Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Individual responses

⭐ Overall Impressions ▼

How did the interview impress you?

Positively

What was the stress level of the interview?

5 out of 10

How you think you did?

8 out of 10

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

No responses

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

No responses

💬 Interview Questions ▼

What is one of the specific questions they asked you?

Describe some patient types with whom you have found (or might find) difficult to interact in a constructive manner.

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How would you approach and treat a homosexual male patient who presented with and STD?

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How would you approach and treat a long-time heart patient who you knew had recently been convicted of child molestation?

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What was the most interesting question?

How would you approach and treat a homosexual male patient who presented with and STD?

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What was the most difficult question?

How would you approach and treat a long-time heart patient who you knew had recently been convicted of child molestation?

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🤝 Interview Format and Logistics ▼

How long was the interview?

45 minutes

How many people interviewed you?

2

What was the style of the interview?

One-on-one

What type of interview was it?

Open file

Was this interview in-person or virtual?

No responses

Where did the interview take place?

At the school

📍 On-Site Experience ▼

Who was the tour given by?

Student

How did the tour guide seem?

No responses

How do you rank the facilities?

No responses

What is your in-state status?

No responses

What were your total hours spent traveling?

No responses

What was your primary mode of travel?

No responses

About how much did you spend on room, food, and travel?

No responses

What airport did you fly into?

No responses

Where did you stay?

No responses

What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?

No responses

How would you rate the hotel?

No responses

Would you recommend the hotel?

No responses

What is your ranking of this school's location?

No responses

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

No responses

What are your comments on where you stayed?

No responses

✅ Interview Preparation and Impressions ▼

How is the friendliness of the admissions office?

No responses

How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?

No responses

How did you prepare for the interview?

Reviewed my AMCAS, SIU secondary and SDN.

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What impressed you positively?

One of my interviewers showed me SIU's latest Step 2 results, which were well above the national average. I really liked the situational-type questions that one of my interviewers asked. They were thought-provoking and, I think, really helped him better understand my problem solving process and skills--and helped him gauge my ethical/moral compass. Both of my interviewers (one was on the admissions committee) made comments along the lines of "I've been in your chair, so I'm here to make it easy for you and try to help you get into medical school". So even though some of the questions were tough, there wasn't an adversarial feeling to them.

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What impressed you negatively?

I just can't shake the feeling that SIU is a wee bit "po-dunky"--and Springfield is certainly nothing to write home about. Also, the student who gave the tour kept making disparaging remarks about other schools and how "they just throw you into the deep end--while at SIU, the faculty really cares". Of course, on further questioning, it turned out that her opinion was formed by talking with ONE college classmate who was having a bad experience at ONE other med school. Not exactly a broad platform on which to form her opinion. It almost felt like she had been indoctrinated into the whole "PBL" thing--and was trying to convert us too.

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What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

A previous reviewer commented on SIU's goofy "Accept when place available" (AWPA) system. If you're on this list, you get a letter stating just that. The only trouble is that last year, I found out that SIU had such a strong applicant pool that they didn't even get to the lower-ranked applicants on the AWPA list. As a result, what should have been a straightforward "accept" turned into a "reject". Not cool. So if you get the "AWPA" letter, you're encouraged to write back immediately expressing your unbridled joy at getting a tentative "maybe" and how SIU is your ultimate dream school--and this is somehow supposed to get you on SIU's "nice list". Can you sense the sarcasm? Good. How this ultimately helps your chances--and how it's in ANY way fair--is truly beyond me. Why would anyone want to jump at the first school if they are still interviewing and weighing their potential options? Unclear!!

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What are your general comments?

Ehh--I'd go here if I didn't get accepted anywhere else. It's just not very diverse (I waited in the main lobby of the medical center and didn't see many non-Caucasian faces), and they're so gung-ho on getting folks from central and southern IL that it's sort of a turn-off (I live in Chicago--but I'm from a rural area in another state). I just think it's rather misguided to assume that rural folk are automatically going to return to their rural communities to practice.

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What are your suggestions for the admissions office?

No responses

Southern Illinois University School of Medicine

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