Durham, NC
Allopathic Medical Schools | Private Non-Profit
Application Cycle: 2009-10
⭐ Overall Impressions
How did the interview impress you?
Positively 🙂
What was the stress level of the interview?
3 out of 10
0 = Low Stress, 10 = High Stress
How you think you did?
7 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?
8 out of 10
0 = Below, 10 = Above
How do you rank this school among other schools to which you've applied?
10 out of 10
0 = Below, 10 = Above
What are your general comments?
Overall, This was a great interview experience. Several other people have commented on this website that Duke goes through a rigorous selection process just to pick who they invite to interview. By the time you've made it to the interview, you've made the academic cut. The 2 interviews seemed to focus on me as a self-aware and self-guided person in an attempt to identify whether or not I would fit well into the team oriented healthcare environment that Duke wants to build.
I've also heard that Duke runs an alpha and a beta interview. I didn't personnally feel like I was in that sort of situation, but nearly half of the other interviewees complained that their faculty interviews were only 10 minutes long. My faculty interviewer indicated that she was complete about 10 minutes into the interview, so I started asking open ended questions and using her response as a cue to talk more about myself. I ended up dragging the interview out to about 35 minutes. I think cutting the interview short may have been a scripted attempt to see how the interviewee reacts. My thoughts were that I didn't fly all the way across the country to talk for 10 minutes. I was going to give her a chance to get to know me whether she wanted to talk or not.
💬 Interview Process
What is one of the specific questions they asked you?
What do you think will be the hardest thing about becoming a physician?
What was the most interesting question?
Imagine that you're a board certified physician and you've been asked to make a presentation about medicine to a kindergarten class. What do you teach/present to them?
How did you prepare for the interview?
Read this site and found most of the feedback accurate. Reread my essays. Reviewed life experiences that come in handy for interviews. Read up on hot medicine topics in the media.
What was the most difficult question?
Tell me about your interactions with the employees at your work (I work in management at a union organized manufacturing plant). The interviewer specifically wanted to know how I dealt with older and sometimes obstinate employees in both positive and negative situations.
What impressed you positively?
The positive attitude (laid-back, yet focused) of all of the students. The amount of hands-on and one-on-one training incorporated into the curriculum. The massive expansion of the medical center campus over the past 10 years.
What impressed you negatively?
Not much really.
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
Though I used to live there, I had forgotten that Durham is a much smaller city and things are much closer. I didn't really need to rent a car.
🤝 Campus and Facilities
How do you rank the facilities?
9 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
What is your ranking of this school's location?
8 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?
6 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
📍 Travel and Logistics
Who was the tour given by?
Student
How did the tour guide seem?
Enthusiastic
What is your in-state status?
Out of state
What were your total hours spent traveling?
7+ 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?
Brookwood
How would you rate the hotel?
5 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
Would you recommend the hotel?
yes
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