Rochester, NY
Allopathic Medical Schools | Private Non-Profit
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Overall, applicants ranked the school in the top 19% of interviews, indicating it is highly regarded. They found the interview very impressive with a low stress level and felt they did well.
⭐ Overall Impressions ▼
SDN Interview Experience Score
8.5
Above Average
Higher scores indicate a smoother, more positive interview experience with professional staff, organized logistics, and a supportive environment.
Based on 797 responses
Score Reference:
9–10 Exceptional
8–8.9 Very Good
7–7.9 Good
6–6.9 Mixed
< 6 Needs Improvement
The SDN Interview Experience Score (SIES) is a composite metric that represents applicants overall impressions of their interview experience, based on multiple factors such as professionalism, facilities, responsiveness, and stress levels.
What was the stress level of the interview?
Most respondents rated their interview as low stress.
How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?
Most respondents rank this school above all other schools.
How did the interview impress you?
Most respondents felt positively about their interview.
Positively (89%)
Negatively (2%)
No change (10%)
How you think you did?
Most respondents thought they performed well at the interview.
Great (27%)
Good (60%)
Average (12%)
Poor (1%)
What are your general comments?
Applicants generally had positive experiences at Rochester, praising the friendly and supportive atmosphere, the innovative curriculum, and the emphasis on individuality during interviews. Some noted the school's strong community feel, the opportunities for early clinical exposure, and the engaging conversations with interviewers, while a few expressed reservations about the location or specific interview experiences.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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Overall positive experience, practice practice practice, and truly be yourself because they seem like they will easily snuff out inauthenticity
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Faculty that interviewed me was chill but didn't seem to want to be there, hurried through the questions and cut off my questions after we reached 30 minutes.
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Generally a positive experience; enjoyed the virtual campus tour and the one-on-one current student interview especially.
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This school is definitely not for everyone, but if your values align with those of UR, you will love it
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The small group discussion is super low-key. Just be yourself and relax then you should be fine
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Would love to attend.
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Great school. Loved the day.
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Love the curriculum, everyone (with one exception) was very friendly and had great things to say about the school.
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The school seems great, really supportive and collaborative, and the students have a lot of positive things to say about it
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Very good school with a lot of people who love it there. I loved the humanities aspect. Excited to hear back from them.
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Loved the school. Great program with various opportunities both locally and internationally. Everyone was very friendly and seemed happy to be there.
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Try to stay with a student host. You'll get a great feel for how the students are there, and everyone will tell you how much they like the rest of their class. Rochester left a great impression on me. If you have a student interviewer, he/she will try to grill you a little bit more than the faculty interviewer, so just make sure you're on your toes and you know how to answer the basic interview questions well.
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I am in love with this school. I love being in a place with seasons and a body of water for rec.
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Great school, great faculty, and the students truly seem to have a blast.
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If you go in the winter you may have a hard time convincing yourself that Rochester is such a great place, but overall the town is diverse with opportunities for everyone.
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One student interview and one faculty interview. Faculty interview was super laid back and I listen probably 75% of the time to the Doc. The student interviewer drilled me though. THe interviews are semi-closed with only the online essays and activities provided to the interviewer.
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Interviews were really relaxed and conversational. Overall I had a good experience and it certainly changed my view of the school/program for the better. They have a lot to offer.
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This school has a lot to offer and definitely met my expectations!
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The interview process went as I expected
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Friendly interviewers who seemed genuinely interested in ensuring that I was a good match for Rochester and that Rochester was a good match for me.
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Everyone met on the first day for a general overview of the program and then headed out for interviews. These were spaced differently for everyone but there were 8 total - 2 MD (closed file), 1 with the MD/PhD program director, 4 grad program interviews, and 1 student interview. Applicants had lunch with current MD students and then headed out for a tour. More interviews after lunch then dinner with current MD/PhD students. Day two was a bit simpler. Students had the rest of their interviews and lunch was held with the MD/PhD program directors. Although there was alot going on, nothing was rushed and the process was surprisingly stress-free.
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The interviews were more stressful than I anticipated based on other feedback. I had some very difficult questions that I was not anticipating. Also, my interviews were given by 2 MD's, not an MD and Med student like most other people have posted. The rest of the time was very casual and gave me a good feeling about the school. I had a lot of free time to wander around and sit in on classes. The 2 interviews, lunch, a short tour, and a 15 minute welcome were really the only planned events for the day.
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I had a somewhat tense interview with a physician and a more relaxed one with a 4th year med student. If the physician actually read the info Rochester made me fill out for the interview, maybe we could have spent more time conversing rather than going over the timeline of my activities. Research is done at Rochester, but the students seem unenthusiastic about it. The research that some did do was more of a statistical nature rather than basic or translational research. It seemed like students were ''doing research'' to put a check mark next to having done it but I guess you can commit yourself more if you so desire. Winters are cold there, and everyone tried it convince us that it ''wasnt that bad''. Overall, I felt like I would get a good education at Rochester, partly because theres not much else to do there.
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My first interviewer was a bit intimidating.. he didn't let me explain any of my answers fully, just kept cutting me off & going on to the next question.. however, my second interviewer was GREAT... she genuinely wanted to know about who I am & what I love to do & so forth... my last interviewer-a student didn't show up... so they told me to go home
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The interview experience was enjoyable. Everyone was super nice.
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Rochester is outstanding, no doubt. It's a solid program that is growing and progressing. Upstate New York doesn't have the relaxed atmosphere of other regions, though the people are very nice. They are just reserved. There was some down time during the day where we could tour around, visit lectures, etc. One of the interview rooms was difficult to find (in the hospital), so leave yourself time. There is a walking tour, so bring comfortable shoes. I was tired from traveling to multiple cities and previous interviews right before, so I actually lost my train of thought on one question (but I recovered, thank goodness.)
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Overall, I think the day went well. I was disappointed that the Dean couldn't be there to speak to our group. Everyone seemed very nice and genuine.
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Fantastic. loved it.
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Comforting and reassuring
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The faculty interview was conversational and fun. We got into a tangent talking about cooking for a bit, which made it run a little long. The student interview was likewise pleasant but a little more question based. She was an active listener. By and large the interviews were very fun and really gave me a chance to show them who I was. It only furthered my positive impression of the school.
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I enjoyed my interview. My interviewers were wonderful.
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Overall, I was impressed with the school and would love to be accepted there. The only downside for me is it's location. It's a little farther away from where I'm from than I would like but it's a trade-off for a school with a curriculum that I really liked. My interviews were more structured than the other applicants' were. My first one hadn't even read the essays and activities that I submitted, which was frustrating as I had to reiterate stuff that I assumed would be known. She had 3 pages of pre-written questions that she asked and rarely deviated from that. Also, we were interrupted twice by someone at the door and the second time, she actually left for a few minutes! Very unprofessional and didn't impress me at all.
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Rochester is a great school, after interviewing there, i would definitely love to go, i just wish the location was a little more ideal
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Started off with an introduction of the curriculum with Dean Hanson. He talked about the unique features at Rochester: biopsychosocial model, Double Helix Curriculum, international health opportunities, Academic Research Track. Then we were free to do whatever we want between interviews. We got a chance to attend classes. Overall a wonderful experience. Everyone was very friendly and warm.
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In the morning there were about 15 students in the admissions office. Apparently it was larger than usual because there were too many of us to fit in the applicant lounge. The dean spoke to us at a large table. (This was my second interview and I was intimidated by how close we were to the Dean when he was speaking.) Then people from the admissions office came to talk about pamphlets about financial aid and programs at Rochester in our packet. There was no official financial aid presentation(if IRC, it was about a month ago). Then they explained our schedules and invited us to see lectures and reminded us to be on time for our interviews. One interview was with a student in the morning. Then I sat in a lecture and then there was lunch with two 4th years and a tour. The lunch ran so long, that I missed part of the tour to go to my interview. You don't have to leave the building to go to any interviews but the building is so confusing it doesn't matter anyway. Then after the afternoon interview I got to go home. Not everyone had a schedule with interviews in the morning and afternoon. Check the website the week before you interview and the times and the names of your interviewers are listed.
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Overall, I enjoyed my interviewer with the researcher much more than the physician. The researcher was interested in how I think and work while the physician sat and asked the stupid and typical (do you volunteer, do you shadow physicians, what right do you have to do science even though your parents do not?). The students (2 guys) who gave our tour seemed like they were just there for the free food and possibly to check out any potential new meat for next year's class. (one was seriously dressed like and looked like K-fed)
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Rochester definitely jumped to near the top of the list after my visit.
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2 days, I stayed with a MD/PhD student host who was awesome and picked me up from the airport, even brought me to the hospital the night before. Day 1: check-in 8am (they provide tea, coffee & hot chocolate, eat breakfast before hand), orientation (MD/PhD & MD), 2 MD interviews, lunch with a 2nd year MD student & tour (not too impressive, I saw more the nighte before with my host, not quite sure why they showed us their SMALL gym...), interview with a MD/PhD student at the end of his graduate work, interview with the MD/PhD director (awesome guy!), dinner at a local restaurant with MD/PhD students. Day 2: 5 faculty interviews! Most were faculty I had chosen, and since I researched their work beforehand I was pretty well prepared and had awesome conversations. Lunch was with the MD/PhD director. Awesome school, the quality of research is great, the hospital & med school are all connected & centralized. Very nicely integrated MD/PhD program, lots of clinical exposure even during your graduate years. And the cost of living is SOOOO cheap!
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Overall, pretty positive.
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There are 2 interviews. My first interview was great - the interviewer ended up talking more than I did and I really felt like we had a good conversation about the school and its strengths/weaknesses. My second interviewer did not show up, so I ended up being shunted to an admon member who wasn't really prepared and my stress about my interviewer not showing up didn't help. That one didn't go as well. There was a lot of downtime during the day where the interviewees (about 10-12 in all) all just sat in the front of the admissions office. The Rochester students were really friendly, though, and were always asking if we had any questions, etc. Out of all my interviews, the Rochester students seemed the happiest and most willing to talk to interviewees.
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Met some great people. I was very impressed with the school's facilities and the curriculum sounds like a great approach to medical education. The city was nothing to write home about.
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The day started early (8am) and there was A LOT of downtime. The two faculty interviews were really low stress and they really just wanted to get a sense of who you are as a person. No need to worry.
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Both interviews were pretty laid back. My second one I mostly listened to the physician talk about his cases which was very interesting. My first interviewer seemed like she wouldn't have picked to be in Rochester.
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Lovely interviewers. One 4th year med student who really impressed me with his maturity and ability to conduct a pleasant interview (student interviewers are sometimes so akward). My faculty interviewer could not have been cooler. She was funny, didn't have a set list of questions. She just sort of let the conversation flow.
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All of the interviews were very relaxing and everyone was really excited for us to be there. All the applicants were treated really well. It was a 2 day thing with the 2 closed-file MD interviews on Thursday and the 6 open-file PhD interviews on Friday. Friday was a very long day, and I had to run back and forth between both the med school campus and the undergraduate campus. You might want to wear comfortable shoes.
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The day started with a brief intro from the chair of the adcom at 8:15. He was selling the school hard, but it was effective and didn't put me off. There are two interviews during the day; I had one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Lunch and a tour with students at noon. Everyone in the admissions office was REALLY NICE. My first interviewer was a very accomplished man; he was very friendly, initiated a conversational interview, and did a lot of talking, including telling me about himself, giving me advice, etc. He was very encouraging! The second interviewer was a woman, also very nice, but much less interesting. She pretty much followed a script. It was a long day, but overall very positive.
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The first faculty member actually attended Rochester, and was a professor. His best friends were nobel prize winners and he had quite a history himself. But he was approachable and genuinely interested in my stories. And so even though his reputation was intimidating, he was great. The next faculty member embodied everything I want my future to be. She was an infectious disease, HIV/AIDS specialists with an MD/MPH. She was amazing, and was almost more of a mentor than an interviewer.
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Dean Hansen introduced us to the school and the Double Helix Curriculum. We went through a folder of information with someone in the Admissions Office and then we had downtime to wander the school, talk with other applicants, peruse the folder of information, or study before our first interview. We met back for lunch and a tour with students/admissions secretary and then had some more time before a final afternoon interview. Overall a positive experience!
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Everyone was so friendly that I wasn't nervous at all. The interviewers cared more about what I thought than what I'd done.
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Very good, but I did have over 2 hours of down-time before my second interview.
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Two faculty interviewers... Everyone at my interview (there were 7 of us) was from an Ivy. I was the
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The interview was conversational and relaxed. The faculty seem very engaged and willing to help out the students as much as they can. The students are cooperative and not competitive.
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Very relaxed and conversational
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Excellent experience, by far the best school I have interviewed at. This school is now my number one choice!!
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We met with the dean of admissions in the morning. He was really nice and I had an interview with him later in the afternoon. The med students walked by and wished everyone good luck. I liked both of my interviews and really want to go to this school. Oh yes-- bring your interview suit with you on the plane- the airport misplaced my luggage and I had to run around a new city trying to find clothes.
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Like some sort of idiot, I screwed up my schedule and flew in the day of my interview. Mary Staie worked hard to fit me in the next day and everything (I think) worked out fine. DOUBLE CHECK DATES!
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Overall it was really good. The introduction to the school was fairly limited, interviews were low stress, and there was plenty to do in between- I went to a class and spoke with the head of the ART program.
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The administration is very congenial and actively trying to make things easy for the applicants and students. There is a good deal of down time, but I would suggest getting to know some of your fellow applicants as you may see them again on the interview trail (or you may learn something from them; I did). Both of my interviews were relatively chill. I interviewed with one MD and one member of the administration, though some people interviewed with two MDs, an MD and a student, or two members of the administration. The interviews are closed file, so they don’t know anything about you; that’s good or bad in that they are not influenced by your numbers, but they seem genuinely interested in you as an applicant. The first interview I had was difficult to find, but it seems almost everyone at the hospital is hospitable: I just poked my head into an office and a nice lady led me to the doctor’s office. My second interview seemed a little more ‘business’ so to speak, and I felt like the answers I gave were not really met with approbation (or even tacit agreement), but you never know until decisions come out. I stayed with a student, and I would recommend that.
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Arrive at 8 for orientation. Rest of day is open for exploration. They give you a map and lecture schedules for the 1st and 2nd years. Go to lectures on your free time, or just sit in the atrium and hang out. Up to you. 12 is lunch. Your two interviews are scheduled at certain times during the day. You go to find your interviewers in their offices. Everyone was very friendly and very willing to help and give their two cents.
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I was very impressed by everything on interview day. They do a fantastic job of making you feel welcome and are good about selling themselves as a great school. Students constantly stopped to ask us how we were doing, if we had any questions about the school, and did this with genuine sincerity. It appears that the learning environment they promote is extrememly relevant and appropriate to undertaking a career in medicine with a focus on basic science, clinical medicine, and PBL right from the beginning. Furthermore, because of the environment Rochester promotes, there is a feeling of comraderie instead of competition and students are friends rather than 'numbers' competing with each other. Overall, I went in thinking this was a pretty good school to check out, but I was proved wrong and left thinking this was a great school and one truly worth attending. I enjoyed it thoroughly. ...pretty cold in the winter though.
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Low-stress, friendly, conversational - as a reapplicant, rest assured that NOT all interview visits are like this! i enjoyed the closed-file format; if you have a skilled, experienced interviewer, the interview runs more smoothly and naturally. but it can be awkward with a less skilled interviewer who may be unsure what to ask about you. make sure you convince your interviewers that you are a "good fit" for Rochester - they are big on the biopsychosocial theory of medicine!
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Mad chill
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Very relaxed; mostly conversational; no specific questions
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Rochester is an amazing school! The day starts off with some brief talks and then you have one interview before the lunch and tour, and another afterwards. You have a lot of downtime so I definitely suggest sitting in on a PBL or lecture. The interview themselves were low stress. I really felt that the interviewers strived to get to know as a person. Stay with a student host! It's a great way to meet students and get to know the school.
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I had 3 interviews instead of the usual 2 because i asked to meet with a colleague of someone i know. interviews were very chill, everyone was really helpful and friendly. had lunch and tour with 2nd years, who seemed happy to be there. everyone i talked to was very positive about the school, only major complaint was the weather in rochester.
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I stayed with a host overnight. She was extremely welcoming and helpful. Learned a lot about the University. I'm not sure if I am supposed to mention names in here, but one of the interviewers (he works in emergency dept) asks very off-the wall questions.
