How many people interviewed you?
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 3.15 | 157 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Positively | 118 |
| Negatively | 15 |
| No change | 21 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 3.97 | 152 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.81 | 129 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.44 | 112 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| In Person | 0 |
| Virtual | 3 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 0 |
| 10 minutes | 0 |
| 15 minutes | 0 |
| 20 minutes | 1 |
| 25 minutes | 11 |
| 30 minutes | 21 |
| 35 minutes | 13 |
| 40 minutes | 21 |
| 45 minutes | 34 |
| 50 minutes | 29 |
| 55 minutes | 5 |
| 60+ minutes | 24 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At the school | 154 |
| At a regional location | 0 |
| At another location | 3 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| One-on-one | 48 |
| In a group | 106 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Open file | 137 |
| Closed file | 14 |
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 3.15 | 157 |
"A time your team faced a change and what did you do to help with that? (teamwork/collaboration-based core comp)"
"Tell us about a time you held a leadership position and what you learned from it"
"AAMC Core Competencies"
"Tell me about a time you had to own up to a mistake."
"Tell us about a time you failed. How did you learn from it?"
"Tell me about a time where you did the right thing over the easy thing."
"Tell me about yourself."
"Tell us about a time that you were in a leadership position and had to use your skills to solve a problem."
"Why OU?"
""So tell me about yourself and why medicine?""
"Describe a difficult situation in your past, what was the objective, and how you were able to persuade others that your way was the correct way."
"On your trip overseas, tell us about one of the most memorable experiences you had."
"Why OU? Why do you want to be a doctor? (came mid-way through the interview)"
"Problems in medicine today - They wanted a detailed answer."
"How did you prepare for this interview?"
"What one person do you look up to, or are inspired by?"
"How would you change the state of the American Health Care system?"
"Tell us a little bit about yourself."
"What is the most frustrating thing about medicine? I said noncompliant patients and they all laughed in agreement."
"Tell me about the shadowing experience you had this past summer (listed on my activities in the amcas application)."
"Tell us about yourself"
"What concerns you most about being a physician?"
"Tell me about [this activity from your personal statement]."
"Tell me about your personal statement."
"Tell me about an ethical dilemma a physician might face."
"Why are you here?"
"What initiated your interest in pursuing a career in the medical field?"
"Tell me about your story of how you came to be where you are now. (I am a non-traditional applicant who left a successful career to pursue medicine.)"
"What were your favorite and least favorite classes and why?"
"You said you wanted to have a family. How do you plan on balancing your career and family life?"
"When event caused you to decide to become a doctor?"
"We're supposed to be your advocates to the election board. Is there anything not covered on your application that we should tell them? (I replied with a joke, "Make sure they know how good looking I am"...no one laughed)"
"Tell us about X activity."
"What are your thoughts on Mediation and how could it improve listening skills?"
"What do you think will be the most challenging part of medical school?"
"If you were to attend here, what can you bring that makes you unique from everyone else?"
"What is the biggest problem in healthcare today? How would you fix it?"
"Describe your journey into medicine"
"What do you think are the major issues facing medicine today?"
"what is your best quality?"
"Why didn't you choose to be a nurse?"
"What would you do if you didn't get accepted this year?"
"See description of interview."
"What are some of your hobbies?"
"Tell me about yourself"
"What do you do with your free time?"
"Who would you treat first- a child or a homeless person...? "
"Who would you treat first- a child or a homeless person...?"
"What is wrong with Healthcare in the US? How would you fix it?"
"Tell us about yourself and why you want to be a doctor. What is something specific you saw in your shadowing experiences that struck you?"
"See above..."
"Tell us about your home life? Who were you in High School? Why did you not retake the MCAT? "
"Opening question: Why do you want to be a doctor?"
"Have you been academically challenged? If so, give an example of an instance in which you were academically challenged but the outcome was not positive."
"Why do you want to go to med school at OU?"
"Why Oklahoma?"
"Tell us about yourself (leadership experiences, volunteer experiences, etc)"
"When did you know you wanted to be a doctor."
"Current issue in medicine?"
"Do you think that there is room for improvement in your MCAT score?"
"If not medicine, what else would you do?"
"If you were in a position to change health policy what would it be?"
"Why should we choose you?"
"What was your favorite class as an undergrad?"
"What would you do if a patient refused blood transfusion for religous reasons?"
"Tell us why you are living abroad."
"Why do you want to go into medicine?"
"Parents of an unresponsive child enter the ER and ask you to stop all treatment so they can pray over the child. How do you deal with this situation?"
"What have you done since you last applied? "
"Tell me about where you were born. "
"What is a current issue in medicine? Follow up about issue."
"Tell us about yourself?"
"basic policy stuff and stuff about my background."
"What is the biggest mistake you have ever made, and how did it change you? "
"Name the top 5 medical advancements in the past 150 years that have affected the world. "
"Say you gave a patient a hystorectomy, and the husband came in without his wife and wanted a vasectomy. How would you handle the situation? "
"What is the difference between a concentric and eccentric muscle contraction?"
"Tell us about yourself. Why do you want to be a doctor? I think you can count on one of these two questions to start the interview"
"Tell us about yourself -- something we wouldn't know from your application."
"Tell us of two or three inventions/advancements in technology/science that you are impressed with."
"Where do you see yourself in X years?"
"Why do you want to do into medicine? (This was the first question I was asked.)"
"If you had a personality trait of someone you knew what would it be?"
"How do you spend your time?"
"Why do you want to return to Oklahoma?"
"Why are you interested in medicine? What other schools have you applied to?"
"A question from my personal statement."
"How do you handle stress?"
""So your from [out of state]...."(and it just snowballed from there: what type of industry, climate, culture, etc. in that particular area of the country)"
"If you were in a leadership role, what qualities would you bring?"
"why you choose medicine? "
"Tell me about yourself. What's bring you to OU, why OU? "
"Tell us about yourself? Why medicine? Why your specific major? "
"Why do you want to be a doctor? "
"What brings you here?"
"What has been your favorite class so far? Why?"
"Why do you want to be a doctor?"
"If you only got a B+ in several science courses at your school, what makes you think you can do better here?"
"Tell us about yourself."
"If you got a million dollars two weeks before you were to start medical school what would you do? You work in a fertility clinic and a women has ten fertilized eggs that she no longer wants. What do you do with them? Is health care a privelege or a right? If you had unlimited amount of money what would you do to fix America's healthcare system? (I hated this question. What could I do with my own money, pay for all the uninsured's medical costs?) Where else have you applied? What will you do if you're not accepted? What do you like to do in your free time? Do you think insurance or the physician should make decisions for patients? If you were on the admissions comittee, tell me why you would pick yourself for admission."
"Like I said, they asked mainly stuff about my experiences. They also asked what do you do for fun? If not medicine, what else? What will stress you out the most about med school? Also, asked me indirectly why I want to be a doctor, or more specifically in my case, if behavioral medicine was likely to be my choice and why. By the way I have heard a lot that OU doesn't like to hear that you are hell bent on one track in medicine, so I added a little bit about how I like other stuff too and blah blah, which they responded by positively nodding. Just don't be black and white, you know? "
"How would you handle not achieving the same academic success that you have had in undergrad?"
"Describe a certain patient/experience that stands out in your mind."
"How do we know that this (medicine) is you last stop?"
"What do you feel you could bring to next years class?"
"How do you relate to the specialty you have described in your personal statement?"
"Describe a personal crisis?"
"Right off the bat - Why do you want to be a doctor?"
"Prove to me that you have integrity?"
"see above."
"if you saw your best friend cheating on a test, what would you do?"
"how would react if you totally bombed a test?"
"Tell me about yourself, why medicine..."
"Tell us what you were expecting to see in here... as in, did you know there would be three interviewers, usually 2 MDs and 1 med student - however I had 3 MDs - and how well do you know your premed advisor?"
"What is the latest movie you have seen?"
"If you are examining a young patient and you discover that the patient has cancer, but the mother will not let you operate, what do you do? "
"Would you like to see the US under a system of socialized medicine?"
"Tell us about yourself and why you want to be a physician"
"How have you developed your ethics and morals?"
"Tell us about yourself. What path have you taken to bring you here?"
"What are a some books that you have read recently that you really enjoyed? "
"What do you see yourself doing in 10 years? What is your biggest weakness? Tell me about a specific patient interaction that you've had."
"When you have so many other talents, why do you want to be a doctor?"
"Weakness?"
"Why medicine, why OU, and where do I see myself in ten years?"
"What do you want to have accomplished in 20 years? What is your biggest failure? Tell me about yourself. "
"Do your degrees (economics and math) have any relation to medicine?"
"Why do you want to be a doctor? A pretty standard question - this was numero uno, right off the bat, so be ready."
"Why medicine?"
"how do you view success? would you tell someone that is smoking to stop? (i think the question came up bc we were talking about patients sometimes not listening to the doctors so what would you do?) you seem very passionate about medicine, but why medicine? what is a founding mother for your sorority? must have been a lot of hard work huh? have you made any mistakes? tell me about ur research?"
"How do you feel your martial arts experience will serve you in the academic arena?"
"How long have you had the dream of being a doctor? What experience have you had in the medical field? Were there any patients that made a difference in your life?"
"what do you do in your free time?"
"Tell me about your parents."
"When's a time you've demonstrated integrity & professionalism?"
"Why OU?"
"Tell me about a time you had to do the ethical thing over the easy thing."
"Tell us about a time you worked in a group and someone didn't pull their weight. What did you do?"
"Tell me about a time where you witnessed discrimination and did something about it."
"Tell me about a hardship and what you did to overcome it."
"Tell us about a time you caught someone doing something wrong and how you resolved the issue."
"Is there anything else you would like to tell us?"
""Give an example of a time you failed and what you did about it.""
"Tell me about yourself..."
"What are your weaknesses?"
"Is there anything that you would like to explain to us about your transcript/MCAT? (After you set out of the room halfway through the interview and they fully open your file and are able to see your grades and MCAT)"
"Books I have read recently."
"When preparing for this interview what "standard" question were you most worried about?"
"What have you done since the time you applied last year?"
"If you couldn't become a doctor, what career would you choose?"
"Do you think your mcat score reflects your performance as a student."
"How are you going to juggle med school as a mother of 2?"
"Medical school is challenging. How do you know you will make it through without losing sight of your goals?"
"Tell us about your low MCAT subsection score."
"Tell me about your family."
"Why Oklahoma?"
"How will you handle stress in medical school?"
"A specific question about one of my EC's"
"What insider perspective do you have on the life of a doctor? What have you learned from growing up with a doctor in the family? (If you don't have a doctor in the family, then maybe consider what you have learned about the life of a doctor from shadowing experiences)"
"Tell me what you meant by "humanitarian principles" in your personal statement."
"What do you do in your free time?"
"What interests you about medicine?"
"What area of medicine most interests you?"
"Biggest mistake."
"What characteristics make a good doctor?"
"What is your most important life experience?"
"If you weren't going to medical school what would you do?"
"How would you deal with coming to medical school and being a mediocre student compared to your classmates?"
"Why medicine and why now?"
"Are you happy with your MCAT score and do you plan to retake it?"
"Why didn't you do anything with your EMT-Basic certification?"
"Biggest problem in healthcare "
"If you aren't accepted this year, what will you do?"
"what do you do to relieve stress?"
"Has there ever been a time where you feel you failed at something?"
"What did you learn specifically from your volunteering experiences outside of what you listed on your aamcas?"
"See description of interview."
"What is sweetgrass?"
"What qualities do you think physicians possess and which things do you have and not have?"
"If you are not accepted this year, what is your ''plan B''?"
"What is the last healthcare issue you read about?"
"What would you do if a patient needed an MRI but couldn't pay for it?"
"Are there any grades that you want to talk about while you're here?"
"Would you use a certain nonrecommended treatment plan for a patient in pre-term labor? "
"What do you like to do?"
"What unique things do doctors have to deal with that other professions that work with people do not? "
"Tell me about a volunteering experience."
"Have you been challenged nonacademically?"
"How did your medical experiences impact your decision to pursue medicine?"
"What are some challenges facing health care today and how do you percieve them affecting you as a physician?"
"What was it like growing up on a farm."
"What have you sacrificed to get to this point?"
"Have you ever failed at anything?"
"What is the biggest issue in medicine today?"
"Certainly you want to be a doctor because of certain personal aspects of the profession, but what are some of the drawbacks? What do you fear?"
"Why do you want to be a physician? "
"What would you like us to know that isn't in your AMCAS?"
"How did you end up at the White House working on Native American issues?"
"What is the biggest challenge in medicine today"
"Why medicine?"
"What do you do to relieve stress."
"Tell me about yourself. What do you do to relax?"
"What have you done since you last applied? "
"What do you do to relax?"
"Why no D.O or Nurse? They help people too. "
"same as above"
"What does your wife think of your decision to go to medical school? "
"Tell us about yourself "
"What qualities make a great doctor better than a good doctor?"
"How will you handle being married to another student during medical school?"
"What does your wife think of your decision to go to medical school? Do you know which section of the MCAT cooresponds most to success in med school. (answer: verbal; I scored lowest on the verbal section) How do you think your undergrad education compared to going to a smaller school. (I go to a smaller Christian school)"
"What would you do if you were on rotations and found out that a fellow classmate was making up vital signs?"
"Why did you withdrawal from these classes? (KNOW your AMCAS!)"
"Interview began with "Tell us about yourself.""
"Your parent is a doctor. How has this affected your decision to go into medicine?"
"Why did you decide to go to the school you are at now? (I am currently at a small Christian university.)"
"How do you rationalize physician-assisted suicide?"
"What would you do if your patient died?"
"Tell me about your Native American background."
"What do your parents do? What do you do in your spare time?"
"A question from my AMCAS application."
"What does your husband think about you applying to med school? Do you have a mentor? Where do you see yourself in 10 - 15 years?"
"You said you did medical aid in another country. Tell us about it?"
"Tell me about your self. Do you have a strong support system? "
"why not md/phd? tell me about your patients exposure experiences."
"What are your weaknesses? (be prepared to answer about bad grades ie. if you have a bad semester etc...)"
"What are your opinions on euthanasia?"
"What will you do if you don't get into med school this year?"
"Question about my parents' background."
"What do you like about OU? What do you see as our strengths? (Asked because I had also applied to several other places)"
"What was your favorite class in undergrad?"
"Convince me that you can be successful here."
"Since you're a reapplicant, what has changed over the last year that brings you back to us? Why do you still want to be a doctor?"
"Be ready for ethical q's, just have someone ask you random ones and practice answering them by looking at all sides of the issue--so they see you can look at the big picture. I was lucky, I didn't have to think that hard, but I heard a lot of others talking about how they were asked those q's. "
"Did you ever reconsider taking the MCAT?"
"What is a weakness for you?"
"How do you cope with stress?"
"What are your hobbies? What was the last book you read?"
"How do you handle stress?"
"How do you deal with conflict?"
"Describe a time when you failed."
"Various questions about stuff that was on my application. They didnt grill me at all. The fourth year student in there asked the most questions and they were very easy."
"what do you like to do in free time."
"if you were elected president of the united states, what would you do for US healthcare?"
"is health care a privilage or a right?"
"Tell me about your weaknesses"
"How many hours a week do you study in college? How many do you expect to study in med school? Tell us ways, if you could go back, you would do to improve MCAT scores."
"Tell me about yourself?"
"If you are examining a man discover he has a terminal illness and he doesn't want you to tell his wife, what do you do? "
"What problems would a health care system like Canada's cause? If it has so many problems, why do you think so many rich people from overseas come to the US for surgeries, etc.?"
"What are the three most important qualities a physician can have in your mind. What would you do if you caught your best friend cheating?"
"Name a difficult life experience for you. "
"Your MCAT is very good, but your GPA is a slightly lower; how do you expect to deal with the intensive academic rigors of medical school?"
"What is your biggest strength? Weakness? What is your biggest failure? How do you deal with stress and how will you deal with the stress of medical school?"
"Why medical school and not PA school? What do you think will be the hardest obstacles to overcome on your way to your future goals? "
"What unique quality should a doctor possess?"
"How I liked to study"
"What is the hardest thing I have had to overcome, and what was my biggest accomplishment"
"What is the biggest problem in healthcare? What do you think of the new Medicare Bill? What do you think of the current political situation?"
"What is the best quality that you will bring to medicine?"
"What is one situation in which you had a disagreement with a person and how did you deal with it?"
"What specialty?"
"what did you mean by you learned how to deal with stressful situations by working in the ER? what do you think is the most important healthcare problem? what do you think about the tort reform? did you apply anywhere else? what was the best and worst day of your life? what is your most disappointing experience? what are your weakness/strengths? why is your verbal score not as high as your other two scores? what is your act score? "
"What will you do if you are not accepted to this program?"
"Tell me about your family? What does your father do? What does your mother do? Tell me about your brother? Where is your girlfriend from? Is anyone in your family a doctor?"
"what volunteer experience has meant the most to you?"
"Why not PT or PA school?"
"How are you reliable/dependable?"
"Tell us about a lifelong challenge you're still overcoming or learning from"
"Tell me about a time that you failed at something, but the negative of it turned into a positive."
"Tell us about your most significant volunteer experience."
"Tell me about a time when you made a mistake."
"Biggest weakness and what are you doing about it."
"Tell us about something that you have learned about a culture different from yours (medically related hopefully)"
"Describe a time you failed."
""Have you ever had one of your friends do something unethical? What did you do about it?""
"Why should we pick you?"
"What characteristics will you bring to your module next year if you are admitted?"
"Do you have a specialty in mind yet?"
"Explanation of grades and MCAT."
"What if you are not accepted this year? What will you do?"
"Tell us about your experiences as a hospice volunteer."
"What do you think about your MCAT score? (then after I answered they said it "wasn't a bad score but not a stellar one either"."
"What direction do you think we are headed, and what are your opinions on healthcare today?"
"Tell us about (AMCAS activity)."
"Tell me about your undergraduate experience."
"What initiated your interest in medicine?"
"If you had to choose today, what specialty would you be?"
"Tell me about your research"
"What is your opinion on the health care reform?"
"What challenges do you foresee for you and your wife while you're in medical school and how do you plan to deal with those challenges?"
"How will you handle failure when a patient of yours dies?"
"What was your favorite class? Your least favorite?"
