Negatively
4 out of 10
50 minutes
At the school
2
One-on-one
Open file
"I prepared by reading the curriculum information on the website and talking to Yale alumni. Based on these sources of information, I wrote down a list of further questions about Yale that I planned to ask my interviewers and tour guides. I also read over my own application and prepared myself to sew together a couple of years' worth of disparate experiences into a comprehensive story that explained my interest in medicine. However, I had assumed - based on the knowledge that Yale interviews are open-file - that my interviewer would be prepared to discuss my application. Unfortunately, one of my interviewers had "not had a chance" to open my file, and did not even know my name. " Report Response
"I was impressed and overwhelmed by the obvious wealth of the medical school and by the resulting technological sophistication of the tools and facilities. Also, my first interviewer, a 4th year student on the admissions committee, was awesome - well-rounded, articulate, curious, warm, encouraging, and just generally exciting to talk to. " Report Response
"Dean Silverman was very kind and personable and endearing, but I just didn't feel much personal touch outside the Office of Admissions. There was something cold about the school, something lacking in the way of character and personality. Also, I stayed with some students of the Public Health school, and they had a very negative impression of the medical students. It seemed that there was a slightly contentious relationship between the med students and students in other programs. Additionally, one of my interviewers was very passive-aggressive and unprofessional, and she made several comments about my family background that I found cutting and personally offensive. She showed up late to the interview, reported that she had been too busy to read my file, yawned repeatedly while I was talking and answering her questions, took a phonecall during the interview, and related everything I said back to her own life. She also had a very patronizing, holier-than-thou attitude, and I felt that I was on the defensive during the entire encounter. She seemed to be very interested in any problems with my rather large family and probed hard for negative issues. After telling her that my family had adopted children from Russia, she told me disdainfully that she thought the reason affluent white American families adopted from Russia was that they "wanted little white babies who looked just like themselves because they are afraid of having biracial families." She herself, she said, was adopting from Korea. She looked at a picture of my siblings, and when I gave her a questioning look about the way in which she scrutinized it, she told me she was looking for any signs/symptoms of disease or syndromes. She added that she thought it was so funny that people wanted Eastern European babies so much when they were so much more likely than Asian babies to have congenital defects and other health issues. In my opinion (and, of course, keep in mind that I am now biased by the surprise, confusion and hurt I felt at her hands), she continued the interview in a self-congratulatory tone, clearly feeling herself to exist on a higher, more enlightened plane than my backwards, bumpkin family and myself. I felt like from the beginning of the interview she put me in the box of a WASPY, cheesy, simple-minded girl who, although very nice, was just not Yale caliber. Did I mention that she had not read my application and was completely unprepared for the interview? " Report Response
"There were a couple of elements that completely tarnished my image of Yale both during and after my interview experience. First, obviously, was a horribly judgemental interviewer. Unfortunately, I feel bad calling her that because I don't think that even she is aware of her own offensive behavior. Nonetheless, it was tough to get over that interview. I should have spoken to the administration about it right away, but by the time the experience sank in, it was really too late to take action (I thought). Since the interview, a number of other things have come to light which have affected my impression of Yale. First, I waited much MUCH longer to hear a decision from Yale than I waited for decisions for other schools that had interviewed me at the same time and after (to the tune of more than a month later). Second, I have been told by several people (including Yale students) that the "Yale System" lends itself to procrastination and shoddy scores on the Board exams. In fact, for the caliber of people Yale is attracting, their pass rates for the Step I and Step II Boards is not very good. Independence and personally motivated work is all well and good, but some guidance and structure are nice as well. If you're the kind of person who needs structure and deadlines to perform optimally and reach your maximum potential, Yale may not be ideal for you. I was told by a couple of preclinical students during my interview visit that they didn't feel like they had worked very hard or learned very much yet. They described their study methods as weeks of vacation followed by cramming prior to the optional exams, followed by panic and a higher level of motivation after receiving their confidential scores on said exams. The rest of my issues with Yale are more subtle negative impressions I have gathered when I call in with questions. My final image of Yale, once my favorite school, is of an institution that feels that YOU, the applicant, should have to bed and grovel for admittance. It feels paternalistic, elitist, and empty, with a great name and lots of money to offer you, but no soul and no instruction on the finer points of what it means to be one who heals. " Report Response
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