Seattle, WA
Allopathic Medical Schools | Public Non-Profit
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Overall, applicants ranked the school in the top 10% of interviews, indicating it is highly regarded. They found the interview generally impressive with a moderate stress level and felt they did okay.
⭐ Overall Impressions ▼
SDN Interview Experience Score
7.7
Good
Generally favorable experience overall, applicants reported positive interactions with some minor issues noted.
Based on 1,345 responses
Score Reference:
9–10 Exceptional
8–8.9 Very Good
7–7.9 Good
6–6.9 Mixed
< 6 Needs Improvement
The SDN Interview Experience Score (SIES) is a composite metric that represents applicants overall impressions of their interview experience, based on multiple factors such as professionalism, facilities, responsiveness, and stress levels.
What was the stress level of the interview?
Most respondents rated their interview as high stress.
How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?
Most respondents rank this school above all other schools.
How did the interview impress you?
Most respondents felt positively about their interview.
Positively (70%)
Negatively (13%)
No change (18%)
How you think you did?
Most respondents thought they performed well at the interview.
Great (21%)
Good (42%)
Average (32%)
Poor (4%)
Bad (0%)
What are your general comments?
Applicants generally had a positive experience during the interview day, finding the interviewers to be friendly and interested in getting to know them. Some felt the interview was less stressful than anticipated, while others found it challenging but fair. The school's facilities, opportunities, and student community were highlighted as appealing aspects, although some expressed concerns about the interview format and the demeanor of certain interviewers.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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Overall, had a great/fun experience.
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N/a
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I have no idea how this program is ranked as a "Top 10" school. Maybe the Washington program is different, but you could not pay me enough to attend one of the regional sites.
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Overall positive experience interviewing for UW, which is still my #1 choice.
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As long as you practice your responses to the commonly asked questions, and stay relaxed for the other questions, you'll be fine.
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I know this is supposed to be a great school, but my interview day was so short and I did;t get a full idea of the school's culture and vibe.
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Smile, relax, and have fun. They already know you are a good student and don't want to hear about your grades. They want to know that you are a person, that you can interact with others, and that you are going to fit well in their school.
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Overall great school and my top choice. Unparalleled rotation sites, broad and diverse opportunities across the spectrum.
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The best part about this school is the clinical curriculum. They push it as some unique arrangement, but in reality anybody could do a large number of rural/AHEC/away rotations at almost any US medical school. The natural beauty of the region is undeniable, and it would be nice to travel around to different clinical sites.
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They like to group out-of-staters into one interview, provided for a very dynamic and fun group on interview day.
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A question that is guaranteed to be in the interview: What are your motivations for a career in medicine?
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I think academically UW is probably a great school, but the interview day didn't impress me very much (I interviewed regionally, not in Seattle).
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Honestly, it's my state school, and of course I would've wanted to go here. But the school was rather pretentious with their ranking, and did very little to want to get to know each of the applicants. Furthermore, the students seemed burnt out and unenthusiastic. I think the ranking gets to their head too much-Its a great school, but the admissions office needs to get off its high horse.
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This was my first interview.
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Stay calm and be yourself. They just want to get to know you and are way more concerned with how you think than with a "correct" answer.
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I was unsure of my top school choice before this interview. It is definitely UW now though. Awesome, intense, challenging interview. That's the kind of people I want teaching me.
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They knew my application very well and listened very carefully to what I said (and asked lost of follow up questions according to what I said in the interview and in my application). In result, they learned more about me than any other school, I think. But you have to stay on your toes. I got accepted!!!
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This is a great program. Best interview day of the season.
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Be prepared to talk in detail about problems facing our health care system. Try to remain calm and explain your reasoning if you get flustered.
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UW is an amazing school with so many incredible opportunities. Be yourself in your interview and keep in mind that you've done a lot of hard work to get there, so be proud and relax. Also, if you get a difficult question during the interview, take a moment to think before you start talking, so you don't end up going down a bad path.
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I actually didn't get ethics questions. I got 1 role play. My interview went very smooth, very conversational. I had 3 MD's, no students. My ExCom member was the associate dean of admissions. Overall the day was pretty awesome.
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Would have liked to see the anatomy facilities bring comfy shoes for the tour the facilities aren't fancy, but you have to be realistic and look at how cheap tuition is. the people here are great and incredibly down-to-earth and nice. school is well-balanced in both research and clinical training which is very appealing! having lived in seattle for a long time, it's an amazing city. progressive, green, with very cool people.
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Overall, I loved this interview day. The staff was great, and current students went out of their way to talk about their UW experiences, pros and cons. I left feeling well informed about what an education there really looks like.
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Despite how you think the interview went, the results will surprise you.
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This school is great. Definitely my No 1 choice. The facilities might not look that nice (or new) but are all state of the art. Seattle is a great city to live in too.
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I appreciated how organized the UW admissions office was during the interview process. They provided a thumb drive full of information and videos about the school, we had a thorough Powerpoint presentation about the curriculum and opportunities at UW Med, and five medical students came to talk to us at lunch. The interviewers were very positive and made me feel at ease.
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They didn't ask about my research at all. I also worked for a year in a clinic for homeless drug addicts as an EMT, and they didn't seem to care about that either. It seems like they are mostly concerned with experiences like shadowing and hospital volunteering. So if you apply/ interview at UW be sure to sell those kind of experiences.
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Enjoy the interview day. It's a wonderful experience.
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The interview is pretty stressful. The interviewers are VERY nice but it was NOT a conversation (more like question after question after question without any real feedback in between). They definitely want to see how you handle yourself under stress.
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Wow, this panel interview is as stressful as everyone says it is.
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I love this school!
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I LOVE UW!
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Note to future interviewees: The role-play is NOT a standardized question, each person has a different scenario and you really have to think on your feet. Luckily the questions aren't hard and you just have to come off like a rational, decent human being.
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I was a lot less impressed with the UW than I hoped. If I were to go here, it would be because: 1) The med students were really nice 2)Seattle is an AWESOME city with tons of outdoors stuff for all seasons, a great bar scene with lots of microbreweries and vineyards, and is just spilling culture everywhere. 3) Definitely NOT the administration. 4) Tons of world renowned resources for healthcare, like Children's Hospital, Harborview, SCCA, Fred Hutch. 5) The UW athletic center is... amazing. Humongous. I think they have 8 basketball courts, 6 tennis courts, an indoor rock climbing facility... and so much more. As a previous UW student, I miss my gym membership so much at this point, nothing comes close to UW.
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The powers-that-be at this school are a bit too full of themselves. as the school is the only one serving five states, this is somewhat understandable, however, it's quite off-putting. I suspect they deter quite a few worthy candidates with this attitude.
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Definitely stress your job shadowing and clinical experience. Even if they don't ask, at the end say "I'd really like to mention..."
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My impression was that the three person panel had a "good cop, bad cop, neutral cop" setup, as some others have noted. But I think you can set the tone if you prepare. I got the healthcare policy question early and was able to talk in some detail about it, which seemed to start things off on a positive note.
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Man, I wish I was from Washington...
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Be very prepared and know as much as you can about health care ethics and policy... have fun the interview really isnt that scary!
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My impression of UW was that they place much more importance on the interview than your actual stats.
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Keeping my fingers crossed. This is my #1 (hence I'm a hopefulhusky)
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First and foremost, if you are not accepted this year, take advantage of the opportunity to do an exit interview with the dean of admissions or talk with someone in the admissions office about your application's strengths, weaknesses and what to work on. You may not like what you hear, but the feedback can be very helpful for determining how to best plot your course for re-application if you so choose. Also beware that you can only apply 3 times to this school, make every shot count. Other helpful tidbits are: be sure to do your homework! This school loves to ask ethics questions (transplantation, allocation of resources) and health policy questions. Don't skip over reading health headlines, and articles like the policy reviews in the NEJM. Re-applicants: be prepared to discuss extensively what you have done to improve your application. Spend some time thinking and deeply reflecting on whether you know for sure that medicine is right for you. Explore medicine via shadowing, and try something unexpected like stepping outside of your comfort zone and working with diverse patient populations. The committee wants to know that you have thought about your choice to enter the medical field, and are fully aware of all the issues/problems facing future healthcare providers. Other advice for people getting ready to interview here is bring lots of confidence, be proud of all of your accomplishments, and don't be afraid of the interview. The panel members are very friendly, aren't out to get you, and are looking to have a good conversation. Be prepared for some difficult questions and curve balls ... there will definitely be some tough questions, but they are put there purposefully to test your reasoning and critical thinking abilities.
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The school offers so many opportunities to explore medicine in various ways. I couldn't be more impressed with the school, the support for students, and the location!
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Overall the day was very good, I enjoyed meeting with the OMCA and in the end the interview WAS NOT as bad as I anticipated. With the new Dean of Admissions I think they are trying to make the admissions process more relaxed for applicants, which is GREAT. I left the day with UW as my top choice, I really loved the school!!
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This was my first interview and I would really like to get into this school, so that contributed to the elevated stress of the interview. Had these not been the circumstances, my stress level would have been lower, the UW interviewers weren't as stressful or intense as I believe they used to be. I really like the emphasis on cultural competency and serving those in rural/underserved communities. Also, UW places a high emphasis on getting clinical experience early on in your education, which is important to me.
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Well, I went here for undergrad, so I was pretty familiar with most of the places they showed me around the facilities on the tour. The building just goes on forever. Interesting fact: it supposedly has been 1st or 2nd over the years, neck and neck with the Pentagon for length of interior hallways. This is obvious from the sort of ad-hoc mode of construction the place has seen in that time. Despite its maze-like, catacomb-esque feel at times, the place has reasonable facilities. I toured UC San Fran. and I'd say they're very, very similar in most respects; lecture halls, independent group work rooms (for the "colleges" system they have...that really needs a better name...think tanks? tribes? survivor anyone?) I hadn't seen the med. student lounges before. Looks like an excellent place to grub, chill out, study. Even had a little sleeping area and a text book exchange. <br><br> I was surprised by the fact that they have 3 clinical psychologists on staff offering professional counseling for free with students as the exclusive patient base, because "they understand medical school can be troubling, and even traumatizing for some students." <br><br> They were really optimistic about the financial aid programs available to students there. <br><br> The people I interviewed with were mostly from Montana, two others from Washington besides myself. 18 students total. They all seemed like good people. <br><br> All I can say in the end is good luck folks; read up, and when its over write it down here while its fresh in your mind, while you sip on an ice cold brew, or whatever your preference may be! ;-D Then relax for the night, plz.
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I over-prepared and I'm glad. It served me well. I just finished my first quarter at UWSOM and I love it!
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I wish I had read "Understanding Health Policy" before the interview, and not after it. I also wish I had practiced answering devil's advocate-type questions. In my other interviews, the interviewers didn't question everything I said.. I felt badly about this interview after it was over, I know I did not do my best. I let the stress get to me, and I did not represent myself accurately. I ended up getting rejected at the last executive committee meeting. :-( However, all of the current UW SOM students told me they felt crappy after their interviews, too.
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I believe the interviewers are nice people to begin with. With that said, they were fairly apathetic and cynical during the interview. From the moment the doors closed, everyone's facial expressions became emotionless and serious. Don't be surprised if they bounce remarks off one another towards you, in response to your answers. They're trying to push your buttons and trying to see how you reason, respond, react. Throughout the interview, all of my interviewers just stared at me, without emotion. One yawned, another looked around, the last one just stared. You can already tell that one was the good cop (quiet, made remarks), one the bad cop (asked questions) and the last person only served to exploit any holes in your logic or spin off questions. All in all, it is essentially impossible to read the interviewers but strive to do your best. In the end everyone smiled, but it creates an intense atmosphere for sure!
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Good luck to everyone!
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Interviewers make a big deal about being friendly and wanting to know you. This is very different than what others have reported in the past and may be the result of influence from the new dean. Tour guide's enthusiasm was infectious--thanks to him for such a thoughtful, passionate talk about what he loves about his school.
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As my first interview, and my most important one, I was scared to death. I read ethics and policy books, and wrote out a lot of general answers to questions. On the actual interview day, I had an ear infection and probably a small fever. I was so miserable that I didn't have the strength to be nervous. I ended up being so relaxed that the interview went very smoothly. I was able to answer all the questions easily, it was nothing like I had heard about. I wasn't belittled, in fact, it was almost enjoyable. almost.
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Excellent! Everyone connected with the school was very welcoming and tried to make the day less stressful. The med students in particular were great in providing pertinent information.
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Overall, I am more eager than ever to attend UW. People have commented on how old the building is, but that is true of most buildings in Seattle. And I am hoping the med students we had lunch with are not representative of the entire student body. My interviewers were very kind to me, and even though I crashed and burned I left the interview smiling. I still haven't figured out how that is possible. The tour was informative and our guide was fun and entertaining.
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UW's interview is notorious for being strenuous, and that's for good reason. The interview is 3 on 1 and the interviewers are NOT excited to interview you. There is generally a good cop, bad cop, and a bored cop. The good cop isn't nice, he's just not mean. The bad cop pokes holes in everything you say, and the bored cop slumps on the table and pretends you're not there. Even if you do answer the questions well, you have no idea if they liked it or not. Definitely not a conversation...more like an interrogation. Stick to your guns and be confident. Don't let them push you around. I was surprised that I wasn't rejected.
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It was as stressful as people warn you about. One interviewer in particular was ready to jump on anything I said.
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VERY POSITIVE! Plus great turnaround time.. found out in a month's time! WOOHOO!
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There was one person in the interview who had seem my whole file, and the other two only had my personal statement. I liked the fact that someone had seen my entire file - it made the interview seem more structured and thought-through than others. I liked it because I felt it gave me a real chance to talk about my file, both strengths and weaknesses. Beware, though - there was a role play; but it was pretty painless :)
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Amazing. I was really nervous, but it was very relaxed. They really just wanted to get to know me.
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The overall experience was good. However, there was a lot of waiting involved. Unless you have an interview right after the tour and lunch, bring something to work on or read because the school is large and somewhat confusing so you can't really go exploring during free periods.
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It was an awesome school! The sheer amount of opportunities available to students is astounding and impressive! They are a close community!
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The morning was dedicated to info sessions and a tour. The afternoon was free except for the interview. Interviewers were trying very hard to be nice, so you might need to add in your knowledge/interest without being asked directly.
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I was preparing for a very intense and stressful interview. It actually wasn't that bad. They asked a lot of questions related to my application and they seemed interested in getting to know me and my motivations to study medicine. They asked only one ethics question and one health policy question. Overall, the interview was a good experience. Attention to UW undergrads: I think they have access to your undergrad file including your undergrad personal statement. They knew that I played jazz saxophone in high school, something that I know I did not mention in my med school application.
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Tour in the morning, followed by presentation and lunch with 2nd years. interviews were in the afternoon - it was pretty intimidating sitting at the end of a long table across from two md's and one med student. but overall they were very nice and genuinely wanted to know more about me. i can see how they are trying to make the experience much less stressful than previous years.
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The day went quickly--a tour through the labryinth of the health sciences building followed by an overview talk by a faculty member and a short lunch with some medical students. The interview goes quickly so keep your answers short and to the point!
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Overall, they wanted to know more about me as a person and put into words what I had outlined in my essays. Very friendly scenario and a comfortable atmosphere that was conducive to an honest and straightforward conversation between myself and the interviewers.
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It was actually pretty fun!
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Super stressful, but it need not be that way. The interviewers are not out to get you.
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The day started with the tour, ladies you'll want to wear comfortable shoes because it lasted about an hour (of nearly non-stop brisk walking)! Then there were presentations by faculty, admissions, and financial aid. Next was lunch with a couple of current students who were awesome and completely forthcoming about how to survive our interviews and life on in medical school. The actual interviews themselves apparently vary greatly depending on who interviews you. My interview was pretty low-key and conversational with only one ethics question and one policy question. There was another person though that got totally grilled, her judgement got questioned, and they even made her role-play! Lastly, for those of you who have heard of the infamous cookie platter, fear not! It has been abolished! They apparently got rid of it because it was stressing people out...
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Great time, prepare for stress tactics galore even if you have great numbers
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I was very nervous but my interviewers made me feel comfortable. obviously were interested in the questions they asked me, not just to test me. it went a lot better than i anticipated but i still could have answered questions better if i hadn't been so nervous
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Good, hope i get in
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Good it looks like the 3 and 4 years are the best by far
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Much more low-stress than I thought it was going to be, very conversational and low key, if you can get around having 3 people asking you questions at once. Not nearly as intimidating as I thought.
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Overall, eh. I thought I was going to be in love with the school, but they didn't sell me. *tear
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Academically, UW has a great reputation. They're really focused on churning out primary care physicians to serve the rural parts of the Pacific Northwest. If that's what you want, then God bless. Just don't mention to them that you'd like some urban experiences as well. Everyone's demeanor immediately soured as soon as I mentioned enjoying urban life.
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They are mad nice there. Don't be afraid. They want to like you. Just relax and be yourself. They are looking for people they will ike to work with for the next 4 years, not some medical dictionary boring people.
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Lead interviewer was stone faced and seemed to be very unimpressed with everything that was being said. I felt like I was on the reject list before the interview began... it was official a week after the interview. This was a complete waste of my time.
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It was great. Super low stress. The interviewers were super nice and smiled and laughed the whole time. Be prepared to talk about more than medical stuff. All in all it was a great experience.
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Everyone was very nice and I had a good time.
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I had a good experience, the panel was nice, one member was more neutral than the others and didn't give me positive/negative feedback, but all of them seemed to know my file and asked relevant questions to my experience/life.
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Good
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Great. I hope to get in this monday when I hear from them.
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The interview was my first, and thus the build-up fairly nerve racking. In the end, though, the itnerviewers were very pleasant and down-to-earth. Most importantly, they were not super-humans and I could relate to them and respond with confidence. Overll, the interview was considerably less stressful than I anticipated, though I admit I came out feeling like I could've answered things a little differently and a little more articulately.
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Don't be scared-no one is trying to 'get' you. But DO be prepared for a serious discussion of health care policy, insurance, managed care, lack of primary care physicians in the US, etc.
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Good, but stressful. Everyone was very nice. One of the interviewers was really, really nice and smiled a lot, but another interviewer gave me the ice-cold stern stare the whole time.
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Excellent overall.
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Be prepare to stay calm during the drilling. The interviewers were never disrepectful but they were constantly serious and are very attentive to what you have to say. Know when to stop bsing on subjects your not well versed in, like the National Health care topic that is probably played to death by pre-med offering a solution to the American Health Care delivery system. Overall the UW interview was tough and you might walk out feeling like you completely bombed it, but you might be surprise at the final decision. Be prepare for it or else your gonna look stupid. I hope what I have posted has helped(I know this site has helped me prepared). Goodluck future interviewees!
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I was taken into a room where the three interviewers introduced themselves. They then bypassed all of the ''ordinary'' med interview questions (which I liked) and went straight to the ethical questions. They really tried to rattle you duriing these questions and get you to second-guess yourself. Then they gave me a cookie when it was all over.
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It was my first interview and I think it went well. My committee was very friendly and warm. Among the people who also interviewed that day, some had positive experiences and others had more of the ''grilling-type'' committee. In general, I think that UW is trying to move away from the reputation they have for stress interviews.
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It was great! My interviewers were engaged and interested, and the executive committee interviewer had really read my file and had actually looked up the standardized test scores of the students in the elementary school where I work. He clearly knew about the different things I have done and had researched the organizations I've worked with.
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Not great. U of W is OK but unfortunately the only choice in the NW except OHSU.
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Very positive. I was worried about the one preceptor to six students mentioned in a previous post, but found out this was false. Preceptorships are one on one (in lots of different fields), must mentors are generally one to six. I found it really helpful to talk with students to clarify the talking points of the presenters.
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I will give this interview a smiley face because I feel that I did well, I wasn't awkward or nervous, and I answered my questions professionally and thoughtfully. However, my interview questions were EXTREMELY tough. Thank GOD I spend as much time preparing as I had, or I would've been one of those kids that leaves the room in tears. See the questions below. All-in-all, my interview questions really would separate the men from the boys.
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UW has good points (low tuition, location and many, many sites for clinical rotations), but there are no shortage of bad points (curriculum seems childish, no parking, low diversity among students, etc).
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Very low stress, it was nice to be able to talk to the other applicants while we were waiting, all the interviewers were very friendly, but it made it rather difficult to judge how you were doing
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Great school. I hope I get in.
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This was my first interview, and I was very pleased with the experience. I particularly recommend attending a first or second year course.
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UW is an amazing school although you may not realize it when looking at their facilities.
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The interviewers put me at ease. It was great to have some time during the lunch to talk with 2nd year med students.
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If my experience was typical, then you have nothing to fear from the interviewers whatsoever. Prepare well and go in confident. Articulate your position, support your case, don't bullshit when you don't know an answer, and realize that you are not being tested on whether you've already solved all of the problems that no one else has yet been able to. My panel was composed of Ms. K. Golding (community advocate and my advocate on the admissions committee), Dr. Sharon Kelly (practicing dermatologist) and Dr. L. Stavney (surgery--retired). They were very professional and not the least bit intimidating. The interview should have gone better, and it's my fault alone that it didn't. They seemed mostly neutral with respect to my candidacy, and if they ever veered from that position I would say that they were actually looking for reasons to like me rather than reject me, and were attempting time and again to give me opportunities to shine, though I never quite managed to rise to the occasion. You know that you will be asked policy questions and ethics questions. It's important to prepare diligently for them, both for the sake of the interview and to begin forming your own views about the career that you will ultimately pursue. But I devoted virtually all of the six weeks that I had to prepare for the interview to those areas, and I wish that I had taken just a couple of days to comb over my application more meticulously and reflect on any infelicities there. You can never predict what questions they'll ask you about ethics and policy, but you bloody well can predict what they'll ask you about your qualifications, since you know exactly what information they will have read in preparing their questions. I wish that I had been more attentive to the need for articulate, thoughtful responses to questions about the rough spots in my transcript and CV. Also, I'm a very regular reader of The New York Times and a pretty regular reader of a few other papers, but in an attempt to expend even more energy on reading about policy and ethics in the last week before my interview, I set aside these habits in favor of medical books. Bad idea. I received one question about very recent developments with the Avian Flu, and I was unable to mention any developments more recent than a couple of weeks prior to my interview. Keep up on current events.
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Same as above. made myself anxious for no reason. interviewers were actually very nice and the interview was conversational. there are ethics questions but there are no right or wrong answers for those, it's just a way for them to see what you value and how you think through a problem
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Overall I was happy with the experience. I am just anxious to hear back with what their decision is. The interviewers were incredibly nice and I couldn't believe how comfortable the setting was. It was simply amazing how nice and comforting they were. Not intimidating at all.
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I had the first interview of the day. Interview was conducted by two docs and a 2nd year med school student. Overall, I was surprised by how little of the questions were directly about me - most were about issues in health care or bioethics. While I got the impression that all the interviewers were very nice people in their 'real' lives, very little social cues or feedback was given while I was speaking. There was so much more I wanted to talk about, but didn't have time to touch on!
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The interview was fairly stressful because the panel did nothing to put you at ease. The questions seemed more like an interrogation than a "get-to-know-you" session. I also got the feeling they were not really listening to what I said. Almost like talking to a stone wall.
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I came to the interview expecting it to be difficult. Since I hadn't had a difficult interview yet I figured I was owed one. While I was "grilled" so to speak I didn't feel disrespected or slighted. Generally I owned up to things I didn't know or wasn't sure about but told them what my instincts were in those matters. And when they continued to ask me to elaborate I just stood my ground and displayed consistency. I joked around with my interviewers about the difficulty of the interviews and felt like they were really trying to understand how my mind thinks rather than if I could come up with a "right" answer. While it's true that I wasn't asked as many questions about myself; the questions I was asked yielded good information I wanted them to know and relevant follow-up questions. I'm sorry that others had difficulty with the interviews especially if it means they turn away from a school I think is fantastic!
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Upon ariving at the office I asked for my interview file, which contained flyers about school programs and a list of my interviewers. I used the list to help me look up my interviewers on the internet to get insight into their fields of work. One of my interviewrs listed on the sheet could not make it and was replaced by a spacey-researcher who was not very engaged in the interview. The excom member (ie the person who will end up advocating for or against your application when they make decisions) was nice but dry and unengaged. However, to balance those two out a very warm and interested pediatrician helped make me feel very good about the interview. After all, I was able to convince them to offer me acceptance despite not having an "amazing" interview experience.
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The experience is really straightforward and you are treated with respect by the whole staff. Lunch was great, we talked to the financial aid coordinator, and got a really good run down of the curriculum. The interview was stressful, but in pursuing this career, physicians need to learn to deal with these nervous situations. Although the interview itself IS cutthroat, being confident in your abilities (but NOT cocky) and not intimidated will give the interviewers a great impression of yourself. Be honset in your responses, take your time, and you'll do fine.
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Great.
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Other than being hoarse, i enjoyed the interview experience and thinking about the questions that were asked.
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I was way too nervous and choked on my responses which just snowballed into a lack of confidence on my part.
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Great school. Great feel. Seriously turned off by the interviewers which sort of hurt my whole view of the place.
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There were 3 interviewers and one was the guy I was trying to impress. He was at the head of the table opposite end of the table. The other two were on opposite sides of the table. The people were friendly and guided me through the questions very well.
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U Dub is awesome. hey, there was no glitz or glam today. nothing fancy, no one tried to impress me with anything except maybe the tour guide saying that it's the largest office building west of the pentagon or something. they just keep adding on new additions, which is cool. the newest is the surgical center, which is nice. it's just about the onlly new nice building i saw. they want to improve the facilities, but obviously money is the big decision maker. i assume that when there is money it is put elsewhere like into all the great programs that have in rural healthcare, international opps, reseach, the colleges, etc. the school has it's priorties in the right place - unless you feel the need to be spoiled during medical school, and i'm not judging, i'm just saying there are a lot of schools where you can have a nice student lounge, shiny new class rooms and all sorts of fancy stuff, and that's awesome, but this school sold itself to me by not focusing on all that... if that makes sense, anyway, you'll like the school or you won't :)
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Though it was a bit long, it didn't seem it. The interviewers seemed interested in what I was saying and commented in appropriate manners. It was very comfortable (as much as could be expected) in the interview though the rest of the day was a bit scattered.
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I had about a little over a week from the time I turned in my secondary to my interview date so I don't think I prepared enough...The 3 on 1 format is intimidating even though the interviewers were trying to be nice, the EXCOM member asked some probing questions to see what I knew and how I could handle difficult situations...It was easily the most difficult interview I had.
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Overall, this interview was pretty relaxed. The faculty and admissions staff really try hard to make you feel comfortable. They know that this can be a stressful experience.
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My tour and lunch were very positive. Meeting students who attend UWSOM was great and being able to spend some time with the other students interviewing was fun. The interview itself was very negative. I was prepared to give both sides of an issue and state my opinion and why, but the interviewer cross examined me in a very agressive manner. He was annoyed with me when I refused to agree with his position on health insurance.
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You walk out of the interview with absolutely no clue how it went, you feel like you've spent so much time up to this point, then bam, it's over in 30 minutes that feel like 5. Can they really know who I am in that little amount of time??
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It was much more relaxed than I had anticipated. I was the second person to interview that day. I wasn't asked any questions that I hadn't already considered based on this site and on the recollections of friends who had interviewed in previous years.
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I would love to attend UW. My interview itself was toughest one so far (all ethics, and other tough subjects) but was still a great experience.
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Overall it was a great experience. The interview got started late b/c of technical difficulties w/ the laptops, but other than that it was ok.
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It was nerve-wracking to wait for the interview. I was waiting a full hour before I went in, partly because they were running behind and I had gotten there early. I was in a waiting room with other interviewees, some of whom had already interviewed, and it was great to just talk to them. They were all really supportive and nice! The interview itself went by in a blur, though it seemed to last forever when I was speaking. I do wish I had an opportunity to tell them more about myself, though I felt I gave them a complete picture of who I was. The beginning of the interview was tough - they started out with the more lengthy, difficult, policy type of questions. As the interview progressed I became more relaxed about talking about myself. Overall it was great, it was hard to judge how I had done.
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My interview experience was tough but not as bad as I had expected. You will not meet all of the other interviewees because of how they set it up and the student tour is optional. You will get to have lunch, watch a video and then go to your interview. They do have laptops but they are closed and are not at all a distraction. Keep your eyes off the cookies in the middle of the room while interviewing because I think I looked at them too much.
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It was a fairly low stress interview, although they did ask me some hard follow-up questions. Know your application and about the US health care system. It seemed short, only 30 min. I was suprised they didn't ask me why I wanted to go to UW or why I wanted to be a doctor.
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Overall, the interview experience and the tour and lunch increased my desire to go to uw whereas before, i wasn't really sure. i had a ton of how and what would you do to change the system type questions whereas another interviewee i spoke to had none. also my interview began late so i think it was cut short. the interviewers were pretty nice.
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The interview felt like an interrogation. Three people interviewed me at one end of a long table, and I sat at the other end.
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Great experience. Don't be nervous! I was so nervous, I felt like I was going to freeze up during the interview. Yet, when I got there, everything was so natural. It was like a casual conversation. I even made them laugh a couple times, which is always a good thing.
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It was a positive experience. My interview was the last one of the day. I attended the lunch and then waited for quite a while which probably compounded the anticipation. The interviewers were friendly but astute.
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I felt that the whole day got me really excited to possibly attend UW. The students I talked to all loved their professors and most of their classmates. While the interview day felt a little scattered at times, I didn't feel like it was direspectrul since the administrators we came in contact with all seemed positive and encouraging and excited to have us there. The actual interview was a stress-free and conversational as I suppose you can get under the circumstances. It was my first interview and I flew out of Seattle more excited than ever about going to medical school.
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Though the interview is not supposed to be stressful, the fact that this was my first interview and that UW is my first choice made the experience a little stressful for me. I now regret scheduling it so soon. I think if I had had a chance to interview at a couple other places first, I would have been more at ease during this interview. Oh well. I guess everything is now in the hands of the admissions committee.
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The interview itself was much less intimidating that I had been led to expect. My interviewers were friendly and seemed interested in my responses. I would highly recommend being yourself: When asked about the two favorite books, I named Moneyball (a book about baseball) as one, and this generated some laughs and unexpected interest, and lightened the interview.
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I had a really nice experience. This school was my number one choice. I new a lot about what the school has to offer and the various programs. The interviewers made me feel really comfortable. They made the interview flow like a conversation, which was less stressful. I now look back and think I was too stressed about it.
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The interview was very laid back and all three of my interviewers were very nice. From previous posts, I anticipated an interogation, but it turned out to be very conversational. They realy tried to learn about me.. questions mostly derived from my essay and application. Some ethical questions, but nothing I didn't anticipate. I was very nervous at first, but very relaxed once it got started.
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On the whole, I felt it went well, but it was really stressful.
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I prepared really well, apparent by my knowing several health statistics asked and holding my own on the ethics questions; however, walking out I was unsure as to how it went. Sometimes I didn't have an answer to something, but many times they are looking at HOW you react and process things not WHAT you say. It was very nerve-wracking, but I remained calm and overall the interviewers are friendly.
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I was prepared for the worst, but it really wasn't that bad. The interviewers were pretty stoic the whole time I talked, but they weren't particularly mean. I to answer every question to the best of my ability while still being genuine...and this approached work, i was accepted.
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I loved Seattle, and the views from the Hospital and Student center were fantastic (it wasn't raining that day). The interview day was pretty well organized and the tour was okay. Meeting the students is really the best part. The interview itself is TOUGH and despite all your preparation you may get some curve balls (see above!) But the interviewers consoled me with some cookies after the interview was over (something about "you're probably hyperglycemic after all those questions") which was nice.
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Overall good, I left the interview not sure and thought I didn't do well but...I got in so you nver know!
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Not as bad as I feared.
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Go in into it with energy and enthusiasum regardless of nerves, or any reactions you get from the interveiwers, the responded well to it!
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It went better than I expected. I was really anxious the day before, but with a little yoga and a lot of confidence I calmed down right before the interview and was myself.
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I enjoyed it, though I wish it wasn't so structured, meaning that I wish there wasn't a set list of questions so that the flow of conversation would have been improved.
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The interview pretty much what I expected. Be prepared to answer some hard questions and defend your answers. The interviewers are friendly, especially in the hallways and lounge before/after the interview. They're still very civil in the interview room but they take no prisoners when they start answering questions.
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Two interviewers seemed very interested in me, and one seemed bored. i think that was their M.O. although it still shook me up a bit. the students and admission staff were great though the tour was a bit skimpy. i really love the schools curriculum and college system.
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It was a hard interview. Three people firing questions at you, even though they were nice, was very stressful.
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Difficult to do this. I was pleasantly surprised by several aspects of the interview, but not-so-pleasantly-surprised by others.
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Much more relaxed than I was expecting. The interviewers were not threatening at all.
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The interviewers were pretty nice, but they spent more time asking my about what laws I would put into place for healthcare reform than trying to figure out who I was. Considering that I was not applying to law school, that seemed kind of wierd to me.
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This school is obviously a great school and will ensure you receive a top notch education. I didn't feel the faculty was very welcoming but the admissions staff and multicultural affairs office were very friendly and informative. The day was very organized and students were great. I had a chance to sit in one of the lectures and students just came up to me and introduced themselves and offered to answer any of my questions. Definitely a great group of students who are very kind and extremely bright.
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Great students, would be an amazing place to study, hold on to your seat because they are not looking to be your friend.
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Very good school and friendly students. The medical students actually seem HAPPY and able to juggle life and school. I felt the interview was difficult but also very fair and friendly.
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Good interview. You can never hit all the things you want but I got 80% of the strong points in. The interviewers were polite and gave me time to answer all questions, unlike last year, when they kept interrupting me. Only once was I 'redirected' and it was because I had gotten into a nervous ramble, so that was good!
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My interview was extremely awkward, mostly due to my nervousness. My interviewers were extremely nice, and tried to ease my nervousness. I felt like I answered my questions very honestly, so some of my answers were kinda strange. But all in all, I felt like it was an awful interview and I walked out of there wanting to burst into tears. But I was accepted...so even if you feel the interview isn't going well, don't feel too bad because you never know... :)
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Very wierd experience. Not stressful. I guess you just need to be well read and relaxed. I'm terrible at these types of interviews, hence my regaining of my usual spot on the competitive list. woo hoo . . .
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I am a reapplicant so they just wanted to touch up on my experiences over the last year. They want to make sure you are keeping up to date with what is happening in the healthcare system. Overall, the experience was fine.
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Not as stressful as I thought it would be judging from previous posts, but I did do a lot of preparation and reading about current issues in medicine and I'm glad I did. They didn't ask many questions about me personally.
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Overall my interview experience was fairly pleasant. I felt that I did fairly well but not great. But, I have no frame of reference because it was my first interview. I'll find out in a week how well I actually did, but all in all it was less frightening than I expected, and as popular belief would indicate.
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I already knew (along with everyone else) that UW is an amazing school and definitely has earned its position as one of the top institutes in the country. The entire experience reaffirmed for me why I want to be a part of the school. The tours/presentations were informative and interesting. The interviewers challenged me, but in a positive way and actually furthered my interest and commitment to medicine. I really felt the school treated me with respect and acknowledged everything I have done to get to this point. The other candidates interviewing with me were very pleasant and cordial. Extremely happy with the whole process...now just crossing my fingers until next week!
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All in all, it could have been much worse. I'm VERY glad it's over.
