How many people interviewed you?
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 1.90 | 49 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Positively | 42 |
| Negatively | 0 |
| No change | 5 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 2.82 | 50 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.76 | 50 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 6.14 | 50 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| In Person | 0 |
| Virtual | 2 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 0 |
| 10 minutes | 0 |
| 15 minutes | 1 |
| 20 minutes | 0 |
| 25 minutes | 2 |
| 30 minutes | 12 |
| 35 minutes | 0 |
| 40 minutes | 1 |
| 45 minutes | 8 |
| 50 minutes | 2 |
| 55 minutes | 3 |
| 60+ minutes | 20 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At the school | 43 |
| At a regional location | 1 |
| At another location | 5 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| One-on-one | 46 |
| In a group | 3 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Open file | 34 |
| Closed file | 14 |
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 1.90 | 49 |
"Difference between empathy and sympathy"
"Tell me about a book you read?"
"MMI style question about what I would do if staff rejected to treat a patient because of the patients ethnic/racial background"
"Why switch from your current career path to becoming a physician?"
"Tell me more about your involvements in your organizations."
"Why Geisinger?"
"How do you demonstrate resiliency?"
"Why MD? Why not DO or PA?"
"What specialty are you interested in?"
"Strengths/weaknesses"
"Why TCMC"
"how to keep medical students in the NEPA area after graduation"
"Describe how your position at a current job you have relates to a physician an athlete plays (either basketball, baseball or football)."
"Tell me about yourself"
"Name a healthcare problem in northeastern Pennsylvania. How would you address it?"
"Which of the five quailities you feel a physician should possess is most important to you? (reference to secondary application essay)"
"Why medicine?"
"What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?"
"Greatest strength/weakness?"
"If you could be one kitchen appliance, what would you be?"
"Tell me about yourself."
"What is your experience with team work, both in athletics and in the classroom?"
"What I liked about my undergrad school"
"Why TCMC?"
"Tell us about one clinical experience that stands out in your mind."
"What are some of the factors I am considering when choosing a medical school?"
"Why not PhD or MD/PhD?"
"How do you handle stress?"
"What makes you interested in TCMC?"
"What connection do you have to north eastern Pennsylvania?"
"Why do you want to be a physician?"
"What do you want us to ask you?"
"Tell me about your research"
"What does resilience mean to you?"
"Is there anything you would like me to tell the admissions committee?"
"Strengths / weaknesses"
"What specialties are you interested in?"
"What is the biggest problem facing healthcare?"
"Name a strength/weakness"
"Tell me about yourself"
"Why family medicine, especially as many people know to use it as a buzz word to get into medical school?"
"Can you describe the clinical experiences you've had?"
"Tell me about your research commitments"
"What is a negative shadowing experience you have had?"
"What will you do if you don't get in?"
"Could you talk about your previous work experiences?"
"Why do you want to go to school in NEPA?"
"What else is there on your app that we have not discussed that I can bring to the ADCOM"
"what did I know about the NEPA area and its patients?"
"Do you think you'd like the location?"
"Tell me about your clinical experiences."
"Why would you move from California all the way out here?"
"Tell me about your interest in community service."
"Tell me about a significant patient interaction you've had."
"What is one concern you have about the future of healthcare?"
"Why did you apply to TCMC?"
"How did your studies in Anthropology affect your opinion of medicial training?"
"Why TCMC?"
"Why did you change your career path?"
"What are some of the medical problems in NEPA?"
"Why medicine?"
"How would you bring change abroad to Europe (from my personal statement)?"
"What were my favorite and least favorite classes and why"
"Tell me about these less than stellar grades..."
"Tell us about your research."
"Questions about my activities."
"What should I tell the admissions committee about you?"
"Tell me a little bit about your research."
"In work in the hospital, what was the most interesting case/patient you came across?"
"Various ethical questions"
"What did you learn in this class?"
"Why physician?"
"Tell me about yourself"
"How do you like to destress?"
