How many people interviewed you?
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 1.21 | 261 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Positively | 236 |
| Negatively | 8 |
| No change | 16 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 2.78 | 258 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.90 | 182 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.53 | 152 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| In Person | 0 |
| Virtual | 2 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 0 |
| 10 minutes | 0 |
| 15 minutes | 1 |
| 20 minutes | 2 |
| 25 minutes | 7 |
| 30 minutes | 12 |
| 35 minutes | 4 |
| 40 minutes | 19 |
| 45 minutes | 41 |
| 50 minutes | 59 |
| 55 minutes | 10 |
| 60+ minutes | 106 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At the school | 256 |
| At a regional location | 1 |
| At another location | 1 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| One-on-one | 257 |
| In a group | 3 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Open file | 245 |
| Closed file | 8 |
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 1.21 | 261 |
"What was the most interesting clinical case you have seen?"
"Is healthcare a right or a privilege?"
"One interview totally involved ethics-based scenarios. For instance, you see an elderly woman outside the hospital, she's wearing a gown, and seems disorientated. What do you do? My interviewer was very receptive but appreciated me using key words or details. In this case, an important detail is trying to get information from the wrist tag typically given to hospital patients in order to try and figure out where the patient should go. In another scenario where a worried wife calls you (the doctor) and asks for her husband's exam results, a key word/concept would be HIPAA. Of course, I think equally or more important than this is being able to describe your approach, reasoning, and the ethical principles that are implicated."
"Tell me about your volunteering/community outreach"
"What do you think about healthcare as a right vs a privilege?"
"What would you do if you had a friend who was struggling with serious emotional problems or drug abuse?"
"Tell me what led you to medicine"
"How would you cope with having to give bad news to kids/parents/anyone?"
"Would you lie to a patient? Is it ever okay to not be 100% honest?"
"Would you ever lie to a paitent?"
"Why not MD/PhD?"
"He asked me to explain certain statements in my application, for example: I think a degree in public health will make me a more-well rounded physician....he asked how?"
"how does being late make you feel?"
"What are your strengths/weaknesses?"
"Tell be about yourself. Tell me about reseach..."
"Describe such and such shadowing experience."
"Why UM over UF or USF?"
"How do you define a leader?"
"Why medicine? Why UMMSM?"
"So, tell me about the research you did? Tell me about the volunteering? etc with multiple things on my application."
"What do you think about HMO medicine? How would you practice if under HMO contract?"
"Should Eastern/Holistic/ . . . medicine be incorporated into regular medicine?"
"If you were a first assistant in an OR and the surgeon walked in showing clear signs of inebriation, what would you do?"
"You've studied and worked in fields totally unrelated to medicine. Where did the idea of medicine come from?"
"Did you ever have a friend who was a substance abuser? If so, how did you handle the situation?"
"Is it ever ok to lie to a patient?"
"Tell me what makes you so special?"
"Why medicine question"
""Is it ever ethical to lie to a patient?""
"Why U of Miami? Just for the weather?"
"Tell me you story "
"What do you do for fun and relaxation?"
"When was a time you made a sacrifice for someone that was not in your own family?"
"What is your worst quality?/ What is your best quality?"
"Why UM?"
"Tell me what you'd do if you caught your friend cheating (the question was also framed around the idea of the school's "honor code")."
"Is it ever ok to not be 100% honest with a patient."
"So...tell me about yourself, how did you end up here at Miller?"
"Leadership experience"
"What are your strengths and weaknesses?"
"What do your parents do?"
"What medical issues do you think will become issues in the upcoming election?"
"What kind of clinical experience have you had?"
"What kind of leader are you and how have you demonstrated it?"
"Do you think women are taking over medicine? Do you think that women will benefit medicine?"
"Specific questions about my AMCAS info"
"Tell me about yourself."
"Teach something non-medical in 5 minutes."
"all questions were specific to my application or standard questions you'd expect"
"Tell me about your family."