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There was a welcome and overview session with the director of admissions at 8:00, followed by two interviews between 9:30 and noon. Lunch was hosted by two students, followed by a tour of the school and hospital (lots of walking!). Then another interview after lunch. The receptionist was great...very helpful, especially with directions. :)
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Overall it was a cool experience a little tiring. I guess after the visit I realized how much I would like to go to the school.
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Fairly relaxed. A few questions which made me anxious after the fact, but the interviewers were very kind.
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Very informative seeing that all I knew about the school was the research opportunitites they had. Very laid back day with downtime that could be used to sit in on a class or explore the hospital
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Overall the day was pleasant and laid back, with the exception of the student interview, who appearead slightly hostile at times. He was a really nice guy, I think he was just trying to see what makes me tick. The two faculty interviews went very well, and both of them did their best to sell Rochester as a great city. I didnt really buy it, Rochester seems average at best.
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Left with a very positive impression of the school. It shot up to one of my top places after the interview.
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VERY relaxed, closed file so pretty open topic, very nice people. I felt like they really wanted to get to know me.
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Everyone was extremely kind and encouraging, the interviews were long, covered a lot of ground but went deep, the students and faculty seem bery progressive and committed to the students' educations.
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All in all a great experience. Now I stand back and wait for that acceptance thingie.
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The interviews were very conversational. The interviewers really aimed to know me as a person, and not simply as a collection of grades and numbers. I stayed at Rochester the night before. I was refreshed for the interview. After that, I spent the evening with current medical school students. The next day, I sat in on a few second-yr lectures, and I met more students. My host was awesome. I would love to attend Rochester.
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I liked the fact that there were two interviews. my first interviewer it was an older, somewhat gruff gentlmen who really drilled me on the details of my application. he also cut me off during some of my answers. the second interview was much more conversational (and pleasant).
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The day started with a brief intro, and then one morning interview. There was a tour given by medical students and Q&A lunch. Then a second interview.
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The interviews were laid back and I really enjoyed the PBL class. It was relaxed and interactive. They seemed to arrange it so that each person had different strengths to contribute to the class.
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I had a great time. I really loved the school and the people there were really friendly.
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Very positive and laid back
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Interviews were excellent. Very laid back and conversational. The interviewers really wanted to get a feel for who I was as a person.
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Positive
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It was wonderful! I fell in love with this school!
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Overall, the experience was very good. I was surprised at how happy everyone was considering the first years had an exam the following Monday and the second years had an exam the next day. Everyone was really friendly and telling us how great their school was. The day started off with an introduction to the school for the first hour. Then we had some down time before our first interview. After our first interviews we went to listen in on a first year lecture. There's no notetaking since the slides are already bound up in notes for the students which is definitely a plus. We then had lunch and got a tour of the school, followed by our second interview and then we could go home. A pretty short and easy day. Very laid back.
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The day starts early (around 8 am), you are given an informal presentation, then you wait around for your two interviews. Then lunch, and a student-led tour, with more interviews after lunch (each person has two one-on-one interviews).
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There was a lot of down time. Bring something to do or read because you will wait around for a while.
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The interview process was really great. The number of candidates interviewing on a particular day is really small, so there was a lot of attention focused on each individual. My interviewers were really enthusiastic, and the facilities were beautiful. The first years were all studying for exams, but everyone still took time to stop us in the halls and chat. There seemed to be a lot of comraderie amongst the students, and that showed a lot as we toured the campus and met others.
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Very relaxed and I came away with a good feeling about the school--they really focus on the students and produce very good doctors.
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I had three interviews because I asked for a third interview after my experience interviweing with someone who had a clear bias against women, especially someone with children who wants to attend medical school. I will add however, that the admissions staff was very helpful in aranging for an alternate interview at my request. That interview was the best of the three I had, probably because I was very interested in that aspect of the medical school, and so I more in common with the person. I was negatively impressed by the way the students giving the tour interacted with us. Compared to other places I've interviewed, they seemed very uptight,rushing us through lunch and all through the tour. They seemed more interested in getting it over with that in getting to know us. Of the four schools I've interviewed at this fall, I would say this one is the most obsessed with image and with stature. They spent a lot of time telling us how Rochester is the best and how they were leaders in various aspects of medical education, research, community outreach, international education... etc--even that they are the #1 nationwide in charitable giving for United Way per capita. This suggested an underlying need to be make an impression--which somehow didn't impress me.
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Interviewed with a 3rd year student, and then a faculty who had also attended medical school there. Some standardized questions, time to ask plenty of questions.
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Very laid back, low stress, ample opportunity to ask q's
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The experience was overall very positive. The curriculum at Rochester is one of a kind and is a point that faculty, administrators and students alike are proud of. The hospital facilities are new, clean and very attractive. Be prepared for a long day, however, since the day wasn't planned efficiently and there was a lot of downtime.
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Extraordinarily positive. This school is hot.
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Great
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It was an okay interview day. Nothing special, nothing too impressive, nothing disturbing I guess.
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Very relaxed; they give you the opportunity to be proactive in describing your history, interests, and opinions. Be yourself and be fired-up about whatever it is you have chosen to do.
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It was really good.
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Overall stress-free and organized
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Low stress environment....they are trying to sell the school to you as much as you are selling yourself to the school
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The school itself is very nice and seems like a great place to study medicine. The only problem is the Rochester factor, namely that it is a small/medium-sized city with very limited recreational opportunities.
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People there really care about their students and people are truly genuinely nice. I know because I talked to random patients, nurses, and technicians.
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Nice school in a very cold place. Interesting, innovative curriculum and students tend to do well on the boards.
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The interview day began with a meeting with a representative from the Dean, financial aid, and the interview coordinator. Most of us had one interview in the morning followed by lunch. Two friendly students ate lunch with us and took us on a tour. The facility seems very updated and it is evident that research and donation funds flow into the school. After lunch, we had two more interviews. Apparently, on Friday they have students interview applicants as well. The student interview became more of a discussion than interview and I learned some information from it.
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Both of my interviews were 60min. but the people who interviewed me were so friendly that those 2 hours were two of the fastest hours of my life. the interview is close file but rochester does send you two questions that you need to answer and submit to them a week before. The interviewers had access to your response.
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I had an excellent time here. The interviews were pretty conversational because of the closed-file situation, but my first one was tougher than the second. My second interviewer was really, really nice.
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Very low-stress. When you go, you have to write down 4 of your most important activities, and that is all the interviewers know about you. So, you have a good idea what to talk about. My first interviewer asked me to talk about myself, and then he proceeded to tell me about the school. My second interviewer basically just chatted with me- it was very chill.
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To preface this entry, shortly after 10/15 I received a call from the U of Rochester saying that I had been accepted. These interviews are partially open file. You are asked to provide the interviewers with two essays (the questions are given to you upon your invitation to interview) and a list of 4 extracurricular activities. The interviews know only these and focus on them to varying degrees in the interview room. The first interview was extremely laid back and conversational. We took off our jackets and had a long, involved conversation about many issues in my application and many tangent issues as well. For example, we discussed the influence the internet and modern technology has on society, particularly small towns in the US (it sounds strange, but it was such a great conversation). This interviewer really liked my focus on primary care and my major--we both majored in the same humanities discipline and he talked to me about the opportunities in medicine to use that knowledge. He then took me on a personal tour of the hospital as described above. The second interviewer was very friendly and conversational, but very very intense with his questions. The interviewer would really focus on my answers and pick out the details and ask 4 or 5 follow up questions. We are asked to provide them with 4 of our most important extracurricular activities and he went through a long process involving a series of questions and follow-up questions for each activity, going in to each in extreme detail. He even questioned the importance of one of my organizations and made me justify my role and the activities of the organization in detail. By the end of the interview, I must have been asked over 60 questions. Incredibly intense, incredibly fast paced, but not tooooooo stressful and not negative.
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Overall it was low stress.
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Both of my interviewers were very friendly. One told me that I seemed very relaxed for my first interview (I wasn't, but it was nice that I fooled him). Rochester makes you do two or three interviews, but they are very casual. No trump questions.
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I think this is a great place to become an excellent clinician. The professors really care about the students and do whatever they can to improve the curriculum. The weather is depressing, but most med students won't have much free time to begin with. All in all, a great choice.
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Rochester was fabulous. My friends who went through this process last year raved about the school - and now I can see why! It's a very friendly and supportive place. One amazing aspect is that you start rotations in the middle of your first year. Both the interviews were closed file, but you bring your interviewer a sheet with your top four activites - both used an activity to jump-start the conversation. When you go there to interview, just relax - the entire day is very relaxed with lots of opportunities for you to speak with the current students!
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Great experience. Everyone was very friendly and many students stopped by on their way through where we were all sitting to give their 2 cents about the school and ask if we had any questions. They also let you sit in on classes, which I think is great.
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My first interviewer was a little hostile, but he warmed up towards the end. The second one went really well. Both were very relaxed and conversational.
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Great school, I was impressed with the students, faculty and cirriculum.
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Excellent school, friendly students, outstanding curriculum. I think this would be a great place to get a medical education.
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Very easy-going, open. A bit of waiting around.
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AWESOME
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I loved the school. The fact that you start clerkship during your first year is a major plus. Let me talk about what's not posted up. I flew into Rochester the day before the interview. If you anyone is thinking about staying in a hotel, I recommend Econo Lodge. It's no Four Seasons, but it's cheap ($43 bucks) and it has a shuttle van that takes you to/from the airport and the university. There's a lot of places to eat around Econo lodge- Hooters, taco bell, boston market, just to name a few. Most people were done by 3/3:30 pm, with the exception of MD/PhD applicants who had multiple interviews.
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Rochester impressed me a lot. I thought of it as a safety school but I found that I really liked it there. You'll get a great medical education anywhere you will go and Rochester is the perfect place who wants to have an awesome faculty available but also wants to have a life.
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I had to fill out a short questionnaire and email it back to the school a few days prior to the interview. Interviewers are given that + 4 activities (you write them down), and I'm assuming interviewers may or may not read them. Had 3 interviewers: 2 with docs, student interviews are scheduled as possible (some applicants had them; others did not). Last on avg they say 45 min. One went over an hour, one was about an hour, another was maybe shorter than the 45 min. though I'm sure this is the exception, I did have an interviewer who asked me about my MCAT scores even though it's a blind interview and the dean tells you earlier that day that the interviews are supposed to not be concerned with numbers (fyi). Otherwise, interviewers were really open and asked intriguing questions. Very warm people overall - students and faculty.
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One interview was well over an hour and one was shorter. Both of them were very informative and interesting conversations. The tone could change quickly though. A relatively intense question could follow some random chatting or vice versa.
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I would love to attend this school and will undoubtedly withdraw from other schools if I am accepted. Dr. Hansen is great. He was very friendly and helpful the whole time we were there. My student interviewer was also very nice. He was helpful in answering all of my questions and it appeared that he is very happy in Rochester. These next 2 months of waiting will be rough.
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Overall, it was a great day. My interview was over at 3, but I actually stayed until close to 4 just hanging out with the other interviewees. I wish Rochester were in a different location, because it has everything I'm looking for. The day was well-organized, and it's obvious that the students there are really happy.
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UoR is fused with Strong Hospital, so on a typical day in the hospital you are exposed to both teaching and patient care. The interview day started off with a 15-minute synopsis of UoR's mission and our day's itinerary. A 15-minute presentation on financial aid followed. Perhaps this is not so surprising, since UoR costs are somewhat high and they want to reassure us that everyone who wants to go to UoR will be able to afford it. Then, we got three sheets with our name, degree, program, college, and four spaces to list our extracurricular/activities. Most if not all of us had three interviewers that day. Some interviewers insist on doing the interview completely blind and won't even read this sheet but make sure they get the sheet anyway so they will find it easier to write your evaluation. The first and second year lectures start from 8 to 10 so many of us had an opportunity to sit in. In the classroom, student activities are written on the board right next to the entrance, and the student body itself is quite social. My first interviewer was a researcher with some questions regarding health care and ethics. Essentially he sees many problems which are difficult to solve and it was alright even if I was way off base (whew). Our first interviews are done by 11, and we are treated to lunch (wraps/chips/soda) and a tour at 12, guided by two second-years. At this point I was thoroughly impressed by the vibrant and happy atmosphere of the students, faculties, and staff. We were repeatedly asked by the receptionist about how our day was going and whether we need anything. Many students and faculties with no role in the interview process stopped to chat or wish us luck or at least smiled at us. My next interviewer was a 2nd-year student. Throughout the interview I could tell he was assessing how well I would fit in the student body of UoR and he gave me a very frank evaluation. I had some time before my last interview and saw a lot of interviewees before they depart. Everyone who were interviewed that day were pleased with the school and what they've seen. However, it was still a draining day and I found myself stumbling a bit through my last interview, but I gave it a good shot. I would be ecstatic to enter this school.
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My interview experience was very good. This was definitely an enjoyable, low-stress interview. I liked the school a lot, but the city of Rochester was so miserable that I don't think I could spend four years there. I don't even know if I could spend four days there without going crazy. I feel like it's petty to reject such a great school based on its geographical location, but I don't want to spend four years sitting in a car staring out the windshield at gray skies. I highly recommend that anyone who interviews at the school be sure to arrive by midday the day before your interview (I arrived on a Sunday morning, interviewed on Monday, and flew back on Monday night). That will give you an opportunity to really see the city and the weather, since the day of the interview is spent entirely indoors (the admissions office, medical school, and hospital are one large complex). A lot of the other applicants I talked on the interview day had arrived the night before, then went to the interview the next morning, and then went straight to the airport afterward. The interview runs from about 8-4, so they never saw the city in daylight.
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The first interviewer got into the social issues in medicine and spent a lot of time with me. The second interview was short and focused on my activities.
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I had a wonderful interview experience. Both of my interviewers had a genuine interest in learning more about me. They asked interesting questions and were non-confrontational. The student lead tour was also fantastic. Our 2nd-year-student tour guide was very knowledgeable, and she was very happy at U of R. My student host was also very generous with his time.
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Good overall... i dont know if I want to live in Rochester
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The info sessions go from about 8-9:30. lunch is at noon and you have one interview in the morning and the other in the afternoon. the rest of the day is pretty much free: you can go to classes or just walk around the campus.
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It was a good trip...not as AMAZING as I had imagined, but it was a very positive experience that confirmed what I already knew about the school.
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This was a pretty relaxed interview. Rochester is interested in just getting to know who you are. Don't stress out too much, just be yourself.
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I love Rochester! This school absolutely blew me away for so many reasons (see below) and I would feel privileged to go here. Most importantly, I believe the school passionately cares about its students and wants to train them to be the best at whatever (academics, clinical practice) they do.
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MD/PhD interviews were spread over two days. MD were closed-file, PhD open-file, and the two were certainly separate. Be prepared for MD style questions from the MDs and research questions from the PhDs.
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Excellent, excellent school. It was only my second interview, but I really fell in love with the place and do hope to attend here some day. Also--always, always stay with students hosts when you get the chance. Very cool people.
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Surprisingly relaxed. The day went by very quickly and we had numerous chances to ask questions. The dean of admissions talked with us at the beginning of the day and even came out again later and asked us if we had any more questions.. very nice personal touch!
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My interview at Rochester was great. The interviews were laid back for the most part. The school is really nice and this would be a great place to go. Rochester has some good research, and they are tops for patient interaction (early on in the med-school process)
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Awesome. It's a "touchy feely school", which was said to me over and over again by students and staff. They really want people persons, who are motivated and foward thinking. The school's super progressive with their learning, and the student body really good support. Oh! 50%+ class goes abroad during their 1st summer, plust most of the cost is funded by the school.
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Chill. Don't listen to urban legends about med school interviews that your peers tell you.
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I was very impressed with how friendly and enthusiastic everyone was.
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They make the day really relaxing and fun. Even though the famous Mary Scardetta (loved secretary) is leaving, the new secretary is great and even though the day starts early, it's really relaxing. The interviews are very laid back and straightforward, and everyone is so approachable. They purposely make it closed file because they want you to be yourself without feeling like you're being evaluated, and some of them don't even want to know your four extracurricular activities! Both of mine did the interviews completely blindly and just wanted to hear about me and what I like to do and what drives me.
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I applied for the 8 year Rochester Early Medical Scholars program for high school seniors. The interviews were not stressful at all. One interview was with a member of the admissions staff at the undergrad. and the second one was someone from the medical school. We waited around in the lounge for a while but had pool to keep us entertained. The med school and the undergrad are amazing. Everything is brand new. The med school is attached to Stong hospital. The students in the REMS program are awesome kids. Make the interviewer think you want to be like those kids. Just be able to carry on a conversation about anything. If you know how to converse, you'll do fine. Above all, have fun in this all expense paid weekend.
