Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine

🙂

How did the interview impress you?

Positively 🙂

What was the stress level of the interview?

3 / 10

0 = Low Stress, 10 = High Stress

How you think you did?

10 / 10

0 = Bad, 10 = Great

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

7 / 10

0 = Below, 10 = Above

How do you rank this school among other schools to which you've applied?

8 / 10

0 = Below, 10 = Above

What are your general comments?

The day was well organized. Directions on getting to the school (from the web site) were great. I had a morning interview, so at about 8:45 I was led to my first interviewer. My first interview only lasted about 30 minutes, at which point I walked back to the admissions office area. I was told I should have waited for the girl who was leading us around (oops :p). Then I waited a while, and at about 10:25 I was led to my second interview. That interview lasted like 50 minutes. Both interviews were fairly laid back, but I was asked specific questions. After the interviews we had a somewhat pointless presentation about the school, followed by lunch with students, and then a tour. I would have appreciated more mature students to eat lunch with. The tour was given by a hospital volunteer, an older man. I was impressed by the hospital and the school facilities. I absolutely love the area (lots of beautiful land, fields, and tress around -- my type of place). I came away from the day with a positive impression of the school. If not for a few misgivings about how suited I am for the curriculum, it would probably be raised to one of my top choices. (If you have an afternoon interview you will first have the presentation, lunch, and tour with the morning interviewees and then have your interviews in the afternoon.)

Interview questions they asked

Tell me about yourself.

I was asked this too

What was the most interesting question?

What is your passion?

I was asked this too

What was the most difficult question?

Tell me about yourself. (I hate that question.)

I was asked this too

How did you prepare for the interview?

I didn't really. I re-read my research abstract from undergrad. After my first interview I decided not to spend time preparing.

What impressed you positively?

The facilites are great. The area is beautiful. Every student I saw said hello and that Penn State is an excellent school. They have an awesome simulation lab. My interviewers were very enthusiastic about the school and the location. The faculty all seem dedicated to serving community-wide healthcare needs and training physicians to treat the whole patient as a part of society. And again, the students were EXTREMELY enthusiastic about the school, which was nice to see.

What impressed you negatively?

I'm not sure if the curriculum (lots of PBL, blocks of one or two courses at a time, essays on tests) is right for me. I wasn't impressed with the students we ate lunch with, who mostly talked about their cadaver's penis and what bars were in the area.

What is your ranking of this school's location?

10 / 10

0 = Bad, 10 = Great

What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?

7 / 10

0 = Bad, 10 = Great