"What is a leader?"
"Did your parents pressure you to go into medicine? Because mine did. No, are you sure they didn't?"
"Do you think leadership is important as a Dr.?"
"What is your strongest point?"
"Review other feedback"
"Define: HMO? PPO? Medicare & Medicaid?"
"So you graduated early? What did you do during that time?"
"What is your most memorable patient/volunteer experience?"
"Why do you want to be a doctor?"
"Why Miami?"
"Tell me about yourself starting with when you were born."
"Please define leadership, how you think it is an important quality as a doctor, and your experiences with it. "
"What made you decide on medicine?"
"What do you think are the 2 biggest problems in healthcare?"
"When did you decide you wanted to be a doctor?"
"Why not MD PhD?"
"When did you know you wanted to be a doctor?"
"How did your parents' health care occupations influence your desire to become a physician?"
"What did you like about your undergrad?"
"Tell me about your research. Did you like it? (Ironically, the interviewer specialized in a similar topic of my research, so know your research well)"
"What events have shaped who you are?"
"How did you feel about growing up in South Florida?"
"See above."
"How did your experience at the 911 dispatch office affect your understanding of medicine?"
"Give me a basic design of the kind of thesis you envision yourself doing..."
"What is the main problem in healthcare? How would you fix it?"
"Asked me to explain the people/activities/events that have "shaped" who I am today. Pretty much the standard "so tell me about yourself" question."
"What qualities make a great leader?"
"Tell me more about your research."
"What college professor has influenced you most?"
"Give an example of when you fulfilled a leadership role."
"Why be a doctor?"
"Why do you think there is a cycle of poverty?"
"What leadership roles have you taken?"
"What do you think about our healthcare system?"
"How has your mother's career influenced your life?"
"Describe the qualities that make a physician a good leader."
"Experiences and how do these relate to your career as a doctor."
"Leadership question"
"Ethics question above"
"Some ethics questions: What do you think about abortion, doing things that go against your beliefs, etc., and how would you handle these situations?"
"Tell me about your military leadership experiences."
"How was your trip to Europe?"
"What would you do or say to a patient that has AIDS and who won't tell their spouse / significant other?"
"What is plan B for if you don't get into medical school this year?"
"Tell me about your leadership qualities, and the leadership qualities of a doctor"
"Tell me what you know about our medical school."
"Tell me about yourself. Something that is NOT on the applications."
"Explain your research to a layperson."
"So I see you volunteered with Dr. So and So. How did you meet him? Do you think you would be a pediatrician?"
"three good and bad things abot the US healthcare system"
"Which of your clinical experiences most solidified your desire to become a physician?"
"What are your strengths and weakness?"
"What activities do you participate in that are not related to medicine?"
"What kind of research are you interested in?"
"Tell me about your research"
"Tell me how you got here (in terms of your life and why you are interviewing for medical school)?"
"What would you do if your best friend's daughter came to you for an abortion?"
"Specific questions from my personal statement and Miami secondary."
"Tell me about yourself and how you decided to go into medicine."
"What sparked your interest in science and medicine? Name a couple of stand-out memories from your volunteering experiences."
"What is the best place you have traveled? "
"How would your best friend describe you?"
"Examples of when I have been a leader"
"tell me about research"
"Why do you want to go into the MD/PhD program? Do you think it is worth the extra years?"
"Tell me about your abroad experience."
"How did you get here today? This was in the context of life story."
"(from MD interview)- 1) When did you first decide that you wanted to become a physician? 2) If you had to choose between pursuing the MD or the PhD only, which would you choose and why? 3) How did (specific portion of application essay) influence your decision to pursue biomedical research? 4) What are three adjectives you would use to describe yourself? "
"Only clarifying questions about my autobiography."
"What is the most important health care issue to you"
"I am an older applicant so several questions about how I plan on handling going back to school with a family, etc."
"Tell me about your research project and what is your goal?"
"Tell me about yourself. Tell me about your research."
