that I agree with on this matter. They probably should not have the staff in there at the same time. 9.“I spent a good deal of money flying out to VA. After being led on during the whole interview process, the director tells us that they have already offered all the available seats, and the best situation would be the waitlistâ€Â: Get in the back seat and wait. They should not be in any hurry to offer someone like you a seat, at least I hope not. 10.“They should have been honest with people, lying is never tactfulâ€Â: Cheap shot. How did they lie? They are giving students an opportunity to fill the seats in the event that other students don’t attend the school. You are very immature and I hope you do not get accepted to this school, let alone be a class colleague. 11.“Interviewees are deceived by how nice they appear and the low stress level of the interviews, but it seems that there are numerous underlying issues they don't want you to know about†: The school does not hide any information. I think they are as open as can be. Yet not perfect, because they are a new school, they are as revealing as can be. 12.My advice to you is that you not attend this school, as you probably would not be a good match, due to your immaturity.
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Each iunterveiwer was plesant and made me feel comfotable, like they were just tring to get to know me.
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BE WEARY!! You are interviewing them as well. Also, do your research. You can't wear jeans to class, and the school building is only open from 7AM to 10PM. These are tiny details people need to know before they spend $200,000 on an education. Yes, they were extremely nice but the students did not look happy. They are NOT fully-accredited yet, it seems they brag more about their intramural soccer championship than about how safe their curriculum is. It also seemed like they look down upon medical specialties, and train you for family practice. They also stress that they would love for you to stay in the appalachian region.
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Everyone will be nervous going in!! But they will try their best to relax you, and they do a good job. The interviewers were nice and in-tuned to what you were saying. Very comfortable setting!!!
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The day was great and the whole experience left me very impressed with the school and the program.
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It was a low stress interview, mostly conversational. I felt that the faculty and staff were just trying to get to know me.
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It was a wonderful low stress day. This school is excellent.
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Overall, the interviews were very relaxed! We just had normal conversation with a couple of standard questions thrown in. Don't be stressed! Just be yourself and let your true self shine through! If you get nervous easily, practice interviewing in front of people. Believe me, just try to be yourself...I am the type of person who gets nervous a lot!
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I LOVE VCOM. I came away from the day with a positive outlook. The staff are so excited to be there and to have you there. The interviews were not stressfull. One question was off the wall (see above)but they just wanted to get to know you. Lunch was good. The tour of the campus and of the area was very nice. I have never been to an interview where they take you on a tour of the campus. That was awesome. Just relax and have fun.
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Don't be nervous they are so nice. This school is going to be one of the top in the country. The faculty and the students are committed to making it a great place. I look forward to seeing what they do. The interviews were 3 consecutive interviews in the very beginging which is nice you get it over with fast. They were one on one, so if you mess up in one you get 2 more tries. They all ask you different questions they really want good people and know that mcat and gpa don't say everyting. don't be nervous.
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Great! Everyone was very nice, made you feel so welcome and nice. They even drive you around and show you places to live! Talk about optimistic!
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Good interview. They took A LOT of questions from my file.
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Overall, it was a VERY positive day. The interviewers put a lot of effort into getting to know you. My first interviewer was quite cold, asked some questions that stumped me. Later, another interviewer said that he was "so nice." Depends on the individual I suppose. There are a lot of "positives" about this school. Enough to overshadow many of the negatives. Ample info about nearby housing is given, cost of living is pretty low. They REALLY are putting a lot of effort into making this school great, so I'm not at all concerned about the school being so young. Again, I am kind of concerned about being in class year-round, and since the MS1's haven't even gone through a summer of class, they can't tell you whether or not it sucks.
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The interview was pretty relaxed, one of the interviewers failed to arrive on time, but that was quickly resolved. Everyone was nice, and the technology really is amazing.
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Overall it was a stress-free experience. Starting off the day with interviews is definitely much better than having to wait until the afternoon and stressing all day. The first interview was more conversational while the other two asked the traditional questions- these two did not really seem interested in getting to know me as a person and seemed very nervous... I hope it wasn't something I said! It was nowhere near as bad as I had expected; if you're reading this now- don't waste your time stressing- it's gonna be a great day!
