How many people interviewed you?
Response Average | # Responders |
---|---|
1.15 | 310 |
Response | # Responders |
---|---|
Positively | 271 |
Negatively | 14 |
No change | 21 |
Response Avg | # Responders |
---|---|
2.61 | 309 |
Response Avg | # Responders |
---|---|
7.61 | 217 |
Response Avg | # Responders |
---|---|
8.65 | 175 |
Response | # Responders |
---|---|
In Person | 0 |
Virtual | 1 |
Response | # Responders |
---|---|
5 minutes | 0 |
10 minutes | 0 |
15 minutes | 0 |
20 minutes | 5 |
25 minutes | 5 |
30 minutes | 16 |
35 minutes | 9 |
40 minutes | 15 |
45 minutes | 51 |
50 minutes | 44 |
55 minutes | 2 |
60+ minutes | 165 |
Response | # Responders |
---|---|
At the school | 306 |
At a regional location | 2 |
At another location | 2 |
Response | # Responders |
---|---|
One-on-one | 309 |
In a group | 0 |
Response | # Responders |
---|---|
Open file | 282 |
Closed file | 18 |
Response Average | # Responders |
---|---|
1.15 | 310 |
"Describe a book, movie, etc that has changed the way you view or approach the world."
"There was one short, closed-file interview (30 minutes) where they asked you ethical/behavioral questions, and one longer, conversational open-file "summary interview" that lasted approximately an hour and 20 minutes with another interviewer."
"Tell me about a time when you disagreed with authority (or something like rules)."
"There's 2 interviews. One short, one long. The long one is traditional (OPEN FILE) type questions, the short one is personal/creative questions (CLOSED FILE). In the first interview we discussed global health and my background and interests. The most difficult questions were regarding my research, but they were only difficult because I didn't prepare this!"
"Where do you see yourself in 10 years (career wise)?"
"Describe a difficult decision you had to make (and other similar behavioral questions in the closed file interview)"
"Can you give me an example of a time you failed?"
"Give an example of a time you gave someone the benefit of the doubt and were glad you did."
"Tell me about your childhood."
"What would you contribute to Vanderbilt? Why should we choose you over thousands of other applicants?"
"Did you have any shadowing/volunteering experiences to make sure that this (becoming a doctor) is something that you want to do?"
"Elaborate on _______ activity on your AMCAS."
"Tell me about a difficult situation and how you handled it."
"What one accomplishment are you most proud of?"
"Activities on AMCAS - which most meaningful"
"Do patients that make poor lifestyle choices deserve to get one of the limited number of organs available for transplantation? (This was the only ethical question)"
"Tell me about your weaknesses?"
"None really."
"What do plan on doing with medicine?"
"Tell me about your timeline (I have a confusing one with regard to what school when, what job when)."
"Questions about non-science classes I'd taken."
"Why did you decide to pursue an MPH?"
"What community service activity had the most impact on you? Leadership activity?"
"Tell me about your family and growing up"
"Why would you want to stay at Vanderbilt? (I go there undergrad)"
"Tell me about your background/personal history."
"What is the one accomplishment you're most proud of?"
"What are 3 adjectives to describe yourself?"
"What are you doing right now?"
"Just a few questions about my motivations for medicine and specific classes I took. "
"What I wanted to know about Vanderbilt?"
"What qualities do you have that would make you a good doctor?"
"Tell me what a day in your life is like?"
"How/When did you decide you wanted to go to medical school?"
"How involved were you/what was your specific role in your research experiences? "
"Tell me about your research project"
"Tell me about this EC activity. What do you want me to know about you? Tell me about your basic sci research & why you stopped it. Why didn't you apply to medical school last year? What are you looking for in a medical school? Any questions for me? "
"Tell me about your research experiences."
"What distinguishes you from the rest of the applicants?"
"Tell me why medicine? Why Vanderbilt?"
"What three qualities would your best friends say you have?"
"Tell me more about X (on the AMCAS)"
"Where did you grow up?"
"What other schools have you interviewed at?"
"What should I emphasize to the adcom?"
"Tell me about x research"
"About my family"
"How are you? How was your flight? Will you be staying for a few days or ...?"
"what type of setting do you want to practice medicine in?"
"Tell me about one of your research experiences."
"Tell me about your research experience."
"What Vanderbilt?"
"Why engineering?"
"Asked about my research."
"Why did you take X course?"
"Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"
"Tell me about your path to becoming a doctor. "
"Explain past experiences"
"What did you do during your summers"
"Tell me about anthropology."
"How did you become interested in medicine?"
"what other schools did you apply to"
"how did you come to choose medicine?"
"Tell me about yourself. This led to a 60-minute conversation."
"Why medicine"
"Questions specific to my application. "
"asked about my activities briefly"
"There really weren't questions, per se. At least not any that I remember directly."
"How would you like me to present you to the admissions committee?"
"Why medicine? "
"Tell me about your ___ experience "
"How did you decide on your undergraduate university?"
"Why are you interested in medicine?"
"Have you been to Nashville before?"
"so what do you know about vandy?"
"Why are you taking a year off?"
"When did you first develop an interest in medicine?"
"What draws you to Nashville?"
"Tell me more about yourself."
"Why did you choose your major/degree?"
"Why are you taking time off before medical school?"
"Describe a specific example of how you helped another individual and what you learned from it?"
"Why did you pursue your advanced degree?"
"Tell me about Earlham College and why you chose to go to school there."
"You have a good record, but your grades have slipped at certain points; why?"
"Do you plan to practice in the USA after your training?"
"How long have you been interested in a career in medicine and what spurred that interest?"
"Tell me a little about yourself..."
"Tell me about your family"
"TEll me about urself."
"tell me about yourself and your family"
"What made you decide to pursue medicine?"
"How do you think your major will help you in medicine?"
"Why do you want to become a doctor?"
"Major healthcare problems/solutions"
"Favorite/least favorite class?"
"Why do you want to be a doctor"
"Where have you demonstrated leadership? What are you strengths/weaknesses?"
"strengths/weaknesses"
"I see you have athletics in your backround, compare that to medicine. "
"Explain your current research."
"What was your favorite class? What was your least favorite class?"
"What other schools have you applied to?"
"Tell me about your volunteerism abroad"
"asked about my research"
"Why did you wait until you graduated from college before applying to medical school?"
"Do you plan on continuing your research in medical school?"
"we talked about dogs for a while before even got started"
"Tell me about yourself?"
"Why I am studying for an MA at Columbia."
"Tell me about your extracirriculars"
"Do you know what kind of medicine you want to go into: specialty? academic/private practice?"
"What is your favorite nonscience class?"
"Why Vandy?"
"My extracurricular activities"
"All of your community service is admirable, but I don't understand how that connects with your desire to study and practice medicine....um...so how does it connect?"
"tell me about yourself"
"Tell me about the latest book you've read. "
"What's your biggest accomplishment?"
"Most meaningful community service?"
"Why do you want to go to Vanderbilt? "
"Tell me about your undergraduate experience."
"Tell me about your undergraduate experience -- why did you choose ABC university?"
"what do you want me to tell admissions committee about you?"
"Have you considered what field you might enter."
"Tell me about your medical leave"
"Describe your college experience."
"I was asked about the C's on my transcript"
"Have you thought about what field you want to go into? Why that field?"
"Tell me about your research/college/other experience."
"why did you choose your undergrad institution?"
