6/3/2014
woo-hoo! cheers to actually being on top of things this cycle. Primary submitted.
7/8/2014
currently drowning in pre-writing secondaries before I travel for the rest of July -______-
7/24/2014
update from abroad! first interview invite! WOOHOO. all this neuroticism may not be for waste :)
7/28/2014
HOLY. USUHS and NYU II.. now starting to get worried how I'm going to swing juggling interviews and starting a job in August......
9/9/2014
been MIA for the last month. In the meantime, traveled through Europe, moved to a new state, started a new job, and had my first interview at UTHSCSA! I promise I'll keep this more up to date from now on so it'll hopefully be of help to others later down the road :)
10/09/2014
things have been pretty quiet, but got an II from UT Galveston!
10/12/2014
USUHS interview attended. Reflections coming soon! I can't believe October 15th is just around the corner now
--Interview Reflections--
UT-San Antonio
San Antonio: I was very much surprised by how much I enjoyed San Antonio as a whole.. but that might be the absolutely amazing fish and shrimp tacos I had TWICE during my two day stay there. Yes, they were that good. Margaritas on the other hand? I forgot they had tequila in them.. so I’ll stick with pina coladas and mojitos. Nevertheless, the riverwalk is cheesy with mariachi bands at every turn, but if you can drown out the crowds, the noise, and the gas propelled tour boats going along the tiny river.. there’s something very European about the scenery. There’s a big military presence here, which made me feel like I was at home. And the people are incredibly warm and friendly. I love places where you walk by strangers and they say hello. Coming from the “Seattle freeze,” it was different, but I love it.
Interview Day: I was impressed by the organization of the day. The day started at 9 AM with check-in at 8:30, so I showed up at 8:30. THANK GOODNESS my sister came along and made renting a car financially reasonable (being under 25 sucks when you need a car..) Although the motel I was originally staying at was close enough to walk, I probably would have showed up in the morning soaked in sweat from the walk.
The morning consisted of a talk from the Dean of Admissions, Dr. Jones, a panel with MS4 students, and a short tour of the hospital. Dr. Jones is great and the MS4 students were really helpful and extremely chill. Side note: Although there are no “stupid” questions, keep in mind that these MS4 students will likely be your student interviewer later in the day.
I feel my student interview went well. We went on a few tangents and I really enjoyed talking to him about internal medicine since that was the specialty he just finished applying to residencies. He seemed really intrigued that I had ran my first full marathon so we ended up talking about that for a while. The faculty interviewer was great as well. We talked a lot about my background in information systems and the applications there were to clinical research. She seemed really intrigued about it, and talking to her was great confirmation that my background would be as applicable to medicine as I had wanted.
I wasn’t asked very many “typical” interview questions. My student interview started with being asked to describe myself then being asked questions based on what I had said. I really felt like I had the opportunity to kind of direct the interview and talk about the topics I felt best represented me. The only question I was a bit surprised by was when I was asked whether I was interested in MD/PhD. I didn’t think my research background is nearly strong enough to consider that path. Plus, I thought the application process was completely different for that route. I probably didn’t give the best answer to that question, but I think the rest of my interview went well enough to compensate.
Overall, I was very impressed by the interview day and the school. I really enjoyed all the interaction with students we had. I think throughout the interview day, we were able to talk to multiple members of each class which gave me a very good representation of the students. I could really see myself amongst the students I met. To name a few pros: 20 month curriculum, the unique opportunities in a community with a distinct minority population, the weather, CHEAP tuition. I found out that they offer a scholarship to all OOS students that drops the tuition down to in-state tuition. I would love to attend this school and the finances definitely make a lot of sense right now.
Tips to anyone interviewing:
- if your schedule allows, go to the pre-interview social the day before. The group of MS2s I met were incredibly friendly and helpful in answering any last minute questions about the curriculum and culture of the school. Plus, I think it really eased my nerves to show up on interview days and know some interviewees and students by name.
- wear comfortable shoes. For the ladies, consider bringing a pair of flats for the tour portion. I wore heels and we ended up having to go up and down a few flights of stairs, by the end of the day, my feet definitely felt it.
- fly out later, if possible. I had a 5:30 flight and my last interview ended around 4ish. I had to completely skip the social they had with the students, rush to return the car and catch the flight. It was completely doable, but it’s probably better not to have to worry about catching a flight during your interviews.. so allow yourself more time than less.
USUHS
coming soon!