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The thing about a UW interview is that it depends SO MUCH on which interviewers you have, especially which Executive Committee member is the leader of your interview team. You could have Dr. Samson, who is really hard on about 75% of those he interviews. You'll get put through the ringer with him, and maybe you'll shine but if you're unprepared he'll kick your ass. He asks about health policy and he wants numbers and percentages and crap like that. And he wants you to take a stand and back it up on ethical questions, not to walk the fence. Or maybe you'll get someone off the executive committee who isn't even a physician, and maybe your whole interview will be more of a medicine-related conversation than an interrogation. The important take-home message is that UW interviews are like a box of chocolates. Prepare well but don't expect anything. And don't kid yourself, the interviewer who identifies themself as the executive committee member is the one who matters. The other two have some say, but if you're picking one to impress... make the right choice.
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Great school and great staff! The UW is definately my first choice!
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I interviewed in a group of 3: an EXCOM committee member, a pediatrics doctor, and a current student. That went fairly well. Afterwards, I got to talk to a group of current students and ask them plenty of questions about life at UW med. Then I went on a short tour of the building -- not much to see there.
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This was my first interview, but, as a whole, the experience was reasonably pleasant. The interviewers were kind but at least one member of my committee looked very tired during the interview. Some of the questions seemed canned but several were taken directly from my application materials or responses during the interview.
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Everything about the day was relatively laid back to what I had read previously on this site. Everyone in the interview was friendly, which is not to say that they didn't ask difficult questions or push you on what you had to say, they just weren't hostile about things. The tour, lunch and sitting in on the class were also very nice.
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Intense interview but a good experience. I found my panel to be very nice as opposed to what other people have said.
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I left feeling very unsure of how I did. It was not the horror story that some people leave with, but I'm not a fan of the panel interviews.
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The day was enjoyable. I got a good feeling about the school. The student facilities aren't the best, but that is not what is important to me. Besides, what do you expect for $12,300/year? The student rec center is close and is great. The education is great. The other students, faculty and staff are great. There is no doubt in my mind that this is where I want to be.
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Both my interviewers were interesting, kind people who I think really wanted to get to know me and my interests. I'd heard rumors that the UW was known for its good cop/bad cop approach--if that's the case, then my bad cop didn't show up because I felt welcomed and comfortable. Overall, it was a great experience.
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Much less stressful than I had anticipated. Very nice facilities and friendly staff. Lunch was excellent as well!
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Although interviews are not really relaxing or fun (it is an interview after all, not a paid vacation), the staff and students did a great job at putting me at ease and letting me show them who I am. No, the student at lunch did not bubble into the room and squeal with glee while telling us about his experience, but I was glad he didn't. The UW is a first-rate school on all levels, and it's a bargain deal. However, medical school is hard work, and I appreciate the fact that he didn't sugar coat it for me. While some other schools really dig in with the hard sell on how beautiful their campuses are or how close they are to world-class ski lifts, etc. etc. the UW doesn't have to do that. Seattle is an amazing city (especially for students and young professionals) and the UW is an amazing school, so people who try to slam either one by whining about their interview just come off sounding like bitter little trolls.
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I'm really just amazed at all the entitled comments. This is what's wrong with our educational system. Sure, you're going to run into jerks who believe they're the center of the universe in academia. The bottom line is that you are there to justify why you're the best candidate. You're there to tell them why they should want you, and you do this by demonstrating that you are well-prepared, thoughtful, able to handle a little challenge to your point of view, and have a model for ethical decision making. I think a lot of the entitled responses are obviously the result of an educational system that is teaching students that they are entitled to "A"s and that the world owes them a living. Win or lose. That's the system. No one owes you an MD.
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Though it was by far my toughest interview (& probably my worst), i think it was good that it was my first. i was over-prepared for all my other interviews thanks to UW's intense grilling.
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It, overall, was a good experience and it allowed me to relax and just be myself. I gave really open and honest answers rather than what I thought they wanted to know and it worked for me.
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Overall, I guess I'd say it was disappointing. The interview was kind of a poorly run good cop-bad cop, with the overall effect more irritating than stressful. There's a fine line between general disregard and outright disrespect, and it seems like the UW comes right up to it. I'm from Seattle, and before the interview, the UW was far & away my first choice. Although I'm still waiting (I know, it's getting late in the year), after the interview I have reservations where none previously existed. I'm lucky enough to have a couple other options by this point, and if the UW came through I'd really have to think twice about it. But hey, when you're the best and one of the most inexpensive, I guess you can afford to play hardball--it's a great school any way you cut it.
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To all those people that are busy commenting on every one else's interview experiences or commentary-perhaps you should start a student forum. This space is for interview experiences not your opinions on other candidates.
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I had a really nice experience. i enjoyed meeting the applicants from Montana (I hope I'll see you guys in class next year!) and I thought the interview process was fair, efficient and informative. i had three female interviewers, which actually made me really comfortable, and they gave me a chance to talk about all the things I had hoped they would (traveling, tango, my background, job-shadowing). I think UW is a great school and I am sorry to hear that not everyone has had a positive experience interviewing there. I hope everyone can find a medical environment where they feel welcome and at home. For me, that place is UW, and I would even consider reapplying next year if I get rejected and get into other schools this year.
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I was really nervous about my interview since it was my first one and the UW was and still is my top choice. I really enjoyed the company of others who were interviewing the same day and was impressed by the enthusiasm and outlook of the first year students. I think the program is incredible and the opportunities to work in rural/underserved areas, study abroad, and take a variety of electives are enticicing. After my interview I really had no indication of how well they had reacted to me and didn't know whether to be optimistic or not about my chances. Every school is a crap-shoot, however, with so many incredibly qualified people applying for so few spots. I was honest about my failures and flaws as an applicant (ie: low MCAT scores) but also was given the chance to talk about what made me worthy of a spot at the UW. As others have mentioned, the interviewers are quite stoic but I think they are just trying to be objective and professional- and also they interview a damn lot of people and are probably pretty bored with the process. I would be incredibly honored to get in here- I am high on the first ranked alternate list (whatever that means) and if I do get an acceptance I would take it in a heartbeat.
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I interviewed and was waitlisted and later accepted here 2 years ago, and felt that my interview experience was similar to other interview experiences that I'd had that year (SLU, OHSU, Nevada, etc.). I did not find the panel to be malignant at all, but they did follow a single lineage of questions until a subject was exhausted. This was difficult because every answer brought forth another question. STICK TO YOUR GUNS IN THIS INTERVIEW. There are not necessarily any correct answers, but it is most beneficial to consult the UW Medicine ethics site prior to the interview (http://eduserv.hscer.washington.edu/bioethics/). I printed this out and read it a few times the week before the interview. It provides an introduction to several relevant ethical issues in medicine, and addresses each side of the argument. It matters not what position you take with your interview panel. Just be consistent and back up your answer with evidence. The "bad cop" will inevitably argue the other side, but you will be prepared for this, having consulted the aforementioned web-site which is and has been open to the public. After two years of UW medical education, I am very thankful that I was chosen to study medicine here. I do not have any misconceptions, however, that I am any more qualified than most other candidates that interviewed. Good luck in this process.
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First of all, boo to the entry posted two back. I don't think anyone has a "poisonous" personality, they are just frusterated and disenchanted by all of this. Step off your soapbox preacher, no one wants to hear it. My experience was not too bad, but I agree with the lion's share of the negative comments.
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I am compelled to write this after reading the multitude of negative comments posted recently. The admissions staff can't weed out all the bad applicants, but they have done an excellent job of weeding out those people that have posted some of that stuff. The applicant that was threatening to sue in every comment she/he filled out, and the applicant that felt the need to make the snide remark on WWAMI doctors particularly disgusted me (don’t use the only “big†word you know as a snide remark to WWAMI doctors when you write the WWAMI acronym wrong, and include an incomplete sentence in your summary). I think it is obvious from these comments that these people would not be good doctors, as they have no respect for the profession or their peers. I would label these applicants as “toxic people,†and I hope they don’t come to UW or medical school at all. These are the type of people that accept no personal responsibility for their actions and seek to blame everyone else on their problems and inadequacies. I would rather study with a bunch of “pot-heads†then immature people with poisonous personalities. To the individual so eager to sue the school-I would suggest a career in law, medicine is obviously more than you can handle either personally or professionally. To the applicant that wrote the stellar essay-that’s why they interview you, to weed out people that are so adept at claiming they are one thing but are really something quite different. I am sorry to the admissions committee for wasting their time in interviewing either of you. I was mildly entertained/annoyed at all the applicants with negative and unfounded opinions that sat there and compared themselves to all the other applicants, claiming themselves so much better than everyone they interviewed with or that got in. Anyone that actually has the audacity to claim they are better than people they don’t even know is too self-centered for a meaningful career in medicine. Beyond a need to respond to the comments previously posted, I should write about my experience. It was not great, and I left the interview certain that I did not get in. However, I also left realizing that all the shortcomings in my interview were my fault; I did not know everything I could have and was under a lot of stress from not sleeping in 48 hours (again MY fault). The interviewers were very nice, and yes it would have been less stressful to have one-on-one interviews, but hey “dems da breaks.†Should you go into the interview attempting a “natural, un-prepared†approach? I would highly discourage it. You look incompetent if you haven’t done your homework, at least in regards to information on the school you are interviewing with. Don’t be an idiot-do your research and ask some well-informed questions. I would also like to say to all those applicants out there, have a back-up plan. I went into my interviews with a back-up plan that made me ready to accept a rejection, and prepare myself for the re-application procedure and a great year off. Finally, to all those people that claim everyone that had a positive experience is a “kiss-ass,†nothing like a little jealousy to bring out your true colors. Good luck to those people in any career but medicine!
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Has anyone in the competitive pool heard back yet? just curious and anxious!!!
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This is pretty important, this school is a lottery really. First off, I'm accepted here, so this is not a retaliatory submission. The positive comments on this website have been by those whom already attend the school or have been accepted. I don't think they should blow off the negative submissions by those who are frusterated and did not get in. "Slander" is inappropriate. This is my school now, and I admit it's defects in the interview process. I've come to accept that students will be overlooked in this process, and that respect may never come until we achieve the title of our profession. Let's just not forget that when we are doctors interviewing scarred stiff students. An effort has been made at UW, but the system fails. I will consider myself and pray that future physicians will not become bitter by this experience. The interview is nothing more than theatrics.
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I felt compelled to write this after reading the slander from previous interviewers. My experience was relaxed, enjoyable, and very similar to other school interviews.
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The intent of this small reflection is not meant to be hateful in any respect; although I am going to be honest. Let me ask an important question, 'does the interview measure what it is supposed to measure?' Does it have any indicative reliability? I would say no, at least not at UW. They (interviewers and board) are more interested in seeing who can kiss the most and largest ass. WOW, was 'ass' mentioned, yes and I fully assure you that I had and still have stronger words for how I felt during my interview. These great doctors did not take the time to understand/know me as a human being and I assure you that I am more than qualified for a position in this school but would kindly seek out a better institution. This is my advice for you. Good luck and may the Lord bless you along the way!
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Well, UW's selection process is a freaking mystery. They do accept some good future physicians, but half of the people who I know were accepted to the school are pretty worthless human beings. Oh, yes, I said worthless. One in particular that I am thinking of supplied pot to just about our entire undergrad campus. Good choice interviewers! No one had glaucoma. I think the WAMI docs will have to look that big word up.
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This is the one time in your life that you must compromise who you are. If you are outgoing and ambitious you must present yourself as quiet and serious (specifically for the WWAMI program –they must see that you are the type that will stick to a small community). Huh... I have gladly come to learn that most med-schools are looking for the extroverts of this world. Also, the interviewers seemed to have a hard time staying awake, expect yawning (if at the end of the day and if the interviews were running late) so I had to do most of the talking (which could be a bad thing). Overall; if you have traveled around the world –don’t elaborate, stick to a small view of things, be somewhat nervous –so they don’t view you as too relaxed or “overconfidentâ€Â, and play on the emotions of the executive member of the group –get her/him to like you. Remember, this may not apply for the in-state UW applicants.
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People may say awful things about their interviewers, but I saw nothing bad at all. In fact, it seemed like my interviewers were nice, never interrupted me, tried to help me calm down. I was so tense, I could hardly think straight. Made competitive list, but will probably be reapplying next year (predict rejection, will find out in April).
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My interview was a nightmare. I want to say that I was almost accepted to this school, but I decided not to go when they put me on the "competitive list." Whatever. I'm sure I would have gotten in, but the interview made me so mad that I decided to take an acceptance offer at an osteopathic school (I recommend this to any pre-med who still has a heart beating in his or her chest). I told them I wasn't interested basically because just like the last applicant who gave a negative review, I think the UW sucks the soul out of decent people just to get them to step up to their standards (Hello, is anyone at US News and World Report looking at the sick system of degradation that this school is using to choose its students?) By the way, I'd like to shout out to my sister up there who cried during her interview: "Don't sweat it, girl. A better school will let you grace it's halls. Guaranteed." And to the suckers who write in the date of their interviews in a lame attempt to garnish favor with the admissions commitee ("Hi, Dr. Sampson!!!!!!!" Whatever, that applicant makes me sick): I hope all of the pandering and bending over is worth it, you sheep.
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I was very happy to be there and really felt like I had demonstrated that through experiences, so while nervous I was thinking about the positive of being invited to interview rather than the 'possibilities' to follow. I had a good time and if I have to do it again next year- so be it.
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Overall, I would say that the negative view of the interview committee is unfounded; overall, my experience was extremely positive.
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The interview felt more like a conversation, which I feel is both good and bad.
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I enjoyed the interview day at UW. The staff, faculty, students, and other applicants were friendly. UW started as my top choice, the interview confirmed this, and since I was recently accepted, I will be attending. If you interview here, just relax and try to be yourself. They are looking for genuine people who have at least thought about some of the current topics in healthcare.
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The interview was quite a challenge, and I expected that. They were not mean at all, however. There was a good cop, a bad cop and a neutral cop. The bad cop asked most of the questions... he clearly wanted to get me to a point where I could not answer the question, which was fine. I suppose they want someone who can get challenged a bit without falling to pieces and crying... but they were not at all malicious. I was very impressed with the interview, presention, students and the faculty I interacted with.
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It was great, the person before this that trashed the program needs to get ahold of THEMSELVES. They are trying blame their bad grades and MCAT on everybody but themselves. Its ridiculous reading it so dont pay any attention to that post. Saying that you'll sue if you dont get in, give it a rest, honestly. You sound like a little spoiled rich girl saying that. This is a great program with many positive aspects. Grades and MCAT scores are very important to ALL medical schools, so if yours sucked then you should be so damn grateful you even got an interview. I know alot of people in the program and they swear it is the best thing they've ever been a part of. So, blame yourself when you dont get an acceptance. For everybody else who isn't a psycho, hold your head up so high before, during, and after the interview and you'll succeed. If not, you can just sue like that last little girl!!! Good luck to all of you.
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I am a reapplicant from last year, so this year I was better prepared. I have one comment about the previous entry. That individual needs to take a hard look at themselves. They are under the impression that getting in is about how much time you volunteer and that grades and scores don't matter. Everyone knows that it is the combination of all that one does, and not quantitiy, but quality. I felt that I was very prepared last year and that I knew I would succeed if accepted. I would have excelled if accepted last year, but what I have learned in the past year about health policy and the current issues has made me a very strong applicant. Don't look at failure this year as a bad thing, it gives you a chance to reevaluate your motives and to strengthen your passion for medicine. Remember, if you get an interview, your grades and scores are competitive for entrance. If it feels like the interviewers are being harsh on you, take note on what it is that you are discussing, and realize that you need to learn more about that subject, or it may be that your responses are conflicting with each other making your knowledge in that area seem limited. Bottom line is don't get disgruntal, take note of your shortfalls and work on them. Getting upset at the interviewers for your lack of experience or preparedness is not just. A lot of the time they just want to see how you think, not how much you know.
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I know I would be the best candidate, but apparently you've got to have a 4.0 to go here or something. One of my friends died during finals week last year, but do they care? No. I guess she should have died during the summer, for crying out loud! So maybe my grades aren't the best, and neither are my MCAT scores, but I am more compassionate than those people that do nothing but study!! My personal statement was GREAT, and my English TA said it was the best one page essay he's ever seen, but all they care about is GPA and MCATs. This school is nothing but a doctor factory, and they don't care about personality, or what makes a GREAT doctor.
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I felt that although the committee was not mean, it did not seem all that interested in truly getting to know who I am. I felt the questions were fairly generic and I was not able to highlight my strengths or reveal my character adequately. I do think however, that some positive changes have been made in the interview process. When I applied previously, the interviewers were rude and inappropriate. I did not encounter anything of the sort this year, perhaps because I had different interviewers. In any case the feedback smiley faces should be evident of some changes.
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I was very nervous to go to UW becuase of horror stories from the past. My experience, however, was great. The atmosphere was very relaxing and the people were very nice. My interviewers seemed interested in what I had to say, not mean or cold. UW was very good in getting back to me; I knew a week from my interview if I had been accepted.
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The MSTP interviews are two days if you have interviews at the Hutch, one day if they are all at UW. Interviews are generally laid back, but the panel interview at the end of the second day is a little more stressful (they say its not, but some of the questions are pretty random and there are 8-10 members of the committee and one of you). Everyone seems quite happy despite the drizzle, and you can't get bored in Seattle.
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Knowing ahead of time about the adversarial nature of the panel interview helped a lot. I was asked some pretty tough questions, but being prepared made it more of a challenge than a stressful situation. I guess I felt like if I'm going to come all the way out to Seattle it should be worth my time, which the tough interview accomplished. The lunch with students was good, and UW really is working at improving their image. As long as you're prepared and completely honest with the committee, you should be fine. Just stick to your guns on the ethical questions. I just found out I was accepted here so I have a pretty positive impression, but I think this is good advice for anyone.
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This interview was much less stressful than I had anticipated. I studied ethics for weeks prior to the interview and I didn't get asked one medical ethics question.
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It was hard to tell how the interview went, they were pretty neutral about it. they asked me A LOT of questions about the US healthcare system and about Canada's and how i would change it. a lot of ethics questions too. i can't remember one personal question, so at the end it threw me off when they asked if i wanted to tell them something about myself. it's hard to tell how it went. i was really nervous because it's my top choice. life would be great if i got into UW. :)
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As stated above, it was great. I really felt like I was not trying to sell myself, but rather trying to just converse with my interviewers. The second interview of the day for me was even better, we didn't even formally interview, it was more like a chat. WE just talked about everything from sports to weather, it was wonderful! What can I say, I loved it!!
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I went on a tour in the morning and after the tour went to have lunch with the medical students. After the lunch there was a presentation from the financial aid office, the office of multicultural affairs and the addmission office. After that I had my interview and then I had another interview with the office of multiculural affairs.
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The interview was very conversational and friendly.
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I, like others who read this web site prior to the interview, went in ready for anything. I never felt intimidated, cornered, or stumped--and didn't get stuck defending my answers much. Rather, I felt that their line of questioning allowed me to show that I was prepared for the interview and to talk about a wide variety of subjects in and outside of medicine.
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Overall it was a good experience. The panel was nice. One guy seemed a little sleepy, but that's really all I can complain about. There were a lot of gaps in the day so bring a book. And if you have an early morning slot, be happy. You won't have to miss the lunch discussions or worry about it all day. There isn't much more I can say that hasn't been said.
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The interview was actually more laid back than i had anticipated. as i said above, expect ethics, health care questions, and end of life scenarios. don't sweat it, but look at at these issues and it's straight forward.
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Most of the questions you'll be asked are offered in other posts. What I can offer is my impressions of the interview as well as the tone, mood, etc. Interviewers: Ms. (Katherine?) Golding, Mr. Timothy Menza, and Dr. Carol Ware. When I first walked in, the head interviewer tried her best to make me feel comfortable and gave me a glass of water and introduced the interview panel. The interview started with more personal questions regarding reasons for getting into medicine, and personal views on the field (ie. opinions on the current state of healthcare). The questions generally will rotate from interviewer to interviewer, with each member asking two or three questions. The interviewers often let your answers dictate the direction of their questions. Talk about what you know. Later in the interview come the more strange and unexpected questions (if you don't read this website), such as "What do you read?", "What's the most important thing to happen in the last year?" My best advice is to practice with distractors. Have a couple people interview you while clicking their pen, or constantly checking the clock (they will, especially if you're right before lunch), or put a Picasso print in the middle of the table as a centerpiece (for some reason during my interview I found myself being distracted by a curious arrangement of the cookies on the tray in the middle of the table). Have your interviewers give strange reactions to your answers (during my interview Ms. Golding laughed at my answer to "what do you read?" I didn't find my answer to be a joke or even funny) Have them stare at you when you ask a question, like they thought it was rhetorical (it happens). Above all, realize that it is not a natural conversational environment and don't be distracted by it. The interviewers are all very subdued, and hold back from giving out information or sometimes even clarification of the questions. There was only one time during the entire 50 minutes when I felt that one of the interviewers "contributed" something new to the conversation. If you're very chatty, then this might not bother you, but if you're used to two-way conversations, be prepared. The interviewers also are quite emotionally subdued. They probably won't laugh at your jokes, and they probably will seem unaffected by any sad or emotional parts of the interview. I got the impression that although they promote a conversational feel in the interview, for many questions they are looking for concrete responses--possibly even a binary right/wrong system to score your answers. In light of this, my advice is to choose one argument, and explain it clearly. It may be a good idea to explain the assumptions that you made, but don't let that reveal any waiver in your response. Also, take the time to make sure your answers are very clear. If you are going into too much detail I'm sure they will try and hurry you up. It's better than realizing afterward that you didnt fully explain yourself. My interviewers: Ms K(atherine?) Golding: Head interviewer was fairly warm and the most talkative. Did not have any science background. Mr. Timothy Menza: I was surprised by how young he was. An MD/Ph.D. candidate. It may be a little awkward being asked personal questions from a peer, and I think he felt a little awkward asking them as well. Dr. Carol Ware (comparative medicine): She seemed like a nice woman, but was quite stone-faced during the interview. She only spoke when it was her turn to ask a question. She is involved in stem-cell research at the UW.
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It was my first medical school interview so I was nervous, but everyone was nice and my interview panel asked me questions that pertained to my experiences.
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This interview was more stressful, perhaps, than it would otherwise have been because I only applied to one school. The reason for this is that UW is where I want to be. The faculty and student body are outstanding, the training opportunities are incredible, and it is in the perfect location. I will give it a couple of tries and, if unsuccessful, then apply "everywhere else." It seemed that interviewees either thought that the interview was very stressful or not at all stressful. The sense of how things went was highly correlated to which of the two committees the person was assigned. The admissions staff was very friendly. The panel members were all very gracious and they get to the heart of what they wish to know. The interview will go far better if you can relax a bit -- a difficult task. I believe that it is key to doing your best. I walked out feeling as if I had left so many things unsaid and unfinished, which I thought made things look disjointed and inconsistent. I was frustrated because I did not clarify some things that I should have. I concentrated too much on what I know about health care. My advice is that you keep track of what you wish you could have finished and take the opportunity that you will likely be given at the conclusion of the interview to finish the thoughts that are important to you. The lunch meeting with students, staff, and Dr. Hunt is highly informative. The students, particularly, were engaging, enthusiastic, and helpful. I was surprised that no one else wanted to sit in on a class, but that was a lot of fun and I would recommend it. Not many people are accepted at the first Admissions Committee meeting following the interview because of the rolling admissions. The toughest part about applying to UW is the waiting/agonizing. Most interviewees are placed into the "competitive pool," and do not get a definitive answer until April, so be prepared to wait unless you are lucky enough to get an immediate acceptance. Good luck and be certain to eat a cookie!
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Don't let some people's views/experiences effect you, a bad interview for them doesn't mean a bad interview for you. Try not to stess out too much before your big day. Be prepared to answer some questions that you think will be addressed, but try not to memorize a script. Remember, by this point, you shouldn't have to think about why you want to become a doctor...you should already know.
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Before my interview, I had a nice relaxing lunch with fellow applicants, med students, and administrators - they answered all our questions in a very honest and open fashion. I felt my interviewers really got to know me, and made sure everything was addressed to everyone's satisfaction. They put their finger on weaknesses, but also gave me plenty of opportunities to show my strengths.
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I felt that this was an overall pleasant experience, and it was clear to me that all involved were making an effort to overcome many of the negative things that they have been known for in the past. My interviewers were receptive enough to smile when appropriate, but were not overly nonchalant. The panel experience is really not as bad as you might imagine.
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As I said, this was a great interview. I do wish I had had the opportunity to do some other interviews before this one, as I think the panel format is inherently stressful. This, however, is a good thing in many ways. I believe my three interviewers will each offer a unique perspective on my candidacy. To me this is better odds than rolling the dice with just one interviewer, who you may lack chemistry with from the start. Furthermore, it made for a fun conversation as they each had different questions regarding my experience. I have always known UW would be my first choice for a medical school; this experience affirmed it and excited me even more!
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The committee interview was fairly challenging. Although I felt the interview had no flow, i was interrupted several times, and the questions seemed scripted and trite, the interviewers were not trying to be antagonistic or mean-spirited. Be prepared to have your values challenged and your motivations questioned but do not panic. "I dont know" is always a valid answer.
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Because this was my 3rd interview with the school, I felt as if they were pressured into making a "final decision" on me. I have been wait-listed both times before and they wanted to know what Dr. Samson said at my exit interviews, and what I had done to "correct" any inadequacies in my candidacy. Perhaps due to my situation, they felt less inclined to ask my personal q's (no fluff, who are you, what do you like to do, tell us about yourself q's). I had mostly all policy, current events, physician-patient relationship ethics q's.
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You definitely need to look at how ethics situations are dealt with. More than anything, you need to relax and be honest during the interview and try not to let the format intimidate you.
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Overall, the day was less stressful than I expected. The admissions staff and Dr. Hunt were very forthcoming about the whole process and the interview felt more like a conversation than an interrogation. I preferred this interview to others where I spent the whole time talking about myself and my strengths and weaknesses. Now I'm crossing my fingers that I get accepted.
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UW is changing its immage. My overall experience is very positive, although this was my first interview. As long as you read this website and prepare for the questions, you should be fine. Some people may find it uncomfortable after the interview because they did not study the issues that UW thinks you should know. It's one of the top schools, so I guess they expect something from you. Don't stress out: just be yourself, be smart and study issues ahead, most questions from this site should definitely help.
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This feedback is from last year. I was an interviewee from the WAMMI states and I was prompted to write a response due to all of the negative feedback regarding last years WAMI interviews, specifically regarding Dr. Notebom (spelling?). Although I don't think he is malicous, I do beleive you should request a different interviewer if you know you've got him. Don't be afraid to do this!!! UW is a great school and you deserve a fair shot at getting in. People with lower MCAT's and GPA's got in before me because I did not respond well to my interviewer. It was the worst experience of my life! It was NOT because I was underprepared. It was my fifth interview of the year so I felt pretty good going in. My only adice is to request that you do NOT have Dr. Notebom as an interviewer and you'll have a fair chance.
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If you want to have a good interview, just relax and expect to be challenged with questions that don't have obvious right or wrong answers - after all, that's what doctors are faced with everyday. If interviews used to be worse at UW, then they are working hard to change their reputation, because I had a great experience.
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The day wasn't dazzling or overly impressive, but it was well-organized. There wasn't a whole lot of down-time.
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Seriously guys, there are not out to interrogate you. maybe they used to, but i saw none of that. mutual respect was evident. they were genuinely interested in getting to know me and a large protion of the interview were discussions unique to my situation. they did throw in a few expected hard ball question but i did a lot of prep before hand. i can see that if i didn't i probably be feeling pretty sick right now. these questions were fair game and a few follow up questions were asked but they weren't out to challenge me, just looking to see the depth of my understanding. those people with negative feedback probably didn't prepare well or just don't understand the reasoning for the interviewer's actions. a seperate note... don't let the tour fool you. the labs they show you are run down, but these are the labs that are close in proximity. go further west and you'll see all the brand new labs. the udub affiliated fred hutch cancer research center is a beautiful campus with great labs. the school's NIH funding should speak for itself.
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I've read everyone else's experiences, and I absolutely dreaded this interview. But it was a very enjoyable experience, and I was pleasantly surprised by the interview committee. I think I was lucky.
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I would say the interview was akin to a masters thesis defense for an MPH. My own doctor was shocked, friends who work in medicine etc were shocked. "This is a med school interview? Are you sure?" Yes, I am sure. Yes, it was difficult. Yes, I would have turned into a puddle of shame and humiliation if I had not been reading books for days the NYT and talking to people. I said positively impressed by experience, but that does not mean the interview was by ANY means easy.
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I had a great time, the interviewers were receptive and not overpowering. I got into a long debate with the receptionists regarding the television show Full House :). But in all, have fun with the day
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Most of the questions were what i expected having read this website. they tailored several questions to my personal experiences, but most were generic.
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The interview was nice, my interviewers asked easier questions than I saw on this site, consequently I was ready for all the hard questions but not the "easy" ones. The admissions staff were friendly too. Lunch presentations were kind of fast and not too informative for me, but then again I went to UW. The students you have lunch with are so great, they love this school (and they said they had terrible interviews, which goes to show that a bad interview doesn't reflect that poorly. I hope!!)
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I enjoyed the previous two comments on this site- everyone I was with expressed resentment toward their interviewers afterward at lunch. I can't beleive they responed the way they did on this site. They are complete phonies!!! "Hi Dr. Samson," GIVE ME A BREAK. I guess some people want this so bad they will completely sell out. Good luck. For those who have not yet interviewed at UW- just go in there, know what you beleive in and be able to sound it out logically. If you meet resistance or are treated poorly (as many of you will) take your business elsewhere. You've made it this far, so stick to your guns and demand respect. This school needs to realize that it's being evaluated via this BS process as well!
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Dr. Samson reads this website and said so; he also said that 80% of applicants want to go into primary care in a rural area because applicants think that's what the admissions committee wants them to say. Hi Dr. Samson!!!
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Overall, I felt pretty good. The admissions staff was helpful and very friendly and my interviewers were pretty laid back...I count is as a very worthwhile experience
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Only the committee member had my entire file, the other two only had the outline of my AMCAS essay stripped of scores and grades.
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Not great. I don't like the experience. It is imposslible to be "natural" when your being observed and evaluated. I hope my interviewers know that.
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Between this Web site and the UW bioethics site, I had already read and prepared rough answers to every question they asked me. I didn't have any surprises.
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Contrary to what I expected, I actually had a wonderful time. The atmosphere was very laid back and they made me feel comfortable right away. There were a few tough questions about how to fix health care and health care rationing, but that's what I had expected and had prepared for. The students we talked to had both been WWAMIed and sent to Pullman, but they had only good things to say about it. The school is aware that they have come across as arrogant in the past by not trying to sell the school, so Dr. Hunt now has quite a marketing pitch. It's great--he sold me! Definitely my first choice school.
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Not great, not too bad. I didn't like the staff or the people who interviewed me. I'm sure they feel the same about me. Maybe I should have gone into business...
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Overall I commend the school on working to promote itself and overcome any stigma it may have suffered in the past.
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I could tell my interviewers were trying to be friendly. They drill you, which is just fine. Be prepared to be shown no respect though. I'm not part of the WAMI sending states, but LISTEN TO THIS ADVICE! If you recieve Dr. Notebom from Montana, request a different interviewer. EVERY person I know from WAMI who had him hated him. Just a heads up. Mine interviewers were not as bad, but they were definitely canned and insincere. This school is old and run down. If you want to specialize, consider other options. If not, it's an OK place to go to school and a great place to live.
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Coming into the interview, I didn't expect much, from what I had heard about the snottiness of the school. I had heard that EVERYONE was super arrogant. And although I didn't exactly get the warm fuzzies from EVERYONE, I thought everyone I met was very friendly. I felt that the questions in my interview were definitely challenging, but at the same time, they were friendly about it. I think that is FINE if people ask the tough questions, but they are nice about it. That's the ideal!!! Why ask boring questions and get boring answers?? :)
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If you interview here, just relax, beleive in yourself and realize that you are about to have the worst experience of your life. Don't let it get you down. You are better off elsewhere.
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The UW is a wonderful school. Everyone was very friendly I thought. They weren't arogant and they didn't make me feel intimidated. Just stay relaxed, and you will be fine. It helped to stand firm on certain issues and know a little bit about the health care system.
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For the interviewers (I hear they review this site)- You need to deflate your ego and be SERVE US in a respectful manner. Is this how you treat your patients? You're a poor reflection of UW. If this is how people treat one another, NO THANKS. Here's MY evaluation of YOU- you're all a bunch of arrogant, smug geeks and your MD title does not mean shit. UW is obtaining a rather poor reputation amongst medical schools. You are a big part of that. I look forward to being a much better, more compassionate doctor than ALL OF YOU.
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I felt like I had been to the underworld. It was the least fun experience I have had in the last 3 years. No warm fuzzies here.
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It went so well. The first thing they did was offer me a drink and some cookies. That set me right at ease. They asked direct and specific questions, but they were things that I had already thought about. They were polite and freindly, and very engaging in conversation. It went well
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Good interview, but mostly because I was prepared for everything they asked. If I hadn't been, it would have been rough. I don't think UW is arrogant, but I also don't think they know how hard other schools try to sell you on their school. UW didn't do much recruiting, they just presented the facts and seemed to think that they being who they are is enough. I was treated very well there, and will probably go there if I can.
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The committee was running late- I waited over an hour and completely missed the lunch session and other presentations. My head interviewer seemed to be paying very little attention to my answers and actually appeared to be nodding off after a while. They drill you with ethical questions and then make you feel like you are completely wrong. One of my interviewers actually told me that he wanted a different answer. They made no attempt to make me feel like the school wanted me to come- something that I felt at every other school I interviewed with. It was very much a "you'll be lucky if we take you" attitude. UW was my first choice when I went, it became one of my last after I left. However, I did end up getting in, deciding to go because of the price, and am very happy with my choice so far...so I guess you never know...
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Having seen the comments posted on this site, I expected a much less positive interview. But, all of my interviewers were friendly and asked very reasonable ?s. Just be yourself and relax! My advice would be to prepare to discuss anything about yourself, your activities, and broader healthcare issues. I was suprised how much we covered in just 45 minutes!
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If you want to specialize, UW is NOT for you...you won't find much support for specialized residencies; they want to keep their #1 position as the best primary care school. Also, read the interview that was posted a few back. It was the negative from last January...this is true, although a distastefully stated. I have numerous friends from the WAMMI who interviewed last year and had horendous expereinces with Dr. Nottebom. Don't sweat it if you get him. Just know that he has adopted a self rightous attitude and loves his power. Be humble yet honest. If he cuts you off don't get frusterated- STAND YOUR GROUND! Remember, this is not that great of a school anyway, just cheap. You'll do fine and have other, better options!
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The office staff and the commitee were extremely friendly and considerate. The panel interview is not overly stressful and ensures an accurate assesment of candidates. Be honest and thoughtful in your responses. It's ok to say " I don't know."
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Overall, good experience. Althought the interview was difficult, it wasn't bad by any means.
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Basically they just wanted to get to know me. They asked me a lot of questions about my applications, my travels, current events pertaining to my interests, etc. I got one ethical question and the usual healthcare question about finding a solution for insuring the uninsured, but nothing was that difficult nor surprising. Good experience overall except for the parking issues.
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This is the second year I interviewed and it went much better this time. I was wait listed, I think, becasue I was unsure of which schools were my top choices. In other words, when they asked which other schools I interviewed at and I told them, it showed them that I had not made up my mind yet where I wanted to go.
