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School Rankings » University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine
University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine
University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine
  • Year founded: 1859
  • ENROLLED TOTAL: 186
  • School Website: View Site >
University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine
Allopathic Medical School
Birmingham, AL
In-State Applicants Favored
  • SDN RANKING 4
  • INTERVIEW FEEDBACK 5 110 Responses
  • SCHOOL REVIEWS 3 0 Responses

Overview

Overview

School Stats

  • Resident Tuition $33,379
  • Non - Resident Tuition $66,095
  • Application Fee $100
  • AVG MCAT 510
  • AVG GPA 3.9
  • LIZZYM Score 69.7
The LizzyM Score is a measure of your compatibility with a school. Learn More >

Crime: Detailed Stats >

Admissions Information

  • Office of Admissions and Enrollment Management
  • VH-100
  • 1720 Second Avenue South
  • Birmingham, AL 35294
  • United States

School Overview

University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine Fast Facts

Application Service
Situational Judgment

School Info

The School of Medicine is dedicated to the education of physicians and scientists in all of the disciplines of medicine and biomedical investigation for careers in practice, teaching and research. Necessary to this educational mission is the provision of outstanding medical care and services and the enhancement of new knowledge through clinical and basic biomedical research.

Curriculum

All of the basic science coursework (first two years of medical school) is completed on the Birmingham campus. Students develop techniques in medical interviewing and physical diagnosis in the Introduction to Clinical Medicine during the first two years. At the end of the second year, students must pass Step I of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) before they are promoted to the third year. During the third and fourth years, students take core clinical clerkships and electives. Electives and individualized experience programs may be taken in a variety of locations including Tuscaloosa and Huntsville. In their senior year, students must pass Step II of the USMLE to graduate.

Facilities

University Hospital is the largest comprehensive medical facility in Alabama. It excels in the areas of emergency care transport, heart and kidney diseases, cancer, spinal cord injuries, diabetes, arthritis, organ transplantation, and cardiac surgery. It is licensed for more than 900 beds and serves approximately 43,000 inpatients each year. Because University Hospital is at the forefront of medical innovation, it draws referrals from community hospitals throughout Alabama, as well as many other states and a number of foreign countries.

Interview Feedback

Interview Feedback

Results Overview

How did the interview impress you?

Response # Responders
Positively 95
Negatively 3
No change 9

What was the stress level of the interview?

Response Avg # Responders
3.42 105

0 = low, 10 = high

How you think you did?

Response Avg # Responders
7.97 74

0 = low, 10 = high

Select Questions & Recent Responses

What are your suggestions for the admissions office?

"The virtual interviews are bound to have awkward moment and technical difficulties, but overall I'd say the admissions process went as smooth as I could've asked for." More from this Member | Report Response

"Pick more enthusiastic students for the tour." More from this Member | Report Response

"include information on what step resources are given by the school, step scores, % of medical students who publish as a result of their scholarly activity would also be interesting" More from this Member | Report Response

"Emailing the admissions office my thank-you letter is awkward. Why can't I just email the interviewer?" More from this Member | Report Response

"Let applicants know of decisions sooner." More from this Member | Report Response

"Make the tour of the medical campus a bit more extensive." More from this Member | Report Response

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

"You seem to have a lot of EM experience. Is that what you want to specialize in?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"all based on my application" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What kind of a hospital did you work at? How many beds?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What were some of the qualities of physicians you worked with?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

""Where are you in life?"" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What steered you towards medicine?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"As a reapplicant, how have you improved your application?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is a major reason patients have trouble with healthcare?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What characteristic do you think successful physicians share?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about X experience. (from my primary application)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why UAB? (I'm from Tennessee)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about yourself. Tell me about: Volunteer work, how it affected me, what I learned from it, what kind of doctor I wanted to be, what specific event made me interested in medicine." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about your research." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What made you decide to choose medicine instead of the family agriculture business?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about you involvement with (enter volunteer activity)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Can you tell me about your three best friends?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me more about.....(specific element of my application)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you were trapped on a desert island, what 5 items would you bring?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about your decision to become a doctor." 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