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Honestly I was not that impressed with this school. The facilities are really nice but the people there were not as "gung ho" about the school. Some of the students seemed to love it, but most either didn't express an opinion or were very brief about their feelings. My second interviewer told me that if I got in a state school and U of R that I should go to a state school to save money because even though U of R is a good school, it might not be worth the debt. That was a real eye opener.
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I had a great time at Rochester, I really loved it and am seriously considering going there. Everyone was so nice, the students seemed happy to be there. Their curriculum is progressive and it seems to be a school that really focuses on their students.
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I didn't think I'd like U of R as much as I did. The students and administration seem to get along much better, and interacted much more closely than I'd seen at any other of the medical schools I've visited. Also they're pass-fail so that reduces the stress inevitable in the first few years of medical school. It's a good school!
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Wow, is the one word that could describe this school. It seems as if everything this school does, they strive to be the best at it. This is by far the best MD/PhD program I have seen! You would not believe the amount of money this school has invested in research.
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The school's curriculum is the most attractive part. You start clinical work your very first year. Thus, clinical exposure is very early and at a maximum. However, there are serious negatives listed above.
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The interviewers were very friendly, but some of the questions were random and in one, we spent most of the interview on what seemed like a completely unrelated subject, so it's difficult for me to gauge how I did.
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OVerall, I really liked the school. It is a great place, with lots of opportunities to do research/ community work/ basically anything you want to do. The students are great and so is the faculty. They really want you to learn and be a good doctor.
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Very laid back. More of a conversation than anything.
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It was great. If you can't tell by now I really liked the school. Mary Scardetta is wonderful.
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Relaxed
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The whole day at Rochester was great...Everyone seems really happy...It would be a great place to go to school.
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This was a two day interview, with MD/PhD and MD interviews mixed up on both days. There was ALOT of interviews. If memory serves me correctly, there was 4 MD/PhD interviews, 1 MD/PhD student interviewer, and 2 MD interviews (although 1 MD interviewer was a PhD and just talked to me about my research and why MD/PhD, so it was more like a MD/PhD interview), all 1 hour each. Everything was really good until I asked too many questions. For MD-only people though I'm sure the school is really great. I'm still considering the school just because it would be such a great place to live with my g/f (read: future wife) and has good research going on.
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The transportation to and from the airport, hotel, and school at Rochester is wonderful. It made the whole experience much more convenient. When I arrived at the school, I spilled Chai tea all over the front of me and the secretary was very sympathetic and helped me to wash it off. My first interview was LONG (~1 hour and 15 minutes). It was very conversational but there were some points, in retrospect, of strange questions. My second interview was between 45 minutes and 1 hour long. She was very friendly. We talked about her family, my family, and my hobbies mostly. Overall, Rochester seemed to be a very nice school.
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I was 15 mintues late because of a car emergency, but when I arrived, Mary, the receptionist, made me feel at ease and told me not to worry about it at all. The day started (or was supposed to start) at 8am, and all interviewers met with the associate dean of admissions in a conference room. He introduced the school and their unique Double Helix Curriculum. Next, someone came to give out packets that included our personalized schedule for the day. Finally, a financial aid representative talked for a while about paying for a med school education. I happened to have both my interviews scheduled back-to-back, but I think most people had one interview in the morning, and one in the afternoon after the lunch/tour. My first interviewer had a list of questions to ask me, and jotted down notes as she shot questions at me one-after-the-other. But, she was quite friendly and I don't think she was trying to intimidate me. She asked very interview-type questions though (Why Rochester? What makes you prepared for a career in medicine? How did you come to decide on medicine?) My second interview was much more conversational. Both lasted about 30-35 minutes. Last was lunch and tour with med students. Afterwards I sat in on a lecture. It was extremely interesting and the lecturer was great! My day was over at 3:30pm (I chose to sit in on the lecture for an hour and a half though.) Overall a great visit.
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I loved rochester, i thought the students/staff/and faculty were all great. it sounds as though you can tailor your education to what you want, and also there are many opportumnities to do clinical work in your 1st and 2nd year. i think it has the best curriculum.
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Two interviews with different faculty members. no stressful or intimidating questions. students were friendly and helpful.
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This school probably had the friendliest and most relaxed students out of all those which I interviewed at.
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I REALLY liked the school. The interview day gave me a very positive view of the school. (Maybe I would have another view if I were to go 2 months later, treking through the snow...haha) and everyone raves about Mary Scardetta, and rightly so! She is such a sweetheart and does make you feel right at home. The whole day was just a very positive day. between the 1st interview and lunch, we had about an hour, and a bunch of the interviewees went to the lounge and played foosball and ping pong. It was nice and stress-relieving! And I was very very lucky to interview with the Dean of Admissions, who is supposed to be a GREAT anatomy prof and a great dean. He was also really nice! =) Overall, I came away from the school really wanting to go there!
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There was a lot of waiting time, but I'm finding that's true with most schools. We(the interviewees) had a group orientation, including financial aid, and an intro to the school. Then I had an interview with a student. Then a long wait. Then lunch, followed by a tour, my second interview, and that's it. They're very friendly and helpful. Bring something to read, and don't worry about bringing your luggage(I stowed mine safely in the office). Great School!
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It was my first interview and I felt a little nervous. The people at Rochester are friendly and really look out for you especially those who work in the office of Multicultural Affairs and Ms. Mary Scardetta. They are great.
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Very positive and low-stress. The day was exeptionally well organized, complete with financial aid and general admissions presentations
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It was an awesome school.
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The day started at 8:00 a.m. (this is the time that it also starts for medical students). The students and faculty at the school are very happy (happier than at any of the other six schools I interviewed at). The students would walk up to us and would talk to us about their experience here. There are only 100 students per class. The faculty are also friendly. I had never visited the school before, but it is beautiful. The equipment is very high tech. The Problem Based Learning labs were very cool, they have the small group learning and a patient exam area all in the same room. The community is very nice and very inexpensive, you can buy a decent house for $80K, or you can rent one for a low amount. There were 10 of us interviewing that day. The interview started with the Dean meeting with us to give us an introduction to the university, then a financial aid person met with us. Both interviewers were friendly and wanted to learn more about me as an individual. The interviews were pretty laid back and non-stressful.
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Rochester is fabulous. mary the cordinator is sweet and great. she tries to make things easy.
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It was great...oh, and make sure to make friends with Mary Scardetta...she's the biggest sweetheart and really helps set the mood and actually gives you tips about your interviewers.
💬 Interview Process ▼
Length, number, and type of interviews
🕐
Length:
48 Minutes Average
🔄
Number:
2.3 Interviews Average
👥
Interview Type (Interaction):
100% One-on-One
0% Group Interview
📁
File Type:
8% Open-File
92% Closed-File
💻
Interview Modality:
100% Virtual
0% In-Person
Rochester-COMP interviews are an average of 48 minutes, with an average of 2.3 interviews. 100% of interviews are one-on-one, 0% are in-person, and 92% are closed-file.
What is one of the specific questions they asked you?
The most commonly asked interview questions at medical schools include inquiries about the candidate's motivation for pursuing medicine, experiences that influenced their decision, challenges faced and overcome, views on healthcare system issues, and their fit for the specific medical school. Some interviews were in the MMI format, potentially subject to a nondisclosure agreement, while others focused on conversational questions about personal experiences, ethical dilemmas, and future goals in medicine.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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Tell me about yourself and why medicine?
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Tell me about yourself
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What is the most influential experience you have had in your life?
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What is one academic challenge that you've had and how did you get over it?
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Why medicine and variants, tell me about yourself; mostly standard individual interview questions.
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What issues exist in today's healthcare system?
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Why Rochester?
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The first interviewer asked me specifically about an international clinical experience that I mentioned in my secondary application, which is the only thing they have access to as the interview is a closed-file type. The second interviewer asked me about where I went to school and it kind of went from there.
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Why Rochester.
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What have you been doing since graduation?
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How will your experiences with underserved populations affect the way you practice medicine?
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What field of medicine are you most interested in
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What are your strengths?
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Tell me about yourself.
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How are you most like/unlike your father/mother?
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Tell me about yourself?
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Why the University of Rochester?
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What sparked your interest in medicine?
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What would you do if you saw a fellow student fabricate a patient lab result?
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It was mostly conversational, but Why medicine?
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How did you become interested in medicine?
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What is your biggest strength?
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Mostly conversational without specific questions.
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Do you feel doctors have to much power for them to handle?
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Mostly just discussing your activities and essays answered as part of the interview scheduling online.
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Why rochester
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There really weren't any questions other than those that arose from discussing my background.
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Questions about my experiences, family, etc. Very conversational.
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Biggest Problem facing the U.S. healthcare system? How would you fix it?
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Conversations about the 4 activities I listed
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Asked about my interests in the sub-specialties i listed as being interested in
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Why medicine?
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Why would you be a good fit for U of Rochester?
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Facutly interview was very conversational...tell me about your family, activities, etc. Name a strength and a weakness.
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Why do you want to be a doctor?
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They asked the standard basic questions in a conversational way.
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If you could continue your current research for another year, what additional studies would you add?
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What is your biggest strength and biggest weakness?
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Student interviewer: How did you chose your college?
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How I'm planning to adapt to Rochester, being from LA.
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What interests you in Rochester?
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Describe yourself.
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Why do all this research and then not go for an MD/PhD?
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During your clinical experience, have you ever had to deal with any ethical dilemmas?
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Why do you have to be the one in charge? (Asked in reference to being a PA or a nurse instead of an MD).
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What went into your decision to go to (your undergraduate school)?
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What ethical problems did you face with X experience?
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Why did you apply to Rochester?
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Research based. Do you look for specific antibodies in the patients that you study?
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Describe the techniques you used in your research.
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Why Rochester? Why medicine? Why MD/PhD?
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What other schools have you applied to? Have you gotten in yet?
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The question about the car.
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What are your hobbies?
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What reservations do you have about entering the medical field?
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Why both the Md and PhD degrees?
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Tell me how you got here today (wanted me to talk about myself, explain what led me to be applying to med school; first he told me his story).
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Cheating in medical school?
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Tell me about a challenge you faced and how you overcame it.
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Tell me about yourself (after the interviewer introduced himself).
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What do you think are some big issues in the medical field today/in the future?
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What are the three most important qualities you think a physician should have?
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What 5 qualities describe you?
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Why here? Seriously, why here?
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How have your parents influenced your interests? (in the context of the conversation, she was asking about shared personality traits)
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Tell me about yourself...
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You are at a party with some people, and someone says to you, 'I really just don't think animal research is ethical.' How do you respond?
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What do you do for fun?
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How would your friends describe you in five adjectives?
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What prompted the (career) switch? [I am an attorney.]
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How would your friends describe you
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Tell me where you're from, school you went to, and about yourself.
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What's the significance of X activity or experience?
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What are you looking for in a medical school
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Say a patient has carbon monoxide poisoning. You look up the half life of carbon monoxide in the body and find that it's 4 hours. But if you put the patient under pure oxygen, that can be reduced to 40 min. What do you think is happening?
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What are three traits necessary for a good physician?
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What speciality do you want to do? Why?
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Tell me about your family.
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What do you like to do for fun
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Usual shiznit, with a sprinkle or two of health policy questions.
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Tell me about your family
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Where are you from, what was your high school like...
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What do you read? Why?
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So tell me about your route to medicine?
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What was your undergraduate environment like?
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What was the most difficult obstacle for you as an undergraduate?
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How would your friends describe you?
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Tell me about yourself (got this question in both interviews)
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Describe yourself
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Tell me about your background/family/interests.
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What has motivated you to pursue a career in medicine at this point in your life?
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What are the most important characteristics of a good physician?
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How will you relate to your peers? (I'm much older than the average applicant)
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Do you want to go back to Canada? (I'm Canadian).
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Why do you want to be a doctor? Why Rochester?
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Why did you choose your undergrad school?
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Why/how did you choose your undergraduate degree and college?
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What are the qualities of a good doctor?
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What are you looking for in a medical school?
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Why med?
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Tell me about your journey in life up to this point?
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What initially interested you about medicine?
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Why medicine
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The purpose of this interview is for us to get to know you better. So go ahead and tell me about yourself.
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What do you feel the qualities of a good medical student are--give me three qualities in three words or less each. (I answered three and he said, "I would also add maturity to that list, but your three are good too")
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Recommend a book to me.
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How do you feel about Problem Based Learning?
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What is your greatest weakness?
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Asked about stem cell research and the four extra-curriculars I put down.
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Tell me about a stressful situation you went through and how you handled it.
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What good books have you read lately?
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Challenges you forsee in med school?
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If a colleague came to work drunk with the intent of operating on a patient while intoxicated, what would you do?
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Why did you choose ___________ for your undergraduate college?
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What has been a turning point in your life?
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Why medicine? Why Rochester? Tell me about (the four extracurriculars/activities I've listed). Tell me about a difficult experience and how you coped with it. What do you do for fun?
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Describe your role with organization X. (You give them a list of your top 4 activities at the start of the interview).
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Where do you see yourself in 30 years?
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What would you do if you were not performing well in a particular class?
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Questions about the heathcare system - and more questions to challenge my answers
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How does your major relate to medicine?
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Why medicine? Why not education? (I have done research in education and I have a campus job as a supplemental instructor)
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Does the power that physicians have over their patients scare you?
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When you are accepted everywhere, how will you choose where to go?
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If a doctor makes a mistake, it can be irreversible and incapacitating. How would you deal with that responsibility?
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What fun things do you do?
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Describe your research.
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Have you always been interested in medicine?
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What are some books you have read recently?
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(regarding my research) What were your hypotheses and how did you test them?
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How do you feel about diversity?
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How did you decide you wanted to be an MD?
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What is the role of a physician?
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How do you deal with stress?
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What is your passion?
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Tell me about your research.
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Tell me about your research.
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Do you think you can do research as an MD? When I said yes, we went into a long discussion of NIH funding procedures that I knew nothing about!
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Our curriculum requires attendance and participation in class. How do you feel about this? Give me an example of when you fulfilled these requirements.
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Name the three things you like best about rochester
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What books have you read lately?
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How did you end up at MIT as a Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and how has that led you to medicine?
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Tell me about how you got from *** to medicine.
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Why have you chose Rochester?
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What do you think needs to be changed int he current health care policy
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"Why medicine?" (yeah, they went there...lol)
What was the most interesting question?
Students said most interesting question asked at University of Rochester School of Medicine discussed a wide range of topics, including community programs on a shoestring budget, empathy, influential life experiences, resilience ratings, ethical dilemmas, and personal characteristics. The interviews were mainly conversational with no tricky questions mentioned, but some respondents noted inquiries about handling criticism, ethical dilemmas, family interactions, and personal interests like kayaking or research preferences.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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If you had a shoestring budget, what is one program you would start in a community you have worked in? If you had an infinite budget?
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Do you think empathy can be taught?
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What is the most influential experience you have had in your life?
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Tell me about a time you've had to overcome something
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How did you spend your time at your undergrad institution?
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If I recognized a picture from my UG.
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Define "resilience" and rate yourself on a scale of 1-10.
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What don't you like about Rochester?
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If I met your friends on the street, how would they describe you?
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Why a physician and not a PA, nurse, etc?
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How do you handle criticism?
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Describe an ethical dilemma and how you would confront it.
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What books do you read in your spare time?
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What do you think about vaccinations in pediatrics? (I had indicated an interest in pediatrics)
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They were all pretty basic
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What's one quality you think a physician should possess?
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Should I be concerned, since you don't read for pleasure, that you don't have a liberal arts background?
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Why do you think some people don't believe in evolution? ( evolution is my field of study)
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What would you do if you were no longer able to perform your primary specialty choice? If you would continue practicing medicine, what specialty would you go into?
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(i took an ethics class): what makes someone a master of ethics?
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Both interviews were very conversational, no tricky or difficult questions.
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20 yrs....led to very interesting discussion and I got some grat advice.
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Asked what I thought the 2-3 most difficult things relating to dealing with the families of patients would be as a doctor
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Why do you want to come to the East Coast and Rochester specifically? (I lived on the west coast my whole life, so they were curious about my desire to try out the east.)
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If a friend had a drug addiction, what would you do? What if he didn't want help? What if another person (e.g. patient) was negatively affected by the habit?
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What would your best friend say about you?