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This was my hardest interview, also my first. The girl ahead of me walked out literally white in the face. She found it very intimidating to sit infront of the panel and have them shoot questions at her. They can be tough, but stand your ground and work to direct the conversation. They will let you do that if you try. Remember to laugh, smile and act like you are having a good time, even if you are hating every second of it.
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Overall, it was a great interview experience. The interviewers were friendly, sincere, and genuinely concerned with getting to know me. I really believed that they were my advocates for the executive committee. I definitely got the sense that I would be happy spending 4 years of my life at UWSOM.
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I really enjoyed my one on one interviews with faculty members. I even had one friendly faculty member approach me and initiate an informal conversation in the hall after she saw my name tag with the MSTP emblem on it. I couldn't seem to relate with the director during my interview with him, and the panel interview made me feel very unsure of myself. The tour was rushed because of time constraints, so I didn't get a good feel for what the medical school is like.
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Pretty good. One of the interviewers (obviously the bad cop for the day) kept on about one of the ethical situations which basically led to a "I can't do anything, but thanks for asking" answer, but other than that, they were friendly. I didn't get in and don't know why yet, but other than that, pretty good.
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My interview was very kick-back and friendly. I heard other interviewees had a nightmare, but maybe the interviewers were tired of playing the devil's advocate when they got to me. Anyway, it was not at all stressful and they pretty much allowed me to say whatever I wanted to.
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It was quite pleasant but it could be that this is my second time around so I am more relaxed and prepared. The interviewers were very nice..some of the questions they posed were not hard, but the twists they kept adding to them just makes you doubt yourself...but I kept my ground the whole time! Overall, I felt good.
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I felt like I overprepared myself way too much. I do have friends, however, that have interviewed there recently and they had the "confrontational" interview. So, I guess it really depends on who the interviewers were. The school has so many programs in place for their students the get early clinical experience and ample exposure to rural, primary care. It was a great experience.
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I had a very positive interview experience. My interviewer did an excellent job of making me feel like I could be myself around him--not too formal. We covered a lot of ground during the interview. I felt like he had a pretty honest view of the person that I am. UVM really makes the effort to present themselves in the best possible light without bragging. My interview day at UVM was very well laid out for everyone involved. I never felt like I was just sitting around, waiting for stuff to happen. The student tour guides and fellow interviewees were amusing and easy to talk to. The campus is beautiful. The town of Burlington is Birkenstock friendly and eco-conscious! And if you ski/board, you have great snow/resources to take advantage of.
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I don't want to sound like an old cliche, but it's true when they say BE YOURSELF!!! I felt very relaxed at the interview because I realized how hospitable the interviewers were trying to be. The questions were difficult, but managable. If you know yourself, and know your stance on issues you will do alright. Don't go too in depth for each answer; be concise. That was my one problem. Above all, have faith. It's not as hard as others make it out to be. Good luck!!
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I was really nervous going into this based on what I had read from candidates that interviewed earlier in the season. My experience, however, was nothing like what I read. I never felt they were confrontational or that I was being interrogated. I felt like I was involved in a discussion. The interviewers were very friendly and were not 'stone-faced' at all. It was a very relaxed atmosphere. I felt like they wanted me to succeed and were very supportive. Their intent is to find out if you can think on your feet, if you can hold a professional conversation, and how you handle the stress of the interview (or perceived stress). They don't expect you to know all the health care policy or ethics answers. You're not a doctor (yet). They just want to know if you have an opinion and if you'll stand by your word. Be yourself and don't throw canned answers back at them - they'll be able to tell. They are there to get to know YOU, not a facade.
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I thought the interview would be a lot more stressful. While it was still a test, the interviewers were receptive and warm.
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Prior to the interview my nerves were spiked as I expected a confrontational atmosphere, this was not the case. Though the interview was challenging and thorough, in short, if you know why you want to pursue medicine it's a great experience.
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They asked me lots of questions about my background and about my clinical experineces. It was about forty minutes long. They asked me some bioethical questions, but they were not intimidating at all.
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Heavy on ethics (end-of-life, abortion, stem cell, religious preferences), national and local health care policy, MEDICARE and Medicaid, extent of benefits of above insurances but the heavy issues were interrupted by easier topics: what's on your reading list, what is your research about (how to explain it simply) I WAS NOT ASKED WHY I WANTED TO BE A DOCTOR (bummer, I had a well-rehearsed response)
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My experience was extremely stressful and not at all what I expected. I walked out there feeling I screwed up royally and should not expect to get accepted. I'll keep a small glimmer of hope... it still is my top choice.
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Overall, i guess it went as expected. My best advice is to RELAX.
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Read a lot on current health care and ethical issues. Know why you pursue medicine. Your attitude and character will be remembered not so much that you have all the right answers. Prepare ahead, do your homework, and be ready to tell about your experiences. Believe in yourself!
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My experience on the whole was negative...I left the room feeling extremely uncomfortable. But then, it's not my perception of how it went that counts, it's theirs.
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They are really really big on health care and ethics
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Good overall experience. I think the UW has an unfair image as this difficult, tricky, mean interviewing school-an experience unlike my own.
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This was one of the hardest interviews I had simply because I was the first interview of the day and when I got there the office was empty. The head MD came out and got me right on time. I had a panel of three interviewers, one MD, one microbiologist and one med student. None of them really reacted when I responded to their questions so it was hard to gauge how I was doing. They could have hated me or loved me and I will never know.
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A good, very challenging interview. The interviewers really made me think and defend some of my ideas and beliefs. This is definitely a great school, but be prepared for a farily difficult interview experience.
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I was told that it would be a blinded interview for two of the panel members, so I really was not expecting any questions about my academic record. I completely lost my composure, which is a shame, because none of the ethical questions rattled me at all, and I think at this point, my ability to handle THOSE questions is far more important. It would have been a really pleasant experience, but for that.
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Much better than I thought it would be.
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Over all I think their intentions were good, but they made me really doubt how happy I would be working with them. I felt corned throughout the entire interview, and that I really had to defend my goals and experiences. One interviewer didn't even listen to my answers, she was a researcher and just wanted to see if I knew the answer and would cut me off as soon as I started giving it.
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I went into it not knowing what to expect (especially about the emphasis on ethics/health care policy question). I didn't prepare much for those types of questions beyond what I would do for other schools' interviews. Unfortunately, the UW interview was BY FAR more difficult than all of the other schools I've interviewed at. I was caught off guard by some of the questioning. Here's a little bit about what the interview: There are 3 faculty interviewing you at the same time. I had Dr. Werner Sampson, who is Assistant Dean and Chairman of Admissions and quite intimidating. He was the head interviewer and there were 2 others with him. They started the 45 minute interview with about 5 minutes of discussion about my background, academics, research, then launched into a discussion on medical ethics scenario by laying out the scenario for a roleplay on physician-assisted suicide. After I gave my answer, they were very confrontational, and kept trying to get me to change my mind. They prodded, but I stood firm. So after about 10 minutes, they moved on to asking me about my ECs for 5 minutes. Then, back to another ethical scenario, again on physician assisted suicide, but with different circumstances. We talked about this one for 10 more minutes, then about 10 minutes on health care policy. In the end, 2/3 of the interview was spent on ethics & health care policy, and I found their line of questioning to be very challenging and confrontational. It felt like nothing I was saying was "the right answer" in their minds. I think that the key is to stand your ground, although I DID have my admissions deferred until April. Now I know there's at least another team of 3 interviewers, and they are a lot less harsh, so if you're lucky you'll get them. I would prepare by reading up a good deal on medical ethics (particularly physician assisted suicide) and formulating your opinion on the matter, all the while being prepared for their rebuttals. Read up on health care policy more than you would for other schools, as well (I got kind of stumped by the depth of our discussion in this topic). As for the tour, if they're still taking you where they took me, keep in mind that the medical school is MUCH nicer. They don't do a good job of showing off their facility. I used to work in the UW Health Sciences Center, and it's a LOT nicer than what you see on the short tour. I also didn't get the feeling that the students I met on my interview day were very happy, but I know a bunch more personally who ARE. All in all, UW doesn't go out of its way to try to impress you, but it IS a great school with a lot to offer (especially if you like primary care). Don't let the interview or the experience discourage you (although that's easier said than done).
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Overall, it was a good experience. At times I felt like the interview was more of an exam than a conversation, but that's to be expected. The admissions staff were very helpful and straightforward about the process. Although it was stressful, it was much less so than I thought it would be.
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Interview was in the morning, and took only 45 minutes. I didn't get the feeling that this was enough time for the interviewers to get a good feel for my background and interest in medicine, however, they moved through many questions...none of which were out of the ordinary. Then we went on a short tour given by a member of the admissions staff, which was nice and concise. Then we had a lunch where we ate with a few medical students and then one of the Deans came and answered any questions we had about the admissions process. Following him, people came from financial aid and culteral affairs to give us some information and answer any questions. Then I went to a medical school class, which was very interesting. The day was good and I left feeling excited about the school.
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I was really nervous since this was my first interview and I had heard about UW's stressful interviews. However, the interviewers were really nice and created a really comfortable environment. Those 40 minutes flew by.
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All in all, it was not as bad as I feared. I did feel like they tried to back me in the corner during the interview a few times. Generally though the men and women giving the interview were reasonable. My personal info was not discussed much. More policy, ethics and other issues.
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Very pleasant. Made me want to go the UW more.
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This was the most intense interview that I've done. The interviewers (with the exception of the one described above) were not unfriendly, but were extremely serious, and they didn't seem too interested in getting to know me as a person. Rather, I felt like I was taking a test, and am disappointed that the UW feels that they need to take this approach to screening applicants.
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The interviewers were very polite and nice. However, I felt like the majority of questions were geared toward problem-solving and health care policies. Personality, interests, activities, etc. weren't delved into as much as I thought they would be.
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Some interviewers were rude, and seemed more concerned with proving their own intellect than assessing mine.
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Overall, this one was more stressful than others I had done but it still wasn't bad. Most of the questions were very general - why medicine? why UW? - but they did make a point to ask one or two ethical questions. They were tough questions, but the interviewers were nice about it. I got the impression they weren't trying to be mean, they just wanted to see that you have thought about things like that before and you can formulate a logical and confident answer. Just be ready for something like that and you will be fine. I would really recommend reading through everything on the UW's bioethics site: http://eduserv.hscer.washington.edu/bioethics/topics/index.html
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Poor. During the day, UW interviewed roughly 30 mostly non-traditional applicants. Many of whom verbally complained during the tour of poor quality of interviews (some interviews were only 2 on one instead of 3 on one -- others were cut short). Maybe we caught the office on an "off" day but should the applicants suffer for that?
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Waited around some. Interviewers were running behind. Ate lunch. Went on a tour (poor tour). Interview was typically. Three people (one person had an open-file, two people (one was a fourth-year) had everything but grades and MCAT scores). Then a meeting with Offices of Multicultural Affairs - the highlight of my visit. Seems like UW has a lot of great programs if you are interested in rural primary care (like, no duh?!).
💬 Interview Process ▼
Length, number, and type of interviews
🕐
Length:
41 Minutes Average
🔄
Number:
3 Interviews Average
👥
Interview Type (Interaction):
17% One-on-One
83% Group Interview
📁
File Type:
84% Open-File
16% Closed-File
💻
Interview Modality:
100% Virtual
0% In-Person
UWash-COMP interviews are an average of 41 minutes, with an average of 3 interviews. 17% of interviews are one-on-one, 0% are in-person, and 16% are closed-file.
What is one of the specific questions they asked you?
The most commonly asked interview questions at medical schools include inquiries about motivation for pursuing medicine, reflections on personal experiences in healthcare, discussions on healthcare system improvements, ethical scenarios, and future career aspirations. Many respondents also mentioned being asked about their views on specific healthcare policies, their interest in rural health, and their reasons for choosing medicine over other healthcare professions. Additionally, references to MMI format and nondisclosure agreements were noted, indicating a structured interview process with confidential questions.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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What brought me to medicine?
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Why medicine (with emphasis on why MD specifically and not RN, PA, NP, etc).
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What was something you learned about yourself from your job (clinical job)
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They mostly asked questions from my application file
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How the US healthcare system could be improved and what we can learn from other health care systems around the world.
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What causes burnout, and how will you avoid it in your career?
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Tell me about a bias you observed while shadowing a physician?
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Tell us about why you want to be a doctor.
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Why medicine?
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What got you interested in the field of medicine and why are you pursuing it?
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Why do you want to be a doctor?
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What do you do for fun?
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Where do you see yourself in 12 years? (follow-up) What challenges do you foresee in your plan?
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Why Medicine
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Who is someone that embodies professionalism in your eyes, and why?
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Tell me about yourself - why medicine?
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If a friend was sitting in the room what would be 2 positives and 2 negatives
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What makes you unique?
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What makes are the qualities of a good physician?
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How should we modify the SGR going forward?
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What is your motivation to pursue medicine?
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Why did you choose to be a doctor?
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Tell me why you're interested in a career in medicine.
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What brought you to this table today? (I was tempted to say "A car", but refrained. I suggest answering this as a combined "Why medicine and why this school"?)
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Give me your analysis and opinion on the democratic and republican viewpoints on healthcare reform.
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Ethical Scenario
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How would you spend $1 million to improve healthcare in the US
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Tell us about a patient you remember from _______ experience? - What was her name? - How old was she? - What was her diagnosis? - Did you follow up on her after she left your care? - What did you learn from her?
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What is wrong with the health care industry today and what would you do to fix it?
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Why do you want to be a doctor and why this state? Follow up questions. Have you had rural medical experience in this state (I said I was interested in rural health care because of time I spent in Argentina). What specialty are you interested in?
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Why do you want to change from your current career field into medicine?
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What are the biggest problems facing health care
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What brings you here today? (I answered as if I was answering "why medicine")
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What is not working with the health care system of the United States? (then follow up question) What do you think is not working with Canada's (or other countries') Single Payer system, or what negatives have you heard?
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Tell me what you think is one of the problems in health care?
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What brings you here today?
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Why is health care so expensive in the United States and how would you fix it?
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You recommend chemo for your teenage cancer patient, but his mother refuses treatment because she's afraid chemo will make him sick. What do you do?
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Do you see a universal, single-payer healthcare system working in the US? Many questions about healthcare reform...
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What would you do if a woman with two children came to you and asked for a tubal ligation?
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Tell us about a patient you remember from one of your shadowing experiences.
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Is there any physician you admire?
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Questions about my medical mission trips and shadowing experiences. Ex: What are the three most important things you observed at the rural family practice clinic?
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Why are you applying to medical school?
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What is the healthcare system like in your hometown?
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What have you done to improve your application since the last time we met with you? (I interviewed last year)
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What did you learn/what most impacted you about your experience volunteering at the women's homeless shelter?
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1. You are on president Obama's health advisory team. What two things would you urge him to do/consider
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Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
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1. Tell us about your reasons for wanting to become a doctor. 2. What are your thoughts on the current healthcare system? 3. You said that as a former attorney, one of the drawbacks was the paperwork, yet physicians must deal with enormous paperwork. What makes you think medicine would be different?
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1. What motivates you to pursue a career in medicine? 2. What physician do you admire and what qualities does he/she embody that you would like to emulate? 3. What do you see as the major problems with the US health care system and what should be included in the health care plan to address them?
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What led you here? Why did you choose to go to Arkansas for undergrad? Did you apply to many schools?
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What have you been doing since you applied?
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How do you know you want to be a doctor?
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Why an M.D. and not a PhD?
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How would your friends describe you? 2 positives and 2 negatives
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What have you done to improve your application since you last applied?
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How have your experiences prepared you for medicine? Tell us about a specific patient you have encountered, what did you learn from that experience?
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Tell us your story of deciding on medicine.
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What are you doing right now (in life)?
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What is your opinion of the recent octuplet birth in California? How would you have approached the situation if you were the doctor? Do you think the doctor should be reprimanded in a non-litigating manner? <br><br> (unethical, would have suggested more focused/quality care of the 6 children she had already, reprimand...he implanted 8, protocol is 3 for her age group)
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What frustrations have you experienced with healthcare restrictions when providing patient care? Do you anticipate having the same frustrations as a physician?
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Why medicine? Explain your grades in organic chemistry (I didn't do very well). How did you prepare for the MCAT?
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1. Did the doctors you shadowed think you were crazy for wanting to go into primary care? Why do you think I am asking you this?....... 2.What are your weaknesses? ..... 3. When might a physician refuse to care for a patient? What if they are the only doctor for miles and miles in rural Alaska?
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Role play: An obese man, chronic respiratory condition and smoker requests for oxygen, but you as the physician refuse. What are the options? Why? What else? What if X occurs... Y occurs...
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Do you want to specialize?
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What would you do to solve the current healthcare crisis?
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Tell me why you want to be a physician.
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What have you done to improve your application?
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Ethics: Suppose you have two teenage daughters and one of their 15-year-old friends comes to you as a physician asking for birth control without parental consent. What would you do? What would you do if her mom finds the pill pack with your name on it and angrily confronts you about it in the supermarket? (I said I'd prescribe birth control)
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Why do I want to become a physician?
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Is it ever okay to lie to a patient?
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All relating to my Peace Corps experience
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In a role play: get a person to stop smoking.
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How would you grade US healthcare policy?
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Where do you see yourself in 15 years?
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What medical experience have you had?
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Describe one failure in your life so far.
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What are some of the difficulties facing pediatricians today? (related to my experiences)
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What are some of the challenges in primary care medicine that you've seen/experienced?
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Why does the US spend so much money and get such poor results compared to other countries?
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You have an interest in ''X'', as evidenced by your experiences earlier this year and last year. Have you done anything since involving those interests?
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Who would negatively benefit from socialized medicine?
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Say you're a practicing pediatrician and a mom brings in her little boy who's about six and is very sick. Just after you get them situated in an exam room, an administrator comes to you and says that they are illegal immigrants, have no insurance, your clinic has met its quota of medicaid and medicare patients for the month and you can't afford to treat the boy. What do you do?
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Specific patient experience
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If a mother brings in her 12 year old son and says he is very ill and needs a note to excuse him from school for the next few days, but when you examine him there is nothing wrong, what would you do?
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Why Medicine? (duh)
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How did you end up where you are?
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What's the last book you read?
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Describe your research experience.
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Tell me the problems with health care, both nationally and locally?
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Question about volunteering.
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What would you do if you don't get into medical school no matter how hard you tried?
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A patient with a common serious but relatively time-tested successful treatment plan wants to be disconnected from her ventilator before treatment is initiated. She is a nurse, and thus understands the implications of her request. Do you grant her wish or refuse, knowing that she will probably be fine with treatment but die without it?
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Ethics of treatment resources used on patients not following doctors orders/making lifestyle changes
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Why do you think HIV/AIDS is so prevalent in Africa?
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Will you be going into primary care?
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National Health Care
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What is the biggest problem in health care delivery in the US?
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Why did you take so long to come to medicine?
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You're clearly interested in working with kids, do you see yourself as a practicing pediatrician in 10 years?
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What are the major problems in healthcare today?
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What have you done differently since applying last year? Outside of your music and volunteering, what do you like to do for fun? Say today was a sunny May 15th, how would you spend your day?
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Okay, your in charge of the country. How would you fix health care? (I floated the idea of national health insurance) Wait, some people are worried that National Health Insurance will result in rationing of care. What about specialist fees? I'm an oncologist and new cancer treatments are extremely beneficial but expensive, what about them? Did you know that over half of healthcare spending occurs in the last 2 months of peoples' lives? What do we do about that? Should we ration their care? !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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What volunteering experience has stood out in your mind?
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Tell us about your research.
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Tell us about what has led you to want to become a physician.
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A series of questions about health coverage for the elderly, especially when resources are limited.
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Why do you want to be a doctor and why UWSOM?
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What have you done since graduating?
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What would you do if a patient didn't want to modify his diet from one of high fat to one more nutritious? (Paraphrased: the question was actually stated with cultural overtones)
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Why not research?
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Why are you pursuing a **** minor? (It's not a typical minor)
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What kind of relationship should exist between pharmaceutical companies and physicians?
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Why are you switching from (previous background) to medicine
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In what setting do I envision myself practicing medicine?
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What is medicare?
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What is the problem with healthcare in the country and what would you do to fix it.
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Why do you want to be a Doctor (first question)
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Why do you want to be a doctor? Why UW?
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Ethics: a woman has expressed the past that she never wants to be on a breathing machine. Three monthes later, she must go on a breathing machine or die. You get her to try it for a week. After six days on the machine, she is progressing positively and she wants the breathing machine removed. You are not certain that she is ready, but she wants it done now. What do you do?
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Why Medicine? Why UW?
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Ethics question about PAS with several follow-ups.
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What are you doing currently?
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During your experience as a volunteer, what was something that impacted you in a negative aspect? How would you remedy that??
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What are you doing right now?
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What do you think about I-330 and 336?
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What do you think are the challenges to healthcare and what do you think we can do to fix them?
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Motivations for medicine
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Why do you want to pursue a career in medicine?
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Stem cell research has generated heated debate. What are the pros and cons of this issue?
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Question about the headlines of that day’s paper. Ethics question. Question about my research. Question about the state of healthcare today.
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If you were the president's health czar, what recommendations would you make to fix health care in America?
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What are you currently doing? ( I applied after I recieved my undergrad degree)
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Would you like a cookie?
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Say you had a patient who was a chronic alcoholic and wanted a liver transplant...would you add that person to the national list for liver rationing?
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You've traveled a lot, what do you think about the US's health care system vs. some of the countries you have visited?
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How do you feel about stem cell research?
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Where do you see yourself in 15 years? What was the most important event of 2004?
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What would you say to someone who wanted ab for a viral illness?
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How would I fix the US healthcare system if I was given the opportunity?
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What's the biggest healthcare problem facing AK? F/u questions about how to solve this problem.
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What was your favorite class in college? What was your least favorite class in college?
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So you're from out of the region. Why UW?
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How would you fix the health care problems in the US?
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What are your impressions of the US Health Care system?
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Pretend you did not believe in abortion (which I do). a 14 year old girl comes to you requesting the procedure. what do you do?
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Why do you want to be a doctor.
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Tell us about your decision to become a doctor.
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What do you do in your spare time?
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How did you pick all the schools you applied to?
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Ethical (see above)
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Heatlh care issues
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Name 3 significant problems with healthcare in developing countries.
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What made you think medicne?
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What challenges will you face working in a rural area?
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Ethical question involving medical malpractice: a patient is suing another doctor and comes to see you, would you treat that patient and how would you deal... etc.
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Why do you want to study medicine, and why at the UW? Where do you see yourself in 10 years? The typical questions.
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What is the most significant experience you have had that made you want to become a physician?
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You have a patient that is a severe alcoholic and wants a new liver; do you give it to them?
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Many questions related to my research.
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What is your stance on stem cell research?
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Discuss the current state of medicine in this country and how you would fix the problems.
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With all your interest in international health, why not pursue a career in public health?
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What do you know about the presedential candidates' health plans?
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State of healthcare in US
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Problems facing physicians
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What are the problems with our health care system? How do we fix them?
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What challenges did you observe working in a (somewhat) rural clinic?
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How has my major prepared me for a career in medicine?
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Why UW
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Assisted suicide (with lots of follow-up)
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Why did you move to South Africa for a year? What was it like to work in an AIDS orphanage?
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Describe yourself, your hubby, your academic record.
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Assisted suicide...what would I do?
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Which of the candidate's health policy do you support?
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Why did you pick Spanish as a major?
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Describe each of your clinical experiences and tell us what you learned about medicine from them.
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I see that you graduated a year ago, what have you been doing with yourself?
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What is the main problem with healthcare today?
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Why do you want to work in rural community if you have no experience in any rural area?
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Ethical question- end of life issues/ drug overdose
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Favorite movie
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Tell me about yourself.
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Where do you see yourself in 20 years? Where will your ambition have taken you?
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How is the canadian system different from the US? what are the main problems of the US system? what would you do to change it? why is that a solution? is cost the only factor? (as you can see, we went on this topic for a good amount of time)
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Dissected my essays and asked about my experiences.
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What are three major healthcare problems a physician has to deal with?
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“Tell us why you want to get into this.â€Â
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Role play
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Basically what everyone already said. I might as well just tell you all of them. Why med? Where do you see yourself years from now? What are some current problems in med in US? What is the deal with the aging population? What should we do about it? Is the Canadian system a possible solution? Why do HMOs cut off services? Why do people specialize when there is primary care shortage? What books do I read? Tell us about a personal failure. Tell us about a person in your volunteer program. If patient wants prescription to buy drugs in Canada, do you do it?
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Already covered in previous posts
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Why did I choose my major?
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Tell us about your experiences and how you got here.
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Tell us about your graduate school experince in Boston? What did you learn from it?
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How have experiences with patients shaped your desire to practice medicine?
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What do you do for fun? Do you read?
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With your background, why medicine?
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Time's Person of the Year
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Let's say the US is switched to a Universal Health Care system like Oregon state, where everyone got basi health care, but certain procedures were not covered. For example, a 40 year old man, regardless of situation/health, will be refused a kidney transplant. Is this fair?
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How does the Japanese healthcare system differ from the US healthcare system?
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What do you think about premium medicical services available to those who can pay for the added service?
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Why do you want to become a doctor?
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Questions about current problems with our health care system.
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Would you like a cookie, or something to drink?
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What sets you apart from other candidates
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Asked me stuff about my volunteer experiences, shadowing doctors.
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What have you done with yourself in the last year?
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What did you learn from your past traveling experiences?
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Bioethics
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Would you prescribe a lethal dose of morphine to a patient who was terminal if requested?
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What are the top 3 health care problems in the U.S.?
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Tell us about the healthcare system in Japan
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Why should we choose you out of all these applicant?
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Views on state of health care in US.
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Where do you see yourself in ten years?
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Why UW? (that's a good question- why in the hell did I apply here?)
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Who would you choose at Time's Man of the Year? (got a negative response to my choice)
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What do you see as the three most important issues in medicine today?
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Tell us what you learned from your clinical experiences.
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Who would you pick as Time's Person of the Year?
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Why medicine? Where do you see yourself in 15 yrs?
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So...tell us a bit about yourself.
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What have you been doing lately?
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How do we fix the problem of 43 million people being uninsured?
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Man on ventillator wants to have ventillator out even though he won't live without it. What do you do?
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Views of physician assited suicide
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The pill question
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Ethics on Jahovah wittness refuses blood transplant, old patient/young, concious/unconcious,
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What would you tell a patient who calls you up to say goodbye because he's been storing up pills and is going to take them as soon as he gets off the phone with you?
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What has been your favorite research project ? (if you are asked this, I would definitely talk about the project you know best whether it is your favorite project or not).
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Where do you see yourself in 10-15 years.
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So you spoke to Dr. Samson..what did he tell you and what did you do to improve your application?
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What are problems with health care today and what would you do to fix them?
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How did you hear about UVM and why did you apply here?
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Read above.
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Why should we choose you?
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See above.
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Where do you see yourself in 10 years from now?
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You give a medicare patient a much-needed Rx, she immediately tosses it in the trash saying she can't afford it...What do you do?
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Describe 2 or 3 of the most pressing healthcare issues.
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Why do you want to be a doctor? Why UWSOM?
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You have a patient who just lost his wife and found that he has prostate cancer but refuse treatment. His family are begging you to force him to have treatment done. What do you do?
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How have you improved your application since you were here last year?
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What do you feel is the biggest problem in today's healthcare system?
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Time Person of the Year
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What are your views on cloning humans?
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What have you been doing for the last two years?
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What's the biggest problem facing health care today?
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Why do you want to be a doctor, and why should we support you in that?
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What clinical experience makes you want to be a doctor. What kind of doctor.
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Do you know how many Americans are have no health care coverage?
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Is this the only school you applied to?
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What did you learn from traveling?
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What area of medicine are you interested in?
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What was your biggest failure?
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Your patient wants a total body scan, but you know it doesn't do much good and could be potentially harmful because of irradiation. Do you let the patient do the procedure?
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What would you do to improve the health care system?
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Why do you want to be a doc? What specialty and why?
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What do you think are the biggest challenges you will face as a practicing doctor in ten years?
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Tell us about yourself.
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What do you do in your free time?
What was the most interesting question?
Students said most interesting question asked at University of Washington School of Medicine discussed a wide range of topics including ethical dilemmas, healthcare system improvements, hypothetical scenarios, and personal reflections. The interviews may have been in an MMI format, as some respondents mentioned role-playing scenarios and ethical questions reminiscent of an MMI setup, potentially involving a nondisclosure agreement based on the variety and depth of questions asked.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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They asked how I would overcome feeling burned out, and I said gym/strength training. They followed up with, “How would you get a high school student to stick to a workout plan?” (Interesting but fun question)
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If you had $5 million dollars to improve a primary care clinic, how would you spend it?
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Tell us about an underserved population you have worked with, think of a problem that they typically face and how you might go about solving it.
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Questions about how the transition from private healthcare to universal healthcare would impact physicians.
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Describe a time you had an interpersonal conflict with a friend, coworker, colleague, etc. What did you do?
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Imagine I am about to commission the creation of a small, nineteen bed hospital. Explain what the hospital mission should be and how you will ensure it is followed. (As a follow-up) Choose a board of directors.
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Do you see medical scribes continuing to have a role in the industry in the future?
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Is there anything you wished the committee would have asked you but didn't?
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If you had $100 million, what healthcare problem in Washington state would you fix
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How would you spend $5 million dollars on a rural clinic?
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What are some of the things that you would expect to hear a physician say they enjoy about their job and that they don't enjoy about their job?
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If given $15 million dollars to promote healthcare in your community, how would you go about constructing a plan to use that money, and what would you do?
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Patient role play scenario
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A role playing scenario.
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If I won the powerball what would I use the money for?
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In response to one answer, one of the interviewers politely disagreed with me and challenged me answer with a follow up. It was related to communication as a physician and how to integrate all perspectives. It caught me off guard but we had a good academic discussion.
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If i was editor of Time Magazine and i told you that i will put any organization you wish on the cover and write a story about them, which organization would you choose?
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What do you do in you free time?
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What is the state of healthcare right now?
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If President Obama approached you to help solve a local obesity problem, how would you go about making a difference in the community?
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If Governor Inslee had extra money to spend in his budget for your use and asked you to report to him the health needs of a county in NE Washington State, how would you go about finding this information out?
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Tell me about a patient that left an impression on you. (Not really an interesting question but really one of the only ones where I felt I could really shine and they finally wanted to know about ME, not just standard boring healthcare questions or "If you had a million dollars for healthcare..."
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How do you like Bill Greer as a Basketball coach?
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What do you do to relax?
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Ethical role-play. You are in a private practice with several other doctors, including me (your best friend). When you come into work one morning, your nurse tells you she smells alcohol on my breath.
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They asked a lot of interesting ethical questions. Most were straight off of the bioethics website.
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Role play: 14 year old obese girl with no other health issues wants a note to get out of PE. (It wasn't a "what would you do", rather a "let's act this out, right now.")
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I did a role play scenario and had to convince one of the interviewers to take a treatment that they were hesitant to do.
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A new patient of yours who has lung cancer walks into your office and tells you he wants to end his life...
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If you were tasked to find out why there were high levels of alcoholism in a rural town, how would you go about doing so?
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Why not social work? It is said that with medicine you help individuals, but with social work, you help populations, so why not social work?
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A role play question with the excom: One of your terminally ill cancer patients asks for prescription pain killers. What do you do? ... Patient calls you on a busy afternoon and says that instead of taking the medications as prescribed, he is planning to take them all at once to end his life. He has discussed his decision with family and friends and says you cannot change his mind; he is simply calling to say goodbye and to thank you for your help. What do you do?
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Because you are a theology major, how does that influence your opinions about Washington's death with dignity act?
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Say you are an internal medicine doc in small town, Montana. You have a patient that comes to you asking you to help take care of a problem that he has. You also see and know well his wife and family. This man is a salesman and is on the road quite a bit. He tells you that a few weeks ago, he was lonely. He went to the bar, had a few drinks, met a woman, and now thinks he has contracted some sort of STD. You check him out and diagnose and treat him for syphilis. You then tell him that it is a communicable disease and must be reported, as well as his contacts. He tells you, "No. There is no way my wife can know." What do you do? ........ Then, what if he says, "I know she has an appointment for a check-up next week. Can't you just tell her that she's due for an immunization and give her a shot of penicillin?" ...... I said absolutely not... What would you then say to him if he said, "I came to you, in trust, that you would help me take care of this and not say a word."
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What are the top three most pressing healthcare issues in this state?
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Role play: One of your long time patients with terminal cancer calls you at a busy Friday afternoon. He (in a nutshell):"The pain is getting too much, no chance of cure, talked it through with my family and gonna take a bunch of sleeping pills tonight. Just wanted to say goodbye and thanks for everything." Me:"ehmmm..."
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This is more like the question I didn't expect (but in a good way): You are a physician on call, and it it’s your anniversary. Your spouse has cooked dinner and there are roses on the table. As you enter the door, your pager goes off with an emergency. You have to go back to the hospital to see a patient. You come home 2 hours later and the roses are in the garbage can, and your spouse is upset. Why?
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Out of a 9 year old girl with down syndrome, a 31 year old single man with a former drug addiction, and a 54 year old man with a wife and 2 children, who would you give a heart to if you only had one?
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What is the most important feedback you've ever received, and what did you do with it?
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What do you think about the recent guidelines for mammograms?
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How can we recruit medical students interested in primary care?
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We set up lots of theoretical constraints regarding health care reform that were not hard, but sort of tricky to keep track of. As advised on the UWSOM website, think out loud.
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Compare and contrast your experience working with the patients in the geriatric exercise clinic versus the varsity athletes in the training room. (both volunteer experiences in my file)
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#2
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You mention 'lack of self-awareness was an issue that caused my parents divorce.' What do you mean by lack of self awareness?
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A role-play. it was kind of weird but fun.
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You are seeing a pt with kidney failure who refuses dialysis. He later loses consciousness, and his family requests that you dialyze immediately. What do you say? Later he regains consciousness and wishes to start dialysis, how do you think the family will feel towards you?
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Are there any questions that we haven't asked you that you thought we should have?
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Tell us what major health care issues you see in America today and what you'd do about it?
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All modesty aside, why should we pick you?
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Have you had any other interviews this year? (Just thought this was an odd question to ask at the end of my interview)
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Before Tom Daschle stepped down from office, what was his plan for health care reform and do you think it would have worked? (I went to school in South Dakota where he is from.)
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You have treated a man with every possible known treatment for cancer. He will die unless you can halt/remove the cancer and he has just recently slipped into a coma. His wife found a drug online that is not FDA approved but is advertised as possibly having life saving effects. She wants to use it on her patient. What do you do? Pretend I am the wife and role play with me.
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Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
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Details about my specific experiences and how they relate to my current interests in medicine
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Role play scenario about ethics
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What's so interesting about radiology?!? (The interviewer was trying to ask me why I was interested in radiology, but then became embarrassed when he realized his tone was downplaying radiology.)
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What do you like to do? <br><br> (compose music, write)
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A new drug has clinically been proven to extend the life expectancy of a terminally ill patient with lung cancer from 9 months to 10.5 months. The drug costs $80,000 per patient. The Canadian healthcare system has decided they will not cover the cost of this drug for patients, but Medicare here in the US does. Would you use this treatment, knowing it costs as much as it does?
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(I worked with diabetes patients) Discuss keeping track of numbers with regard to physician performance in controlling diabetes in their patients. What do you do with "non-compliant" patients?
