University of Oklahoma College of Medicine

What is one situation in which you had a disagreement with a person and how did you deal with it?

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Why do you want to be a doctor? A pretty standard question - this was numero uno, right off the bat, so be ready.

Imagine that there is a man on death row in need of a heart transplant to save his life. Ought doctors perform a heart transplant on this patient despite the fact that he will be executed shortly thereafter?

No questions were particularly difficult, however, some were indeed challenging. I find self-assessment questions to be a challenge as well as ethical questions relating to social policy, so the most difficult question was a tie between a self-assessment question and a policy/ethical question: What is your greatest weakness? Is it justified to tax some so that others (the poor) may have access to healthcare?

I studied the school's website, this website (SDN), reviewed my AMCAS, and kept up with current events.

The school in general impressed me. I didn't know what to expect from the school or how it stacked up against other schools around the country, but after the interview and tour of the campus, I believe that the school offers a solid program despite the fact that it doesn't get a whole lot of national attention. I view the patient contact early in the first year as a positive aspect of the school that some other medical schools don't offer. Also, I think the diverse curriculum is outstanding. Specifically, the Hippocrates online learning supplement is phenomenal. This website includes a multimedia learning tool with such resources as mp3s of lectures, various videos and tutorials, an online question bank, etc. The module system also seems pretty helpful. It gives a student a chance to know other students more closely than otherwise might be possible in a class of 150. Each module is provided with a large room with a couple computers that seems like a great place to study or meet up with fellow "mod mates." In general, the students seemed really excited about the school, its programs, and its future. With the curriculum, resources, and excellent facilities, Oklahoma seems able to provide a top-notch medical education that would allow a student to pursue a career in anything from family medicine to surgery.

Parking is a little tricky. Luckily I planned ahead of time and knew where the lot was located, but some people had trouble locating the proper lot thanks to the map. It wasn't such a big deal to me, but the day wasn't organized very strictly. Interviews began with the first set of students at 8:30 am and continued every hour thereafter until 11:30, which means that there was some free time between interviews to hear about financial aid, student services, etc. But it was a good time to socialize and swap interview experiences. I would liked to have seen more on the tour, but that's not a problem for me. I also don't like the letter-grading system; I would prefer a pass/fail system like most other medical schools offer. Not much else impressed me negatively. I had a really good experience.

How exceptional the program is. Because the school is not ranked in the top 50, I didn't expect the program to be as solid or as innovative as it is. The resources and facilities are excellent and able to provide a great education. I also didn't know that there are underground tunnels that connect various buildings together. I thought that was pretty neat. Some students may want to locate the parking lot prior to the interview.

Despite not being ranked, Oklahoma is an outstanding school. It far exceeded my expectations and preconceptions. I realize that the point of interview day is not only a chance for the applicant to sell himself or herself, but for the school to sell itself to the applicant. And I think OU did a good job in the latter respect: The school provides a variety of resources and programs that I believe can foster an excellent medical education. The day began at 8:00 a.m. with registration followed by a brief orientation of the program. Interviews began at 8:30 a.m. and followed every hour until 11:30 a.m. This provides ample opportunity to interact with first-year students and ask them questions about the school, program, etc. There are also a few brief talks from financial aid and student services reps. We had lunch at 12:30 p.m. - a boxed lunch with a sandwich, an apple, a bag of chips, cookies, and a drink (this seems pretty plain but I thought it was a pretty decent lunch). Lunch was followed by a tour. The interview was really realaxed, almost jovial. The interviewers seemed to look mainly at character, motivation, and goals. I was asked several ethical questions that required some reasoning, but they weren't too difficult to answer - especially since the demeanor of the interviewers was so relaxed. Mainly, I think they wanted to determine how I think about issues, rather than what I think about the issues. An example would be: If you were in class and observed a student cheating, what would you do? What if it were your friend who was cheating? They also tried to establish what I thought of medicine in general by asking me what are the three most important characteristics that doctors must have. To learn about my motivation, they asked the $64,000 question: Why do you want to be a doctor? That was followed up with questions about what I would do if I don't get in. Re-apply, of course. There were quite a few self-analysis questions like: What is your biggest weakness? I personally find these types of questions to be rather difficult, but that's just me. Overall, the experience was very positive. The interview was not high-pressured at all, the only pressure coming from what I had imposed on myself. Several times the interviewers were laughing and smiling, which made it easy to be myself. I found that there are some really good things at OU.