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Tell me about two of your mentors.
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Questions about kayaking and the best areas to kayak in upstate NY (I brought this up, it wasn't out of the blue).
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If you could do research in any living scientist's lab, whose would it be?
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None I can remember, pretty generic questions.
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Do you have any weakness in your application? Can you explain?
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Whether I know how to ski.
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Make up a story about a picture I was shown.
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Tell me more about your meningitis story (from my personal statement).
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Just specific things about my research and motivations :)
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How are you most like your father? how are you most different.
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What is the most recent book you've read?
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Tell me about your family?
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How did being the baby of the family affect you? Interesting just because it was unexpected and something I didn't think I would be asked.
-
What are some of the major public health issues in China today?
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What is your second choice occupation?
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How many schools did you apply to?
-
I spoke with a faculty member who worked on a very similar research topic to my research but his approach is totally different--en sum a research-based question was the most interesting.
-
Tell me something about Yale that I would only know if I had attended school there. (Yale is my undergraduate school)
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My interviewer asked me how I learned Spanish (in Spanish), and we then proceeded to have a 10-15 minute conversation in Spanish, which went fine because I'm fluent. Don't exaggerate!
-
What books have your recently read
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What is the biggest cultural difference between the U.S. and ____ (the country I was born in)''
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What's the best way to set the timing on a 69 chevelle? (I wrote in one of my essays about cars)
-
If you were a fruit, what would you be and why? (Apparently her daughter told her to ask that one!)
-
What are your failures?
-
What is something unique about your school that only someone who went there would know?
-
What do you think about autism? (In the context of discussing my research).
-
How did a theater major choose medicine?
-
If you were president of the U.S. what 3 policy issues would you pursue?
-
How does [a particular activity] relate to your decision to apply here?
-
None -- first interview was just a long conversation (tell me about yourself?). Second interview was more stressful.
-
Are you a Packers fan?
-
What personal biases will you have to overcome to be a good physician to your patients?
-
I was amazed at how conversational the interviews were. They really didn't press me with any interesting questions, we mostly talked about the school and its opportunities.
-
The interviewer told me to close my eyes and imagine myself in paradise and she wanted me to describe what paradise was for me
-
A question related to my research.
-
How many schools did you apply to? Just wasn't expecting it, but it was asked in the friendliest way possible.
-
My first interviewer asked me what breed of dog I would be
-
Since you are creative artistically, how would you apply this to your practice or your research?
-
I want to show you and X-ray and have you diagnose what is going on (this was actually fun).
-
What do you look for in a medical school?/What are the qualities of a good medical school?
-
(In so many words...) Name three things this administration could be doing better in regards to anything foreign or domestic (health care related or not).
-
All questions pertained to my background (music, law, research) - i was not caught off-guard by any questions. i didn't find any questions particularly interesting per se
-
Have you ever used drugs? be truthful.
-
There was no stand out question. Most were typical fare, though often follow up questions probed deeper than normal. I did like the Theoretical questions they asked (if you were a practicing doctor and a 13 year old asked you for an abortion what would you do?)
-
I am your patient. You are my doctor. Diagnose me.
-
How would your friends describe you
-
How would you explain zeroth-order and first-order decay to a family?
-
What is your pet peeve?
-
Why did you choose to go to your undergrad?
-
Nothing really... very standard questions.
-
I weas given a film and asked to explain it and givea story about what I think I happened (I like this!)
-
How do you see medicine changing in the future?
-
I was asked to analyze an x-ray and tell them my diagnosis of what it was and how/why it happened.
-
Could you discuss the differences between contemplation and mindfulness, and how a physician can use these as tools with patients.
-
Can't think of anything really.
-
What do you think are some issues that you may face 10 years from now
-
What i do to keep in shape
-
What do you think about ethics in medicine?
-
How are you most like and most different from each parent?
-
What does "empathy" mean to you? can empathy be learned?
-
Basic questions, conversational
-
What is empathy? Can it be acquired?
-
None of the questions were original or unexpected
-
It was extremely conversational in both interviews. Mostly the questions weren't particularly interesting because they weren't trying to catch you in anything, they all stemmed from the converation and they were really trying to get to know you.
-
Nothing too interesting
-
What do you do for fun?
-
Give me an example of a stressful time in your life and how you handeled it.
-
If I was given 30% of the money I needed to institute an intervention aimed at reducing HIV in South Africa, what would I do and why?
-
Mostly we talked about the little bit of information the interviewers did have about me.
-
Did you have a hard time deciding where to attend undergraduate school?
-
What does it mean to you to have a biopsychosocial mentality?
-
How would I pay for the underserved uninsured who need medical care?
-
Nothing extremely interesting.
-
A paraphrase of the question: "You're a very creative person. How do you expect to do in medicine, which doesn't always require creativity?"
-
Why did I go to Russia?
-
Why are you interested in cardiology?
-
What is the most meaningful patient experience you have had?
-
How did you choose your undergraduate school?? why this school, why not another one?? and lots of follow up questions on my undergraduate school!!
-
"How do you deal with stressful situations? Give examples"
-
Did you know that birth control was discovered in your hometown?
-
How would we solve the problem of obesity in the United States?
-
None
-
With your background, are you sure you actually NEED an M.D.?
-
What do you think the defining characteristic of leadership is?
-
Too many
-
What do you think about your governor? (He'd asked me about stem cells and in my answer I mentioned how CA had recently passed the stem cell referendum)
-
How did I end up at my undergraduate school, in that major and why medicine?
-
Nothing unexpected.
-
What is your race? (related to my application essays, but strange regardless)
-
NOthing unusual....
-
Where would you travel if you could?
-
Nothing too strange. Standard questions like strengths and weaknesses, clarifications on my personal statement.
-
What was your favorite class(es) in college and why?
-
"Is there anything you feel strongly about or like to argue about?"
-
What books have you read recently that you would recommend?
-
Both interviews felt more like conversations. A particular question does not stand out.
-
That no questions about why I wanted to be a dr. were asked. Yay! THese were by far the most interesting interviews I've ever had. THe Faculty at U of R impressed me very much by their knowledge of the arts, humanities AND medicine.
-
Nothing.
-
What reservations do you have about being a doctor in this day in age?
-
How would you define emotional maturity?
-
If a man has a medical condition that can best be treated by an incredibly expensive drug that is not covered by his insurance but that IS covered by his wife's insurance what do you say to his wife when she asks that the drug be prescribed to her and not her husband?
-
Break the news to me that I have tested positive for HIV. (I led into this because I have worked as an AIDS educator, so don't necessarily expect this one)
-
What gives you pause about medicine?
-
How do you think the heath of our nation will change in fifty years?
-
Describe your ideal learning environment.
-
Considerations I would take when providing end-of-life care (followed from a part of our conversation).
-
Do you love Biology? This was a great question because it allowed me to express my enthusiasm for science.
-
What would be the basis for a choice between several med schools that accept you
-
What are you looking for in a medical school?
-
What type of leader are you?
-
What about medicine would make you wake up screaming with nightmares?
-
What do you think of the situation going on in Florida (woman in a coma whose husband wants to remove the feeding tube), and what is your opinion on right to life issues in general?
-
Where do you see health care in fifty years?
-
Fifty years from now what did you do as a physician? How did your career go? What changed in medicine over your career? (what the hell was this all about???)
-
Tell me about your semester abroad.
-
Tell me about your clinical experience, and why you would fit in U. Rochester?
-
Name the last 3 books you've read.
-
How would you apply math to medicine? (I'm a math major)
-
What is so satisfying about music? (I majored in music and we were talking about my research)
-
I wasn't asked any interesting questions but another guy had an interesting question. His interviewer (a very portly man) asked him to tell her what she would say about his appearance without being able to do a checkup or any tests. The kid told his interviewer that "You are fat and need to lose weight."Personally, I would not have picked that answer.
-
How do you feel about diversity?
-
What is your gut feeling about Rochester (I had just said I trust my gut instincts).
-
What in my file would I point to as an indication of something that sets me apart from other qualified candidates
-
Questions about intron homology among cardiac muscle cell's were the most interesting because of current day prevalence.
-
Nothing
-
Why did you choose your major ("it's unusual")?
-
How was your experience at your undergraduate college been?
-
Why I was such a failure in high school (the interviewer had a hearing aid and had misheard me).
-
Do you think you will be able to make a smoot transition to living on the east coast?
-
What would you do if medicine was out of the question?
-
Nothing very unique--the interviewers both just wanted to go through my experiences and stuff.
-
What has been the most difficult challenge that you've encountered in your volunteer work?
-
At one point, I was asked to recommend a book I'd recently read to my interviewer.
-
What do you think makes a good doctor? What kind of doctor do you want to be?
-
Do you think living at home during college made you sheltered?
-
What did you learn about yourself in your current job? (I am currently taking a year off.)
-
What is the last good movie you've seen
-
What about medicine could cause you to wake up screaming in the middle of the night?
-
If you were the assistant to the president of MIT, how would you advise him to improve the student life?
-
What do you think are the benefits and drawbacks of alternative medicine.
-
What is your favorite book and why?
-
What would you do if a classmate of yours falsified a number on a chart during your clerkship?
-
Describe your childhood.
-
"What are your ideas concerning giving an fatally-ill overdosed drug addict a liver transplant over those on the waiting list?"
How did you prepare for the interview?
Most applicants prepared for the interview by reviewing SDN feedback, researching the school's website, and practicing common interview questions. Many also read their application materials, engaged in mock interviews, and stayed informed about current healthcare issues to feel more confident and ready for the interview.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
-
Reading SDN past interview questions, researching specific school programs that align with my interests/experiences, practicing answers to common interview questions
-
SDN Interview Feedback, Reddit, practice interviews
-
SDN, mock interviews
-
SDN
-
Read SDN interview feedback, prepared for common interview questions (tell me about yourself, why medicine, etc)
-
Going over my application, practicing with couple of premed advisors and looking through this website
-
Reading these.
-
SDN interview feedback, school information, AMCAS essay
-
Rochester website/ brochure, re-read my essays/ application, SDN surveys
-
Read the website, SDN forums
-
Looked on SDN for questions and did a mock interview.
-
Reviewed my four most meaningful experiences and AMCAS application.
-
Read the website, read a published paper by my interviewer, reviewed AMCAS application.
-
Reviewed my personal statement, essays for the school, and the school's website.
-
Reviewed my secondary application, studentdoctor.net, school's website
-
SDN, read website
-
SDN, Rochester website, Brochure
-
Their website, pamphlet, and SDN.
-
SDN, read the info brochure, talk with my student host.
-
Read student doc network, learned about the school.
-
SDN, U of R website, read a book on interviewing
-
Read feedback, forum posts and pre-interview essays, but little prep is needed as the interview format is very conversational. The typical "grilling" questions are either not present or are present as a natural extension of the conversation.
-
Read book on health care, another on med school interviewing, taped interview practice at my college
-
Good night's sleep.
-
SDN, UW Bioethics, Read about interviewers, Understanding Health Policy...
-
Website, sdn, reviewed essays and activites I submitted
-
SDN, essays, school website,
-
SDN, school website, mock interviews.
-
Reviewed interview essays/experiences. Reviewed school's website.
-
Looked over information about rochester
-
SDN interview feedback, Rochester's website, reviewing primary/secondary statements.
-
Briefly looked over faculty/interviewer profiles.
-
Read over application essays, read about the program on the university website, SDN
-
MSAR, SDN, Rochester web site.
-
SDN, school website, current events, general interview questions
-
Looked over the short essays we submitted a week before the interview, thought about current healthcare/ethical issues, read SDN interview feedback.
-
Read SDN, read my secondary and AMCAS apps, mock interviews with family, mentally reviewed questions in my mind.
-
SDN, read over amcas ap, and rochester ap.
-
Read their papers, sdn, reviewed my amcas, examined school curriculum
-
Read up on the double helix curriculum, dr. engel who founded the biopsychosocial model that this university thrives on, read online about research opportunities at rochester, spoke with other applicants, spoke with current students
-
Sdn, school website
-
I did two mock interviews with a member of the Admissions Committee.
-
Read up on current health care issues, read SDN and mentally answered questions I expected.
-
SDN feedback, re-read AMCAS
-
Read pamphlet, mentally answering SDN feedback questions.
-
SDN, my essays, mock interview, other interviews
-
SDN, Rochester's website and the viewbook they send out after the primary is submitted.
-
Looked over faculty intrests. Looked at school brochure and website. Looked over my own research.
-
Read over AMCAS, secondary, school website & documents, researched my interviewers, SDN interview feedback
-
Review application, go through common questions, went over brochure, looked up interviewers
-
SDN interview feedbacks, read about school, re-read my AMCAS
-
Read Rochester website, got to know the double-helix curriculum and the biopsychosocial teaching model. Mock interviews.
-
Reread those essays they make you write and the brochure they sent.
-
SDN, Reviewed AMCAS & Essays, Read online info on the school, thought about answers to potential questions.
-
SDN, read brochure, reviewed my app and the pre-interview essays
-
SDN, read my AMCAS, thesis research, abstracts of the research of the people I was interviewing with
-
Mock interview, SDN, practiced answering other standard interview questions, went over the two essays they asked for.
-
Read SDN, my essays, newspapers, journals
-
SDN, previous interviews
-
A good night's sleep.
-
This site, school's website
-
Pratice, SDN, went over application...
-
Read over my application and read up on current events in healthcare
-
Read my application material and the school's material.
-
Read about school, read brochure, browsed interview feedback, practiced answering questions in my head
-
Read everything on the website (printed it and read it on the flight). Read my PS, reviewed interview questions, mock interview.
-
Read over interview feedback, went through potential questions, read up on the school
-
SDN, mock interview, read application
-
I reviewed my AMCAS and the questions posted on this site, which were spot on with this interview. I looked over my answers to the supplemental essay questions, but honestly, they didn’t really get mentioned in the interviews.
-
Read AMCAS, essays, SDN, looked over some material on healthcare system organization.
-
Mock interview, SDN, re-read my app, read website and packet.
-
Consulted this website; read MSAR; read school website; pimped student host for info; read health-related articles; listened to NPR daily to keep current; read over AMCAS application and other essays
-
Packet
-
No prep.
-
School website, SDN, read my essays
-
School website and broshure, plus SDN
-
Read sdn, school website, reviewed my amcas and essays
-
Read over school brochure, read over application.
-
Read the school website, reread my application, mock interview, interview feedback on SDN
-
Sdn, school website, read over essays
-
Read website, sdn, brochure.
-
Read school website
-
I didnt
-
Just read over material i sent to them
-
I didn't since I knew it was closed file so we could talk about anything.
-
Reading SDN, health news, AMSA, etc.
-
SDN, read up on ethics, health care issues, school website.
-
Current Rochester students, this website, Rochester brochure, Rochester website; personal reflection
-
Went over some general questions, ie why do you want to be doctor, tell me about yourself
-
Read SDN feedback. their brochure, my AMCAS
-
SDN, asked questions of my host the night before
-
SDN, talking to roch med students
-
Read through AMCAS, secondary application, interview guidebook, looked through website, talked to student host.
-
Sdn, msar, rochester website, talked with students
-
Read this site, looked over their curriculum, practiced questions, read over my research
-
Interview Feedback, UofR website, read NYtimes health news
-
SDN, read up on healthcare issues, lots of sleep, mock interview
-
Spoke with students, brochure, internet, MSAR, etc. . .
-
Read SDN interview feedback, read over school booklet
-
Read SDN feedback, mock interview with friend, sleep.
-
Read SDN responses, looked at website, read brochure they sent me
-
SDN, Rochester Website
-
School website, SDN
-
Read this site, read the brochure, and spent two years thinking about why on earth I wanted to do this to myself.
-
Looked at previous questions
-
This site.
-
By chilling out in Rochester for the entire day previous. Literally and figuratively.
-
Mock interviews, Read this website
-
SDN, school's website, read about medical-related current events
-
SDN; talked to faculty, employees, and students that are at the university; school's website/brochure; reviewed application
-
SDN, Lots of sleep
-
Went to Niagra Falls.
-
SDN, Rochester's catalog, review apps
-
Read AMCAS statement and questions I submitted before. Read up on stem cell research, medicare/medicaid, gene therapy etc. (and I didn't get a single question about any of them).
-
Relaxed. I did the normal studying for the interview and came prepared with questions, but I think what made this interview better for me than my previous ones is that I was much more relaxed and consequently had a better attitude.
-
Reread my research activities, this site, read about the school.