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(While suggesting options about a case study) That's not going to work. What else?
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Small role-playing scenario: I was the physician, on of the interviewers was a 55 year old obese diabetic woman living in poverty. She comes to you looking for a way to afford her medication. Where do you send her/what do you tell her?
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If you had to choose, would you choose a lifesaving treatment for someone or prevention for many?
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How did X experience make you think differently?
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Describe a medical error that you've observed during your work, what was done about it?
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A 14 year old girl comes to your office and tells you she had unprotected sex. She wants you to give her a prescription for plan B. How do you handle the situation?
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Tell us about some of the experiences you've had that made you want to go in to medicine; give specific examples of how people inspired you to want to become a doctor.
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If I were to consult on a case of acute appendicitis on a child, but the parents did not want an operation (they wanted to use prayer instead) what would I do?
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If your friends could describe you, what one adjective would they use?
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How do you feel about Dr. Paul Farmer's personal life?
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What would I tell a pregnant patient that knew in advance their child would be disabled (I work with autism) and they were seeking advice on whether or not to abort.
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What are some of the challenges facing rural doctors?
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Compare US health system to Mexican health system
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How do you decide who gets a liver among three equally ill patients: one child with Down's syndrom, one man in prison and one man with three children?
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Role playing for ethical question
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Bioethical question about drugs, can't remember the exact wording.
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How would you reduce health care costs or increase access?
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Is there anything we didn't ask that you really wanted us to ask you?
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Reapplicant question: aside from your grades/activities, how do you think you've changed as a person?
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See below
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''Are there any questions we didn't ask you that you wished we had?''
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If mental health care was suddenly cut from health care insurance (if medicine was socialized), what would happen? What would you suggest patients experiencing mental health crises do?
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If you were the Editor of Time magazine, who would you name as Person of the Year?
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Tell me about an encouter with a patient that really touched you.
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Question about herbal medicine use to treat a lymphoma
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What is the hardest thing you've ever done?
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All ethics questions. You really need to be up on your game with current medical policy, ethical issues, and health related news.
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A lot of role playing. My entire interview group was given role playing. there is only ethics questions. my entire interview group was only asked ethics questions. read an ethics book. recommended. look online for some ethics book. dont waste time, just do ethics
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Comparing a volunteer experience I had here in the US with one in India.
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A Bioethics question
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Usual question about what type of medicine I want to practice.
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What are your thought on genetic engineering?
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None
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I hear there is a brothel in your home town, or at least there used to be. Would you have a problem treating the women there?
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Ethics question about non-compliant TB patient.
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What would I do if a mom refused to give her 11 year old daughter HPV vaccines because she didn't want to encourage sexual promiscuity
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Why medicine
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About medical error, if I had ever seen one in my volunteer experience and how did I handle it.
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The biggest benefits for impoverished people living in 3rd World squalor are clean water and solid infrastructure; so why do you feel so strongly about volunteering as a physician for a relief organization?
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How do we make health care more affordable and available in this country?
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How will you apply your public health degree to your practice of medicine?
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Ethics
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Who would I give a liver to, the alcoholic on welfare with 2 young kids or the successful businessman who is active and involved in improving social concerns of the community? Why?
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Why do you think the US has such a high infant mortality rate?
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Why do you think doctors are not satisfied with their work these days?
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Why don't people in underserved communities have equal access to healthcare?
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What is the most challenging aspect of providing health care in the US?
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Do you think family practice is dying away in America?
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If a mistakes occurs in the operating room, who should be liable, the doctor, the nurses, ect. and why
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Although the ethical questions I was given were incredibly difficult, they were nonetheless ''interesting''. By interesting I mean it must've taken my interviewer quite a while to come up with such a moral enigma...
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Vast array of ethical questions.
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The ethics question: A 60 year old man who you have been treating for a while calls you in the middle of the night and thanks you for treating him but now he is ready to die. What do you say to him?
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Who is your favorite artist?
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Ethics scenario. When I said I wouldn't consent to PAS by giving my 65 y/o patient with end-stage cancer sleeping pills, the lead interviewer followed it up with
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Define underserved.
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Patient comes in and wants antiviral drugs for their family to protect them from the Avian Flu although they have little to no risk of getting the disease... then, buisnessman who travels to areas of high risk wants the drug... etc, etc. Do you give them the drug? Then, when they begin threatening you, etc. what do you do?
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A series of questions involving the Mitchell Rupe case. If you're not familiar with this man, he was on death row, ballooned up to 400 pounds, went to court saying that he could not be hung because the likely decapitation of so heavy a man would be cruel and unusual punishment. He later developed severe liver problems and needed a transplant. The case goes on, but you can imagine the sorts of questions meant to tease out my process of reasoning in ethically thorny situations.
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What i would do if a patient of mine needed an immediate surgery which only i could give him and which he couldn't afford until his insurance kicked in in 72 hours, would i write a false date on the insurance claim?
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1. What types of activities did you do in high school? 2. How would you fix the health care system? 3. What are the disadvantages in the Canadian and UK systems? 4. What did you learn about medicine from your experiences?
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What do you think about using a junk-food tax to help out with the obesity problem in America?
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I was asked about 2 ethical scenarios that were both interesting. The scenarios kept evolving based on my answers, which made the discussion even more interesting.
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Do you think it would have made a difference (in the Terry Shiavo case) if they had been trying to take her off the ventilator rather than a feeding tube?
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What seperates you from your other pre-med friends?
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What is an example of an ethical dilemma that you have faced as a student, and how did you overcome it?
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Would you vote for a right to die initiative in Washington
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If you had a patient with a tumor who didnt want to recieve treatment because she believed in eastern medicine, what would you do? And what would you do if she tried eastern medicine, it didn't work, and the tumor grew?
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What is the President going to say about Health Care in the State of the Union address, and what do you think about what he might say?
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Ethics question on genome sequencing
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A Cambodian woman with HIV and an HIV + child doesn't want her kid to take ARVs-- what would I do as her doc?
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Given your public health experience, why have you chosen to pursue medicine?
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What would you do if you had a patient who had severe COPD and the only medication that made him comfortable also had the side effect of killing him. Would you give him the med?
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What is the problem with healthcare in the country and what would you do to fix it.
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Your long term patient of 85yo has breast cancer and is at the end stage of life. She calls you and requests sleeping pills in a quantity that could end her life. How do you handle this?
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Is Medicine a service profession?
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I was given a question where I was asked to role play being a doctor to a family that came in. Basically, the wife (who was not present) was pregnant and wanted and abortion. The rest of the family (the grandparents and the husband, who were present) didn't want and abortion. They came to me to ask what I could do. What was tough is that I actually had to play a doctor instead of just answering a question.
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In all of your clinical experience, what made the biggest impression on you?
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If a collegue gave a patient the wrong medication, and the patient came back in because the medication didn't work, how would you approach your collegue and what would you do?
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I wasn't asked anything that I hadn't expected, the only "unknown" was the lone ethical question (see most difficult question.)
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Most important lesson I can teach a patient.
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What was the most important event of 2005?
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The question that surprised and allowed me to express my personality was , "What is the one movie you would suggest that all of us see?" This was a follow up question to what I did for fun, in which I said I watched a lot of movies.
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Who or what would you put in the cover of Time's Magazine?
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Do you think the Oregon euthanasia law is a country-wide precendent or a fluke? Is it a slippery slope? Discuss.
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Ethics question: say 20 years down the line one of your patients wishes to select positive traits and remove negative traits in their next child. would you do it or what would you advise them?
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What's your favorite book?
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Who would you put on the Times magazine cover.
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Who would you put on the cover of Time magazine as the person of the year?
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Have you had any tragedy in your life, and if so, how have you learned from it?
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Name five essential qualities of a physician, (then, after I had already listed the first), in order of importance.
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Do you feel that cosmetic surgery should have a tax to benefit community clinics?
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The famouse, "would you like a cookie?" question. I knew it was coming, but still intrigue.
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So you're interested in public health and you worked in restaurants for years...didn't all the drinking and smoking offend you?
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What book are you currently reading?
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If someone came to you and said that they were from some religious sect where they have to get a lot of piercings and asked you if you could do the piercings for them because they trust you more than the person who normally does the piercings, what would you do? (What the heck?!!??)
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Ethical question about pain medication and an elderly patient
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A rambling question about named reporting of people who test + for HIV.
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They asked me what I would do in the situation involving Terri Schiavo (the women in FL who is the subject of all the lawsuits about removing her feeding tube)?
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If you were appointed by the president to lead the US health care system, what would you change?
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What was the biggest disappointment you've faced in your life thus far?
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What do you think of the CDC limiting flu vaccines to at risk populations and then ending up with thousands of unused vaccines?
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A question about my unique route to medine
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A 15 year old girl comes into your office who is having sex with her boyfriend. Her mother has arranged for you to give her a depo shot, but when she shows up she tells you she doesn't want to have the shot, she wants to get pregnant and have a baby so the government will give her money! What do you do?
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One of your terminally ill cancer patients calls to let you know he has made the decision to take his life. what do you do?
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Why not psychology?
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What would you do if you had a 2-year-old patient who needed a life-saving blood transfusion but her parents, Jehovah's Witnesses, refused the treatment?
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Costa Rica has elected to spend the majority of their health care dollars on the young vs. elderly--what do you think of this policy.
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What one proposal would you suggest to fix healthcare in this country?
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Ethical situation: How do I react to a patient who wants me to help kill him.
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How will you handle the suffering taht you will encounter in medicine.
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Do you feel that your favorite author is a tolerant person?
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Since I like analytucal, methodical processes, how will I deal with patients who rarely fit into that category.
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What are the ethical implications involved in the distribution of antiretrovirals to foreign countries at western prices?
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Why on earth did you start another fraternity?
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If the U.S. were to switch to a socialized healthcare system, who would be against the idea? (the answer is insurance companies :) )
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Where do you see yourself in the future?
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Since you read Newsweek, and since 2005 is about to begin, if you were editor in chief of Time magazine, who or what do you think would be on the cover for Person/Event of the year for 2004?
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Why the University of Washington?
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What two issues are the most important facing health care today, and how would you address them?
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Position on stem cell research
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How do you explain the reelection of a president that is responsible for so many deaths in the Iraq operation?
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Should a physician take part in carrying out a death penalty sentence?
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Question about being a physician and treating two very different forms of illness, chronic disease versus treatable infectious disease, and how a physician must adjust and adapt (mentally, etc.) to the different situations.
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A patient of yours with a very painful terminal cancer calls and tells you that he has 54 sleeping pills and plans to take them. What do you do?
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If you were working for a U.S. senator, how could you work to alleviate the problem of uninsured people in the United States?
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Ethics question
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End of life issues
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Is President Bush or Senator Kerry right about the impact of medical malpractice cases on the cost of medicine?
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Question 3--see below.
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Why did you take five years to graduate?
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[Note: I prefer not to answer the "which questions were you asked" questions to safeguard my privacy.]
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What was your SAT score? (less interesting than just surprising)
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How would you fix the US health care system?
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Please tell us about your experience with tango
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What was the last novel you read?
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Where do you see yourself in ten years?
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All the questions I was asked were the same as some that have been posted previously and some stuff right off my application.
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What challanges do rural communities face regarding both primary and psyciatric care? I thought it was interesting to address the psychiatric componant.
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Scenerio questions aimed at investigating my thoughts on larger issues: quality of life, hot health topics, balance.
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Bioethics situation in which I had to choose which patient I would treat.. and why.
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Pretty crazy weather back there, huh?
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My greatest weakness?
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What would I say if a patient of mine, who had an arm injury at work covered by worker's comp, asked me to write his boss a note for his work since next week was fishing season? Just seemed way too obvious to be an ethics question.
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Who would you put on the cover of Time?
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What are some of the frustrations/complaints you have heard from physicians?
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How has the view of death in Latin American countries changed the way you view the practice of medicine?
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A lot of emergency rooms are being forced to shut down, why do you feel that is the case?
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An ethical scenario in which family members disagreed about end-of-life care for an elderly relative
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Do you think that the current trend in healthcare where physicians are given less autonomy and more paperwork will continue?
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Ethics: See below.
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Why do you say want to do primary care in a rural community if you have no experience in any rural area? (they acted like I was lying!)
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Nothing very interesting... pretty standard stuff- ethical question + discussion of my activities
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Ethical question about lethal dosages of pain medication
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You're the only doctor in a small town and a close family friend comes to your house furious because you prescribed birth control for her 14 year-old daughter. How do you handle the situation?
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If you design a new chemotherapeutic drug for children, would you test it on children?
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Kid needs a blood transfusion but his parents are jehovah's witnesses-what do you do? what if they still refuse?
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If healthcare was universalized, what would physicians lose and what would patients lose.
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What is your opinion on programs where American physicians work overseas for a certain period of time? Some say these programs do not account for what happens after the physicians leave the area and there is no longer the expertise/technology/service for the community to continue after the physician is gone. What do you think about that?
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If a pt requested that you write a prescription to be filled in Canada (where it is presumably cheaper) would you agree to do so?
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An ethical role play where I was the physician/counselor to a family who could not come to a consensus on their mothers end of life care.
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None. They were all pretty mainstream.
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Why consider rural medicine
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"If someone you respect, say your high school principal, was slightly ill and had swollen glands, etc. for a few weeks and you ran a test for HIV, just in case, and the test came back positive, how would you negotiate the situation?"
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Since more western physicians and medical staff are going to developing countries to learn about other cultures and provide treatment some indigenous peoples are becoming skeptical of their own doctors. Is it a good idea for western physicians to continue to visit developing countries if barriers and such skepticism are being created?
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Why do you think that there is a problem with access to health care in this country?
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Tell me about one of your patients you have met during your volunteer time.
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How realistic is it to combine research with the practice of medicine and do well at both?
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If my husband were there during the interview, what would he want them to know about me?
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How do you address the problem of healthcare in a region that is extremely poor? (in the context of talking about one of my life experiences)
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Where do you draw the line in obtaining human embryonic stem cells for research?
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What is the last book that you have read that you felt had significant meaning in your life?
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How could you possibly mess up the Turkey for your Thanksgiving day dinner?
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If you were practicing medicine in another country and diagnosed a patient with tuberculosis and that patient refused to take antibiotics and instead wanted to take herbal medicine, what would you do? What if there were children around that were at risk of contracting tuberculosis and they attended school? How would you address the risk to the children and the community? Would you try to force them to accept treatment using the community or by passing a law mandating treatment?
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What do you think about the new Medicare bill?
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Do you believe that someone with affirmitive action status, i.e. any minority, should have first grabs at admission?
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What would you do if a quadraplegic asked you to remove his pacemaker so that he could die?
-
Compare and contrast the health care situation in my home land and the US.
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What motivates you to be a physician?
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Who inspires me?
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Illegal immigrant needs expensive meds...what do you do as their physician?
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What was your biggest disappointment in life?
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What are your strengths/weaknesses?
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Why I felt the scandals in the service academies were such an issue as compared to other schools
-
The bioethics question
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How do we face the challenge of an aging population?
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The ethics question: An older patient comes to see you, is saving pills, and wants to know how many it would take for her to kill herself. Her daughter is with her, supports her choice. Would you tell her?
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Why did you decide to take a couple years off after college?
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How has growing up in a rural area affected your descision to study medicine?
-
Lots of great ethical questions
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Baseball fan?
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What would you do if you were a physician and..............? (basically asking you to take a stand on some very tough issues).
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Who has influenced your decision to study medicine and how?
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How would you help the uninsured obtain health care?
-
Tell us about a patient you worked with. Me: Any specific type of patient, or incident? Them: Just tell us about one.
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What's the difference between a rural practice and an urban practice?
-
What's your take on the British Healthcare System?
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Why medicine?
-
How would you address the problem of the uninsured?
-
If I had to chose Time's "person of the year" who would it be?
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Of all the countries you've been to, which had the best/most interesting health care system?
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How was your flight?
-
Whats changed since last year
-
The ethical questions were interesting, but I was ready for them. They asked me about malpractice insurance and how we could fix the current problems.
-
If you were czar of the world, how would you fix health care?
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If you had unlimited research funds, what experiment would you conduct ?
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If you went to a bank for a loan to pay your malpractice insurance and the bank owner came to you and basically said it would be no problem to give you the loan if you would test his son for drugs without him knowing. What would you say?
-
Tell us about yourself
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A couple came to my office and requested an abortion because they do not want another girl. What should I do?
-
Cancer patient of yours comes into your office stressed out and is at the end of her rope. She asks you to prescribe her a months worth of pain pills and sleeping pills. You suspect that she wants to committ suicide. What do you do?
-
Where do I get my "spunk" from?
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Nothing out of the blue....I felt prepared for most of the questions they would ask me because I had done a lot of reading. I suppose the one thing that threw me off was, "where do uninsured people go to receive medical care?" It felt almost like a trick question but the answer was pretty obvious, so I blurted out a few alternatives they would have. That question just felt a bit odd for some reason, mostly because it felt too simple to ask....I thought I was missing something.
-
A patient is brought to the ER and has had a massive MI. He dies before anyone has a chance to do anything to him. The attending physician approaches you and asks if you would like to practice your intubation skills on him. What do you do? How about a put in a sub-clavian? What if the family is right outside waiting to view him? Do you ask them if they mind?
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Do you have any clinical, one on one medical experience? If so do you remember any patients in particular, and what stands out from the others?
-
Do you think it is ethically reasonable for the surgeons in West Virginia to go on strike?
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To prioritize the medical procedures on which we should spend our health care money.
-
What is the biochemical function of the gene you are studying?
-
How would you feel if the federal govt decided to stop paying for dialysis for patients over the age of 75 and use that money instead to provide medical insurance for all children in the United States?
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Ethical questions, i suppose. Ethical questions tailored to what kind of doctor you want to be.
-
Mostly about my personal experiences. Read your AMCAS and personal essay.
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How have sports helped prepare you to be a doctor?
-
Were you ever hospitalized for your asthma? I'm still not sure of the purpose of this question...
-
How will you respond to people who say you don't have enough life experience to be a doctor?
-
How would I feel about my life looking back on it 20 years from now.
-
What would you do if a Chinese woman approached you with the desire to abort her female baby because she wanted a male one?
-
What is wrong with a specific federal grant program that serves rural hospitals?
-
Who should be Time's Person of the Year this year?
-
Do you know how doctors function in developing countries?
-
How I would treat a terminally ill patient and their family.
-
So you have a patient who...(insert 5 minutes of setting up a complicated ethical scenario)...what do you do?
-
Were the people in Ireland happy with their healthcare system? (I had studied there)
-
The ethical question,which was expected, became very interesting at the end when the issue of death certificates arose. Question was what would I, the doctor, write on the death certificate as the reason for death when I might have good reason to believe my patient had downed a bottle of painkillers.
-
All questions were based on my application and so, they were fairly standard. Surprisingly, I was not asked any ethical dilemma questions.
-
Describe a problem that you see in healthcare
-
The most interesting questions were specific to my file
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We talked alot about my current work.
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Specific ethical questions related to my interests.
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Hard to say... Many were very specific to my interest in a particular field of medicine.
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You are a family practice physician and your long-time patient tests positive for HIV. He asks you not to tell his wife, who is also your long-time patient. What would you do?
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Situation: A longtime patient of yours has terminal cancer and is in a lot of pain. He asks you for a months worth pain medication with the intent of killing himself. Do you give him the perscription?
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How has your [subject] research background impacted your desire to become a doctor? (I spent last 2 years doing [subject] research)
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Is knitting a thing Carribean people do as a cultural thing?
How did you prepare for the interview?
Applicants commonly prepared for the interview by reviewing ethical scenarios, studying health care policy, reading current news, participating in mock interviews, and reflecting on their personal motivations for pursuing medicine. Many utilized resources such as the UW Bioethics website, SDN forums, books on health policy, and engaging in discussions with peers and professionals to enhance their interview readiness.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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Reviewed SDN Qs, read "The Premed Playbook Guide to the Medical School Interview and took advantage of the mock interview UWSOM offers.
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SDN, standard interview questions, reviewed some current public health events
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If you receive an interview UW sends you resources to prepare.
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Read my application, brushed up on ethics scenarios, reviewed health care policy
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Practiced at home w/ S.O., read through the UWSOM question list online, and wrote down notes for each answer.
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Read the book "The Premed Playbook Guide to the Medical School Interview: Be Prepared, Perform Well, Get Accepted" by Ryan Gray, studied UW Medicine Bioethics Webpage, had several people ask me interview questions every day.
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Three mock interviews, some one-on-one practice questions with spouse, reading on UW Ethics page.
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Studying UW website, curriculum and practice questions
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UW website, mock interview, SDN
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Mock interview
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Re-reading my primary and secondary applications, looking over sample questions on the UW website, writing out sample answers.
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Reviewed app, read up on the school, practiced some acting scenarios
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SDN, the Healthcare Handbook by Askin & Moore, youtube videos, reading current news
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Read up on current healthcare topics
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SDN, read my application, think of answers for common questions and ethical scenarios (but they didn't ask me any).
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Studied my personal statement, primary, and secondary. I read the healthcare handbook by Askin and Moore and can say that it helped so so much with my understanding of healthcare and with my ACA question which they told me I blew them away with my knowledge.
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Mock interview with pre-med advisors trained by UW admissions office.
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Plan out my responses to common questions.
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SDN, mock interview, re-read my essays, thought about common questions
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SDN board research, SDN interview feedback, UW website
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Watched feedback videos. Reviewed application.
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Study UW Interview website: http://www.uwmedicine.org/education/md-program/admissions/applicants/interview#interview
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School is very upfront about what they want to see/hear during the interview - all on their website here http://www.uwmedicine.org/Education/MD-Program/Admissions/Applicants/Pages/Interview.aspx AFERM offers mock interviews that are very helpful.
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Made sure I understood my application and my motivations for medicine.
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Looked over the ethics website, a ton of mock interviews and practice questions
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Mock interview and questions from their website.
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SDN and UW Bioethics website
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SDN, learned about health care policy and current health care issues
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Did a mock interview with a panel of doctors from my school. Read every word on their ethics website. Familiarized myself with current issues facing doctors.
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I read the New York Times health section, did a lot of interview prep type questions, and read all of the bioethics website. This can be accessed through the University of Washington School of Medicine page, under the interview information section.
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Read this. Watched the UW interview podcast and read on the UW bioethics website. Read "The Healing of America". Read about health care in my state. Practiced (this was my 6th interview). PRAYED LIKE CRAZY!!!!
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SDN! I listened to NPR, read articles, and practiced interviewing.
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Read books about the health care system. Read many articles related to the health field.
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UW bioethics website, read the newspaper daily, read king5.com for info on health care specific to the seattle area (where I'm from), read "The Healing of America" by T.R. Reid (great for current health policy overview), reflected on my activities and why they were important to me, SDN forums and interview feedback, discussed questions with friends and family
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Http://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/index.html as well as SDN questions, and reviewing materials.
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Read health care books, made discussion points for a variety of questions that i pulled off the web, thought over my personal reasons for pursuing medicine
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Reading the interview feedback section of SDN, reading Bodenheimer, keeping up with NY Times and other health news.
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SDN review, UW bioethics website, read a few books, NY times articles
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Should have read up on current US health care, but didn't.
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I read through the University of Washington's bioethics page. This page is very helpful and highly recommended.
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CNN. UW Bioethics website.
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The usual, read up on health reform, specifics about UW's program, reflected on my application/past experiences etc
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Read Understanding Health Policy, all of Atul Gawande's books, Groopman's book, New York Times and NEJM for the last few months. Mock interviews (mean ones, the meaner the better) with 1 physician, 1 med student, recorded it, reflected on it.
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Mock interview, read a book, planned answers to common questions.
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Continually practiced and reflected on my past experiences, Mock interview with pre-med advisors, SDN Interview Feedback (advice to applicants: avoid the pre-med general discussion forum), studied: New England Journal of Medicine Health Care Reform articles, UW Bioethics website, and the UW SOM website to be very familiar with the intricacies of the program.
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Mock interviews, talked to friends who had already interviewed
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Read about healthcare policy, kept up with recent changes in healthcare in the news (mammogram screening guideline changes etc.), Went over my activities section of the AAMCAS and made sure I hashed out any ambiguous comments that I previously made.
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UW bioethics site, practice interviews, keeping up on healthcare reform progress, etc
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Know yourself! Know what you want inside and outside of medicine and know why you want to be a physician... then back it up with experience. I read a health policy book, stayed up to date with current events and health policy (although no current event Q's were asked), and interviewed with friends to get used to hearing myself think out loud (as odd as that sounds).
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SDN interview feedback, current events/wall street journal health section/ Seattle Times, UW program website & Bioethics website, carefully review my research and activities from AMCAS app..
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SDN, mock interviews, interviews at other schools, NYT.com, read a policy book
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SDN interview feedback, school website, read and understood the mission statement. Lots of mock interviews with friends. Bodenheimer's "understanding health policy" A seminar course on presenting myself authentically to an audience. Reflective journaling, specifically about 'how my qualities match the needs of the school.' Asking all of my friends to give me 3 adjectives to describe who I am, then compiling them all into a list to find out what qualities of myself I present to others effectively.
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UW bioethics website. kept up with current events, esp. health care, generally
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Lots of practice interviews. This was a Wyoming WWAMI so it occured late in the season, and I had been at two other schools already. Job shadowing had given me a lot to talk about concerning Wyoming medicine, and they seemed most impressed with this. Read a few novels concerning medical issues, luckily one was called "My Sister's Keeper" concerning medical decisions that helped a lot with the ethical question.
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1. Read "Understanding Health Policy" by Bodenheimer, and outlined the most important parts of it (which I kept in an "interview study binder"). 2. Researched healthcare system in Washington state, the governor's proposed plan, and some of its criticisms. 3. Researched status of tort reform in my current and former states of residence, along with new approaches. (As a former lawyer, I thought I might get some questions on this.) 4. Outlined Obama's and Clinton's healthplans, and some of their criticisms and proposed solutions (into the binder again). 5. Researched the decline, impact and ways to revitalize primary care specialties in America. 6. Read all interview questions for UW on SDN for the past two years, organized them by topic, and prepared to answer each of them (I think this is a great place to start to organize your interview prep). 7. Read USMLE Ethics Study Guide (cheap from Amazon), then all of the UW Bioethics Website scenarios. The Bioethics website is enough, though. 8. Reviewed my AMCAS application, especially volunteer experiences and research, and practiced describing these topics out loud. 9. Practiced my answers to "doctor motivation" and other definite interview questions out loud. 10. Studied my "interview study binder" over and over. And over.
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Read SDN and wrote up answers, discussed the interview with a first-year student, read UW bioethics site, read Bodenhiemer's policy book.
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Read up on health policy, Obama's plans, re-read application, read UW's bioethics webpage.
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SDN, practiced interview questions with friends, researched about problems within our health care system
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Read "The Medical School Interview," by Fleenor. Went over my AMCAS application and all my secondary application responses. Practiced answering questions from friends.
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SDN, Bodenheimer's book, kept up on current events, talked with current students.
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Hard work. SDN, ethics book and UW bioethics website, practiced questions in writing and out loud, talked with friends who'd interviewed before
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Read "Understanding Health Care Policy," weekly reading of NEJM/JAMA, co-workers quizzed me daily with potential interview questions, read interview feedback on SDN, pay attention to current news regarding SCHIP and other health headlines on nytimes/cnn online, review AMCAS application and school specific essays.
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SDN, UW bioethics site, read "understanding health policy" by bodenheimer, reflected on things in my application, read NY times, read seattle times, watched more news than usual, mock interview w/ doctor
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Read healthcare policy books, read UW ethics website, re-read application, read SDN interview feedback
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SDN interview feedback, discussion with friends who interviewed at UW, the UW bioethics website, recent health care events listed in the NY Times and Time magazine, watched Sicko for fun, mock interview with undergrad professors, practiced interview questions with my wife.
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Read "Better" by Atul Gawande. Read "How Doctors Think" by Jerome Groopman. Downloaded iHealthBeat app on my iPhone and read everything I could find for a week. Watched CNN...excellent piece on the uber-preggo woman Cali. Talked with a few doctors I know, and my friend that was accept in '08. Read up a bit on AMCAS, but I probably should have reviewed some of things I submitted in more detail.
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SDN, mock interview, reviewed AMCAS and secondary, stayed current on healthcare issues
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Studied cases from UW bioethics website, studentdoctor.net interview feedback, printed out lists of previous interview questions at a wide variety of schools and brainstormed responses, familiarized myself with 2008 presidential candidate platforms on health care (health08.org), read Healthcare Meltdown by Dr. Robert Lebow, Better by Atul Gawande, Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder, How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman, wrote out why I want to be a doctor and learned it well, spent time reflecting on how the activities I participated in during undergrad made me the person I am today and convinced me I wanted to go into medicine
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I reread my amcas, read the UW bioethics site, read some health policy and ethics books, and answered the possible interview questions listed in the book "Essays that will get you into Medical School."
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Read Bodenheimer, reviewed UW Bioethics, read bioethics books, reviewed current health care system.
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SDN, UW Bioethics, read over AMCAS, the usual.
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Reviewed application, UW ethics site and school website, read Bodenheimer book, talked to current students.
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Read ''Understanding Health Care Policy'', mock interview, reviewed UW ethics website, practiced outload in the shower.
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Know why I want to be a doctor.
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I went through sample interview questions, read up on current events (particularly medical and political news), and took a biomedical ethics class.
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Pre-med committee mock interview, practicing in front of friend, reading the news, UW website
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SDN, AMCAS, NYT, UW Bioethics webpage
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SND, mock interview, UW bioethics, Jan. edition of the Annals of Internal Medicine
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Prepared 3-5 afternoons a week for like a month reading SDN, California Healthline, NYtimes both science and health, reading up on politics, reading UW website and their programs
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Read up on ethics and about all of the school's programs.
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Read up on policy, ethics, and my essays
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SDN, UW bioethics site and talking to PI and friends who interviewed there before.
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UW Bioethics, read a lot of papers on health care policy, read an ethics book, read over my file, SDN interview questions
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Uw bioethics and some SDN
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UW Bioethics, current events, SDN
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Understanding Health Policy book, UW Bioethics website, studentdoctor.net, AMCAS application
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Reviewed amcas and secondary, UW bioethics website, health08.org, practiced answers to common interview questions.
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The Bodenheimer Health Policy book--a really interesting read! NY Times, FIDLI report (drug research news) and PI. Reviewed their website and my app.
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''Understanding Health Policy'', ''A Second Opinion'', www.health08.org, reviewed AMCAS, UW bioethics website, discussed health care issues/policy with physicians, practiced speech patterns in my car prior to interview, took a beta-blocker.
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UW Bioethics Website, Commonwealth Fund website, http://www.health08.org/, NYTimes, write out answers to commonly answered questions beforehand
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Read ''Understanding Health Policy'' by Bodenheimer and Grumbach; Read UW Bioethics website; several mock interviews; outlined answers to most commonly asked questions;
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SDN, interview feedback, bioethics book, health policy book, mock interviews, practice with friends & family.
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SDN, mock interview, health policy book, uw bioethics website, ny times
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SDN, UW bioethics website, wikipedia, news, interview workshop, career center tips on interviewing
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Read a lot.
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Mock interviews, researched on web, SDN, read the news
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I read the UW bioethics page the night before. Be up to date on current events. Know your opinions on current trends in health care.
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SDN, UW Bioethics website, went through applications again, formulated & wrote out answers to common interview questions.
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Read some web sites. kaiser, UW bioethics. took an ethics class
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Studied school website. Feedback from previous interviewees.
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Read a couple books on health care, medical ethics course, read the local newspaper of my state for health issues (very happy I did this and I think this is what most impresed them,) podcasts
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SDN, interview feedback, UW bioethics site, AMSA Health care made ridiculously simple, read over application.
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This site, the UW ethics page, read articles on health care policy
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SDN
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UW bioethics site definately. It is about 125 pages worth of information, but it has a ton of cases and questions that tell you everything you ever need to know about medical ethics for this interview.
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Mock interview, reviewed AMCAS and secondary app, concurrent coursework in health policy.
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Read a health care policy book (Do this or be prepared to be stumped on a lot of questions!) kept up on the news.
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Read an Ethics book, read the UW bioethics webpage. Talked with health professionals about the US health care system and they problems they see. Had family members ask me questions. Read over my AMCAS application and my UW application. Read SDN interview feedback. Kept up on current events.
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I did not.
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This sites, read a few books on HMO, AIDS and other health related issues. Kaiser Foundation site. Mock interviews. Thinking about issues honestly and critically.
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I read the interview feedback on this website.
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SDN, UW bioethics website, health care policy books
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UW bioethics website, read over my AMCAS and my UW application
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Honestly, I took 1mg of Ativan and help onto my noits.
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SDN, NEJM, looked over my application, stretched
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Bio-ethics web site, mock interviews
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Took an ethics class. Read up on ethical principles and methods for sorting out any type of ethics case-->go to the UW bioethics site. Read up on policy, namely a National Health Insurance Program. Read up on current events.
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This was my sixth interview.
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SDN interview feedback, mock interviews, new york times research, wikipedia research ;)
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SDN, UW's Bioethics site, reading up on healthcare policy and medical ethics, mock interview
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Mock interviews,
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Bioethics website, SDN, NEJM articles re: ethics and health care issues, talked with colleague who was just offered an acceptance to UW.
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UW bioethics site, SDN, made sure I could remember details about the experiences I listed on AMCAS, had 1 mock interview
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The single best book you could read is Bodenheimer's Understanding Health Policy. Even if you've already been accepted to med school but haven't yet read this book, it is a wonderful, evenhanded, neutral-position overview of the system that we have and some of the problems that we are facing. The UWSOM bioethics and Kaiser-Permanente sites were also very helpful. If you have plenty of time to prepare, three good books by the Institute of Medicine are Crossing the Quality Chasm, Unequal Treatment--Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health, and To Err is Humand--Building a Safer Health System. Two other good books are a collection of scholarly articles entitled Policy Challenges in Modern Health Care (Mechanic, Rogut and Colby editors) and Governing Health: The Politics of Health Policy by Carol Weissert.
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UW bioethics site, MSAR, SDN, UWSOM website
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Reading "Understanding Health Policy"-- even though it usually put me to sleep. That book is not written to be very entertaining, obviously! Rehearsed answers with family/friends, in my head... Kept up with the news. Read over my application.
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UW Bioethics website, Health care policy book, bioethics book, Mountains beyond Mountains, Interview workshop, practicing answers to questions on SDN out loud
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Mock interview, read over interveiw feedback on SDN.
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This was my 9th interview so I felt comfortable. I did review my application, the UW website, my "Health Care Meltdown" book, and info about the health care system.
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Mock interviews
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NYTimes Health section, NPR health and science podcasts, KCRW's A Second Opinion podcasts, reading the UW's entire bioethics page, talking with friends and family about difficult questions posted on SDN
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Read UW bioethics site, Understanding Healthcare Policy, mock interview (videotaped), SDN, followed local news stories, kff.com, talked to med students, reviewed my application
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SDN, UW bioethics website, Understanding Healthcare Policy book, discussed health care/ethics with other med applicants
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SDN, read my application, UW bioethics site.
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SDN, bioethics, health care books
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Bioethics site, this site, practiced in front of a mirror.
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SDN, school website, talked to current students, reviewed UW bioethics website, read up on health policy and current events.
