Portland, OR
Allopathic Medical Schools | Public Non-Profit
Application Cycle: 2009-10
💬 Interview Questions
What is one of the specific questions they asked you?
"Why do you need a PhD for your research. Why MD/PhD?"
What was the most difficult question?
"Have you ever done any benchtop work?" Since I consider what I have done every day for the last 3 years benchtop, I didn't really have an answer. Especially since I started with bentop cancer research eight years ago.
✅ Interview Preparation and Impressions
How long was the interview?
25 minutes
How did the interview impress you?
Positively 🙂
How many people interviewed you?
5
What was the stress level of the interview?
10 out of 10
0 = Low Stress, 10 = High Stress
How you think you did?
4 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
What was the style of the interview?
One-on-one
What type of interview was it?
Open file
Where did the interview take place?
At the school
How did you prepare for the interview?
SDN, OHSU website
What impressed you positively?
Host, happy students, portland. The Dean of Admissions was a total sweetheart and a pleasure to speak with as was the last PhD I interviewed with. I hung out with several students both nights I was there and they were a blast.
What impressed you negatively?
Scheduling mishaps. My first interviewer hated me on sight. I've never met a stranger I found so rude, insulting, or unpersonable. It is the only interview so far that felt like an interrogation. I was disappointed to be paired for an interview with someone who quite obviously had no clue what even the titles of my papers meant let alone the scope of my field. Two of the three PhD interviewers seemed offended by even the concept of needing an MD in addition to a PhD. The dual degree interviewers are much more pleasant to speak with because you aren't selling yourself to them for a program they find offensive in the first place.
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
They just brought in two new researchers in my field (within the month), so there are labs actively seeking to recruit students for what I wish to study. This would have really helped with said hostile interviewer. It would have been nice to request interviewers who had the slightest clue what I do. I would have like to have known that the labs I would work in were on another campus so that I could not see them during a one day visit.
What are your general comments?
This interview was my worst nightmare. I had 5 interviews (MD/PhD) which was totally uncessary. There was a scheduling mishap in which I had two sheets. Our student tour guide agreed that I wasn't scheduled for a couple hours, but as it turned out the block/directions was scheduled on a different sheet. Between that and my hostile interviewer, a stress score of 10. Unfortunately, the school and students are fantastic. Current buildings are old, but new facilites are under construction. The students are happy and active. Research is rapidly growing. We had an opportunity to speak with fourth year students which is far more telling than first year students. The marjority of my fellow interviewees were fun and truely intersting people. The hosts seemed to have inexpensive, comfortable living arrangements. Oregon is absolutely gorgeous. I would have been happy to go there.
📍 On-Site Experience
Who was the tour given by?
Student
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