"They ask questions specific to my essays."
"Do you intend on continuing volunteer work once in medical school?"
"Why Geisinger"
"Do you think *specific experience and lesson learned* will be applicable to a career in medicine?"
"How would you handle difficult patients and scenarios?"
"What way can you see yourself helping the community?"
"What do I look for in volunteer experiences"
"Clinical experiences?"
"Questions about my research"
"Did you have any research experience?"
"About something on my CV"
"Describe the way you work in a team."
"What do you do for fun?"
"What do you like about TCMC?"
"Are you interested in a specialty?"
"If you could be one zoo animal, which would you be and why?"
"What do you do to relax?"
"Tell me about your research"
"What questions do you have for me?"
"Where do you see yourself in 8 years?"
"What do you think of the healthcare reform?"
"What do you anticipate being the biggest challenge of medical school?"
"Why TCMC?"
"How are you with balancing a difficult schedule?"
"If I wanted to live in PA for the rest of my life"
"Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"
"What was your favorite non-major class?"
"Tell me about your research."
"Do you think that you would be interested in primary care?"
"What are your opinions/thoughts concerning the healthcare debate/reform?"
"What do you think about the current state of health care? How would you improve it?"
"In reference to your personal statement, how much do you know about the hormone you were taking?"
"Ethical question, can't remember the exact scenario"
"Tell me more about your customer service experience and how it relates to medicine?"
"What do you think are issues/barriers in the field of medicine? Also asked me again when I said I was interested in OB/GYN"
"What have you learned from being a father? How do you plan on helping your wife feel included and fulfilled while you are in medical school?"
"How do you think your past as a firefighter will affect how you are as a doctor?"
"How's your mom?"
"What do you think is the hardest part about being a doctor?"
"Tell about your path, beginning from high school to where you are today."
"They asked me to talk about my favorite class"
"n/a"
"What type of health care system do you think is the best?"
"Where would you go if you could travel anywhere in the world and why?"
"None really"
"the interviewer shared two very personal stories from his own life and then asked follow-up questions based on what I would do in similar situations"
"What would you like to know about us?"
"If you won $100,000 what would you spend it on?"
"About a class I took."
"So how did you get interested in ------? (Activity from primary)"
"Why Neuroscience? (My major)"
"At this point, do you know what kind of physician you would like to be?"
"How do you think medical students should be trained to deal with cultural diversity? (Based on my undergrad. studies)"
"How do you deal with stress?"
"What will you contribute to medicine?"
"Describe your ideal view of the dynamic between physician and community."
"What would you like us to ask you?"
"What do you think primary care means?"
"I really enjoyed the ethical questions- we had really interesting discussions about the situations they asked about."
"What are the top 3 problems in health care in your opinion?"
"Difference between empathy and sympathy"
"ethical question regarding treating an unruly and bigoted patient"
"What do you want me to tell the admissions committee that you haven’t already told me?"
"What is an ethical dilemma you have faced lately?"
"What is the biggest problem facing healthcare?"
"Tell about your path, beginning from high school to where you are today."
"What is a challenge that patients face when entering healthcare setting?"
"n/a"
"What is the biggest problem facing healthcare in the US?"
"What do you think about working in groups?"
"Why do you think there is a physician shortage in NEPA?"
"None were difficult."
"same as #13"
"What are your strengths and weaknesses?"
"Describe something significant you learned while traveling somewhere."
"Nothing was really too difficult."
"Describe what you think the day of a typical medical student here is like."
"None were particularly difficult - except my interviewer was a faculty member who did most of the talking and was rambling about random stuff. He didn't really ask me questions."
"The faculty interviewer asked me to tell him about myself, which was the hardest question he asked. And if you practice how to answer that, which I did, it's not that difficult."
"What is your opinion on healthcare reform? What are its negatives? What should be done?"
"What do you know about the health issues of Northeastern PA?"
"What cause would you pick: Alzheimer's or childhood obesity?"
"What would I improve about myself?"
