SDN Logo
 
 

Duke University School of Medicine

Durham, NC

Allopathic Medical Schools | Private Non-Profit

⭐ Overall Impressions

How did the interview impress you?

Positively

What was the stress level of the interview?

8 out of 10

How you think you did?

9 out of 10

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

9 out of 10

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

10 out of 10
💬 Interview Questions

What is one of the specific questions they asked you?

Have you ever had to give someone bad news? How did you do it?
I loved your essay on ____ (moral/ethical dilemma). Can you describe in more detail how you dealt with the situation?
What sort of research would you be interested in during your 3rd year at Duke?

What was the most interesting question?

Your patient has extremely high blood pressure, but he refuses to take his medication because of its side effects (sexual dysfunction). What do you do?

What was the most difficult question?

What was the last nice thing you did for someone?
🤝 Interview Format and Logistics

How long was the interview?

30 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?

Enthusiastic

How do you rank the facilities?

9 out of 10

What is your in-state status?

Out of state

What were your total hours spent traveling?

4-6 hours

What was your primary mode of travel?

Airplane

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

$301-$400

What airport did you fly into?

RDU

Where did you stay?

Hotel

What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?

Millenium

How would you rate the hotel?

9 out of 10

Would you recommend the hotel?

yes

What is your ranking of this school's location?

7 out of 10

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

7 out of 10

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?

Read Duke website, re-read secondary application, read some healthcare articles

What impressed you positively?

I actually went into my interview day biased against Duke, and left loving it. Curriculum is extremely well thought out and organized. They don't cram 2 years of material into 1 year; instead they distill them into the most important concepts, which are taught in the 1st year, then continue to teach the other topics during 2nd year rotations (so that you "learn by doing"). Students are given an inordinate amount of responsibility and are allowed to try many procedures in rotations. Tons of research opportunities in the 3rd year, and many scholarships are offered so that overall the cost of 4 years of medical school is much less. You can also leave in the 3rd year to complete a 2nd graduate degree. And, it was WARM and I didn't need a jacket in early February. Flowers were blooming all over the gorgeous campus.

What impressed you negatively?

Nothing really. The interviews started running late, but that probably can't be avoided.

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

The interviews are SEMI-CLOSED. They have access to all your essays and AMCAS, but NOT your GPA or MCAT score. The Admissions Director said, "We are looking for two qualities in our candidates: a capacity for academic brilliance as well as [something like 'humaneness' or 'human understanding']. We assume that if you are invited for an interview, you are academically prepared to study at Duke. So, in your interviews, we do not disclose GPA or MCAT so that your interviews can gauge your [humaneness]." Sorry, I can't remember what the term she used for "humaneness" was. It was something nice... Also, Chapel Hill and Raleigh are only 15 miles or so from Durham. For some reason I thought they were much further away.

What are your general comments?

My interview day totally turned my opinion of Duke around. It's an amazing school.

What are your suggestions for the admissions office?

No responses