Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

Negatively ☹️

8 out of 10

While I was extremely impressed by the overall quality of the school, I definitely did not gel well with my interviewer in the least. I am of Indian origin, am a biology major at a selective college but have a significant disparity between my MCAT and GPA (high MCAT, average-mediocre grades). At one point, my interviewer, who was also Indian but was a scientist rather than an MD, commented on the fact that I had done significant work in journalism, and that there were very few of "us" in journalism, so wouldn't it make sense for me to go into that field instead. When I explained that my strengths lay in medicine, he suggested that I was simply too overcommitted throughout my college years. While I do wish my grades were higher, I do not regret the fact that I invested my time heavily in very worthwhile extracurricular activities like the campus newspaper, in residential life and in heading up a service group. I felt as the interviewer had a specific ideal candidate and I wasn't it. I think my experience was an anomaly, in all honesty - everyone else I've spoken with (who had a different interviewer) felt very good coming out of the interview and didn't feel stressed in the least. I would love to get into the school, but my interviewer soured the experience significantly.

What are the major issues in medicine that you feel will affect your ability to practice medicine?

Read over the website, re-read my application.

How to solve the US healthcare crisis

The quality of the facilities was excellent, as was the excitement of the staff and students.

The interviews were one-on-one, and my interviewer was not an MD and seemed overly confrontational.

Student