"Why do you want to be a doctor?"
"How was your "introduction to modern culture" class?"
"What do you want to get out of medical school besides just learning the academics?"
"How did you choose your undergraduate school?"
"Tell me about this piano class you took."
"What makes you better than everyone else?"
"Why do you want to study medicine?"
"Research"
"What do you want me to tell the admissions committee?"
"Tell me about your life before undergrad."
"Why do you want to attend Vanderbilt?"
"If you could decide where to go to college again, would you go to the same school?"
"What do you look for in a medical school?"
"Why did you take the MCAT twice? "
"What are your strengths? "
"What are you going to do about a family? (Aaack!)"
"I am writing a recommendation for you to the admissions committee - what do you want me to put in it? I mean, what differentiates you from any other student?"
"tell me about your childhood and growing up. "
"Name the top three reasons you want to enter medicine."
"What volunteer experience do you have?"
"Tell me about a specific volunteer experience."
"Is anyone in your family a doctor? What made you want to go into medicine, then?"
"Tell me about your relationship with your family and your experiences growing up in a small town."
"Tell me about what brought you here, why medicine, why vanderbilt etc.? (all given as one big question)"
"Tell me about yourself (growing up, school, family values)"
"What motivates you to practice medicine?"
"What do you want to talk about?"
"What are you looking for in a medical school?"
"Describe your thesis research in terms that I could understand"
"Wh o is your role model"
"what do you do if a patient dislikes you?"
"How did you like (name of your college)?"
"You were a non-science major. How did some of your non-science classes relate to the field of medicine?"
"How did you spend your summers? What extracurriculars were you involved with?"
"What was this like, that like? etc. on my essay"
"Give me a 2-minute autobiography."
"Tell me about your undergraduate experience?"
"-What were the positive and negative aspects that you've gathered from your experience with health care? How would you improve it? -Why Vanderbilt?"
"What book are you reading now? Strengths and weaknesses? How would your friends describe you? 4-5 words or phrases."
"essay-specific question"
"If you could spend two hours in any museum, which museum would you go to?"
"Why Vanderbilt? Why medicine?"
"all pertaining specifically to my amcas"
"Why do you want to go into academic medicine?"
"What in your college career has made you believe that medicine is the right thing for you?"
"Tell me about your experiences in the medical field."
"What has been the most rewarding experience for you so far?"
"What's it like to be a whitewater kayak instructor?"
"Describe your research."
"Tell me about yourself."
"Describe a Clinical Experience"
"Tell me about your research"
"Again, lots of questions on me (my undergrad experience, how I became interested in medicine, how I completed my pre-requisites, what other schools I applied to, my work experience...."
"What was your most valuable research experience?"
"Tell me about XYZ research project. "
"Tell me about your experiences?"
"Tell me about your research."
"A difficult and complex case study of a patient with a potentially terminal illness that only responded to an exotic therapy that the insurance company refused to pay for because of its' contract. What would I do? "
"What questions to you have about Vanderbilt? (asked over and over) "
"Do you have any questions for me?"
"What's the most meaningful volunteer work you've done? What's the most impactful leadership experience you've had. "
"What questions do you have for me? (Ask what the strengths and weaknesses are)"
"My questions were mostly about my extracurricular activities - I didn't have any of the standard questions about my personality or motivations. But be prepared to defend yourself if you don't have clinical experience involving lots of hospital time during recent years. "
"do you have any questions for me about the school?"
"How would your friends describe you?"
"Tell me a little about time you've spent abroad."
"why is your second degree (unlrelated to med or phd) useful in the career you have ahead of you?"
"Why Vanderbilt?"
"tell me about your family."
"what excited you the most about your college?"
"Tell me about your research activities."
"Who is your role model?"
"What are your strenghts/weaknesses?"
"How diverse is your school?"
"What do you think of the politics in the Sino-taiwan region?"
"What are you scared of?"
"What is the best, worst, or hardest decision you have made recently?"
"From the short interview: "When was the last time you asked 'why'?""
"What habit do you have to relieve stress?"
"Discuss a type of pain that isn't physical and your experience w it or surrounding it."
"What brought you to Vanderbilt?"
"About my gap year position"
"Can you give me an example of a time you were in a pain?"
"Give an example of a time that you changed your position on a topic, why?"
"What was your favorite class and why?"
"Tell me about a time you had to persuade someone into doing something that was not popular."
"I am interested to know when there was a time when you tried really hard but things just didn't work out the way you wanted to"
"Why do you want to be a doctor?"
"How is (your extracurricular activity XYZ) relevant to medicine/medical field."
"List 3 words that a friend would use to describe you."
"Can you think of a time when you gave someone the benefit of the doubt and were glad you did? Tell me about that."
"greatest accomplishment"
"What role will your faith play when you practice medicine?"
"Where do you see healthcare headed?"
"Purely conversational."
"Talk about being from x place."
"Give me an example of, in a leadership role, how you acted differently than you normally would."
"Describe your research in Dr. X's lab"
"Tell me about you growing up and your family."
"3 words that your friends would use to describe you."
"How to fix problem of chronic disease in America"
"How do other describe you?"
"What are your faults?"
"Can you tell me more about your research?"
"Is there anything you want to add to your application?"
"Describe yourself in three words."
"Favorite/most important research"
"Can you tell me about a difficult personal situation and how you handled it?"
"Do you have any idea what type of medicine you'd like to go into?"
"What do you think of the current health care reform proposals?"
"What is your backup plan if medical school does not work out? "
"It seems you have an interest in pediatrics/working with children, can you elaborate?"
"We talked about the "professionalism" classes that medical schools teach."
"Tell me about your volunteer experiences."
"Why Vanderbilt over other southern schools such as Duke or Emory?"
"Summer Activites"
"Tell me about yourself?"
"What would your friends say is most annoying about you?"
"Are you interested in continuing to do X in medical school?"
"Fast forward to high school... what did you do in your free time?"
"Describe a medical situation that positively affected you."
"What field of medicine/research are you interested in? "
"What have you done in medicine?"
"About some of my grades"
"Tell me about your family?"
"Why MD/PhD?"
"Do you see yourself continuing research in the future?"
"Tell me about your family."
"Asked a question about my personal statement. "
"How have you handled yourself in group project situations?"
"Tell me about a leadership role."
"What are your favorite books?"
"Explain extracurricular activites"
"What about yourself sometimes gives you trouble . . . In case you couldn't tell, this is a thinly veiled weakness question?"
"What do you think about USC"
"What was your most difficult class?"
"why did you apply to (blank) school"
"What would have been the best thing for you to do between college and applying to medical school?"
"Tell me about x experience."
"How would you change medical school curriculum?"
"Where do you see yourself in the future?"
"What do you want to do with an MD degree"
"Why did you do X activity? Tell me about Dr. X and his impact on you. Tell me about X patients."
"Why should we accept you?"
"Why Vandy?"
"What is your best and worst patient experience?"
"Why not study medicine in-state?"
"Tell me about yourself. Tell me about Dr X and your experience with him (I'd mentioned him in my personal statement quite a bit)."
"Would you consider clinical research"
"How did you decide on this major?"
"Why Vandy"
"Are you interested in doing research?"
"When did you become interested in medicine?"
"Where do you see yourself in ten years?"
"thoughts on national health care"
"What was your favorite undergrad class?"
"What area(s) of medicine do you see yourself participating in?"