"He referred to a article he read in the past and asked me what I thought the "art of the patient" is"
"Asked me to respond to a statement that was in one of my recommendation letters."
"Why didn't you apply to X school (alma mater)?"
"What do you think about the current healthcare bill?"
"A hypothetical follow-up question based on the answer I gave to the healthcare debate/reform question."
"The interview was very conversational, and none of the questions were difficult."
"How did you crystallize that protein?"
"Read over my secondaries and school's mission."
"sdn questions, zoom mock interviews"
"Practice questions"
"I didn't."
"SDN, mock interview"
"SDN, reviewed application, researched healthcare problems in PA"
"Mock interviews, research most coming interview questions."
"Didn't"
"I looked over my own application, topics affecting healthcare, the schools mission and values. I would suggest looking over issues affecting Scranton PA specifically."
"SDN, school website, reviewed primary/secondary, mock interviews"
"Researched the school, mission and values, read interview feedback"
"friends, SDN"
"TCMC Website"
"Knew my primary/secondary inside out, really tried to understand their mission as it related to my app/personal goals."
"read up on NEPA and looked at previous questions on SDN"
"Re-read my personal statement and secondary, reviewed the ACA, learned about public health issues that Northeastern PA is dealing with, reviewed the Commonwealth website."
"Reviewed sdn feedback, read an interview book with lots of questions"
"Interview feedback, researching the school."
"Reviewed primary and secondary."
"Practiced / reviewed resume"
"Reviewed my file and secondary. Read up on school."
"SDN and a mock interview with a friend."
"SDN, reviewed my application, emailed a current student"
"Student doctor, looked over TCMC's website"
"SDN"
"SDN, re-read my secondary application."
"Read this forum and had practice interviews"
"SDN, school's website"
"Practice Interview, Reading the schools website, talking to current students."
"Reviewed website, dean's blog, AMCAS, secondary essay, and SDN forum."
"Didn't really, but I don't think that it influenced the interview. I think that it helped me to be more like myself and just talk rather than reciting answers that I had reviewed so many times."
"Read SDN, the schools website (including informational videos and the dean's blog), and a mock interview."
"I looked that their website and SDN."
"Read over my app and statement, mock interviews, SDN"
"Read mission statement/values, went over current state of healthcare, and reviewed my own application"
"Both interviewers were really nice and the whole thing felt more like a conversation than an interview."
"emphasis on student feedback, massive integrated health system, brand new facilities"
"The interviewer were very porfessional, but very personable. They made me feel like I was apart of the team already. This interview shot Geisinger to the top of my list."
"The facility."
"Personalized, cooperative learning environment where the faculty are extremely passionate about teaching."
"The faculty was so kind, enthusiastic, and were really focused on convincing you to choose Geisinger"
"Students didn’t really have anything bad to say about the school"
"The facilities"
"The school's facilities and how lax the atmosphere of the interview day was."
"All of the students seemed really happy with their choice to study there. The school is very receptive to student input which I liked."
"Atmosphere. Current students' attitudes."
"The students I met from the school were all very personable and down-to-earth"
"The brand new, state-of-the-art facilities"
"The facilities are the nicest that I've seen with a brand new building, and everyone was really nice and enthusiastic about the school."
"Friendliness of the faculty/staff/students. Definitely got the vibe that they are a close knit family community."
"the students were all very positive about the school and their experiences there"
"The facilities and innovative curriculum"
"The small, close-knit student body as well as unique patient experiences student get in their first year."
"How welcoming everyone I met was! How laid back my faculty interviewer was. She was hilarious!"
"The facilities, friendliness of admissions staff."
"brand new facilities"
"The faculty and the friendliness of the community. Oh, and the cookies--can't forget those."
"The facilities, the enthusiasm of the faculty and students"
"Beautiful facility."
"The faculty and students were very warm and engaging. The interview felt very conversational, which was their intention."
"The new facilities. The admissions staff."
