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Individual Response

  • University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Osteopathic Medical School
  • Biddeford, ME
Overall Experience

How did the interview impress you?

Positively

What was the stress level of the interview?

6 out of 10

Questions

How long was the interview?

50 minutes

Where did the interview take place?

At the school

How many people interviewed you?

2

What was the style of the interview?

In a group

What type of interview was it?

Open file

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

"-If you were to go to Berlin with someone who had never been there before, where would you take them, and why? (I have never actually BEEN to Berlin, but I'd probably go to Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburger Tor, and then to get some good German chow.) -Would you consider a 5-year program if necessary to complete your degree? (Of course, if it were necessary.) -Are there German Mormons? (There certainly are.)" Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

"-Start at an early age, and talk us through your life, focusing on formative experiences. (OK... how long do we have?) -Do you understand the consequences of flunking out of medical school? (Yep, I sure do... and thanks for the confidence builder.) -What questions do you have for us? (I asked about UNECOM's chapter of UAAO, the Undergraduate American Association of Osteopathy, but since neither of them were DOs, they didn't know too much about it. In retrospect, it was a poor question to choose for my particular panel. Oops.)" Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

"-Are you still on active duty with the military? (No, as long as the phone doesn't ring in mid-interview...) -When did you take the MCAT? (I blanked on this, but remembered eventually. Nerves.) -Why do you have "W's" on your transcript? (I was simply honest. That's all you can do at that point.)" Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most interesting question?

"Did you attend the Jungle Warfare Training School in Panama? (Nope... Okinawa.)" Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most difficult question?

"(TIE) -How do you expect to be able to keep up in medical school with younger students who are coming directly from hard-science educational backgrounds? (By busting my tail, and working within the close-knit fabric of the student body at UNECOM.) -What is the normal blood glucose range? (NOT a hard question, and I knew the answer since I work in diabetes diagnostics, but I totally blanked for a second, asking for clarification. Duh.)" Report Response | I was asked this question too

How did you prepare for the interview?

"Poring over this site; reading everything I could find about UNECOM; conversations with graduates of the school; reviewing my AACOMAS and UNECOM applications; obsessing about it; praying; reading and role-playing with a list of every question from UNECOM that I could find on this site (and my answers). Of course, they asked me something else entirely." Report Response

What impressed you positively?

"Great facility in the Alfond Center; the atmosphere is professional but very laid-back; absolutely gorgeous environs; high-quality labs; terrific overall medical program; extremely supportive atmosphere; reported speedy responses with interview results." Report Response

What impressed you negatively?

"Extremely small school (but that can be both a blessing and a curse); the apparent lack of a specific, local, university/teaching hospital affiliation. " Report Response

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

"I wish I had known that we would spend a good half an hour going over my weaknesses as an applicant. They were very polite and straightforward about it, but I left the room utterly DONE. No, I take that back -- I am glad that I didn't know in advance. I might have thrown up." Report Response

What are your general comments?

"UNECOM is easily my first choice school -- the physical plant is terrific, the setting is breathtaking, and the program is first-rate. Our interview day started with a fire alarm and building evacuation, which set everything behind by about a half hour. No biggie. I found the morning to be well-organized and pretty relaxed, all things considered! There were nine interviewees in my morning group, and three panels of two interviewers. There also appeared to be a group of similar size in the afternoon. I interviewed with a biochemistry prof and a nutrition prof, who were extremely kind and conversational, but also quite direct in approaching my shortcomings. My interview went about 50 minutes, which was the longest of our group. Most were around 30 minutes or so. Hindsight being 20/20, in the absence of a DO on my panel (both were PhDs), I think that perhaps I should have toned down my enthusiasm for osteopathic principles. The campus was nearly vacant due to Spring Break, but the MS1 student who was our guide was helpful, friendly, and pretty much all other tenets of the Boy Scout Law. The faculty was professional, but not snooty or arrogant at all, and the interview felt conversational. I really did feel that they wanted to get to know me as an applicant. I also heard that the class is full (we are at the end of the UNECOM interviewing cycle), so people who are favorably reviewed will likely end up on a waiting list. All in all, it was a good interview trip. They pretty much did everything they could do to make it less of a nerve-wracking experience, and also provided a snack table and lunch. Any major stressors that I ended up dealing with were pretty much of my own creation!" Report Response

Tour and Travel

Who was the tour given by?

Student

General Info

On what date did the interview take place?

03/20/2003

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