"Where do you see yourself in 10 years? What do you do in your free time?"
"I frankly don't remember other questions, because the whole interview was a casual conversation."
"If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?"
"What intellectual role did you play in your research?"
"Which of your research experiences did you enjoy the most and why?"
"Tell me something important about yourself (very first question)"
"You seem to have done so well throughout your education. How does yourf oreign education compare with your education in the USA"
"Tell me about your leadership activities"
"Current problem(s) with the healthcare system"
"Tell me about your research"
"Tell me about your personal statement (add to it)"
"why did you participate in such and such activity?"
"What can I do to convince you that Vanderbilt is the right school for you?"
"Describe an experience in which you felt you made an impact on someone else."
"What do you do to relax?"
"ethical issue- AIDs treatment for indigent"
"Tell me about this inter-spiritual dialogue club you started."
"what is missing from AMCAS"
"How did you pick your college?"
"why medicine"
"Was there one experience in your life."
"Have you done any research?"
"Where do you see yourself in 10 yrs."
"What research did you do?"
"family"
"From this experience (a medical issue listed on my AMCAS), did you have any negative interactions with people in the medical profession?"
"What do you do that isn't science?"
"What are your strengths and weaknesses?"
"How did you come to the decision to be a doctor?"
"Do you have any hobbies?"
"Describe all the research I had done."
"Why medicine?"
"What do you think of Nashville?"
"Do I have any questions?"
"What books have I read? Do I have a favorite author?"
"A bunch of details about my AMCAS."
"how did you choose your undergraduate major?"
"how did you choose your undergraduate majors?"
"What do you look for in a medical school program?"
"How would your friends describe you"
"What field of medicine are you possibly interested in?"
"Most meaningful research?"
"What sets you apart from all the other candidates?"
"Why should I recommend you over the other applicants?"
"Something about health policy."
"What is Human Services (my second major)"
"Give me a brief autobiography about your life."
"Tell me about going to ABC university"
"Tell me about you family"
"How did you improve your MCAT scores?"
"Various friendly and light questions about my post-secondary experiences."
"What was your college like?"
"What lessons did you learn from volunteering?"
"what other schools are you applying to?"
"Very specific questions about my research."
"Why Vandy? Do you have any questions for me?"
"Why Vanderbilt? Why Nashville?"
"where do you see yourself in 10 years?"
"Specific question concerning my research."
"What are you most proud of?"
"How was your study abroad."
"You didn't really answer the question. What makes you better than everyone else?"
"Politics- this was my choice- Bush vs. Kerry"
"Any mentors?"
"What do your parents do?"
"why are you looking in nashville (given the region i live in)?"
"What inspires you toward medicine/"
"Why are you applying to school now?"
"Name the three extracurricular activities that are most important to you and why. "
"Where do you see yourself in ten years"
"Name qualities that are necessary for a good physician?"
"What was your favorite leadership position?"
"Tell me about what you have been doing since graduation."
"Why do you think we should accept you? Name three of your strengths."
"Why vanderbilt"
"everything else led from there, basically went over my application."
"Many specific questions about my application (describe my research, what a city from my study abroad was like, etc.)"
"Are you going to graduate with honors?"
"Is there something that you want me to tell the admissions committee that is not anywhere in your application?"
"Tell me about your research. Do you LIKE working with the mice?"
"Who has been a mentor for you?"
"Tell me about what you do in your free time."
"What is a role model in your life besides a parental figure?"
"Why did you transfer schools after just one year?"
"Are there any doctors in your family"
"Do you think your parents' involvement in medicine has influenced you to follow that path?"
"What are you looking for in a medical school?"
"Tell me about your research."
"Was there one significant moment that affected your decision to become a doctor?"
"What will you do after you leave your job in December?"
"What hospital volunteer work have you done?"
"Do you have a mentor?"
"What is hte most stressful experience you have ever had."
"What else do you want me to know about you?"
"How did you choose your majors?"
"Why did you take a year off and how would you like me to explain that decision to the Admission's Committee?"
"Tell me why you're applying to Vanderbilt."
"What do you think will be the most difficult part of being a doctor?"
"-Tell me about your research, volunteer work, family, your favorite/least favorite class?"
"Bestworst experiences. 2 people - living or dead - you want to meet. Tell me about your research."
"Why medicine, why Vanderbilt?"
"What was your favorite non-science course in college?"
"What do you do outside of class?"
"What is important to you?"
"Did you enjoy your undergraduate institution?"
"What is your research about?"
"Describe your family."
"Why do you think you would be an asset to our school?"
"Why do you want to pursue medicine?"
"Tell me about your research, and are you interested in pursuing research at Vanderbilt?"
"What did you do during the summers in college?"
"tell me about your family"
"Describe your community service. "
"Describe a research Experience"
"Who or what influenced you to go into medicine?"
"What was your most negative experience at your school?"
"What was your most valuable volunteer experience?"
"How would your friends describe you? "
"Why did you choose your undergraduate school?"
"Why do you want to come to Vanderbilt?"
"What sets you apart from other applicants?"
"Do you think being a pediatrician/doing any sort of peds work would be too depressing/angering? (this was related to my personal statement, involved watching the death of a child)"
"What's the most meaningful extracurricular on your AMCAS?"
"What do you do in your free time?"
"Tell me about your high school activities and college research."
"tell me about your college experience "
"How do you like your undergraduate school?"
"Why Vanderbilt?"
"What made you want to go into medicine? Is anyone in your family a doctor?"
"do you have a failure or major setback in the last few years - what is it? "
"Given your background, why did you choose medicine?"
"So what kind of research did you do? Be prepared to go into specifics."
"what do you think of managed care?"
"You're from Canada...do you play hockey?"
"What do you do for fun?"
"Why did you choose your college?"
"Describe your research."
"Tell me about a time you interacted with someone who had a different perspective than you."
"Specific questions about my application and activities in the long interview."
"From the short interview: "What was a time you witnessed suffering, and how did that affect you?""
"Most meaningful experience"
"When's the last time you asked 'why'? (this question isn't strict and doesnt have to be the LAST time you asked why. I talked about a random interest that I had a few years ago and she loved my answer!)"
"How has XYZ experience prepared you for the challenges of medicine?"
"File specific: "I see you did x, y, and z here. What motivated you to do that? Why do you think it will make you a better physician?""
"What type of medicine do you want to practice? What do you see yourself doing after residency?"
"Many questions about healthcare reform (see my full evaluation)"
"Can you tell me what experience you are most proud of?"
"Have you ever had to work with a difficult person (classmate, patient, etc)? How did you handle it?"
"What do you think about the US health care system?"
"What could you do better?"
"Can you think of a time when you had to work with someone who was difficult to work with? How did you deal with it?"
"motivations for entering medicine"
"Describe the significance of X experience from your AMCAS. (Make sure to look over the experience timeline Vandy makes for you on the secondary! It is really cool and they definitely use it in the interview!)"
"Tell me about how you handled a particular challenge."
"Tell me about your research"
"There really wasn't a third one."
"Why should we accept you?"
"What do you think you will add to Vandy Med?"
"What are you looking for in a medical school?"
"Where do you see yourself after graduating medical school"
"2 words someone that just met you would use to describe you."
"interview touched on variety of non-medical topics - African dictators, religion and politics in America, etc"
"Tell me about your siblings and family"
"Tell me more about (specific AMCAS activity)."
"Why did you choose to apply to Vandy?"
