How is the friendliness of the admissions office?
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How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?
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How did you prepare for the interview?
same as everybody else. Miami has a website that is actually better than most schools so its worth taking a look at.
What impressed you positively?
The students who came up to us and talked about Miami and really seemed to love the school. I was also very impressed with the diversity of the students--not only race/culture but in their personalities as well. The students seemed very laid back and not under too much stress. Jackson medical center is enormous and would offer clinical experiences that far exceed other med schools. Their student societies sound like they foster a strong connection between upperclass/underclass students--but it still sounds like my "teams" in middle school haha. The city of Miami is a definite plus, although it feels too congested at times. The school is very "wired" and allows students to watch lectures from their computer and many use this option instead of attending class (not sure if this is good or bad). It sounded like the administration seeks input from students and actually responds and takes their suggestions seriously.
What impressed you negatively?
Miami is expensive for both in-state and out of state students--but i'd say its worth it for the clinical education and opportunities aviable at such a large medical center. I think the FAU campus is a downside unless you really wanted to be in Boca instead of Miami(but would only be for two years). FAU students have to drive down to Miami for meetings/events ect, and it sounds like they miss out on a lot of the clinical stuff that jackson offers--but the academics and coursework at FAU sound on par with the miami campus. Students claim you dont HAVE to know spanish--but their stories made it sound like you either know spanish before or you learn a medical version of it very quickly.
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
Stay at the Days Inn--its no Hilton but you can walk to your interview, its inexpensive, and you wont have to worry about parking--no alarm clocks in the room though. We were told that the FAU campus was set up because FAU wants to develope a med school there in the future and it sounded like the Miami students are being "donated" to get things set up for the program. I think approx 3/4 of those interviewed are accepted--so being invited for an interview is huge.
What are your general comments?
We were the first round of students to come through for interviews and the day still ran like butter. You meet up at the admissions office between 830-9am. Id get a coffee/bagle at Au Bon Pain (located near the school) if your early. I think there was ~15 students with scheduled interviews. Dean Hinkley gives a presentation on the school, followed by a talk about research. Some students then interview while others go on a tour. The tour is outside and you will sweat like a dog. The tour wasnt that impressive but it was the first one this year and it sould improve over the course of year. At 12 you are joined by med students for a closed door lunch (ravioli) for a Q+A session. There is a financial aid talk after lunch, but some students interview at this 1pm time slot. I think the day ends around 2pm so you can avoid the rush hour traffic.
What are your suggestions for the admissions office?
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