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University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine

Iowa City, IA

Allopathic Medical Schools | Public Non-Profit

⭐ Overall Impressions

How did the interview impress you?

Positively

What was the stress level of the interview?

4 out of 10

How you think you did?

6 out of 10

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

7 out of 10

How do you rank this school among other schools to which you've applied?

7 out of 10
💬 Interview Questions

What is one of the specific questions they asked you?

Tell me about your research.
Tell me about yourself.
There are 3 structured questions. The three they asked me were: 1. Why do you want to be a doctor? 2. You are considering performing a life-saving surgery on a patient that requires a blood transfusion, but their religious beliefs do not allow this. What do you do? 3. Describe a time when you went above and beyond the call and how it impacted you. The structured portion is awkward because the interviewers are not allowed to clarify the question--they will only re-read it. They are also not supposed to show emotion or interact with you in any way (to make sure your response is not affected by them at all). It was a little weird and felt unnatural to me.

What was the most interesting question?

Name a specific example of how (insert volunteer experience) changed you?

What was the most difficult question?

I felt the structured questions were most difficult because they were rather awkward.
🤝 Interview Format and Logistics

How long was the interview?

30 minutes

How many people interviewed you?

2

What was the style of the interview?

One-on-one

What type of interview was it?

Closed file

Was this interview in-person or virtual?

No responses

Where did the interview take place?

At the school
📍 On-Site Experience

Who was the tour given by?

Student

How did the tour guide seem?

Enthusiastic

How do you rank the facilities?

9 out of 10

What is your in-state status?

In state

What were your total hours spent traveling?

7+ hours

What was your primary mode of travel?

Automobile

About how much did you spend on room, food, and travel?

$101-$200

What airport did you fly into?

No responses

Where did you stay?

Friends or family

What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?

No responses

How would you rate the hotel?

5 out of 10

Would you recommend the hotel?

No responses

What is your ranking of this school's location?

9 out of 10

What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?

7 out of 10

What are your comments on where you stayed?

No responses
✅ Interview Preparation and Impressions

How is the friendliness of the admissions office?

10 out of 10

How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?

8 out of 10

How did you prepare for the interview?

Read through my AMCAS Application, my secondary application to Iowa, looked up current news about research at the university (especially biomedical research), as well as a brief glance at the curriculum and research opportunities available to medical students.

What impressed you positively?

The research facilities. MERF is awesome, and they are building a ~200 million dollar building devoted entirely to research, to be completed 2014. From what I understand, they also have extensive bus routes (because parking is expensive), and monthly bus passes are $10.

What impressed you negatively?

No responses

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

I wish I had known the interview would be near the end of the day--without the nerves, I would have been able to stomach a breakfast.

What are your general comments?

Great school, Excellent research facilities, solid curriculum, and overall very nice students. Seems that students M1-M4 really get along well.

What are your suggestions for the admissions office?

The admissions office is extremely friendly but I didn't discover this until I visited in person for my interview. It would have been even nicer to receive an email a few days (or a week) before my interview as a friendly reminder that they were anticipating my arrival. Other than that, the admissions office was fantastic and great to work with!