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Read up in healthcare in the US, mock interview, talked with physicians about interviewing
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I read a lot about the school and about healthcare, the other feedback on this website made me very nervous so i stressed a little too much and tried to figure out how to solve all the healthcare problems in the nation, which was useful and enlightening, but they didn't grill me on all the issues, they just wanted to see that i was thinking about how things are and how to make them better, i think. i got the impression that they didn't care which problem i picked, just that i had a good thought process and workable ideas, so my advice is play to your strengths. if you know about surgical errors then think about how to reduce them and if you know about infectious disease then know how to prepare the country for the avian flu pandemic. be creative, be yourself.
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UW bioethics website, book: Understanding Health Policy, mock interviews, spoke with past med students, contact with physicians in home hospital (current issues, funding, etc), looked up stats for Alaska.
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SDN (most questions asked were ones posted by other students!!!), UW ethics site, NY Times, talking with other students ect.
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SDN, read the UW bioethics site, stayed up to date on research/health topics, mock interview.
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Newpapers, magazines, my application, UW bioethics,
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Read: Understanding Health Care Policy, Student Doctor. net, read the whole UW ethics website, Read two novels on becoming a physician, read the NY times daily.
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Meditation, wrote small essays on my own, read the news, had a coffee.
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Read:large book on healthcare in US, bioethics books, my application, and interview questions posted on SDN
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This site, UW bioethics website, mock interview.
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I read a lot before the interview. Sadly I only had a week to prepare for it, as I did not expect to be asked to interview so soon. I read a book on health policy, Critical Condition, (really good) which was interesting and not dry at all. It gives a liberal perspective about medicine and raises issues we should all think about. I also read the UW bioethics site, all of it, as an ethical question always comes up. I wrote down all the questions brought to this website and prepared my own answers, discussed them with a medical school student at UW, and got aquainted with talking about myself and my pursuit in becoming a doctor.
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Student Doctor, UW Ethics, Other interviews
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Read "Understanding Health Policy" by Bodenheimer and Grumbach (HIGHLY recommend), Studentdoctor.net, la/ny times.com, practice interview, UW bioethics site
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SDN, UW bioethics website, kept up on current events, npr, mock interviews
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This website, UW Med website
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Studentdoctor.net, mock interview, UW ethics site
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This website, online information, and campus pre-med question bank.
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Studentdoctor.net and Understanding Healthcare Policy: A Clinical Approach by Thomas Bodenheimer. This is a great book for an overview of healthcare in the US.
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UW bioethics site, kff.org, nytimes.com
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Read articles about health care delivery, listened to NPR alot, consulted a Princeton review book. Most importantly, extensively reviewd my application.
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MOCK INTERVIEWS! reading the current events, SDN....and books on the US healthcare system.
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UW Bioethics, health policy books, TRIED to keep up with interviews, recorded mock interview.
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Read bioethics site, this site, Kidder's "mountains beyond mountains", talked to people who go to school here, started running daily...
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2 mock interviews; also a VERY helpful book on health policy is "Delivering Health Care in America: A Systems Approach" by Shi and Singh
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Read over my AMCAS, looked over the UW bioethics webpage, was up-to-date on current events
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SDN, UW bioethics site, bbc.co.uk, MSNBC, Time, bioethics.net, la times, etc.
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SDN, ethics web-site, practice questions, read a few books on healthcare in US & Canada, got a nice suit, hair cut....
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SDN, other web sites with sample questions, UW bioethics site, practiced answering questions on my own
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NY times, wide variety of other newspapers, UW ethics site, SDN, Read several books involving ethics
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Mock interviews, reading msnbc.com, cnn.com, UW bioethics website, the newspaper
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This website, the UW ethics website
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Talked with Drs, former student, SDN site, UW bioethics site, NYtimes
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SDN, Ethics site, secondary, practice
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Read "Essentials of the US Healtcare System," Interview Feedback, UW Bioethics site, SDN, MSNBC.COM, talked to past interviewees and physicians
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Www.kff.org, http://eduserv.hscer.washington.edu/bioethics/topics/index.html (very helpful!), sdn
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SDN, healthcare books, ethics reading, practice interviews
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SDN feedback, website, personal experience, ethics books.
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Read interview feedback, UW ethics site
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Well I only found out about the interview three days in advance so I read as much about healthcare and did as many practice questions as I could in that time frame
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Application, SDN, website, bioethics page
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Uw bioethics, a book "health care meltdown," tried to relax.
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Read "Understanding Health Policy", the New York Times everyday, research
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Created a focused list of my strong points to convey. Bought a very nice suit!
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Read about health care/ethical issues...
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Lots of health policy books, news, NYTimes online, talked to doctors, reflected on myself, etc.
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SDN mock interview
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Read read read (nytimes, bbc, cnn, ethics websites) and practice practice practice (doctors, med students, family). Get all different perspectives
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Lots of reading about current problems and controversies in medicine, SDN
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Newsweek, msnbc.com, SDN, UW Bioethics website, Indian Health Services information, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation website, mock interview, deep breaths...
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Read economist, time, new york times, websites, multiple books, practiced with family, friends, faculty
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Bioethics website, reread favorite texts, new york times, this site
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Sdn, US News & World Report weekly, review my AMCAS application and research publications, CNN online daily, Evening News daily, Articles on Medline relating to health care issues and my area of research, relaxed the night before
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Read nytimes, sdn website ?'s, UW bioethics page
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Read medical journals/articles, Wall Street Journal, practiced with family and advisors, and took time to reflect on my decision to complete a medical degree and what I wanted from a medical school.
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Read UW bioethics page, reviewed Bush and Kerry healthcare plans, kept up on medically-related issues in news.
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Read UW Bioethics site, Bush and Kerry's health plans
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Read the New York Times, UW bioethics websites, read as much as I could about healthcare problems, Mock interview, and generally tried to stay up to date on current events.
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Read newspapers, looked over AMCAS and secondary
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Mock interview, Read up on current issues
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Kept current on current events (but I always do), read my file, scanned the ethics website, and forced myself to RELAX.
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Read interview feedback, UW ethics site, health policy books, Kaiser family foundation daily health updates, new york times, etc.
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The UW bioethics website, watched the presidential debates, looked at presidential websites, talked to med student friends, studentdoctor.net
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I lived a decent life where I tried each and every day to do what is right. I challenged myself to do things that would make me a better person, not things that I thought would get me in.
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Sdn interview feedback & UW ethics website.
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Checked out the website, re-read my application
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Bioethics web site.
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Read websites, such as this one; stayed on top of current events; mock interviewd; discussed issues with just about anyone i know
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I should have prepared much more. I didn't even have a suit.
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Study the UW Medicine ethics website.
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I did not rehearse either. I'm not an actor. I counted on all of my experiences and knowledge up to this point.
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Read and learned a lot about ethics, and medical practices in the U.S. I do not think this contributed to a "false presentation" of myself as it really did help me formulate an opinion on stuff I had never considered before.
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I've been to many interviews throughout the last year. Standard stuff, bioethics, current issues
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SDN, ethic books, other interviews, students, UWSOM website
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Ethics page, news, personal background and medical experience.
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I did NOT rehearse, I did NOT want to sound like this was a production or a play. Too insincere.
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Know who you are and what your opinions are. Follow the news.
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Read articles about the US and Candian health care systems, reread my personal statements (they came from the heart, made me start crying before the interview even started, lol), read each topic and case on the UW bioethics and determined my stance as much as possible.
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I read the newspaper and ethics papers. My fiance is a personal injury lawyer, so he helped me with medical ethics questions.
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Mock Interviews, Paying attention to current Events, Bioethics Page & this site
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This website, UW bioethics, mock interviews, spoke with other students who interviewed
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Read NY times, book on understanding healthcare policy and reviewed UW bioethics website.
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Read a book about healthcare in the US (definitely reccomended), read my application, this site, UW bioethics site
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Read this site, obviously, read the UW bioethics webpage, read a book on bioethics and a book on healthcare policy, read relevent newspaper and magazine articles.
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SDN, my apps, internet sites about the school and OM.
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Read books on healthcare policy, SDN, New York times, MSNBC, internet searches on any questions I had lingering (rural healthcare, malpractice, other countries' health systems etc.) Shadowed physicians and talked with them about a lot of the current issues with healthcare.
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I read the newspaper a lot. Especially the health articles and stuff about foreign countries, the problems about the health care system, and poor people (especially poor children).
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SDN, studied up on ethics and healthcare delivery (wasted time in my opinion- I had really prepared, but was not able to incorporate it into the interview)
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SDN, mock interview, NY Times, books,reread application
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Mock interview, this website, UW bioethics website, kept up on current events, talked to other students.
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Spoke to people who had been on admissions committes. Read about ethics (UW bioethics website and books on clinical ethics) and HMOs. Went through a semi-mock interview with a friend.
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2 mock interviews, kept up with the news, SDN, read up on healthcare(thank God!)-the Understanding Health Policy: A clinical Approach is a good book, read over my AMCAS, read the UW bioethics website, relaxed the day before
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UW bioethics website along with just staying on top of what's happening in the news and world. Listen to NPR/BBC to learn more about international healthcare!
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I looked at the questions from this website, read health news, researched issues on medicare and healthcare problems in the US, and did a mock interview.
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UW bioethics webpage. Interview feedback. New York Times. Read of few novels. Brushed up on healthcare delivery systems in the US (and compared to other systems such as socialized med).
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Read their very thorough ethics web site, read plenty of Uwe Rheinhert (sp?) he's a health economist.
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Bodenheimer, Understanding Health Policy (thank God for that one), mock interviews, SDN, books with lists of med school interview questions.
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Studied the above a bit, not much.
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I stayed up on current events, read about health care policy, and tried to be a good all-around citizen :)
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I went over all the possible questions that I felt I could be asked.
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Lots of thought; read the ethics website; read studentdoctor.net; read about health care delivery systems in other countries to gain a broader perspective; reviewed my publication; reviewed cases I have worked on; reviewed diver physiology and decompression sickness. -- Most of what I did was a waste of time. I WOULD keep current on current events, understand the health care system in the US, read postings on studentdoctor.net, and be able to articulate why you wish to go into medicine. Beyond that, engage in some fun, relaxing activites before the interview.
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Did several mock interviews with mentors/bosses here at the school, talked to my UWSOM student friends, read this website, newspapers, etc.
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Agonize.
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SDN forums and interview feedback, kept current on major health care issues (Medicare, malpractice, etc), UW Bioethics page, read-up on how the US healthcare system works as well as its weaknesses
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Read: SDN, UW bioethics website, Jonsens' Clinical Ethics Book; Did two mock-interviews; stayed current on healthcare and big news events.
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A good night's sleep...
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Current events (Dr Samson REALLY likes the NY Times), Medical Ethics Course, prep q's with friends
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Read the UW ethics site. I'm positive that any ethics questions they ask you is going to be a spin on one of their example cases. Their site is EXCELLENT it's actually interesting and will help you with your other interviews.
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Read up on current healthcare issues on Google news and thought seriously about my stances, also read the UW bioethics page and some books on managed care, stem cells, and the history of medicine.
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Read this website, mock interviews, read the NY Times, The Economist; review the bioethic website (on UW webpage).
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I studied medical sociology which hits all of the high points. I also studied bioethics and fomulated logical arguments for the issues I support.
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SDN (although some of the feedback made me feel more nervous than necessary), my college bioethics classes helped me answer the numerous ethical questions
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Read a lot. It's true what the other posters have said about being prepared. You don't need to be an expert on health care policy, but you will probably feel awful if you do not go into the situation knowing at least the basics about health care.
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This site, UW bioethics site, NY times, health care assesment books, med ethics books, and mock interviews.
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Kept up in current events and healthcare issues, read this site about potential questions and thought about possible answers, ready UW bioethics site.
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Read books -- if hadn't the stress level would have been 10 because I wouldn't have known any of the answers.
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SDN, NY times, bioethics course
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This website, listened to NPR, read health policy book, talked to students
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Read this site, mock interviews with co-worker and premed advisor, read everything about health care, read the UW med ethics site
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I did not specifically "prepare," I've been doing that for quite some time now. I did not want to seem insincere or phony.
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Mock interview with a doc, reading this website, euthanasia.com, other websites/journals, talking to lots of docs.
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Read a book on health policy, reviewed some ethical websites, and rehearsed some questions and my responses
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Read UW Bioethics website, SDN
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I reviewed the ethics website. I also had an undergraduate bioethics course that was very helpful. I'd reccomend taking one if you haven't
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Read the news, the UW bioethics site, this site
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Read NYTimes and a book on health care, talked to former students
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Reviewed the website. Not much else. I'm up on current medical events and issues.
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Bioethics site, mock interviews, read NYtimes.
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Read the website. Didn't rehearse too much. I know what I believe and I'm not into theatrics. I wanted to sound sincee and unscripted.
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Kept up on current events, read about UW, read SDN interview experiences, etc.
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Reviewed UW website. Researched contemporary health care esearch issues.
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I read the UW bioethics page and a couple of books
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Read the website, ethics page and researched contemporary issues in medicine.
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Med Ethics website, review all the stuff they sent me. I really wish I had read a book on health policy. I feel like I got raked over the coals on that one.
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Got to know current issues in medicine as part of an email group
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UW Bioethics page, talked to about 20 people who'd interviewed there.
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Reviewed medical ethics issues.
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Reviewed UW ethics site, amcas, essays, current events related to medicine/healthcare
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Reviewed UW website including the ethics page.
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Reviewed material on ethics, read SDN, relaxed the night before.
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SDN, read UW bioethics site, read, read, read! Also, know yourself and what you believe in (and stand by your beliefs during the interview!).
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Read UW Bioethics site (VERY helpful, PLEASE read it), Read up on healthcare issues, reflected on any possible question and any follow up questions that could be asked, tried to relax and be as natural as possible.
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Reflected on my personal beliefs, sense of principles and morality...reasons for pursuing a career as a physician
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Read SDN, UW website, talked to students
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Went throught UW's medical ethics site. You Must Do That! The ethics questions are based on that site and it will really help you to think about the big picture.
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Read UW's Bioethics site, read "Health Care Meltdown" by Robert LeBow, researched my state's health care concerns, kept up on current events (CNN, NY Times, etc.).
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Read interview feedback, knew my own research
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Read UW bioethics page, mock interviews, stayed up on current events.
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Other interviews at other schools. Reading about the school. Studying a little bioethics and current events.
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Read NY Times; UW bioethics; Mock interview; read over personal statement...and BREATH!!
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Interview feedback, U of Wash Ethics site, a few journal articles on health care reform.
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Ate some Ben and Jerry's, listened to Phish and read up on fun Vermont and Burlington facts.
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LOTS and LOTS of reading NYT, articles in WSJ; lots of ethics articles from Bioethics journals to learn about different sides to each issue.
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Read this site, read (thoroughly) the ethics web site, studied up on medicare/medicaid stats, updated myself on current healthcare issues (cloning, medical mistakes etc...)
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UW bioethics website, talk with others who have interviewed at UW, NY times website
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Subscribed to AMnews, JAMA, and NEJM. Kept up to date with current events. And, of course, reviewed the interview feedback from this site.
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Read UW bioethics site. Read books about health care.
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This site, UW's Bioethics site (big help), NPR X 3-4 months, NY Times subscription, refresh myself on my PS/AMCAS
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Read bioethics/healthcare issue books, reviewed this site, UW bioethics site, self reflection
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Read, read, read. Read everything- UW bioethics site, newspapers, magazines, and this website.
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UW bioethic web site, news articles on web, SDN feedback, think real hard why medicine.
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Bioethics website, New York Times
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Read over my application, subscribed to NY Times, read UW bioethics page, asked friends to ask me questions
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Kept my eyes and ears open for health care information on the news. Tried to formulate an answer for every question listed for UW interviews on the interview feedback website. Reviewed UW's bioethics website. Reviewed several articles on CNN's health ethics website.
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Read my file, read up on the school (they are big on bioethics), read up on current events, current research and such
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Read 'Understanding Health Policy,' by Boddenheim, UW Bioethics website, Newsweek and Time, NY Times.
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UW Ethics site, Institute of Medicine site, Reading on Health care
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Read my application, read through the UW website, talked with students who interviewed there, had friends mock interview me, especially on ethical questions.
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Reviewed my personal statement, etc., read parts of UW's ethics site.
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READ the UW bioethics site! They expect you to have answers to ethical questions
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Read, talked to students/doctors. UW bioethics website.
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Not well enough. Should have read more on healthcare policy and medical ethics issues.
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Read over application, UW bioethics site, books on health care.
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I read through the UW Bioethics web site and read about the schools community programs and course requirements. Read through SDN.
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Read the UW bioethics site and read my own application.
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Bioethics site. Student MD. Lots of thinking
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Read over the stuff on the UW bioethics webpage, read a bioethics book, read about UW's curriculum, and read over my own application.
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Looked at the UW bioethics site (one of the ethics questions came directly from it), read SDN, etc
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Read the UW bioethics website and a book on healthcare in the U.S.
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Read US news, ethics books, and reviewed my application.
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Rereading my application, looking at the website
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Read everything on the UW's bioethics site (that really helped!), read everything about the school, read over my own application
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Looked at info online about the school, read through the book: The Birth of Bioethics, by Albert Jonsen
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Mock interviews with friends.
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Read interviewfeedback.com. Read the UW Bioethics website (http://eduserv.hscer.washington.edu/bioethics/topics/index.html)
What was the most difficult question?
Students said most difficult questions asked at University of Washington School of Medicine discussed various ethical scenarios, health care policy, and personal reflections. Many interviews involved in-depth discussions on health care reform, ethical dilemmas, and hypothetical scenarios, with some respondents facing challenges navigating complex ethical issues and health care policy implications. Additionally, some interviews seemed to focus on assessing candidates' critical thinking skills and ability to articulate thoughtful responses.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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Had to explain why I took the mcat 3x, what I learned from it and how I plan to improve moving forward as a medical student.
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Many physicians are subject to biases. What is a bias you have?
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Ethical question
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What are 3 things your friends don't like about you?
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Tell me 3 positive aspects of the ACA, and 3 things you would change.
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You attended an international health service trip during the summer. If you met any of the local health providers, please explain the role of these providers in contrast to your own role as a traveling volunteer.
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How would you improve patient turn out in rural areas?
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Describe a good physician-patient interaction that you witnessed and one that could have been better.
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Time you had a difficult conversation with someone
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What did and did not go well in your patient role play?
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Tell us about a time that you had a difficult conversation with someone, including how you handled it and how they handled it.
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In the clinic you work in, how do the doctors maintain their work-life balance? Have you spoken to them about it? (this was a follow up to a question i was asked about future challenges, and I said work-life balance. It was difficult because the docs I work with don't struggle so much with work-life balance, they seem to know their boundaries. Just caught me off guard a little).
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Describe a time when you did something to help someone else or another group while having no large benefit to you.
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Tell me about your grades (have low GPA). All questions came right out of my app.
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They asked me to explain the ACA and how it affected my home state
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The role play scenario- patient's wife is asking for a new narcotic scricpt.
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How would you improve on breaking bad news to patients? (After I stated it was difficult to see providers do)
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What are the major obstacles patients will face when seeking care in the future.
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Role play. Unbelievably contrived and phony.
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Tell us about a patient who reinforced your choice to pursue medicine and one who made you question your choice.
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Role play involving parents insulting their child in front of you, the physician.
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What do you see as your life's greatest failure?
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A small town has a sudden surge in DUI and alcohol-related arrests. How would you go about researching the root of the problem (What?? Where did this come from? Very random)
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Having to choose the specific field of medicine I want to be in 10 years from now.
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Role Play: I work for TIME magazine and am in charge of selecting the person of the year. Who would you nominate and why?
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Role-play. I am the governor, and my wife wants to spend millions on an anti-meth campaign. What do you think about that? I encouraged him to spend it on alcohol programs instead, because it effects more people, and got several follow-up questions on what I would do specifically.
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What would you personally do to increase the number of primary care physicians in the United States?
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I said that a single-payer health care system would save lives and would be less expensive. The interviewer than asked me to explain how it would save money, and if I really believed that? (I think he was testing if I could keep my stance)
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What do you think are the most challenging aspects of healthcare in our state and what do you think of the current 'health care reform environment'? (It wasn't a hard question really but it was hard bridging from one concept to the other.)
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Imagine you are on trial and we are the jury. Try to convince us that you are compassionate and empathetic.
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Are primary care and preventative care the same thing? (I think I brought this on myself, though, because I said that one of the problems with health care is that there isn't enough focus on preventative care)
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After talking about a single payer system and saying what I like and don't like about health care, one of the interviewers turns to me and says "kind of like what Massachusetts is doing?".....ummm, i'm from California...i have no idea what Massachusetts is up to.
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Follow up to question 3. Let's assume you gave the patient morphine. They call you 3 days later and inform you that they are in fact going to swallow all of the pills you provided them with and end their life. The patient lives in rural Wyoming, 1.5 hours away from any medical care.
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What have you done differently since the last time you applied. (They asked me this question twice, once in the beginning and then again at the end. I was like, eh?)
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Role play follow up: The patient ends up taking the sleeping pills and dies. The next morning you are called to sign the death certificate. What do you put as the cause of death? (If this is supposed to present an ethical dilemma of some sort I don't get it. Seems too simple)
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Are there any questions you feel we did not ask that you would like us to know?
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With unlimited resources, how would you reform Seattle's public drug rehab programs?
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The above, and, describe a conflict you were involved in and how you lead it to resolution.
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What are 3 things you would change about health care?
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Role playing with an ethical dilemma.
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Why are primary care physicians dissatisfied with their jobs?
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Nothing was difficult, I was really surprised.
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Imagine you are the Czar of Medicine, what three things would you change about our health care system & why?
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My excom member asked me to give two selling points for him to use during his presentation of my app. during the excom meeting
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The interview was nicer than as projected by the SDN forums and my friends I've talked to. I mostly heard from others that it was going to be very stressful, but I didnt get a sense of that. They are well-aware of the impression people post about on SDN and are trying to come off less stressful now. I was in a room with 2 doctors (a retired GI doctor and family medicine doc --> Xcom) and a 2nd year medical student. They were comforting at the start and continued to stress the point that there is no good cop/bad cop game going on. They had me did a role play exercise with the med student, where we were classmates studying together, and I had to confront him about his drinking problem.
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When you think about being a doctor, what scares you most?
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Probably listing "3" specific problems.
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How many schools did you apply to, and have you interviewed at any others?
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What do you do with a non-compliant family of a 10 year old with Diabetes Type I?
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An ethics question about how to allocate scarce resources
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Is there a point at which a TB patient's autonomy/individual rights are outweighed by the safety/health of society? If so, what would you do when that point is reached?
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Tell us what you know about Tort Reform in Wyoming.
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You have treated a man with every possible known treatment for cancer. He will die unless you can halt/remove the cancer and he has just recently slipped into a coma. His wife found a drug online that is not FDA approved but is advertised as possibly having life saving effects. She wants to use it on her patient. What do you do? Pretend I am the wife and role play with me.
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Why should we pick you over other equally qualified candidates?
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None really...I guess I was least eloquent about answering the health care policy question, but not necessarily a "hard question"
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Talking about primary care physicians and why they are not happy in their profession.
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If you were Christine Gregoire, what would you do to remedy Washington state's current health care issues?
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I went to New Zealand for a study abroad. I did some volunteering there that we were referred to. (Soup kitchen and ecological restoration project). This trip was not oriented towards health care, it was a study of epistemology and the philosophy of cultural identity... <br><br> What is the health care system in New Zealand like, and what was your opinion of it? <br><br> (uhhhhhh.....)
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You have been appointed as one of Barak Obama's advisers. With economic conditions as they are, how would you improve the healthcare system while cutting costs?
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Talk about insurance and why the health care system isn't changing. How would you improve the health care system? Do you have any questions for us?
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For the final question, is there anything you would like to tell us, or would you like to tell us why we should accept you?
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From your aspirations, it sounds like you should be a social worker or politician instead. Why bother becoming a doctor then?
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Ethics question.
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What do you see as the biggest problem with our health care system? and how would you change it? If you were an advisor to a politician, how would you advise them on health care reform?
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None of the questions were difficult per say, just hard to think quickly and speak thoughtfully with 3 different individuals being able to ask you questions back to back.
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Describe 3 health care issues that face your home town (I'm from a underserved area of the state) and what you would do to solve them.
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A 14 year old girl comes to your office and tells you she had unprotected sex. She wants you to give her a prescription for plan B. How do you handle the situation?
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As a role play question, each interviewer represented a different presidential candidate (Obama, Clinton, McCain). The task was to let each candidate know three ways I wanted health care improved from a physician's standpoint and three improvements I wanted from a patient's view, then to defend my choices.
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Most were pretty easy, but I was too nervous to think straight.
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Tell me about a major failure in your life and how you got over it.
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You don't have much experience working with generalists, so how can you tell us that you are interested in being a primary care physician?
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NONE! I think the best advice I can give is just to reiterate, as much as you can to the point where you're feeling like you might be annoying, that UW IS THE SCHOOL FOR YOU. I did so, incoporating it into my answers every chance I got.. even at one point, I said, ''I'm not even sure if its appropriate to say this stuff'' because I thought I was beating it dead with a stick. Second: I got really lucky... the guy leading the interview looked around at the other two people and was like 'well, I don't know much about your area (working with autism) ..so can you guys think of any ethical question?' and ended up asking me something about a patient knowing ahead of time that their child would be autistic, what advice I would give as far as abortion. PATIENT ADVOCATE. Those are the winning two words when it comes to ethics, and sticking to your guns. Other interviewees had a lot more ethics questions... its luck of the draw I guess. I feel like I definitely OVERprepared, but it helped with my confidence... making the whole interview process at UW waaaaaaaaay easier than I had expected. Like, aside from the 'panel' and talking to three people at once, it was one of the easier interviews out of the five I've had. Definitely know your current events in health, health policy.. and local stuff if you can fit it in. I studied way too hard. I prepped way too hard. But, in the end, I think it just helped me feel really ready for it and made the whole thing ''easier''. Hope it helps. Let me know if you have any other questions and good luck!
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How do the cost and lack of accessability to health insurance affect our health care system?
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Compare US health system to Mexican health system
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Who won the Nobel Prize in medicine this year and what did they win for?
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Role playing for ethical question
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Explain a time in your life where you were completely overwhelmed, but overcame such difficulties. Also what strategies did you employ.
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Do you think family practice will be challenging enough?
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Ethics question about old terminally-ill patient wanting to end his own life
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Follow-up to fixing problems in health care: How do you propose we recruit and retain more physicians in underserved areas?
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The questions were predictable--healthcare policy and ethics.
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A question concerning a role-playing scenario with family members of a terminal patient.
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Ethical question about acknowledging a tx mistake or mistake made by a colleague.
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Explain your felony (1 time 10 yrs ago).
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As health czar, how would I control healthcare costs in the last 6 months of life?
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What was the program expansion that President Bush just vetoed?
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All equally difficult, very hard interview. not brutal, just a lot harder than my other interviews.
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Ethics Question--regarding organ donation
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A health care systems question
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Was asked about a past experience with a patient of mine. Thing is, I've never had patients of my own, just minimal interactions in clinics and lots of customer service. I explained this and offered ideas based upon the experience I did have, but the interviewer kept pressing on about my patients and wouldn't accept my answer.
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If we had the ability to let people know in advance that they had a disposition to Alzheimer's, would that be beneficial? Would you promote it?
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What three things would you change about the U.S. healthcare system.
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Would you prescribe the birth control pill to a 14 yr old who asked for it? Why?
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Same as above
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Why are physicians in the us increasingly dissatisfied?
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Ethics galore
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Two people come in to the ED, same exact conditions and both are in a state of emergency. One is a banker and has insurance, one is a homeless man. The hospital administrator calls you and says they need to start thinking about finances, and tells you, since you only have one cath lab to deal with these heart attack patients, to admit the banker and send the homeless man elsewhere. Who do you admit?
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Your undergraduate curriculum and volunteer work indicates you are very interested and focused on public health issues; why not go for an MPH rather than an MD?
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An ethical question about continuing to use scarce resources on a patient who was a chronic alcoholic.
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A primary goal of the UW medical school is to produce physicians for the under-served areas of Washington State. Since you want to take our education and work in Africa, what should I tell the admissions committee when they ask me why we should accept you over the thousands of students who want to come here and practice in Washington State?
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Will you be going into primary care?
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Issues regarding national health care. Careful with this question. Base on your response they will press with harder and harder topics.
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Every single ethical question that I was asked because they constantly prodded at you and tried to make you squirm.
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Ethics questions - You are running a rural clinic with a partner and they mistakenly prescrib the wrong medication for a patient (which did the patient no harm). You discover and correct this mistake when seeing the patient. Would you tell the patient about the mistake?
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Where does the funding come from for health clinics in underserved areas?
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Same
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What is the most important feedback you have received (in any context)?
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Okay, you're a transplant doc. You have three patient: a three year old child with down syndrome, a 42 year old male alcoholic in prison, and a 75 year old professor of biology. All three patients need a liver transplant or they will die. They all have equal medical necessity for the liver. The 3 year old's down syndrome will not medically alter their chance for survival-besides the liver transplant of course. The 42 year old alcoholic, although in prison and the cause of his own liver failure, has two children and promises to undergo treatment and take good care of his children. The 75 year old man is a profressor of yours that has recently published a book, and is a highly regarded researcher and teacher. Who gets the liver? If I were someone about to interview at UW, I would DEFINATELY look over some ethical principles of resource allocation. Try the UW bioethics site. Try praying for an easier question ;)
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Same as above.
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What percentage of family doctors have their own practice (make a guess)? Do you think that number will go up or down?
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You wrote in your essay that you are interested in Emergency Medicine. How do you plan on mixing your background and a PhD in Chemistry with Emergency Medicine?
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No difficult questions. Very low stress interview (despite what others have said about being grilled).
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You said in your application that you expected med school to teach you to think objectively and dispassionately. We are actually trying to get our students to think more subjectively. How would you change the current med school curriculum to teach students more empathy and subjectivity.
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What would I do if a terminally ill patient called to say goodbye, and that he was about to take a lethal dose of sleeping pills.
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Have you ever followed up in later weeks with any of the patients you've helped while volunteering? (obviously this Q wasn't hard to interpret, but I had to honestly answer "no").
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There were none that ought to have been difficult, but I botched the questions that should have been easiest: questions about a couple of pecadillos on my transcript, about my unusually lengthy path to med school, and the inevitable why-a-doctor question and why-you-instead-of-all-these-other-candidates question.
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About the US and Canadian health systems, whether its preferable to weed people out at the entry level of healthcare (not being able to see a doctor at all) as in US or at the exit level (having to wait to get operations and procedures (as in canadian system)
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I was asked multiple health care questions... what I think the major problems are... how I would fix them, if I think we need to pour more money into health care, etc.
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Follow up to previous question (paraphrased): Don't you think that taxing junk food would end up taxing those who can least afford the taxes on junk food?
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How would you fix the US healthcare system?
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Same as the most interesting question.
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What seperates you from your other pre-med friends?
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Why do you want to become a physician? I had rehearsed answering this question, but choked in the interview as it was the first question they asked me. However, I was able to recover by continuing to address the question throughout the rest of the interview.
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Essentially, they asked me to compare and contrast the Canadian and American healthcare systems and how I would fix them both.
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What would you do if you could only give ten tests every month to your patients, and you were out of tests for the month and a patient came in that needed a test?
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What will you do if medicine is not an option?
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Explain to us a project that you are working on, knowing that we don't have any background in your academic studies
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How would I fix the problem of lack of access to care in our health care system?
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None
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One of the interviewers asked me a question that was not on my application, but was in one of the letters of recommendation (of course I had not seen the letters) so that caught me off guard.
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Give your sales pitch
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Nothing sticks out.
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A question about rural health and what to do if someone comes into your office w/o health insurance
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Be prepared to debate your position on health insurance. That took up the most of my interview.
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To was asked to compare and contrast my idea for universal health care with Medicare and Medicaid.
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You have a patient you've built a relationship with over some time, who is now on a ventilator which is sustaining his life. The family wishes to speak with you. What would you do? (Difficult because there are so many unknowns...a very open ended question.)
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Probably same one.
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Ethics question on PAS.
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This question was difficult because it was not phrased as a question. "Discuss the impact of pharmaceutical companies upon the medical field, the medical field upon the government and the population, as well as the relationship between the government, pharmaceutical companies and medical field." Another particularly difficult question was "What would you say to pharmaceutical companies weighing the options of developing new drugs versus new vaccinations, when they are also taking into consideration profit?"
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Ethical Question about Stem Cell Research... Know your ethics!
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What do you think we can learn from other countries' health care systems to improve our own?
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Why do you think that the elderly are confused about the new medicare drug program and what would you do to relieve this confusion?
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Ethics scenario question.
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What do you think about I-330?
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Why do you want to be a doctor? (because I wanted to be honest but original)
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Besides the uninsured, what is one other thing that is wrong with healthcare in this country?
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None too out of the ordinary
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Why you over other applicants?
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Make make you think you are ready to be a doctor?
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First question out of the block..."It took you a while to apply to medical school...why?"
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Our government is not making changes to our health care system, so who do we turn to in order to improve health care?
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Most of the questions were very specific to my the various essays I had written on my application. My interviwers definitely tried to sniff out any BS.
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How do you see medicine as an art in the Labor/Delivery department (I worked in LDRP)?
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What my position on tort reform was.
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How would I solve the problem of healthcare in rural AK?
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What would you do if you did not get into medical school?
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What was the biggest disappointment you've faced in your life thus far?
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What are some of the issues facing medicine today? (too broad)
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What about rural medicine will present the greatest challenges?
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How would you fix the US health care system? (I think they just want to see how you think on this one. If there were really a "right" answer I would hope we would be doing it!)
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(follow-up question) the medical examiner calls you to let you know the patient has passed. what would you mark as cause of death?
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PAS scenario with follow up questions.
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What are your impressions of the U.S. health care system? [This topic is so broad in scope, it was hard to know where to begin.]
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Ethics question about advanced directives--you have a patient who's stated he wants no heroic measures but develops pneumonia and can be treated if intubated.
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What one proposal would you suggest to fix healthcare in this country?
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Ethical situation: So many I can't keep track
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Ethical question about cancer pt who wants you to help them end thier life. that part wasnt so hard, the hard part was that he kept changing the situation and probing me. "ok now the pt is asking .... now what would you do?"
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How would you solve the uninsured problem in the United States? and How would you provide treatment for a patient with a cultural/language barrier to make them feel more comfortable?
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Standard ethics question: You patient with terminal illnes calls and tells you he is going to off himself with pills and wants to say thanks for all the care ovre the last 10 years. What do you do?
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What is something you are super proud of/ biggest accomplishment?
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What was the last book you read? (I don't read books, just newspapers, periodicals, textbooks for class, etc).
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Who should be TIME's Person of the year
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Well... during the interview I spent 25 minutes on health care policy, so if you don't know how our healthcare system works and/or other countries, your in for a world of hurt. (I'm sore but not broken)
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What are the major problems with healthcare today?
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Probably the same question because it came so far out of left field.
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Questions regarding view points on healthcare delivery..quantity vs quality ethnical issues.
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It took you a long time to make it to medical school; why?
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Position on stem cell research
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Can you tell us about a specific patient in your clinical experience who made you want to become a doctor more?
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How would you tell an elderly person with pancreatic cancer they would not be receiving life extending treatments because their insurance (private or medicare) only covers pain management for those with a terminal illness?
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What is health?
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Would you like a cookie? Or maybe it was: What are the problems with healthcare in your home-town?
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Question about medical errors
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End of life issues
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What are the problems with our health care system? How do we fix them?
