How many people interviewed you?
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 2.50 | 16 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Positively | 14 |
| Negatively | 1 |
| No change | 1 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 4.25 | 16 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.13 | 15 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 6.50 | 14 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| In Person | 0 |
| Virtual | 4 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 0 |
| 10 minutes | 0 |
| 15 minutes | 0 |
| 20 minutes | 0 |
| 25 minutes | 1 |
| 30 minutes | 0 |
| 35 minutes | 0 |
| 40 minutes | 0 |
| 45 minutes | 3 |
| 50 minutes | 1 |
| 55 minutes | 0 |
| 60+ minutes | 11 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At the school | 12 |
| At a regional location | 0 |
| At another location | 3 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| One-on-one | 9 |
| In a group | 7 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Open file | 2 |
| Closed file | 11 |
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 2.50 | 16 |
"What to you think about time management? How do you time manage? Give an example of how you separate your professional and personal life."
"tell us about yourself"
"Are you still in college? Did you graduate? What did you study?"
"What do you know of medical school and what it means to be a medical student?"
"Tell me about yourself."
"Tell me about the research you have done?"
"What do you understand about the Reforma?"
"Tell me about yourself and your family."
"Why do you want to be a doctor?"
"why do you want to be a doctor"
"What are 3 current medical/health issues that are going to become more important?"
"What would you do if a patient has different beliefs?"
"tell us about your research"
"Tell us about your research. Do you have any publications/posters? If so, in which journals?"
"What would you do if you got accepted to all the schools you applied to? Would you still attend Ponce?"
"Any volunteer experience, community service, publications, awards, merits?"
"Tell me about your volunteer experience?"
"Where do you see health care in Puerto Rico headed over the next 10-15 years?"
"Do you know a little about the health care reform in Puerto Rico?"
"How de we know you will not transfer back to the U.S. after finishing the basic sciences?"
"Have you done any research"
"What do you think about the bombings in Madrid (I had studied abroad there) which led to how I felt after Sept. 11 and then how I felt about the war in Iraq. That then led into how I make difficult decisions."
"Why Medicine? Why PHSU? What do you know about PHSU?"
"why do you want to be a doctor"
"Tell us about your clinical experience"
"What would you do if you were rejected from all schools this cycle?"
"If your brother was dying and the only way to save him is to give him your heart, what would you do?"
"What do you do to keep organized and to keep up with your studies?"
"Where do you see health care in the United States headed over the next 10-15 years?"
"How will you deal with moving to Puerto Rico?"
"What recent clinical experiences have you had?"
"My interviewer asked if I'm the only daughter in my family and since I am he wanted to know how my parents felt about my coming to Puerto Rico and why I applied to Ponce."
"How would you handle the opioid crisis and who do you think is at fault?"
"talk about when you dealt with a problem when working with a group"
"What do you do for your mental health/outside of academics? Sports? Hobbies?"
"What topic in recent news lately has surprised you and in what way? (Local or otherwise)"
"Do you love birds?"
"Who is the most inspiring person that you like (must not be someone you know perosonally)?"
"Should we have invaded Iraq?"
"If you and another applicant have the same GPA and MCAT scores, why should we pick you over the other applicant?"
"Give your opinion on the following situation: The parents of a sick child genetically manipulate their unborn baby with hopes that it will later help save the life of its sibling."
"What kind of guarutee can you give us that you won't transfer back tothe states after completeing your basic sciences? "
"What's your favorite class this semester, and why? Oh, and both my interviewers asked how I had done in my Calculus classes but didn't ask about any other grades in other classes."
"How would you handle the opioid crisis and who do you think is at fault?"
"talk about your virtues"
"What is a current event that has affected you recently?"
"What's the relationship between PR and the US?"
"What do you think of the US. healthcare system?"
"How should the Reforma be fixed?"
"What percentage of residents in the state of Florida (I'm from Florida) are considered medically underserved?"
"Same as above."
"How I felt about the fact that I'm going to be studying non-stop for the next 4 years and then completely in debt after that."
"Normal MMI prep, and MMI prep in Spanish"
"The practice questions on their interview website with the format of how the interview would be."
"SDN"
"Sdn, reddit"
"SDN, AMCAS, wiki"
"SDN, Kaplan, and Puerto Rican newspapers for current events"
"SDN website, Ponce Website, Kaplan"
"Ask my friend who was a second year there at the time and his friends. AMCAS, SDN and some experience interviewing at another school."
"SDN, reading about the PR reform, newspaper, spoke with doctors."
"Sunblock and internet. Just know spanish! Medalla always helps post interview."
"read up on PR health reforms, of which no questions were asked. SDN, practice the spanish, mucho"
"I stayed with a couple first year students and they gave me a mock interview in Spanish."
"The faculty that interviewed me was all extremely friendly and enthusiastic about the school. Felt a little bit more personal than a normal MMI because they asked a lot of follow up questions."
"How interactive some of the interviewees were."
"approachability of staff"
"the faculty was super kind and knowledgeable"
"How laid back the interviewers were, they seemed very proud to work at the school"
"Location offers a very laid-back environment for you to concentrate on studies. The island offers a wide range of activities, however, for those who love and embrace new cultures. Small class size offers a very cooperative/supportive environment instead of a competitive one."
"The interviewers were very nice and laid back. "
"friendly students and administrative staff"
"The small class size and the close relationship the students have with each other."
"The professors were very involved with the students at the school. They keep a close eye on the class and make sure everyone does well. How well the class does on the boards!"
