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  • Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Osteopathic Medical School
  • Meridian, ID
Individual Feedback 2 24 Responses
Overall Experience

How did the interview impress you?

Response # Responders
Positively 22
Negatively 2
No change 0

What was the stress level of the interview?

Response Avg # Responders
2.33 24

0 = low, 10 = high

How you think you did?

Response Avg # Responders
8.33 24

0 = low, 10 = high

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

Response Avg # Responders
6.88 24

0 = low, 10 = high

Was this interview in-person or virtual?

Response # Responders
In Person 0
Virtual 7

Questions

How long was the interview?

Response # Responders
5 minutes 0
10 minutes 0
15 minutes 0
20 minutes 0
25 minutes 3
30 minutes 8
35 minutes 2
40 minutes 0
45 minutes 2
50 minutes 0
55 minutes 0
60+ minutes 9

Where did the interview take place?

Response # Responders
At the school 13
At a regional location 0
At another location 9

What was the style of the interview?

Response # Responders
One-on-one 24
In a group 0

What type of interview was it?

Response # Responders
Open file 23
Closed file 1

How many people interviewed you?

Response Average # Responders
2.50 24

What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 1)?

"In recent memory, what was the busiest time you experienced and how did you handle it?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What makes you want to attend ICOM specifically?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How do you choose a medical school?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about yourself?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about scrubbing experiences" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What would I do to ensure I had a support group at ICOM?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

""Tell me more about _______ experience that I saw on your application."" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How have you prepared to manage the rigorous demands of medical school?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why ICOM? Why DO? Why move all the way out to Idaho? (I am from the east coast)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How do you handle stress?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"So tell me about yourself?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why D.O.?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What brought you here to ICOM today?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why do you want to practice osteopathic medicine?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why medicine, osteopathic medicine?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why specifically do you want to go into osteopathic medicine?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is something negative on your transcripts that you wish you could change?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"There weren't many specific questions. The interview was extremely conversational and topics came up organically which made for an easy discussion." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 2)?

"(hypothetical) If you got an exam back and you disagreed with the correct answer on a question, what would you do?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How do you handle setbacks?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about X activity in your application." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you are not doing well in medical school, what would you do?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"About my physiology and patho background" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

""I see you got a "C" in this course. Were there any extenuating circumstances that caused you to get that grade and how will you prevent that in medical school?"" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What do you expect to be the greatest challenge for you in medical school?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Who is your role model and why?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How do you feel about the MCAT?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Idaho is very different than X. You'll probably need a car to get around and in certain cases it can be a tough transition. Can you tell me about how you would transition to Idaho?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What will you do to focus on self-care in med school?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What makes you want to come to a new school?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What do you think will be one of your biggest challenges in medical school?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What specialty, as of right now, are you interested in pursuing?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Describe why you wrote your personal statement the way you did." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 3)?

"Why osteopathic medicine?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What made you want to become a DO?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Describe a time when you had to give feedback to someone." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Question about things physicians struggle with, in particular physician burnout" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why ICOM? Why Osteopathic med?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

""Are you ok with the idea of having to take risks for your patients as a doctor?"" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Where do you see yourself in 10 years?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Questions asking for more detail about experiences in my app" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you could have one super power which one would you have?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How many hours of sleep do you expect to get per night while attending ICOM?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Describe a time where things didn't go as planned, how did you handle the situation?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Ethics question regarding an HIV-positive patient (question was a real situation that the doctor had experienced, and was clearly testing to see if I would break HIPPA)." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How can you uniquely contribute to ICOM?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Describe a specific time you dealt with conflict and how you handled it." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most interesting question?

"If you had unlimited funding for research, what would you do with it?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What made you want to become a DO?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What would you do if you were met with a noncompliant patient?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me a time when you receive constructive criticism and how you reacted?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Asked me about the sports I had played" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

""What has guided your interest into manipulative medicine?" (I think this was meant to be more specific into the why DO question)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you could have one super power, what would it be?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"About one of my ECs. It was interesting to see that the interviewers knew so much about my application" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you could cure one disease which would you eliminate and why?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What are you proud of?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Who is your biggest role model?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you were stranded on a desert island for a month, what one book or one music album would you bring with you, and why?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What do you do for fun?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you were going to be alone on an island for 6 months and could only take a book with you, which book would you take?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most difficult question?