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Question 2--see below.
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How do we solve the health care crisis and which presidential candidates health care proposals to you agree with more.
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What would you say to a man who's wife is in a coma and unlikely to ever regain consciousness. one son believes you should pull the plug, the other believes you should wait?...but what if...?
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How can health care within the United States be changed?
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Ethical: patient confidentiality.
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What was the last conflict you were involved in and how did you resolve it
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Who do you think is right in the Nancy Shaivo 'right-to-die case? What would you do if you were her doctor?
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Questions regarding my desire to specialize...it was hard to talk about this at a school that emphasizes primary care.
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I wasn't asked any difficult questions. I gave dumb answers on everything, but they really weren't difficult questions.
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Probably the same.
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Your family life Vs. Patient care (balance)
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Prescription drug OD scenario and how I would face the situation.
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Why UW?
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Nothing was too challenging :)
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A tie. 1) Why do you only have 1 EC listed? 2) Why, after all the problems in Canadian healthcare you've listed, is Canada rated (insert some high number. 4?) while the US is rated (insert lower number. 25?) in the world in terms of cost effectiveness, or patient benefit?
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Why should we let you in?
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If you were the czar of stem cell research, what kind of restrictions would you implement?
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An ethical scenario with an illegal immigrant who is unable to pay for necessary medications
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What is your greatest weakness?
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A follow-up to the questions of what's wrong with healthcare in this country and what would I do to fix those problems: how would I pay for these solutions?
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You have a premature baby who is really sick with various complications and needs a small blood transfusion to have any chance of survial, the parents refuse on religious grounds. Should you challenge the parent's wishes?
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Ethics question
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All were very straight forward and not too difficult.
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Why are your grades so low? (This was an unfair question! The files are supposed to be closed to the other people in the room. They also asked why I think I should get in with my MCAT scores and grades!!!!) If I don't get in, I might file a lawsuit for violation of the agreement of the interview conditions.
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No specifically difficult question, just the fact that you get no feedback (facial expressions/discussions) from the interviewers.
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Same
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You said 'be the best physician you can be.' What does that mean? Everyone says that, but what does it actually mean?
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All of the questions were fairly basic.
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So is there anything else you'd like to say about yourself? it caught me off guard because it was one of the few personal question they asked about me. i didn't have any personal questions for the majority of the interview.
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Ethical question: An elderly Asian women came to the hospital and was diagnosed with tuberculosis. She refuses to take the medication required and wants to take herbal medication instead. What would you do? If you need to convince her to take the medication, what resources would you use?
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Above
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Tell us about one of your failures. I made it harder because I went into how it ended up with some positive results in the long run and so she asked, "then why was it a failure?"
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Standard ethical, health care, and end of life questions. study these a bit.
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What experience touched you and why? What did you do, specifically, for that person?
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Where do you see yourself in 15 years? Followed by: How do you intend to achieve those goals?
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Lots of good, thoughtful questions - none were easy!
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What do you have to contribute to this year's medical class ?
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What was the most difficult experience in your life that did not take place in the context of your profession?
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What is unique about the US society that would make Universal Healthcare difficult?
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You are the director of a hospital, and the ER doctor comes in presenting a drug addict who's been in previously 5 times beore for detox/treatment etc. At the same time, a group from the local urban community comes to you asking for your hospital to sponsor a healthy babies program that will serve over 200 infants in the community. You have limited funds and can only help one of the two, who do you help?
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How do you know you want to be a family practitioner if you've only shadowed specialists?
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Whare are 3 current problems in our health care? How would you solve it?
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How do you eliminate the need for affirmitive action?
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If you were on the administrative board of a hospital and were asked to cut certain procedures because of their high cost per patient, what would you do?
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Nothing too difficult. but they did want me to predict the outcome of the iraq war, which was challenging but doable.
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How do you feel about the Medicare prescription drug plan that Congress is proposing?
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Why was managed care formed? Did it succeed? ALong with questions about Medicaid drug funding for AIDS drugs and a few ethics questions.
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See above
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If an illegal alien needed an expensive prescription he couldn't pay for, what would you do?
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Probably the same question. There are some pretty tough ethical scenarios though.
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Why do you think URM physicians are UR?
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The question centered on an older patient who had saved 13 sleeping pills and wanted to know, as her physician, how many it would take to end her life.
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About a nurse overriding an order for a set amount of morphine, leading to the patient's death from respiratory failure
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See above, I guess. It was definitely the most involved.
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The governor hands you $100 million and tells you to fix the state's health care...what do you do?
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Beliefs on affirmitive action in medical school?
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What would you do to fix the healthcare system?
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How did you come to the descision to study medicine (or try to at least)?
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See above.
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Why medicine?
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Here's a senario you are faced as a doctor- what would you do?
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Why medicine.
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How are you going to fix the health care crisis in America?
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If you were in charge of the medical program of the US, what would you do to change it for the better?
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Do you have anything else that you want to tell us about yourself?
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What do you think of the Canadian and British healthcare systems?
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None were too difficult.
-
Tell me about yourself
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What percentage of healthcare costs can be attributed to overhead? What about in Canada?
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See above...yikes, for some reason this one was difficult.
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If one of your friends was to describe you, what would they say positively AND negatively about you?
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Everything else
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The patient pill question that they asked all the others and the "how would you fix American health care" one
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Why should doctors be paid such high salaries?
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What would you tell a patient who calls you up to say goodbye because he's been storing up pills and is going to take them as soon as he gets off the phone with you?
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Name some cancer drugs and their targets. (Perhaps I should have known the answer to this question, but I had been expecting questions that directly pertained to my research, so it tripped me up)
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What about your application has changed since last year?
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How would you react to an elderly patient that calls on the phone to tell you they are about to take an overdose of pills after they hang up the phone to you, but they are calling you to say thank you for all your past service?
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None in particular
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None--really. I was expecting many difficult questions, but was surprised that all of them were relatively "easy." They asked a lot about health care problems and reform.
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Strengths/weaknesses....
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What kinds of alternatives would you propose to improve healthcare in the US?
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Lots and lots of detailed healthcare policy -- especially financial issues. How would you fund this? How are you going to pay for that? How do you fix the system right now?
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The new pediatric gene therapy trials with 80% efficacy. Do you as a physician use the gene therapy for a possible higher quality of patient life or not use them because of a 20% chance of negative effects?
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How has the economic downfall in Washington state affected the healthcare community?
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Asked me a lot of questions about my research to see if I knew what I was talking about.
-
What are the differing positions between Dems and Repubs in regards to medicare prescription drug benefits?
-
See above question.
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Ethical questions and health care solutions (?).
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How has your experience after school made you a better candidate?
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The ethical questions, just like everyone else.
-
What is the biggest problem in health care today and how would you fix it?
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Ethical question--what would you do if your 14 y/o female patient requested birth control but asked that you don't tell her mother who is waiting in the next room?
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Health care policy stuff....lots of it.
-
What do you think of the vaccinating the entire US population against smallpox? Does it seem like a waste of resources?
-
How should we balance the desire to have health care for all people with the financial realities of providing such care?
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Defend my undergraduate record from 15 years ago & grades in various classes. Fair question, but not what I was expecting.
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There were several ethical questions, dealing with Jehovah Witnesses and blood transfusions, and a suicidal geriatric patient, and others.
-
How would I fix the problems of rural medicine's lack of technology.
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Why do you think so many doctors don't take Medicaid patients? Are they just in it for the money?
-
What should be done to solve some of the healthcare problems today?
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Continued questions on answers given regarding an ethics question
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Where is all the money being spent in US healthcare going toward? (This was a follow-up to my statement that the high costs were one of the biggest problems in healthcare.)
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What was the most difficult situation that you've faced, and how did you deal with it?
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What are the ethical implications of the Oregon Medicare system where they rank procedures to determine what is covered or not.
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What is your biggest failure?
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How would you break the news of a child's fatal illness to the child and their family?
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Describe your greatest failure
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How does the your country of origin's healthcare system compare to ours?
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Solve some of the healthcare problems today.
What impressed you positively?
Applicants were overwhelmingly impressed by the friendliness, warmth, and positive attitudes of the interviewers, staff, and students at the University of Washington School of Medicine. They appreciated the personalized approach in interviews, the emphasis on student well-being, the multitude of opportunities available for research and clinical experience, the diverse and supportive student community, and the school's commitment to primary care, underserved populations, and unique programs like the WWAMI and R-UOP. Many were pleasantly surprised by the relaxed and conversational interview style, the beautiful campus and location in Seattle, and the various clinical and research opportunities both locally and abroad.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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The interviewers were very kind and understanding especially when it comes to the pressure interviewees feel, they really took the time to get to know me.
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Interviewers were kind and caring.
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My interviewers were kind and tried to make the experience less stressful.
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They were friendly
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The environment, while situationally stressful, was pretty relaxed. I was able to laugh multiple times with the interviewers and they seemed super interested in what I was saying.
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The interviewers themselves, as well as other faculty members whom I have worked with previously.
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UW's WWAMI program.
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Small class size, new school building, opportunities for firsthand experience, variety and number of available summer research/other projects, pathways program, general school prestige, good rapport between students and administrators
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The positive vibes throughout the day created by all UW staff
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How they had clearly gone through my file and tailored questions accordingly. It was nice not to have to cover my background in depth since they had already read it.
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Campus, vibe of the school, how friendly everyone was
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The positive attitude current medical students had towards the work-life balance at UWSOM.
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The friendliness and openness of everyone I encountered.
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The interviewers were much friendlier than I anticipated. They showed emotion and laughed and smiled throughout the interview. Was overall pleasant. The current students were very nice.
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Everything
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Friendly interviewers and staff
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They knew my application so the answers were tailored to me. This made answering them so EASY!
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Professionalism of student, staff, and faculty interviewers. Friendliness of admissions staff. Awesome campus.
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Their new curriculum and all the clinical opportunities
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Rotation sites, curriculum design, research opportunities, student support
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P/F. Great clinical curriculum. People were nice.
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Friendly, concise.
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School cares about their applicants. Allowed for the most faculty/student interaction through meet and greets on interview day out of all schools I applied to. Finding overnight hosting was easy through their website form. They asked me what I wanted to eat for lunch. Friendliest interviewee group I've met so far.
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Friendliness of students and staff.
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Overall niceness of the people involved in the interview day.
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They really made an effort to put me at ease and make me feel comfortable
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I interviewed with 3 doctors and I got good vibes from all of them. They were passionate, professional, and intense. Loved it.
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The thoroughness of their review of my application.
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How awesome it was.
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The unique decentralized opportunities at UW.
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About the interview, I was worried the interview panel wouldn't emote, which I had heard, but they were all very warm and appreciative of my answers. I got the acceptance call that week too, which was amazingly quick. As for the school, there was very little that DIDN'T impress me positively. Great school, so many opportunities, so many happy, nice people, and in such a wonderful place. One thing I didn't know going in was that you can do your clerkships during the 3rd and 4th years anywhere in the WWAMI region and the school will pay for everything for you! (apartment, airfare, rental car if needed). So exciting for me, because I'm very interested in rural medicine - Alaska and Montana here I come!
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Pretty much everything! How beautiful Seattle and the campus was, the flexibility of the curriculum, how nice everyone was. I really didn't think that I would love it and that the interview would be very chill. I had this idea that they would grill me, and from everyone else that interviewed that day, that seemed to be true. But mine was rather relaxed. I also had lots of fun with the other interviewees that day.
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The students, faculty, and interviewers that i met were really down-to-earth, funny, and all around good people.
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UW SOM health center/affiliate hospitals/curriculum
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The interview was much more relaxed than I was prepared for. I had heard horror stories about UW's interview process, but they did try their best to calm me down and stress that they weren't there to ruin my day. Definitely trying hard to change people's opinions about them.
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Student lounge and artwork
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The atmosphere at the campus is really great. You really feel like you are a part of a medical community.
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AMAZING SCHOOL
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The interviewers were very warm, and just wanted to get to know me. I had expected more pressure, opportunities to answer more ethical questions or attempt some role playing, but I found that my stress level stayed relatively low.
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The focus on patient care and the underserved.
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The courtesy demonstrated by the admissions staff (very friendly, led me to a pre-interview waiting room with little ammenities, give you a USB drive with UW info, etc...), the personalities of the med students I met, the hospital facilities, the Seattle area, the recreational opportunities available to students, and mostly the incredible program at UW
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Everyone's really nice, and they try to make it not stressful.
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All of the resources available to students. The fact that you can go on clinical rotations in WWAMI land and go abroad.
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Commitment to primary care and underserved populations, strong clinical training throughout the WWAMI region.
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Can I say everything? The students were helpful and the staff was really nice and accommodating.
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The committee's knowledge and familiarity with my file, their ability to transition my responses into new questions, the advanced nature of the questions-- eg. not just "what" but "why/how/what learned", etc. Facilities, program, ratio of students to cadavers in anatomy class, location, opportunities to work & gain experience outside Seattle, etc etc etc. LOTS.
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Everything. Good grief. This school is almost too awesome.
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The interviewers really read into my application, moreso than I was expecting from the UW. In my experience as an undergrad, I usually feel like I am just a bunch of numbers to the average faculty member. That was definitely not the case here.
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Two of my interviewers were friendly and encouraging. students are able to get funding for independent research projects and overseas trips.
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The school, town, and atmosphere are incredible. I had such a good time, and wish I spent a few more days in Seattle. The reputation of UW is certainly correct.
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Everyone was very friendly. The interviewers were not as hard on me as I'd feared. The medical students were also helpful and candid.
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The multitude of programs that the school has, the responsiveness and organization of the admissions office, the friendliness of the students, the attention to primary care and practicing in under-served areas. The quality of the school in general. How much UW does for its medical students. I thought the people interviewing with me were really nice and laid back, generally.
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The interview team was so much more positive than I had imagined. They conveyed positive feedback in their expressions, body language, and questions.
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Interviewers were very nice and definitely not out to get you.
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All the opportunities the school had to offer its students.
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The endless options the school has to offer.
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Love the school, location, opportunities for practicing medicine elsewhere, the cost, and the people
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Conversational interview style. I have applied to this school in the past, and the interview was much less stressful this time. It was also great not having to sit at the very end of a long table.
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They were friendly but not easy on me. I felt they were really trying to challenge me, but not intimidate me. I was told specifically that they wanted to see me think under pressure, and see how i communicated
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All the opportunities for students! I love the ability to travel and do rotations in other places. Some facilities have been remodeled and are really beautiful. Seattle is a great city to live in.
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Everyone on campus (staff and students) were really positive, friendly, and helpful. If I had any questions they were quick to find answers or direct me to someone who could help me more.
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The student guide was awesome and extremely helpful. The tour and lunch with him and the other students were excellent. Everyone in the admissions office was very helpful and friendly. Love the WWAMI program; no other med school offers what UW does in terms of locations for clinicals. From everyone I talked to and from everything I learned that day, it's obvious that UW goes above and beyond for their students.
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The interviewers knew my file extremely well and tailored at least half of the questions to me and my experiences.
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I love this school.
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The myriad of opportunities available to do anything everywhere... seriously.
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The curriculum is truly unique and I think that, upon graduation, you will have accrued a lot of clinical experience in a wide range of settings.
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The friendliness of my fellow interviewees, the kindness of everyone we met, the program itself--such a unique opportunity to do clinical rotations across a 5 state region. Great support for students to achieve their interests.
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UW and Seattle are amazing. The actual lecture halls/areas of learning are mediocre at best, but the hospital, teaching labs, etc are top-notch. Opportunites to learn all over the WWAMI region as well as abroad.
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I liked being able to talk to the 3/4 year students instead of just 1st or 2nd years. It seemed like they have a lot of funding. They gave me a flash drive.
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All of the students we talked to (between the tour and interviews) were very positive about their med school experiences. The faculty also seemed very responsive to student concerns.
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The interviewers were very patient with me and respectful, even though I was so nervous that I think they were amused by me. The tour guide was really enthusiastic, personable and informative. There were snacks and beverages in the interview waiting area, and a laptop so you can check your email. There was also a bottle of water set out for me in the interview room, which was a nice touch.
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The tour of the facilities, the location, the information presented by the administration
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The wealth of programs at the school, and the services available to students. Seems like they help students to build a balanced life.
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R-UOP, Global/Int'l Health Pathway, views from some of the buildings..
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The amazing service and rural medicine programs. The location of the medical school - it's on two lakes and it's beautiful!
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Almost everything. Loved the school. So many incredible opportunities and the faculty seems to be very much concerned about your wellbeing and education. Students seem friendly.
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The multitude of options for study. You can study anything, anywhere - from delivering babies in Alaska to practicing family medicine in Kenya.
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Everything.
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The medical students were very down to earth and easy going
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Lots of options for research, rural medicine, mentoring and support.
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There are so many different opportunities at UW for clerkships.
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How there are so many service/learning opportunities available - alot of travel abroad options too
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How many options the UW has--it is a school with so many choices for its students. I got excited about all the different locations I could study and topics I could consider.
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How much better organized the tour/lunch/interview process was this year compared to last year.
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The sheer number of opportunities available to students
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Warmth of the admissions staff and some of the faculty; quality of the other applicants; strength of the WAMMI program;
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The huge number of programs available to students to work with specific populations (Rural program, underserved program, native american health program, global health program, etc.)
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Amazing clinical training and mentoring
-
People were really nice and the campus is beautiful as always
-
How acclaimed the school really is.
-
The staff and interviewers, very pleasant and understanding
-
Emphasis on clinical training AND research. Cool summer programs.
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Opportunities available for research or clinical work in urban and rural areas.
-
The people rock, wicked nice.
-
Nice campus.
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The people there are crazy nice, everyone was very happy, the location rules, the teachers are great, the programs they offer are great, the surrounding hospitals arre top notch, huge region to work with
-
The interviewers were very nice and they even smiled.
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Everybody was very nice, and welcoming! they really put me at ease
-
The people were much nicer than expected. The campus is gorgeous.
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There are numerous opportunities to expand your educational experience, such as working in low-income inner city and/or rural areas, as well as travelling to other parts of the country and the world to supplement the 4 years of traditional experience.
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Exciting program with too many unique features to even begin to describe, enthusiastic and happy students, serious but not scary interview, amazing location.
-
Everyone was ver nice and it is an great school. The students seemed happy.
-
Currently enrolled med student's impression of the school.
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How nice the admission staff was.
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I live here so I love Seattle
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Everyone was friendly. The school has great opportunities for community service and involvement.
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RUOP (rural underserved opportunities program), WWAMI program and regional rotation opportunities
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Seattle
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The students seemed very excited about the curriculum and about their experiences with the school
-
UW is one of the few medical schools that really sets out to train compassionate clinicians. Other schools may lay claim to this, but which of them allow you SO MANY opportunites to work with the underserved/international/rural populations right from the 1st year?
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I think the pros of attending UW would be the in-state tuition, location, and wide array of community rotations to choose from.
-
How nice all the interviewers were and how comfortable they made it
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The comraderie among the students and how positive the students were about the school/curriculum/etc
-
Rapport amongst students
-
You'll meet some students and get a feel for the people; they are NOT stuck-up types or too bookwormy either. They were actually extremely cool
-
The students and curriculum.
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The interview committee tried very hard to make me feel at ease. Of course that makes it very hard to read how you did.
-
The interviewers were not intimidating or interrogating. It seemed that they were really interested in getting to know me.
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Everything! UWSOM is a great place to be!
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I did my undergraduate work at UW and had thoroughly researched all of the various programs and opportunities to work with the disadvantaged that are available, so rather than being impressed upon arriving, I had my original impressions confirmed. It's a great school if you're interested in primary care, particularly family practice, and all of the students I met indicated that you will be nurtured and encouraged a great deal if this is your eventual path. I was also given every reason to believe that students interested in other facets of medicine are also well cared for.
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The college system, ability to emphasize on international health or rural health if you wish too, how nice everyone I met was
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The lunch with the 2nd year students was really the highlight of my day. They were so enthusiastic and informative. They sound like they have more free time than I thought... I was also happy how nice the other interviewees were. Some seemed cold and competitive, but most were NOT.
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The med school students we met at lunch were really helpful. All of them seemed to have very active social lives which surprised me.
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The friendliness of the students and their willingness to tell us about their school. How beautiful Seattle is! There is so much to do in the city.
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The number of locations open for clinical rotations, the Indian Health Pathways program, the number of opportunities for working with underserved, the gym, Seattle, the public transportation system, research opportunities.
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It was very relaxed
-
They did try to make the interview relaxed.
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The students seemed very outgoing and positive.
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The students both at the school and interviewing with me: the school is really open to more alternative students (ie those who for whom med school is a second career, or have spent time doing different things before going to med school) and as a result, each class is very diverse. All the students i met were really interesting people, and all had had such different experiences. Being a state school, I just assumed it wouldnt be very diverse, but I was really positively suprised when I visited.
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Med students were laid back
-
The interviewers were friendly and not intimidating at all
-
Current med students were down to earth and really enjoying their education.
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I love the area (its where I currently live), and the staff in the admissions office was wonderful and engaging. The students were great. The programs and opportunities were all top notch.
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The interview was not confrontational or intimidating. The people were friendly. Overall a good experience.
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I actually enjoyed the interview. this is weird because i expected not to and i wasn't at all looking forward to being grilled on politics, health policy and ethics. okay, the interview was tough, my hardest yet, but i found it challenging in a good way and kinda fun.
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Two interviewers were very involved in conversation-like interview. Felt very natural
-
It seemed like the interviewrs read my app in and out, they asked predicible questions
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The commitment to community!
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The enthusiasm of the students
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The diversity programs, and options for your independent study project.
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The rearrangement of the class into 'colleges,' which apparently is reducing the competetiveness of the class. Also, the lead interviewer made the explicit statement that they are working to foster a more cohesive student culture. This was very good to hear, and increased my desire to join the class of 2006.
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Pretty much everything.
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Intervieweres were not intimidating.
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I was impressed by the sincerity and genuineness of the interviewers; they were pleasant and encouraged me through the interview as I gave my responses. The main interviewer was one of my previous professors (who I never met but remembered him lecturing) so that was comforting to know that someone I have seen on campus was interviewing me.
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The Faculty and Students were very friendly! The school has amazing opportunities for rural, international and Research opportunities... if you are lucky to get in you will not be bored during medical school!
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The many oppurtunities available to students at UW
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The students that we got to speak to were all VERY enthusiastic about their program
-
The students, the curriculum
-
Everybody was very nice.
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The first year students enthusiasm at the lunch, the staff, the view of the campus from I-5, and the mulitcultural affairs office.
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The impressive number of programs that allow students to work with the underserved. The number of off-campus sites that allow students to get fantastic hands-on clinical experience. You can basically decide how involved a clinical curriculum you want based on where you choose to do your rotations. All the students I talked to seemed extremely happy to be there. The UW campus is gorgeous. The interviewers were very nice and the students who were interviewing on my day were all friendly, fun, interesting people.
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The medical building is not beautiful or fancy, but the institution is still high class, with amazing research going on, plenty of opportunities in research and community service, and all students agree they are getting a first rate education. I know a lot of UW medical students… and all of them are very happy and none of them regret their decision to attend UW. All of the other applicants on my interview day were great people, interesting, ambitious and intelligent. I would want any of them to be my doctor. The interview coordinator was also very helpful and nice. She tried to make the day as smooth and stress-free as possible.
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Feedback from students, openness to student interests and opportunities for students to pursue their interests within the rigid medical school curriculum.
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The campus, the facilities, the students, the strong support system for out-of-state students.
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Extremely nice students.. but during lunch and at the interview. Friendly staff
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They seemed to be interviewing a lot of people and yet I felt that my interviewers took me seriously and really tried to ask questions that would get at who i was.
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How dedicated UW is to community service and rural health
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Seattle, cheap, students seemed more laid back than other interviews
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Seattle is beautiful! Also the facilities are great and the student who ate lunch with us seemed to love UW and was just fun to talk to in general. The Office of Multicultural affairs meeting was really informative (as an out-of-stater the main reason I think I got an interview was because the OMC likes recruiting disadvantaged applicants and applicants interested in working with the underserved - in my case, the latter). Also, despite what I heard from the feedback here, Dr. Samson is actually a pretty nice guy!
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The other students/applicants, how nice the staff and interviewers were
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Everyone was very friendly.
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The interviewers were friendly and very upfront about what they would be asking, taking notes, etc...
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The students during lunch were very informative and laid back.
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The hospitals and the enthusiasm of the students, along with opportunities for working with urban and rural underserved populations
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Students seemed really happy and were positive about the program. all the opportunities for community involvement
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Less intimidating than expected
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The lunch with 2nd year students, the presentations, the programs with the MD curiculum.
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The school's strong committment to the underserved
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The interviewers and fellow interviewees. opportunities in rural and underserved areas.
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The interviewers. The presentation of the colleges program. The opportunities to train in rural areas and/or abroad.
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How friendly everyone was, the presentation on the college program, the willingness of students to chat with interviewees.
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The luncheon with the 2nd year medical student was really informative with a lot of information you can find on a website.
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Very organized day and tried to make you feel comfortable. The students were absolutely great. They were really down to earth and truthful about their experiences at UW. They seem to be really supportive of one another and help each other out. The multicultural affairs office is wonderful. They were really helpful and tried to get the interviewees as much time to spend with other students as possible.
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The students are way chill and seem to really like the school.
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The committee was incredibly nice and friendly trying to help me relax during the interview...they really tried to know how I think, as a person, not just facts about me. So I feel they really took the time to get to know me, plus I got a cookie.
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Cohesivness of the group, unlike last year. This year the group had read my file, sounded prepared and asked reasonable questions.
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Super super nice students-especially my student host, good atmosphere, yummy lunch, friendly, nice interviewers and admissions people, good tour.
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I wanna go here cuz it's cheap and has lots of opportunities to work with the underserved.
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Interviewers were nice
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The friendlyness of the staff. (is friendlyness a word?)
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UW is a great school, it's my top choice still, but the interview day was...kinda lame.
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I don't know why, but I was surprised by how friendly everyone in the Admissions office was, and how conversational my interview felt. It went against all that I was warned about with the UW interview.
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The atmosphere and attitude of the school and its affiliates, I felt they appreciated me as a candidate
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Very gracious interviewers. They made me feel welcome and at ease (well, as much as they could).
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The difficulty and variety of interesting questions asked during the interview, the professionalism of the interviewers and admissions staff, the enthusiasm of the 2nd year medical students, the colleges system
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Dr. Samson was not big mean and scary like everybody told me he would be.
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The interviewers interest in my personal life and who I was. They weren't completely concerned with how well read I was, although current medical issues were discussed at length.
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The students' enthusiasm for the school.
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The first and second year students we met during lunch were great and answered most of the questions I had about the school.
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The interviewers were very friendly and seemed very interested in what I had to say in the interview as well as what I had said in my personal statement. The first years that we ate lunch with were very honest and great to talk to. Lots of good feedback on the positives and negatives of the school.
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Students love it, cheap tuition!
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The interviewers were friendly for the most part
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The entire experience was positive. Everyone went out of their way to be friendly and positive. The students, admissions staff, and panel members were all wonderful. Not only is this my state school, but it is also my top choice.
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Everyone was very friendly and worked hard to make all of the applicants feel comfortable. The school is AMAZING and everyone I talked to just confirmed that it is, by far, my first choice.
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The interviewers were much more pleasant than I was expecting.
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What impressed me most was that my interviewers were impressed with me. They asked personal questions that might be difficult for some people to answer, but in the end they left me feeling good about myself.
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I didn't realize how well organized & unique their out of state rotation opportunities are. the college mentor program sounds like a great idea.
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The interview itself. There was a lot of laughing and the atmosphere was relatively relaxed. There was a variety of individuals interviewing me including a retired doctor, a fourth year med student and an ER doctor who was relativley young.
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Students were uniformly positive about the UW.
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How comfortable the interviewers made me feel; they really seemed interested in me as a person, not just my numbers. i was worried they would not get a good idea of who i am outside of grades and MCAT scores, but i felt that they really gave me a chance to show my personality.
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I felt that everyone else interviewing that day was very committed, very intelligent, and very deserving of a spot in next years class. The whole day was stressful and drawn out but I was so excited and honored to be there that it was over before I knew it. Seattle is beautiful and the University is in an ideal location. The students seemed much more dynamic and down-to-earth than other first years I have met. People who know it first hand seem to love this school.
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Washington is a pretty neat place to live. Some of the students were pretty friendly (my hosts). If you want to do research, they have multiply opportunities.
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I liked the student center, and of course I love Seattle. What an awesome place to study, there are more hospitals associated with the school of medicine and population diversity here than anywhere else I interviewed at. Besides that the student population is very involved in the community.
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I ran across some second year students and chatted with them. They provided a good perspective.
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Wonderful interviewers. wonderful. highlight of the whole day. seriously.
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Honestly, not much. The schools name is really all it seems to have???.... Seattle is a beautiful city!
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I really enjoyed the end.
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The multicultural affairs office.
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The other applicants interviewing that day we all nice, supportive, helping others relax. The current students at lunch were amazing, and you could tell their answers were totally uncensored. The admissions front desk gals were helpful and tried to help me calm down.
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The staff, the program, and the ranking of the school.
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This was my second time interviewing. Both times the admissions staff and others were very friendly and willing to answer questions. In my last interview the demeanor of the panel was more confrontational (though not bad). This time the panel seemed to be allowing for changes in direction and gave more feedback through facial expressions. They remained on task, however, which meant the questions were generally serious and required a good understanding of position before you walked in. They were ready to laugh/smile on occaision.
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The extent to which the students are prepared for their residencies and the wide range of opportunities available to students during their time at UW
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The administrative staff is very friendly and helpful
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I was expecting to be grilled during the interview, but my interviewers tried to make me comfortable and gave me positive feedback on some of my answers; the new small group/ mentoring system
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Everyone from washington knows that UW is a great school. From the comments on this site and from speaking with friends I expected arrogance, but was pleasantly surprised. They actually have a lot of great programs for experiencing a lot of different settings and, of course, research.
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The attitudes of all the other applicants from Montana. All were polite to each other and eager to share info. The interviewers were very nice and made it easy to relax.
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Not much. They act like this school is so great, but I didn't see it in the professors or the students. The people who greeted me were nice, but everyone else was a sadist.
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I knew UW has a great reputation and there are wonderful opportunities for rural and international experiences. Plus, who can beat the in-state tuition??
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Staff/faculty were very nice, lunch with second years was very interesting and informative, WWMAI program
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Seattle is a great city to live in, save for the rainy weather. The research is great and there is a strong partnership with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. All of the MSTP students seemed very happy.
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Apparently UW finally started paying attention to this website. They've done a lot to improve their image and now have a 15 minute presentation on what they can offer the student. It was really impressive (#1 in primary care, #2 in NIH funding, etc.)
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The interview was a positive experience. I am not sure whether I will get in, but everyone was courteous and had taken the time to read my file. I felt like my interview lasted 15 minutes but in reality it probably took 30.
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UW is a great school-this not my first time interviewing, so i basically knew everything going in. they have a lot of community outreach programs and a new mentorship program that seems really exciting.
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Very friendly staff, students, and city. It was great, I fell in love the moment I left the airport for Seattle, and I've never been there before. The people were so accomodating and the interviewers seemed like they REALLY wanted to get to know ME. The neglected GPA/MCAT at that point, it was all on the essays and interview!!
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The UW has many programs that allow you to work in underserved communities and even internationally. Also, you can study/work in any of the WWAMI states during the four years you are in school. For example, you can go to Alaska for a clinical rotation or some program. I liked that the interview was semi-blinded.
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The interviewers and students passing by were all down to earth and friendly.
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The situation of the campus and harbor view hosp. How students who were WAMIed seem to really gel. And yes, my student host was great, giving me plenty of insight and introducing me to lots of other students.
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That my panel was actually nice. The other interviewers were cool too, and willing to share how their interview went. Oh, and lunch with First-Years. And ESPECIALLY, the rapid response. We got our results the next morning after the interview.
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The undergraduate campus is nice this time of year. the medical school campus....not as nice.
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My interview mate (at the same time slot, not in the same room) was very friendly and intelligent. Tina, if you don't get in, I don't know who will. They'd certainly be making a mistake.
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Everyone was very nice and accomodating, things were on time, and it was great to talk to present medical students in an open discussion which was not counted as part of the interview.
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The admissions staff does not hide anything about the process and they happily answer any questions about the process. Similarly, the students are very open and helpful.
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It seems as though everyone has a bad impression of the way UWSOM conducts its interviews. I completely disagree. It was a great experience and did not feel intimidated or stressed at all. We just had a detailed talk on what my goals were in medicine and what motivated me to achieve these goals.
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I felt more relaxed during the actual interview than I ever did in the days leading up to it. They really try hard to change their negative interviewing reputation.
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The staff was very helpful and seemed to make every effort to make the experience as comfortable and smooth as possible.
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The admissions staff was all VERY friendly and helpful. I really enjoyed my interview committee; they did a good job of asking questions beyond my application, which I felt gave me a chance to reveal even more about myself. Lunch was OK but the med students who ate with us were fabulous- noting that they had a final the next day, I was amazed at how much energy and excitement they radiated about medicine and UW in general. Pat Ferrell (sp?) did our presentation, and I thought she brought an excellent perspective to the whole process and was able to demystify some of the more nebulous things involved with applying. Finally, I was really impressed by the caliber and diversity of the other applicants- it made for a fun day and I enjoyed getting to know some of the people who I hope will be future colleagues!
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Dr. Hunt's presentation was informative. The clinical opportunities at UW are unbeatable with plenty of patient interraction within the first two years. The facilities are quite nice away from where the tour went.
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The swift response of the school in granting an interview. From the time they confirmed my secondary application to my invitation to interview was within 24 hours. Side note: If you Do NOT get into the UW, you can set up an appointment with Dr, Samson (dean of admissions) for an exit interview, and ask him EXACTLY why you were not competitive this year.
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I felt like that with 3 people all asking me questions, I was able to say everything that I wanted to. They were not very easy on me but were patient with my answers. I think they are trying to get you to think. Don't be afraid to say "let me think about this for a second" before answering.
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Dr. Hunt's lunchtime talk about the school was inspiring and informative.
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Everyone was very friendly, positive and welcoming. The presentation about the school by Dr. Hunt was very informative and straight forward (no sale pitch here, just a realistic view!)
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I love Seattle. Not much else, it truly was the worst experience of my life. NOTE- this was LAST JANUARY; not this year!
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The warmth of the admissions staff and all three of my interviewers. They made me very comfortable.
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Interviewers didn't grill me. Students at lunch were extremely frank and nice.
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Dr hunt's presentation. very straight forward with no bull. really highlighted udub's other strengths, which are masked by its reign as the top primary care school. he actually can't wait until udub drops from number 1 so that it can become more apparent.
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I unfortunately did not have a chance to attend the med school tour or luncheon, but I was really impressed by how well the committee knew my application and their enthusiasium about the program.
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The interviewers didn't seem to want to humiliate me, as I had been led to beleive! They did seem to listen to my answers and treated me politely. And, I as asked about my own personal reasons for med school and about my file (also wasn't expecting this per se).
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Organization of the admissions office, etc..., oh and the baked potatoes for lunch were great (nothing to hard to stomach)
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The interviewers were friendly, they didn't ask really challenging questions that make you defend yourself.
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I really like the Seattle area of Washington. The school itself- not much. Not that great.
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Friendliness of everyone I encountered.