"Why Med School?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"I had a lot of veterinary experience: What are the differences in veterinary medicine and human medicine?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why medicine? (By all 4 interviewers)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"See ''most difficult question''" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Explain your research, papers, and presentations." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about your family." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What are a few words your mother would use to describe you?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about yourself. Why do you want to do medicine. Fill in the Blank: You are most like you mother in that you are ________. You are most like your father in that you are ________." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about your volunteer experience." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What are 3 of your strengths and 1 weakness?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"I don't actually remember specific questions, all the interviews were more like conversations, and the interviewers asked me questions about the activities i wrote about (one interviewer had all my info, and the 2 others only had titles of activities, so i explained them)." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What career would you seek out if all the medical schools were to close?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What would your best friend say about you?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about yourself and your decision to become a doctor." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Talk me through your past history. (all 3 interviews)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Give me a sense of the timeline of your life." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Name three of your strengths and one weakness." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Name 3 strengths and 1 weakness of yours." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"tell me about yourself; is there anything that we havent talked about that you want to discuss?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"3 qualities that will make you a good doctor" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is your motivation for pursuing a career in medicine?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What are some pressing problems in US health care?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What areas of academic medicine are you interested in?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Would you want to legalize marijuana?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Describe your greatest failure." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How would you compare yourself with an apple?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

"Would you be comfortable being assisted/tutored by a younger student? I am a 31 year old practicing attorney." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What should I know about you?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What was the last book you read?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What do you do to get away from the stresses of your job? Tell me something about yourself that I wouldn't know from reading your application. Give me 2 strengths and a weakness about yourself." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What books have you read?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why do you want to attend UAB's medical school?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"what do you like to do for fun." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you could sit down with one person in history, who and why?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What activities demonstrate your commitment to service?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If I could erase anything on my transcript what would it be and why?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"All the normal stuff...why medicine, why UAB, what do you do for fun, what clinical experiences have you had" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

"Tell me about your clinical experiences (everyone asked this and the other 2 questions below)." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What are your strenghts/weaknesses" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Where do I see myself in 10 years? Most (95%) of the questions related to what I put on my application; this interview was more like a conversation than an interview- extremely enjoyable! " 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

"What was the research project in which you participated." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Did you read any books this summer?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is something you regret?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What challenges do you think medicine will be facing in the next ten years?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

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

"Why did you lie on your essay by saying that you went to a "top ranked" undergraduate school? (School was ranked #1 by US News and World Report while I was attending. Interviewer disagreed.)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Discuss some of the current problems in healthcare." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why do you want to be a doctor?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

" Tell me what you have been doing since you graduated. " More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why should we accept you?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What do you do outside of studying? Have you been involved with your community? Tell me more about your clinical experiences." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why UAB? Why Alabama? (These questions are important to them)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why do you want to be a physician?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"tell me about yourself (b/c hadn't read application yet)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"3 worst traits" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you had to commit to a specialty today, what would it be?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What would you do if medical school admissions were suspended for the next three years?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What would you do if there was no health fields at all?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most interesting question?

"What is your PI best known for?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is your experience working with underserved groups?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Asked specifics about my activities." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Have you ever harmed anyone?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What medical specialties have you considered going to?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How do you manage to do so many different things?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you were a kitchen utensil, which kitchen utensil would you be?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What would you have me tell the admissions committee on your behalf?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"About my research work and traveling experience." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why did you choose to volunteer with hospice?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Would I rather work as a doctor with adults or children and why?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What do you think will be the most difficult part of being a doctor?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Question 3" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Refer to question #1. Asked by two of the interviewers." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If I were to stand before the admissions committee and try to convince them to accept you what would I say?" 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