"What have you done clinically?"
"How many other schools did you apply to?"
"You seem like you have a very close family. How many brothers and sisters do you have?"
"Where you do you see yourself overall 10-15 years from now? (family, scope of practice, etc)"
"Why not pursue an MD/PhD"
"I told him about the activities/programs that I'd like to get involved with at Vandy. "
"What is the biggest problem facing the world?"
"What has been your favorite extracurricular experience?"
"Is there anything else about you I should tell the admissions committee?"
"Why the south?"
"Why do you want to leave _____?"
"Tell me about x experience. "
"Describe research."
"What other schools did you apply to?"
"About soccer... (i love that sport..)"
"What other schools have you applied to? if you say 18, make sure you know all 18. I made a fool of myself. I only mentioned like 13, forgot about the others. not that they are not good schools but bc I didn't complete the secondaries...too much on my mind. "
"Tell me about yourself."
"He asked a lot of questions about my family and my life story, just to get to know me."
"What do you do at your undergraduate institution?"
"What do you want in a medical school?"
"What do you do for fun?"
"Asked about one of my extracurriculars."
"What specialty are you considering going into?"
"Tell me about your community service."
"Where do you see yourself in ten years?"
"What distinguishes you from the rest of the highly qualified applicants we are interviewing?"
"Tell me about your change in career paths."
"Why are you interested in urban medicine? "
"The 10 years? question"
"What are you most proud of?"
"Tell me about your rsearch"
"What are three things you'd like me to tell the admissions committee about you?"
"What are you 3 greatest strengths?"
"why did you apply to vanderbilt, and what do you like about it"
"Where do you see yourself in 10yrs?"
"Tell me about your research experience."
"Out of your experiences, when do you feel you have helped someone the most and when the least?"
"None."
"Do you think it'll be hard going to medical school far from home?"
"Do you have any further questions?"
"What sort of clinical experience do you have? (Followed by my interviewer professing to think that shadowing and clinic-based volunteering is a bunk requirement. Superficial, is what he called it.)"
"Why Vanderbilt? What do you look for in a medical school?"
"there wasn't a third question really...."
"What do you do for fun on the weekends?"
"Why Medicine"
"What field of medicine are you interested in?"
"How have you liked Vandy so far?"
"Describe one of your leadership experiences."
"what do you like to read?"
"What specialty do you want to pursue?"
"What was your favorite course at UM?"
"Questions expanding on/clarifying my AMCAS activities/classes."
"What do you enjoy doing in your free time."
"Do you have any questions about Vanderbilt?"
"What else do you want to emphasize to the committee about yourself that may or may not be included in your applications?"
"What draws you to Nashville?"
"When in your life did you decide you wanted to become a doctor? Have your motivations about becoming a doctor or your impressions about medicine changed since then?"
"I'm sure you're applying to other great schools, but why Vanderbilt?"
"What extra-carricular activities do you participate in?"
"Why X undergrad? How did you pay for it?"
"How would your mom describe you?"
"What are some important qualities of a physician?"
"Why did you become interested in medicine?"
"What other medical schools have you applied to?"
"Tell me about ur research and what it means."
"what was the most shocking thing that you learned during experience X?"
"Most other questions were specific to my application"
"Have you done any research?"
"He asked about why I did some of my experiences, like teaching."
"Family background"
"More specific questions about my ECs."
"How would your acquaintances describe you?"
"what do you do for fun (basically making sure I had a social life)"
"why vanderbilt"
"Tell me about your volunteer work."
"Have you done any community service?"
"What do you do besides school and research?"
"Why do you want to leave Southern California's weather and football team??"
"What sort of Emphasis Project do you think you would do if you came do Vanderbilt?"
"What did you learn in these classes?"
"other schools i applied to"
"Tell me about your volunteer experiences."
"Describe your two research experiences."
"what is skimboarding"
"What makes you uniquely suited to come to Vanderbilt?"
"Anything else you would like me to know about you?"
"How do I feel about leaving NYC."
"What would you add to the diversity of the medical school? (did not have to be ethnically/culturally related)"
"See above"
"Lots of stuff about my current job and what I've done since graduating from undergrad. Where did I go, what did I do?"
"What makes me someone who would add to Vanderbilt?"
"Why do you want to be a doctor?"
"what are your thoughts about the "Emphasis" Program."
"What do you want the committee to know about you."
"How do you feel about Nashville?"
"What are your hobbies"
"why vanderbilt?"
"What leadership position do you want to talk about?"
"How did you become interested in medicine?"
"Tell me about where you see yourself in 10 years."
"What do you think are the "right" reasons to want to go into medicine?"
"Asked about my health care experience, any patient in particular that had a profound effect on me."
"What area of medicine are you interested in?"
"Tell me why you enjoy being a musician"
"Is anyone else in your family in medicine?"
"Do you think doctors should be altruistic?"
"Do you have any questions for me?"
"How do you think your study abroad experience will help you in medical school or as a physician?"
"What are your hobbies?"
""So, what are you looking for in a medical school?""
"You've grown up and gone to college near/in a major city. What would the transition to Nashville be like?"
"Are you concerned about medical school?"
"Tell me about your research."
"what kind of research are you interested in?"
"What do your parents do?"
"Do you still play the violin?"
"Talk about a mentor you have had."
"What has your favorite class been?"
"You still haven't answered the question. What makes you better than everyone else?"
"Tell me about your research and what you learned from it"
"Extracurricular activites?"
"what are you doing with your year off?"
"What was so special about your undergraduate institution?"
"In what area of medicine do you see yourself practicing and why?"
"Tell me about your research project."
"How do you define success"
"What do you bring to Vanderbilt?"
"Why do you want to go into medicine? Do you like memorizing?"
"Where have you interviewed thus far? How many schools did you apply to? (I think he was fishing around to make sure I applied to public institutions .... see rant about cost of school above)."
"Why Vanderbilt? Tell me about your research."
"Why not MD/PhD"
"How would your friends describe you?"
"What is it that you do in your Fraternity?"
"How do you like Atlanta? (I live in Atlanta)"
"What factors directed you into a career in medicine growing up?"
"What do you think of Vanderbilt?"
"What are some things you would like to improve in your life?"
"How does your faith fit into your school and career goals (I'm from ND so this is kind of a gimme question, most ppl won't get asked this)"
"Will you have any biases in practicing medicine? (I did my senior project for my religion major on religious perspectives on medical ethics.)"
"Have you thought about applying to the MD/PhD program? (I have a lot of research experience - I wouldn't expect them to ask everyone this question.)"
"What was the most stressful situation in your life?"
"Do you have patient experience?"
"Do you have any physicians in your family?"
"What will you do if you do not get into medical school?"
"What kind of research did you do?"
"Why be a doctor?"
"Do you plan on practicing in Los Angeles?"
"Tell me about a time when you felt that you let yourself and other people down. Tell me about a time when you made the greatest impact on another person."
"Give me one sentence to tell the admissions committee why they should accept you."
"What is the number one killer in minority females between 18-30yrs of age? (AIDS)"
"-Is there anything I have not asked that you wish to bring up?"
"Anything else to tell me? (How do you answer these!) Any questions for me?"
"What books have you read recently?"
"What do you do for fun? Also: Why do you want to go to Vanderbilt? (especially if you have applied to schools all over the country--They want to know why the Southeast attracts you)"
"When did you decide you wanted to become a doctor?"