-
Read school website (esp. curriculum--they are very proud of it), read studentdoctor.net feedbacks
-
Looked up questions, thought of answers, mock interview, read up on the school.
-
Read this website, read my personal statement, studied my activities, read my secondary essays, studied myself (figured out my stances on difficult medical issues and my answers to difficult questions).
-
Read the Rochester website, looked over my AMCAS application
-
Read this site, read Rochester's site, watched a tape of a practice interview I did, read my answers to secondary questions, read my AMCAS.
-
I read the information on their website.
-
Read Rochester website, my personal statement, SDN
-
SDN, school website, mock interviews
-
I read current events, became familiar with their curriculum and their brochure.
-
This website, practice interviews, read Rochester materials
-
School's website and brochure, read SDN interview experiences, thought about "why medicine" and "why Rochester."
-
SDN, read brouchure, website, mock interview
-
No prep
-
SDN, stuff that Rochester sent along with invite letter, my application
-
I didn't
-
Student doctor postings, school brochure, thought about motivations for med/the school/etc, prepared 4 activities, dressed VERY warmly!
-
Did a practice interview in university career counseling office
-
Read my application, thought more about exactly why I wanted to enter medical school.
-
Sdn, my application, school brochure, talked to student host the night before
-
Mock interview, SDN, Current events, UoR Website/Brochure, AMCAS essay
-
Read the school's brochure, read this website, and talked to the student I stayed overnight with (Rochester has a hosting program).
-
Read SDN and Rochester materials
-
Looked at this website, read their view book (get familiar with the double helix curriculum!) and picked four activities that I wanted to talk about during the interview (they ask you to pick four and list them at the beginning of the day, so it's best to come with an idea of what you want to write down.)
-
Read SDN, school website and brochure, online articles about US Healthcare system. I spent time thinking about about current issues in medicine and healthcare policy (prescription drug benefits for elderly etc.)
-
Sdn, UR website...
-
This website, their website, my applications
-
Read the viewbook, reviewed my application, check out this website, tried to keep up to date with current controversial issues in medicine.
-
Read my responses to the interview questions they ask you to submit, AMCAS, this site, their website.
-
Reviewed my research, studied the school's website
-
Read the school's website, read my app, SDN.
-
Read brochure (learn and love their Double Helix curriculum, it really is quite awesome), read this site for advice, read a bit on health care issues.
-
Read SDN, books/articles on medical ethics and health care...
-
Read interview feedback, read their brochure, and look over the website. Was also familiar with my application.
-
Read my app, this website
-
Didn't much.
-
Read through the viewbook
-
Mock interviews, read brochure
-
Read this site, practiced answering questions out loud, read the brochure they sent and read their website, went out and had fun the night before to relax
-
This site, prepped for any possible ethics questions (didn't get any), looked over program set up.
-
SDN, preprofessional health committee info
-
Looked at their brochure, website, and read interview feedback.
-
Not much at all
-
I deeply researched the school before applying.
-
Read the website and literature/viewbook.
-
Read through materials and website, reviewed my application, mock interviewed.
-
Read studentdoctor.net, had mock interviews, read the catalog, talk to students from the school
-
Didn't really.
-
Read the school web site, keep up on current events, social issues etc.
-
SDN, admissions handbook
-
Read the booklet they sent me with the secondary, reviewed my apps, nothing special.
-
Read their viewbook
-
Looked over the website, prepared questions for interviewers based on what I saw, practiced discussing my research and motivations to attend Rochester in particular and med school in general...
-
I had a pretty crazy week prior, so I really didn't.
-
Read SDN and discussed ethical problems with friends
-
Looked over my application, read their viewbook/website, read this website, tried to think of answers to commonly asked questions.
-
Read studentdoctor, and the school site
-
Read the SDN, read some health policy book (but got no ?'s about it..)
-
Read over essays, read this site, and essayedge article.
-
Read the brochure. Went over some commonly asked interview questions.
-
Reviewed my application, read up on ethics/health policy issues, which was pretty usefull since I was asked to express my opinion regarding the corrunt health care system
-
Read this site, read about "biopsychosocial" teaching curriculum.
-
I read the school's and this website. I read my AMCAS application thoroughly.
-
-read about the school -looked over my application
-
Interrogation of friends and family about the usual Princeton Review question. Read a few books a month in advance..."Let's Talk" was a series of debates between a two doctors (one Bush's old surgeon general...I think it was Bush's anyway) and it was pretty helpful about how to come to grips with the ethical dilemmas. Not that they throw a ton at you at UR...it just helped.
What was the most difficult question?
Students said most difficult question asked at University of Rochester School of Medicine discussed various topics such as personal challenges, ethical dilemmas, reasons for pursuing medicine over other healthcare professions, and specific research experiences. The interviews may have included MMI format based on responses referencing nondisclosure agreements and multiple mini interview setups.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
-
If you couldn't be a doctor, what would you do?
-
What is one academic challenge that you've had and how did you get over it?
-
None
-
No questions were difficult per se, but one interviewer spoke limited English and was difficult to understand.
-
What was a time where you were treated unjustly?
-
Why didn't you do any research? Or perhaps describe your family?
-
Describe a failure and how you handled it (next question was describe a challenge and how you handled it)
-
Why a physician and not a PA, nurse, etc?
-
If you found out your friend was abusing drugs how would you deal with it?
-
What is the hardest thing you have had to deal with, and how do you feel you handled it?
-
None. They were either really basic questions or just part of a conversation.
-
Teach me something (the school really stresses problem based learning)
-
What was the most difficult time in your life?
-
Why do you think some parent refuse to vaccinated their children based on unproven beliefs that it allows them to be more prone to autism and other disorders?
-
Really no difficult questions, these people are definitely not out to get you. They are just looking to associate a real person with the pile of papers in your file.
-
How did you resolve a major moral dilemma in your life?
-
Asked for 2-3 Strengths and 2-3 weakness.
-
Describe a situation that either positively or negatively influenced your view of medicine.
-
None.
-
Questions about end of life and abortion issues vs my beliefs and how I would treat patients in these situations.
-
Questions were all conversational--not "difficult"
-
How would you go about fighting the war on drugs? Do you think marijuana should be legalized? If all drugs were legalized, how do you think this would affect crime and public safety?
-
What is the biggest healthcare problem facing the world?
-
Where else are you applying to? (None of your business! Ofcourse, I didnt say that)
-
What have you done since graduation & why did you decide to take time off?
-
Not really difficult per se, but research related questions.
-
Ethical question.
-
One interviewer kept asking me to elaborate on everything (why? because...)even after I had given an answer.
-
Although she said it was not for evaluation, my student interviewer asked me about my plans for family/kids, implying that it would be difficult (although this impression was contradicted by others who interviewed me)
-
Is there anything about medicine and the lifestyle that concerns you?
-
What type of area of medicine do you see yourself practicing (i.e. private practice, academic, etc.)?
-
Do you think you'll be at a disadvantage on your first day of class sitting next to a biochemistry major? I got my degree in anthropology and I felt like I had to defend my preparedness for medical school.
-
Nothing was too difficult
-
What percentile does your GPA rank in your college?
-
Which schools have you heard from?
-
Where did your science genes come from? It was difficult because I found it extremely offensive. Neither of my parents are college graduates and work in service/secretarial positions. (I guess she forgot that this is America where class distinctions do not dictate our potential).
-
You've already got a few publications and have spent that last few years in the lab researching you could have already gotten your PhD by now. Why didn't you do that instead? (took 3 years off after college to do research)
-
Why MD/PhD and not PhD or MD (he was a PhD, and kept countering my answer with well, you should just get a PhD or MD then).
-
Defend using animals for research
-
What was the most difficult part of your Peace Corps experience?
-
See above.
-
Why should I tell the admissions comm. to admit you over someone else?
-
What other schools have you applied to?
-
Have you had any hardships in your life? (I never like to answer this one)
-
Every one was really relaxed. nothing was really that hard.
-
None were terribly difficult.
-
What would you do if you found a classmate cheating?
-
What should I ask you?
-
Why an MD and not PA?
-
What five things do you look for in a medical school?
-
I was interviewed by a PhD who asked me some technical and specific questions about my research that I wasn't sure about
-
NA
-
None typical questions, no HMO or ethical questions
-
The questions were mostly conversational
-
None, very conversational and easy going.
-
None were too difficult
-
Why an MD and not a PhD? (This is always so hard to justify, if you are intersted in research).
-
Tell me about your interest in medicine. (SO BROAD!)
-
Nothing seemed too difficult.
-
As you'll read in other feedback forms for this school, faculty are likely to ask questions related to interacting in a study group: "how would you deal with a fellow student who's not pulling his or her weight?" "how do you study?" "what role would you play in a study group?"
-
Have you ever used drugs
-
The situational questions, there was more than one, were difficult.
-
How do you know when you have reached a certain limit and need to stop?
-
Nothing difficult or unexpected.
-
Tell me something surprising about yourself (i blanked out)
-
You prick your finger while drawing blood from a patient, what do you do?
-
How do you know what you are getting yourself into? What makes you think you are cut out for it? (I hate confrontational questions!!)
-
How can you convince me that you will work in an underrserved area?
-
I was repeatedly asked why I moved to New York from my hometown and how it affected me.
-
Tell me what you'd like to know about the school (first interview question)
-
Should physicians be able to serve only the rich and make more money?
-
The biggest problem in health care and why.
-
You have had many diverse experiences: convince me you are committed to medicine.
-
How do you think your unique background (i'm a non-trad) will help you in medicine?
-
How would you deal with a difficult student in a PBL (Problem-Based Learning) session?
-
Specific questions about my past research experiences, it was hard to recall details on the spot
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The interview was very conversational, none of the questions felt difficult.
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Which of the four activities you've listed is the most influential on your own personal growth?
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Nothing really difficult, why not become a PA or nurse practioner
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What characteristics do you like in a doctor?
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No difficult questions
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I want you to come here, but I need to convince the other 23 members of the committee, what should I tell them to convince them?
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When people say "oh so and so is such a great person" about you, what is the one thing they most refer to?
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One of my interviewers asked what specialty I was considering, which was difficult to answer, so I just stuck to the "I'm open-minded" answer.
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None really
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What are the ethical problems with creating an organ donor exchange program? What are the problems with paying individuals (who are destitute and dependent on the money) in the third world and elsewhere for thier organs. What are the pros and cons of this for the doctor, donor, and recipient?
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Are you sure you really understand what a career in medicine entails?
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Why be a doctor instead of a nurse or physician's assistant?
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How would I pay for the underserved uninsured who need medical care?
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Nothing difficult.
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Not so direct, but the conversation went to the great numbers of (young) medical doctors who are leaving the profession or retiring early. What makes me think I will stay the course?
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Nothing really.
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What is the most meaningful patient experience you have had?
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Same as above.
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How will you decide which medical school you will attend if offered multiple acceptances?
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How would evidence based medicine affect the pediatric field?-- Eluding to a previous answer of mine
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Why Rochester? Tough for someone with no specific reason why.
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Strength and weakness
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Describe the last major trial in your life.
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Ethical question about informing a family of a patient's terminal illness. Off-hand, I didn't think the question was that difficult, but since the interviewer kept going back to it, it made me feel as though I didn't answer it to his satisfaction. I did not change my opinion, I just answered the question (3 times) using different language and support.
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What do you think are some problems in medicine? (which led to) What do you think about stem cells? What do you thin
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When was a time that I felt challenged as a person morally?
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Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
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If you were accepted to Harvard, would you go there or here?
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The infamous, "If you could never get into medical school, what would you do and why?"
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None really. I guess there was the "Tell me about a challenging time" question, but I'd planned an answer.
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What is the biggest challenge that medicine will have to face in the next 10 years?
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What will be the hardest part of transitioning into medical school for you?
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I was asked about my personal beliefs, and I had to defend those.
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"What do you know about the specific health care needs and political climate of Guatemala?" There was some lead-in to this question
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No difficult questions; the interviews were very conversational and laid back. They really just want to get to know who you are as a person.
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What would your challenges be in med school and how do you cope with them.
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Nothig. Both interviews were really laid back.
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Please address a, b, c, d, e, and f (all reasons that you should not go into medicine).
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What was your total score on the MCAT?
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See above
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More women are applying to medical school, and more women are in medical school. What change do you think this will make on medicine?
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As a physician, what issues would you consider when facing an ethical dilemma? (no specific dilemma were stated)
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Ethical questions: What would you do if a patient was refusing treatment?
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Questions about the heathcare system - and more questions to challenge my answers
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Nothing too hard
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What is your position on the current state of the health care systerm? Managed care, doctor's salaries, etc.
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Specific research-related questions
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What role do you usually play in group situations, and give an example.
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How would you fix health care? (Actually the second time asked when he didn't like my answer of privatizing the whole thing and letting it be, he also informed me that America had the health care stats of some third world nations, a piece of info that shook me up a bit.)
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What does the G in G-protein stand for? (seriously.)
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Hhm, nothing really.
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How should the U.S. fix the health care crisis?
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What would you think if the U.S. switched to a socialized system of medicine?
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What is the biggest problem with our health care system today?
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What quality do you have that other applicants may not have that would benefit our school?
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What is in the media that you use for your cells? (I work in a cancer biology lab).
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None; the interview was closed-file, so I largely got to dictate the pace and scope of the discussion. Most of the formal questions were layups I'd seen at other interviews or read about on this site from other schools...
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Nothing comes to mind! All questions were honestly geared to allow the interviewer a better insight of your ambitions.
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Nothing....the interview was very conversational.
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Give me some examples of ways in which you have demonstrated good attendance and effective interaction in small groups, two attributes necessary for success at Rochester.
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Tell me something unique about yourself why you want to be a doctor?
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Why couldn't you just be a social worker?
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None, they were all personal and geared towards supplementing my file.
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What do you have to offer the school that tells us we should take you?
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Same as above
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Everything was pretty conversational...However, one interviewer asked, if I was a cell in the body, what type of cell would I be and why.
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One MD/PhD interviewer went all into the positive and negative controls for my experiments. He went into a level of detail on some things that I'd never thought of before (eek!).
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Since you applied to Rochester for its research reputation, name a specific project at the U. of R. that you would want to participate in...
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What makes you a unique applicant?
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None were hard
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Tell me about a situation where your moral and ethical values were challenged.
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What have you done that really prepares you for medical school for the difficult life of being a physician.
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What is the biggest issue facing healthcare? and what would you do about it?
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What is unique characteristic about you that will contribute to medicine?
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Ethics question-come up with your own
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"Tell me about yourself" I had to throw the question right back at him for clarification as to what he wanted exactly. Don't be afraid to do that.
What impressed you positively?
Applicants were overwhelmingly impressed by the friendliness and enthusiasm of the students, faculty, and staff at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. The positive atmosphere, emphasis on early clinical exposure, innovative curriculum such as the Double Helix approach, beautiful facilities, strong sense of community, and opportunities for research and international experiences were commonly highlighted as standout features that left a lasting positive impression on applicants.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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Great school and good interviewers. They seemed a little guarded though..not sure how to explain. I'm sure people here are overall friendly but there's like a coolness to them? Lots of good research opportunities; URSOM is the gem of Rochester
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Interviewers were engaged and present, laidback for the most part and seemed curious about my background
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Very friendly interviewers. Seems like a place that had a super collaborative environment. Was not afraid to shy away from talking about mental health
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Kind, honest (I believe) interviewers; generally a positive experience.
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Rochester is a really nice, quaint city! Also really liked the "liberal arts" approach that they have to medical education.
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Rochester did an awesome job matching interviewees with interviewers who share their interests. I enjoyed both of my interviews.
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The students attitude, the curriculum, the faculty I met, and the whole environment.
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Everything? The school is beautiful, people are nice, I love the location.
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The people and facilities
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How much everyone seems to love the school and their curriculum
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Everyone LOVES this school
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The positive feelings of almost every student towards their school.
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Early clinical exposure, beautiful facilities, student friendliness, numerous global heath opportunities.
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Student body seems happy, early clinical exposure.
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The research program and the school's mission statement.
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The emphasis on the biopsychosocial model and importance of learning to treat individuals, not just symptoms
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Excellent hospital and beautiful campus, happy students
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The friendliness of everyone: admissions staff, students, faculty. I was able to sit in on a PBL lecture and the instructor took the time to personally explain to me the scenario.
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The friendliness of the students.
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There's a lot of traffic next to the admissions office, so I met a lot of students. All the students are very friendly and take the initiative to strike up conversations with interviewees, putting me at ease. We had a lot of time to sit in on first and second year lectures.