"How will you pay for medical school? (This was specific to me. I lost my father during my freshman year, and had to begin working at the end of my sophomore year. This lowered my grades and so I referenced my job and finances several times so the question was warranted). See my suggestions for this in the suggestion box."
"Would you rather be a competent or compassionate physician?"
"How would you fix the health care problem?"
"Personally applicable: They asked about a personal email in my file regarding my father. (My dad was killed in an accident at the end of August...)"
"If you don't get in this year what will you do?"
"Lots of current events questions, I had mentioned that I follow the news."
"What type of medicine are you interested in?"
"In your volunteer experiences, do you remember anyone (anyone's name) in particular?"
"What clinical experiences have you had?"
"why did you choose to go out of state for undergrad ( all my questions were pretty basic)"
"What is your greatest weakness?"
"do you have any questions for us?"
"What kind of doctor do you want to be? (I was asked this question in two forms -- first time, referring to characteristics; second time, referring to actual specialization)"
"See description of interview."
"What was the biggest/most important thing you learned while you were taking care of your family?"
"What problems do you see in the health care system that might effect your practice as a physician?"
"What inspired the drive that you seem to show?"
"Do you believe in universal medicine? Who pays for it?"
"What unique qualities can you bring to OU?"
"What do you think about the uninsured problem in this country? Do you agree with Universal Healthcare? Why? What do the uninsured do when they have to go to a doctor?"
"Explain the business of healthcare? (Plus, one interviewer's cell phone went off 2 or 3 times during my interview)"
"Do you questions for us?"
"Why did you withdraw from racquetball? Why did you get a B in Zoology but A's in harder classes? What makes you different from someone who grew up in Tulsa? Finally, do you have anything you want to tell us about yourself that we should know? "
"What is your favorite class?"
"What do you do in your spare time?"
"How do you relax?"
"What has been your favorite course as an undergrad?"
"How have the leadership positions you have held in your fraternity made you into the person you are today."
"Name 3 doctors who have had made a significant impact on the field of medicine."
"How do you relax? Tell me about yourself. What does a doctor do? Asked about my volunteer experiences (medical and non-medical). Just questions about me, trying to see who I am, what motivates me, my goals, etc. It was really laid back and more like a conversation."
"What traits are necessary for being a good doctor and what experiences have you had that have shaped you to be one?"
"What will be your biggest challeng once in medical school?"
"Why didn't you check the box as being a disadvantaged student? (She thought I qualified, I had never thought about it)"
"How do you bridge communication gaps between yourself and people who are different from you?"
"Lots of standards: Why OU? Why medicine? Why are these grades low? What do you do for fun? How will you cope with the demands of OU? What will you do if you don't get in?"
"Questions about my experiences in research, hospice volunteering, etc."
"Why should we choose you over all the other candidates applying?"
"What will you do if you don't get into medical school this year."
"How would you ration healthcare? What is a current issue in medicine? If you don't get in will you go to a D.O school?"
"Scenario: You have 2 patients: one has a pretty straight forward treatment and very postitive chance of a good outcome and the other not very straight forward and little chance of outcome. Which one do you choose to treat?"
"Explain to me why you're sure you'll be able to handle the academic load of OU after attending a small school."
"Do you think Medicare is a form of socialized medicine? "
"same again -- it was about two months ago so the details are a bit hazy. :)"
"How do you rationalize the fact that a Dermatologist makes 4-$500,000 while General/Family Practice physicians make $90,000-$150,000? "
"What do you think of stemcell research? Followed by Abortion and Cloning?"
"How do you spend your time?"
"What part of your medical mission trip (from AMCAS) had the most impact on you?"
"How will your musical creativity help you in medicine? Are you aware of how music and medicine have been integrated? What kind of music would you write to ease the pain of my headache? Do you know why [list of composers] died at an early age? Do you think music is poisonous? What are your theories on how snake charming in India works? (A quick and very odd series of questions about music. I just thought it was interesting.)"
"What can you bring to the class?"
"Hypothetical question/scenario: You are doctor treating a family for the past ten years. The wife received a hysterectomy a few years ago. Now the husband is requesting a vasectomy. What do you do in this situation?"
"What do you do to relax?"
"If you saw someone cheating on a test, what would you do about it?"
"What do you do for fun?"
"How do you cope with stressful situations?"
"Why do you want to be a physician?"
"What do you think you will bring to this school? How do you deal with stress?"
"A question from one of my letters of Rec."
"Did you break any bones or lose any teeth when you played rugby? :)"
"You had experience in another area right out of school, why did you decide to choose medicine?"
"Tell me about your volunteer work. How many hours do you volunteer each week? What have you learned from your volunteer experiences? What have you learned from life?"
"why OU?"
"Where do you think healthcare is heading?"
"What would you do if you caught a fellow medical student cheating on a test?"
"What was the toughest class you had?"
"What is at the core of medicine?"
"If you could not be a doctor, what other career would you like to have?"
"Where do you see yourself in ten years?"
"Tell me about an experience that illustrates your character and integrity."
"How do you deal with stress or frustration?"
"Good luck!"
"How would you feel if you had a patient that you/nor anyone else could help?"
"What ethical dilemmas wil you face as a doctor?"
"How would you contribute to the medical school class/your fellow students' experience? (Had I only thought about it at the time, I would have told them that I was old enough to be able to remember life pre-HMOs! :) )"
"Is there anything else we should know about you?"
"How are you going to feel if you don't always make as good as grades as you are making right now? Questions for us?"
"Describe how you treat patients from different socio-economic backgrounds."
"What is a weakness that you have?"
"how would you explain to a young child that you were going to have to amputate his arm?"
"how do you handle the stress?"
"Tell me about your friends, they asked me so many things actually...some were hard but fair questions"
"Describe a patient(s) that was memorable to you from your volunteering experiences."
"What did you learn from ______ experience?"
"How do you think the american gov. and the U.S. health department handled the SARS outbreak?"
"Why medicine? Why OU? Why Oklahoma? Do you want to practice here? Where do you want to get a residency? Why? "
"The question I was given above. Man, I was ready to shake hands and say my goodbyes!"
"A man comes in with HIV (with or without AIDS) he is married and has kids. What would you do?"
"Given your limited volunteer experience, how do you know you want to be a doctor?"
"What do you like most about the idea of being a physician? Where do you see yourself in 10 years? How do you deal with people with extremely bad attitudes?"
"Who is James Pawley(?)? (I'm native american and he is some supposedly famous native american-never heard of him though) What is Hemoglobin AC1 ? What is the incidence rate of diabetes in Native Americans? Do you go to Pow-wows? What have you learned from being married? What else have you learned from being married? What would you bring to our class?"
"What do your parents do? "
"Tell about yourself"
"Explain the research I am conducting"
"What sets you apart?"
"Where have you applied? "
"Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"
"Why did you choose your major?"
"what does your dad do? so you live in tulsa? do you have any siblings? what does he want to do? is there anyone else that is a doctor in your family? how do you and your family feel about you being the first doctor? where did you go to high school?"
"What did you like about the city you grew up in?"
"How to you deal with stress? What are your good attributes/bad attributes? How do you deal with criticism? What movies have you seen lately? What kind of music do you like? Do you have any questions for us?"
"what is your greatest strength?"
"What unique quality should a doctor possess above all others?"
"When's a time you've interacted with someone from a different culture, and how did you learn from that?"
"Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"
"Tell me about a time you interacted with someone from and different culture. How did you learn from this?"
"Tell us about a time you made a mistake. What did you do to fix it and how did you prevent it from happening again?"
"Tell me a time you saw/or faced discrimination and what did you about it."
"What excites you most about our med school"
"What was your most impactful patient interaction?"
""Thirty-percent of trainees report symptoms of depression during residency. How do you feel your experiences will aid you if you experience similar symptoms during your residency?""
"I see you play guitar, what style do you like?"
"Would you turn in your best friend if you caught him cheating?"
"Who are you first going to call when you walk out of this interview?"
"Books"
"Describe a patient interaction that you had that stands out in your mind?"
"Would you rather be a compassionate or a competent physician?"
"the blizzard forced them to do do interview marathon on a Sunday, I was the last one my group saw for the YEAR so they were all exhausted, uninterested, bored, ready to leave, not asking interesting questions at all."
"So, what's your favorite birdsong? (I had listed on my amcas that I did research with birds the past summer)"
"So do students at your campus watch Glee?"
"How would you change individuals attitudes toward living a healthy lifestyle?"
"Tell me a medical advancement you are impressed with."
"How do you think music will tie in with your experience as a physician?"
"They asked me to list all of the hormones that I worked with the past summer when I did research. I tested about 15 and only 1 showed a correlation and I forgot all the rest in my nervousness."
"Tell us about your siblings. What do you think about “middle-child syndrome?” Do you suffer from it? "
"Tell me about an experience in your past when you did something that you thought was right, but actually turned out to be a failure. How did you handle it? What was the outcome? How would you apply that to medicine?"
"What is your view on the health care reform?"
"What do you like about fencing? (I'm in the fencing club at my undergrad.)"
"Have you seen Valkyrie yet? This is because I'm a big military history buff and it came out about a month earlier."
"Which candidate's plan do you think will be the most successful in fixing the problems with healthcare in America? (I interviewed during election season)"
"All their questions were pretty standard."
"What have you done with your son to encourage his social development?"
"Are your parents proud of you?"
""You are a well dressed man, you seem to be very intelligent, but what's with the spiky hair?" .......... :) ????"
"Why did you choice to go to OU for undergrad?"
"What challenges do you think you will face as a physician in 30 years?"
"Are you intimidated about medical school?"
"If military (I used to be in the military) or medicine was not an option, what else would you probably pursue?"
"I'm not sure if there were any ''interesting'' questions."
"I am really into art and ballet, my interviewer asked me to draw some parallels between the two and how would those classes/skills benefit me as a physician"
"The medical profession has lost a lot of respect over the years. How would you reverse this trend?"
"what should we tell the admissions board about you that makes you more qualified than other candidates?"
"Why didn't you go to [local university from my hometown]?"
"Would you like to practice here or abroad?"
"How do you think you are doing in the interview so far?"
"none."
"What do you play on the piano to calm you?"
"What do you think needs to be done to improve the health care system?"
"How did you study for your MCAT?"
"What do you think about mandatory cervical cancer vaccinations? "
"What do you think about mandatory cervical cancer vaccinations?"
"What does being an Eagle Scout mean to you?"
"''What can you tell me about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?'' I'm an English Lit major so this was one of those questions I was hoping for. "
"Rate my relationship with my parents on a scale of 1 to 10."
"Would I cut red tape?"
"Nothing really interesting, a lot of general ''who are you'' questions."
"How would you compare the healthcare system overseas with healthcare in America? (I grew up overseas partly)"
"What were your hobbies?"
"Are you a class-goer? A patient and her sister enter your clinic; the patient needs a prescription to be cured of her illness. The patient cannot afford the medicine, but the patient's sister has full coverage. Would you write the script for the patient's sister so that the patient could be cured?"
"Why are you wearing a suit today, but a t-shirt in your passport pic?"
"Why do you like ____ book?"
"If you could create an ideal health care system, what would you change first?"
"There weren't really any interesting questions. I have done some interesting research in the past and they asked a lot of questions about that. They also asked a lot of questions about my experiences growing up on a farm."
"What should someone be willing to sacrifice to become a doctor?"
"How do you feel about children who grew up without parents?"
"What do you like LEAST about medical school."
"The MS interviewer basically asked me if I won 1 million dollars, would I still practice medicine? Why? To follow up, what I thought of those who would actually quit their career?"
"What is the biggest problem in healthcare today?"
"Are you a sports fan? (A football player on his favorite NFL team apparently has the same name as me, he wanted to know if I knew who he was. I didn't)"
"How have you learned to prioritize and keep your study habits where they need to be?"
"A man has saved all his life to care for his handicap son. The man has learned he is terminally ill and wants to overdose. He comes to you. What do you do?"
"What is the biggest challenge in medicine today?"
"Parents of an unresponsive child enter the ER and ask you to stop all treatment so they can pray over the child. How do you deal with this situation?"
"What do you think about the role of Lawyers in the health care profession."
"Is Medicine more an art or a science?"
"You have 2 patients; one has pretty straight forward treatment and the other not very straight forward and little chance of outcome. Which one do you choose?"
"What was your favorite course in college?"
"How have your extracurricular activities contributed towards your desire to be a doctor?"
"I got a ton of questions about health care policy stuff. Both interesting and difficult."
"How will you handle being a religious person in the clinical setting?"
"Do you know which section of the MCAT cooresponds most to success in med school? "
"More than a question, one interviewer said: We're concerned that someone who works as hard as you do might not handle stress, there have been students who've been known to commit suicide. This came from my extensive list of activities and involvement on my application."
"Describe some specific experiences that you had with your grandfather."
"How do you see your faith affecting your potential career in medicine?"
"What does the red stripe on the barber pole represent? (I thought this was strange, but I think they just were trying to see how I would react to a random question)"
"How many days a week are you joyful?"
"How do plan to interact with members of your class?"
"Most questions were expected and not that interesting."
"What's your worst quality?"
"Do you think emergency medical care should be a legal right for illegal immigrants in the U.S.?"
"How do you rationalize the fact that Dermatologists make $500,000 while General/Family Practice physicians make $90,000-$150,000? "
"What is one of the current issues in medicine?"
"If you could switch places with someone else, who would you be and why?"
"Tell us what you think about the 65 year old lady having a baby."
"How do you think you will adjust to wearing crimson after being a cowboy?"
"They read me something from one of my letters of rec and asked me to give an example of it."
"I have always been very involved in multiple extra curricular activities, and the interviewers asked how I would handle being in med school and not having the time to participate in anything but school."
"If you were stranded on an island, what three things would you take?"
"You have applied to other medical colleges. Tell us why you applied to OU then tell us why you applied to Creighton."
"If you have a magic wand that can transport you anywhere, where would you go? If you can be any cell in the body which one would you be and why? (right off the bat, I answered that I'll be a stem cell, since I can differentiate into any cell I want! =) heheh.)"
"What are your opinions on euthanasia?"
"How did you mother being a nurse affect your decision to go into medicine? "
"Do you think more people received better healthcare prior to the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid?"
"What do you need in a career in order for it to be fulfilling for you?"
"Describe the type of legacy you want to leave."
"Do you think your siblings ever feel intimidated by the bar you've set (since I'm the eldest)?"
"What caused the Soviet Union to fall? This was a little off-the-wall, and I know from the look on his face that he was just testing how I think. It was brought on because I had just told them that my favorite undergraduate class was one in the History of Science department called Cold War Science."
"Nothing was very interesting - it was like they were just reading off of a standard questions list or something"
"none were "interesting.""
"How do you think the non-science courses have helped broaden your horizons? "
"Will you be married and have a family in 5-10 years?"
"How do we know that this (medicine) is your last stop? (I am a non-traditional student applying to medical school after working in both Publishing and Information Technology - so a question to be expected )."
"Why Oklahoma (I'm from Florida)?"
"Everything was fairly standard. Most questions were based off of my application...especially the personal statement."
"Have I thought about academic medicine? "
"Some difficult patients are angry or hard to communicate with; what is your idea of a difficult patient?"
"What is the one thing you were hoping that we would not talk about in this interview? That was strange, I told them health care issues and they didnt ask anything about those issues."
"I am just posting this for all the students who read the previous post and think it is truthful. The fact is that interviews do not start until the 28th of Nov. for MD/PhD students and the 29th for MD students. I know this because the school has told me and I also will be interviewing on the first day which is still more than a week away. The person who posted prior to this was full of something besides his own experiences at OU."
"you have a 55 year old obese alcoholic smoker and a 79 year old fit person. both need heart transplants. you have one heart....... wasn't trying to stick me on it, just wanted to see my train of thought and if i could back up answer. one interviewer asked some difficult questions; i think it was more to give me a chance to shine than to make me look bad. it was a good interview."
"how would i explain to a young kid that we were going to have to amputate his arm. "
"What were your grades in high school like? What is your value system? Where do you see yourself in 15 years? What will you do if you do not get in? What do your parents do? Why medicine? How do you deal with stress?"
"What are the three most important things in life? If you had unlimited money etc. what would you do in 24hrs? "
"What would you do to impact the world?"
"Tell me what you know about Pete Rose. What is an apology? Does he deserve to be in the Hall of Fame?"
"Do you have a best friend?"
"What is the most creative thing you have ever done?"
"Is OU your first choice? "
"Just as I thought I was in the clear from the ethics questions, I was asked if I thought healthcare was a right or privilege. I was wrong!"
"Nothing stood out in particular."
"Where do you feel you get your moral values?"
"How do you deal with people who have extremely bad attitudes?"
"After telling the interviewer that I have visited Mexico many times, he spoke a few sentences in Spanish and asked me what he said."
"What are your longterm goals besides medicine?"
"Is it ever okay to break or bend rules?"
"It was in regards to the overprescription of certain drugs, specifically Ritalin, and who is at fault for this situation."
"Would you bend the rules if one of your patients was underinsured?"
"I was given a long, huge, ethical/health care question that was a combination of "How would you deal w patients who don't listen to you?" and "How would you deal w the general problems in health care?" "
"Imagine that there is a man on death row in need of a heart transplant to save his life. Ought doctors perform a heart transplant on this patient despite the fact that he will be executed shortly thereafter?"
"What are the three most urgent issues in healthcare?"
"what question were you thinking that you did not want me ask you today?"
"What makes you stand out from other candidates without your life experiences considered?"
"If you had a patient whou could not pay, what would you do?"
"What advice would you give to your younger brother now that you have finished college? (I have a brother that is 5 years younger than me)."
"guess what our specialties are (light-hearted question at the end of the interview)"
"What is your average golfing score?"
"What's a hardship you faced, and how did you overcome it?"
"Describe a time you were asked to do something ethically questionable"
"Tell me about a time that you had a significant medical interaction and how that affected you."
"Tell us about a time you interacted with someone from a different culture. What did you learn from this?"
"Tell me a time you saw/or faced discrimination and what did you about it."
"Tell us about a time that you failed at something and what you did to fix it."
"Remember a time when you lied."
""Was there ever a time where someone questioned your decisions? How did you resolve the conflict?""
"Personality/behavioral"
"Where do you see the future of medicine?"
"Grades"
"What challenges have you faced in your journey to this point?"