"How do you like Vanderbilt so far?"
"What did you study in college and why?"
"Tell me about your clinical experience."
"What kind of books do you like to read?"
"Do you have any questions about Vandy?"
"tell me about yourself"
"Why medicine (academic medicine specifically)?"
"Why medicine?"
"What do you look for in a medical school?"
"Tell me about your Bioethics class"
"Tell me a bit about your research."
"Any leadership role(s)?"
"Where do you see yourself in 10 years? "
"What is the worst situation you been in?"
"What area of medicine do you see yourself going into?"
"Do you have any questions about Vanderbilt, Nashville or Tennessee?"
"Where else are you applying and why?"
"What's your greatest weakness?"
"Tell me about your research experience (be ready to elaborate specifically). "
"Tell me about your MCAT score. (He thought my score was lower than it actually was)"
"tell me about your research experience"
"Which area of medicine do you want to go into?"
"What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?"
"So you've done some biochemistry research; what did you learn from that experience?"
"who is the sovereign of luxembourg (standard Q, i suggest you look it up and memorize it)?"
"What was your favorite class in college, and how do you think it prepared you for medicine?"
"So why medicine?"
"tell me about your research/work/extracurricular activity/etc."
"(Jokingly) I see you have a 3.99GPA, what happened to the other .01?"
"How do you get a 10-year-old child to practice a musical instrument? "
"What did you learn from your clinical experiences?"
"What does poetry do for you?"
"The "summary", longer open-file interview had read my file very detailed, and asked me a lot of questions about small tidbits in the essay. It was really nice!"
"Tell me about a time when you disagreed with authority (or something like rules)."
"Discuss a time when you had to see something from someone else's perspective."
"What do you like to do for fun?"
"When was the last time you asked "Why?""
"Nothing really out of the ordinary"
"When were you glad that you gave someone a second chance?"
"Is there anything that you wish that you could redo or do more?"
"Discussion of the differences in the healthcare systems of the US and the country where I grew up."
"What would you do if you could not go to medical school?"
"Are you sure that you want to be a doctor?"
"our discussion on family life and time commitments in medicine"
"Why did you take a year off"
"What do you know about Nashville?"
"Not really any."
"None in particular."
"What was the purpose of your personal statement? What was your intent for the reader?"
"Imagine you are being interviewed on a news channel. Tell us about your math research in layman's terms."
"Asked me why my band (something I mentioned in app essays/AMCAS activities) wasn't "getting big" on Music Row"
"The 2 words for just meeting one."
"Background because I have a lot of stories to tell :-)"
"What's the deal with Mugabe?"
"Why are you in a sorority?"
"I really didn't get many questions, and when I did, he usually interrupted me after a sentence or two. The interview was basically an hour of him talking at me. He was nice, but I didn't feel like I was able to express myself much at all. "
"Why Vanderbilt? (the interview was very conversational, I was able to take the direction of the conversation where I wanted to)"
"If you could choose one social cause to take up what would it be?"
"What other schools have you applied to, followed by, what do other schools have that Vanderbilt doesn't?"
"Before entering medicine, what did you see as the pro's and con's?"
"(When talking about my research) What color does it fluoresce? (She wasn't testing me, she was curious)"
"The interview began by asking me to ask questions and we went from there."
"What was your marathon time."
"I see you teach MCAT prep class. Do you feel like those prep classes are actually helpful? "
"Do you think there should be a 1-year mandatory civil service law in the US?"
"What do you think about the health care reforms proposed by the presidential candidates?"
"none"
"''I see you've done X... do you think you would be interested in continuing your work on that in medical school?''"
"Don't remember"
"None, he was pretty quiet and got interrupted during our interview by his beeper."
"Tell me about yourself--let's start from the beginning. (Didn't read any of my essays because she wanted an unbiased interview.)"
"Describe a situation (medical) that did not go well."
"None of the questions were especially interesting. It was more of a conversation about why I was applying, what I was looking for, and how I got interested in medicine."
"What is the biggest problem in the area you live?"
"Could you explain why your grades improved after sophomore year?"
"Really none..."
"I was asked: Do you have any burning question for me? about 3-4x so I wonder what else to say. Please arm yourself with info about what your interviewer does. and you can ask them about their work. "
"I shadowed a Dr. in England so my interviewer asked, ''What are the differences in medicine between the US and UK?''"
"If you could address any issue, anywhere in the world, what would it be?"
"Questions were all rather routine."
"Nothing too "interesting""
"If you were assigned to be the leader in a group in medical school, and you had someone who was a obvious slacker, how would you handle them? "
"Why engineering?"
"pretty standard really. really conversational. "
"Nothing interesting per se. They have your information there and ask questions from it. He asked about some courses I had taken."
"Do you consider yourself to be an MCAT expert?"
"What do you do for fun?"
"Specific stuff about my resume..."
"About something in my application."
"Who is your favorite philospher (i'm a philosophy major)?"
"What is your most significant community service experience?"
"So I see you're on the Academic Dishonesty Committee . . . What's been the most challenging case you've seen?"
"What do you think about USC (I go to UCLA - cross town rival)"
"Tell me about anthropology (my minor)."
"The interview was really open-ended. He just asked me to talk about myself. "
"What do your bracelets mean?"
"None - all questions were straight forward"
"Tell me about a time you helped someone. What did you learn from it?"
"Tell me about a time you helped someone."
"Do you think all McDonald's should close down?"
"What does the term 'doctor' mean to you"
"None that I can remember, really."
"Why should we accept you?"
"tell me about yourself"
"What do you think about the TV programming available to modern youth?"
"How did you come to be Korean? "
"A question related to a unique part of my application."
"I see you have a background in medical imaging, could you see yourself exploring this opportunity in our emphasis program?"
"Have you given any thought to what it's like to be a woman in medicine?"
"What was the one most imporant thing you learned from being a pastor?"
"What do you think of Paul Farmer (public health guy)?"
"What makes you want to come to Tennesee?"
"tell me about XYZ class... "
"What would you like for me to highlight about your application to the admissions committee?"
"How did you like your summer at Duke?"
"All pretty generic questions, although there were a couple interesting questions relating specifically to why I took a class or expanding on a hobby."
"Given your interests in ____ and ____, how have they influenced your decision to become a physician?"
"It was a friendly chat, everything was interesting but also very laid back."
"What are some of your hobbies?"
"If you have a choice between two med schools, what are your criteria for choosing between them."
"Why did I start a particular organization on campus and what was the value?"
"Why did you decide to take Weaving as an art class?"
"What can I say to make you want to come here?"
"What is your ethnic background?"
"I was asked about my foreign educational background. The interview was very positive and I found this to be very encouraging because a lot of people have negative attitudes towards degrees from outside the USA, though from my experience, there is a lot of spoon-feeding in the USA educational system."
"What do you think the sol'n to America's obesity problems is? (follow up to something in a previous question)"
"If you could have dinner with 2 people, living, dead or fictional, who would you choose?"
"What would you propose to teach students a more humanistic approach to medicine?"
"My favorite undergraduate course"
"None really"
"Tell me about something not on your AMCAS"
"Tell me about your research...i mean let's spend like 20 mins talking about it in depth."
"Tell me about your high school - it was interesting because I just didn't expect to go back that far."
