How did the interview impress you?

Positively

What was the stress level of the interview?

2 out of 10

How you think you did?

8 out of 10

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

10 out of 10

How long was the interview?

30 minutes

Where did the interview take place?

At the school

How many people interviewed you?

2

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)?

"Faculty Interviewer #1: When did you get into Stanford? What do your parents and siblings do? What is your family history like? What are you doing currently? Why did you decide to take a year off? How do you feel about your undergraduate education? Can you tell me about an interesting clinical experience that you had? What kind of specialty would you like to go into? What are your career goals and how will you get there? How do your goals relate to your interest in Stanford? Can you tell me about (specific volunteer experience) and how it relates to your decision to go into medicine? Have I covered everything that you wanted to get across during this interview?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

"Faculty Interviewer #2: Tell me about yourself. What is the biggest challenge that you have had to overcome? What do you like to do for fun? Why medicine? Why Stanford? What specialty would you like to go into? We had a very thorough discussion on the pros and cons of the current health care system, how our system compares to others, possible solutions as well as weaknesses of each solution, and what I thought was the best system for us to have. What are you looking forward to in medical school? What are some of the difficulties that you can think of? A discussion of Stanford's curriculum and environment. Do you have any questions for me?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most interesting question?

"Faculty Interviewer #2: How do you think your parents feel about your accomplishments? Are your siblings as self motivated as you?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most difficult question?

"Faculty Interviewer #1: Can you name a researcher that won the Nobel Prize for his work on ATP?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

How did you prepare for the interview?

"Previous interviewing experience, MSAR, SDN, School's Website, and Some research into the ethics of medicine." Report Response

What impressed you positively?

"The personal attention that I received during the whole day. The fact that the school was continually building and improving itself. The awesome tour guides. The school's willingness to help its students financially, although some of it comes from the student performing additional research through MedScholars or becoming a Teaching Assistant. The tremendous opportunities available here. The friendliness of the Admissions Staff. Only 4 students per cadaver in a decent anatomy lab. The option for self-motivated students to design a pace that is good for them, but this could be a negative as well." Report Response

What impressed you negatively?

"The students were not as friendly as other schools that I have been to. Something like 70% of the student body will take 5 years to complete, mainly to do extra work to reduce financial costs. The lack of an urban/diverse patient population, but that can be offset by interaction with individuals that really care about their health. Stanford and Palo Alto may be too suburban/posh for some people." Report Response

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

"That there would only be two of us!" Report Response

What are your general comments?

"After having researched the school, I did not go into the interview day as excited as I was beforehand. However, I came out absolutely amazed by what Stanford had to offer. True, there are some things that the school may not be able to offer when compared to others located in urban cities. However, I truly got the sense that the opportunities were all there for the self-directed and self-motivated. My interviews were brief, but I was given the chance to express the most important things. I had two faculty interviewers (as did the other interviewee), but that is abnormal and related to the timing of the interview day. The picture that you take on interview day will follow you the rest of your time at Stanford if you matriculate, so smile! This place was amazing, definitely explore it for yourself." Report Response

Who was the tour given by?

Student

How did the tourguide seem?

Enthusiastic

How do you rank the facilities?

7 out of 10

What is your in-state status?

In state

What was your total time spent traveling?

2-3 hours

What was your primary mode of travel?

Airplane

About how much did you spend on room, food, and travel?

$101-$200

What airport did you use?

SJC/OAK

Where did you stay?

With students at the school

On what date did the interview take place?

01/06/2009

How do you rank this school among other schools to which you've applied?

10 out of 10

What is your ranking of this school's location?

8 out of 10

What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?

6 out of 10

How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?

8 out of 10

How is the friendliness of the admissions office?

10 out of 10

How eco-friendly are the school's application materials and interview process?

6 out of 10

What are your suggestions for the admissions office?

"Thank you for the wonderful day!!" Report Response