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The rich history of outstanding medical education and professionalism that this school exhibits was clearly evident
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They responded to past criticism in that they were aware of their image and a small sales pitch was given over lunch (in contrast with previous years where no such hawking of the school was attempted)
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The students who ate lunch with us were pretty down to earth and friendly. They were honest with us and did not try and sell the school in a phony way.
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I liked everyone I talked to. They were open and friendly. The interviewers were courteous and they tried to make me feel comfortable.
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Everything--the staff, students, program. Everyone I met was friendly and made me feel really comfortable.
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The interviewers really did a good job of easing the tension and creating a relaxed easygoing atmosphere. I love this school and hope I get in.
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Seattle. I've lived in Washington nearly my whole life and never spent much time here. It's awesome!
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The facilities were better than I had expected, and the people were friendlier than I expected (but I was expecting some very cold souls!)
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The end of the interview
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Everyone was very friendly. I was impressed by the program and the opportunites availabe during the summer and for rotations.
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...nothing really. I like Seattle.
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Admissions staff was very helpful, and Dr. Hunt's presentation at lunch was very informative.
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Very personal: There were three of us, and the assistant dean talked to us for a while. It was our own time with him.
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All the things UW is good at. Very impressive research and rural training. Also, Dr. Hunt is a comforting guy to talk to.
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The admissions office staff was wonderful!
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All three interviewers and the admissions staff were very personable! Lunch with 4th year students was also great!
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I really enjoy Seattle...
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Dr. Sampson and Dr. Hunt were very nice. I was surprised to learn they review this website and change their procedures accordingly.
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The students seemed very happy and satisfied with UW (especially the WWAMI site students from Pullman). The admissions staff was friendly and encouraging, contrary to what many have said. There are a lot of opportunities for research and preceptorships, which is great. Also, the interviewers had obviously taken a careful/in-depth look at my application.
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The admission staff were incredibly friendly and helped to curb the nervousness, my interviewers were really warm, receptive, and made sure I wasn't nervous. Dr. Samson is the nicest guy.
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NOTHING
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They were prepared, good facilities although not new
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The school is awesome, the tour was poor but I did my own tour and love the area.
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I was impressed with how concerned the interviewers were with getting to know me so that they could present an effective case for me at the next executive committee meeting.
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Current MSTP students are very friendly excellent research taking place one on one interviews with P.I.s were low-key and interesting
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Friendly people and small groups.
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I liked the UW campus and surrounding area. The facilities at the WWAMI site appear to be good.
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The front desk staff was friendlier than last year's.
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The kindness of the interviewers. I was honestly expecting three cold, stone-faced interviewers. What I found was that they were extremely accomodating and understanding. They made sure not to get too emotional during the interview, but they were not cold or confrontational by any means.
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Everyone was amazingly friendly. There was a very positive and non-competitive vibe. I did not feel an ounce of intimidation being there. Another impressive thing: the Burton Snowboard factory store (for people who ride, this place is a shrine)!
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The interviewers!! I had never met such a friendly interview. I was told that UW interviews are very hard and filled with ethics questions. I felt very ready to answer the ethics questions, but I wasn't asked a **single** such question.
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The lunch with the students and dean was great. Even though the food is bad, don't skip lunch. Dr. Hunt gave us such great insight on the admissions process and I left feeling really good. The students gave some good information - mostly on the social side of things - but they didn't really have much to say in general.
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Lunch with med students
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The interviewers were cordial and non-confrontational with respect to the feedback I've read regarding the "tortuous UW experience." The lunch with admissions staff and medical students gave me a very positive outlook on their admissions criteria and process. An overall great experience!
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The interview was not as scarry as I thought it would be. The gals from the admissions office were all very nice.
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Nothing stood out terribly positive.
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Admissions staff very helpful and friendly!
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The admissions staff was great. They were really friendly. They had a warm smile and made you feel comfortable. MOST importantly, the interview girl from OHSU (Portland), you know who you are...
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I got the impression that the interviewer weren't try to be mean. They wanted to know that you are aware of the current health care issues that doctors have to deal with and the ethical issues that will come up at some point in a MD career. They also want to know about you.
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The admissions staff made the impression that they really hoped you would go there, they made the interviewees feel very welcome.
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The lunch was very helpful in answering admissions questions. In addition, the medical student that ate with us was very outgoing and gladly answered questions openly and honestly about student life and studies.
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Two of the interviewers were very pleasant to talk to. I think that it's best for the interviewers to be friendly and polite...it's not like they have to be threatening and rude to evaluate you thoroughly.
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The admissions was really helpful. The students were very nice, and they are willing to answer questions despite the fact that it was really close to finals.
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The interviewees weren't as scary as what I've read and heard, they were very supportive, giving me lots of positive feedback. And they asked a lot of questions about me, which I was surprised by...because of what I've heard about their interviews
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All of the amazing programs available
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The students, faculty and school in general are really committed to providing health care in a huge region that is underserved in many locations. There are lots of opportunities for rotating throughout a five-state region.
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Everyone was very nice, and they were very up-front about their process, and what we should expect. I was really impressed that they have programs set up to allow their students to explore a really wide range of practice and research settings, without making a permanent commitment to one type of career or another.
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I heard that interviews were really confrontational: they were really tough, but the interviewers were friendly and conversational.
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They get back to very soon after the interview, within a week or two.
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Not much. It was my #1 choice going in, and not so afterwards.
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The students seemed incredibly happy and were extremely impressed by the quality of instruction. Staff in the admissions office were very friendly.
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The rural opportunities and community service opportunities. Also, the students seemed very happy and excited to be part of UWSOM.
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You can spend part of your 3rd and 4th year at really cool sites (ie. Alaska, Montana, etc...)
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Students seemed to really enjoy the school
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The interviewers were very friendly. Based on what my friends told me, I had expected something much worse, but the experience was very pleasant. The time flew by.
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Talking with admissions staff and the students, the latter of which really enjoy the UW
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The lunch with the med students and an assistant dean was very informative.
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Students were very excited about the school and willing to share honest advice and info.
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The students all seemed very happy at UW and all interviewees were dying to attend.
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All of the students and professors I met were extremely enthusiastic about the school, everyone talked about how much support they have there and how it is a community, and the location is amazing
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The students. We ate lunch with six of them, all first years, all loving it so far.
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School heavily funded by generous grants from local biotech firms. Location on Montlake Cut is beautiful.
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Students were super nice, friendly, and sharing
What impressed you negatively?
Applicants commonly expressed dissatisfaction with the 3-on-1 interview format, the stressful panel style of the interview, lack of information on the next steps, rapid-fire questions, disorganization of the interview day, older facilities, and unenthusiastic or negative attitudes from interviewers and students. Suggestions included improving organization, providing more comprehensive tours, updating facilities, offering more engaging presentations, and ensuring interviewers are welcoming and enthusiastic.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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N/A
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The 3 on 1 format was a little intimidating, but not too bad.
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The panel style of the interview is very stressful.
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I didn't get much info on what would happen next
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My interview was super fast paced and I felt a little bombarded by all of the rapid-fire questions.
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The UWSOM students I met who bragged about how little work they have to do for their classes as well as their lack of community involvement, the poor organization of the interview day, the fact that the content portion of the information session lasted ~15 minutes, the dearth of resources at the regional site where I interviewed, and the regional site's prejudice against students who want to pursue research.
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Interview day for UW was not as well put-together or organized as other interview days I had experienced.
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Not too many specialty interest groups at regional campuses, mandatory lecture attendance (could be positive or negative, depending)
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Unable to attend a class due to timing of interview schedule
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The main medical school building is old and not the most aesthetically pleasing. Everything inside of it is up-to-date, however.
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Was disappointed that most everyone I met recommended against pursuing the bench research option in summer after M1.
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Students gave the impression that the school is struggling to update their curriculum, and is slow to respond to concerns voiced by the student body. Below average STEP 1 scores.
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I interviewed at the Spokane campus and overall the interview day was lackluster. The entire day was maybe 2.5-3 hours. All they showed us during the tour was the gym and the medical student building, which was shoved WAY back in the corner of campus.
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Nothing
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Wish there were more presentations about the school, curriculum, etc. Didn't get a complete feel for the school.
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Having three interviewers meant that questions kept coming which was sometimes a little overwhelming.
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Facilities are a bit run down.
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How unhappy one of my interviewers was when I stated I do not read physical newspapers or magazines.
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Older facilities, limited study space, crowded buildings.
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Hypocrisy (interviewed by a surgical subspecialist who was grilling me about my interest in primary care? wtf). Lackluster facilities. Mediocre pre-clinical years. It rains here all the time. Very different admissions requirements for people from different states (much easier to get in if from Alaska vs. WA. It seems odd to have different expectations for different applicants at the same, well-ranked school.)
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Some facilities a bit old, most students live off campus.
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Facilities are old.
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Washington was initially my number one school, but I'm not so sure after this interview. The 3-on-1 style is unnerving and unnecessarily stressful, the lunch presentation was (I'm sad to say) a little boring, and the lunch wasn't that great. The two admissions ladies who gave the presentation were full of information but they spent the whole hour talking about what medical programs were available. Which is fine for a couple minutes, but it should be assumed that if you are applying here, you are already pretty familiar with UW's way of doing things. I wanted to know about the activities and opportunities at UW, the unique things that made these ladies want to work there. What makes UW tick? Why are they passionate about this school? I don't really know. Afterwards we got to ask a couple 3rd-year med students some questions. They were nice and answered all the questions, but I still got that lack of passion. I got the impression they were bored talking about UW, when they should have been excited and talking about why they loved the program. Apparently, for first year Idaho students, you travel between two different sites using school vans. One of the students said they found a mouse living in one..... mice don't freak me out but I found that disgusting. I appreciated the honesty but really? UW couldn't vacuum out the vans every once in a while?
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I got a bit flustered during the interview.
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Nothing, they were very nice and reasonable.
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They were very apathetic/straight faced. No feedback in their words, body language, etc. I had no clue how I did when I walked out.
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NONE- I GOT ACCEPTED!!!
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I guess I would prefer P/F in the second year as opposed to H/P/F. Not a big deal though.
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First year room has no windows. And that's about the only bad thing I can think of.
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It is not as diverse as I would have liked. I get no cell phone reception there. Also, they are going through a process right now of possibly cutting the fee waiver for OOS students during their second year. This wouldn't affect the entering class of 2011, but it would affect all other classes. I'd look into that if I were applying next cycle as an OOS.
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Health science building is well...not fancy.
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The old, dingy facilities
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Facilities are a little run down, no financial aid talk
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The school seemed much more bland than expected.
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We ate lunch with current medical students. Each of them agreed that the curriculum is too lecture-heavy.
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The good cop, bad cop thing.
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I walked out of the interview feeling like I didn't manage to impress the excom rep at all. We just didn't connect well and I felt as if he was getting a bit annoyed with me towards the end. I could be wrong. Regardless, the school ended up asking me to come in for a second interview with a different panel b/c there was a "divergence of opinions" after my interview. I'm sure glad someone stood up for me! 2nd interview was night and day difference!
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It might have been nice to do some role playing, answer some more medical ethics questions or be challenged about why I thought the way I did about the healthcare system, but I'm happy about the way interview went.
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They asked if there were any physicians in my family, in a tone that seemed exclusionary.
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The academic facilities at the UW campus (except for a sweet soundproof, glass-walled student lounge) are admittedly 'retro' in their aesthetic, but the clinical facilities are top notch.
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Interview itself was more stressful than anticipated, but from what I've heard it really depends.
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The structure of the interview day. If you have an interview later in the day, there is a lot of waiting around. Bring something to keep yourself occupied!
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Facilities.
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The other schools I interviewed at held class from 9-12pm. UW goes from 12-5, but I'll get used to it.
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Down time between lunch and interview didn't get to tour classrooms or lab facilities
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Uh...can't use financial aid for car payments? I was hoping to get a Volvo to get me around WWAMI land. Oh well.
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Just about everything that the med students were not a part of. The food was decent for a box lunch. The presentation on the school was a boring slide show. I sat for 1.5 hours after my interview before we began the tour of the school.
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One of my interviewers couldn't have appeared more bored. he kept looking at his watch. facilities are unimpressive, to put it very mildly.
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The tour is boring and you just go around looking at classrooms, etc. Other tours usually include cool things like anatomy labs and hospitals - but this has neither!
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The tour could have been better. I would like to have seen the anatomy lab, a lecture hall (it was closed on our interview day because it was Sunday), the library, and a few other areas. And the lunch break/information session was a little long, at 2+ hours.
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Not really anything, honestly. I'm not really picky about things like facilities, though.
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There can be as many as 200 students in second year classes.
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Very long interview day. Bring books with you, an ipod with your favorite music to zone out with or go find a quiet spot to relax while you wait. The other interviewees were very friendly, but the waiting room just made my anxiety 10,000 times worse.
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Nothing, so much better than expected
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Weather is cold!!
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The facility is a little hodge-podge because they keep adding on to the existing structures, but its really not a big deal to me.
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Facilities are a bit run down, but improvements are being made. Also, one of the interviewers made a point to look distinctly bored.
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The interviewers were emotionless on purpose, and it's disconcerting. The student tour guide walked way too fast and I got deep blisters on my feet, ow.
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Interrogation! I was very thrown off by the devil's advocate type questions and the unhappy look on one interviewer's face. It also found that I did not have much time to think, as there were 3 interviewers rapidly asking questions. Also, I felt like they asked me very little questions about more recent and relevant experiences.
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The intimidating interview! I let my nerves get to me.
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The M2-led tour was very poorly planned. My group didn't even get to visit the hospital because "it was too busy at that moment." I would have liked to see more of the places where I would be spending my time if I were accepted.
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Students indicate that classroom hours are long, no recordings of any lectures done by the school, chairs in classroom are uncomfortable. Students also report that 1st year of college system isn't as good as 2nd year--although they are working on making it better.
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With so many opportunites, you do have consider, do I want to be a nomad?
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Paying for parking.
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The classroom facilities are a little dreary, although they are currently being updated.
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The ''lunch'' with 2nd year medical students. WOW where do I start? They didn't even eat, so it was an awkward lunch to begin with, and they all sat at one end of the table talking and joking with each other. LUCKILY I sat right next to them so I got to talk to them, but came to regret it after I complimented a med student's sweater (the kind that has holes in the sleeves for your thumbs) and she INSULTED me in return! THEN I was asked about what my husband thinks of me getting into medical school. Basically I was forced into explaining I am divorcing and it was just so awkward! Then I got flashed a dirty look by the financial aid person when I got up to use the restroom during her talk. I'm sorry but after an hour tour, an hour lunch, and an hour presentation without an opportunity to pee I couldn't hold it any longer.
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The interviewers, the outdated buildings, the generally unfriendly staff
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Facilities. During the lecture I visited the immunology prof. seemed a bit on the rude side. Wouldn't want to approach him.
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Buildings are definitely not tip-top shape... but who cares its UW!
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Nothing.
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Facilities were a bit rundown and the Seattle winter could get old.
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The age of the facilities and the lack of established medical student housing.
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Maybe the facilities could be upgraded. But not that big of a deal to me!
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Facilities are a little sub-par, but they are being renovated.
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Not much. All the second year students that I met don't attend lecture, they all prefer to study on their own.
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The students didn't seem very enthusiastic about their classes/professors - some choose to skip lecture and learn the material on their own
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My meeting with the office of multicultural affairs was odd--made me feel uncomfortable--it wasn't clear what their role was in admissions or why the meeting was scheduled one on one. Students complained about being stuck in a windowless building all day.
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Students aren't offered MP3 files of the basic science lectures for later review, and in some cases are not offered the powerpoints either.
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Pre-clinical curriculum not as exciting as clinical, students who said they skipped class most of the time
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Not much.
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First two years aren't done as well as other schools, but it's the clinical training that sets schools apart
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Seems like first two years may not be as hands-on as many schools are starting to promote. also heard of frustrations with how well students are prepared for board exams.
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Out dated lecture halls, which really isnt a big deal since you will just be sitting in them any way
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Nothing really
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Tour guide was ambivalent and followed us more than led us around. I couldn't hear him answer people's questions. The people was VERY open about the cons of the school, including the staff giving the presentation on the school. Bleh
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Not too fond of the U district, seemed impersonal even though they tried to make it seem friendly.
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The interview
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The facilities aren't that great but they are putting money into them to fix them up, but who really cares if the teachers and programs are top notch, and the hospital is fantastic.
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Nothing, I was expecting the grey depressing buildings
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Facilities
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The number of second time applicants, which likely decreases my chances.
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The buildling(s) and facilities aren't fancy; the hospital is modern, of course, but the med school itself is a little outdated.
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Facilities are not as impressive as at other schools, but this is really a positive, because it means the university sees peripheral things like dressing up medical school lecture halls as secondary to more important things like providing excellent patient care opportunities and a great faculty.
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Although everyone was very nice, I got a little stressed out during the interview.
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Older facilities.
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The stress level during the interview.
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I was shocked at how confrontational the interviewers were.
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The facilities are not the nicest in the world
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The interviewing school
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20 poor souls will be selected at random out of the first year class to spend their 1st year in Pullman. By checking that corresponding box on your secondary, you are VOLUNTEERING to do so. Also, the UW doesn't really help students prepare for USMLE, as such their scores are slightly below average. What, are you supposed to take a Kaplan class that costs as much as a car? Hmm....
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I don't know if the curriculum the first two years would really suits me. They have tons of class hours, clinical/preceptor experiences are one faculty member to six students rather than one on one like most schools have. Also the college system seems a little like middle school. One day you are supposed to interview someone with a chronic illness and write an essay about the experience.... I don't think that would a significant experience to anyone that has actually worked in a clinical setting.
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Some facilities were less than impressive
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The facilities are not as impressive as some schools, but better than I expected. The traffic congestion and lack of parking could be an issue for some.
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The facilities. Some interviews are scheduled at the same time as the lunch.
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That damn cookie tray
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The rest of the day seemed a little disorganized. The financial aid person did not show up.
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My interview was right after the lunch and I started getting really anxious when the presentations went long.
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My distressingly inarticulate performance during the interview, nothing more.
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Not much really... maybe that UW gives students less time to study for step 1 than other schools
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People always complain about the facilities, but I have seen worse!! I just wish I could have "read" my interviewers more... For all I know they were thinking, "wow, she's awesome," or "what is she thinking applying here?" Also the interview felt sort of rushed, but I understand that they've got NUMEROUS people to see.
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Facilities are in need of a renovation.
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The dean was out in the admissions office but did not even peek in to greet the applicants. It was not an overly friendly atmosphere when among the staff and administration.
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The facilities were dreary. However, about 90% of the public schools I've visited have dreary facilities! We didn't get a chance to talk in depthly about curriculum so I left with questions.
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Not a big deal, but they were experimenting with a new computer system and had technical difficulties that caused the interview to start 45min late.
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Another interviewee was really cocky and didn't really have anything positive to say about being there. It kinda brought me down right before my interview, but I assume/hope they won't be at UW next year.
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The facilities aren't the newest, but it doesnt seem to be a hindrence to the student's education at all.
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Interviewers seemed like they were rushing.
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The wrong person was brought in for my interview, so the lead interviewer had to come to the office to swap applicants lead interviewer's pager went off and it was necessary to answer...
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The building is ugly and gloomy inside, the interviewers were stone-faced and I got really nervous.
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The interview. For some reason the UW seems committed to an old-school type intimidating interview style. All the other schools I've interviewed at (some with reputations just as good asthe UW) were friendly, outgoing, and relaxed and very interested in selling their school as well as learning about me. These guys seemed uninterested and aloof about their institution.
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Yeah, like people have said before, the facilities are not knew and they know it, but i'm not big on fancy stuff. i prefer this school over the ones that sell themself on a fancy dummy or some other bit of technology or architechture. i started the day feeling not especially comfortable, but i think it was my expectation about the unfriendliness of the interview process here - which i think is a myth. it may be different and perhaps slightly intimidating with the whole 3 on 1 format, and the interviewers did seem to be trying to keep a stony face, but they were nice people, i could tell they were really friendly and warm but just trying to be less... well, they let me finish my answers. they just listened and kinda waited for me to end, which i could see being very uncomfortable, but it wasn't. because they were listening very closely, remembering details, and preparing the next question as a spoke. that was my impression, anyway, it wasn't negative but just different.
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Disorganization and lack of information regarding interview day.
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The interview started about 30min late.
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The facilities are somewhat old, but the teachiing equipment and other opportunities make up for it.
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The quality of the facilities and the political lean of my interview
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One of my interviewers seemed distant and unwelcoming.
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Nothing honestly. I already new the facilities leave much to be desired.
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Yeah, the medical building is pretty ghetto on the inside.
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The luncheon and meeting with other medical school students was very informal and not impressive.
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The Building is not a pretty but the campus is amazing
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Nothing major
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Sterile interview room - small room with one table, very bright lights, white walls, no pictures, no windows.
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The facilities were outdated
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The buildings were very ugly and depressing
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The building was in need of renovations and maze like, and parking on campus sounds like a big challenge.
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The whole day felt kind of half-hazardly run. My interview was about 40 minutes late and a number of others had a lot of down time in between the lunch presentation and their interview. The tour was given by two first year students and I didn't think we got to see much.
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I felt I didn’t really get a chance to relax and be myself. In a way, the interviewers are quizzing you on ethics and current events questions… It is not anything close to a casual conversation. Also, there were no medical students at lunch with us, and the presentations were kind of awkward of seemed half-thought out (maybe because this was the first day of interviews). Hardly anything (or nothing at all) was mentioned about some of the UW's greatest programs for students (the colleges, the RUOP program, the triple I project, the homeless clinic, the great children's hospital up the street, clubs/organizations, etc). I could have sold the program better, and i was just interviewing. I guess people who want to go there already know it's great and don't have to be sold anything. (?) I would have liked to hear about specific projects that current medical students are working on.
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The building itself is hideous.
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The building is a maze... give yourself 30-45 minutes for "getting lost" time.
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STRESS! major stress ball interview! Three on one for only 35 minutes... it is REALLY tough to make sure you said everything you wanted to.
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The interviews went REALLY late and because mine was one of the later ones in the day, one of my interviewers was even yawning during the interview
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The tour was given by admissions staff, not that she wasn't nice, but it made me think they couldn't find a student willing to do it.
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The interviewers asked weird questions (see above). I don't really see how those questions determine if I will be a good doctor...
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The tour
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The interviews were running behind,and the committee cut me off after letting me ask just one question.
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You don't really see much during the tour, lots of long dark hallways
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The building. (I'm a UW student and have never liked the health sciences building. It's a tomb)
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The physical plant of the school.
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Don't expect much for lunch, not much of a tour either
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Interview too short...it seemed to fly by. Confusing information about what happens next.
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Like many people have said, the classrooms for the 1st and 2nd years and med student lounge aren't much to look at, but I thought they were good enough. Not a big deal.
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Not very diverse student body
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The tour, we didn't get to see much of anything except the new library and mt. ranier from a smoggy distance.
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Many of the students I saw in the admissions office did not seem to be very happy campers. Hmm...
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The food was wierd. I didn't trust the meatballs!
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I didn't meet too many faculty and my interview wasn't the greatest. I got a lot of stone cold looks when I answered my questions which probably isn't a good thing.
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The interviewers (especially the Executive committee member) were stone-faced and very interogative. i felt like i was on the witness stand. they never acted like they were even mildly interested or impressed about what i was saying (and i consider my experiences not boring). the only reason i think i did ok is because i kept my wits about me and didnt get flustered.
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Nothing significant, very impressed...but the interview was hard! =p
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I wish it would have been a bit longer.
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The day was a little scattered. You basically have lunch, interview, and tour but it didn't feel super organized and I wish there had been more opportunities to get to know what the school was like
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The interviewers were an hour late because 2 of them forgot/ didn't know they were interviewing me. Then, I get in there with only 2 because the third didn't show and in the middle of my answer to a very emotional question, one of the receptionists knocks on the door, interrupting the flow of my dialogue, introduces a substitute interviewer (30 mins into the interview) then walks out. Then, I'm expected to regain my momentum and fervor all the while impressing a third guy who has absolutely no idea who i am or what I'm talking about. Very well done, UW! At least i was able to show my ability to perform well under stress/pressure! :)
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Lunch was poor, and I was hungry
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Come and see the student lounge. It is horrible.
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Read previous message
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My interview started late and went long. The lunch was so-so, and was served in a really cold room.
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I did have to wait as my interview was delayed due to people not arriving on time before me...but I used the time to relax so it worked out well :)
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There was little to no structure to the interview day other then a "lunch" and interview. Would have appriciated more detailed information on the school and programs.
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The interview was almost fifteen minutes late starting. If I arrive that late to the interview, they would have rejected me for sure. I wish they should have shown me the same courtesy.
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The food at lunch was a bit odd.
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Nothing, it was really presented well and the people were great.
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They sometimes asked two questions at once. Once interviewer would ask a question and then another one would ask a question on the same subject before I answered the other one.
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My interview was very late in the day, but it allowed me to talk with other applicants, staff, and students. If I had been nervous, however, it wouldn't have been good.
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Nothing really.
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One of the presentations was scheduled during interview times. It wasn't a big deal, but I would have enjoyed hearing the presentation
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A few of the the other applicants. To be honest, the current pool of medical school applicants is not all that it really ought to be. People who come to the interview with the attitude that the other applicants are nothing more than competitors who should be psyched-out make me sick. If this is you, grow up. Or, if you take revenge on a school that didn't accept you by posting nasty comments here, you might want to take a good long look in the mirror before you resubmit your application.
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Some of the other interviewing students were a bit rude.
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The student who gave us the tour as well as the assistant Dean. These two individuals were very negative and did not make any of the students feel welcome. I am glad that neither one of them had a say in the acceptance process!
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The interview format. See below.
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The tour was not highly informative
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Not much. Bad lunch, as others have mentioned.
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The interview format of good guy, bad guy. Please...
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Some of the present students seemed somewhat to a lot immature. When asked if medical students still had free time one girl responded (in valley girl voice) "...oh yeah, we still have time to like party." I am also still wondering what was wrong with one of the medical students that showed up for lunch. It definately was not as nice as the lunch I had with the medical students of other schools. At UW it involved one little guy that came in and just mouthed off for an hour on the school, WWAMI in Wyoming, professors, the system and everything else that popped into his head.
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The interview itself.
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The facilities. a mural or two would do wonders to break up the monotony. The Mormon men voicing their opinions on the "roles of women" in the waiting room (specifically, the numbers of hours it was "ok" for their wives/significant others/girlfriends to work.) It made being the only female extremely awkward. I truly felt discriminated against and was close to disclosing their inappropriate conversation and hostile looks--thankfully the tour started.
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10 fold= the interview itself; this was most certainly NOT an chance to get to 'know me.' It was a ploy to make you question yourself. Good job guys, bastardizing medicine to its finest degree!
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Hmmm...everything.
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The tour did not involve the nicest parts of the campus.
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I would much much much rather have three 1 on 1 interviews. Lunch was just okay.
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The grilling I received during my interview.
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It would have been nice to have a more inclusive tour, but nothing really negatively impressed me.
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One interviewer was absent
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I know everyone says this, but the tour. I would have liked to see some of the hospital wards
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The tour was pretty lame, but I work in the building... I don't like that the med school is barried in the Health Sciences building... but no big deal
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Make sure you take a shuttle from the airport. The shuttle is about $20 compared to the $35 cab ride.
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The sadistic nature of those interviewers. One of them even laughed at my answer, and I wasn't trying to be funny! The place is a dump, and if I get in somewhere else, I'm going there. They act like this school is so great, but then they send some people out to Pullman for a year!!! That ought to be illegal. There's no way I'd go live in that dump. Maybe if I was an alcoholic or if I liked cow-tipping. It's so gross. There's nothing but dirt, and there's nothing to do. There's no way I'd go. I'll probably sue if they tell me I had to go.
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Seemingly arrogant attititude from some of the people I encountered- I'm not sure if this was part of the admissions process or if it carries over to the education or not. It seems the students are more competitive than collaborative. Lunch was ok.
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The tour. We basically went up a few floors and looked out a window while the guide pointed everything out. It is a huge campus, though.
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It was hard to gauge how you were doing throughout the interview. they were pretty neutral-no matter what you said.
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CAn't say much here, possibly that during one of the questions I was asked to stop and another question was asked. But I guess that wasn't so bad because I found it soon after I got in so I guess the interview went well! :-)
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The tour was not very good. It only showed where you would attend your classes. I studied in the UW for my undergrad so that was not interesting for me. I suggest that the tour should include a visit to the hospital where students will be working and also a tour of the labs and other facilities. I did not learn anything from the tour. Also, the admissions staff should try to arrange the interviews so we don't have to miss any presentations. I had to leave the presentations given after the lunch early so I can go to my interview.
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Nothing, I had a great trip to Seattle and UW.
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The curriculum is as traditional as it gets, and I had the feeling students here work harder than at other schools...but that's a good thing right? 28 hours of class time a week is more than other school i interviewed at.
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That I still may have to wait unti April to find out whether I'm in.
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Did they think of GIVING DIRECTIONS from the airport. for instance, to help future candidates, there is an express shuttle service that takes you from airport to hotel for like 24 bucks. oh, and the college inn is a dive.
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I've since heard that I was rejected to UW med. However, my decision letter was misplaced somewhere along the line. I went to the admissions office to inquire (I'm a UW undergrad), and they wouldn't tell me there. Instead they said they'd mail a copy. Then I saw Dr. Sampson go by on his way to sign my rejection letter (really, it was signed and dated within an hour of when I went to the office). He interrupted me to grab a chocolate off the front desk, and say something about how much he liked chocolates. I wonder if the medical school promotes telling patients of newfound illnesses by mail rather than in person. That would save a lot of confrontation. A medical school isn't defined by their admissions policies, but one would think they'd try and follow a similar moral code. In the future, I would ask for a little more respect for my time.
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I left the interview feeling as though I wasn't able to accurately portray who I am. Part of it was that I wasn't relaxed enough to go back and clarify answers. Although it would be impossible due to time constraints, I wish that applicants in the "competitive pool" had an opportunity to interview again prior to the final decision.
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Nothing. I have gone to school and worked here for the last 7 years so I think I'm attached to this place.
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Nothing. I don't mind drab concrete buildings as long as the work done in there is good.
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The tour was a bit lacking, but mostly just because of time and distance restrictions. I would have liked to see more of the facilities, beyond the lecture halls.
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Since I work there, I skipped the tour on the advice of the admissions staff. Perhaps the tour could be improved so that it would offer a view into the med school that even someone familiar with the surroundings would find interesting.
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I only met a couple students. The tour should be given by current students to make it useful. Every interview was way behind schedule.
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3 on 1 interviews at UW are semi-blinded, ie: 1 person has open file, and the other 2 have closed files on you. In etiher case, I did feel slightly bullied at some of the questions, and often you can feel quite outnumbered, which just increases stress. I also did not have a medical student on my panel this time, and the last 2 times I've interviewed with UW, I had them.
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It seems that admissions is based on your "interview score" MCAT and GPA. I'm not sure if they calibrate for things like undergraduate institution. They claim that they don't discriminate but surely, they must know that the rigor and extent of grade inflation varies from school to school. There are in fact places where the average grade is, in fact, a "C."
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The day isn't so tightly organized. It wasn't a big deal to me, but it's something they could work on. For example, they didn't have students lined up in advance to come talk to us at lunch even though it was on the schedule. Instead, they dragged a few people in as they could find them. Also, they have the talks scheduled when some people have interviews so those interviewees miss out.
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The tour could be much better. Since I went here for my undergrad, I know the facilities and programs at the UW are great and its ranking position should testify for that. The 10-min tour was not truly representative of UW top quality-facilities. UW is huge and I think they simply do not have the time to show you all of that.
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Quite a bit. My interviewer, Dr. Notebom, for the most part. I did not have a chance from the very first moment he began his interogation.
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Although I really enjoyed meeting 2 students, I wish I could have met a few more.
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Main interviewer looked bored out of his mind. Not all the interviewees bothered showing up for the lunch. Compared to some other schools, even other state schools, UW education facilities are a bit lacking. Although a new genome sciences building is being built, that doesn't translate into new classroom facilities for students. It's just a new research building.
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The WWAMI program is their greatest strength but also their greatest weakness. it does not guarantee consistent training, but they are trying to fix that with assigning each student a single faculty mentor for all 4 years.
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The 40 minutes I had to wait until my interview started.
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Didn't really get to meet very many students.
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The tour was uninformative and bland
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Lunch presentations were boring, if only because I went to UW as an undergrad
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The fact that I have to prove myself to people whom I don't know. I guess that is the theme of academics though. There's no better way. That does not change the fact that it royally SUCKS that my fate is now in the hands of someone who thinks they are able to make such a significant descision. Lottery...
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The med school itself is pretty rundown...but they are doing some work and a heard a rumor of possible renovations soon
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The building is a maze, and the interview was more confrontational than most
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The facility is a dump! I didn't really like the way I was interviewed. The whole process is a freaking frusterating mystery. What are they looking for?!
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One of the interviewers was late, but it was no big deal. :-)
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Nothing much...the facilities are old and dark, but it wasn't the dungeon that I was expecting.
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The school is simply a run-down dump and the interviewers are not too cool- they interupt and are poor listeners.
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The school and staff. Students were disillusioned jerks; very arrogant and sarcastic.
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I didn't like that the tour was led by admissions instead of a student. We didn't get to talk to students much.
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Everything else
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There could have been more students for us to talk to.
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The attitude. I could not wait to get out of there. Even the students were rude and strutted around like they had just discovered the cure for cancer. I was interrupted during the interview and was unable to finish my response. Ridiculous.
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The interview. I felt totally raked over the coals, and came out feeling about 2 inches tall. I felt a lack of respect and a very negative undertone. The interview made me seriously question if I would want to go to a school that treats students like that from the begining.
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Who plans that tour? I found myself hoping that there's something more to the school than the cavernous concrete tomb that we tunneled through for 15 minutes. Also, they need to put some guy-related magazines in the A-300 waiting area. In Style?!
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The tour- the facilities were not impressive.
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The tour wasn't that informative.
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The school is quite over rated. The facilities are run down and my interviewing team seemed a bit arrogant and insincere. They definitely enjoyed their power...it was subtle but detectable.
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My interview started about 40 minutes late. I was worried it would be cut short so I could attend the luncheon, but Dr. Sampson gave me plenty of time. My interview lasted over an hour.
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Students say that housing and parking are a pain. Of course, it's Seattle!
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Dr. Samson and his interview crew were 40 minutes late to interview me! It was ok cuz it gave me some time to relax after having a HORRENDOUS time finding parking. They don't let you park just anywhere . . . it's very hidden, secluded, and only those who know the secret UW handshake are allowed to partake in their parking facilities. Freaking rediculous! Give yourself PLENTY of time to get there and find parking . . . and I mean WAY more time than you would EVER think necessary.
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EVERYTHING
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They are always late in calling you in (I don't know why- maybe they like to see you sweat)
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The admissions staff lady seems mentally impaired, not really but she did a poor job presenting information.
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I was disappointed by the apathy of the tour guide.
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Panel interview - we were told it would be a wrap-up session. It was actually pretty stressful. There are many prominent scientists on the panel. Some of the panel members only seem interested in tripping you up and eliminating you from the pool of applicants.
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A bit behind schedule and the interviewers on my sheet were not the same that were in the room.
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Not as well organized as I had hoped for. Also, they asked me if I had any questions for them, yet they wouldn't answer the questions that I asked because they said they didn't have enough time. go figure.