"The interview was very conversational, not a lot of direct questions. Nothing really stuck out"
"What do you think the greatest challenge facing medicine will be over the next 30 years? "
"The traditional questions were asked, "Why do you want to become a doctor" and "what do you do to relax""
"What do you think the major health issues are for women in the Middle East?"
"So what do you think about universal healthcare? (This was really just asked in a joking manner in response to something I had said, nothing serious)"
"If I asked your mom about your three best attributes, what would she say?"
"who's your favorite artist"
"Was there one thing that led you to medicine."
"Can you help me set up a program like this here next year?"
"The interview was more of a discussion. We talked about my research and background."
"What kind cancer did your mother die from (They get specific on your AMCAS personal statement file!)"
"What sort of Emphasis Program would you do if you attended Vanderbilt?"
"My interviewer asked me to summarize a few interesting courses I took in college."
"Why did you choose your undergraduate institution?"
"My interviewer didn't really ask many questions - it was more of just a conversation."
"Why did you fly in on American Airlines and not Southwest?"
"tell me about your dogs"
"Nothing unusual."
"Nothing really thought-provoking."
"Nothing to interesting."
"Everything was totally standard."
"If medicine did not exist, what profession would you be in?"
"How my undergrad major (not a typical pre-med major) prepared me for medicine."
"What was your favorite nonscience class?"
"Describe neuromarketing (for me_"
"Are you familiar with Chinese philosophy?"
"All of your community service is admirable, but I don't understand how that connects with your desire to study and practice medicine. Do you?"
"although we talked about interesting things, they all came about through the conversation. No really interesting questions were posed."
"Why Vanderbilt?"
"Name the other top 10 schools you are applying to?"
"the interviewer asked very open-ended questions. it seemed like she was simply trying to get to know me."
"What do you look for in a medical school program?"
"What gets your blood boiling? What makes you really really mad"
"What has been your biggest accomplishment in college? "
"None. I was really disappointed by all the boring questions. She wouldn't even bite when I mentioned things that other people usually find interesting."
"(for me): why did you join the military?"
"He asked me to talk about my clinical experiences, my research, my major, my family... really just trying to get to know me."
"A question about my research in management - business fraud."
"Nothing really interesting"
"Why did you decide to study in the US?"
"Nothing particularly interesting"
"Nothing very interesting"
"If you had a day off to spend time with your family and a patient called, what would you do?"
"My interviewer asked me many questions regarding my volunteer work, some of which had little to do with clinical/research work (strictly speaking), which seemed unusual but were very much welcomed."
"N/A"
"what frustrates you?"
"Aww, it just escaped my mind."
"So what do you think about the situation in Ukraine?"
"Do you have any concerns about medical school (i.e. are you worried about it)?"
"Describe your usual role when working on a team."
"we talked about the importance of literature / the humanities in medicine, but I can't remember a specific question"
"Nothing too interesting... Just basic questions you would expect."
"What's the best thing that's ever happened to you? The worst?"
"You have had many extraordinary experiences, which one was your greatest? Which one was your least favorable?"
"We had a discussion about how my research related to his work."
"Nothing interesting..."
"The interviewer had my AMCAS file memorized. He knew that I took a piano class my freshman year. When he asked me about it, I was kind of shocked."
"I was really only asked two questions: What makes a good doctor? And what makes you better than all the other applicants? She seemed to disagree with my answer to the first question. I didn't particularly like the second question, since I don't know anything about the other applicants. I just tried to say what made me different, which didn't work. At all."
"What percentage of the GDP is consumed by healthcare in America? Don't worry guys, I probably led to this question by discussing the health systems in other countries and how much of the GDP it was consuming."
"Nothing too intersting, just asked how I got interested in medicine."
"Out of your community service experiences with people, describe a positive and negative experience. "
"why a year off"
"Nothing too out of the ordinary really. "
"the whole thing was basically a conversation so it wasn't stressful really at all.. the questions just flowed and followed naturally."
"Why did you travel after college?"
"What makes a good doctor?"
"Tell me something interesting about what you learned as a political science minor."
"Nothing super interesting. He had me discussing my AMCAS application (which is all they have to look at), and I know mine like the back of my hand."
"Did you find your thesis project or did it find you?"
"What one aspect of your time at 'insert hospital here' most surprised you?"
"How a class from my major could apply to medicine (not a typical cell bio, biochem, etc. class)."
"Have you ever been accused of something that you didn't do?"
"What role does religion play in a physician's life?"
"How exactly does a basic swing dance step go? (I told him I teach swing dance lessons)"
"Tell me about yourself growing up."
"What do you do in your free time?"
"Describe your best friend."
"Tell me about what brought you here, why medicine, why vanderbilt etc.? (all given as one big question)"
"Nothing really super sweet"
"How have your parents' professions influenced you to become a doctor?"
"All of the questions were about things on my application"
"Nothing that really threw me - all pretty standard and expected."
"Who has been an important mentor for you?"
"There wasn't anything out of the ordinary."
"Who is more musically talented, you or your sister?"
"Why pole-vaulting?!"
"Do you watch Sex in the City?"
"how do you show compassion?"
"Nothing was that interesting."
"A question that was really more in the form of a discussion of the role of alternative medicine in the US healthcare system."
"what is the best thing that has ever happened to you?"
"Tell me about a time when you felt that you let yourself and other people down."
"Tell me what other schools that you've been looking at and if you have any questions of how they compare to Vanderbilt."
"Hmm . . . nothing too crazy. I guess I liked the question, "If you had an absolutely free weekend, no strings attached and no cost applied, where would you go and what would you do?""
"What would you do if you were partnered with another student who vehemently opposes your interest in serving underrepresented communities?"
"None really---all were related to my AMCAS"
"Not really anything interesting. Lots of personal stuff like my undergrad school, my family, aspects of health care that I've encountered, my research and clinical experience."
"What makes a musician great? Can you tell the difference? (Don't worry - I wrote in my AMCAS that I play a ton of violin!)"
"What books have you read recently? (Interesting b/c it lead on to other related questions)"
"If you could spend two hours in any museum, which museum would you go to?"
"If you were writing your bio at age 70, what would it say?"
"How would your roommates describe you?"
"nothing really. all were very fair and off AMCAS"
"Nothing really. Very conversational. Extremely nice interviewer. I was nervous before the interview because there was a large portrait of the Dr who interviewed me hanging in the First Year lecture hall but he was great."
"How did you get a C in General Chem and then an A in Organic?"
"What type of medicine do you want to go into and why?"
"How do you manage to do all of this stuff?"
"What has been the most fascinating place you have seen in your travel experiences?"
"Nothing especially sticks out."
"How did you get involved in whitewater kayaking?"
"none particular"
"Very conversational interview, so there were a lot of interesting topics, but they weren't really ASKED, just arrived at them naturally."
"What do you do in your spare time? The questions were pretty standard."
"No unexpected questions - very conversational. You were basically given a chance to explain yourself. The interviewer tried to make you as comfortable and possible and just got to know you."
"Nothing really"
"Tell me about your Bioethics class"
"None really, just a no stress interview. The basic getting to know you better."
"What did you learn as a team player?"
"How is it living in Las Vegas?"
"No really interesting/difficult questions. The interviewer was incredibly nice, and she basically let me discuss whatever experiences (research, volunteer, etc) that I wanted to."
"Tell me about the impact of immigration on human capital. (a project i'd done some research on) "
"What is the worst situation you been in?"
"Questions about my research and research group."