"What is the first thing that pops into your mind when I say hard work?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Nothing too interesting...just basic questions." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"In what order do you think/feel/act?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Where do you see the future of medicine?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is one word that your mother would use to describe you?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"One of my interviewers set up this lengthy scenario which basically ended up with me finding a genie and then asked me what my one wish would be." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"See most difficult. Otherwise, they were very general interview questions." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What would you do if you found out you hated clinical practice? (I assumed he was fishing for mention of research, teaching, etc.)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why did it take you so long to decide to become a physician? [I decided a few months before submitting my application]" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Nothing terribly exciting." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Nothing too interesting. General interview questions. " More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Could you talk to your younger sister about birth control?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you could eat dinner with anyone, who would it be?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you could have dinner with anyone alive or dead, who would it be? Also, if you could snap your fingers and be anywhere in the world any time of the year, where would you go?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"So, I see you did X activity....how do we make our school more diverse?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Do you believe in global warming? Do you think man is causing it? Are we out of time to do anything? Also, I went to a class and the professor asked me a question about the material he was covering. I guessed and got it right and was rewarded with a key chain. " More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you had a magic wand, what would you fix?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What most defines you and the person you have become? It can be an experience, a person, or an idea." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you could go to bed tonight and wake up anywhere in the United States tomorrow, where would it be and why?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What if you think this is the career for you, and then once you're in med school you realize that it's not what you thought it would be?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you could pick two words for your motto, what would they be?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is a weakness that you think you possess?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about a time you were there for a friend." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If aliens were to come to earth and provide a cure for all the major human diseases, would you still want to be a doctor?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"There is a growing disparity between the number of family practice physicians in this country and the number of specialty physicians. The US needs more family practice doctors. How would you fix the problem?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If your husband was coming home tonight for a special dinner, what would you cook for him?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you could go anywhere in the U.S. for just one day at any time of the year, where would you go?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What do you do in your spare time? (not an interesting question, but for everyone who's about to have their interviews, I know it helps to know as many of the questions as possible :)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"none really" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Unfortunately my interviewer did not ask any terribly interesting questions. He stated the comment areas on the eval form and asked me to emphasize things that he would be able to comment on." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Mike Shula is doing a good job down there at Bama isn't he?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"The interviews were much more conversational and less a series of questions. I can't remember any questions that stand out as interesting." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What would you tell me if I was a terminally-ill cancer patient in your care?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is your definition of success? Follow up, do you think you have been successful? " More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What are your biggest fears regarding a career in medicine? (This is if you consider the question "How would you compare yourself to an apple?" to be a joke question... it WAS a joke question, right???)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Would you be comfortable being assisted/tutored by a younger student? I am a 31 year old practicing attorney." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What can we do to improve health care in Alabama?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell what you would like me to know about you." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What would you want to do with your life if med school wasn't an option?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What was a stressful situation in your life, how did you deal with it, what did you learn from it?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is the most challenging thing that has happened in your life and what did you do to overcome it?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"There were no surprise questions asked. Mainly, the interviewer wanted to know my motivations for applying and why they should accept me to their school." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If the mirror were turned around, what negative aspects about you would hurt you as a physician?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How did you study for the MCAT?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How technology is going to change medicine~ it came up in the conversation" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What's broomball?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What was it like growing up on a farm?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you could only pick one of the following issues to address, which would it be: prescription drugs for senior citizens, HIV drugs for countries that cannot afford them, or the cost of luxury drugs? " More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is Pierre-Robin sequence?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you were able to meet anyone from the past, who would it be and what would you talk about?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How would you interact with patients in a way that reflected compassion?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"One of the interviewers started suggesting future directions for an extracurricular program I run....it was very conversational." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Give me your thoughts on how doctors should react to patients that do not follow their orders/take meds, etc." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What do you think is the biggest problem facing physicians in the next 10 years." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"none" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What will be the hardest thing about being a doctor? Problems in health care, cloning, stem cells" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Cloning, stem cells" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about a time when you had contact with a patient in the ER that positively influenced your decision to become a physician." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you were stranded on a desert island, what ten things would you bring?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is your worst characteristic.......How can that sometimes be a good thing?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What would your sister say is your worst characteristic? (After I gave my answer, he asked me how my worst characteristic could be a good thing) What would your brother say is your best characteristic? (Again, he asked me to turn my answer around and say how it could be a bad thing)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is something your mother would say about you, and what is something your brother would say about you?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What books had I read recently?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"When you applied to the University of Tennessee what did their secondary look like?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Not really that many questions, just had interesting, relaxed conversations with all three interviewers. They make it a point not to stress you out--interviews are just to find out more about you." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"how did you feel after 9-11-01?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Nothing really, just general questions about application and then just conversations." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why 'bama?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How did your parents raise you so that you still want to talk to them and value their opinion?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you were stranded on a desert island, who would you want with you?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"not sure, all were pretty good." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

View All Questions & Responses

Individual Responses

Read what each person had to say about their experience with this school.

Browse Individual Responses

School Reviews

School Reviews

Results Overview

Overall, how satisfied are you with this program?

Response Avg # Responders
6.00 1

0 = Terrible, 10 = World Class

What do you like most?

"Resources (e.g. every specialty/sub-specialty, research)" | Report Response

What do you like least?

"Pre-clinical curriculum is pretty average in my opinion. Not board focused. Clinical rotations are hit or miss in terms of what you're allowed to do and the teaching you receive." | Report Response

View All Questions & Responses


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About the LizzyM Score

LizzyM, SDN Moderator and medical school admissions committee member, is the inventor of the LizzyM Score. The score allows you to see if you are a competitive applicant at a given school. If your LizzyM Score is far below or above the average, you may not be a good fit. If your score is far below, your application may be screened out due to numerical cutoffs. If it is far above, the school may assume they are your “safety” school and that you won’t attend if they offer an acceptance. This score should be used only as a guide to help you select schools and is not a guarantee of acceptance at any school. If you use this as your sole criteria to select medical schools to apply to, you don’t deserve to get in anyway.

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About the SDN Ranking

SDN Ranking identifies how SDN members perceive the quality of a school relative to other schools of the same type (e.g., other Medical Schools, other Dental schools, etc.). Schools are ranked from 1, perceived as much worse than other schools, to 5, perceived as much better than other schools.

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