"The quality of the facilities and how community-oriented the school is"
"members of admission staff were really really nice, new building/facilities were stunning"
"buildings were nice; had good thai food in the area"
"Longitudinal integrated curriculum"
"The interviewers do not look at your GPA or MCAT score. They only read your AMCAS personal statement and secondary application. The students and interviewers are very friendly and welcoming. They act as if you are already accepted."
"How well the entire staff tries to make you calm down and feel relaxed. They really just want to get to know you as a person so they want you to relax while you are there."
"The new building will be open by the time the class of 2015 arrives. Mission is great and curriculum seems really innovative. Faculty is very enthusiastic about the program."
"I realy liked the focus on community."
"The schools commitment to its students and their opinions. The new buildings the school is constructing are going to be lovely."
"Impressed by the commitment of the school to the community, the innovative and iterative learning process, and the upcoming facilities"
"The organization of the day and the admissions office. The people at this school are very passionate about medical education and very positive about the practice of medicine and its future."
"Pretty much everything. The passion of all the staff, faculty, and students to carry out their mission blew me away. They are implementing some truly cutting edge curriculum changes. They are completely dedicated to the success of their students. The students themselves - I could see myself being friends with them."
"The curriculum seems like it will be very successful. I loved how the class size will be small for the next couple years, and that the students work in small groups, and do clinical research."
"How much influence the students have on changing/improving their curriculum"
"The faculty"
"The dedication and friendliness of the admissions staff and faculty. They all seemed genuinely excited and happy about their school. Also, the anatomy lab is brand new and amazing (not smelly!) The students seemed to be happy, as well."
"How long the whole Zoom call was."
"1 hour diversity lecture was overly hammy...students had no criticism of the school. no one could accurately inform us how the longitudinal clinical rotations worked"
"I didn’t expect it to be closed interview, I don’t know if it was supposed to be. My faculty interviewer seemed distracted and in a rush to finish."
"The annoyingly long diversity lecture. Bad way to start the whole day."
"Location & weather. Apparently the sun doesn't shine much and overcast weather is normal."
"Seemed like everything was rushed and I received contradicting answers to questions."
"Nothing, surprisingly. Came in expecting Scranton to be some rinky-dink small college town and it surpassed all my expectations."
"They are a relatively new program, so they are still changing a lot of their curriculum which makes me nervous especially as it pertains to performance on standardized exams throughout medical school."
"My faculty interviewer focused so much on my research I didn't get to talk about other parts of my resume"
"Lunch didn't have more than water to drink"
"The area the school is located in doesn't seem like the most exciting place."
"In all honesty, the lunch was quite subpar."
"the school isn't attached to a hospital as is the case with other schools. The presenter of the power-point session on the school and its curriculum was very monotone and unenthusiastic"
"The way my student interviewer did not smile."
"Students we ate lunch with weren't too enthusiastic about the school."
"no dedicated time to study for step 1"
"Odd vibe from some of the students, which I (perhaps incorrectly) interpreted as disinterest in the school."
"I had a strange interviewer. He mostly talked about himself. If the interview lasted for 30 minutes, he talked for 20 and I talked for 10."
"The library at this school is very small, but since it is new, the architecture of the building is beautiful."
"The M1 tour guides were not extremely peppy, excited about their school, or helpful. The student interviewer seemed disinterested. The faculty interviewer was more interested in selling the school's primary care agenda than learning about me as an applicant."
"How necessary a car is if you go to TCMC"
"it's scranton, amount you'd have to drive and travel for rotations in third year"
"No address on probation/accreditation and no financial workshop."
"The number of applicants/students accepted in-state vs out-of-state"
"We didn't get to have lunch with the students (I think they had something else going on), but it would have been nice to hear their opinions about the school. The students we met during the panel seemed pretty neutral about the school."
"THe buildings were not great, but one is under construction and will open in the spring."
"N/A"
"The location."
"Sadly, though Scranton is a great town I'm sure, it is very rural and on the small side. Personal choice. Also, the possibility of no access to federal loans for the first year."
