Iowa City, IA
Allopathic Medical Schools | Public 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?
8 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?
3 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?
3 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
💬 Interview Questions
What is one of the specific questions they asked you?
"Well, you probably are expecting this one: Why do you want to be a doctor"
What was the most interesting question?
None really, because I anticipated most of the questions.
What was the most difficult question?
Tell me about a time you used your communication skills in a leadership setting to achieve a goal. (I was like..."WTF, mate!?", but I squeaked through :-p
✅ Interview Preparation and Impressions
How long was the interview?
25 minutes
How did the interview impress you?
Positively 🙂
How many people interviewed you?
2
What was the stress level of the interview?
3 out of 10
0 = Low Stress, 10 = High Stress
How you think you did?
8 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
What was the style of the interview?
In a group
What type of interview was it?
Closed file
Where did the interview take place?
At the school
How did you prepare for the interview?
Read through SDN site, pored over UI's website.
What impressed you positively?
How friendly and enthusiastic everyone was, including my student host, the interviewers, the tour guide, and the dean of admissions.
What impressed you negatively?
The school's in Iowa. I'm from big Los Angeles, born in the mean streets of Taipei, so the rural life may take getting used to.
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
How cold it was going to be. They told me that only a couple days ago it was 88F, but when I got there it was in the 50's. Also, interview included NO BREAKFEST!!! They only left a basket of candy on the desk! Would it kill someone to have some bagels?
What are your general comments?
There were about 20 interviewees gathered in a conference room; our group had great chemistry and almost immediately hit it off, especially after everyone had been called for their interivew and were relaxed. Everyone was cracking jokes and you couldn't shut us up. The actual interview was not as hard as I thought it would be. Although the interviewers don't talk during the structured portion, they nod, smile, and even laughed when I threw in some wry comment. After asking their 4 official questions, they very sneakily threw in a "5th" question by saying "now we'd like to see if you had any questions, and to know in general how you arrived at Iowa; that is, what made you want to apply here".
📍 On-Site Experience
Who was the tour given by?
Student
How did the tour guide seem?
Enthusiastic
What is your in-state status?
Out of state
What were your total hours spent traveling?
7+ hours
What was your primary mode of travel?
Airplane
What airport did you fly into?
CID
Where did you stay?
With students at the school
How would you rate the hotel?
4 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
Would you recommend the hotel?
no
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