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No-stress, friendly interview.
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Pretty much everything...great school, good facilities that are connected to hospital, and most importantly happy students
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Very laid back, conversational, really wanted to get to know me.
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I realize that it's generally accepted that judging the overall happiness of the students is not appropriate given the sample size of the students you meet during the interview, but this is definitely not the case at Rochester. The admissions office is not separate from the daily operations of the school; in fact, it's quite the opposite. The reception area where we spent most of our time waiting between interviews oursinfo sessions, etc. was smack in the middle of the traffic of med students going to and from classes, as well as the place where the three pots of never-ending free coffee were provided for the students. As such, there was a constant stream of students coming in and out, and not one of them passed through without saying hello andor stopping to chat. They were easily the happiest and most diverse group I have met at a med school yet. This is also true of our visit to the student lounge, where there were several large groups hanging out and a couple guys playing ping-pong. Other than that, the facilities are definitely beautiful and the curriculum is very oriented towards preparing students for the real role of a physician as professionals in an inherently social role rather than teaching science alone.
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Alot
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Great school with many newer facilities.
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The students seemed happy and the administration came off as very receptive to student feedback and supportive. Great curriculum and opportunities for research, international work, and outreach. Also, the rent is ridiculously cheap and they offer decent financial aid (at least in my experience).
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Students seemed happy there, with enough time to balance school and life outside the classroom. the people, progressive curriculum, low cost of living, etc.
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Curriculum is quite progressive. Love the double-helix method, the PBL, the biopsychosocial approach...students were also amazingly honest, friendly, and helpful.
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Lecture halls are really nice
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Faculty, students. Wonderful people.
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Students were positive and friendly. School has a great take on the teaching of medicine. City is a good size, lots of stuff to do, yet small enough to not be stuck in traffic all day. Happy medium.
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Student atmosphere. Various track programs. PBL rooms. Pretty much everything.
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It has a great atmosphere among the students and the hospital is attached to the school.
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Rochester's focus on continued quality improvement, students who uniformly felt supported by Rochester's staff and the quality of the faculty in the classes I attended.
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Enthusiasm for the curriculum and for teaching students, students early clinical exposure.
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How smoothly everything ran. The interviewers were all very friendly and they asked insightful (but not evil) questions. Students were paired very well with their interviewers and there was ample time to meet current students. Research was very strongly emphasized as was travel abroad. It was clear how much everyone cares about the program.
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Facilities seemed very nice, students were very enthusiastic.
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The biopsychosocial model makes sense, I think other schools have it but just dont call it that. Good facilities, the place felt very academic with numerous specialties and what not if you are interested. I sat in on a lecture, it was interesting and felt very collegial.
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Warmth of the students and staff, double helix program, early clinical exposure, PBL throughout four years, student involvement in many volunteer projects, affordable housing, beautiful outdoors, Eastman school-great music
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The faculty and students were so nice! Although the interviews were supposed to last 30-45 min, both of mine were over an hour. My faculty interviewer even gave me a quick tour of the pediatrics ward (since that's what I'm leaning towards) after my interview with him. Overall, Rochester has excellent facilities, and they really do believe in their integrative curriculum. Everyone there (faculty and students alike) seemed really happy to be there. There's also plenty of early clinical exposure and international clerkship opportunities. I am definitely impressed by the faculty, facilities, and curriculum.
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Definitely a quality school. Love the pass/fail grading in courses. Hospital and school are attached (fewer weather issues.) Curriculum is outstanding and leads the field in many areas.
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The facilities were great. Everyone was so happy and glowing. They all just loved the environment and school.
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Everyone was very warm, welcoming, supportive, and enthusiastic. the students love it there. environment is noncompetitive.
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The amount of clinical exposure in the first year, the humanities electives (music in medicine), the community service opportunities, emergency medicine elective, the integrated approach to understanding disease from the cellular to the social and cultural levels
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The faculty and students were very friendly in all regards. The lecturers were straightforward and had a sense of humor. There are a lot of opportunities for extracurricular activities.
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The interviewers. They were very attentive and wanted to learn about me.
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The students and the curriculum. All the students I met seemed genuinely happy with their choice and really wanted to help us with any questions we had. No one seemed like they made the wrong choice. The biopsychosocial model is something they really believe in there, it's not just something they put on their website to draw in applicants.
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How friendly everyone was, the hospital and facilities, the curriculum
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The students are incredibly nice and happy. I had an opportunity to chat with 6-7 students. The school looks brand new with an in-door area connecting the school and the research building.
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The school's emphasis on community outreach programs in Rochester.
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The students seem to really like the school despite its location in Rochester which is a bit run down. The dean of admissions who met with us in the morning seemed like a very cool and intelligent guy. The secretary (Gracie I think) is awesome. She seems like she befriends the students and doesn't just work with them.
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Amazing curriculum. Faculty and students are really excited about the institution. Cheap cost of living. Easy to get support for foreign travel. $40 million translational research grant.
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The quality of research, the neuroscience department, a new $40 million grant for translational research, the friendliness & non-competiveness of the students (P/F 1st & 2nd year), early clinical exposure (start taking patient histories 2nd semester of 1st year)
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Enthusiam from students
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Students seemed really happy and down-to-earth. Looked like a pretty relaxed and supportive place to be.
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The students. Absolutely wonderful students.
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The facilities were second to none and all the students went out of their way to stop by and see how you were doing.
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How friendly the students were. They were very welcoming and came right up to us and talked with us for a while.
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NICE people. I mean, they were all just so darned nice.
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Everyone is so excited about U of R! I love that it has such an integrated curriculum, and the students seem to really love it. Everyone was really helpful when I got lost.
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How happy the students seem, the good nature and enthusiasm of everyone I encountered, how cheap Rochester is to live in.
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Students, faculty, and staff. It seems like a creative, happy, close-knit community. They are socially aware and very active med students.
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Dr. Hansen impressed me the most. I was somewhat neutral to the school until after my interview with him. He seems genuinely interested in students and promotes the school's program very well.
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The connections between the hospitals and school, a course I sat in on, and the natural areas near the school. Everyone was very friendly.
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Curriculum, friendly students, very friendly administration staff, opportunity to do rotations in academic and non-academic hospital settings.
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Facilities, students, faculty, enthusiasm over everyone there...
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The curriculum emphasizes clinical application and there is room for electives. There are a lot of opportunities for community service and travel abroad
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I loved Rochester, they have the best cirriculum that I have seen so far. Lots of small group learning and PBLs. Also the students there all seem amazingly happy.
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Everyone was so friendly and pleasant, both students and staff. The facilities were state of the art, just seemed like an awesome school.
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The school and community spirit is great. Everybody is very friendly!
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Attitudes of everyone here. Students sold the school HARD (good sign in my book).
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The curriculum is really amazing- there are a lot of options for every interest and it seems like students have a chance to explore everything
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The school & curriculum
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The extent to which the faculty and administration seek to make the students comfortable.
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Rochester people are all REALLY REALLY nice.
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How friendly everyone was... there was never a moment of uneasiness. They stressed how each applicant is here for a reason (and so they know you are good enough to be here) and interview day is just to get to know you.
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Students and faculty both are VERY friendly and eager to help EASY to get funding to go abroad for international medicine opportunities
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Facilities and faculty
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The facility is womderful, and I feel that the school has a lot to offer. There are chances to work and learn abroad as well as in many different settings. Also the program that they use for teaching was very progressive and would hlep a student to learn the relevence of new material more quickly.
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The fact that students are exposed to clinical experience from year 1 (not just shadowing)
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The students were so friendly and outgoing. Everyone I ran into stopped to chat with me and answer any questions I had about the school and about Rochester. The facilities themselves are very nice, and Rochester seems like a fun place to live. I'm also a big fan of their curriculum
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Great peds dept, really supportive and friendly atmosphere, early clinical exposure
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The friendliness.
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The people were so friendly and helpful. The students went out of their way to say hello and good luck, as well as answer any questions we had. The hospital is huge and has lots of great new facilities.
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School was beautiful, and students seemed happy
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The school is really amazing and diverse. In depth faculty interaction with students.
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Everything - the facilities, students, hospital and how accomodating the staff was especially the receptionist.
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Nice facilities, solid local reputation, excess of opportunities (research, clinical, etc.)
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Very chill environment. Students seem laid back and content. Seems like a hidden gem, and they have the best curriculum of all the schools I have looked into thus far.
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The programs they offer, the students and staff were all happy and nice.
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The environment created by students and faculty was very collegial, cooperative, non-competitive. Great problem based learning classes.
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Everything. Students, faculty, facilities.
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The curriculum. They have so much to offer.
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Students were very enthusiastic, facilities were beautiful
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The facilities, faculty, curriculum...everything seemed great.
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The people were helpful, having fun, and very nice.
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I was really impressed with Rochester's enthusiasm for patient interaction.
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Student body enthusiasm, curriculum/learning model, available enrichment programs, cooperative learning
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Almost everything! Students are extremely happy, relaxed, and tight knit. The lecture hall is small enough to keep you engaged. Poster Presentation showed the many research opportunities that are available. The environment seems to be very friendly and supportive.
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The demeanor of first year students, the hospital (huge facilities), amount of research being done as well as the school's dedication to producing empathetic physicians
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The students seems extremely happy, the curriculum seems amazing, especailly the early clinical! the hospital was HUGE and the facilities were great - there was an awesome children's hospital. the faculty really seemed to care
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Great facilities, the medical school owns and is connected to Strong Memorial, students seem really happy, have one exam every 3 weeks so they have some downtime between exams, Double Helix curriculum, clinicals all four years, the med students get two afternoons a week off, they have a very large community outreach program, and everyone at the school was really friendly
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The students- they all seemed very laid back, and they all loved U Rochester. I also really liked my interviewer- he and all of the students made sure that my questions were answered. There's also great oppurtunities for studying abroad, and a lot of students tend to tailor their own curriculum to their specific interests. Early clinical exposure- students start their first rotation in January of year 1. Advisory dean system- each student is assigned a faculty mentor to work with throughout their four years at the med school.
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The curriculum
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Everything was REALLY organized, everyone was super friendly, and they schedule few interviewees per day as to ensure one-on-one time
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The school is totally student centered--the faculty and staff really seem to want the students to be genuinely happy and to enjoy their education. Also, the focus on clinical experience.
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The Community Outreach Program at the school seems very well devloped.
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Patient exposure in the 2nd semester, the biopsychosocial focus, how NICE everyone was: people would stop and help me find an office or a building on the undergraduate campus. Also, how supportive the staff and faculty were.
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Admissions office, Hospital
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Everything about the visit was very professional. Students were extremely outgoing and friendly and the hospital facilities were spotless.
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The extraordinary organization of the school. The facilities are clean, the staff utterly punctual and professional, and even the doctors I met as I wandered around--even the stressed-out residents, even the trauma staff--were courteous and open and inviting.
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The friendliness of the students and admissions people
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They set up one of my interviews with the head of the cardiology department. I thought it was a nice touch.
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Everything but the lack of sun.
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I really liked Rochester's curriculum.
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The facilities were impressive. People in school are really friendly. Living in rochester is not expensive at all.
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The Double Helix curriculum; the opportunity to sit in on lectures/conferences/etc.
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The double helix program, board scores, friendliness of students
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The curriculum, pass/fail, some of the students and the cost of living in Rochester--$70,000 can get you a two bedroom house!!!!!!!
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Double helix curriculum interweaving basic and clinical experience throughout the four years, very supportive students and environment, interactive classroom, small setting PBL, student-centered, free tutoring, and students were willing stop and to talk to me.
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How genuinely interested in students the faculty are. My second interviewer was so nice I wanted to hug him before I left....and I'm a guy. He really scratched beneath the surface to get at my character and my temperament. I left there feeling like I had exposed my soul.
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The students were very friendly; took us on a good tour. They seemed comfortable in the hospital. Later, my student interviewer said UR was similar in some ways to high school because of the small class size, but what the heck, it's been awhile since I've been in high school. The facility was much nicer than I had anticipated.
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The friendly community.
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The program and facilities are top-notch. The students are very friendly and laid back. No competition among the students. Even my fellow interviewees were really friendly.
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Curriculum
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My first interviewer really sincerely liked the school. That meant a lot because he has had experience working with a lot of med schools across the US.
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The school has an incredible clinical focus and curriculum and does an amazing amount of community outreach. This is to be expected from a school ranked 13 in primary care and number 2 in Community and Preventative Medicine in the nation. The class I attended was very dynamic and involved a lot of student discussion despite the large, 100 person lecture format. Students seemed to love class and love going to class. Also, after my first interview with a physician, the doctor offered on his own to take me on a personal tour of the pediatrics wing (I expressed my interest in primary care and he happened to be a pediatrician). The tour lasted about 30 minutes and was an incredible personal touch to the interview day.
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Everyone is extremely nice and seems to love being there
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Almost everything! The dean we talked to is in charge of the Netter books, so that's impressive. All of the students I met were really enthusiastic. Each class has a binder of notes provided to help you study, and the lecture notes are posted on-line. The curriculum is amazing. You start your ambulatory clinical during your first year, which is really unique. Rochester is committed to helping non-MD/Ph.D. students do real research; they provide stipends for students who want to do research in the summer. The PBL rooms are fabulous. Rochester is a really cute, active town. I saw a show at the local theater and was very impressed.
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The facilities (med school buildings are very new) and how nice all the people are (faculty and students).
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The facilities, happiness of the students, great teaching faculty
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Everything - students, faculty, administration, facilities, everything was great
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I loved the students! They were all so friendly, and many came up to me to tell me how much they loved the school. The hospital and the classrooms were very nice, and I think that their curriculum is second to none!
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Students and faculty were very friendly and very helpful.
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The students were all very friendly, open, and sincere--not the fake friendliness you sometimes find during campus visits. I attended a first year class and a second year class, and both were impressive in terms of the quality of the teaching, the level of interaction from the students, and the course material itself (the first-year clinical reasoning class especially.) The facilities were new, modern, and beautiful, and Strong Memorial is attached to the med school so clinical experience is literally right at your fingertips. Rochester students start their clinical experience in January of their first year--very nice.
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How laid back and conversational the interviewers were. Their curriculum.
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So well organized, students seemed very veyr happy despite weather, faculty interviewers so engaging, interesting, not-stressy, and some ofthe most interesting people I've ever met. Best interview at med school ever. Also, free lunch was awesome and they remembered I was a vegitarian.
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Double helix cirriculum-clerkship starts first year where student start doing physical exams for patients; rochester encourages overseas opportunities-get $3000 from a faculty member to conduct your own research in another country;
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The people! Everyone is genuinely interested in medicine and has a great time at the school. We stuck our heads everywhere and all we saw were happy students!
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The students are all incredibly welcoming and open. Faculty seems the same; a few people actually received books or flashcards written by the profs - the woman who coordinated the interviews that day said that happened pretty frequently, students stop by and introduce themselves and ask if people have questions for them. This is seriously the best placed waiting area for interviews -- directly between the hospital/student lounge area/classrooms.
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The enthusiasm of the faculty and staff and the emphasis on clinical skills in the first two years.
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I absolutely love this school! It was my first choice before my interview and that hasn't changed a bit. The curriculum is awesome, the people are all very friendly, the students seem very happy, and it is very close to home for me. I don't know what's not to like.
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The morning talk with the dean, the biopsychosocial approach to medicine, the fact that there is a distinct difference between Rochester grads and other doctors (as told to me by one of my interviewers - this has actually been scientifically studied!), just how happy all the students were, the pass/fail system for the first two years, and the early clinical exposure
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Opportunity to check out lectures between interviews, happy students/faculties, recently-built facilities
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The hospital is a very nice facility and both of the physicians who interviewed me were great. The students seemed happy and not very stressed. Everyone seems to like the curriculum and there are a lot of opportunities for students to interact with patients.
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PBL session - Students seemed energetic and excited to figure out the puzzle of the case
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The students were amazingly nice, not super stresed, social and fun. The school is really nice and the faculty were really approachable and engaging.
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The students seemed very happy. When I was waiting for my interview, at least three or four students stopped to speak with me. They were very enthusiastic about the school and about their classmates. The admissions staff encouraged us to attend lectures (I highly recommend this), and I was able to sit in on a PBL session. Many students asked questions during class, and the faculty were very responsive. I like the way that the curriculum is organized. There's a gym in the hospital that's open 24-7.