"I'm used to bigger cities, so Scranton seemed a little small for me. However, it seems as though the community is really involved in and excited about the school."
"New building won't be finished until spring 2012. Current facilities (but definitely state of the art) are in a community college building"
"Nothing really"
"The current facilities are in part of a community college and are very limited. The student panel mentioned that they didn't have a student lounge or anywhere to congregate and relax. Also, the student tour guide said that there wasn't much research going on at yet."
"geisinger had no dedicated step 1 prep time, and doesn't have a concrete plan in place to remediate it"
"Interviewer name, whether it would be closed or open interview"
"n/a"
"My student interviewer only asked me 4 questions and I had to carry the rest of the conversation for the remaining 20min"
"Grading structure, attendance policy"
"Nothing"
"Their community services programs (i.e. REACH HEI)"
"that the tour was after the interviews"
"How to actually get to the parking lot."
"you will be divided into one of three regional campus for your last 2 years- you will not necessarily remain in Scranton for all 4 years"
"I wish I had known I was going to such a small town in the middle of nowhere."
"More about their curriculum."
"parking is difficult to find"
"I wish I had learned more about the curriculum. I talked about it some during my interview, only to later realize I knew next to nothing about it."
"That there would first be a faculty interview and then a student interview"
"My interview with the medical student was more challenging than the one with the faculty member. The med student seemed more nervous than me. Also, the interviews were done first, which I liked. You could just devote the rest of the day to enjoying the school and its students."
"The day is over by 3 pm."
"That my student interviewer would grill me"
"they are very proud of the LIC. interviewers dont know mcat or gpa"
"that the school was on probation"
"Bad parking situation."
"How many hills there were. Do not wear heels unless they are extremely comfortable and you can walk up and down steep hills in them."
"It is difficult to find parking on campus. The tour of campus was a video tour, so we didn't have to worry about going outside in the rain/snow."
"Be prepared to walk up and down a large hill to the construction site of the school-I'm a girl so in my heels this was a slight challenge."
"The location of the building. I made it on time but others seem to have trouble finding it."
"That the interviews can be right after lunch and that you will have an opportunity to eat after your interview."
"That so many of the streets in Scranton are one way, had to loop back around a couple times!"
"Everyone was wearing black and white. I had on purple"
"how low stress it was"
"emphasis on primary care though the match list is strong, impressed by student wellness and friendliness of faculty, but confused about clincal years"
"As a diverse applicant, I wish they had made an effort to match me with interviewers who understand my experience, or at least have faculty interviewers receptive /ask about what makes my experience and path to medicine unique"
"What an amazing faculty from my short experience. I never thought I would be treated with so much respect and kindness in a medical school interview. Nobody talked down to me, but treated my experience as valuable and overall treated me as a peer in medicine, not an underling."
"Everything was great besides the diversity lecture. The woman giving it seem quite full of herself and said the same crap over and over again."
"I think I'd be really happy going to school here because of the quality of the education. Their mission isn't just something they say they care about but there's a strong sense that the faculty lives and dies by it. Geisinger also has a strong network throughout the region. I do not, however, love the location of the school."
"Clean and new facility."
"Great school - very impressive! Lots of changes going on since it's a newer school, but they are doing a lot of great things"
"great chill interview day"
"The interview day was very relaxed and I was extremely impressed by the school. TCMC wasn't very high on my list before interviewing, but afterwards it was my #1 choice."
"Loved the school. Interviewed at a few placed beforehand but none impressed me as much as TCMC did. Even though they are new, they are definitely going places."
"Everyone was very nice but I don't know if I could live somewhere so quiet. On the flip side it felt very safe!"
"It seems like this school is still getting on their feet. I think they'll be very good!"
"Wonderful facility, friendly students and staff. Very community oriented."
"The interviews were very laid-back. It's difficult to remember specific questions, looking back, because they were so conversational."