"Why did you decide to apply to medical schools instead of PhD programs?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What made you want to become a DO?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What role does a physician play in the healthcare system?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Question about how my biases clouded my judgment when giving care to a patient?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"N/A" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

""How would you act towards a patient with COVID-19?"" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is your greatest strength?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you could spend time with anyone, alive or dead/famous or not, who would you spend time with and why?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Nothing really difficult, mostly just asked about experiences in my app they found interesting" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is the biggest issue currently facing healthcare?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why would you choose to go to a school that has only had one class so far?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How would you react if you noticed your roommate was planning on cheating on an exam?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"n/a- all were very conversational" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Personal biggest flaw." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"N/A - There were no difficult questions. It was very conversational and positive." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

How did you prepare for the interview?

"Mock Interviews, SDN guides" More from this Member | Report Response

"Read SDN and talked over questions with family members" More from this Member | Report Response

"Studied mission statement and interview questions online." More from this Member | Report Response

"Mock interviews with friends, reading through the website, my application, and SDN/Reddit." More from this Member | Report Response

"Look at sdn, practice prompts" More from this Member | Report Response

"ICOM website, spoke to current students." More from this Member | Report Response

"Mock interviews, re-reading my application, going through the school's website to find specific info about the school" More from this Member | Report Response

"Review of my primary and secondary applications, and lightly rehearsed answers for common questions (e.g. why med school, why DO, why this school?)." More from this Member | Report Response

"Read SDN interview feedback" More from this Member | Report Response

"Review my app and school's website" More from this Member | Report Response

"Reviewed my secondary application, information about the school, and" More from this Member | Report Response

"Looking up the ICOM mission and their vision on their website." More from this Member | Report Response

"Just review your application and know your experiences" More from this Member | Report Response

"Read up on the area, demographics, rural medicine; went on sdn" More from this Member | Report Response

"Previous interview experience/researching the school." More from this Member | Report Response

"I reread my whole application and kind of rehearsed how I would describe certain things that would enhance my attractiveness as an applicant, such as clinical experience, volunteering, why medicine, etc." More from this Member | Report Response

"Reviewed my AACOMAS application and made sure I was familiar with the information provided on the school's website." More from this Member | Report Response

What impressed you positively?

"Interviewers obviously had reviewed my file beforehand, conversation flowed easily, good follow up questions." More from this Member | Report Response

"Everyone seems really passionate about ICOM. The Dean and President seem fantastic and genuine, and the admissions staff and interviewers were equally a excellent." More from this Member | Report Response

"The students were very enthusiastic about the school." More from this Member | Report Response

"Everyone was friendly and willing to answer questions." More from this Member | Report Response

"Support of the faculty for the students is very obvious" More from this Member | Report Response

"The organization of the virtual interview day." More from this Member | Report Response

"Highly engaging faculty, staff, and students and great facilities." More from this Member | Report Response

"This was the most conversational interview I had! My first interview started with talking about my trip to Idaho and what I had done since I got to Boise (I arrived on Saturday for my Monday interview). My second interviewer was a huge dog lover so we spent a lot time talking about our dogs. It was a very pleasant day." More from this Member | Report Response

"Super nice brand new anatomy lab!! Each student gets to do each dissection. Open access all hours, plus open access to a VR anatomy lab as well. All the staff seemed to really care about the students and really want them to succeed. All the students seemed down to earth. The new dean from Wales is awesome! They seem really receptive to feedback from students and are willing to change things that aren't working. Good location too. If this school had been around longer and had more of a proven track record, it would be higher on my list." More from this Member | Report Response

"The warm, inclusive, and receptive atmosphere. They were completely transparent with everything and strive to constantly improve the school and student experience." More from this Member | Report Response

"Interviews are very conversational and relaxed. The school values the mental and physical health of its students." More from this Member | Report Response

"The campus and faculty are amazing. With a newly built campus, it is astounding to see the technological advancement of medical education. The faculty members and administration are very caring and willing to answer any questions you have." More from this Member | Report Response

"How extremely friendly and funny everyone was; the staff was very excited about the school, engaging and the interview itself was so easily- like talking to friends" More from this Member | Report Response

"The friendliness of the faculty and staff, the cutting edge nature of the facility, and the ability of the Dean to answer the questions/concerns about a new program." More from this Member | Report Response

"The campus is absolutely stunning. I love the area. And all the faculty are so positive and motivated to make this school amazing. I have a great feeling about the school ends think it will really make a name for itself." More from this Member | Report Response

"The faculty and their dedication to the student and the students' success. Also the state of the art facilities." More from this Member | Report Response

What impressed you negatively?

