How is the friendliness of the admissions office?
10 out of 10
How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?
10 out of 10
How did you prepare for the interview?
Read interview feedback, read entire school catalogue, read book on medical school interviews, practiced a lot, in the end I came up with a fantastic narrative for combining all the answers smoothly and eloquently, 10 minutes before the first interview! The new approach worked great and I had the 2 best interviews of my life.
What impressed you positively?
By far the best thing about the school is the strong sense of community. The students and applicants I met are the friendliest and easiest to get along with folks I have ever had the privilege to meet. Also, in my opinion the school offers the best oppertunities in the country to its students. From the incredible sense of community to the limited concern over malpractice, to an extra 200 hours of training, to only 4 to a cadaver in anatomy, to the world class sim center, (soon to include its own holodeck!) to 2.5X as much exposure to preventative medicine, to the ability to rotate to dozens of military hospitals and most importantly, better match statistics than the civilian world for most specialties, (in the army).
Oh and the campus itself is nicer than most universities I have seen and is located in a gorgeous spot in the woods, with wonderful recreational facilities, 2 gyms, a softball field, football field, running track and hiking path.
Another thing that was great was the hosting program. My host was incredible, truely the coolest guy I have ever met. He made me feel completely at home and even gave me an entire bed room all to myself, (I had come prepared for and expecting to be using a sleeping back on the floor). He even let me stay an extra night so that I could stay for the simulation center tour, the van ride to and from was the most enjoyable part of the day, as it allowed me to really get to know my future classmates and hopefully forge long term friendships with my future colleagues of many decades to come.
Oh and lunch was great as well and included a Q&A with second year students. It really ended the intimidation of the uniform to get to know these wonderful people, who just 2 years ago where sitting in the same chairs as us.
And of course the interviews themselves, which where purely to the point, friendly conversations about our motivation for military medicine, not the kind of interrogations one sometimes finds at other schools, with strange questions designed to trip up the applicant.
Overall every part of the day was fantastic, made me feel completely at ease and only added to my excitement to come here.
What impressed you negatively?
At first I felt really intimidated by the uniforms. The poise and grace with which students carry themselves, when combined with the uniforms, makes the students seem almost godlike and unapproachable. After a while though, this passes and you realize that this is the nicest group of people you'll ever meet and I ended up feeling as comfortable at USUHS as I do at my undergrad university where I have spent 4 years.
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
I had been expecting to interview with a faculty member and a 4th year student. Instead I got a faculty member and a full Army Colonel, which at first terrified me. But as it turned out the Colonel was just as laid back and awsome as everyone else and soon I was completely at ease. The interview flew by and left me with the impression that it had gone absolutely smashingly.
What are your general comments?
Prior to my interviews at USUHS I had considered it to be among the best schools in the country. After visiting it and learning about the kind of strong, supportive community they have and all the wonderful oppertunities they make available to students, I am convinced that not only is USUHS the best medical school no one has ever heard of, but the best medical school period.
What are your suggestions for the admissions office?
Maybe make the supplemental be an online process, thus saving on postage, paper and speeding up the