"Really great school. I was skeptical about Scranton, but it's actually a lovely city. The people are wonderful and very enthusiastic about the medical school. Really great experience."
"Really nice building. Faculty were wonderful."
"This is a very good school. If you have an interview here, just be yourself. The faculty and students are nice, and they do their best to make you feel at ease."
"Interviews are in the morning, lunch is provided, some hotels offer corporate rates for TCMC interviewees."
"know your personal statement and secondary application"
"The admissions staff is extremely friendly. They make you feel very welcome."
"My interview was extremely conversational. They only asked me one tough question. It was not stressful by any means. Some of the other students said that they were asked many of the questions that are posted on this forum. It really depends on who interviews you. Some people were asked ethical questions and what they would do in a particular situation. Another student was asked to describe herself in three words. Don't get too worried about it just be prepared and you will be fine."
"Liked TCMC a lot. Great mission. Great commitment. And think it has an educational model that is a necessary addition to the medical school system in the US. Also, students seemed so relaxed and happy."
"Very nice interview day and great school, just in not the most accessible locations for OOS candidates."
"This school is definitely going exciting places. If you have drive and want to be involved in shaping the future of a medical school, this is the place to be. Can't wait to see what happens to them over the next couple years!"
"One of the other posters in the interview feedback said that the new building would be ready in 2012, but I think we were told that the building would be done in late spring of 2011. So if we were part of the 2014 class, we would get the building starting in the fall of our second year."
"Very personalized attention. Faculty is going to make personal phone calls for residency placement"
"Enjoy, it was a fun day!"
"The interview is two faculty members with one interviewee. One is basic science, and one is clinical faculty."
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Student | 34 |
| Faculty member | 0 |
| Admissions staff | 7 |
| Other | 1 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Enthusiastic | 32 |
| Neutral | 10 |
| Discouraging | 0 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.80 | 46 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| In state | 24 |
| Out of state | 19 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 0-1 hour | 7 |
| 2-3 hours | 14 |
| 4-6 hours | 12 |
| 7+ hours | 9 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Airplane | 6 |
| Automobile | 32 |
| Train or subway | 1 |
| Other | 2 |
virtual interview
Wilkes-Barres
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Airport
scranton/wilkes-barre airport
Philadelphia
Wilkes-Barre
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At school facility | 0 |
| With students at the school | 2 |
| Friends or family | 3 |
| Hotel | 26 |
| Home | 5 |
| Other | 0 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| < $100 | 14 |
| $101-$200 | 15 |
| $201-$300 | 0 |
| $301-$400 | 0 |
| $401-$500 | 2 |
| $501+ | 5 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 6.25 | 48 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 4.88 | 48 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 4.83 | 48 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.94 | 48 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.67 | 48 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 6.94 | 48 |
"6-8 week is very lengthy...some students have waited 11 weeks for a decision this cycle"
"Wow, Geisinger admissions committee impressed me more than I can say. What a professional, caring and responsive staff. There is a reason Geisinger is shooting up every year in medical school rankings."
"Get back to us quicker than 6-8 weeks (If you can!)."
"Presenter stated information that contradicted what students said later on tour. It was confusing."
"Better presenter/speaker for curriculum overview."
"Lets the applicants know when the adcom is meeting and offer better lunch options."
"None in all honesty."
"n/a"
"Nothing - it was a good interview day."
"Have a contact number for the day of, the number listed in the email was for a person not in the office regularly."
"I suggest they consider moving to a rolling type of admissions rather than block admissions. It is nice to know what day you will hear back from them, but it is stressful as well."
"Provide interviewers with more information about applicants (ex. AMCAS activities)."
"shrink the length of the orientation/presentation"
"Provide a financial workshop during the interview day"
"Should go back to rolling admissions because the new bulk admission on three possible dates is very stressful."
"Delicious turkey sandwiches, though I wish there was another side besides soup. Definitely a little hungry by the time the interview came around."
We help students become doctors. TM
What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 1)?