"Do you think physicians should be paid a salary?"
"They kept asking if I was sure I could make it in med school being a mother of two. not difficult but definetely annoying."
"What's the one most important thing you think that you've done so far in your life?"
"What are your opinions of the current health care reform?"
"I didn't have any, but one I heard was, "If the governor gave you $1 million, what three areas of Oklahoma healthcare would you put the money toward?""
"What is your opinion on the healthcare reform bill?"
"What is the most difficult thing you've ever had to do?"
"Why doctor? Why not nurse and then nurse practitioner? They even have PhD for nursing, why not that? (I guess they asked b/c I work as a CNA?)"
"What is your weakness and how do you think this will affect your performance in medical school?"
"What do you think are the biggest drawbacks to being a physician?"
"Can you think of anything else we should know about you, use this time to sell yourself."
"What are some concrete goals you have as a physician in ten years?"
"What is your greatest success and greatest failure?"
"How do you feel like growing up in more of a rural town will affect how good of a physician you will be?"
"What is the biggest problem about U.S. Health Care and how would you fix it?"
"Why did you choose medicine over nursing, PA, etc. "
"Two men need a heart transplant but there is only one heart. One man is 49 and smokes, the other is 70 and healthy. Who gets the heart?"
"I did not have any difficult questions. I was prepared for ethical, healthcare, political, and shock questions, but did not receive any. I think these questions are asked a lot usually, so you should still be prepared for such questions, but my interviewers were very interested in my activities more than anything else, and we ran out of time. "
"What does it mean to be a doctor?"
"How would you solve the Middle East peace process? (I studied abroad in the Middle East for a semester, I doubt they ask this question of everyone)."
"(none of them were difficult)"
"Tell us, what do you think of our health care?"
"What sets you apart from other applicants?"
"In my PS i mentioned I was shy, my interviewer asked how would this affect my interaction with my future patients and how would I overcome this."
"So, if you are accepted here, will you come?"
"what is the most difficult dilemma facing US healthcare today?"
"Why didn't you have a pre-med committee interview?"
"Do you think you struggle with standardized tests?"
"Why do you want to be a doctor? Followed up by: Why not be a nurse since you can do the same things?"
"none."
"Do you think there will conflicts between your family life and medical school? (I have a pretty tough family situation that I wrote about.)"
"Can you give me an example of a specific situation in which a physician is exemplifying integrity and one in which he or she is not showing integrity?"
"If you were to be accepted, and halfway through the program you decided medicine was not for you, what would you do?"
"How would you solve the national healthcare problem? What do you think about universal healthcare? "
"How would you solve the national healthcare problem? What do you think about universal healthcare?"
"Nothing really difficult. There were plenty of questions that required some thought, but they were not really hard."
"''Why MD as opposed to nurse/PA/scrub tech etc...?'' I think they were really wondering whether or not I was academically/motivationally equipped for med school."
"When we go to speak on your behalf for entrance into medical school, what do you want us to say. This question was followed by...''do you think you have an accurate or inflated view of yourself''."
"Who would I treat first; a 10 year old child or a bum off of the street."
"What would you do if the parent's of your child patient refuses to pursue medical treatment of something fatal? They were looking for the purely ethical answer."
"Not that difficult. What are we going to do about the 45 million Americans that don't have access to healthcare? I replied: Manditory medical insurance. Next question: So you agree with Arnold? (Schwarz.)"
"Why do you want to be a doctor? (Somehow my response didn't satisfy them, and they re-asked the question)"
"Define medicine."
"Why are you wearing a suit today, but a t-shirt in your passport pic?"
"Explain your undergraduate record."
"How do you plan to emotionally equip yourself to deal with patients who are dying?"
"The only ethical question they asked was to go over a topic I was knowledgable about in medicine that had ethical implications."
"If you were accepted to a DO program but not to OU, would you take the DO acceptance or wait and reapply here?"
"Would you go to the professor if you saw someone cheating on a test?"
"How would you tell a patient that he is dying?"
"If you were in a position to change medicine or health policy, what would you chage?"
"What will you do if you don't get into medical school?"
"Why did you get that C+ in Organic?"
"Same as the most interesting!"
"See above."
"Why did you withdraw from Organic Chemistry."
"What would you do if you had a patient who died?"
"Do you think big medical research is in jeopardy of being ended? (I have a lot of research experience)"
"Explain to me why you're sure you'll be able to handle the academic load of OU after attending a small school."
"Did you apply to D.O. School? Why not? Followed by have you thought about becoming a nurse? "
"same as above"
"What is the biggest mistake you have ever made, and how did it change you? "
"If I thought abortion should stay legal."
"What do you think of Stem-Cell research? To which I resonded positively about it. Then they asked about what I thought about abortion and cloning. Very politically motivated questions in my mind."
"How will you handle being a religious person in the clinical setting?"
"What is the biggest mistake you have ever made, and how did it change you? This one really got me because I haven't had a "life-defining" mistake. I just told them I have made a number of mistakes, and I try to use each one as a learning experience. But I didn't have a specific example."
"Name the top 5 medical advancements in the past 150 years that have affected the world."
"I was asked how I would defend the college-preparatory public high school that I went to because people viewed it as an institution that negatively affects other public schools in the state. "
"You're successful now. Why medicine?"
"Name 2 or 3 doctors whom we would all know that you consider a hero. [WTF???]"
"Why does OU appeal to you?"
"Compare the healthcare system in the U.S. to that of Canada and Great Britain."
"Why do you want to be a doctor? (There's just so much to it I never know where to start)"
"None of the questions were very difficult. The interview was more of a conversation."
"None really. More of a conversation"
"I was asked about medicare/medicaid and admitted that I was a little weak in my knowledge of that subject but answered the best I could."
"None were difficult. They weren't out to get me at all. It seemed llike we were all just having a conversation."
"Why didn't you retake the MCAT?"
"What do you think Ward Churchill meant by his statements about September 11, 2001? Do you think he has the right to say these things being an employee of the United States (working at a state school)?"
"What are your weaknesses?"
"what are your weaknesses..."
"You have 200 sick patients, 2 of them is terminally ill and the other 198 is mildly sick. You only $100,000 allocated for this group of patients. What would you do? Would you help the 2 terminally ill patient or the other 198? "
"What would you do if you caught a fellow medical student cheating on a test?"
"What are the biggest challenges facing health care today? "
"There were no overly difficult questions. "
"Physicians seem to have lost some of the honor that was once associated with our profession. What will you do as the next generation of physicians to restore that honor?"
"Why didn't you apply to any osteopathic schools?"
"What were you hoping we wouldn't talk about today? (Immediately followed by "Let's talk about it")"
"Same as above. :p"
"Tell me what you want me to know about you? I answered this with why I wanted to be a physician and why I thought I would make a good physician. The interviewer then got very upset and yelled "That's not what I asked you. I know you want to be a doctor." OUCH!"
"Questions about problems in health care today, etc."
"Actually, I was lucky and did not get any ethical q's or healthcare q's. BUT others that day DID, so be prepared. They only asked q's about me, and they drew from my personal statement. "
"What would you do if you caught some of you classmates cheating?"
"What can you add to the class of 2009?"
"How do we know that this is your last stop? (Yes, it was expected but still difficult. I am certain of my path, but there are no guarantees in life and convincing someone else of your convictions always depends on how well you connect)."
"What is the weakest part of your application (its always hard to talk about your weaknesses)?"
"All the questions were very conversational. None of the questions are difficult if you relax and enjoy meeting some very interesting people."
"How would you deal with patients from different socio-economic backgrounds and ethnic backgrounds?"
"None were overly difficult, though I did have to defend my coming from a smaller school in terms of academic rigor."
"Prove to me that you have integrity? That one caught me off gaurd."
"see above"
"if i were president of the united states, what would i do for US healthcare. "
"I am a spanish minor and the guy busted out with Spanish! That was pretty scary. Describe an ethical situation in which you had to make a decision. Describe a stressful situation and how you dealt with it. Why didn't you retake the MCAT yet? What is the cofactor in XX bichemical pathway? What do you think about pateints getting prescriptions in Canada? What do you think about the prices of drugs? What would you do if your patient had to get a med and could only afford it in Canada?"
"what problems of health care do we face today?"
"If you were working at a register and gave change for a ten but the person insisted they gave you a 20 how would you handle it?"
"give me an example of hypocrisy"
"Do you have a credit card? Does your university allow credit companies to solicit students? Suppose a university sold a student's address and information, the student got a credit card, gets in extreme debt, and killed themselve leaving a suicide note indicating it was the schools fault. Who is to blame? This is a moral question; and assume the school violated no laws."
"Who has been the most difficult person for you to get along with and why?"
"What is the size of that protein?"
"ethical questions about different scenarios and how I would respond"
"What would you do with a patient who couldn't pay?"
"See above, I didn't want to discuss politics."
"Tell me about yourself."
"Why MD school as opposed to PA/Pharmacy/Nursing/etc school?"
"What was your biggest failure? Self analysis questions are always the most difficult."
"Prove to us that you are an honest person. OK, now give me another example outside of your marriage."
"Above."
"About current healthcare issues"
"see most interesting"
"If a drug company offered you a free trip to Vegas if you would prescribe their pill instead of the generic version, what would you do? Both pills are the same and the insurance company pays for both for the patient. So the insurance company is the only one that loses in this situation. What do you do?"
"What is your biggest weakness? I've always found it easy to get trapped w this one. "
"No questions were particularly difficult, however, some were indeed challenging. I find self-assessment questions to be a challenge as well as ethical questions relating to social policy, so the most difficult question was a tie between a self-assessment question and a policy/ethical question: What is your greatest weakness? Is it justified to tax some so that others (the poor) may have access to healthcare?"
"What would you do if you did NOT have to work?"
"how do you view success?"
"Same as the most interesting question."
"Some questions about my undergraduate school. I was admitted and attended a very compettitive undergraduate school and I was asked how I got in etc.."
"Have you ever been criticized? What for, and how did you deal with it?"
"nothing really that bad"
"Why med school over PT or PA school? (I had never actually thought about it until the interview). "
"I made a spreadsheet of all the Qs from sdn + basic interview Qs (i.e. why medicine, etc.), wrote out my answers, used the STAR method, & practiced verbalizing answers with multiple people"
"Talked to current students, read SDN, typed out my responses in advance, read AAMC core competencies"
"Recalling personal stories of times I displayed the AAMC Core Competencies."
"practice questions. review answers. review application"
"I looked up example situational/behavioral questions, looked at the AAMC core competencies, and formed possible questions and answers."
"AAMC core competencies"
"Mock/committee interview with undergrad university, and quizzing myself with sdn questions with friends"
"Read the responses here, talk to alumni and current students, interview prep with other friends who had interviews, read through the websites."
"Read the feedback reviews on SDN and combed through the OU COM website."
"SDN school feedback, prepared & practiced responses to standard questions and school-specific questions. Did mock interviews (including undergrad panel mock interview)."
"I didnt"
"SDN forums"
"Read through my application a few hundred times."
"Friends at OU, school's website, interview feedback, SDN"
"Mock interviews, read about current events in the news and in medicine."
"I spoke with my reapplication advisor. I also used a pre-med program that gave a list of over a thousand possible questions. I chose over 200 of the more difficult questions from the list and practiced answering them."
"SDN, looked up interview questions."
"this feed."
"had friends ask me questions in an interview setting"
"went over my AMCAs and supplemental information, read their website"
"SDN Interview Feedback, mock interviews with faculty and campus Career Services Office."
"Went over my AMCAS application (activities and personal statement), read up on the school and its curriculum"
"Read sdn"
"Lots of practice questions, self-reflection and prayer"
"went over my amcas and interview feedback"
"I participated in a pre-med committee interview, which was extremely helpful! Also, a week in advance, I started skimming through practice interview questions each day to build confidence. I used this interview packet if you want to check it out! http://dept.lamar.edu/biology/preprofessional/Medical%20school%20interview%2071404.htm"
"Went in prepared to be myself and answer the questions honestly."
"I looked at interview questions online and practiced with friends."
"Read SDN interview feedback, reread AMCAS, mock interviews"
"SDN, a book about applying med school from pfizer, and talking to people who had already interviewed."
"I made sure I knew everything that was on my AMCAS application."
"AMCAS and practiced interview questions."
"Review of application materials. Read feedback on SDN. Interview with mock committee at undergrad institution."
"Looked at SDN. Read current events as well as current health topics. Mock interviews with friends."
"Undergraduate University Pre-professional Committee mock interview, thought out and wrote out answers to possible questions."
"Looked at interview feedback for my interview month."
"Talked to friends who are current MS1s at the school, read my AMCAS, looked at the website, read "The Medical School Interview" and filled out the interview inventory it suggests, interview practice sessions, and a meeting with an interview coach."
"I didn't. How do you prepare to be yourself?"
"Read on health care policies/topics, SDN, my applications, personal statement, mock interviews, and received advice from pre-med advisor"
"Talking with people who already had their interviews, SDN, reading up on current issues, mock interviews, ... praying."
"read SDN, my AMCAS, talked to other students that recently interviewed"
"Read over app and SDN."
"looked over my AMCAS application, personal statement, OU's background information, reviewed current medical events, mock interviews."
"Reviewed application and made sure I could support/explain experiences I had written down, as well as poor grades, etc.; researched the school and kept note of strengths/weaknesses of the school; read up on current health care/ethics issues; went over SDN's interview feedback for possible questions and prepared myself to answer the obvious questions that would be asked"
"I definitely overprepared...and I am happy that I did because it made me less nervous for the interview. I looked over my aamcas, read current health and non-health related news, did mock interviews, and read on up some ethics scenarios."
"I looked over SDN forums/articles, went over AMCAS application, read a couple of books on ethics, practiced questions with friends."
"SDN, website, AAMCAS"
"Read my AMCAS, read previous interview questions, and looked up current events in health care (which was evidently pointless). "
"Read feedback on SDN, looked over my application, looked at the schools website, I knew a lot about this school going in since it is local. I also looked up current events surrounding health care policy, insurance, and health care issues. "
"Read my AMCAS, browsed SDN interview feedback, and did a mock interview."
"read over possible questions, looked at this site, mock interview with my friends "
"read over possible questions, looked at this site, mock interview with my friends"
"SDN, school website..... I am normally up to date with the local and national news, so that helped."
"Went over possible questions with doctor friend, kept up with news/bioethics, reviewed personal statement"
"SDN, looked over application, thought about some common question (didn't really help). "
"Read SDN, School Website"
"Had to figure out something short and sweet for the ''why you want to be a doctor'' question the night before. Went over some typical questions about healthcare, etc; none of that was relevant."
"Overprepared. Watched the news, researched ethical issues and policies, read books about reforming healthcare in America, did mock interviews with professors, career counselor (highly recommend), and friends. Looked at SDN and practiced responses. "
"Mock interview, looked over possible questions, talked to professor about questions."
"SDN"
"SDN & OUHSC website"
"Read my AMCAS and personal statement/ scanned SDN."
"SDN, my AMCAS, regular news follower, read up on health policy"
"SDN, OU website, and talked to current med students"
"I took a look at some possible questions and thought a bit about how I would answer. I didn't prepare any answers beforehand."
"Used this website, brushed up on health care policy, read medical journals."
"Mock interviews, this website, OU's website, watched the news"
"SDN, OU's website, AMCAS app."
"Read the internet for current events in healthcare, bought a new suit, talked to a doctor about the interview process, and tried my best to relax."
"Reviewed my personal statement; thought of possible questions."
"Look over my AMCAS, looking at the school's website..."
"Read up on current issues, SDN, my AMCAS, and OU."
"read SDN, AMCAS, personal statement, resume"
"Reviewed my AMCAS application."
"SDN, went over sample questions, ou website."
"Mock interviews, SDN forums, these interview feedbacks, reviewed AMCAS."
"Mock interviews, read AMA news, SDN, compiled as many questions as I could and tried work out how I would answer them to be prepared for anything."
"SDN, OU website, AMCAS"
"SDN, mock interviews, AMCAS"
"Spoke to people who had attended the school, read sdn and school's website. "
"Read OU's website."
"Reviewed my AMCAS, mock interview with a couple of doctor buddies."
"This was my 5th interview, I felt prepared by all my positive experiences at other schools."
"reviewed my application & thought about specific aspects/characteristics that I wanted to convey to the interviewers."
"AMCAS review (x3). Mock-interview. SDN. Prayed!"
"Reviewed my application, read medical journals and articles, mock interview"
"SDN, mock interview by family, 2005 Pfizer Medical School Manual, review of AMCAS application. "
"AMCAS review (recommended!), brainstormed likely question's answers, bought a new suit, spit-shined my shoes, got ZOOM teeth-whitening, and grudgingly bought a crimson tie."
"Read SDN, read OU website, read my AAMC application, practiced mock interviews with my parents and dad's co-workers."
"Previous interviews."
"Reviewed AMCAS, looked over this website, read several articles"
"SDN, Mock Interview, Reviewed my application."
"SDN."
"SDN, current readings, mock interviews, and reviewed AMCAS application"
"Read over current health issues(None of which I needed, I did not receive one ethical or current event related question) Thought about possible questions I'd be asked and answers for them."
"SDN, Mock Interview, and read over my AMCAS application."
"Read this site, went through my AMCAS app, read interview books, studied health care and ethics issues, practiced responding to different questions. "
""Mock" interviews and questions from other friends' interviews from this school."
"SDN, friendly mock interviews, professional opinion on style of dress and hair (interview statistics show that interview decisions are based 60% on non-verbal qualities), read current events and healthcare issues, researched OU."
"Months before = sat down and really ask myself why, what, how, who I am and why medicine is my calling. Read OU's website and really get to know the school and the PEOPLE there. Know why I want to go to OU. Getting in shape..yep the way you look helps with 1st impressions and it also boost your self-confidence (it was one of my resolution anyways). Buy a nice suit (gray or black), a topcoat, the highest ply cotton dressshirt you can afford, tie (i suggest light blue or OU's color) and new dressshoes. You only have 30-50mins to impress 3 people who you have never met before in your life, it is worth every penny. 2 Weeks before = SDN and Mock interviews with girlfriend and older brother who is an onc/ob/gyn surgeon (make sure you get them to prep you for diff. types of personalities, my gf was the laid back interviewer while my brother was the intense-i'm-going-to-eat-you-alive interviewer (stand your ground in a nice way, don't be defensive, be able to back up everything you say, don't falter in your beliefs). Night before = relax, be yourself, congratulate yourself that you have gotten this far, pray & a good night sleep."
