How is the friendliness of the admissions office?
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How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?
No responses
How did you prepare for the interview?
Read Temple's website, SDN, and reviewed some bioethics and health economics subject matter.
What impressed you positively?
The students were really nice. They gave us a tour of the medical school and adjacent hospital which seems very good. Their attitude struck me as focused but laid back. That's something I'd like to see in my fellow med students.
What impressed you negatively?
Obviously Temple is not the Hamptons. There are a lot of ghetto elements that surround and permeate the campus. Security is a premium, with football stadium lights + tons of police but even then I didn't feel completely safe. The probation thing doesn't help either though they are open about it and seem to be proactive in addressing the problem.
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
How having tons of artificial light (from the football stadium lights on the Temple buildings) striking your cornea at midnight can mess with your circadiam rhythms.
What are your general comments?
I took a shuttle from the Inn I was staying at on Campus to the Student Faculty Center (SFC). I checked in with the secretary, gave her my photo with my name is AAMC ID on the back, and was told to go next door to the Cancer Center to meet my interviewer. I do that and find my interviewr to be an MD/JD (very rare and dangerous combo) with an axe to grind. He hammered me with some tough questions for 30 minutes and kept a poker face so it was tough to read him. I had heard about stress interviewers as myths but was coming face to face with one know. My strategy was to weather the storm by staying focused, assertive, yet respectful. He then asked me if I had any questions. I knew if I had a chance with this guy I had to kick ass in this area. I asked tons of questions on very specific program and qualities at Temple. I asked him what he thought the top three areas of the school was and about the probation status. By the end of the interview, he'd lightened up, conceded I was "absolutely right" about some of the points I had made and said that he hoped to see me at Temple in Fall of 2004. By staying level headed and focused I had survived, disarmed, and appealed to the toughest interviewer at Temple (or so the Admissions Director told me). Afterwards, I went to a lounge back at SFC and chatted with some of the other applicants. The key here is to just be relaxed and don't take any of what they say too seriously because everyone wants to play mind games with you. The Admissions Director then came in and proceeded to go over what Temple is all about (history, curriculum, probation problems, etc.) We then got a presentation from the financial aid director. This was as boring as hell and by the end I felt like vomiting. Basically he said: "We got a 140K avg debt for our students - be prepared to ask mommy and daddy for $$." Once that was over, the 2nd med students came in and took us on a tour. These guys were super nice. Some of the coolest people I've ever met. They took us on a tour of the hospital and were very receptive to our questions. Visiting the library, it looked cramped and some people were passed our at desks from the exhaustion of finals week - something for us all to look forward too. Their anatomy lab looked like a hybrid to old dissection and new computer stations. Temple seems to be in transition from its old school roots to a more 21st century med school and they deserve props for that. Once that was done we all had lunch and I left. A week later, I got a notification via e-mail that an acceptance letter was being sent to me. I'm into med school! Yay!
What are your suggestions for the admissions office?
No responses
