Northwestern University Feinberg School 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?

9 / 10

0 = Below, 10 = Above

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

9 / 10

0 = Below, 10 = Above

What are your general comments?

I think there were over 30 of us the day I interviewed (they said it was one of their biggest days). We all gathered in the admissions office and there were bagels and juice available. Then we had an overview lecture by Asst. Dean Lapin and found out who we were doing our panel interviews with. Then we had at least a half hour to meet and chat with other applicants in our panel group, which you ABSOLUTELY should do. It feels a lot better going in as friends than as strangers. Then the panel interview which was pretty fun and a short interview with Dean Lapin (or Dean Brown or someone else) to "update your file" and ask questions. The one-on-ones varied quite a bit. It sounds like Dean Brown is very outgoing and talkative, but with Dean Lapin be prepared to get a conversation going. Talk about what's new, ask questions, etc. Students hosted lunch and a tour, then we had a presentation from the Dean of Minority Affairs, the Dean of Education asked us for feedback (feedback is big at NW), and we did a mock PBL session as a group (a bit difficult with 30 folks).

Interview questions they asked

Tell me about yourself. Have a short, solid answer to this question because the panel interview is closed folder and that's how they start off with each of us. You want to give a brief overview that offers them topics they can come back to in later questions.

I was asked this too

What was the most interesting question?

Imagine that one of the questioners had to give a political speech arguing that we should spend nothing on public health and everything on medicine. I was free to resign afterwards but I had to come up with arguments to support that position. (Yikes.)

I was asked this too

What was the most difficult question?

During the panel interview another applicant's second question was whether she still remembered my first question. (She did.) LESSON: don't just focus on your own answers, pay attention and be interested in what other folks are saying during the panel. The whole reason they do a panel interview is to see how you interact and listen to others.

I was asked this too

How did you prepare for the interview?

Others have said this, but I'll repeat it: Study the questions posted here. I went through the past few years of NW feedback here and collected 140 past questions then wrote out a short answer to each one. It might seem like overkill, but I could relax during the interview and over 90% of the questions I heard had been listed here in SDN. Also, a great resource is _101 Answers to the Toughest Interview Questions_. It's written for job interviews, but is still useful for teaching you how to look at questions/answers from an interviewer's perspective.

What impressed you positively?

This is the only interview I've been to where it definitely felt like they were trying to sell their school. It wasn't just about checking us out, they were enthusiastic to present their school to us. The 4 year MD/MPH option is the syncher for me, but beyond that there were lots of things... Everyone was very enthusiastic about the program, it was collegial didn't feel at all competitive, NW has a very strong clinical focus with a great clinical reputation (research is definitely available but they don't expect anyone to do it who doesn't want to). The facilities were amazingly top notch, but despite its wealthy reputation, they went out of their way to stress that NW values service and serves a very diverse population. Their line was "Why shouldn't a homesless person get just as nice a hospital room as a millionaire?"

What impressed you negatively?

Cost (incidentally there was no financial aid presentation). NW is definitely at the top of my list, but if I get into a UC school for half the tuition, I'll have a touch choice to make.

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

Chicago is more diverse than I realized, lots of opportunities to use other languages and serve immigrant groups. I also had the wrong impression that NW was primarily a research institution, but clinical skills seems to be its primary focus.

What is your ranking of this school's location?

8 / 10

0 = Bad, 10 = Great

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

9 / 10

0 = Bad, 10 = Great