"Review my application, study OUHSC site, good night's rest."
"SDN, OU's website, review my application, mock interview with a doctor who used to be on the admissions committee. "
"Read several books on healthcare policy and issues. Read this site and the OUHSC website. Read several other online interview sites. Read over AMCAS app."
"Read over this site, OU's site, my application and looked at a Health Politics website."
"SDN and practicing the interview"
"Read over AMCAS, read OU website"
"Read the feedback on SDN, read the OUHSC website, thoughtfully reflected on why they rejected me last year... "
"Standard stuff"
"I researched some things I didn't feel confident about, like malpractice, socialized medicine, differences in healthcare providers, and I also read up on current events in psychiatry b/c that is my area of interest."
"Read amcas app., SDN, and OUHSC website."
"Reviewed aamcas and looked over healthcare system info"
"This site, OU's site, AMCAS site, reading "Severed Trust", "White Coat" and "Better than Well", looking over recent Daily Oklahomans, JAMAs, New England Journal of Medicine and AMA bulletins"
"SDN, reviewed my AMCAS app, OUHSC website, reviewed current issues in healthcare"
"Old SDN questions for OU"
"Read this website, SDN, OU website and reread my AMCAS"
"This site, Pfizer's Guide to Getting into Medical School, looking at OU's website"
"this website, relaxed, this was my third interview so I was pretty prepared already."
"re-read amcas"
"just went there with confidence in myself and my abilities"
"This site, practice interview with someone on the adcom, read up on some bioethics stuff, CNN, news, talk to current students, practice interview with the roommates."
"look up the potential interveiw questions"
"this website"
"this website and my application"
"SD network, school's webpage, reviewed my application, read a book to relax."
"look at this site, read their website, read my application, practice questions, and read some newsweek."
"Read a paper by one of the faculty in an area I would like to study and studied their program"
"I got question off line and looked at this web site."
"I read SDN feedback. Read the OU website. "
"I prepared w/ SDN, and thoroughly investigating myself and motives."
"Read SDN, MSAR, Website, talked to OU med school students."
"Prayed, read SDN, went over my AMCAS application, and talked to peers in medical school."
"I looked at this site a lot (SDN). I reviewed my application, read up on current events, and spent some time on OUHSC's website."
"Read this website (it prepared me very well), reviewed my amcas, research, etc."
"Looked at their website although it didn't help much, read over my application"
"I didn't. I like to just go in and be myself. I find it takes away from the "lip-service" that I'm sure most interviewers are tired of hearing. "
"Mainly by going over my AMCAS application."
"Interview Feedback, website."
"I really didn't prepare much for the interview. I just tried to gather my thoughts on the drive over so I would know some general points I wanted to cover. I really don't think you should rehearse. My interviewers seemed extremely nice & just wanted to get to know me. "
"I studied the school's website, this website (SDN), reviewed my AMCAS, and kept up with current events."
"Looking @ old SDN interviews, remembering questions from the last time I interviewed: if you do it enough, eventually you'll have a standard response for almost every question."
"reading this, practicing some questions with one of my professors, reading the school's website"
"Reading their website and talking to current students before my interview"
"Read this."
"read college brochure, read over this site, read over my personal application, and had mock interviews with my fellow pre-med peers."
"read application, practice questions, normal prep"
"SDN, questions off of the Internet"
"OU Tulsa - everyone was so kind & welcoming! OU OKC - interviewers were friendly"
"The interviewers were very friendly and welcoming"
"How relaxed the interview was. The interviewers are very polite and friendly."
"their continued examples of how OU listens to their students and enacts change quickly based on student recommendation"
"Interviewers were very encouraging and"
"How gentle and pleasant everyone is, very relaxed environment; seems like a close-knit environment. They also boasted about the small groups they are assigned to (mods) and how they help each other throughout med school and lead to strong friendships."
"The facilities were very up to date and the technology in the classrooms and skills lab were impressive. My interviewers were very nice. The student tour guides were nice and seemed excited about giving us the tour (also didn't make us do the last bit of walking because we were all tired)."
"Interviewers weren't trying to intimidate me or stress me out. They wanted to just get to know me."
"The loyalty and kindness of our medical student guides throughout the day."
"Very stress free interview, new curriculum and capstone review course for step 1, nice facilities, great atmosphere, in the heart of okc."
"Great campus, great attendings, friendly atmosphere very non-malignant."
"Students were enthusiastic and loved the school. skill lab seemed nice. Campus was cool. I like how the curriculum is set up."
"The modules and the clinical skills lab"
"New curriculum and mods"
"The School of Community Medicine interview was a very positive experience."
"The facilities, specially the clinical skills and education training center, which from what I have seen is top of the line. Also what OU calls "mods." These are basically study rooms for you and 15 of your classmates that only you have access. You have your own desk and shelf and its located in the same building where you will spend your pre-clinical years."
"The curriculum, the nice mod rooms, and the awesome clinical training center."
"The facility is extremely nice."
"the interviewers and students leading the tours were very nice but also very exhausted/quiet/bored?"
"the conversational manner in which the interview was held. I could tell they were trying to make it as low stress as they could."
"The friendliness of the admissions staff and med students, the learning modules, the campus"
"Students were very friendly and interviews were low-stress. Campus is very nice and students really seem to enjoy themselves."
"Friendliness, new facilities"
"Students were really friendly and calming."
"The campus and facilities are really awesome after renovations and improvements"
"The campus, the students, the laid-back setting of the interview."
"The students are extremely personable. The facilities are unbelievable. They really did a lot to put me at ease the whole day."
"I worked there this past summer doing research and the med student in my lab was my group leader for the day and also walked me to my interview room. It made me feel very welcome that she sought me out! Also I love that so many health resources are available for training. Their simulation lab is fabulous!"
"The medical students that greeted us and gave us tours were extremely friendly and very enthusiastic about OU. It seems like they all have really enjoyed their experience, so their enthusiasm was contagious and exciting!"
"The students and interviewers were all very friendly. All the students I met seemed happy to be there. Student ambassadors were very helpful. The simulation center and the student modules ("home away from home") are very nice. The 2010 curriculum seems like a positive change (I heard the term "student friendly" said a few times). A lot of development going on around the school."
"The interview was very friendly and relaxed, which made it a low stress environment."
"Their sim center is amazing, and the mods look like a comfortable place to study. Everyone was really nice and honestly tried to make you relax."
"The Clinical Skills Education Testing Center (CSETC). It's an area of the medical school that uses simulators and hired actors to simulate diseases and pains."
"The new modules. It was like every student has his/her own office."
"The facilities at the school (a lot of new construction). The admissions staff is much nicer in person than when you call. It was definitely a lot better than I had anticipated."
"The facilities are top notch. MS lounges and study spaces are outstanding. "Mods" are assigned office space in a quiet area, shared with 19 classmates but which are card-access and include full connectivity, sink, fridge, and so forth. "
"How friendly everyone was."
"The facilities are nice, I was impressed with the Student Support Services and their genuine care for students. The Online curriculum website with recordings of all lectures is impressive. The new simulation building that will open in January of 2009, with birthing and operation simulators. The modules, (assigned friends/study buddies), with each having 20 students in it and having their own group study room, were very impressive. The mod rooms were very nice, newly rennovated, and have desks, lockers, and internet availability for each student."
"The facilities & staff / students. OU's medical center and main campus are going through a lot of growth right now."
"New student mods, current construction on the patient simulators, expanded clinical experiences in the first year, helpful and encouraging student ambassadors and a great admissions staff."
"The clinical skills lab and the mods."
"Everyone was very enthusiastic and constantly made sure you were comfortable. The facility was also very great with the amount of resources they have available for training/studying."
"The plans for renovations for the modules."
"The simulation center, ''Mr. Sim'' :) The students I interviewed with seemed really easy to talk to, I could see myself working well with them. It also seemed like they went out of their way to match interviewers with interviewees with similar interests. *thumbup*"
"The simulation center and cute student tour guide."
"the simulation room."
"The renovations that are due to be complete by fall 2008 look like they will be incredible. The atmosphere of interview day was very relaxed and comfortable, from the orientation period to the interview."
"The tour guides were nice and really tried to calm us down before the interview. The human stimulators were pretty neat too!"
"The facilities at the University are being redone so they will be new for the entering class."
"There online material seemed really good."
"I like their renovation plans. They are very focused on getting help for students academically and providing extracurricular student groups. They really seem to genuinely care about their students."
"The friendliness of the students and how much they seems to love it there, the remodeling of the campus including the new mods and simulation center. They take student feedback seriously and make changes accordingly. "
"There is a lot of growth and remodeling of the campus occuring right now that should be implemented by matriculation of the class of 2012."
"The student guide was really nice. She had nothing but nice things to say about the school and was helpful in answering questions."
"The student guide was really nice. She had nothing but nice things to say about the school and was helpful in answering quetions."
"The resources available to help students learn were some of the best that I've seen. The positive vibe from students. Having nearly all rotations available at the OU Medical Center is a definite plus. The Faculty and staff that I met were all very enthusiastic."
"Overall friendliness of students and faculty. "
"just the thought of being in medical school"
"Historical pictures in the school and dedication to the state of Oklahoma."
"The faculty; I hugged Dotty Shaw <3. "
"Relaxed atmosphere. Everyone was friendly and helpful. Everyone went out of their way to ease your nervousness. "
"The professors were friendly and nice. The medical students made sure we were comfortable and answered our questions. The faculty reminded us not to be nervous and that the interviewers were friendly."
"The online information available for the med students (Hippocrates)"
"The facilities, the faculty members, and the students"
"How welcoming the staff and students were, and how relaxed the interview was."
"The facilities were great and the hippocrates appeared to be a great resource for students. The faculty was also very supportive. I was also impressed with some of the new plans for OU HSC that I was told about in my interview."
"the relaxed atmosphere"
"The enthusiasm of the tour guide and the Hippocrates system."
"The interviewers were very warm, open, and personable. After talking with them for the first 5 minutes, I felt really comfortable."
"The people. Everyone is so friendly and willing to help you and answer any questions that you have. The faculty go out of their way to help you and the other students help eachother to succeed also."
"The faculty was extremely open to student input and valued it readily. In addition, the hippocrates system was incredible."
"The dynamic between the faculty and students was amazing. They seem to have a very casual relationship. The faculty seems dedicated to providing every possible resource for the students to succeed. Hippocrates was pretty cool."
"Everything. The facilities are state-of-the-art and huge. The students are very happy to be there. Their online resources are very impressive as well. The campus itself is very very pretty and everything looks brand new even when it's not."
"Everyone seemed like normal students, not stressed out study machines. People were friendly and encouraging."
"The faculty and staff - all very helpful and poostive about OU. "
"The modules and Hippocrates"
"It was relaxing and the Hippocrates system was really nice."
"My interviewers this year were very nice/conversational."
"The rapport I had with the interviewers. I am a reapplicant this time and they were confrontational last time."
"the mod system, Hippocrates system, and students"
"The people all seemed very down to earth. I felt that they really were there to help the student. The interviewers seemed well prepared and 2 out of 3 seemed very positive throughout the interview."
"Students were enthusiastic and felt like they made the right choice. The mod system seems very cool, and the fact that everything is online is a huge plus for me. Students get to decide whether going to class or not works for them -- we're adults, so I think it's a good system. Block exams. Sort of progressive curriculum that is updated a lot. "
"Seems easy to get into."
"Nothing really."
"I really can't think of much that positively impressed me, other than some of the other students were nice."
"The entire day was impressive. The student tour guides were very friendly, receptive, & seemed to really enjoye their experiences at OU. The interview was more of a conversation than a drill session. I felt that the interviewers were advocates for me, and were just trying to get to know me aside from my application."
"The school appears to truly put the students first and give them every opportunity to succeed. I was also very impressed with the hippocrates system and the patient simulators. Finally, everyone from the school was so nice, interviewers, tour-guides, and amdinistration included."
"The technology and the facilities are nice. Hippocrates and the Simulation Center are awesome!"
"Faculty is excellent, students and faculty are all friendly and appear quite happy, Hippocrates website is very nice, currently lots of effort to improve facilities. Also, simulation lab is pretty nifty. Interviewers were very nice and made the interview more conversational than interrogatory."
"Hippocrates system, although people knock what it represents (or their idea anyway), truly kicks ass. For any learning style, there is a resource for you. "
"Simulation Center is MONEY. You can practice intubation and putting in a central line on dummies. I have always loved the campus. The med students were pretty cool (so were the pre-meds)."
"School has a lot of money and is pouring it into great new facilities; Hippocrates is neato; the faculty are really top-notch and are both brilliant and accessible; cost of living in OKC is laughably low (huge apartments near campus for ~$200/month); friendly people all around."
"All of the students conducting interviews and heading up the day were extremely enthusiastic and strongly recommended attending OU."
"The staff and students were very helpful and friendly. Even students not involved in the tour were encouraging and willing to help."
"The facilities were great and the mock patients seemed like a good learning tool."
"The student hosts that did our tour and luncheon. They were awesome and made us feel very welcome. They were very knowledgable about the program, and seemed genuinely happy about being med students at OU. "
"The interviewers were very friendly and it more conversational than drilling questions. Even though some of my questions weren't perfect, I was able to ask them what they thought. I feel the location and campus is the best place to be taught in Oklahoma. I got to speak with fourth years who were going into residency and was impressed with how competitive they were with other students from top-ranking schools."
"Being able to go into the anatomy lab, friendly student ambassadors and staff."
"Everything. The school was great. The facilities are the best I have ever seen. The technology is top notch. Great resources there for me to get a great education."
"Everything - I thought the parking lot was easy to find from the map and I enjoyed the "long" tour of the campus. The facilities, simulators, technology, and students were awesome. Also, Dr Hall spent 30 minutes with us answering questions prior to the interviews/tours, and was great - very honest and informative. Also impressed by the student organizations and opportunities."
"The facilities and programs, encouraging words from the students."
"Dr. Schmit. He gave an introduction to the simulators. He was so energetic and welcoming. I was also impressed with the simulators."
"hippocrates, campus, simulation room"
"Hippocrates (all the lessons, Simulation Room w/ Dr. Schmidt, the Gross Anatomy Lab w/ pickled deformed babies in jars (very cool), Classrooms are all wired!"
"The facilites and the general student-faculty relationships. "
"The facilities, the mods, the simulators, the campus, Hippocrates. "
"The size and scope of the hospital and clinic facilities."
"The simulation equipment, the size of the campus and facilities."
"The mod system is a great idea and the simulation center is really awesome. Seems like you really learn the practical side of being a doctor as well as all the academics, great facilities, excellent staff...oh yeah and a really good lunch."
"The students were really happy to be there-- they seemed to actually be enjoying med school."
"Hippocrates, the mod system, the facilities, the students. It's all wonderful."
"The module system and Hippocrates. The whole college seems to have a really supportive atmosphere. I know that I could be successful at this college, because there is every resource available to you."
"The interviewers and the folks giving the tour were nice."
"the interviewers were really warm and friendly and the facilities were great. OU has everything that other schools brag about, from special interest groups to studying abroad. They have a lot of stuff online- videos of dissections, lectures, ANYTHING. Also, they let you know VERY soon if you are accepted or not- less than 2 weeks!"
"Student and faculty had a great attitude. The mod system is a great idea. Also, Hippocrates looks impressive and seems like it will be very helpful. "
"I came into the interview not expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised. I loved the simulation room that gives students a chance to practice some techniques on models before having to be nervous around a patient. Hippocrates offers students with all different types of learning styles an awesome resource to be successful in class. OU is also great to encourage an international rotation during the fourth year of med school. The students and faculty that I met also seemed to be really friendly. "
"Almost everything - The people are fantastic, very communicative and well-organized. They have really taken care of many of the problems that were reported on SDN last year with the organization and scheduling of the day. I was also impressed with the community physicians interviewing and contributing their time to the school, always a good sign. Hippocratis was amazing and its presenter Rob Friedman(?) incredibly positive and welcoming to the student groups. TAs a veteran of IDL classes, I was very impressed -- he school and he have a lot to be proud of in their online curriculum and tools. The simulation tools ("Harvey", "Mr. Sims" ) were also an eye-opener. I was also positively impressed by their module structure and by their program of having medical students met the families of body donors. "
"To echo other sentiments, Hippocrates is really an incredible resource. The sheer amount of information they make available online is staggering. It sounds like the modules are a big help in getting to know other students. The extensive simulation center is a jaw-dropper. They have a simulation man (Mr. Sim) worth a quarter million. Truly impressive, and I would think very valuable in the learning process."
"Hippocrates is a web-based tool that OU has developed that is really a leading edge technology. Other top 25 schools that I visited don't have this technology. The site includes MP3 files of the lectures, videos of all the disections you are expected to perform as shown by the professor, message boards for students to communicate about class and social life, and much much more. The lunch was apparently an improvement over last year's "box lunch". We had a catered buffet with plenty left over for seconds if you didn't have breakfast. Also, OU is one of four comprehensive health science centers in the US meaning that it has other schools on the campus such as nursing, dentistry, pharmacy, etc. This allows for a broad range of individuals to interact with at the student center and in activities such as intramural sports. There is really too much that I was impressed with. Even if you are a strong applicant for top 25 schools, I would encourage you to interview and check-out OU and what it has to offer. "
"I was thoroughly impressed with OU. They have so much going for them, and the health sciences center is gigantic. If I'm accepted itll be very difficult to turn them down especially with in-state tuition. The modules are really neat and gives a great sense of community. "
"The interview was a conversation, not an interrogation. Lunch was fabulous - grilled chicken & cheesy potatoes. The parking lot was easy to find from the map. Even though the lot was getting full, the map did show alternate lots. Med students were informative and everyone was extremely nice - OU is great at focusing on the student."
"Everything. The hippocrates website is amazing, there are even videos on it that you can watch of the various techniques used in the gross anatomy lab to prepare before you go to lab. The sweet simulation dummy that they have. Everyone was super nice and very friendly. The day was very organized and well planned. I felt like the school gave a top notch presentation on what they are about. The facilities there are immense and very very well funded."