"The interviewer described a difficult case study of a patient with a potentially terminal illness that only responded to an exotic therapy that the insurance company refused to pay for because of its' contract. What would I do? This lead to a discussion of the pitfalls of the current medical economy set-up"
"How would your friends describe you?"
"What were the best and worst experiences of your life?"
"What was the most meaningless extracurricular on your AMCAS?"
"interesting convo overall - we talked about politics, healthcare, rural medicine (while I have experience dealing with rural patients, its not what I want to do)"
"None, didn't really seem to ask the "usual" questions"
"What extracurricular activity did you enjoy the least, and why?"
"Tell me about your interest in art. "
"None."
"Who is your favorite jazz musician?"
"none... all were specific to my file"
"What's the difference between country music and bluegrass?"
"please make a simple flowchart of the complex variants involved in healthcare mobilization based upon the Olerick model of statistical exchange. kidding. chill, its realy easy."
"If you had all the resources in the world to do whatever you want for a weekend, what would you do?"
"Mainly discussed research and some current healthcare issues (i.e. malpractice insurance)"
"What was your favorite and least favorite classes?"
"all specific to me - very chatty "
"After a long discussion of various problems in the health care system, what would I do to fix them?"
"What are the advantages and disadvantages of socialized health care? (As a Canadian, I expected this question)"
"1) Who is your role model? 2) How do you get a 10-year-old child to practice a musical instrument? "
"Why did you choose the high school that you attended?"
"How would you compare what and how much students read for pleasure compared to 10 years ago?"
"Nothing terribly exciting; mostly standard "why did you transfer?" "what was your most favorite and least favorite class?" "how did you like Stanford?""
"Nothing was particularly interesting."
"What does poetry do for you"
"The short interview questions were more specific and took more thought than those in the long interview since the longer interview was mainly focused on my application."
"From the short interview: "When have you wanted to go back in time and change a decision you had made?""
"Tell me about a time when you disagreed with authority (or something like rules)."
"Regarding my research."
"Give an example of a time you had trouble being empathetic."
"Lots of very specific behavioral questions"
"Do you know specifically what type of research you would like to do?"
"Explain an ethical decision you made that you later regretted."
"What is your take on abuse in nursing homes?"
"When talking about my volunteer experience at the hospital, the doctor asked me whether I have looked at the patient's medical chart and why I have decided not to."
"What is the most interesting fact you know?"
"Tell me about a time when your integrity was challenged."
"What do you think about the US health care system?"
"What could you do better?"
"None really - it was very conversational"
"Why did you take a year off"
"Interview was pretty casual. Length of interview is suppose to be around 1-hour, mine ended up being over 1.5-hours long, but you have plenty of downtime anyway so it was nice to have an extended interview."
"There weren't many questions, just pointless banter."
"Lots of grilling about my research."
"What do you think you will change about yourself when you come to medical school? "
"What can you bring to this school?"
"Questions about the future health-care, though we both came to the agreement that we don't know what was going to happen so we laughed it off and continued"
"Chronic disease question"
"Why should we pick you over the other 5,000 qualified applicants?"
"Very specific details about my research"
"Why Vanderbilt?"
"What are you most passionate about?"
"What do other schools have that Vanderbilt doesn't?"
"Do you see yourself more likely to do basic science or clinical research?"
"None were difficult. It was really very conversational and chill, as you can see from my examples."
"Asking me to ask questions"
"Why not pursue an MD/PhD"
"Why did you stop your basic science research? Did it lead to any publications?"
"Nothing too out of the ordinary that I wasn't prepared for."
"None really... probably something open-ended like, ''is there anything else about you that I should tell the admissions committee?''"
"Don't remember"
"None really."
"How did you survive your family ordeal?"
"above"
"A series of questions about protein purification and preparation of a mutant protein. Not exceedingly difficult, but they were very on the spot and brisk, so I felt a bit flustered."
"Why did you change your path?"
"Actually no 'difficult' question.."
"What should I emphasize on your application to the Adcom? He told me that I'm an amazing applicant so I wasn't sure of what else to say from my experiences. Hey, but I said smthg and I think he loved it! OOh, pls try to smile as much during the interview to show that you are interested. It's not stressful at all....RELAX my friend."
"There were no difficult questions. All of the interviews were relaxed."
"Nothing was difficult, but he did challenge me regarding my (lack of) interest in bench research and choosing not to retake the MCAT."
"He asked for more detail about my research and the implications of it than i was prepared for"
"What are the qualities that make a good physician? You could say so many things here!"
"What is your main weakness?"
"Nothing really difficult. It was very laid back and conversational."
"none."
"If you could go back and do things differently in college, what would you do?"
"What do you do for fun?"
"What is special about Drug X---why not use Drug Y? (for my research)"
"Nothing too crazy... I guess I had the most trouble with the ''what is your least favorite class from college'' question, just cause I hadn't really thought about it too much."
"Tell me about a leadership role? Some initiatives you took with that role? "
"1st question: Tell me what you know about Vanderbilt."
"How would you bring diversity to Vanderbilt?"
"Explain how you differentiate between B1a and B1b cells (from my research - very specific question!)"
"What was your most difficult class?"
"Nothing really."
"There weren't any...it was very conversational"
"If you have to chose between (other school) and Vanderbilt, how will you decide? "
"Tell me how you got to where you are today."
"What do you think is the most significant problem facing health care in the next ten years?"
"How would you change the curriculum?"
"Everyone seems to come into med school wanting to change the world and when they leave this seems to change. What do you think happens?"
"None were too bad"
"what else do you want to know?"
"Personal question about AMCAS essay."
"Why not apply to your in-state schools?"
"What is a problem with the current health care system and what would you do to solve it?"
"N/A"
"What was your least favorite class?"
"Describe a challenge and how you handled it."
"none really. although some of the questions were indirect. it seemed like the interviewer wanted you to talk rather than ask you a direct question"
"Nothing was really difficult. Maybe "What are some of your concerns about entering medicine?""
"What area(s) of medicine do you see yourself participating in?"
"Were do you see yourself in 10 years?"
"If you had to choose, what area of medicine would you go into? "
"What will be 3 major challenges in medicine when you graduate from medical school and how should the curriculum address those challenges?"
"Tell me about your experiences as a homeschooler in high school."
"What would you like me to highlight about your application to the committee?"
"Really none. We had a very healthy discussion with my interviewer."
"Why did you spend time on X activity if you already were very committed with school and work?"
"Tell me one social issue that interests you the most and why."
"Should more money be devoted to education or healthcare?...Prevention or intervention?"
"Identify some problems with the current healthcare system."
"same as above"
"Why medicine, why not another health care career"
"Nothing difficult, it's all about the AMCAS"
"none were difficult, most were just clarifying parts of my application"
"How do you think that a medical school curriculum should be designed to meet that challenge?"
"Nothing difficult."
"Question about my Amcas activity..."
"How would your acquaintances describe you?"
"What's the difference between an applicant and a supplicant?"
"describe yourself in one word"
"All straightforward."
"What else do you think we should know about you?"
"There really weren't any."
"Nothing"
"Of the activities you listed on your AMCAS application, which activity are you most proud of?"
"Nothing too difficult."
"tell me about your family"
"What makes you better than other applicants"
"Nothing to difficult."
"Nothing. No surprises."
"What diversity would you bring to the medical school?"
"Specifics about my research"
"Whether or not I see myself in academic medicine. Only difficult b/c I don't know."
