Durham, NC
Allopathic Medical Schools | Private Non-Profit
Application Cycle: 2009-10
⭐ Overall Impressions
How did the interview impress you?
Positively 🙂
What was the stress level of the interview?
8 out of 10
0 = Low Stress, 10 = High Stress
How you think you did?
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?
10 out of 10
0 = Below, 10 = Above
What are your general comments?
My interview day totally turned my opinion of Duke around. It's an amazing school.
💬 Interview Process
What is one of the specific questions they asked you?
I loved your essay on ____ (moral/ethical dilemma). Can you describe in more detail how you dealt with the situation?
What was the most interesting question?
Your patient has extremely high blood pressure, but he refuses to take his medication because of its side effects (sexual dysfunction). What do you do?
How did you prepare for the interview?
Read Duke website, re-read secondary application, read some healthcare articles
What was the most difficult question?
What was the last nice thing you did for someone?
What impressed you positively?
I actually went into my interview day biased against Duke, and left loving it.
Curriculum is extremely well thought out and organized. They don't cram 2 years of material into 1 year; instead they distill them into the most important concepts, which are taught in the 1st year, then continue to teach the other topics during 2nd year rotations (so that you "learn by doing"). Students are given an inordinate amount of responsibility and are allowed to try many procedures in rotations. Tons of research opportunities in the 3rd year, and many scholarships are offered so that overall the cost of 4 years of medical school is much less. You can also leave in the 3rd year to complete a 2nd graduate degree.
And, it was WARM and I didn't need a jacket in early February. Flowers were blooming all over the gorgeous campus.
What impressed you negatively?
Nothing really. The interviews started running late, but that probably can't be avoided.
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
The interviews are SEMI-CLOSED. They have access to all your essays and AMCAS, but NOT your GPA or MCAT score. The Admissions Director said, "We are looking for two qualities in our candidates: a capacity for academic brilliance as well as [something like 'humaneness' or 'human understanding']. We assume that if you are invited for an interview, you are academically prepared to study at Duke. So, in your interviews, we do not disclose GPA or MCAT so that your interviews can gauge your [humaneness]." Sorry, I can't remember what the term she used for "humaneness" was. It was something nice...
Also, Chapel Hill and Raleigh are only 15 miles or so from Durham. For some reason I thought they were much further away.
🤝 Campus and Facilities
How do you rank the facilities?
9 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
What is your ranking of this school's location?
7 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?
7 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
📍 Travel and Logistics
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?
4-6 hours
What was your primary mode of travel?
Airplane
About how much did you spend on room, food, and travel?
$301-$400
What airport did you fly into?
RDU
Where did you stay?
Hotel
What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?
Millenium
How would you rate the hotel?
9 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
Would you recommend the hotel?
yes
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