Nashville, TN
Allopathic Medical Schools | Public Non-Profit
Application Cycle: 2009-10
⭐ Overall Impressions
How did the interview impress you?
Positively 🙂
What was the stress level of the interview?
7 out of 10
0 = Low Stress, 10 = High Stress
How you think you did?
4 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
What are your general comments?
Vanderbilt begins its interviews much earlier than most medical schools, so it was nice to ease into the interview process starting here. The interview itself is exceptionally non-threatening, and the staff and faculty try to make you as comfortable and relaxed as possible. The hospital and children's hospital are wonderful. The dreadful weather and somewhat lukewarm environment of Nashville notwithstanding, this is a good school.
💬 Interview Process
What is one of the specific questions they asked you?
Why do you want to become a doctor?
What was the most interesting question?
My interviewer asked me many questions regarding my volunteer work, some of which had little to do with clinical/research work (strictly speaking), which seemed unusual but were very much welcomed.
How did you prepare for the interview?
Read SDNet, browsed Vanderbilt's website, prepared a few questions to ask my interviewer regarding Nashville.
What was the most difficult question?
Nothing much. Most questions were in regards to the details of my AMCAS.
What impressed you positively?
I was a little worried that there would be a lack of ethnic diversity in the faculty and student bodies at Vanderbilt, but what I saw and heard at Vanderbilt during my interview day was very encouraging. For one, my interviewer was herself a woman of color. Also, during our group talk with several medical students, one girl who was Asian-Indian said she has had no worries so far despite the fact that most of the student body is Caucasian. The students and my interviewer were also quick to emphasize how supportive the faculty is of the students there and how the school values cooperation and camaderie among the faculty and among the students. Also, the Children's Hospital on campus, which was built only a year or two ago, is gorgeous.
What impressed you negatively?
The weather was really strange to me, perhaps because I'm used to the mild weather of California. Maybe Hurricane Ivan (which was quickly approaching Tennessee on the day before and on the day of my interview) had something to do with it, but it was unbearably hot and humid during my entire stay, and even the increasingly heavy rain didn't help cool things down. Also, Nashville doesn't seem very lively, even in the area immediately surrounding the campus. The medical campus of Vanderbilt itself is somewhat drab, all brick and concrete.
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
How hot and humid it would be. I would have packed T-shirts and shorts, and maybe a towel and a nice heavy-duty fan, if I had known the air would be so heavy and sticky. Fans of cooler & drier weather, beware.
📍 Travel and Logistics
Who was the tour given by?
Student
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