"Dean and president were supposed to be there for the welcome part but weren't, so just showed 2 pre-recorded welcomes" More from this Member | Report Response

"The interviewers offered very little gestural or verbal feedback on my interview answers so I had no real idea if I was doing well or not." More from this Member | Report Response

"Not much information from the federal loans status standpoint." More from this Member | Report Response

"The interview felt like it was just questions after questions, and the interviewers weren't that conversational. Felt awkward at times." More from this Member | Report Response

"The interviewers were rude, unenthusiastic, and condescending. I felt totally unwelcome and they made me feel grateful for being accepted elsewhere." More from this Member | Report Response

"It was virtual due to COVID-19, understandable but it would have been nice to have seen the campus" More from this Member | Report Response

"Nothing really - just wish the faculty part of the interview was longer than 30 mins." More from this Member | Report Response

"Nothing really." More from this Member | Report Response

"Honestly my main worries just come from it being a new school. No accreditation yet, no track record for board exam performance, no residency match history, not even any clinical rotations yet. They also have a 1st year repeat rate higher than the national average, however I think that stat is slightly skewed just due to on average lower stat students that attend here. Also no federal loan eligibility, which means you have to be able to get private loans which do not qualify for tax credits, and you can't defer any previous undergraduate loans. They said they are optimistically hoping to qualify for federal loans by 2021. There seems to be very minimal research here. I asked a lot of questions about it and got pretty vague answers most the time. They just finished building a research lab that will open this year, so hopefully things might pick up, but I'm not sure how much funding there is. One of my interviewers seemed to be pretty upset that he hadn't been able to continue any of his research yet when I asked him about it, and another interviewer just told me that there are opportunities for research at places outside the school. Most the affiliated sites for clinical rotations seem to be pretty small rural hospitals or clinics. This is fine if you're very interested in rural medicine, but I worry about being able to get broad enough exposure to things to build a solid enough training." More from this Member | Report Response

"There are no government subsidized loans." More from this Member | Report Response

"nothing" More from this Member | Report Response

"Honestly, there was nothing overtly negative about my interview experience. Some aspects of the school curriculum, like mandatory attendance and professional dress code, were not my favorite thing but that had nothing to do with the interview." More from this Member | Report Response

"Obviously, having not even a first class finishing a year, I did not get to talk to any current students. However, this is expected for any new school." More from this Member | Report Response

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

"N/A" More from this Member | Report Response

"How rude the interviewers would be." More from this Member | Report Response

"Very relaxed, they already know you academically, just want to see if you are a good fit." More from this Member | Report Response

"Who my interviewers were. You don't find this out until you open up the virtual interview link." More from this Member | Report Response

"How low stress the interview is" More from this Member | Report Response

"that there was no federal loan eligibility" More from this Member | Report Response

"There is no student housing." More from this Member | Report Response

"It is super relaxed. Don't stress about anything, just know your application and be yourself!" More from this Member | Report Response

"How low-key and friendly all of the interviewers would be -- would have saved a lot of stress leading into it!" More from this Member | Report Response

"N/A - just no your application and why you are pursuing medicine. Be yourself and everything will click." More from this Member | Report Response

"Don't stress too much! They aren't there to grill you or interrogate you, they just want to get to know you." More from this Member | Report Response

What are your general comments?