"Friendliest faculty and student body of any medical school I have visited. Also, tropical beaches and endless summer are a nice touch."
"students were happy and thought that Ponce, although more expensive, was a better school than UCC."
"It's very laid back. The professors and students are very friendly. It's a great atmosphere."
"How the interview started off with a question before being presented to the person interviewing you. It made the introduction feel less personal. I also did not have an opportunity to ask them questions."
"doctors were late to interview; 3 hour long interview"
"Facilities were small and not state of the art compared to other medical schools. However, this is an LCME accredited school, so you learn the same things. It's the residency that matters, so do well in your board examinations."
"A tour was not given."
"Students seemed somewhat insecure. They were constantly putting down UCC and UPR, stating that their school was better. Enough already! Why don't you sell me on the positive points of your school instead of "We do this better than UCC" or we have better recognition than UPR. "
"The facilities are not great."
"Nothing"
"School is a little hard to find and not many people can tell you how to find it."
"they told me no classes were being held (to sit in on), but I walked the halls and found a microbio class"
"Both my interviews were done in Spanish (I'm not Hispanic) but I had been expecting one in English. Other students got 2 English interviews."
"4/6 MMI questions in Spanish, 2 in English, the two English ones are first. Don't feel like you have to talk AT the interviewer the whole 8 minutes, they all have follow up questions to keep the conversation going"
"The details of the interview were clear and all of the information and preparation resources were given to you ahead of time."
"group interview; duration"
"the interview format"
"No tour was going to be given, so you have to ask around (cafeteria, how to take taxis, etc) Also, there are flights that arrive to Ponce (Airport Mercedita) directly so you have to research/plan your trip accordingly. There's that saying that goes: Preguntando se llega a Roma."
"An easier way to find the school and that it takes much longer to get there than it should. Fortunately I arrived the night before. If you are flying into San Juan, plan accordingly as Ponce is on the southern part of the island well away from San Juan."
"Nothing, my purpose was to see how everything worked."
"How relaxed the entire day would be."
"There is a possibility of getting a group interview where it's a professor, a staff member and 3-4 interviewees."
"4 out of the 6 stations were in Spanish. There is only 8 minutes per questions to discuss with the interviewer."
"need to be very fluent in Spanish"
"Very impressive faculty"
"Ponce performs better than the rest of the island schools in the USMLE Step 1. The school really emphasizes on integrating the knowledge taught to you so each month a medical case is presented for students to analyze with their current knowledge. It is a beautiful island with many things to do if you are willing to take the 1 hour drive to San Juan. All the beaches are nice and the mountains are amazing. Ponce is in the driest place in the island so the heat, although it's really hot, won't suffocate you. You have to be carefuly where to go, however, because crime rates aren't dropping anytime soon. Also, you will need your own transportation, either a second hand car, a bike, or a new car. Ponce does not have public transportation. Thank Ford and another american car manufacturer for that (they bought out the stocks of the railroad being constructed in the island many years ago)."
"Seems like a great area but I did not get to meet any students on interview day. The interviewers were pleasant and made us laugh."
"Interviews were laid back and were conducted in both Spanish and English. The student interviewer seemed enthusiastic. I felt though that the staff and students could focus more on selling their school as opposed to trying to disparage other schools. I mean, what's the point? It is a laid back place and the people are friendly. There is a lot to do, but not nearly as much as in San Juan, but if you like a smaller city that may be OK."
"My interviews were pretty lay back. They just wanted to know me. My first interview went great and I had a serious and somewhat sarcastic second interviewer but we ended up talking about the World Basebal Classic, so it wasn't that bad. The fascilities are not great, neither the passing rate for the USMLE Step 1, but I don't think the school is entirely responsible for the latter. Some student have way too much fun. The culture and people however are great. The style of life is very lay back and the food is awesome. But what impressed me the most was the friendliness of the students. They are like a family, helping each other out, which is a huge plus in my opinion. I wouldn't hesitate to go to Ponce."
"The interviews were stimulating conversations. I didn't want them to end. Both interviewers were young and proud to be working at Ponce. I could tell they would make great mentors."
"one with financial aid director, one with library director. They both asked pretty much the same questions because I could see their rubric/scoring sheet. Standard questions."
"I had a really good time at Ponce. Everyone is very nice and helpful. My first interview was a little more stressful since it lasted about an hour and he asked me absolutely everything down to what was covered in the Physiology course I had taken. The second interview wasn't stressful at all."
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Student | 1 |
| Faculty member | 0 |
| Admissions staff | 3 |
| Other | 1 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Enthusiastic | 3 |
| Neutral | 1 |
| Discouraging | 0 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 5.07 | 15 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| In state | 4 |
| Out of state | 7 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 0-1 hour | 2 |
| 2-3 hours | 3 |
| 4-6 hours | 3 |
| 7+ hours | 1 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Airplane | 7 |
| Automobile | 2 |
| Train or subway | 0 |
| Other | 0 |
PSE
SJU
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At school facility | 0 |
| With students at the school | 3 |
| Friends or family | 2 |
| Hotel | 2 |
| Home | 2 |
| Other | 0 |
No responses
No responses
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| < $100 | 2 |
| $101-$200 | 0 |
| $201-$300 | 0 |
| $301-$400 | 2 |
| $401-$500 | 2 |
| $501+ | 1 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 6.79 | 14 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.36 | 14 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.29 | 14 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 6.75 | 8 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.63 | 8 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.50 | 8 |
We help students become doctors. TM
What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 1)?