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SUNY - Upstate Medical University College of Medicine

Syracuse, NY

Allopathic Medical Schools | Public Non-Profit

⭐ Overall Impressions

How did the interview impress you?

Positively

What was the stress level of the interview?

2 out of 10

How you think you did?

No responses

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

No responses

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

No responses
💬 Interview Questions

What is one of the specific questions they asked you?

Come to think of it, I did asked a question I thought was tough for me. I have no health experience during school at all (I worked alot during school) so he asked me about it. It was hard telling him why I want to be a physician when I had no real healthcare experience to speak of. I just told him the truth, that I worked school jobs to make money. He seemed to understand and I stressed the fact I was currently working a job with TBI patients.
How could you change the current healthcare system in the US? It was hard keeping the answers focused without going on a spree.
Tell me what your highschool ranking was (yeah, I really remember that), what you did in highschool, SAT score (not fun seeing how I did poorly on it), and how you liked it at the school. I was abit nervous as I thought that maybe he somehow had my highschool records and was just asking me to see what my responses were (I was tempted to lie about my SAT score...j/k:@)

What was the most interesting question?

I had two interviews, one was conducted by a student and my second one was conducted by a faculty person. I really cannot think of a question that was very interesting, most of the questions were standard like why do you want to be a doctor and why medicine. My second interview with retired faculty family doctor was more interesting. He asked me questions pertaining to high school. He asked me what activities I did and what honors I received. I thought they were interesting seeing how I don't remember everything.

What was the most difficult question?

I don't recall any question being very difficult. My first interview with a MSIV was very lax. It turned out she was from where I live (Flushing) so we talked about that and my interets, very easy. My second interview with the retired doctor was also very lax. He was very lax as well. Right from the beginning when he brought me in the room, he was eating lunch and offered me a cookie. From there he said that he had no intention of grilling me and wanted to just to get to know me. He was very throughly with questions, which I like. He started off from highschool, everything I did right up to my present status. The interview lasted about 1 and 1/2 hours. I did get a ethical question pertaining to Simeease(?) twins and how I would advise a couple with the twins on what to do about it. Other then that, the questions were mostly stuff about you.
🤝 Interview Format and Logistics

How long was the interview?

60+ minutes

How many people interviewed you?

2

What was the style of the interview?

One-on-one

What type of interview was it?

Open 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?

No responses

How do you rank the facilities?

No responses

What is your in-state status?

No responses

What were your total hours spent traveling?

No responses

What was your primary mode of travel?

No responses

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

No responses

What airport did you fly into?

No responses

Where did you stay?

No responses

What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?

No responses

How would you rate the hotel?

No responses

Would you recommend the hotel?

No responses

What is your ranking of this school's location?

No responses

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

No responses

What are your comments on where you stayed?

No responses
✅ Interview Preparation and Impressions

How is the friendliness of the admissions office?

No responses

How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?

No responses

How did you prepare for the interview?

I did about everything I could to prepare. I read up on the US healthcare system as well as socialized medicine (I did get asked about the two), bioethics (cloning, abortion, euthanasia, etc), the school, and my AMCAS stuff. In retrospect, I probably would have been better off just relaxing, but I felt confident due to the fact I prepared alot. As long as you have a passing knowledge about those things, you should be fine. I felt that the most important thing is to be yourself, if you carry yourself with confidence, relaxed, and honesty, that will probably make a better impression.

What impressed you positively?

In general I love the school. Upstate has always been my first choice so I just I am a bit biased. The student body, as far as I have met, were very down to earth and friendly. The classrooms were adequate and I liked the CAB building with many things to do there. The anatomy room was...well it's just a room with tables for bodies, I wasn't expecting anything fancy. The thing that impressed me most was the interviewers in general. I felt they reflected what the school was about, to produce intelligent, but down-to-earth physicians who are good with people.

What impressed you negatively?

Like I said, I am a bit biased toward Upstate. It is close to my family, state tuition, very good facilities, good student body, and the region it self ( I am an outdoors person, so I like the fact Syracuse is close to lakes and mountains). I really did not find anything that gave me a negative impression.

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

Nothing really, I also found out that Syracuse does not give in-state preference anymore, which might be a small disadvantage to us New Yorkiers.

What are your general comments?

They were both great. The MSIV was very sweet and fun to talk to. The retired doctor was very down to earth and was nice he felt that interviewers who give stress interviews suck. From my own experience and others I talked to, Upstate is really out to get to know you and to are very down to earth. This was by far my best interview and only reinforces the fact I want to attend this school.

What are your suggestions for the admissions office?

No responses