How did the interview impress you?

Positively

What was the stress level of the interview?

5 out of 10

How long was the interview?

40 minutes

Where did the interview take place?

At the school

How many people interviewed you?

3

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)?

"Tell me about yourself. What experiences have you had with medicine?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

"Why do you want to be a DO? Have you done any research?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

"Have you shadowed a DO? What do you think about OMM? " Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most interesting question?

"Give an example of when osteopathic medicine is more effective than traditional medicine." Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most difficult question?

"What are you most proud of? What are you most ashamed of/What decision have you made that you later realized was a mistake? How did you deal with your decision and learn from it? Now you are a doctor. What would you do if your mistake resulted in a patient's death? It was a two part question series and I suppose not really that difficult but I just could not think of a good example of a mistake I had made. Also if asked this do not say you would apologize to the patient's family, apparently this is a huge liability issue and my interviewer didn't appreciate the noble gesture." Report Response | I was asked this question too

How did you prepare for the interview?

"SDN, school website, read literature on history of osteopathic literature and philosophy, and shadowed a DO(VERY IMPORTANT)" Report Response

What impressed you positively?

"The facilities are amazing, the curriculum is cutting edge, and the people are so friendly. This school will really be the best DO school out there within the next few years!" Report Response

What impressed you negatively?

"The weather was awful, but that was hardly the schools fault. It was just the only bad part of my visit! And I guess it was sad at the end of the day to find out we could only be waitlisted at best, but I knew that going in thanks to this site. Also none of my intervieweres seemed to know anything about me going in. They had just gotten the files that morning I think, but atleast that made their questions more focused on me instead of ethics and issues in healthcare so it wasn't really a bad thing." Report Response

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

"The waitlist is nowhere near a rejection, Megan Price the Director of Admissions, who is fantastic I might add, explained it like this if you had been here a couple of months ago you would be in. Also it is ranked by merit of applicant as well and they pull from the top as positions open. The student we talked with interviewed last year in April and was waitlisted as were 2 other members of the group he interviewed with and they all ended up getting in. I was just really dissapointed before I ever got there, because I thought there was no chance, but now I know there is still some hope! I just wish i had applied earlier!" Report Response

What are your general comments?

"The entire day was so awesome. First you are introduced to the program and a little background on the school through a presentation. They give you candy and bottled water from the start. You also get a folder with spaces for business cards and everyone you meet gives you their card so you can't forget names. There are 3 seperate one-on one interviews, about 40 minutes each. I had 2 PhD's and a DO. My first interview was a little tense and stressful. I had a hard time understanding what he was saying (thick accent)and his questions were more ethical. He also was the least friendly of anyone I met and I did not think he liked me. The other 2 interviews were awesome. My second interviewer talked so much that it felt more like I was interviewing him. He could not say enough good things about VCOM and he was so nice. I was still in his office when I was supposed to be at my next interview we talked so long. My third interview was my DO interview. All his questions dealt with shadowing a DO. They do not want a candidate who has just read about it so find a doctor to shadow! He was the OMM chair so we mostly talked about that, but it was so relaxed and even fun. Then there was a tour of Blacksburg and we got tons of apartment information and a yummy lunch from a local cafe. Hope that you really like lunch because it is the place that caters the cafeteris and is your only choice for food on VCOM's campus." Report Response

Who was the tour given by?

Admissions staff

On what date did the interview take place?

04/12/2004