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I walked away very impressed with VCOM. They want to make their school on the cutting edge of technology, education, and research. It seems that an excellent plan was drafted from the beginning, and the mission of becoming an awesome medical school is being carried out. The day was very low-stress, and their goal is to get to know you better. They said that they received 1,500 applicants, and they are going to interview 300, so if you've made it this far they are obviously very interested in you.
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It was a pleasant experience, the school was nice and has much promise, and the faculty/staff all seem to be very optimistic about the future of the school. It also seemed as though the admissions director, who gave the tour of VT, and interviewers were genuinely glad that you were there.
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The admissions staff is very excited and the interviewers were cordial and informative. The physician asked me all the hypothetical questions and the other 2 interviewers weree more conversational. Low stress, relax, it will be a great interview day.
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I will definitely be there in the fall.. I don't think you could top this school with the state of the art facilities and the amazing faculty. Although a new school I am not a bit worried about the potential of my medical education.
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My interview experience at VCOM was absolutely amazing. I interviewed at other schools before VCOM and I can truly say that VCOM was the best in the sense that they are really friendly and make you feel really welcomed. Some of the other schools I interviewed at were so impersonal and made it seem as though all they really cared about was numbers. VCOM placed an emphasis on numbers, but an even emphasis on getting to know you as a person. The school is very technologically advanced and has the best professors in all of the U.S.
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My overall interview experience was wonderful. I really LOVE the school. I also appreciate notification in a speedy matter. I have since been accepted and will be attending the school in the fall.
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Very enjoyable expereince. It would take some getting used to after living in bigger cities. I would reccomend the school.
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I would LOVE to go to this school!
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The school and facilities are amazing. There is an overall feeling of warmth and enthusiasm emanating throughout the school.
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Two weeks later, you find out how you did. Good Luck.
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the interview day was well constructed and offered a great chance to see the school and surrounding area. everyone was really nice and enthusiastic about the school and us being there. this school has great potential, and is interested in student's imputs to achieve that goal.
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All in all, I was impressed with its facilities. The faculty and staff were all very friendly. The interviews were low stress.
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There are three 30 minute interviews but the good thing is they are over in the morning, so you can relax for lunch, your tour, etc. The driving tour of Blacksburg was nice and they pointed out the places to avoid when looking for apartments (Tech is a big party school and some of the apt complexes can get pretty loud even on weeknights).
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It was a good experience overall and I really like the school. I think it is very promising and I have no doubt that if they keep the committment up, this school will become one of the best med. school in the world. Would like to attend if given the opportunity
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It was great. The entire staff was very informative and helpful. The driving tour around Blacksburg was an added plus. Wish we could have seen Dean Rawlins on that day.
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This seems to be a great institution but there were just a few things that did not sit well with me. Students and professors seemed a little unsure and unhappy with school. Scary that it is not fully accredited.
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I loved it!
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The overall interviews went well. They try to get an idea as to who you are, whether you can communicate effectively, and whether you truly want to become a DO. Remember, there are three separate interviews at this school, which is different from most other schools, and so your endurance will be tested.
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I think the school is going to be a great school. The interviews are really low stress; just be yourself. Blacksburg is in a nice location and the faculty look like they are going to be top notch.
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Two of the interviewers just talked with me and I felt like the questions were developed during the interview. The third interviewer had a sheet of questions and she took notes, but still maintained a somewhat conversational air. I loved the school- their philosophy and excitement. If they let me in, I'll definitely go.
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I felt comfortable with the staff and other interviewees, laid back (for the most part) which is a nice change...wonder if this will stay that way once classes begin.
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Overall, I'm really impressed with the school. I promises a lot. The only bad thing about this entering class is that it's going to be the first one, sort of guinea pigs. But, there is a plus side, better interaction with the faculty members, etc. We were all able to talk to the dean for a couple of minutes in a very friendly environment. I am really hoping to get accepted.