"students. down to earth, laid back. seemed to enjoy each other. they go out, spend time together, etc. the mod system is like nothing i have seen at other schools. they put you in groups of 15 to 20 students at the start of school and you hang out with these people thru your first two years. it seemed that if you wanted to learn some good medicine, you could do it at ou. if you wanted to just coast thru and barely pass w/o working too hard, you could do that at ou too. school has some fancy scmancy high tech curriculum."
"the students seemed to be a close group, and they were eager to answer any questions or concerns the interviewees had"
"students were cool"
"the facilities were nice, interview was prompt and well-organized"
"Nothing much left immediately after the interview. interviewers were so nice"
"Despite claims of poor organization the interview day ran smoothly; first year students that hosted us were happy and note succumbed by overwhelming study -- they can still have a life at this university and are competitive with other schools."
"This school is trying to be very technological advanced. They have a medical simulation lab and all of their facilities are very nice. OU is putting alot of money into the place."
"The nature of the people there, they were all friendly and approachable"
"students were really nice and the presenations about the school were impressive"
"The campus was very nice. It looked liked they had just completed some rennovations. "
"I thought the hippocrates system was awesome."
"The students were very laid back - like VERY laid back. More so than in undergrad. They seemed to have a very active social life and stated that the partying in med school was even better than in undergrad. However they do study very hard during test block. The students showed us some of their hilarious party pics and told us some interesting stories. Every thursday night they have a program in which the med school takes over a hole-in-the-wall bar. One guy started pouring beers all over the floor at his own party. Even some of the professors get in on the party action. Some could look at all the partying as a lack of maturity on the part of the students but I found it refreshing to see students that can have a good time and speak openly about it. Their facilites are absolutely huge (but the college doesn't try to sell them). Millions of dollars of renovation completed last year. It was kind of admirable that the school did not try to put a hard sell on you. Even when the med students showed the traditional "come to our school" video they admitted it was cheesy."
"I must also say that the online resources available through Hippocrates were amazing. It is also very promising to see some of the new facilities coupled with the fact that construction is continuing. OU is a very well established medical school/hospital, and it has not reached its peak."
"As mentioned in other postings, the Hippocrates website was phonomenal. It offers everything that a medical student would need to be successful. I was also really impressed with the school's module system."
"Great interviewers, great facilities, money put into the campus renovations has paid off."
"I thought it was interesting that their GPA correlates very well (according to them) with their USMLE Step 1 scores (R=.81 or something). It seemed like the students had a lot of free time, although we may have just been talking to the easy-going ones. "
"WOW! The interview was awesome. No beating around the bush. I was paid some of the highest compliments I have ever received in my entire life. (Will not go into specifics to keep from sounding like bragging) Anyway, my interviewers were wonderful. Each one asked several questions based off of my application, as well as a few personal questions. Answered my pointed questions about why OU over OSU, without missing a beat, denigrating others, or failing to point out their own faults. Good people who gave me some valuable insight into my own characteristics that I had never considered. The rest of the day also went pretty well, lunch was okay for box lunch, and the tour was decent (Would have liked to see more, but appreciated not having to walk for miles in uncomfortable shoes)"
"The tools available over the internet, with class notes, questions, and videos. Also, the patient simulators appeared to be a good idea to practice some basic procedures without the pressure of having to work on an actual person."
"Hippocrates, the student website is the best use of internet technology by a medical that I have seen, and I've been to some very highly ranked schools. The module system seems like a neat way to get to know and work with your classmates. The clinical program, according to one of my interviewers, is very good."
"The facilities were tremendous. Unlike some of the med schools I've attended, they actually mentioned SCHOLARSHIPS...exciting. As a previous poster said OU is NOT a top 50 school, however in my opinion the technology, support, and money are first rate. As a student currently at Okla. State, I think US NEWS needs to give Oklahoma schools the respect they deserve! "
"The school in general impressed me. I didn't know what to expect from the school or how it stacked up against other schools around the country, but after the interview and tour of the campus, I believe that the school offers a solid program despite the fact that it doesn't get a whole lot of national attention. I view the patient contact early in the first year as a positive aspect of the school that some other medical schools don't offer. Also, I think the diverse curriculum is outstanding. Specifically, the Hippocrates online learning supplement is phenomenal. This website includes a multimedia learning tool with such resources as mp3s of lectures, various videos and tutorials, an online question bank, etc. The module system also seems pretty helpful. It gives a student a chance to know other students more closely than otherwise might be possible in a class of 150. Each module is provided with a large room with a couple computers that seems like a great place to study or meet up with fellow "mod mates." In general, the students seemed really excited about the school, its programs, and its future. With the curriculum, resources, and excellent facilities, Oklahoma seems able to provide a top-notch medical education that would allow a student to pursue a career in anything from family medicine to surgery."
"Lots of internet resources, computer simulated patients, lots of big buildlings."
"the interview was really laid back and the interviewers wanted to get to know you"
"1. Facilities 2. Students 3. Atmosphere"
"The facilities are very nice and the students and faculty great."
"The faculty was extremely nice. They went out of their way to make me feel comfortable. My interviewers were very laid back. I went in and tried to act as enthusiastic as I could (even though I was a nervous wreck), and it looks as if my enthusiasm paid off. The students at the school impressed me as well. They were very sociable, and they were willing to answer any questions I had about the school. One girl was even kind enough to go find the interview list and tell me who I had, and if she knew them or not. The campus is outstanding as well. They just spent 15 million dollars remodeling the campus."
"the school had some very nice facilities, the module system is impressive, new classrooms, etc. The school is great."
"The students...they were very friendly and honest about the school. The modules in the BSEB are fantastic too."
"OU Tulsa - nothing; OU OKC - from the interview, it didn't feel like they really tried to get to know me (probably from lack of time); students didn't have many answers about curriculum changes (comparing them to OU Tulsa students who were able to provide answers on this)"
"There was lots of clicking into and out of different Zoom links, it could've been streamlined"
"The lectures they give at the beginning of the interview day are very dry and boring. Library is a snooze I guess? But you can't expect much from libraries. There are plenty of other and better places to study."
"Some parts of the day were a little long and boring. It was hard to maintain an interested face."
"The interview groups were large. You interviewed by yourself, but there were a lot of people who interviewed on the day."
"Poor recidivism of GI fellowship to home residency applicants. Definitely warned by multiple residents if seeking GI, go somewhere else and apply in."
"Med students taking us on our tour didn't seem to know what they were doing. Although, they were still friendly and answered all our questions."
"The interviewers were not current on the correlation between MCAT area score and perfomance in medical school. One interviewer openly criticized the new curriculum (which was refreshing, but really?). The students were immature and conceited. They did nothing to make interviewees feel welcome, and were more concerned with gossiping about what was going on over the weekend. I had no interest in joining them in medical school when I was done with my day."
"The use of the desire to learn website. I personally do not like that program."
"The interviewers didn't seem interested at all, the fact that they had an interview marathon of 70 interviews in one day made it seem like I was the last person they had to see for this year's applicants and they were just ready to get it over with. (bc of weather and something that hasnt happened in two decades)"
"Questions sometimes were fired from one direction--3 people interviewed me, but at times only one person would be asking the questions for quite a while, making it feel kind of like an interrogation."
"We got finished with the tour 30 minutes early so they just sat us in this room to awkwardly kill the time."
"Didn't show us the anatomy lab - maybe it is not up to par with the rest of campus?"
"My interview was at a table in an open area of the library, which was a little distracting with others listening/walking around."
"The interviewers paused A LOT during my interview. They would ask a question and I would answer and then they would stare at each other for what felt like 10 minutes (prob more like 1 min) before asking another question. Later I found out this is a common tactic used to see if the interviewee will get mouth diarrhea. I just wish I'd know ahead of time b/c it made me nervous!"
"The construction (which is actually a good thing) can lead to some challenges in driving around the area, but nothing major."
"Nothing!"
"Nothing that I can think of right off the bat, OU is my first choice."
"The limited amount of good, affordable housing near the Health Sciences Center."
"Not much."
"Student ambassadors and faculty alike were unable to give specific answers to questions on retention, board prep, and match rates. "
"The campus living is very limited (~50 apartments...), and they are small and overpriced. "
"As a current student, I would highly suggest you do your homework on this school. We have a Step 1 boards passing rate that is well below the national average which the faculty ignores. There is no review curriculum for Step 1. Also ask about our attrition rate, we lost 10 people in our class in just the first year. Ask about the transition into 3rd year too. The curriculum is very disorganized during third year. We don't formally learn how to draw blood or run IV's, that is done on your own. We don't learn how to write orders, even though PA students do. There's just really little support for students here past the basic science years. In third year we have no rights, and the faculty really forget we exist. There's a substantial amount of us who will never contribute money back to the school because of how little they support our education. Definitely do your homework on this school and don't let them sell you a lemon if you can afford to go someplace better."
"The buildings seemed confusing, but probably to be expected on a large Health Science Center."
"The anatomy lab. Very poor lighting and a horrendous color on the lockers and in the room. The room overall felt depressing."
"The construction and location isn't the best at all, as it's not only downtown, but parking isn't good."
"nothing, really...there was a lot of construction so it wasn't very pretty, but that was about it"
"The students interviewing seemed uptight."
"the modules (they are being renovated in january though)"
"Nothing, really."
"Nothing really...OU is my number one choice!"
"nothing really"
"The class size."
"Nothing, I was pretty impressed."
"They are planning on changing the curriculum to more problem-based and self study but my class won't be able to use it (goes into effect in about two years) "
"I really wasn't negatively impressed by anything at this interview."
"The mod rooms looked ancient. They tried too hard to ''sell'' the school. Actual interview was a plethora of political and ethical questions, scattered in different directions and asked periodically throughout the interview. Current students were not too friendly and generally did not speak to us or smile."
"Some of the buildings could use a facelift."
"Nothing I can think of."
"only one classroom, undersized, apparently you often have to watch lectures from the overflow room (or you little group room, which doesn't sound too bad)."
"Facilities, the emphasis they put on Hippocrates (a website), lack of enthusiasm, general negativity from all that were a part of the school. "
"The anatomy lab was in the basement and ghetto. The student tour guides didn't appreciate my humor."
"Modules and building look a bit old. But they're renovating."
"Some of the facilities are not in the best condition, but they are remodeling it this year."
"Oklahoma City is a little smaller town than I'm used to."
"Not much. I wish the students who were our tour guide were a little more knowledgeable about what was generally happening at the University. They only seemed to know the information that was relevant to them as first year students."
"nothing, I want to go to OU, so of course I am not going to say anything negative about it"
"Nothing really. Except the directions to the parking lot are completely wrong. You have to enter from a hidden street on the south side of the lot."
"The buildings are a bit old and campus was not as scenic as I anticipated. (easy to compromise there, however)"
"They've tried really hard to make the buildings and facilities look good, but without fantastic results. Many of the buildings are old and grungy inside and out. They could use a significant remodel."
"Nothing. OU Medical School is lacking nothing."
"Not really a negative (our guide was great), but I wish we could have had more chances to talk to more students - just to hear a variety of experiences. That said, we did get to chat with several along the way and at the lunch. I just have little negative to say and this is the only thing I coudl suggest. "
"The outdated equipment, anatomy lab in a dungeonous area of a building."
"Location, location, location. The anatomy lab is in the basement and seemed poorly ventilated."
"We went into the anatomy lab and there were babies (embry's they called them) in glass containers. I'm a mom and this really bothered me."
"The mods seem a little old, but they're updating those."
"Lunch :( Pork Sloppy Joes!? Were all in our best suits and you want to feed us Sloppy Joes? What about the Muslim applicants?"
"some of the facilities need to be updated, but it seems like they're working on that"
"The mods looked like a neat idea but are getting a bit old. However, they said those are being renovated."
"Oklahoma City is not my favorite city. You can do your last two years in Tulsa, which I would want to do 'cause Tulsa's nicer. "
"They are closing some of their residency programs. Some have already closed. Very little clinical experience provided. Low USMLE passing rates on average."
"Almost every area of the facility has to be shared with other students (ie...dentists, etc.) They showed me this cool state of the art practice dummy, then tell me that only Residents are allowed to use it. Med students get all the old stuff from the 80s and 90s."
"Lack of diversity. The tour guide mentioned that they have Baptists and Methodists and Christians as their diversity. I'm sure the Jewish and Muslim applicants were thrilled to see Pork served for lunch."
"Nothing, I left with the impression that OU is a first rate medical school that truly cares about the students. They are by far my first choice."
"Lunch was very good, but all of the presentations that we had after lunch were unimpressive. I can't even tell you what they were b/c they were so bad. Also, one of my interviewers was a foreign-born pathologist. I had a very hard time understanding his questions and relating to him."
"Lunch was ehh...financial aid and student services presentations were a bit lackluster."
"As someone else said, FA and student services were basically a waste of time. They could be better. Maybe I just couldn't get past the FINANCIAL AID rep calling the FINANCIAL AID form the FAS-FA. Last time I had a schpiel from them they said the same thing. It just makes my teeth hurt and when my teeth hurt, I can't listen to anything else you're saying."
"Interview was rough! Financial aid + student services info. was pretty lame."
"There is a huge difference between what a school DOES and what a school IS. OU DOES many things well (see above section on great faculty recruitment, IT innovation, and facility improvement); OU IS many things that are not appealing. First, it is in Oklahoma City, which is not an amazing place. And it is a state school, meaning that it must accept >85% in-state applicants. This means that the caliber of students simply isn't as high as it is at other schools. This isn't a knock against Oklahomans; it's just a fact. The board scores at OU aren't especially high, even though the instructors seem to be quite good. California state schools can keep a strong medical school program going by accepting mainly CA residents because there are so many people out there, but OU just doesn't have as many students to choose from. If they want to compete for more top applicants, OU is going to have to reform its application policies (perhaps offer in-state tuition to adjoining state residents; accept fewer OK residents; start the interview process in September instead of December; etc). It's a school with great potential but it needs more work. "
"The area we ate lunch was not extremely accomodating for our group. It felt like they set it up last minute."
"It was an extremely cold morning. Other than that, nothing."
"Nothing really. The parking is a bit far, but it's not too bad, unless it were to be pouring down rain. "
"Some of the work seems to be too coputer based while I'm more of a hands-on learner. personal preferance."
"Having to wait until 11:00 to interview. The attitude of one of my interviewers was one of complete disinterest. Nothing I said seemed to be interest or satisfy this person."
"I am really struggeling to come up with something... Well I guess the doughnuts they gave us in the morning were a little blahh..... that is as good as I can come up with."
"Really nothing. If I had to pick something, it would be that we have to wait until mid-March for an acceptance/rejection/waitlist letter (I hope my patience holds out that long!)."
"It stolid demeanor from my group of interviewers. They were very difficult to read, making the interview uncomfortable (I got this response from other interviewees as well)."
"Modules. The thought of spending the next two years with the same 20 people is scary. The room for the modules is gloomy - no windows, brown everything - I don't think I could spend 4hours everyday in that room."
"The MOD rooms (assigned homerooms, yes people, we all get cubbies again like in first grade) are a bit worn down. "
"The location, the interviewers. "
"Trying to find the parking lot."
"The medical students who gave the tour and talked to us during the day were not very professional. "
"Not much really..."
"My interview was extremely stressful. This is my fourth, and it was by far the most high-pressure and unpleasant-- however, almost everyone else reported a very relaxed and pleasant interview, so I think it must have been luck of the draw (or lack thereof) with my committee."
"Nothing really got my attention in a bad way."
"This was by far the most stereotypical "why do you want to be a doctor" interview I've had - they didn't seem too interested in me. And the student on my committee just sat there the whole time. The facilities are nice, but the school is in a slum and I felt like the whole school had a very mechanized approach to medicine. And Nancy Hall, who I'm sure you'll meet, is one of the most off-putting people I've ever met"
"Nothing....seriously. I was more impressed than I thought I'd be. Before, I honestly wasn't too impressed w/OU because I bought into all the BS about private schools and stuff, but OU is definitely underated."
"Nothing really."
"Nothing. I am originally from Oklahoma, but have been out of the state for some time. I wondered how I would rate OU's College of Medicine against some of the others that I have applied to/interviewed with -- at the presentation/interview OU really exceeded every expectation I had and is now a top choice for me."
"The module system seems like it may dictate who your friends are going to be - many of the students said they barely knew anybody outside of their mod."
"Most of the students at my interview (which happened to be the first day of interviews despite the fake posting in November on this website) were from either OU or OSU so a lot of them knew each other or students who were actually med students while I didn't know anybody. This wasn't a negative because I felt lonely, but because it doesn't seem like OU is getting a wide variety of students from even the universities with OK residents. There were many races represented, but I think many times a student from Iowa State and a student from OU who are both from the same race are more different than two students who are from OU and both happen to be from different ethnic backgrounds. Also, some of the students seemed to have been rejected from years past who were holding onto a prayer that this might be their year. It was VERY common that a student was there for the 2nd or 3rd time interviewing. Some of the med students also had tried as much as 3 or 4 times to get in before the magic happened. I don't know if interviews are keeping them out or what, but it seems that if a student is rejected for 2 years that they shouldn't be invited back the next year for the first day of interviews. I thought perhaps that maybe the MCAT or GPA had changed from years past, but one of the applicants (who was very friendly I might add) said that all he had changed was his personal statement "a little bit". Let me just say that the students that I met seem more qualified for medical school that some other people I have know that have went to medical school. Therefore I assume that either they really want to go to OU (maybe for the football tickets) or they definitely don't want to go to a DO medical school. I am excited and passionate about medicine and if OU doesn't accept me and another school does, I have no plans on waiting for OU to "come around" even though I think it is an excellent school. Although these are "negative" comments, I want to add that I completely enjoyed OU, the students, and the applicants and eagerly await my letter concerning my status which will be sent out on December 13th. I do want to make sure I present the entire picture. "
"I heard if you don't go to OU for undergrad you may not get football season tickets as a 1st year which sucks. "
"Nothing at all!"
"Well I got a parking ticket because I guess I parked in the wrong lot, but they took care of it."
"This is correspondence MD at its finest. Told that most students never attend class, just study note groups and syllabus (seems hardly worth all that tuition). USMLE scores way below national average, which I attribute partially to what appears to be a disorganized curriculum (most schools leave some time in the schedule to prepare for the boards). Not worth the money for the flight, and certainly at the bottom...very bottom...of my list."