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Facilities and students
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The facilities, the hospital, the curriculum
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The school believes strongly in its approach to med education, which I agree with. The
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Everyone was very friendly. I stayed with a student host and actually went to dinner with 25 other first year students to celebrate someone's birthday. The students seemed very social and have lives outside of school. The pbl rooms are also very nice.
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-The innovative curriculum that integrates basic science and clinical medicine--you learn how to do a complete physical/history by the end of 1st semester 1st year and your first clerkship is 2nd semester 1st year! (isn't that why we're in med school??!) Plus, they really try to provide as many different modes of teaching (i.e., PBL, lectures, small groups) as possible -Beautiful, brand-new medical school facilities with awesome classrooms specifically built for PBL -School provides funding for international research for all students -Responsiveness of the administration to student input (annual changes are made to courses based on student feedback) -Students were all incredibly happy/relaxed/outgoing/friendly -Excellent board scores -Elective humanities courses Can you tell I love the school?
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Facilities, general contentment of everyone I met, friendliness and low stress level of students
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The departure of the curriculum from the traditional 2+2 format. All of the students we saw seemed really happy with the school. Also, the ability for international travel funded by the school.
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Beauty...beautiful buildings, beautiful campus, beautiful students, beautiful curriculum. The students knew how to have fun. No one was a jerk.
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Happy students! Rochester's students are very friendly and seem to enjoy being there. I saw a bunch of first-years before they went in for a big exam and they didn't seem too stressed and took time to say hi. Nice PBL and case method rooms.
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School has some really nice facilities and classrooms. PBL rooms are great. This school has a great curriculum and approach toward patient interaction.
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Really chill atmosphere, friendly students, a random prof came up to me in the hallway and chatted, really good cookies @ the lunch they gave us.
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Awesome student body!!! Everyone answered everyone of my qustions. Cirriclum rocks!! PBL Double Helix BioPsySoc (u'll find out) is stress like crazy. They want to make sure you become warm and sympathetic physicians. Really.
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Students were laid-back, facilities are sweet (thanks to Mr. Eastman) and campus borders the undergrads.
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Extremely friendly faculty and students
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How happy, friendly and satisfied the students are - i knew four of the first years from undergrad and they were all thrilled with their first month of school. they said the faculty actually listen to and use their suggestions for improvement!
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Extremely modern, student involvement in the school.
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The facilities are amazing - everything is very new. The secretary that was in charge of signing us in was really funny and helped make people feel more comfortable.
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The beautiful facilities, new classrooms, friendly students, amazing classes, friendly faculty & staff...everything. Also, cheap accomodations at the nearby hotel, with free shuttle service (you don't need to rent a car).
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The facilities are new and really really nice! Also the faculty and students really interact closely; the student-centered approach is best reflected in their new Double Helix curriculum, which is constantly being revised based on student comments.
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The entire faculty and staff of this school are extremely nice. For example, I was not simply given an interview date, and never contacted again. The coordinator of the program kept close contact, and made sure the interviews went perfectly. Another example, the Chair of Medicine actually took time off his schedule to meet with me. Never before have I seen such hospitality. The faculties are most impressive!
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The PBL rooms were pretty nice.
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Students were *very* enthusiastic about the school and pretty laid back. The basic sciences are strictly pass/fail. The facilities are brand new and very user friendly.
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Everyone is really happy there and since its pass /fail people don't seem as stressed out
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Very friendly staff and students.
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The curriculum, the opportunities to engage in a diverse set of activities as a MS and the solid preparation attained!
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Facilities, double-helix
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The flexibility the school gives its students and the really cool, laid back attitude of everyone there.
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The incredible technology available and used for teaching purposes at the school. The problem-based learning rooms!!!! Strong Memorial Hospital!!!!!
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The curriculum is truly outstanding -- an unprecedented amount of clinical exposure during the first two years. Also the facilities were beautiful, and I really liked everyone I met (students, faculty, and staff). As an added bonus, Rochester will fund any med student to go abroad during the summer between first and second year.
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Family friendly, low cost of living, parking is a non-issue, nice stipend, great students (esp. my student host), everything is all shiny and new, fun and relaxed atmosphere
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The amazing School of Medicine and Dentistry building and the curriculum that integrates clinical studies in the first two years. Also, scheduling sor this interview was much easier at this school than any other school I have visited. The secretary was great - she was very helpful with hotel and transportation questions.
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Student happiness/enthusaism/friendliness. Students approached us just to talk about the school and tell us how much they liked it. All the facilities seemed new and very high tech. The nicest I have seen yet, especially the PBL rooms. The curriculum is great, as Rochester is the only school to offer so much patient contact in years 1 and 2.
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The facilities, the flexibility in the curriculum, the money available for students to do research/travel.
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The facilities, the curriculum, the adivising
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The campus is beautiful and the people were all relaxed and friendly
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The double helix curriculum! i think it is by far the best med school curriculum that I have seen! and NICE facilities!! and the students are genuinely happy with the school and seem not too stressed out! =)
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The honesty of the faculty and students.
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It looks modern and the staff is really supportive.
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The facilities are brand new and amazing. The double helix curriculum seems to be working very well for students, students seemed very happy and friendly
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Everyone was REALLY happy. The students get an unbelievable clinical exsposure and all the facilities are new.
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The facilities are awesome. They have high technology at the school.
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Everything -the quality of the students, the kindness and happiness level of students and faculty there, the facilities are state of the art
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The interviewers just want to get to know you. Really. They flat out tell you that your credentials must have been good enough since you have an interview. At Rochester, they want to put your face to this application they've seen and figure out if you'd be a good candidate :o).
What impressed you negatively?
Applicants expressed concerns about excessive downtime, lack of engagement during interviews, limited insight into the school and city, unimpressive facilities, unorganized tours, and a perceived lack of diversity in both the student body and the surrounding area. Suggestions include improving interview engagement, providing more structured programming, offering more comprehensive tours, and addressing issues related to downtime and diversity.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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Annoying that we had to write more essays after receiving an interview invite..and one of my interviewers explicitly said that they did not read the answers at all so that was kind of a waste of time. Also, the ethics case group activity is interesting but i think could have been better managed. It would be better if facilitators asked people to raise their hands on zoom rather than allowing it to be a free for all...otherwise we all end up having one person dominate the conversation just because they spoke first. Not enough time to do Q&A with students or faculty because it wasn't a part of the programming. Overall seems like the zoom interview platform can be improved. As for the school...one thing that concerns me is the amount of mandatory stuff for the first two years. Not great for people who are more independent in their studies or want "alone time" to self study because you're forced to be in class for a certain set amount of time during the week. This doesn't seem very helpful for non-traditional or older students.
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Just a long day with early orientation, group ethical interview + 2 additional one-on-ones with a student and physician
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Zoom group interview was a little more logistically challenging but was moderated well.
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Oh the number system of the medical center is super confusing. Make sure to start finding your interview locations early.
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I didn't feel like I clicked with the students as well as at other schools. I really didn't click with either interviewer. I left feeling I'd done poorly, yet I'm not sure how much I could have done differently, maybe loosen up more?
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Difficult to find your way around
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My student host (one of them was a bit rude, but EVERYONE else was lovely)
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The students spend a lot of time in class
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The medical facilities seem a little dated. I wish I was able to get more a feel for the city.
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Long days (8am - 4pm). The city seems to be a bit isolated.
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Building is a maze, lecture halls have no windows. Long class hours.
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The admissions office didn't really speak with us and the day was very MSTP heavy so as an MD applicant I felt uncomfortable.
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Lectures/small groups everyday from 8am-4pm
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None
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That their lectures aren't taped.
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Having time to sit in on first and second year lectures was cool, but there was a little too much down time. There was a poster session that second years had, but we were having lunch and taking the tour at that time.
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NOTHING>
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Didn't get a chance to sit in on any classes
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Nothing, honestly my favorite school I've looked at so far.
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Nothing
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Nothing, really.
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I'm not a huge fan of the city, but the school is great.
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Rochester is pretty run-down, but has tons of potential
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Not much...Rochester isnt the most amazing city, but its nothing to complain about
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The tour was pretty boring, to be honest we saw the library and one lecture hall and the rest was just walking through hospital hallways. There really wasn't much point in the 45min. of walking around.
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Location.
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It snows a lot...
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Lectures aren't taped/recorded. other applicants...
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Price
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Would like to see video/sound recordings of lectures.
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Some students seemed a bit stuck up. The campus is a huge, institutional, pretty ugly place.
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The fact that Rochester is cold? Nothing else really...
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Location
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Although the med students were great, my fellow applicants were mediclones: square and uninteresting people I couldnt see myself going to school, much less being friends, with. The school is known for its research, but all the students and faculty I met were pretty uninterested and unknowledgeable in it. The city is trying (and the med school hypes it), but they've got a ways to go til there is a diverse cultural life going in the city. Not everyone want to go to symphony orchestras and farmers' markets every weekend.
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It's freaking cold in Rochester, had to scrape the snow off the car every time we got outside, not a place where you can ride your bicycle around campus.
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Coming from LA, my first impression of Rochester is that there does not seem to be alot of ethnic diversity. This, however, may be an early and incorrect judgment. Also, the city is relatively smaller than what I'm used to, but nothing that can't be adapted to!
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Parking is inadequate for students (could be a problem in bad weather.)
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All the snow.
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Inaccessibility of rochester, campus is not in city center and there isnt' good public transport
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I didnt get to see too much of the city, but from my first impressions it looks kinda bleak
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The town is pretty dumpy, as was the weather.
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The tour
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The tour was a little lackluster. I didn't feel like I really got to see the school. It was kind of made up by the guides as they went along. Also, the tour ended at 1:50 and my last interview wasn't until 3:30 so I sat for most of the afternoon with nothing to do.
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The ''city'' of rochester
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Nothing really.
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The hospital felt like one big maze. My cell phone didn't work, I got lost. It was confusing. I couldn't imagine being there everyday from 8-5pm.
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The offensive question from my interviewer. Also, I sat in on a class while a professor was teaching about androgens. She didn't have the answer to some questions that didn't seem that difficult (I knew the answer to one of them) and she also presented slides with incorrect statistics on them (they didn't make any sense if you knew anything about statistics) but none of the students seemed to notice or care. Rochester certainly isn't the most happening place in the world.
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Location. City needs to be rejuvenated.
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The cold! But the snow is really pretty.
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Facilities and city
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Research? eh....not so much. Seems like what everyone says about the weather is true - it snowed like 2 feet (in october!) right after I left. Maybe the school is a little TOO relaxed, if you know what I mean...
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The tour was a bit unorganized. Even though it was long I felt like I didn't see much.
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I'm not sure if their curriculum would be the best way for me to learn the material.
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Some of the classrooms were dark and old. Our tour was long and hot (supposedly they had the heat on when it was in the 60s).
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Rochester is nice, but not much of a city.
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I guess Rochester...but I wasn't able to see all that much of it, in all fairness to Rochester
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Rochester isn't my favorite city.
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They said I'd need a car there.
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Nothing...
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The campus was nothing spectacular
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The tour guide was a little bit flighty.
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The fire alarm went off twice other than that i was really impressed with the place!
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A car is needed to get around.
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Rochester, NY. But it was still better than I expected.
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The students seemed a little vanilla, and rochester seemed kind of dumpy.
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The numbering system for the rooms in the hospital seems to be unintuitive.
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Rochester is more-or-less the boonies. Very cold boonies.
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Nothing, and this is more of just a comment. The tour was somewhat cursory. The students were very excited, easy to chat with, and quick to answer any questions. However, there was not much to the tour other than a quick glance at some higlights on the list she was carrying around. It was a little disorganized but I think that is due to how early in the interview season this is. Again, it was not a big disappointment and I am sure the guides get better as the season continues.
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I'm not one to care about what city i end up in, except for the weather. i used to come up there all the time as a kid, winters SUCK that far upstate!
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Weather
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Rochester as a city is dying.
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Honestly, nothing
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Area seems a bit dead, although i'm told that there's stuff to do in downtown -- didn't get to check it out myself though
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The cold/gray/rather ugly area around the medical school. There is no real campus to speak of.
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It was really, really cold for a CA native. Also, their days seemed pretty taken up with school...not much free time, even for studying.
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They were trying to sell the school a little hard
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The city is not impressive at all. Not much to do, a little rundown, but the people are exremely nice.
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Students have classes all day, 5 days a week
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Freezing rain, isolation, most students i met were lame
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Besides weather and location, nothing. It is close to toronto which makes it bearable, but doesnt fix the weather.
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Location maybe.
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Very snowy day.
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Weather, but that was the day after my interview (it rained).
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That you have to have a car
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Lack of Diversity
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The area, rochester is not a place you can live without a car...the area is very spread out, nothing within walking distance
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Nothing, i didn't even hate the city!
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Weather & location
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The students seemed a little bit *too* casual, Rochester (the city) was okay but not great, there was not a lot of technology integrated into the teaching.
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One of my interviewers was really cold, and it was difficult for me to make a connection. I cracked a few jokes and the interviewer just stared at me.
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The city seems a little dead... And it would have been nice to talk a little more about financial aid.
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The town. Rochester has some nice aspects (Eastman School of Music, a pretty nice art museum) but the town doesn't have much to offer in the way of a nightlife, and the students seem to primarily socialize with one another.
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Some of my interviwers asked questions that were outside the scope of accepted interviewing lines--revealing discriminatory intentions towards non-traditional applicants.
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Hearing about the winter weather at Rochester.
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Weather in rochester= rainy
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There was far too much downtime. It was completely unnecessary to begin the day so early and there were large chunks of time to kill.
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Perhaps this is not the best school for a super-individualist. Rochester, the city, the cabbie told me, is on its way up, but only barely.
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The medical school is in the hospital sort of. The weather. We weren't able to see the clinical skills lab because of exams.
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Location location location. OH so cold.
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My second interviewer was not expecting me for the interview...so I basically had to ask all the questions during my interview with him to keep the conversation flowing.
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The weather is terrible, if you're not used to the cold. Night life is not good either ... you have to drive to other towns to have some fun.
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The extreme gravity of the students giving the tour; the lack of insight pertaining to the student environment and recreational activities
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Tuition
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The city of Rochester--I tried exploring the town and found very little in the way of restaurants, non-corporate coffee shops, music stores, etc... The nightlife seem rather uninteresting as well.
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Cold weather and overcast
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Two of the students that gave us a tour were nice, but far too giggly and flighty for this kind of task. They also didn't seem to know very much about the school and they talked WAY too much and too quickly. This left me with a bad impression of the student body.
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The cost.
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It was REALLY COLD and it snowed during the day.
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I had a hard time finding my first interviewer and was late by 5-10min. But it was okay, i think he understood.
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Research seemed much less of a focus here.
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It almost seemed like they were all trying too hard to impress the interviewees which made me cautious. There was alot of down time and we couldnt sit in on classes because both 1st and 2nd years had exams. Didnt get to see the PBL classrooms. Also the city is not large at all. There isnt much to do there. It is pretty much a dead city if you are used to big cities. Also it snows A LOT!! I spoke to residents and students who all said it snows about 120inches a year. They said the snow usually melts by July....so it is pretty cold!
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Public transportation isn't great. That's pretty much it.
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Cost of airfare to get there :
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The weather is pretty gloomy year-round
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Although Rochester is not a "dead town", it does seem to lack the culture of other citys the same size (about a million)
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From what everyone in Rochester says, the weather is a little scary. Also, downtown Rochester is in bad shape. However, the med school and university are not near downtown and there are several beautiful neighborhoods and shopping areas that make up for the lack of a downtown.
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...
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Rochester town is a dive-- much more crime and poverty than expected. Upstate NY needs help.
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I wish I saw more. I wanted to visit the dorms. I wanted to see the anatomy lab (you were given a picture of the lab).
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Rochester isn't exactly that happenin of a place!
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Not much (see below)
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It seemed like a lot of students had connections at the school and emphasis was placed on family backgrounds. I do not like answering questions about my family and I don't like feeling like I am at a disadvantage because my parents are not doctors and/or golf buddies with half the faculty.
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Nothing at all.
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Nothing, really. I'm not too fond of the location, but I already knew that before I went for the interview
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Difficult to travel around without a car.
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The city of Rochester.
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Host students - They were not especially friendly, and they didn't like living in Rochester. But tour guides and other students were much more friendly.
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It was snowing. In October.
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Nothing negatively impressed me. The facilities are new. The faculty, students, and staff that I met were very friendly.
