Iowa City, IA
Allopathic Medical Schools | Public Non-Profit
Application Cycle: 2009-10
⭐ Overall Impressions
How do you rank the facilities?
7 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?
8 out of 10
0 = Below, 10 = Above
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?
5 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
💬 Interview Questions
What is one of the specific questions they asked you?
Why do you want a career in medicine?
What was the most interesting question?
What would you look for in a physician who would be treating your family member?
What was the most difficult question?
How would you propose to fix the problem of rising health care costs in America?
✅ 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?
4 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?
One-on-one
What type of interview was it?
Closed file
Where did the interview take place?
At the school
How did you prepare for the interview?
SDN, prepared answers to common questions, interview coaching
What impressed you positively?
People were friendly, but didn't seem to lie about their school in order to recruit. They were honest about the demands of medical school...unlike another school that said ''our students find that they have so much free time they can ace their classes, learn to play the banjo, become foster parents for rehabilitating shelter dogs, and save the starving children in Africa.'' It seemed a little unrealistic, but Iowa let us know how it is - fascinating information that takes a lot of time to learn, enough free time to maintain relationships and have fun, but not time to be involved in eighteen extracurricular activities.
Some of their brand new facilities were impressive. Also, many details of the curriculum that make life easier for students were identical to the “big name†school I had visited.
What impressed you negatively?
We didn't get a chance to see the hospital. I understand that we wouldn't have been able to see patient rooms, etc, but it would have been nice to have the student take us through some areas to see the building we would spend 2 years in.
Also, we didn't get to meet many current students - I met three the entire time. We split up into smaller groups for lunch, but I think it would have been better to eat in a big room with a bunch of current students so we could have gotten a better feel for the people we will potentially be hanging out with.
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
The student body makes up a substantial portion of the city. The town is adorable, but definitely caters to that population. It seems every 3-4 shops you find a bar. Not that it’s a bad thing, but coming from a small school in a big city, I’m not quite sure how I will like hanging out in a small town with such a large undergraduate population.
What are your general comments?
The day started mid-morning, so I got to sleep in a bit (which was nice after a 7 hour drive). Met interviewing students, who all seemed pretty nice. We were greeted by admissions staff, had a brief financial aid session, then split up into smaller groups to eat lunch with one current medical student. That student then took us on a tour of the med campus and brought us back to the admissions office.
I had my interview in the afternoon, so I participated in a group activity that was meant to teach us about the group-based learning that is part of the curriculum. Iowa is thinking about adding this as an interview component. I’m not sure they will gain much about interviewees from the activity, but it was nice to see how students work through cases. I then interviewed with two physicians. During the structured part of the interview, I was asked 4 questions and they could not respond. It was a little awkward, but they didn’t make me feel uncomfortable. In the remaining time, the interview became much less formal. They really wanted me to ask them questions, so HAVE QUESTIONS PREPARED. Most of the last half, I asked questions about the school and they tried to sell it to me. I then had a one-on-one closing session and the day was over.
📍 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?
Automobile
About how much did you spend on room, food, and travel?
$301-$400
Where did you stay?
Hotel
What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?
Sheraton, downtown
How would you rate the hotel?
9 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
Would you recommend the hotel?
yes
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