"the dean. i guess it is good that the students said he didnt interact with them much. seemed to be much animosity between students and administrators. apparently there was a big shake up in the dean's office a few years back and nothing has really been the same since. they apparently are not as "student friendly" as they used to be. bygones. not too terribly diverse. all the first years that talked with us seemed to be cut from the same mold. maybe that is why students seem to get along well."
"I don't know how I feel about everyone homeschooling. It is still kinda weird to me."
"attitudes of students; "i just want to drink & get C's & become a general practitioner" "oh, i do not attend classes; only 1/3 of students attend." "ah...there is a social meeting at different bars every thusday."you'll see students there you didn't know were in medical school because they weren't in class.(this dude is the "class goer")"
"the students didn't seem to be of a high caliber, disinterested in medicine and happy to be "in med school" "
"Parking lot is impossible to understand"
"The indifferent response from my interviewers with the above most difficult question."
"anatomy lab seemed like a dungeon"
"nothing worth mentioning"
"They should call it The University of Phoenix Medical School. The students never go to class. Isn't faculty instruction part of what we pay for? I'll just get my MD fr reading textbooks otherwise. Do the doctors they produce ever actually see patients in person or do they just fix them over the 'net somehow? "
"The disorganization of the whole day. "
"The day was so disorganized it was unbelievable. They just threw us all in a room and had random people come in and talk to us. Mostly the med students would come in and talk to us at random. It wasn't bad, just a very unorthodox approach. The school is great - they do big research, and have big resources but they deffinately don't try to sell the school at ALL. I guess this is because state students will come here regardless since it is the only school in the state. The tour was lead by an M IV who didn't want to go out in the cold and show us around. Its all the same - it seems tours don't really help students memorize the lay of the land anyhow. It is more for impressing students with the facilities. The administration did not get involved with anything dealing with the interview. The Dean did not talk to us and apparently the students don't see any need to go and talk to him - which is a departure from other med schools ive seen. If I go to OU the heavy partying will definately destroy my liver."
"As some other people have mentioned, the students available during my visit did seem to focus heavily on the social life. In the proper context, though, I think this makes sense. We all want to be physicians, and should rightly be respected and appreciated for the work and devotion it has taken to put us in a position to just be in medical school. In that respect, it is good to see that the people there work and play hard. However, as a married student, I consider myself to be a bit past the undergraduate mentality of partying all the time and drinking until you can't see straight (One third year student told the story of one of his colleagues that was so drunk at a party that he poured a whole can of salsa on his head.) It would have been nice to hear more from the less vocal/social class members. "
"The student body. We had the opportunity to speak with many 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year students, and I found that the majority of them were more interested in the social life then the student life. In fact, they used this fact as a recruiting tool by telling us how much partying we could do and still pass."
"Tuition increased to $15000/year, the day is a little disorganized."
"They said boards were "at or near [Read: probably not above] the national average." The students apparently never go to class. I wish they had a less traditional curriculum and scrapped the archaic ABCDF grading system. Although I enjoyed talking to the high-caliber students who were interviewing with me, I got the impression that it wasn't a top-choice for very many of them. "
"The first three hours before my interview were very negative. Where do I start. First, most of the student ambassadors looked and acted like they just came out of high school (rather disturbing for older non-trad. students like myself, especially having interviewed at some DO schools where the average age was higher and more maturity displayed). Second, I kept hearing one student in particular telling interviewees how to get out of going to class and saying "OSU SUCKS!" whenever anyone brought it up. Really felt like high school. The structure was awful. They had various scattered presentations while people were in interviews, so for example, several people didn't get to hear the financial aid pres., others missed the curriculum, etc. Awful. I was ready to leave without even doing the interview. Then came my turn. (See above to "What positively impressed you")"
"That very few students go to class, some actually learn all of their material at home over the computer. I don't know if it will actually affect the quality of education, but some classes are actually taken with the dental and pharmacy students."
"Their board scores are "at or near" the national average. I guess that's okay, but all the other schools I've been to were higher. Also, the residency matches weren't terribly impressive."
"Not much. I actually thought the map to the parking lot was clear. The lunch wasn't that hot. "
"Parking is a little tricky. Luckily I planned ahead of time and knew where the lot was located, but some people had trouble locating the proper lot thanks to the map. It wasn't such a big deal to me, but the day wasn't organized very strictly. Interviews began with the first set of students at 8:30 am and continued every hour thereafter until 11:30, which means that there was some free time between interviews to hear about financial aid, student services, etc. But it was a good time to socialize and swap interview experiences. I would liked to have seen more on the tour, but that's not a problem for me. I also don't like the letter-grading system; I would prefer a pass/fail system like most other medical schools offer. Not much else impressed me negatively. I had a really good experience."
"The presentations we were given were disorganized, the tour guide was @ least 45 minutes late so I left wo it as I had to catch my plane, the professors I met seemed interested exclusively in research"
"n/a"
"Nothing stood out as glaring."
"Nothing."
"nothing"
"nothing...the school is wonderful"
"OU Tulsa - I wish I'd known my interview time slot & that similar to OKC, you'll have a panel of 2-3 people interviewing you. It is more casual/relaxed, but they do ask you some typical interview Qs. OU OKC - that the focus really does seem to be just on the core competencies for the interview"
"It was less stressful than I was expecting it to be"
"your interview is split into two sessions. The first asks questions that coincide with each of the values of aamc."
"First half of the interview is closed file, with just LORs and personal statement visible, They formed questions from the AAMC core competencies. After this part, you leave the room and they look over the rest of your file. You go back in and it's more relaxed; they ask questions regarding the rest of your file (if there's anything that concerns them) and you're able to tell them anything else you want to bring up."
"Reviewing my experiences so I could pull from them on the fly as examples to some of my answers, but not to get too stressed because the whole environment is very encouraging and chill."
"There was a lot more walking on this tour than I had done on other tours. My feet hurt :("
"Thought about more "remember when" prompts."
"All of the questions are situational ("Tell me about a time when...")."
""The interview is just to make sure you're normal." & "Even students with 3.25 GPA get in.""
"I wish I had taken the "low stress" reports seriously. I was way more nervous than necessary and it was apparent in my interview."
"Lots of walking"
"That I really soundn't have been as nervous as I was (though, it was my first interview of the season)"
"I felt prepared for this interview."
"This was my second time to interview. I felt very prepared."
"The interviewers were very nice and the student on the committee was really laid back (not the dreaded 4th yr student that grills you worse than the doctors that you always hear about)"
"nothing really. Just be yourself."
"Exactly what time my interview would be."
"To go over questions they would ask about me specifically... They asked a lot about my application/family/hobbies, etc."
"To do as much as possible to relax, to be me and nothing more."
"You won't know what time your interview is until you arrive. It will be at 9:00, 10:00, or 11:00. They will split you into 3 groups of about 10 people, and you will interview at the same time as the other students in your group. There are 10 interview committees, so once your group arrives for the interview, you will each be escorted into a private room to be interviewed individually. This way, you don't have to wait "your turn," to be interviewed. All 10 of you are interviewed at the same time, but in different rooms with different people. ALSO, since there are 9-10 different interview committees, remember that there is a lot of opportunity for variation in the personalities and interview styles of the committees. Even if people tell you their interview was a "breeze," be prepared for a high-stress interview just in case!"
"Nothing more than I already knew."
"When my interview time would be."
"Relax! This interview is a chance for your interviewer to get to know you, not a chance for them to try to make you cry."
"Nothing, I was well prepared."
"The interview is a semi-blind interview, with the 1st half being closed academic file. The interviewers have your activities list and personal statements, but recommendation letters, GPA, and MCAT are all closed. You are asked to leave for ~10 minutes and then return and they continue with any more questions, including, but not limited to, academics."
"New interview method: The interview is now conducted in 2 sections. During the first 30 minutes the committee has only seen your Personal statment & Activities. After that you will be excused from the room for 5-10 minutes while they review your transcript, MCAT, and letters. After that they will interview you for the remaining 30 minutes."
"There are three interview times: 9, 10, and 11. Don't arrive all amped or nervous to interview at 9 because you may find yourself waiting until 11."
"That the interview was not too formal at all. It was very comfortable and laid back (within reason of keeping your composure)."
"I knew a lot about this school, because I work there and have friends who already are attending medical school there."
"that the interview would be SO laid back. I suppose I heard from other people, but you don't really believe it until it's yours!"
"The day was very short."
"to not be too stressed/nervous about it. the interviewers just really wanted to get to know you."
"I wish I would have known that the environment would be that relaxed -- I wouldn't have been so nervous!"
"They are considering switching to systems based learning."
"that I should have a lot more volunteer experience..."
"There isn't much around OK city."
"I wish I knew about the traffic. Had I came earlier I would've gotten a free breakfast!"
"Due to extensive research of this COM, I felt like I was really prepared for what happened."
"That this school was not for me."
"Just how much I felt ''at home'' during the whole day. "
"Parking. Take Everest St. Other than that my preparation served me very well. I'm not great in front of people and tend to freeze up. People will say it's really easy, but it's all relative. I was VERY happy that I overprepared and had thought about a wide variety of questions."
"I didn't really get asked anything directly about my application. I would be prepared to answer a question like ''who are you'' or ''why do you want to be a doctor'' or ''why should we let you into medical school'' or ''what are your positive/negative traits'', but don't try and prepare answers to all the other possible questions they could ask (cause you will rarely get any of them, and depending on how you answer those first questions, you can basically steer the course of the interview)."
"Where the Byrd Library was and where to park. "
"That the interview was wonderful and positive, and that all the negativity surrounding it was bullshit, and the people who spouted it were morons."
"Turn on Eversett not Lotti to get to the conference lot. The map is vague."
"I should not have been as nervous because the interview was extremely laid back."
"That the committee would be so welcoming."
"The parking lot is a little difficult to find."
"I wish I had known that there is about a 20 minute grace period for check-in, so I didn't freak out when I was stuck in traffic. "
"Just relax and be yourself like everyone says. They really just want to get to know you. If you have an interview, they already know you're smart enough to get in. They want to see that you are a real person, have interests outside of school, and actually do things beside study. They want to see that you can work well with people."
"I wish the map for the parking lot was accurate. The map they gave us was ridiculously inaccurate and the parking lot was almost impossible to find. "
"How casual the interview would be. There were no hard questions. It felt like they were genuinely trying to get to know me."
"I was amazed at how familiar they all seemd to be with my application, even thought they hadn't had that much time to look it over."
"I had read all the SDN feedback and the OU 2010 board - I felt very well informed! "
"There were fourty other applicants that day."
"Where the real conference parking lot is.--You don't enter off of Lottie as the map shows."
"Nothing. I was prepared and new all about the program because I do research at this University and researched the College of medicine."
"Having a pharmacy and nursing school etc. on campus ensured plenty of eye candy!"
"Not really important but they interview a ton of people on each interview day. "
"Facilities were no where near as nice as those at the other schools I've visited."
"The level of unhappiness among the students I spoke with. I talked with 6 of them and four had complaints...you could tell they were not too thrilled to be at OU."
"That this is not the school for me. I want to be able to use my mind through medical school and think for myself. OU seems to want to program people to be ultra-conservative invasive religious idealogues. "
"My responses would dictate, for the most part, the questions that the interviewers asked, and to prepare for a conversatioal interview."
"OU is a top notch school. I didn't think it would be as impressive as it seemed. Oh, and I have read a couple of negative exeriences in which the claim was made that OU was trying to compare itself to other top-tier programs. Personally, I heard none of that. I only heard them claim to provide the best education that they could, which was impressive. Again, I just recommend that you relax!"
"It's a little bit of a walk from the parking lot, and it was really cold that day. Bring a jacket if the weather is still cold."
"I wish I had known that the interviews were minimally stressful, just sitting down for a chat. Maybe then I wouldn't have been as nervous and not fumbled a little over some questions."
"Nothing really, other than parking situation, but I left early enough to recon a bit and had time for mistakes. See travel info below."
"That interviews did not have a sense of humor... I would have not made jokes if I had known."
"Students were very frank about abusing Hippocrates (online database of lecture MP3's, powerpoints, videos, and notes) and not going to class. I had read that this was a problem on previous SDN posts and had thought it was exaggerated, but it's not. I would guess that at least 1/2 of students almost never go to class... and that's a conservative estimate."
"I had interviewed here before so there were no real surprises."
"Dont be nervous. The interview was relaxed and much easier than my pre-med interview. The other students I was interviewing with all agreed with me."
"Wear comfortable shoes, we did a fair bit of walking touring the beautiful campus. "
"The simulation lab, hippocrates, the campus location"
"Nothing."
"I knew A LOT about the school already."
"Nothing - I felt very well prepared. I was glad that I brought a pair of comfortable walking shoes for the tour (I put my heels in my hand bag during the tour)."
"The possibility of having to direct/initiate questions explaining my objectives that I erroneously assumed they would ask."
"Nothing "
"Names of interviewers so I can questions about them and get to know them."
"The amount of walking we had to do. "
"The enterence to the conference parking lot was on 8th street and not on Lottie as the map showed. "
"On the way there traffic was horrible and the map they give you is not accurate on where the parking lot is. Give yourself plenty of time to get there and get parked."
"That you really need to bring the walking shoes that they talk about."
"When they say bring walking shoes, they mean it! I have huge blisters from trekking all over campus in my dress shoes :("
"I pretty much knew what to expect since I was there interviewing last year."
"Just don't forget anything. and if you've never been there, make sure you know how to get to the parking lot. "
"Bring some walking shoes if you don't like trekin' in heels. "
"Most of the information presented during the visit was available online or in materials sent out by the school. It was great to be able to affirm some of the information and actually see many of the tools. "
"The lunch was awesome - I would have skipped my crappy breakfast to make more room."
"OU interviews one week a month for each of Dec., Jan., and Feb. They mail out interview dates for each month individually (in other words, the people who will interview in Jan still haven't received their interview letters). There are 3 or 4 sessions each of these weeks with about 25 students per session. Therefore, OU interviews 270 students for 150 spots, so congrats if you get an interview because you have an excellent shot at getting in. Note though, that typically OU doesn't get rejected by as many people as private schools do because a common OU applicant is from OU and will go there (if for no other reason than in-state tuition), hence they accept only a few more students than actually matriculate. Also, know that the interview day begins at 830am and ends about 230pm. However, your interview is at 9, 10, or 11, and after it is over you could technically leave and no be penalized. I would encourage you to at least stay until lunch time to be sure to get an opportunity to see the simulator and Hippocrates presentations."
"hearing about the possibility of not getting football tickets was a bummer."
"I felt well prepared, and had taken a campus tour before, so nothing really surprised me."
"How great OU really is. It is now my top choice over "higher ranked" schools."
"average board scores. like exactly average. the school should probably be listed in us news. oklahoma is not a very healthy place---> good for docs!!!"
"More advice - show them who you are. They have all the facts and figures. Be yourself. If you make jokes, make jokes. Do what it is that makes you YOU. Don't be something you want them to see. Be what you are."
"quality of students "
"it was much more pleasent than i had imagined"
"Do not stress yourself out. Most the stress is self-created and the actuall interviews are not nightmares but good memorable life events (even if tough questions are asked)."
"where the parking lot is, because it is hard to find"
"Their commitment to neuroscience"
"the parking lot is hard to find"
"I thought that the students there seemed more interested in drinking and socializing than in being good doctors. The map to the parking lot is really strange, so I wish I'd known where to go. If I had to do it again, I would have brought my own lunch. "
"I was expecting an antagonistic interview, as I was told from friends that have interviewed here before. I was lucky and that wasn't the case at all."
"That the day was very loosely strutcuted. I could have been one hour late and still have been fine."
"Parking can be a little bit confusing if you're not familiar with the area. "
"Nothing. I wasn't really suprised by any of the information gained throughout the interview day."
"Nothing really."
"There was nothing glaringly bad; the school just kind of seemed average. I can't really myself going there, so I wish I wouldn't have spent the money on a plane ticket & a hotel. "
"parking entrance described on the map was gated. Had to find another way in. "
"The directions to the parking lot are not clear. You can not turn in off of the road, instead you have to weave around to get to the other side of the lot to enter."
"The parking lot is kinda hard to get to. Just follow other lost interviewees. That's what I did. Eat before you go. Breakfast isn't much and lunch isn't til 12:30."
"I wish I would have slept in & shown up just in time for my interview. The short presentations were interesting & compelling, but I would have done better had I gotten more sleep!"
"How exceptional the program is. Because the school is not ranked in the top 50, I didn't expect the program to be as solid or as innovative as it is. The resources and facilities are excellent and able to provide a great education. I also didn't know that there are underground tunnels that connect various buildings together. I thought that was pretty neat. Some students may want to locate the parking lot prior to the interview."
"It seems to me that the #1 way to tell if a school is NOT elite is if they are constantly comparing themselves to JH, Harv, Yale, etc, and bragging about how a student last year got into a residency @ one of those. This "wanna-be"-ness was incessant and annoying. If I wanted to go to a badass school, then I would; UOkla needs to emphasize qualities they can really brag about-- huge facilities, lots of $, and low cost. "
"where the building and the parking lot was!"
"1. Facilities 2. The parking lot is not exactly where the map specified that it would be for parking."
"How nice the facilities are."
"I had done a lot of research before my interview, so there were no suprises."
"Some of the interviewers' questions :D"
"OU Tulsa - the medical students & staff participating in interview activities seem to be better prepared/equipped to answer questions regarding upcoming changes, etc. (compared to OKC); OKC - everyone was kind and professional, but a little less welcoming (compared to Tulsa)"
"Overall a great experience! I was expecting to be grilled on the core competencies but I really wasn't. My interviewers were friendly and provided visible/verbal feedback to my answers. The curriculum restructuring seems to be for the better, as they switch to flipped classroom and active learning."
"I had a good time. Much more laid back than I thought it would be."
"Very nice, relaxing environment. The weather was very cold and windy so the tour as a little harsh, but it was a very nice interview day. The lectures were dry, however."
"Semi-blind interview: 40ish minutes of questions where all they have done is read your personal statement. These questions they have already decided on and have written down. Then you leave the room while they take a look at your grades and MCAT for the first time. When you come back in they ask you questions about those. Beware: If you have great grades and a great MCAT they will leave the rest of the 30~40 min to let you ask them questions. Prepare a lot of questions. They actually told me at one point that I looked anxious and they wanted me to relax, its a very chill environment."