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Rochester, price + price of a car
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The city of rochester: it was pretty dark and dreary
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There was too much unstrutured time and not enough to do...the admissions lady sounded sad we all left once our interviewers were over, but how many med school classes and walking around can you do by yourself? I would have scheduled an early plane trip back! Also getting up at 6:00 after a late flight in made me very tired...
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The tour was pretty short and the school is not very large. We also did not get to see much of the hospital system.
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Perhaps the weather (though I was there in the early fall so it was really nice then), but I'm also from the Northeast, so I don't think it will be that big of a deal.
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Overarching emphasis on diversity in absolutely everything
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The weather. It rained all three days that I was there.
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Pricey...the future inclement weather seems a bit foreboding (although I hear it actually isn't that big of a deal)...also the campus didn't seem too commuter friendly for someone without a car.
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The tour wasn't too extensive... we didn't get shown the actual medical facilities.
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Rochester is an older dare I say "dying city".
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Super expensive
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Long student class hours, though it's not lecture and engaging PBL instead. $$$, specially since Upstate is next door.
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The climate in 3 months.
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I'm worried that the science courses are not rigorous enough with emphasis on the biopsychosocial model.
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I happened to get an annoying schedule - i had two hours to spend in the morning before my first interview, but that ended up being fine because i sat in on classes - DO THAT! then in the afternoon, my second interview wasn't until 3:30, so i had to kill 2.5 hours pretty much wandering around the hospital.
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Weather, $$$
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My interviewer that was on the admissions committee was almost 20 minutes late.
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The city of Rochester (grey).
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Rochester seems kind of boring.
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Nothing comes to mind!
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The hospital was big but disorganized, it seemed. Rochester isn't a very happening town. My hosts seemed like frat boys that somehow slipped through the cracks of getting into the school.
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One of my interviews was at the absolute opposite end of the hospital and it was really easy to get lost.
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Not a lot of diversity
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Well, I go to school here for undergraduate already, so it wasn't all that impressive.
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There was only 1 hr in which we were gathered in a room and given info... no formal programs or welcomes or presentations... in general it was not very organized.
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Rochester
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The fact that everybody said, "Wow, the sun!" when I was there--I guess it was unseasonably sunny the day I interviewed for Rochester. Getting lost trying to find one of my interviewers--I was really sweating for a few minutes.
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The students
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Maybe I drove through the wrong areas, but the City of Rochester seemed fairly depressed...Not sure how much there is to do in the area.
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The relaxed atmosphere sort of works both ways. Their average graduation time for MD/PhD students is 8.5 years! That's a full year more on average than most other schools. They claim that they want to bring that time to graduation down, but yet when I voiced my concern about that level of time I was faced with very negative criticism of my feelings on that subject; "Maybe Rochester isn't for you", etc... Don't get me wrong, a 4 year PhD phase is normal, but for half of the students to take 5, I think there's an issue there that nobody was willing to address. Every other student interviewing that day felt the same way, but I was the only one who said anything. Perhaps I shot myself in the foot there, but if I did than perhaps the school really isn't for me. There's also TA requirements that they seem to be inflexable about. I think a MD/PhD student has enough on the table without trying to teach as well. That wouldn't prevent me from going there though.
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The Rochester area wasn't too bad but it definitely does not seem to be a major center of excitement!
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The neighborhood surrounding the med school doesn't seem that exciting. (I'm from NYC.) I was disappointed that we didn't get to see any on-campus housing during the tour, but they said housing was nice, cheap, and readily available.
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A lot of waiting time between interviews
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The weather... and the fact that is it not a big city... i'm used to Boston and NYC..
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Rochester area/weather
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Nothing.
-
There was a fire alarm that went off about noon and nobody evacuated, it seemed like there was a glitch in the system that may be an ongoing nuisance. I'm not sure.
-
Na
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Ehhh...now that I'm over the trauma...all those blasted Ivy League kids...lol...nah, they just took me a bit off guard.
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
Applicants wished they had known ahead of time that the interview day would be relatively stress-free, with a lot of unstructured downtime. They recommend being prepared for a conversational interview, having a car for transportation, and familiarizing oneself with the campus layout to avoid confusion.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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Don't be scared..especially with closed file interviews..they pretty much ask you just the generic stuff
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Not to be super stressed out! Faculty are super friendly
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To not be as stressed out as I was
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None
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There's a lot of unstructured time. Check out the classes, which are fun, and lab, which is fun(ner).
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How to answer "So, tell me about yourself." Also, you have to have a car to attend U of R. Oh, and look for your interview rooms ahead of time - it is a bit confusing to get around as the entire place is one giant building (hospital and school)
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Nothing particular
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Nothing comes to mind.
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The group discussion was not just an Q&A. We were actually asked to engage in a conversation with the group about a particular subject.
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That the day was really unstructured.
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The day is pretty unstructured, be prepared to have a good amount of downtime
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Not to stress out about the interview. Just be yourself and enjoy
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That the interview day would end much earlier than 4:30.
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Just do your hw, and you should be prepared.
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That I would get mono for this interview.
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How relaxed the interview was going to be...could have gotten a whole lot more sleep at night
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How relaxed the interviews would be.
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That it was that cool, it shook my previous preferences considerably.
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Park by the clock at the med school, not the huge parking garage at the hospital
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That I would like it as much as I did.
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Nothing... came pretty prepared
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That I'd have some downtime during the day, though that was a nice surprise
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There is A LOT of downtime.
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Nothing
-
That I should have known sooner how much I like this school.
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Its cold and gloomy there, bring your umbrella. Good weather for studying all the time I guess.
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What kind of jacket to wear in freezing weather..
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I wish I had known how relatively stress-free it was. It was much more conversational than I expected.
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Not used to the demeanor of the people in Upstate New York. They are friendly, but not ''gimme a hug'' kinda warm.
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We would have a lot of free time.
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How much i would like it! i wasn't taking it as seriously as i should have been.
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Spend less time worrying about having the right answers to questions about health care policy and challenges in making ethical decisions as a doctor, focus more on how i as a candidate could fit in with the universities goals in attracting strong, considerate student clinicians
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Be prepared to ask a lot of questions of the tour guides as they are very knowledgeable and helpful.
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That I would have so much down time in the afternoon and that my interviews weren't going to be as conversational as a lot of other people's were.
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How stress-free the experience would be, i was definitely expecting a much more painful process, but the day flew by
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I came in pretty well-prepared.
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Both interviewers asked leading questions instead of specific ones.
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Rochester is not the most straightforward city to navigate. It's actually somewhat confusing. I'm glad I had the chance to drive around beforehand to figure out my way. Also, I did not realize that the undergraduate campus was a few blocks (through a cemetary) away from the medical school.
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If you're coming from a warm state bring a warm long jacket, MITTENS, scarf, probably a hat. And a hairbrush for when you get to the interview. :-)
-
Biopyschosocial model
-
Rochester is a big PBL school and way into the biopsychosocial model. I knew this from reading these feedbacks, but its important to stress here.
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How low stress the interviews would be. It was my first one so I didn't really know what to expect.
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The most important thing especially in comparision to other schools is that you need to convince your interviewers that you'd be a good fit for their school. Perhaps even more important than numbers, they want to admit people they know will thrive in their unique curriculum.
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No surprises
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I know every other person who wrote on here that the hospital numbering was confusing but that is an understatement! I was so lost some times! Don't feel bad to ask for help.
-
That my car battery would need to be replaced at the end of my interview day :(
-
I knew a lot about the curriculum, but the international research grants and academic research opportunities are really incredible
-
How much downtime we would have between scheduled events.
-
You definitely need a car at this campus
-
Rochester is a nice city, I had heard bad things but I really liked it.
-
Nothing really
-
-
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Nothing, I knew pretty much what I needed going in.
-
Student fitness center is open 24-7! and it's not lame! i stayed with a student the night before, so i had plenty of time to avoid any unpleasant surprises (such as getting lost in the medical center)
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Rochester is a really really good school
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That closed-file interviews can get quite strange. First interviewer was interested in discussing math problems and we wound up talking about a variant of the King and Chalice puzzle.
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They have a cool Academic Research Track where you can take a year off between years 2 and 3 and research anything...even humanities stuff!
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Nothin i can think of
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The medical building is so big, I was almost late because I had to walk so far from the parking lot.
-
How beautiful the school was and great the double helix curriculum is. One of hte best schools I have been to.
-
Intramural football at Rochester (sweet!)
-
...there is some down time. Plan to use this time productively..get to know other candidates, sit in on a class, etc
-
Not much--I was failry familiar with the school.
-
I was actually well-prepared. However, I did not expect so many applicants to come that day. I guess its because of the post-Thanksgving lull in the semester . . . basically many people were available that day. I don't regret my timing, though!
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Bring a raincoat...when the wind is blowing umbrella's are useless
-
Rochester has an honor code written by each incoming class year-to-year.
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That i would not be questioned on my research experience
-
There is a TON of downtime. they have Deaf wellness outreach programs.
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Much better to stay with a student host- public transport was not good, and cab fares cost me an arm and a leg. Also, they don't provide breakfast at the interview, and the lunch was pretty shoddy- bring a granola bar! Also, there's LOTS of down time, so try to sit in on a lecture (they give you a schedule of M1 and M2 classes).
-
Both interviewers did not know anything about me. They didn't read the summary I submitted a week before the interview.
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How great it is! I was excited about Rochester before I went there, but now I'm crossing my fingers and hoping I got in!
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Rochester hospital is all connected by tunnels
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That I was going to need an umbrella.
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That you can't allow too much time to find the interview location in a big teaching hospital. It's a labyrinth!
-
The curriculum is over 4 years (basic science and clinicals) so you haven't had all the basic science you need before taking step 1. Not a big deal we were told though.
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That a hat would have been a great accessory, I had to buy one at a gas station to keep my ears from falling off.
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Always carry a shovel in your trunk if you're driving to upstate New York.
-
My hometown was the place of discovery for birth control.
-
That the students do very well on the match and that the school is particularly well-known for pediatric neurology. Weird, huh?
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Nothing that I wished I had known ahead of time, but I did find out that a cemetary surrounds a part of the school.
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Rochester invented the biopsychosocial approach to medical care and they are very proud of it.
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I wish I had taken more time to look at the surrounding area. After the interview, UR became one of my top choices and I wish I had seen more of the city and outlying area/housing.
-
There would be lots of down time in between interviews and the interviews would be pretty short.
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Nothing.
-
That it is not as large of a city as they make it out to be. I tried to go to the downton and high falls areas where the nightlife is supposed to be...but no one was there.
-
I learned that Rochester is an extremely deaf-friendly city. I never knew that. I wish I'd known that the vegetarian lunch would be zucchini based (I hate zucchini).
-
Downtown Rochester is a virutal ghost town on Sundays.
-
See above
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Tip: The Econo Lodge is really great...really cheap, and they have a shuttle!
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Not really.
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How much it hurts to walk long distances in high heels! There are two tours and they are both pretty long and cover different stuff, so definitely try to wear comfortable shoes.
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That my heels hurt too much walking all around.
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Turn off your cell phone. It totally slipped my mind that my phone goes in and out of service. My phone kept on beeping the whole time the dean was talking to us. It was so embarrassing.
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The interview is really laid back and they just want to understand why you want to be a doctor
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After staying with a host and asking a lot of questions, having 3 interviews exhausts you of questions that day.
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This website prepared me well for basically everything - no breakfast, lots of downtime
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Not to worry about the specifics of my application so much since the interviewers don't see them anyway.
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I knew that Rochester would be cold, but I didn't expect the city to be so gray and dreary. Also, it's very much a suburban area - cars are a must, and people seem to get in their cars to drive from one place to another. I was expecting more of a college town with large pedestrian areas. By the end of my two-day visit, I was craving sunshine.
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They don't serve breakfast :)
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See above...the interview day doesn't really last until 4:30 or whatever they tell you. You get there at 8:00 and the dean talks to you, then the financial aid lady, then you have free time until your interview, then lunch and tour, then more free time until your interview...no one finished later than 2:30/3:00 and some people were done at 1:00...and you have LOTS of unstructured time where you can attend class, walk around, etc...so it's not as intense as the times made it sound!
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That this school is progressive and a lot of what it does (integrated curriculum, biopsychosocial model) is emulated by other schools.
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That the day is usually over by 3:00, and I could have made an earlier flight.
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That my first interview would actually not be within the hospital and I had to walk outside and find an old 1950s research building to conduct it in. Also my first interview was a wopping hour and forty minutes long. There's just so much to say about health care reform.
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Fly Fly JetBlue
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There was alot of downtime between interviews/tour.
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Nothing - have those 4 extracurricular activities in mind to write down.
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Nothing...
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The interviews are closed-file; all the interviewer sees regarding me is where I went to school, and my 4 most significant volunteer/extracurricular experiences (which you write down and hand to them before your interview).
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How much I was going to like this school.
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More details about Rochester's double helix curriculum.
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That you can get thousands of dollars in grants to travel internationally! That part was extremely interesting to me.
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How cool the school is.
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That Rochester is an incredible school
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That there are toll booths in between the Buffalo Airport and Rochester...I was stuck having to explain to the toll guy why I didn't have 20 cents to give him.
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The time to graduation. It's interesting though that they never talk about it unless asked and if you ask them they get very defensive about it.
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I wish I would have remembered that Rochester sent me a booklet of information with my secondary.
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The building where the admissions office is located can be quite tricky to navigate. But just ask anyone around for help--everyone was very nice. Be prepared to list your 4 most important extracurricular/volunteer experiences. This is the only information your interviewer will have besides your name/undergrad university since they conduct blind interviews.
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That my new shoes are NOT comfortable! haha...i had to switch to sneakers for the tour.
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It is a relaxing day.
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The school interviewers are spread throughout the building, some rooms are hard to find.
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-i stayed at the hotel they suggest and they provide a shuttle to the hospital which was painless. other kids took a cab but wished they'd known about the shuttle which was free though sporadic
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To wear some socks with my boots. No, seriously, not for me, but make sure you eat the brochure they sent you. For personal reasons and so you have something to relate to during interview time.
🤝 Campus and Facilities ▼
How do you rank the facilities?
Most respondents rank the facilities as above average.
How would you rate the Location and Cultural Life?
0 = Low, 10 = High
How is the friendliness of the admissions office?
Most respondents said the admissions office was friendly.
How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?
Most respondents said the admissions office was responsive.
What are your suggestions for the admissions office?
Applicants commonly suggest that the admissions office is friendly, helpful, and accommodating, with minor suggestions such as improving the diversity of student tour guides and providing more varied interview scheduling options.
Top 5 Responses: (Click below to see additional responses)
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I think the small group discussion is kinda extra...
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N/A.
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You guys very very friendly and prompt. I liked how candid the Dean was.
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Nothing. They were very friendly.
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None. They are very friendly.
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Both my interviews were scheduled during the only times that classes were taking place and was ultimately unable to sit in on any.
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None - Supremely helpful and accommodating.
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None
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Thank you for providing warm drinks and the 1st and 2nd year class schedules.
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It would be great if the student tour guides were a bit more diverse in terms of age, interests, etc
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None, they were excellent.
📍 Travel and Logistics ▼
Airports Used
✈️
ROC
73% interviewees used ROC (ROC), with 10% using roc (roc) and 5% using Rochester (Rochester) and 2% using RST (RST) and 2% using ALB (ALB) and 2% using buf (buf) and 2% using CID (CID) and 2% using Logan (Logan) and 2% using rochester (rochester) and 2% using Rochester International (Rochester International) and 2% using Greater Rochester International Airport (Greater Rochester International Airport).
What was your primary mode of transportation?
Most interviewees traveled by airplane to the interview.
✈️
60% Airplane
🚗
35% Automobile
🚆
3% Train or Subway
🚲
2% Other
Hotels Recommended by Other Interviewees
Most interviewees stayed at the Best Western (average ranking 8.4/10), with some staying at Days Inn (average rating 5.3/10). (Top 3 displayed)
🏨
Best Western
8.4/10
🏨
Days Inn
5.3/10
🏨
Holiday Inn
8.5/10
What was the cost and time spent traveling?
Cost: Low Cost to High Cost
What is your in-state status?
Most respondents are out of state students.
Where did you stay?
Most respondents stayed either With students at the school or with students at the school.
Who was the tour given by?
Tours were most commonly given by a Student
Admissions staff (3%)
Faculty member (1%)
Other (1%)
Student (96%)
How did the tour guide seem?
Most tour guides were enthusiastic about the school.
Enthusiastic (91%)
Neutral (9%)
All Responses
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No responses found.
| Application Cycle ▿ | Impression | Performance | Interview Location |
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