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The tour wasn't too interesting--just classrooms,etc. Didn't get to see any labs--tour guide was kind of an interesting person.
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Absolutely nothing...I would love to go here!!!
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I am a UW alumni, but I feel the tour could have been a little better because it didn't cover all the "nicer" parts of the hospital that could impress students. Glad I know the place! It can be a maze and even the admissions staff there was feeling a bit lost.
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Parking!!!
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Apathy of medical school admissions faculty in selling the UWSOM.
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Nothing...the University of Washington was my first choice going in and remains my first choice today.
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Nothing stood out terrible negative ( I skipped the tour. It seemed like a waste of time...I did Undergraduate here.)
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The tour was not informative. Parking is ridiculous.
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The tour was pretty bland. The tour also made me realize that Health Sciences building is really old and cramped. The interviews were running late.
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The interviews tend to run late, expect some wait time.
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The facilities are very old, there is very little exclusively for medical students, there is no PBL. I expected more from the school that brags about being number one.
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The tour was not very informative.
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The interviewer that appeared to lead the discussion was extremely antagonistic--even going so far as to twist the meaning of my words in an ethical scenario, making it seem like my solution to the problem was a way of chickening out when that's not what I meant at all.
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The day seemed very scattered. You have to organize your own day. I wish they had a more formalized orientation rather than the question/answer during lunch.
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The interviewers never once smiled
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The tour was very short and we didn't see the hospital or lab facilities. UW is also kind of old-fashioned in that they don't have problem-based learning.
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They don't bother AT ALL to show themselves off. The tour was really horrible. I guess that just shows you how good they are, but it kinda makes you feel like they don't think you're important to them.
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They seemed to have a very doubting tone as the went over my app. as though they didn't beleive me.
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The fact that the admissions office didn't try to impress the applicants. All the staff seemed very pretentious.
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Although the interviewers were pleasant, I didn't feel like they really wanted to get to know me. One of them just sat there and barely asked any questions.
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You don't get much patient contact in the 1st and 2nd year, but I guess that's not such a big deal. You have the rest of your life to hone these skills.
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Facilities are pretty old as is the curriculum
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The labs we walked by were run down. The building as a whole was pretty old.
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One of the interviewers was either half asleep or trying to provoke me. He kept asking ridiculously stupid questions, and only stopped (or let up?) after I had corrected him 5 or 6 times.
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The fact that there was some sort of mix-up and one of my interviewers came in after the interview had started and may not have read my file beforehand.
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The interview. I did not feel that I was given a chance to share all of my relevant experiences and interests, because they would cut me off in the middle of my answers. They told me before we began that they would do that in the interest of time, but one of the interviewers seemed more interested in listening to himself, and took up a good portion of the time that I could have been sharing my experiences.
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The facilities in general were older and the first and second year students spend 28-25 hours a week in class, mostly in the same lecture hall.
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Not much, I was very impressed with everything
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The lack of lab space. The facilities were pretty old and rundown
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Aging, cramped facilities. bored/overworked lead interviewer (he actually walked out of an interview to take a cell phone call on the day i was there). huge difference in quality of Wash, Idaho, Alaska, Wyoming... (In-state) resident applicants and out of of state applicants -- they obviously have two standards.
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Facilities were a bit run-down although the medical center is certainly first-rate
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
Applicants commonly shared that they wished they had known that the interview process was not as stressful or intimidating as they had anticipated. Many mentioned the importance of preparing for questions on healthcare policy and ethics, being aware of the open-file nature of the interview, and bringing something to read due to potential downtime. Some applicants also noted specific details about the interview day logistics, such as the short lunch, the panel format, and the relaxed atmosphere of the interview.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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N/a
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Interviewers are told not to respond to your questions, so even if they are really nice, don't expect a response to any of your answers. Don't be surprised when they don't react and just move onto the next question. It doesn't mean you're doing poorly!
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Nothing the admissions committee was very transparent throughout the whole process.
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That 95% of the questions would be from the UWSOM list.
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These interviewers will stonewall you the whole time. Don’t worry. They’re told to do that.
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To have a prepared answer as to why you may be lacking in a certain part of your application.
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It is more relaxed than people make it out to be.
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They don't always ask for updates at the end of the interview but you could ask them if you could share an update
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Even though a panel interview is stressful by nature, they really do attempt to make you feel as comfortable as possible.
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That it would be so bare-bones, and lunch would suck!
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Parking is a bit of a hike from the building where interviews were held. There is no reason to carry a portfolio around. Water, tea and coffee was provided. Carry your coat around during the tour, it's cold there! Wish I had not stayed so close to the campus, I felt unsafe walking around at night looking for a place to have dinner.
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That it was going to be very low stress and a lot of fun.
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How to creatively answer how I am unique. More on the ACA.
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UW has a student group that offers mock interviews, I wish I had participated beforehand.
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Students here seemed extra crunchy granola. I felt like I would probably be ostracized if I didn't ride a bike to class and eat only locally sourced produce from whatever Whole Foods equivalent is in the U District.
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That it would snow so much!
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Bring warm clothes - winters are still cold in Seattle. The salads are much bigger than the sandwiches.
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That there would be lots of waiting around, especially if you have a later afternoon interview.
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To take a deep breath.
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All of the interview questions!
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Interviewers really want to get to know you. Very relaxed interview
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I was the only white applicant interviewing that day. That was intimidating, but I got accepted. You can't really prepare for interview questions like they threw at me. Just hone your critical thinking skills, stay relaxed, and show your passions!
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That other interviewers start time for the day is different. If their interview was later in the day, they were on a different schedule of orientation and tour as well. I didn't get why people were showing up a different parts of the day.
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The interview invite listed my interview time.... and the actual start time of the interview day later in the body of the invite. I was almost LATE!
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Nothing
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Just a little more about all the opportunities the school offers, because they made me want to go there all the more, and I feel like I could have emphasized that in my interview (my interview was in the morning)
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Whether or not the interview with the office of multi-cultural affairs affects your admissions or not. I'm still not very clear on this. I was told it doesn't. Everyone else was told it does! They ask you some very detailed questions like where else have you interviewed and gotten accepted? Where does UW rank for you?
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This year, it seemed like the admissions committees had made a genuine effort to overhaul their interview's "hardball"/"stressful" reputation. While the effort was there, I also felt like there were growing pains in the interview process (i.e.: like it was a hardball interview that was trying to be conversational).
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That the interviewers were much kinder than others on SDN have posted about! I think I would have been much more relaxed going into it.
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Interviews are harder the second time around.
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That students can request a 2nd interview if they don't feel the excom rep would be willing to fight for them. I am just glad that the school asked me to come back on their own accord.
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That it would not be as stressful as everyone makes the UW interview out to be.
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A physician I admired.
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That I didn't need to be so anxious about the interview. Though there are 3 very intelligent people listening to you and analyzing what you're saying, the interview is also an opportunity to learn about medicine from 3 individuals further along the path than you. If you demonstrate confidence and can articulate your views and openly reflect on your experiences, you'll do very well.
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They didn't really ask me anything about my activities. More general questions.
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Felt well prepared by my research and admissions office.
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How awesome the current students and fellow applicants are. I can see myself going to school with all of them.
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That i would get in :).
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How nice everyone is! How to get from the Triangle garage to the Med. center without having to walk outside in the rain :(
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Bring a book. You will sit a lot. If you did not go to UW, I would definitely keep your map of the facilities close by because there were multiple occasions where the interviewees were supposed to go from point-to-point without any assistance.
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That I'd be far less impressed with the school after my interview than I was going in. this comment probably won't make sense to you until you've interviewed there.
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I knew this - but be aware there are three interviewers in a room and you. You sit across them at a table, and one has full access to your file while the other two do not. The one with full access will represent you at the executive committee meeting. I had two physicians and one student. Its also a good idea to email the multicultural office and set up an interview with them after your meeting.
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That the admissions office might schedule your interview only three days away! I was expecting to get a couple weeks notice, so I didn't have as much time as I wanted to prepare. My fault for not starting earlier. Anyway, stress level through the roof. Also, I didn't realize that some previous interviewees had been asked such tough questions about policy and ethics. Good thing I reviewed the SDN website.
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Not much, I felt pretty well prepared. The interview is 3 interviewers on one prospective student, the Multicultural Affairs interview was pretty cool and it was an opportunity to have a calm interview before the big one.
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That they actually had very few scripted questions. Most of their questions, including the ethical questions, were built off of the things I had said previously or listed in my application.
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That the interview could be a very positive experience. I had a major case of nerves/jitters the entire week before the interview. Just relax, you have worked very hard to get to this point. You can't change your MCAT/GPA or activities now. Use this interview as your opportunity to shine.
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That I was more prepared than I expected. Still stressful, but mostly because of the build up in my head. **Update: Well, glad to report I was accepted. No doubt in my mind, the interview played a HUGE role in my acceptance. Prep big time, and know exactly why medicine is for you!**
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That the interviewers were not going to "grill" me or be argumentative/aggressive. I really had that stereotype going in and it over-stresed me as a result. But the interviewers were friendly and I enjoyed it in the end.
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Exactly how to get to the interview/admissions office at UW.
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...I'm not really sure... They seemed totally unimpressed by my lack of substantial health care volunteering...
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That they were going to ask me so many questions on healthcare policy and reform.
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(Especially ladies:) Don't wear new dress shoes to your interview without breaking them in first. Ignore the other applicants and any comments they make before/after their interviews. All the people who were talking big in my interview group didn't get accepted (I know because I did and they're not in my class.)
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I wish the NY times article about unhappy primary care physicians had come out before this interview!
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How serious the interview could get...
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Nothing, really. Reading SDN and talking with other's who have interview at UW gave me a good idea of what to expect. The interview was pretty low stress; perhaps the worst part about it was that two out of the three interviewers didn't emote throughout the whole interview, making it hard to gauge how well they thought I was doing.
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Wish I could have been less nervous! This was my top choice so despite how nice the panel was, I was still nervous.
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That I was more prepared than I thought I was.
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The whole interview day is much more laid back than I expected. The school is trying to entice you to accept your admission offer (if you get one), so that made it feel much less stressful.
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Compliments and restroom breaks are a no-no!
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That I didn't have to prepare this hard... god, it was SO much easier than I thought it was going to be (I heard about people crying coming out of the interview before...)
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I was super stressed because this school is my absolute top choice. But the interviewers were very nice and were not trying to ratchet the stress level up at all. It was not the pressure-cooker I'd expected!
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How much out of state tuition would be for the first year.
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The interview was much less stressful than previous entries indicated. They seem to be trying to step away from the formidable reputation that they have for interviews.
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The interview is very laid back and conversational, and I think that the days of the tortuous UW interviews are over.
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That the interview was less stressful than I had imagined.
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The students here spend alot of hours in class every week (back to back lectures in a windowless room) - supposedly more classroom hours than most other med schools
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The building was cold--bundle up!
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Nothing really. As far as advice, don't stress the UW interview!! They are working hard to have friendly exchanges between admissions members and applicants. The UW interview will soon lose it's notoriety for being harsh and intense... just be yourself.
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The interview was fun and conversational
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If you have an additional interview with the Office of Multi-Cultural Affairs, it's not just a kick-back thing, its really an interview!
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The medical center building is apparently the second largest government building after the pentagon and is ranked second in containing the most hallways in...the world? yeah...don't get lost.
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That they wouldn't ask me any health policy Q's since I'm a poly sci major :-(
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The interviewers are not going to give you much feedback during the show. But know that this does not necessarily indicate how you're doing or how good or bad your answers are.
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Living on the East Coast for four years may have ruined me for West Coast life. I like umbrellas and peacoats more than sweatshirts and Tevas.
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The surrounding area rocks. I'll probably have too much fun there and be able to get no work done.
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How nice everyone would be. There is no need to stress about the interview. I felt more stress before the interview than I actually did in the interview itself. Oh, and the cookie plate. Apparently if they offer you a cookie before you leave it means that your kind of doomed.
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That the interview was going to be more laid back than what I thought
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That I was going to be sick for my interview.
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The physical facilities are really unremarkable...if you're into that kind of thing, UW will not impress you. also, the interview is not as scary as everyone makes it out to be, just more serious than the average get to know you junk. They are testing your knowledge of health care systems, current events, and compatibility with their mission.
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They weren't going to ask me any ethics questions or current event questions! I was so totally prepared for this.
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How late the interview process might run.
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The interviewers were genuinely nice (offered me cookies and water) they are not the interviewers from hell like others have posted. Although it is no walk-through interview, the questions were tough.
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I wish I had known everything there is to know about health policy. Seriously: study your ass off.
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The committee is made up of at least one medical student.
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I wish I had known that the facility was old. Also, I'm not interested in primary care, so I won't find much support here.
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Your interview is pretty much open file. Contrary to the BS you may have ''heard'' about the interview. Your executive committee member will have ALL of your materials at hand, and the other two have EVERYTHING ELSE except your course grades, and your MCAT. They still have a list of your classes, including classes that you have DROPPED. Everyone reads your letters, personal statement, AMCAS activities, etc. So prepare for very pointed questions about these materials. Review exactly what you did for research, what you experienced specifically when you volunteered/shadowed/worked. Trust me.
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This school seems to cater to young students with minimal life/clinical experience. UW strikes me as tremendously over-rated.
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I am a reapplicant, and I didn't realize that they would have access to my previous file and interview notes as well
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That the school is trying to change their reputation about intense interviews so they are much easier and more friendly than previous years. I wouldn't have worried so much.
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It's open-file but very laid-back. Most of the time is spent telling the interviewers about yourself and what you have done during college and beyond.
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They have a
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Nothing really.
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Nothing, really. I will say that I suspect that more of my interviewers had seen my transcripts than were supposed to have. I was told twice before the interview began who the head interviewer was, and that she was the only one who had seen my MCAT scores and transcripts. In spite of this, another member of the panel asked me very pointed questions about certain parts of my transcripts, including numbers and dates and other particulars. This caught me off guard, though I didn't let on. It may be that they had simply talked about my transcripts before I entered the room, but he certainly wasn't the blank slate that I had thought he would be, and I have to think that it's pretty likely that the third interviewer wasn't either.
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That it really isn't that stressful, i was stressed during my interview just because i read so much feedback saying that the interview would be stressful (i went in stressed out already), but there was actually no reason to stress. the interviewers were extremely nice and polite as was everyone else i met; so just relax and you'll do well! plus you get a cookie at the end!
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About all of the great programs UW has, especially the RUOP. That I would get no ethical questions whatsoever. I like those!
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I wish I knew how little I would be asked about myself.
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That this was the end of the season and that we would be hearing back soon.
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That I wouldn't be asked ANY policy questions
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Nothing.
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How awesome the WWAMI program is.
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I'll receive a yes or no back in one week.
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Nada
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The interview is not as bad as I thought it would be.
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One thing that is very true is that lunch won't fill you up. i brought an energy bar to get me through the day. also, since they do the interviews sequentially, they tend to be behind a bit so prepare to have a longer day than printed on your schedule. it's fine though, there's a computer in the lounge where you can check your email :) one interesting thing is that all out of state, minority, and those coming from an underserved background or planning to work with the underserved have a meeting with a rep from the office of multicultural affairs. i wasn't sure what the purpose of these type of meeting were (if it was another interview or just for info). just fyi in general, a meeting like this can increase your chances of admissions because you have an additional advocate (if you impress them i guess), but since all the non-WWAMI students meet with a rep it seems like they must choose some to endorse because endorsing all of us wouldn't help the committee narrow down the out of staters. anyway, this was a new thing for me so i hope this helps someone. just be ready to talk about the applicable issues and your own background and motives.
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Alaska offers an insentive for students to return there after medical school.
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Don't expect to get full off the lunch, its pretty small.
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Only one of the people interviewing you had full access to my application. The other two couldn't see my grades or MCAT score.
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I knew a lot about the program ahead of time, nothing really surprised me
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I didn't realize that the interview would be so short. While I feel I represented myself authentically, I would have liked more time to discuss my feelings about nationalized healthcare and about my background and interests for the future.
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Not much.
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Nothing, I had a great friend tell me all about UWSOM before I interviewed!
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OK guys, the interviewers are tough but not bad people. They really test you to make sure you are going to be a great physician but reall appreciate you for being there.
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That the interview would feel like an interrogation
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Most people take a year off after graduation before they apply. This scared me because I didn't even graduate yet.
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My interview was not designed to showcase my flaws or put me through stress. The faculty wants to see who will fit on the team, they want you to be there so make an attempt to project your enthusiasm and desire to be part of the school.
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A lot of the negative things I'd heard about UW (how you are pressured into certain specialties, it's a cold and impersonal state school, and that you spend your first two years sitting through endless hours of lecture) all seemed to be unfounded. Again, students seemed to be very happy and felt they had a lot of free time to pursue other interests. Oh, and I also found out that to what extent you get grilled on healthcare and ethics questions depends on who you end up being interviewed by.
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They are trying to make the admissions process 100% paperless. Towards this end, interviewers are now supposed be taking notes about you on lap tops (instead of paper). The problem is that the screens are really big and its really awkward looking at only the top half of interviewers’ faces. Luckily, after 2 minutes, they all shut their computers.
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How relax the interview actually is. Too much fear over nothing.
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That the class of 2009 is the first class to be offered an integrated MD/MPH instead of just tacking on the MPH. Cool.
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WWAMI loans begin to gain interest year one after med school and there is only 1 residency program in my home state, so essentially I won't be able to even consider repaying my home state loan until after residency
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The interviews are NOT as bad as they are legend to be. Just know a soundbite on different ethical issues...euthanasia, stem cell research, etc.
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There's quite a bit of walking (well, in my case - from hotel to the med center, but also within the hospital itself). Another thing is that if Dr. Samson is interviewing that day then you may have to wait quite a while for your interview (20 minutes over time).
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That it was out of state applicant day.
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The new colleges program pairing faculty mentors with students in the first year.
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There is plenty of downtime where you aren't doing much, so bring something to read. Additionally, the talk of the interview being incredibly stressful is definitely exagerrated. It was more of a group discussion and my interviewers were very supportive and friendly. Don't buy the hype
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Nothing. Just read up on your Health Care stuff. They really do ask you a lot about it.
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That I would be waiting at least an hour more than I planned for before the interview.
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Nothing really
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If you're from out of the area and coming from the airport, don't take a taxi but rather take shuttle express. It'll save you a lot of money. Also, no breakfast and a not so great lunch so eat at home
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Why the interviewers have to be so dang unfriendly. ok i realize that they are just testing your ability to act under pressure but come on, cant we all just get along? seriously though, its a great school and im sure they have to do that to do weed us out. (ill be really glad when people stop trying to weed me. 4 years is enough)
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Lunch sucks. eat ahead of time
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Nada.
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Specifically, how the interview room was arranged. I had envisioned a much more adversarial/interrogative setting much like a police station with the good cop/bad cop routine going on. It would have eased my mind greatly to know how comfortable the room actually is.
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I felt well prepared and was not surprised by anything.
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I wish I had brought a better book to read while I waited 25 min for my interview committee to be ready for me.
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This may sound arrogant, but I was well prepared for this school and was not suprised by anything.
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They really didn't ask me much about the information I had sent them--they focus mostly on other questions that they ask everyone rather than on questions specific to you.
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How different the panel interview would be from the one on one interviews
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I wish I'd have known how pleasant the interview would be. I was expecting something different based upon this website. While it may have been true in the past that the interview experience at UW is antagonistic, that was not my experience, nor was it the experience of the other applicants (some of whom had different panels).
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I was way too worked up and nervous for the interview--I had prepared myself for battle and instead found myself having a good conversation with the interviewers that was actually enjoyable.
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Have questions ready at the end of the interview.
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Have questions ready at the end.
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That trying to be friendly to other interviewees might not get the response you think you deserve.
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Not to leave your suit hanging in your closet when you bolt out the door for your flight.
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I was actually unaware that there was a lunch before my interview and I did not find this out until just a few hours before.
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No surprises. The reviews on this website paint a pretty accurate picture, once you get past the bile.
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That so many of the accepted applicants are from the WWAMI region and that part of our training might take place at sites other than Seattle
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I didn't know anything about the UW's process of evaluation and acceptance. I didn't realize that rolling admissions actually means that a vast majority have to wait until April and that even in April, people get put on a variety of wait-lists and some are even ranked by number. How do they determine who is #4 versus #24? They have quite a complex system at work.
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Actually I knew this, but it appears many people don't. Folks, the competetive list merely means you weren't selected right away or rejected right away. Almost everyone makes it to this list as very few people are good enough applicants for immediate acceptance or on that note, bad enough applicants for immediate rejection. If you are on this list, you merely have to wait as long as everyone else to find out.
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I wish I would have known the outcome of the interview.
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That their would be a lot of down time. Glad I was able to catch a class and small group.
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I would have liked to have known that my interviewers we at least interested in me as a person.
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I guess I should have known that the interviewers would be a pain in my ass. I love the new superficial attitude adopted in an attempt to refine the interviewing methods.
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UW was my undergrad, didn't really learn anything new. I'd hate to get WAMIed to Pullman. Or I'd love it, since it would mean I was accepted. I did learn something interesting. The interviewers aren't even allowed to talk to each other about an applicant after their interview until they've written down all their comments and impressions.
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That apparently the life I lead is a sin to the medical establishment That basically, no matter how much they value "diversity" they're basically looking for joe-schmoe loser pre-med.
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Nothing to add here. Just a word of the wise... Excuses are just lies you tell yourself.
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That apparently interviewing is based on cruelty and hatred. I was kind of crying at the end, and they didn't even care. They told me my answers were fine, so why were they so mean before then? I think they just like torturing people who would make the best doctor. But overall I think I did pretty good. It's not like they had to carry me out. And even though I didn't answer every question, I had a really good excuse for some of my grades, and I've got more volunteer hours than almost anybody, more than the other snobs that were interviewing the same day as me I'm sure. all they were interested in was specializing in neurology and traveling. Sorry, but I don't think that's what makes the best doctor.
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Nothing really- I've been through this process before.
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There is a panel interview at the end.
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A second year student told me that everyone is required to do research at some point during their four years and that most do it during their first summer.
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They weren't going to ask any ethical questions. I believe they ask ethical questions to most people. Had I known I wasn't going to have to worry about transplants, DNRs, etc, I wouldn't have practiced so much.
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Coming from California, I didn't know the residency status requirements for Washington. I wish I would've thought about this earlier so I could've asked more questions regarding it during the day.
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If i knew the tour would not include a visit to the hospital or the labs, I would probably have skipped it.
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No need in stressing out, force yourself to relax!
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Dr. Samson personally decides who gets in after the ranked alternate list is exhausted. Not that it changes anything. I just found it interesting.
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How to get there from the airport. caused a lot of heart ache.
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Nothing terribly new. I thought that at least one of my interviewers would have a medical background (or at least a science background--two of them did not; be prepared to explain research etc. in very lay language).
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I wish that I hadn't of worried so much during the two weeks before my interview! Relax! Its fun.
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Nothing. The new things I learned all related to the med student experience, not to the admissions process.
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They can re-interview you if there is a major discrepancy between your committee members (they must come to a consensus. This happened to me and I had to have another interview later that day with a whole new committee to get "another perspective and some input" to supplement the first interview.
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N/a. No curveballs.
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WA state residents can get "WWAMI"ied and be stuck in Pullman for a full, painful year.
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Nothing. This is my u-grad school, and my home-state school. If I don't know something about the school by now...
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I wish I had known that the interview was going to be much more laid back than portrayed on other SDN reviews. They are not out to get you. The panel format is a bit intimidating but the interviewers do smile, have a sense of humor and will move on to another question if they feel you are uncomfortable answering something. They are very experienced and can distinguish personality from nervousness.
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I didn't know anything about their new College's program. It's a mentorship thing that they are trying out and seems like a major benefit to students.
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UW's curriculum is quite rigorous compare to other universities; however, the students seem to be happy here.
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I would have requested a different interviewer. I've read the previous comments, and the interviews definitely seem to be getting better this year.
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I got slightly lost on my way to the admissions office - allow plenty of extra time.
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I knew that research was required, but i didn't know that there were more options than simple data collection and interpretation. they have a very appealling program where you can do a 10 week community assesment (travel, room, and stipend provided) in a variety of underserved areas, including international.
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The turnaround time is very quick after you interview.
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That UW is really really fast in sending you an interview invitation after you send in your secondary (If you've got good grades). Send in your secondary when you're good and ready!!
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It's not all that bad and it's not as nerve racking as it's cracked up to be
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The campus is run down.
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The committee doesn't meet until almost Thanksgiving, so we won't hear back until then. I was expecting a response in a week.
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Your GPA and MCAT scores each count for 25% of how they evaluate you. The other 50% is subjective--so the interviews are very important!
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I want to placed in a psychiatiric residency. UW has a pretty poor track record of being helpful if you decide to specialize.
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I was pretty prepared and I know the school very well so....nothing really.
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MCAT means everything here. Don't even bother if you did not get above a 28. They won't take you seriiously (according to some second year medical students).
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I didn't think I'd even like it, but I LOVED it and I would attend right away. The opportunities to serve your clerkships during 3rd year all over the northwest are freakin' awesome! Just think...you could be in Whitefish Montana, or Alaska!!! Wow!
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That I would be interupted and shown no respect from the interviewers. Dr. Hunt cracks me up- he's seens fairly nice but underneath it all absolutely loves being part of this whole degrading process. My question- what "specific element" of the interview commanded so much attention? UW sucks.
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That it wouldn't be nearly as stressful as I thought it would be. The interviewers were nice and didn't give me any quesitons that were too difficult. A portion of the class does their first two years in Eastern Washington.
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That everyone there, except the admissions staff at the front desk, was an absolute ass. I'll only attend this school if it's my only choice.
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The negative vibe given off by the staff. It may just have been my impression, but it seems it kind of wears off on the students too. They were still happy to be in med school, but by no means seems overwhelmingly enthusiastic about their school.
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That it wasnt stressful or scary like everyone said it was.
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The state of their facilities. There may be world class facilities around there somewhere, but I didn't see them.
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Parking was ridiculous. I nearly abandoned my car in the middle of the street to get there on time!
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The interview isn't really that bad. I spent too much time worrying about it and didn't let myself really relax and concentrate on the nuances of the school.
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That Dr. Samson's reputation for being cold and standoffish is completely false. He was really warm and had a good sense of humor and told me right off the bat to relax because there was no need to be nervous. Man did that help!
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That the interviewers embraced an inflated sense of self importance, were poor listeners and had no repect for me as a fellow human!!
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It is easy to get lost on campus
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Nothing really, I was very impressed.
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I wish I had known how competitive the applicant pool was at interview time. We were told that only a third of us would get in. (1/3 isn't really that competitive, but I wish I had known ahead of time.)
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The panel interview is not really a wrap-up session. I wish I had known ahead who was on the panel and what research they work on. If you are accepted, you will receive a phone call shortly after your interview (within a week). If you are rejected you receive a snail mail rejection.
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NA
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Research is required of all students while in the program, but not of the applicants. Whew!
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That the interview wouldn't be so stressful.
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The car ride from Manchester, NH to Burlington seems long, especially if you're getting off a plane coming from the west coast. It's a long travel day. Oh and if you go clothes or shoes shopping in Burlington (and I think anywere else in VT) and you don't spend over $100, no tax is charged. I love the state of Vermont.
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UW has plenty of offsite internship places that are actually a required part of the program. While it's good that they offer so many opportunities off site, people with families may not like the idea too much. However, they do fly the family down for visits and put them up in places etc if the med student wishes.
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Nothing. Reading this website pretty much prepared me for everything I was going to see.
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For all Vegetarians...bring a small lunch with you...
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More details of health policy reform
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Out of every 5 instate applicants 3 get interviewed and 1.3 gets accepted or alternate listed.
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The amount of in-between time. I had nothing to do.
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Over 150 interviewers who give their time to interview candidates each year. With so many people, there're chances that you may get nice, not so nice, and out right weird ones.
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The WWAMI students interview with people from their home state.
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I wish I had realized how antagonistic an interviewer could be. After I gave my response to the above mentioned ethical question, one interviewer responded with "so what your saying is that all we can really do is protect ourselves." This referring to physicians in ethical situations. If I had been prepared for this kind of response I would have stopped the conversation and said "No, you're misunderstanding me. That's not what I meant at all." Instead, I just sort of sat there with a puzzled look on my face until someone else asked another question. My advice is, if your comments are being misinterpreted, don't hesitate to stop the conversation and restate your answer until the meaning is clear.
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There is a bus that drops you off right in front of the Health Sciences Center!
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The tour is not great. I probably would have skipped it.
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Where to park. I parked in the Triangle Garage, because that was the only place I knew that had a covered entryway in case of rain. I think we were supposed to park somewhere else, though.
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Well, I wish I had known more about international medicine, but if wasn't that it would have been something else. Just me yourself, you know.
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They would be so stern. They gave me no response to my answers, I would have prepared differently.
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The emphasis on ethical and healthcare policy questions in the interview.
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That the lunch would be spaghetti and meatballs ... I'm a vegetarian. Bring food if you're planning to be there all day.
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I didn't find the interview experience to be intimidating or grueling, as I had heard and read that they often are. I wish I would have anticipated the more relaxed and open invironment that is was. Don't count on that though, as I know they can still be tough, depending on who is interviewing at the time.
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Research is required
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They put the vast majority of their applicants on the waiting list. Also, for WA state residents, there are approximately 6 people interviewing for each spot.
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The interviews are almost always behind schedule (I waited 30 minutes!), so bring a book.
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You are only judged by the interview. Even lunch with the Dean of Admissions has no weight on your application.
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The people who work in the admissions office are really friendly and helpful and would be happy to help with planning/directions/parking info - anything you need to know ahead of time.
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That research is required of every student
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While I was correct in understanding that UW had very high quality research facilities, I was incorrect in assuming that there was sufficient space for these facilities. many labs were cramped, poorly lit, and in an aging, although ideally located, facility.
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Skimpy lunch. I can't spend the whole day with just a small sandwich and a spoonful of pasta salad. Eat lots before you go.
🤝 Campus and Facilities ▼
How do you rank the facilities?
Most respondents rank the facilities as above average.
How would you rate the Location and Cultural Life?
0 = Low, 10 = High
How is the friendliness of the admissions office?
Most respondents said the admissions office was friendly.
How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?
Most respondents said the admissions office was responsive.
What are your suggestions for the admissions office?
Applicants commonly suggest that the admissions office should consider improving the interview process by offering more in-depth information about the program, providing clearer directions for interviews, and ensuring quicker responses to applicants' inquiries. Additionally, applicants recommend enhancing the interview experience by conducting more personalized, conversational interviews and providing additional information on financial aid and student-run clinics.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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N/A
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Visit other admissions teams to see what they are doing, because as the "face" of the program for applicants, what you do matters. Hold a full-length interview day that gives more in-depth information about your program to potential students. Don't assume that every student who interviews will want to attend your school no matter what you do (or don't do) on the interview day, so put in the effort to impress students, to inform them about your program, and also to make them feel wanted. Find student advocates who aren't apathetic about their medical careers.
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It would be nice if they were a little more friendly and/or talkative to us students during our time waiting for an interview.
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Offer a more structured presentation of the curriculum
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Have more clear directions for how to get to the admissions office for the interview in A300. The online directions overcomplicate it and make you enter from a less convenient entrance in the actual medical center instead of just going straight into the health sciences building.
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Have more presentations on the interview date so that applicants can get a better sense of the school, it's culture and whether or not they want to attend.
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Get back to students sooner about the interview decision.
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CEDI presentation was not helpful
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The 3-on-1 interview style is not as effective as 1-on-1 in my opinion. It's not that it's harder necessarily, since it boils down to the same amount of questions coming from 3 people instead of one, but you really can't develop a repoire with someone like you can when it is 1-on-1. It would also be nice if the interviewers tried to get to know the applicant better. I felt like they were just asking questions they had been given or looked up, not questions that they really wanted to know the answers to. Ideally, in my opinion, the interview should feel more like a conversation than an inquisition. Getting the interviewee to relax helps you understand who they are better and I think would provide a better perspective on if they would make a good fit for the school
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Pay for us to interview. Like PhD programs!
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None really. The only hard part was that the interview week (I am from a satellite WWAMI state) was really late in the season. Kind of tough knowing I might have to loose out on my deposit at other schools but it will be worth it if I get in to UW!
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Quicker response to questions
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Confirmation email after submission of interview acceptance - I'm a worry wart, so I kept thinking it somehow didn't go through
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Talk about financial aid and student-run clinics.
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Nothing i can think of
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Provide a talk on financial aid.
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It might be affirming to have another confirmation email sent out to solidify our interview position once we submit our photographs online.
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The tour is very unimpressive. As a UW student, I know there is much more in the area worth seeing.
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I have no suggestions. I had an excellent experience.
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Very positive experience overall, I can only speak extremely highly of my interview day.
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Presentation by Director of Admissions was a little dry.
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Keep up the good work! The admissions team is really helpful!
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Don't have the students just waiting between lunch and interviews.....it is probably why people feel
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Keep doing what they're doing? Seriously, everyone here is SO nice, and does so much to make you fee
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Restructure your interview day itinerary, I would have half the group on tour while the other half i
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Sent a few emails to the recommended address that were never returned or received. Better tour of th
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Very helpful and friendly! Thanks for putting us at ease!
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Include directions for people being dropped off at the medical center, but not by a shuttle or bus.
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Excellent work putting the whole admission process together. I'm not sure if I will get in, but I w
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I was told by admissions that they were making sure that the interview was no longer "interrogative"
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Admissions office does a great job, very friendly.
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Everything was great--thanks!
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Some of the medical students need a good spanking followed by a time-out.
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I think that applicant reveal a lot more about their potential, their character, and their personali
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Keep up the good work - thank you very much for not making us fill out supplementals (and pay extra
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I think that accepting evals through Intefolio or Virtualevals would cut back on paper. Also, a vege
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More vegetarian friendly lunch option. -allow time to see classroom/go to class.
📍 Travel and Logistics ▼
Airports Used
✈️
SEA
70% interviewees used SEA (SEA), with 12% using sea (sea) and 5% using Sea-Tac (Sea-Tac) and 2% using Seatac (Seatac) and 2% using Sea-tac (Sea-tac) and 2% using Vancouver (i took a plane and then drove b/c i liv (Vancouver (i took a plane and then drove b/c i liv) and 2% using SEATAC (SEATAC) and 2% using SEATTLE/TACOMA (SEATTLE/TACOMA) and 2% using Spokane (Spokane).
What was your primary mode of transportation?
Most interviewees traveled by automobile to the interview.
✈️
25% Airplane
🚗
51% Automobile
🚆
8% Train or Subway
🚲
16% Other
Hotels Recommended by Other Interviewees
Most interviewees stayed at the University Inn (average ranking 9/10), with some staying at Hotel Deca (average rating 8.3/10). (Top 3 displayed)
🏨
University Inn
9/10
🏨
Hotel Deca
8.3/10
🏨
Best Western University Tower
10/10
What was the cost and time spent traveling?
Cost: Low Cost to High Cost
What is your in-state status?
Most respondents are in state students.
Where did you stay?
Most respondents stayed either Friends or family or with friends or family.
Who was the tour given by?
Tours were most commonly given by Admissions staff personnel
Admissions staff (50%)
Faculty member (5%)
Other (6%)
Student (39%)
How did the tour guide seem?
Most tour guides were enthusiastic about the school.
Discouraging (2%)
Enthusiastic (77%)
Neutral (21%)
All Responses
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| Application Cycle ▿ | Impression | Performance | Interview Location |
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