"Definitely a good interview experience. Think about your experiences, anticipate prompts and come up with template answers for them. There are two parts to the interview- first closed, then open. After the first half (closed) they will ask you to go outside while they review your grades and MCAT. Then they conduct the second half."
"Small talk with your fellow interviewees will help you; the more closely you bond with these people, the easier it is to excel (while being yourself)-which seems to be what is most desired by those deciding your fate on this day."
"Good school, large teaching hospital, cheap city to live in, I am going for Tulsa over OKC because I'm from Tulsa. Either are adequate training facilites, not top tier, but above the average."
"I so badly wanted to go to school here before my interview. My parents went to school, residency, and fellowship here. I had a very strong link to the school - I grew up rollerblading down the hallways and hung out in my mom's mod every weekend. That link was totally severed on interview day. My interview experience was awful, and I just wanted to leave before the actual interview started. The students had a bad attitude and were more interested in impressing one another than anything else. It is safe to say that I went with another program."
"I am a reapplicant, so I feel I have a little more knowledge about the application process than most.Feel free to give me a pm with any specific questions for the interview. ------......ferarri458"
"I like the school, and its location, the interview was ok but being so late, they seemed to just want to shoo us out of there."
"good experience overall."
"Everyone I met was friendly and informative, the facilities were impressive, and the interview was very relaxed."
"Stress interviews happen, be prepared!"
"Very low stress, conversational type interview."
"I like the interview style at OU. The first 30-40 minutes is "blind" (they have no knowledge of your GPA, MCAT scores, or your letters of recommendation) and the last 10-20 minutes is "open." You will step out of the room for 5 minutes while they open an envelope to reveal the "secret" info. I think this seems like a very fair approach to interviewing. "
"It's already been said before, but it's a two-part interview. The first part is closed file (no grades or MCAT). The second part they have your grades and MCAT. Having a medical student in the interview really eases any tension that you might experience."
"The interview is semi-blind. For the first half, the interviewers have your PS and ECs. You leave for 5 minutes, and they open an envelope containing everything else."
"You should know that you will divided into three groups. The first group goes to interview at 9 the second and third begin the tour with the second interviewing at 10 and the third at 11(my interview time). You can use what you learned on the tour in the interview. Also, you should keep in mind that the first half of the interview is closed file and the second half was open file. In reference to being asked about finances have a well prepared plan. I was honest and said that I am 1) prepared to take out loans, 2) am debt free to this point, 3) have only taken loans and immediately repaid them to build a credit score, 4) have been extensively researching the Air Force to pay medical loans."
"Everyone's on your side. They want you to succeed. Go in their relaxed. Try to imagine what it would be like to be in your interviewers' shoes. Then interview yourself and see how you do. On my interview day, I wasn't sure I was going to be even going to medical school right after undergrad because I was really interested in doing "Teach for America", but after my interview day, I knew OU was where I wanted to be."
"I was not expecting to be so impressed with OU, but I definitely fell in love with it. The interview was much more relaxed than I thought it would be, very conversational instead of interrogation-like. "
"Hippocrates & mods seem like they would make medical school a lot easier."
"I liked the half closed half open file interview format. I think it gives the interviewers a good chance to evaluate an applicant's interpersonal skills, motivations for the profession, etc. before seeing their numbers. I liked the chance to leave the room and evaluate how my interview was going. I had the chance to think about things that I wanted to bring up in the remaining time (which they asked)."
"The interview overall went great. However, as you can see with my interview date, I either didn't have the most stellar MCAT and/or GPA. Therefore, they seemed to have asked me a lot on my grades and if I would retake the MCAT. I'm not sure if it was too feel out what I would do...or if they were suggesting that's what I SHOULD do (retake the MCAT and raise my science GPA). That was pretty much the only stressful thing, otherwise they just seemed to ask me the most generic/general questions to get to know me. I wasn't asked a thing about ethics/policies/moral scenarios, except for the one broad question of what I feel about our health care system. I was worried as I heard they were pounding people in the past 2 weeks with those questions...I guess they ''switched'' to being nicer!"
"This was my second year interviewing at OUHSC. This time around, the doctors who interviewed me were really nice and told me that they don't want me to be nervous because they really want to get to know me. I feel like I did pretty well, overall."
"laid back, everyone was very enthusiastic, there was just a very overall positive vibe to the whole day"
"I was more impressed than not, and this came after interviewing at WashU, so my expectations were not great. I got an acceptance, though, and will be happy to attend. The people were very nice and the simulation centers very impressive."
"the interview overall was a relatively low-stress situation. the students that gave the tours were very friendly and wanted to answer as many questions as possible. the interviewers were also very nice and did not try to intimidate us. they seemed very interested in our outside activities and hobbies. the interviewees are separated into three groups: the 9am interviews, the 10am interviews, and the 11am interviews. the 9am interviews were first, and then the tour of the campus was given afterward. the later interview groups had a tour before the interview. there was a lunch in the student union after the tours/interviews were finished. overall it was a very mellow experience. "
"The experience was great, and as I've stressed times before, the environment was very comfortable, thanks to the wonderful faculty and the students that helped out."
"I was really nervous coming in and I had to tour campus before my interview. So, naturally, I couldn't calm down and relax until my interview was over. I didn't even have a chance to be nervous before they asked me my first question...and it went smoothly from there. They really do seem like they just want to get to know you. I wasn't asked any health care issues or ethics questions. However, they really wanted a firm and convinced statement as to why I wanted to pursue medicine. Be prepared, know yourself and your motives, and you should be fine!"
"The interview started out with ''tell us about yourself...'' Then it proceeded to questioning and drilling my answers. Topics ranged from ''What do you do when you relax?'', ''Why do you want to be a doctor?'', ''Why not be a nurse?'', ''What experience do you have in the medical field?'', ''If so and so could not afford insurance, how would you address the situation?'', ''If a patient had a complaint, you sent them home, they come back and die, what do you do?'', ''If your clinic is busy, how are you going to ensure quality care for the patient who is in need of tests?''. The interview ended on a fairly positive note when one interviewer said that my ''idealism is very refreshing.'' Nothing much though. The questions were back to back and quick. I think they were trying to break me down but I stayed calm and they seemed to be relatively impressed."
"They focused solely on the things in my amcas application. I didn't get any of the generic questions (Why do you want to be a doctor? and political or ethical questions). They started the interview saying I have a lot of experiences that most medical school applicants do not have. The interview then proceeded into those experiences."
"Most of the people that interviewed on my day had very laid back and casual, conversational interviews about things from their application. I was not one of these people. My interviewer opened with Tell me about yourself then went straight into ''If I couldn't go to medical school in the US would I go abroad?'' ''At what level of income lowering would I no longer want to become a physician?'' ''What three countries have the most nobel prises in medicine? In economics?'' ''When did nobel prizes begin to be awarded?'' and so on and so forth. We talked a lot about my thoughts on health care reform, insurance, and malpractice. He really wanted me to take a strong stand on issues but I tended to be moderatein my opinions. He did end up liking me and told me so. The later part of the interview was basically trying to convince my to stay in Oklahoma. So if you get someone that you feel is grilling you think about this: they want to see that you can stay calm and composed and collect your thoughts quickly. Most of the questions had an underlying purpose like wanting to make sure you knew exactly what you were getting yourself into and that your motivations for becoming a physician are good. They are not trying to be mean but just trying to get to know you and your opinions and how you think. It might be challenging but if you can get through an interview like this I think it makes a very positive impression. "
"It was a great experience, my interviewers were very nice and extremely laid-back. Everyone that I was in contact with tried hard to make it a calm and positive experience."
"Boring and painful."
"I had a wonderful experience. Those already associated with the school were great as were the other interviewees that I was with. I was very impressed with the SIM center and the chance to get some Hands-on experience without always poking, prodding, and bruising a classmate. I am definitely interested in a manually-inclined specialty, so this was a great plus. "
"It was pretty close to what I expected. They really do want you to relax, but it's hard to do that and they know it is. The whole tour thing is ok, but once I finished my interview I had little interest in it."
"Seemed all right, I was on the tailend of the interviews though...so I don't know what my chances of acceptance are going to be. I got asked a lot of personal questions based on how i answer the first question ''tell us about yourself''. Only one ethical question, ''if you saw your friend cheating on a test...''. Other questions included, what are your neg/pos. traits, what do you regrete in life, what's the diff. between an MD and DO, how would being sensitive be a positive thing, how would it be a neg., what do you want us to say about you, do you have an accurate view of yourself, where did you apply, etc. also just a lot of personal questions about my family. "
"Very dismal facilities, poor student involvement...Odd questions from the interviewers such as: ''Bad things happen to good people, why?'' ''What is the first thing that comes to your mind: Bartlett, Obama, and Robert Gates?'' "
"A+"
"They divide you into 3 groups. 9, 10, and 11 o'clock interviews. They serve you donuts and juice from 8:30 to 9am. After that you go on tours until your interview. There is no reason to be nervous. They just want to get to know you. "
"Overall, I wished that I had looked over my application more closely because I forgot to mention some of my volunteering experiences to the volunteer, and I also forgot to talk about the experiences that I wanted to. I was fortunate enough not to be drilled with ethical questions."
"It was a very good interview. The interviewers seemed interested in understanding my motivation to study medicine and in getting to know me."
"I interviewed during a blizzard. The interviews were actually canceled and the campus closed, but I'm so glad I showed up anyways. The interview was very pleasant-they just wanted to get to know me. They seemed to like the fact that I want to raise a family in Oklahoma City, and tested my commitment to come to and stay in Oklahoma. The fourth year was so nice and made me feel at ease during the interview. Overall it was a great experience and bumped OU up on my list to near the top "
"It was very laid back and conversational."
"I had a great time at OU. I felt welcomed by all the students with whom I came into contact. I felt like the interviewers did a good job with me."
"Fantastic! I could not have asked for a better group of people to interview with. The medical students who were leading the orientation were also very halpful and candid. The campus was beautiful and there are a ton of valuable academic resources available to students. "
"I had a wonderful experience. They divide you into three groups: 9:00, 10:00, and 11:00 interviews. I had an 11:00 interview, so I got to take a tour of the campus before hand and have time to relax."
"There were 3 interviewers per interviewee. They were casual and seemed to really want to understand me, my motivations, perspectives and overall character."
"The interview experience was pretty good overall. They gave a brief campus tour, showed us hippocrates and the simulation devices, and fed us lunch. The interview itself was pretty laid back. They did a pretty good job of trying to make it casual and relaxed."
"It was pleasant and they were very respectful. The lunch they provided was much better than I had expected and had something for everyone. Their Hippocrates online system is absolutely incredible with everything you will ever need. They gave us a 30 minute tour just on that. The campus is the greatest...top-notch in every way. They also have a vast support system for the students well-being academically, physically, and mentally. I cannot say enough good things about OU Medical School."
"It was a good day. There was a lot of walking, I was sick and didn't want to show it so I jsut kept going. If I had it to do over again I would have asked to take a break. It was really important to be on time, I saw some students that had notes made in their files when they were late. We checked in, were given a packet of info and then they took the first group of interviewees up to meet their panel of two MD's and a fourth year. Everyone took turns asking questions, everyone was very kind and seemed to be a good conversation. Then there were tours and last a lunch (food wasn't too amazing)."
"My day was great - all the faculty/staff were positive and impressive. I also really liked the other candidates I met. My interview was tougher (I think the 3:1 format makes it more demanding), but it gave me a chance to talk about my positives that can be seen as negatives without explaination."
"The interview was low stress. The interviewers asked general questions and it was more a conversation."
"Good cop bad cop during the interview. Tour guide seemed very lazy she spoke at great length about how few classes she attends and how easy the curriculum is."
"This experience was so different from last year. I had a GREAT interview."
"I'm a reapplicant so nothing was really new for me. Everything was the same as last year. "
"Since I was a reapplicant, I left no stone unturned and was prepared. It was a completely oppostite experience than when I got rejected last time. This time I thought I was able to develop a rapport with the interviewers, they were nice and seemed genuinely interested in me and what I had to say because I was honest, up front and enthusiastic. "
"Overall it was positive. I liked two of my interviewers, but one seemed to be harsh."
"My interview was pretty good overall. It started out a bit rocky but seemed to get easier as it continued. When I left one of my interviewers told me I had done well so that made the rest of my day more relaxed. Some of the other applicants looked stressed and unprepared which made me feel better too! The fourth year student on my panel was very knowledgeable about the policies and was helpful when I asked specific questions about the school. He told me that OU was above average on the boards and that they had a high percentage of people get their first choice for match. He even offered to help me track down a match list from the last year. Overall, not to bad at all. I interviewed on Tuesday and got an acceptance letter on Saturday. I appreciated their promptness!"
"Interview was 3 on 1 with two physicians and one MS4. It was open-file. One of the physicians and the student were easy-going, but one physician totally grilled me. I know some people get really laid back interviews at OU, but that was not my experience. I thought I did really bad, but I got in. The day started with a presentation by Dr. Hall about the curriculum. I was in the first interview group, so I interviewed and then went on a tour. We saw all the simulation stuff, and the professor who runs it seemed very nice. The students were friendly and claimed that OU was very pro-student -- if you have a problem with something, the administration will listen to you about it. The day ended with lunch and a quick presentation about financial aid and student services (which they have a lot of -- very good, imo)."
"The whole thing was less than impressive. Facilities were acceptable at best...MUCH room for improvement. I've interviewed at 26 schools, been accepted to 7 already including OU in oklahoma city...OU seems to be less of a "medical school" as it does a place for dishing out training for anything medical related (MDs, all kinds of nurses, dentists, you name it) and they all share the same resources. The fact that their Emergency Medicine residency program was shut down by the State (for some reason no one will talk about) is an accurate indication of the quality of the medical education they provide imo. I would have never known about these residency shutdowns from their website or literature...I only found out through pure luck because I specifically asked about an Emergency Med residency and was told they no longer had one and were "trying to get reapproved for one". The students I talked with seemed to be kinda "spacey"...one told me the med students and dental students don't get along and there is some big competition at a softball game...I was just thinking..."what the h*ll does softball have to do with becoming a highly skilled physician?"...All the students said they don't even go to most of the classes. I'm not sure how that'll work out for them. I guess if you're a genious you don't need to go, but I'm no genious. I've already declined their acceptance and told them I would be going somewhere else. I would rank this lowest of all schools I've toured or interviewed at. No offense to the people of Oklahoma intended, it is simply the truth."
"Standard questions. Food was ok. I expect to be accepted at OU also, but definitely will not attend. Apparently anyone from Oklahoma gets in practically. The guy giving me the tour said he took the MCAT 3 times and got into OU with an 8, 7, 9."
"I was dissapointed with my interview experience. First of all, the 3 - on - 1 format stinks. It was obvious they had already decided what I was like before they met me, and they were more having a conversation between themselves with their questions than with me. They asked me why I work so hard, and what's my purpose, to which I responded I like to challenge myself and experience as much as I can - I love to learn. They then proceeded to ask me some of the most convoluted hypothetical situation questions.. like what if you had a patient that had a hystorectomy, because they didn't want children, and then later the husband came wanting a vasectomy, how would you handle that? - The female doctor looked at me like this was a simple moral question, and I responded, that as a professional, I couldn't get involved in their personal lives, and there may be a simple explanation why he wants the procedure. She returned, of course there's a simple explanation, he wants a vasectomy so he won't get his girlfriend pregnant,.. I paused, and thought for a minute, and said that this was a difficult situation, and that I couldn't possibly get in the middle of the couple's marital problems, and the husband was in charge of his medical decisions. If he wanted a vasectormy, he'd get one and I couldn't stop him. I would only be able to educate him to the medical issues invovled, reversibiltiy, and implications. Then they all started in on me about preventing ALL pain and suffering. The questions got worse from there, and I began to feel like I was running for public office rather than applying for medical school. They wanted to know what my stance was on stemcell research, to which I said it was an exciting area of research - and things got more tense from there. They then wanted to know what I thought about cloning and abortion... All in all, I'm a bit miffed. I think it's good to be challenged, but everyone else said they had positive interviews and great conversations. I don't know if I should complain about the way they handled it or what..., I had another interview, and expressed my concerns about the OU interview to the other school, and they suggested that the 3-on-1 format is a problem, especially if they start ganging up on the applicant, and those questions were out of line. I don't care if they were just trying to challenge me, I thought it was unfair and a horrible way to be treated."
"Very conversational, which made the experience very enjoyable and comfortable. Overall, I would rate it a very positive experience. The interviewers went out of their way to show interest in me."
"I really had a good experience. Everyone was so nice, and they went out of their way to make the interview experience painless. I had a hard time with one of my interviewers just because he was hard to understand. Be prepared for anything, but once you are there just do your best and relax."
"The interviewers were extremely nice, but they asked challenging questions. I was asked about everything from socialized medicine to current events. I felt like I answered all the questions well, and I was comfortable because all my interviewers had a sense of humor and were very friendly. Other students in my group had easier questions, but I enjoyed my interview experience. My advice is to just stay calm and give a thoughtful answer if you are asked challenging questions."
"I checked in around 8:20 a.m. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs came to lecture us until just before 9:00. We were broken up into three interview groups -- 9:00, 10:00, and 11:00. I was in the last interview group, so I had 2.5 hours to be nervous. Presentations of the Simulation Lab and the Hippocrates website were given before our group's interview time. A first-year medical student showed our group around campus. Interview was short and sweet -- lots of laughing involved and very conversational in nature. Lunch was served at 12:00 p.m., followed by brief presentations about financial aid and student services. The day concluded at 1:30 p.m."
"Awesome. Did not feel like I was in the hot seat at all. Prepare like you will be though, because other have been."
"Rough! Everyone else was saying how nice their interviewers were... the two males (doctors) were nice enough, but the 4th year med student was grilling me."
"Collegial, laid-back interview."
"Most of all we did was in the morning. Interviews were are 9, 10, or 11. At the two times each group of students was not interviewing, they were taken on a tour of the campus and given a demonstration of the online learning service the school has. Two of the interviewers were MDs from in town and one was a professor at the school. Though some of the questions were hard, the interview remained laid-back and relaxed. Most of the questions were about me and what I have done. Only a few questions centered on what I thought about topics or knew about areas. All of my "stress level" was because this was my first interview. I was impressed, and OU remains my first choice."