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I felt rushed through each interview and pretty much the whole day.
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This will be a wonderful school, I am looking forward to attending if possible...but as said above it was vague to what they were really looking for in a student and how the selection process happens.
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very laid back. everyone is really nice and out to get to know you. it was nice that admissions counselors showed us around town and were very open to questions and suggestions.
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Interviews were not strict at all. The staff is incredibly helpful, nice and attentive. Blacksburg is a good town, but it is sleepy and rural.
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Overall, I would give it a high rating and say it was a good interview.
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The day started with a presentation given by Dean Rawlins which was very informative and explained the mission of the school, history of Osteopathy, outlook, curriculum, etc. Three individual interviews took place after that, approx. 30 min each. I felt the questions were all expected and for the most part not difficult to answer. We were taken out to lunch and given a tour of Blacksburg and possible housing arrangements. When we arrived back at the college, we ended the day with a financial aid information meeting.
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Dean Rawlins has done a great job putting together a patient-centered curriculum with enthusiastic faculty. Everything looks great on paper---but, you have to wonder how the program will actually materialize taking logistics into consideration. The interviews are nothing to worry about---unlike some other schools, they just want to get to know you and why you are interested in entering medicine. Just be yourself, and be excited about VCOM's potential. Also, be sure to talk one-on-one with Dean Rawlins.... Obviously, its her school and if she likes you, you'll probably get your acceptance letter the next day!
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A tremendous, positive experience. The school is going to be top notch! The interviews were 30 min each x 3 interviewers, but the day was 0830-1530 (including them taking us to a nifty restaurant..which was a nice touch). Very low-key interview process.
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I felt the interviews were relaxed but focused on gaining a sense of your overall interpersonal & communication skills as well as your motivation for becoming a DO
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It was my first interview and it was a great experience. Everyone is so excited about the new school and committed to making it a top medical school.
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Interviewers were extremely nice. Dean Rawlins has put together an excellent urriculum. Facilities will be state of the art, faculty are motivated and highly qualified.
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Very good laid back experience.
What are your suggestions for the admissions office?
Applicants generally appreciate the friendly and welcoming demeanor of the admissions office staff, with some suggesting quicker waiting list rankings and minor logistical improvements like adjusting lunch timings.
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Keep being super friendly!
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Keep being so kind because it is definitely a nice refresher coming from out of state where people aren't so nice.
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None!
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nothing, keep up the good work!
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Nothing - did a great job, and they take care of veterans very well.
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none
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Nothing-- very friendly!
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They were awesome.
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Rank the waiting list more quickly. Waiting until May 15 was torture.
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None. They were ok, nothing special but seemed to do their jobs.
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Nothing. They did a fantastic job of presenting the school and making us as interview candidates feel like they were just as privileged to have us there as we felt to be there. Really kind, genuine people.
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Everything was awesome! Excellent lunch, got the interviews overwith quickly, tour of the area helped, and we talked with current students candidly.
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Loved this school.
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Lunch should be at 12 not 12:30. Do the lunch first, then do the tour. We were starving after interv
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Very approachable people. Megan and Bea are always willing to help or answer questions. They are ver
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they pretty much got the admissions process down. no complaints.
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Friendly but quite obviously fake
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Nothing much...more recycling bins (I'm a hippie)
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Keep it up!
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Nothing. Meghan, Julie, and Bea are all fantastic!
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I would recommend that you select a student for the tour that has spent significant time there. Mine
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Nothing, really, b/c they did a great job
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The admissions staff is quite obviously fake and do not do a very good job of hiding it.
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Please don't waste other people's time. If you give advice to an applicant, please make sure it is
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Some applicants are driven to be osteopathic doctors, others are just doing it, get a grip and learn
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shorten the day. It does not need to be that long.
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Don't base your judgment of applicants based on how much they kiss your rear...base it on their cred
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The admissions staff is very quick in responding to requests for more information but I found the re
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Admissions office is top notch. Best that I have dealt with thus far in my medical school interview
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