"One thing I really liked is that 5mins before the interview, they had a student as "tech support" join the meeting early and have small talk, helped to decrease nerves." More from this Member | Report Response

"Seems like a decent school. Location could be a bit better perhaps." More from this Member | Report Response

"Everyone was warm! It was a comfortable environment and the Q&A with current students didn't have any admin in it which I think helped make it more comfortable and gather good feedback. The students were very helpful as well." More from this Member | Report Response

"ICOM sucks. It’s clerkships are a disaster. After interviewing I heard SO many horror stories from students and I’m sad I even spent the money to apply there." More from this Member | Report Response

"Newer school but I'm very impressed." More from this Member | Report Response

"This school is so awesome and I think people don't give it enough credit for their interest in the holistic review of the applicant. It's not just about GPA and MCAT score here - I guess we'll find out exactly how much that matters when I get my admissions decision in a couple days!" More from this Member | Report Response

"Overall very low stress interview day. Had a quick talk from the dean, then presentations on curriculum, financial aid, and student affairs, then tour of the new anatomy lab. Then had the interviews, tour of clinical simulations, lunch with the med students, and quick tour of the rest of the building. Had three 30-min interviews, one with the Executive Director for Undergraduate Medical Education (dean's husband), a learning specialist (like a tutor or academic assistance type person), and a physiology prof (other interviewees got med students, MDs, DOs, other staff, and really all kinds of people as interviewers). All of them were very conversational and just seemed like they wanted to get to know me; I really enjoyed speaking with them all, and there was probably 10 min in each where I was the one asking all the questions. Another interviewee who had the same prof as me said he was very standoffish and intense though and asked him questions he thought were difficult, so stay on your toes just in case." More from this Member | Report Response

"The school is very welcoming and relaxed, and is in a beautiful area." More from this Member | Report Response

"This school had me within the first few hours. The facilities are amazing and every single person I met, including the security guards, were so genuinely friendly." More from this Member | Report Response

"All-around had a really positive interview experience at ICOM, and will strongly be considering in the program based on the experience I had there." More from this Member | Report Response

"I have been accepted to 7 schools already and ICOM is still my top choice. This is because I loved the area, the faculty, and had a very good gut feeling about the school during my interview." More from this Member | Report Response

Tour and Travel

Who was the tour given by?

Response # Responders
Student 8
Faculty member 4
Admissions staff 4
Other 0

How did the tourguide seem?

Response # Responders
Enthusiastic 16
Neutral 0
Discouraging 0

How do you rank the facilities?

Response Avg # Responders
8.14 22

0 = low, 10 = high

What is your in-state status?

Response # Responders
In state 5
Out of state 14

What was your total time spent traveling?

Response # Responders
0-1 hour 5
2-3 hours 2
4-6 hours 3
7+ hours 5

What was your primary mode of travel?

Response # Responders
Airplane 7
Automobile 3
Train or subway 0
Other 4

What airport did you use?

Virtual interview so none of this really applied to me.

BOI

Boise

Where did you stay?

Response # Responders
At school facility 0
With students at the school 0
Friends or family 3
Hotel 6
Home 3
Other 1

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

Response # Responders
< $100 5
$101-$200 4
$201-$300 2
$301-$400 1
$401-$500 1
$501+ 0

General Info

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

Response Avg # Responders
7.09 22

0 = low, 10 = high

What is your ranking of this school's location?

Response Avg # Responders
7.95 22

0 = low, 10 = high

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

Response Avg # Responders
8.05 22

0 = low, 10 = high

How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?

Response Avg # Responders
9.27 22

0 = low, 10 = high

How is the friendliness of the admissions office?

Response Avg # Responders
9.45 22

0 = low, 10 = high

How eco-friendly are the school's application materials and interview process?

Response Avg # Responders
8.09 22

0 = low, 10 = high

What are your suggestions for the admissions office?

"Get better interviewers who don’t hate themselves." More from this Member | Report Response

"Honestly nothing - the admissions office gets back to you super quick through emails and also makes an admission decision by the end of the week you interview (this is SO nice!). I'm really hoping I get into this school because this is somewhere I want to attend being my first choice school so I hope I get that A!!!!" More from this Member | Report Response

"I wish I didn't have to give them a deposit to hold my seat by November 15, because I have other interviews scheduled in December and January and would hate to forfeit a seat and then not get another acceptance. Don't know if they can change the date though." More from this Member | Report Response

"None, keep doing what you're currently doing." More from this Member | Report Response

"Keep doing what you're doing. Interview day really impressed me" More from this Member | Report Response

"Make deposit deadline later -- it significantly complicates the selection process and may make students relinquish their acceptance offer simply because the deposit is required so early in the cycle, depending on when you interview." More from this Member | Report Response

"N/A" More from this Member | Report Response

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