"Very relaxed and conversational. Compared to my last experience here in February the atmosphere was much more at ease. The interviewers led the conversation in a direction that most accentuated my positive traits. "
"I arrived at the school at 8:15. We were lectured until 9:00 about the school, at which time we broke into three groups. My group had interviews first. We interviewed, toured the medical learning facilities, then were served lunch. Were were released at 1:30."
"Fairly laid back. I had a resident who did most of the talking while the others sat back and commented mostly."
"I could not have asked for a better interview experience. Especially since I had just been to a horrible one the day before!"
"Check-in was at 8:30. My interview block was at 11:00, so for the two hours leading up to that my group of interviewees received two presentations. I think having to wait until 11:00 made my anxiety level skyrocket much higher than it would have been if I'd had a 9:00 interview. Two of my interviewers were nice and friendly, but as previously mentioned, the third was not so friendly. "
"It went good. Too got I thought, but evidently not since I got in. The people were great. My interviewers were seperate from all of the others too, which I found odd. But that may have just been because of the building we were in. Good luck."
"Much better than expected. The interviewers were very nice - the actual interview was really a 4-sided conversation. Most other applicants did not share a similar experience though - most got "grilled" on health care policy or ethical issues. Overall, the experience was great."
"Admittingly, I was nervous and made more so by a lack of response (good or bad) in the 3-person interview. The facilities tour and curriculum overview, however, were well presented and substantiated OU as my school of choice."
"My interviewers were very kind and considerate. They asked probing questions. I felt like their questions allowed me to articulate my motivations. "
"good overall."
"After reading some negative feedbacks, I guess I was lucky to have laid back interviewers. We actually laugh here and there. But in general, it was a very good experience. I'm very impress with OU. I get the feel that they really care about each individual students. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. "
"Everybody that had interviewed before me told me that the interviewers were really nice, and it was just like a conversation. I guess I was unlucky because my interviewers, one particularly, were assholes. They criticized my choice of major, my research work, my grades, etc. They didn't seem to like anything on my application. It was odd because I have interviewed elsewhere and they told me I had excellent experiences and ec's. It didn't seem like they were trying to help me, instead they were talking down to me. I understand constructive criticism, but don't criticize me just for the sake of criticizing me. Also, the interviewers didn't let me ask them any questions, they just showed me the door when the 45 minutes were up. "
"This was my first interview so I wasn't quite sure of what to expect. The interviews were pretty calm. The interviews and the tours were very organized. The students said they get a tremendous amount of clinical experience and OU grads match at some pretty impressive residency programs. "
"The whole experience was very relaxed and not intimidating at all. The other interviewees were very friendly as were the med students. The fin-aid and student services presentations at lunch were pretty worthless, but the hippocrates online resource was awesome. My interviewers couldn't have been nicer and more relaxed. It was really more of a conversation than a question and answer situation. They all talked just as much as I did. I didn't get any science related questions and only one ethical question (that was easy). Most of the conversation was about my background and views on the healthcare system. However, I did hear other applicants talking about their interviewers being tough and grilling them pretty hard. I guess it's just luck of the draw. OU may not be ranked by US news or known as a great med school nationally, but the facilities are impressive and I was told several times by med students that clinical experience and teaching is very substantial. They said that doing away rotations made them realize just how much more clinical experience they had received. Also, the first thing my interviewers said was that if you finish in the top 10% of the class you can get a residency anywhere you want."
"My interview was after the two presentations so it was a long day. OU does have a very nice web system to help their students but it seems that many students use it to replace class. Our medical student guides told us that they hardly ever go to class but instead buy the notes and use Hippocrates to fill in the rest."
"Very laid back and conversational...it was a really low stress day."
"Overall, the day impressed me very much-- OU has certainly moved up on my priority list. However, as I said, the interview left something to be desired. They started off with really difficult stressful questions and continued for forty-five minutes-- I needed a drink afterwards."
"I love OU, and I really hope they give me the opportunity to attend. It is the only school I applied to this year because my wife and I would like to stay in Oklahoma for a few more years before moving away. The interview and accompanying day were much better arranged than last year. I've said this elsewhere in the review, but I think this part actually shows up first: I'm a reapplicant. I got so far as an interview with OU last year and was outright rejected - not waitlisted. This gave a different perspective on this year's interview day. We got there around 8-8:30, and the day began with a welcome from Nancy Hall (I think she's the Dean of Admissions...?). After that the group of 27 interviewees was broken into three smaller groups. They have three basic things scheduled from 9 to noon. A presentation on Hippocrates (OU's amazing online resource for everything from class notes to class schedules to outlines to test banks to dissection videos. It is awesome!), a presentation of OU's Human simulation room (they have everything from fairly unsophisticated mannequins for practicing intubations, venipunctures, NG tubes, urinary catheters, or central line placements to the very expensive model that reacts to just about everything you do to it (administration of gases, drugs, CPR, defibrillation, intubation, etc.), and finally the interviews. Last year the schedule was such that some people would miss parts of the presentations because they were given while they were interviewing. The new schedule allows everyone to see everything. After the last round of stuff at 11:00 we went for a nice catered lunch in the student union. They had MSII-MSIV students available for questions while we ate. Afterwards there were a very brief presentations on financial aid and student affairs. The last thing we did was go on a tour of the relevant campus buildings. I love OU!"
"I had a tough interviewer, who second guessed all of my answers making me very uneasy, but I heard from most other people that their interviews were easy."
"I won't lie, I was a nervous wreck, even tho I knew I would do well. I was close to hyperventilating. But luckily my interview wasn't until 10:30 and there was a tour before, so I calmed down by the time I interviewed. They took us in 3 different groups at different times for our interviews. Each group had about 10 or less people. They took our group of 10 to rooms scattered on a floor in the library. the room was very small and the table seated 4- barely. I had a man, woman, and a 4th yr girl. They were really nice and seemed to like me (I got accepted,by the way- with scholarship). Then we had lunch and a lady talked to us about financial aid and gave us a packet w/everything you need to know about paying for med school. Then we went on our other tour while others interviewed (the three grps were rotating). then i went home!"
"The interview went well. The interviewers tried to make it very laid back, except my heart was just pounding. They were really nice and the school is very impressive. OU has been my number one choice for awhile and this experience helped solidify that choice. "
"After interviewing, OU has definitely moved up on my list. "
"I had a very positive interview experience with two physicians and a fourth-year med student. Any stress was purely the result of my own nature, not the result of their interviewing style. The interview was primarily conversational in nature and based on my personal statement and application information. My main regret was that the interview seemed relatively short as I was enjoying talking with the interviewers and would love to have had the time to ask additional questions and find out more about their experiences with OU Medical Center and the Oklahoma community."
"Overall, it was a great experience. The facilities were great, the students/faculty were happy there, and the interviews were low stress and conversational. This visit moved OU from my top 10 schools into my top 3."
"The interview was very positive and I really look forward to hearing from OU. The medical school is way greater than I expected it to be. I feel I've covered other aspects in other areas of this posting. Anything I could see as negative about OU was way outshined by the positive."
"OU College of Medicine was great, and the interview was very laid back. The admissions people really just want to get to know you. I talked politics, sports, and religion. The Dean of Admissions is very accomodating. The best part of the school is the sense of community. The students are not cut throat and everyone helps each other out. Hippocrates is an amazing resource. Also the Match List is quite impressive, many OU grads get into competitive residencies. I'm hoping I'll be accepted. BOOMER SOONER!!!"
"My panel was made up of two physicians and a 4th-year. While they didn't grill you here and there weren't many unexpected questions, definitely prepare - no interview is a total cakewalk."
"Check-in was at 8:30 afterwhich the dean talked to us about various things. Then at 9 some people went to interview, and some went to various presentations (hippocrates and simulators). They had it worked out where you got to see everything unlike what people had posted from previous years. My interview was at 11 and it was with two doctors and one fourth year medical student. Then we had lunch in the student center. The lunch was awesome, not a boxed lunch as previous years. It was in a room that resembled Beard Lounge exactly (you will know about this if you are from OU undergrad). Then there were presentations on financial aid and student affairs. Then we had a tour of the school. All over by about 2:30PM. It seems like they have worked out the kinks in their interview day so that you get to really know the school."
"this school really impressed me. i went there not expecting much, it IS OKLAHOMA, right? the people were all very friendly and seemed to want me to attend their school. i am a bit concerned with the administration; they didn't seem to have student support."
"they were very thorough with the interview. they asked just about everything they could think of relating to my application."
"If you are prepared and a good applicant, you should not be concerned about your interview. They praised me so much! In your AMCAS, mention the names of the docs you shadow. They all were friends with one of mine and also one was the attending physician when another doc I shadowed was a resident!"
"pleasent but unnecessary time was spent"
"The interview went extremely well and from speaking with others, they all go somewhat well. This is comforting as far as anxiety goes but very misleading because you won't know whether you are accepted by how well the interview goes."
"Great the interviewers are there to cheer you up. They praised me so much. They were really down-to-earth people. Dont give canned/politically correct/pseudo intellectual/neutral answers guys, if it doesn't work with 20 years old students like us, what makes you think it will work with people with people who are 40 years older than you and who happened to be professors of medicine too. They really wanted to know me better. Good experience definitely."
"The day was good, despite a few tough questions and a headache. Most the stress is self-imposed. I met alot of people and recognized many. The school (faculty and students) that turned out to see us were friendly and outgoing to help us in anyway. No one ever routed against us. Sadly, though, everyone was told at the begining of the day most of us would be DEFEERED; the reason: most of the class had been choosen but many more people had yet to be interviewed, so in effect this translates into, 'we like you but we need to look at everyone else first.' That was the biggest downer. Overall I felt good with the interview and the school seemed impressively with it."
"Overall, it was a good experience. I had a 11:30 onterview, so I had to wait four hours from when I arrived till the interview, that is why it was so stressful. But once the interview started I was relaxed. My interviewers where really nice and they just tried to make it like a conversation."
"positive"
"It seems like OU does have good resources. The atmosphere was a big turn off. "
"The day was long. I found it somewhat amusing how we had to walk by the meal the interviewers were going to eat prior to our meal. A box lunch? I want steak and shrimp! Prior to my interview OU wasn't my school of choice. But now I am seriously considering this school. I don't understand why it isn't ranked higher. Some serious money goes into the school."
"The interviewers paid me numerous compliments and said several times that I had good answers. They seemed like genuinely nice people. My interview was notably shorter than other interviews, which was strange. I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing - but the time I was in there was all as comfortable as can be for an interview. Apparently first round students are the "golden boys" who the school wants to take - so they won't grill you. They are only looking for character flaws."
"OU is an absolutely wonderful school. The facilities and curriculum are on par with anything else I have seen anywhere else. There is definitely the potential there to turn any devoted person into an exceptional physician. The interview day seemed a bit discombobulated, though. The day began at 8:00 with check-in at the library. I actually arrived about 5 minutes late, which didn't present any problems. There were presentations throughout the morning on financial aid, the curriculum, student services, and student affairs. This was all well and good for me, since my interview was scheduled at 11:30. Other interviewees were not so fortunate. Interviews were actually scheduled ever hour on the half-hour starting at 8:30, so groups of 10 or so students missed different presentations. It was necessarily critical information, but it seems to me that if you're going to take the time to say something, you should make sure all of your target audience is there to hear it. The interview itself was fine. My committee consisted of a faculty physician, a practicing community physician, and a fourth-year student. Overall it went fairly well for me. It was relaxed. They didn't seem to be trying to stump me, merely to get to know me on a more personal level. As one of them told me during the interview, you're there because they have identified you as an academically solid person, but want to see if you're the right kind of person to be a doctor. My advice is to relax and be yourself. Don't try to give canned, overly rehearsed responses. If you're truly sincere and honest in your responses your intelligence and ability will come through fine. Good luck!"
"Overall I have to characterize my visit as both good and bad. The school offers a wonderful curriculum and outstanding resources from which to learn medicine. I believe that if one so desired, he or she could gain as good an education as anywhere in the country. However, the caliber of the student body was disappointing. As much as I can appreciate socializing, they talked of nothing else. Also, one of the third year students told me that out of her class over 20 people did not pass the USMLE step 1 exam. I do not think this is a reflection on the institution as much as on the students themselves. Again, OU offers everything possible to obtain a wonderful education. The students just don't utilize them. In fact, several of them gloated about the fact that they rarely ever went to class. The tour was also run by the students, and was therefore completely unorganized. They were actually debating about where they should take us next. Then when the interview was over they just said, "Ok, bye." I couldn't believe it. No thanks for coming, no good luck, no nothing. At least give us a closing statement. As an in state resident I have to admit that I was very embarrassed. I think all the out of state applicants felt that they had wasted good money on flying out here. In conclusion, the school is outstanding, but the student body has been found wanting."
"Very good, the interview was as stress free as possible given the circumstances. The interviewers really want to get to know you-not try to stump you."
"The actual interview was pretty stress-free, a little fun. "
"I am not one to rattle off standard answers. For one thing, with previous acceptances under my belt, I feel like I have the opportunity to go the school and ask some really good questions that some might otherwise be nervous asking. If you are confident, I advise doing the same. The interviewers aren't stupid. They know all the standard answers that students think of. Makes you look like a sheep. For example, when asked about your fault, some "brilliant" premeds think you should answer that question in a way that highlights yourself (i.e. "I am too hard of a worker", or "I just care too darn much") ACK ACK Where is my puke bag? Cut the crap, and tell them what some of your faults are. It shows honesty, humility, and lets them know you're a real person, not just some tool. "
"I came into this interview not expecting very much. It is still not my top choice, but I am slightly more comfortable with the school overall. Overall, the day was pretty disorganized, with people coming in occasionally to talk to you. Having to arrive at 8 and not interviewing to 11:30 also increases the stress level dramatically. Also, I would have liked to have spoken to some 3rd or 4th year medical students in order to get a better idea of the school and to see more of the hospital, which the first year students could not do."
"Someone else summarized the day very well. No need for me to go over it again. I was definitely pleasantly surprised by OU. It's not my top choice, but it certainly moved up the list."
"It was a good experience. OU really knocked the cover off the ball. They are my first choice! "
"Despite not being ranked, Oklahoma is an outstanding school. It far exceeded my expectations and preconceptions. I realize that the point of interview day is not only a chance for the applicant to sell himself or herself, but for the school to sell itself to the applicant. And I think OU did a good job in the latter respect: The school provides a variety of resources and programs that I believe can foster an excellent medical education. The day began at 8:00 a.m. with registration followed by a brief orientation of the program. Interviews began at 8:30 a.m. and followed every hour until 11:30 a.m. This provides ample opportunity to interact with first-year students and ask them questions about the school, program, etc. There are also a few brief talks from financial aid and student services reps. We had lunch at 12:30 p.m. - a boxed lunch with a sandwich, an apple, a bag of chips, cookies, and a drink (this seems pretty plain but I thought it was a pretty decent lunch). Lunch was followed by a tour. The interview was really realaxed, almost jovial. The interviewers seemed to look mainly at character, motivation, and goals. I was asked several ethical questions that required some reasoning, but they weren't too difficult to answer - especially since the demeanor of the interviewers was so relaxed. Mainly, I think they wanted to determine how I think about issues, rather than what I think about the issues. An example would be: If you were in class and observed a student cheating, what would you do? What if it were your friend who was cheating? They also tried to establish what I thought of medicine in general by asking me what are the three most important characteristics that doctors must have. To learn about my motivation, they asked the $64,000 question: Why do you want to be a doctor? That was followed up with questions about what I would do if I don't get in. Re-apply, of course. There were quite a few self-analysis questions like: What is your biggest weakness? I personally find these types of questions to be rather difficult, but that's just me. Overall, the experience was very positive. The interview was not high-pressured at all, the only pressure coming from what I had imposed on myself. Several times the interviewers were laughing and smiling, which made it easy to be myself. I found that there are some really good things at OU."
"Despite my complaining, the school has really nice buildings and lots of them! I can't comment on the labs or anything, bc I didn't get to see them. "
"my interview went really well.. we talked about the weather (b/c it was snowing that morning) to what i like to do to why i want to be a doctor to everything.. they were really friendly and i was not stressed during my interview at all!"
"It was a good interview and inviting campus."
"Good School."
"The only problem that I faced with my interview was, that mine was at 11am, and I had to be there at 8am. The fact that I had to sit around for another 3 hours before my interview was almost too much to bare. Other than that it seemed as if the interviewers just wanted to get to know me. They're not there to hound you, they just wanted to see if I had any character flaws."
"very friendly interview--they just want to get to know you--they actually TRY to put you at ease--very pleasant."
"It was good."
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Student | 151 |
| Faculty member | 0 |
| Admissions staff | 0 |
| Other | 0 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Enthusiastic | 97 |
| Neutral | 7 |
| Discouraging | 4 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.02 | 110 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| In state | 92 |
| Out of state | 10 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 0-1 hour | 73 |
| 2-3 hours | 17 |
| 4-6 hours | 7 |
| 7+ hours | 10 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Airplane | 15 |
| Automobile | 90 |
| Train or subway | 2 |
| Other | 0 |
Will Rogers
Will Rogers World Airport
DFW
OKC
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At school facility | 1 |
| With students at the school | 1 |
| Friends or family | 20 |
| Hotel | 16 |
| Home | 11 |
| Other | 0 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| < $100 | 53 |
| $101-$200 | 5 |
| $201-$300 | 4 |
| $301-$400 | 3 |
| $401-$500 | 5 |
| $501+ | 3 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.74 | 109 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.47 | 112 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 6.84 | 112 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.30 | 54 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.61 | 54 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.53 | 53 |
"It was rather difficult to get a hold of them"
"Keep up the good work!"
"None!"
"Rotating delegation of email coverage during holidays in order to prevent delays of up to two weeks for rescheduling interviews would probably benefit both OUMED and interviewees."
"Quicker response time after interview would be nice."
"There was a lot of "we don't know what's going on" from the med students showing us around. It lessened my anxiety in general but made the school seem unprofessional."
"Nothing."
"Doing great."
"None, they were really friendly and prompt!"
"Pretty good on my part. I only gave the score based on my own experience dealing with the admissions"
We help students become doctors. TM
What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 1)?