"Describe yourself."
"Are you familiar with Chinese philosophy? (No)"
"Same as above."
"What would you want the admissions committee to know about you?"
"What kind of research would you pursue if you did research here?"
""tell me about yourself" -this question is so general; i wasn't really sure how to start answering it."
"How do you feel about Nashville?"
"If you could choose two people to have dinner with, who would you choose and why?"
"In ten years, what field of medicine do you see yourself in?"
"Nothing."
"nothing really difficult"
"(for me): what do you think of the military mother camping outside of Bush's ranch?"
"Nothing too tricky."
"You scored a 9 on the Verbal section of the MCAT, and your English grades are your lowest grades. Why do you think that is?"
"Regular questions"
"He was well versed on my personal statement and asked me to clarify very specific things I had written."
"Tell me about this "medical leave" <I went nuts>"
"Nothing difficult"
"If a chronically ill patient asked you to assist them in committing sucide, would you do it?"
"Nothing much. Most questions were in regards to the details of my AMCAS."
"No difficult questions, really. The interview was very conversational."
"What was your least favorite college course and why?"
"what frustrates you?"
"How do you think developed nations can contribute to improve the health care situation in developing countries? Do you think they should train more physicians in the developing countries or train physicians for instance here in the US. ( I think I steered the interview in this direction)."
"I see you had a hard time in some of your physics classes, but you stuck with it anyway, huh?"
"What other med schools are you applying to? (Is this even allowed??)"
"Why Vanderbilt? (first question asked)"
"What other schools would you like to go to? (I don't know if this is a completely "legal" question in the med school interview process.)"
"which do you prefer - the canadian health care system, or the us health care system?"
"Nothing really difficult."
"None really"
"You have had many extraordinary experiences, which one was your greatest? Which one was your least favorable?"
"What don't you like?"
"All-open ended, nothing difficult"
"Nothing difficult, just a friendly conversation about Vandy and Nashville."
"Explain your research and tell me what you learned from this. This was not hard but I did some research that can be hard to explain...(don't laugh)"
"(I would be an international student): You have many options for where to live, where would you choose? Talked about what he knew about people getting residency in US, asked if I knew about it. "
"none was difficult, all expected"
"None really, we ended up chatting after a couple of questions about my application. I guess "Is there anything else you'd like to let the committee know?""
"I wasn't asked any particularly difficult questions. "
"Talk about how your research applies to the larger objective of the lab."
"What was a mistake you made? (My mind filled with answers, couldn't pick just one)"
"What makes a good doctor?"
"No difficult questions."
"Where do you see yourself in 10 year? (PS. I have no clue because I do not know what residency I want to pursue)."
"none were too bad."
"about a detail in my application that most people won't have to answer"
"What was the one part of my study abroad that was most memorable or educational or something to that effect."
"What percentage of Americans exactly are uninsured?"
"Tell me about yourself (this one always gets me nervous, I just want to say "I'm fine, how are you?")"
"Will you add diversity to next year's class?"
"Was asked about one of my weaknesses in a round about way. Basically the question was what do i want to do in the future to improve a weekness of mine."
"No really difficult questions"
"Describe your best friend."
"No difficult questions"
"How would you like me to explain to the admissions committee that you had a poor freshman GPA?"
"You got four C's as an undergraduate. How do you explain these grades?"
"About the content of a bioethics paper on abortion"
"Your MCAT score was lower than I would have expected given the strength of your application. How do you explain that? "
"How do you think the new HIPAA privacy regulations will impact the future of research? (I kinda brought it up, so don't worry it wasn't completely random or anything)"
"What are you least proud of? What do you want to talk about?"
"Tell me about yourself."
"What are your weaknesses?"
"How did you choose your major?"
"Why a doctor, why not another type of helath care professional?"
"A very specific question about my research. "
"Why did you take a year off and how would you like me to explain that decision to the Admission's Committee?"
"Tell me more about your trip. (It's very hard to squeeze evrything releveant about a year in two to three minutes)"
"Nothing too hard either. He asked what I thought the hardest part of being a doctor would be. He also asked what one sentence I would give to describe me."
"What is a health disparity?"
"There were some really personal but appropriate (family, religion)questions related to my AMCAS. I came prepared, so it wasn't a big deal."
"Why Vanderbilt? What did you do to reinforce your desire of becoming a doctor?"
"Tell me about a good deed you have done. Or what is your biggest accomplishment."
"What would you do to improve healthcare?"
"a question specific to my essay"
"Why don't you draw a picture of my daughter while we talk? (Note: I wrote on my AMCAS application that I was an artist, so this will not happen to the unsuspecting.)"
"Something about health insurance..."
"very conversational...just relax and enjoy the opportunity to speak with a faculty member"
"What's your worst quality?"
"see above"
"None -- all were laid back"
"What do you think the committee will most question about on your application?"
"Why do you think that you, personally, would be an asset to the school."
"No real tough questions: very conversational."
"Why I chose to attend the high school that I did. (It's public, and the ONLY one in my tiny town.) I couldn't explain that well enough to my interviewer."
"How did you hear about Vanderbilt? I know this is an easy question, but it was probably the most difficult one that was asked."
"What did you do during the three summers in college? This question caught me by surprise, and my answer came out less refined than I would've liked. "
"None, all very straight-forward."
"What was your most important leadership role and why? "
"No medical ethics or healthcare questions. Just stuff like: hardest/easiest class, why doctor, tell me about yourself, family, hobbies, research, weaknesses, etc etc etc"
"What do you think is an important problems that future physicians will face?"
"None were really hard"
"None, again this interview was not stressful at all."
"So, what kind of person are you?"
"Nothing really...most questions centered around getting to know me."
"See above."
"None were really difficult"
"No really difficult question"
"What do you think is the biggest challenge facing doctors today?"
"The same case study question. "
"Do you travel a lot?"
"None were really bad, but after being asked about 8 times if I wanted to ask him anything else about Vandy I about ran out of there. There's only so much to ask!"
"Tell me about a failure and how you dealt with it."
"What do you consider to be your biggest accomplishment thus far in life?"
"nothing really"
"My first and pretty much only question for the first 40 minutes was "what questions do you have about Vanderbilt?""
"So you have a 4.0 GPA. What's wrong with you? "
"Why haven't you done community service or had experience in a clinical setting?"
"A detailed question about my research because the faculty interviewer have done research in the same area as I have."
"Out of the many applicants, we selected only 700-800 to interview, and then we admit about 100 students. Why should we accept you into our school compared to the rest of the interviewees?"
"none"
"Sorority? Greek letters? I'm not from the US, could you explain that system to me?"
"what can i do to convince you to come here"
"What do you think is the greatest difference between Western and Eastern religions?"
"Do you see a difference between disease and illness?"
"what do you think of the whole managed care thing?"
"None, really-- all were very cordial questions"
"Why do you want to come to Vanderbilt?"
"How can we stop people from engaging in unhealthy behaviors like smoking or eating junk food? Doesn't it all begin with personal responsibility? (I come with a public health background and don't always agree that everything begins with personal responsibility. We need to also modify the environment to make it conducive for healthy behavior.) "
"What is the number one problem faced in the world today?"
"What do your friends think about your reading Dostoevsky for pleasure?"
""How would your friends describe you?""
"Why is your MCAT essay score so low? (second question)"
"Do you think you write stream of thoughts versus real poetry?"
What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 1)?