Chicago, IL
Allopathic Medical Schools | Private Non-Profit
Application Cycle: 2009-10
⭐ Overall Impressions
How do you rank the facilities?
9 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?
10 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
💬 Interview Questions
What is one of the specific questions they asked you?
Why Pritzker? Why do you want to come back to Illinois (I grew up outside of Chicago)?
What was the most interesting question?
What are current problems in incarcerated medicine that need to be addressed (from my essay)
What was the most difficult question?
A question about my personal statement that totally caught me off guard. What type of research do you see yourself doing?...honestly nothing all that difficult.
✅ Interview Preparation and Impressions
How long was the interview?
45 minutes
How did the interview impress you?
Positively 🙂
How many people interviewed you?
3
What was the stress level of the interview?
3 out of 10
0 = Low Stress, 10 = High Stress
How you think you did?
10 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?
scoured the website, looked at this site, talked to a friend who went there, knew my AMCAS and research like the back of my hand
What impressed you positively?
Chicago is amazing!! Virtually no other medical school has such an amazing location. There are so many hospitals (including the new pediatric centers and Children's Hospital) and opportunities to do community service. The patient population is amazingly diverse. Also, this school is honest when it says that it wants students who are not just science-majors. I cannot tell you how many times someone emphasized that they had students who are pursuing their PhDs in English literature or JD or MBA. Pritzker really seems to want its students to pursue everything and anything that interests them. The tour guides are so excited about the school and completely laidback. No one seemed stressed out and the other interviewees I got to meet were completely unpretentious and genuinely interesting people.
What impressed you negatively?
Nothing. Everything was very laidback and friendly!!!
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
It was the first day of interviewing for the year and so there was a problem with the air conditioning. It was miserable for the interviewees to sit for over an hour in the admissions office conference room in suits and ties. People were sweating buckets and this was not a pretty picture. However, the admissions office seemed really sorry about everything and insisted that this was not a test.
What are your general comments?
You arrive in the morning at the main medical educational building for the school in Hyde Park. After that, you have a rather long introduction/financial concerns/our school is great session (about 1-1.5 hours). Before lunch, you have an interview with a faculty member. The interview is open-file and everything is fair game. Lunch is served in the conference room and three medical students joined us to answer any and all of our questions. This session really is open to all of your questions. I asked some pretty picky questions and I just received my admissions letter from Pritzker so definitely don't hesitate to ask questions...it won't hurt you. After that, you have a tour of the college area, the student lounges, the anatomy lab, and one of the hospitals. After the tour, you have either your very brief meeting with an admissions committee member or your student interview. Don't sweat either! The admissions member just wants to make sure that your file is accurate and just wants to get to know you in 15 minutes. The student interview is about 45mins-1hour. The student has seen your entire file and may very well ask tough questions. They just want to see whether you're the type of person they'd want in their class, so don't sweat it...be calm, ask good questions, and be sincere. Overall, the day is well-planned and everyone is very friendly! I've had 8 interviews now and I'm serious when I say that this is one of the most laidback days that you can possibly get. I got into Pritzker and I will probably go there!
📍 On-Site Experience
Who was the tour given by?
Student
How did the tour guide seem?
Enthusiastic
What is your in-state status?
In state
What was your primary mode of travel?
Airplane
About how much did you spend on room, food, and travel?
$101-$200
Where did you stay?
Friends or family
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