New York, NY
Allopathic Medical Schools | Private Non-Profit
Application Cycle: 2009-10
⭐ Overall Impressions
How do you rank the facilities?
8 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?
9 out of 10
0 = Below, 10 = Above
How do you rank this school among other schools to which you've applied?
9 out of 10
0 = Below, 10 = Above
What is your ranking of this school's location?
10 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?
8 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
💬 Interview Questions
What is one of the specific questions they asked you?
Tell me about your research? What did you discover?
What was the most interesting question?
The standard question with a twist:
Him: What would you do if you don't get into medicine?
Me: I'll keep trying until the day God comes down and tells me to stop.
Him: Then what?
Me: (slight pause)
Him: Find a new god.
What was the most difficult question?
Why should we admit you? ( another standard question, I know, but having spent the last few hours with Ivy league grads with perfect GPAs and MCAT scores and years of research and volunteer work that would put Mother Teresa to shame..., I began to ask myself that very question).
✅ Interview Preparation and Impressions
How long was the interview?
30 minutes
How did the interview impress you?
Positively 🙂
How many people interviewed you?
1
What was the stress level of the interview?
2 out of 10
0 = Low Stress, 10 = High Stress
How you think you did?
9 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, school website, but should have gone over my secondary with a comb! At one point it seemed as though my interviewer knew me better than I knew myself....
What impressed you positively?
how well my interviewer knew my application; P & S clubs; Residency Matches; opportunities for research; support/mentoring systems in place; shadowing physician 1st yr; new baby's hospital; 19 hospitals affliated with the university allowing a glimpse into various parts of medicine (e.g. rural vs. urban; wealthy vs poverty; primary care vs tertiary; etc); working with patients from all over the world [not JUST the Dominican Republic!!!!]; Nobel Prize Lauretes and other experts actually teach first years (rather than remain holed up in their labs); relatively low level of debt upon graduating; 1/3 students take time off to pursue other interests (dual degrees, research, etc)... oh I could go on and on.....
What impressed you negatively?
limited small group discussions; relatively low tech campus; the students who were 'so eager' to talk as they brush by you to grab so coffee before streaming out the door for class (there was something fake about those students in general, IMHO); not in the glamorous parts of Manhattan (unlike other NYC schools);
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
The school honestly does nothing to sell itself to you. Best thing to do is sit in on a class and talk to the students during the break.
What are your general comments?
The actual interview was awesome! 20 students interview at a time and not one had a bad experience. The interview is casual and conversational (though the interviewer will not hold back if you say something stupid). The tour consisted of nothing more than a walk showing how the school is physically connected to the hospital (but I didn't get the "residency directors will walk up to you and shake your hand because you graduated from columbia"speach).
📍 On-Site Experience
Who was the tour given by?
Student
How did the tour guide seem?
Enthusiastic
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?
$401-$500
What airport did you fly into?
LGA
Where did you stay?
With students at the school
How would you rate the hotel?
6 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
Would you recommend the hotel?
yes
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