How did the interview impress you?

Positively

What was the stress level of the interview?

4 out of 10

How long was the interview?

30 minutes

Where did the interview take place?

At the school

How many people interviewed you?

1

What was the style of the interview?

One-on-one

What type of interview was it?

Open file

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

"none of the "tell me about yourself" stuff (yay!) The interviewer asked me a little about my research experience." Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

"What books have you read lately? (He was BIG on this one, wouldn't move away from it till I'd given him 3 or 4). What else have you read? What else have you read?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most interesting question?

"What do you think of the pharmaceutical companies that make such large profits off of their drugs?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most difficult question?

"If I wre to give you 5 minutes to design a health care reform plan that would change access to health care in a third-world country like Haiti, what would you do? Who would you ask for help from?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

How did you prepare for the interview?

"Read my application and the school's website, looked at other feedback on SDN." Report Response

What impressed you positively?

"The high caliber of the students and the way they all stopped by the waiting room to talk to the interviewees and tell us all to come here, how many students remarked that they had turned down acceptances and even full scholarships at other reputable medical schools to come to Columbia, and definitely New York City!!" Report Response

What impressed you negatively?

"Bard Hall, the apartment/dorm for first-year students is not that great. But after a year you move to apartments in the Towers which are supposed to be really nice and rent is cheap for NYC. I also wasn't a huge fan of the area, although students said that it was safe if you are smart about it. The medical school itself was a little old, although the hospital was nice." Report Response

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

"That classes can be really long (even as long as 9-5 some days when you have lectures and labs) but that students aren't all crazy studious and no personality types. Although the medical school is hard and the students work hard, I sat in on two classes and about 10 minutes into the third class the entire back row was either asleep or doing crossword puzzles. That made me laugh and humanized the students for me. Also I found out that Columbia can pretty much get you any kind of residency you want and that they send the most people every year into neurosurgery out of all medical schools in the US." Report Response

What are your general comments?

"I thought New York City was the most amazing place, and that there is so much to be learned from going to school in such a great city. Students said that they could definitely take advantage of what the city has to offer. I also liked that the school was pass/fail for the first year. Perhaps it would have been nice if it were pass/fail for all years, but it goes to honors/pass/fail the second year and gets more and more divided. The curriculum sounds a little more tough than other schools I've interviewed at but this is a top-tier school. All in all, this is a top choice for me and I would love to go to school here!" Report Response

Who was the tour given by?

Student

On what date did the interview take place?

11/15/2002