"Why did you get this score on the MCAT, what happened? I scored average, but nothing great and he wanted to know why I thought I did how I did."
"What about yourself, will make u a good doc?"
"Tell me about yourself. Who has been most influential in yoru decisin to become a doctor."
"Did you have any other leadership positions except what's in your file?"
"Tell me about your childhood? Who is your rolemodel? What kind of medicine you want to practice? Where do you see yourself in 10 years? What kind of research have you done?"
"What would you do if you do not get into medical school?"
"What will you do if you don't get into medical school?"
"Tell me about your research."
"What influences lead you to Medicine?"
"What qualities do you think a physician should have? Out of the physicians you followed what did you like versus not liking about their qualities as a physician?"
"How did you come to be sitting in this chair across from me today? "
"Asked about how my various medical experiences made me want to pursue medicine."
"Why medicine? Why Miami?"
"See above but also: What are your strengths, weaknesses?"
"Why do you want to become a doctor?"
"About travel experiences."
"why medicine"
"See most difficult question above."
"Tell me about your family/expereinces in medicine/leadership experiences?"
"Explain to me "who you are" from a non-cognitive point of view; considering all you have written in your personal statement and your healthcare experiences to this point."
"Why did you repeat organic chemistry? "
"standard questions, nothing difficult"
"Why University of Miami?"
"how was your time at your undergrad?"
"Why engineering"
"see above"
"Describe what a leader is."
"Tell me about leardership experiences"
"Tell me about your clinical experiences."
"Leadership roles, etc...."
"Most of the questions basically asked for clarifications to my personal statement, and activities described in the AMCAS application."
"give an instance of leadership"
"Why do you want to come to Miami? (This was probably what we talked about for the longest)"
"When and Why did you decide to be a doctor."
"Any pets? Tell me about your siblings"
"Why medicine?"
"What area of medicine are you interested in?"
"Tell me about yourself (ugh)"
"Why do you want to go into medicine rather than some other field?"
"Don't worry about the questions, just be relaxed and enjoy the day. My interviewer was extremely friendly and personable. My impression is that Miami is genuinely interested in getting to know the candidates that they have invited to interview, both as individuals and as future physicians."
"Tell me about riding therapy."
"Why did you choose your undergraduate institution."
"What are your strength/weaknesses?"
"Tell me your life story. What qualities do you have that would make you a good physician?"
"The basics: Why be a doctor, why Miami, describe a major issue that will be affecting you as a physician in the future."
"Tell me about yourself"
"How would you respond if one of your colleagues was in disagreement with you, but you knew you were "right"?"
"Why do you want to be a doctor?"
"Who are the people who influenced your decision to pursue medicine?"
"Compare the healthcare system in the US versus in Canada."
"Do you have any role models (who are they)?"
"Tell me about your childhood/teenage years."
"Why did you choose your undergraduate school?"
"Expound upon a specific life-altering event described in my AMCAS essay."
"Why do you want to be a doctor? Why do you want to come to Miami?"
"Why did I choose my undergraduate institution?"
"Describe the events in your life that has led to you at this point wanting to be a physician."
"Asked about some high school experiences."
"Asked about shadowing/volunteer experiences."
"Why I want to pursue a career in medicine instead of doing a similar program which take me less time?"
"What were your high school extracurricular activities."
"Discussions concerning my past research."
"Asked about my patient contact experience."
"Assuming you are accepted to all schools at which you've interviewed, what's the most important factor in choosing a school."
"Who was your role model in dancing? (I used to dance professionally)"
"Tell me about your research with Dr. X"
"How would I resolve India Pakistan tension, as they are both nuclear capable? My views and take on the whole issue."
"tell me about (specific volunteer activity) "
"Tell me about (insert activity here)..."
"How would you like me to describe you to the committee?"
"Why did you decide medicine after doing your major?(not science)"
"I was asked about my patient contacts and which one was the most important to me in my decision to study medicine."
"What do you think of the state of healthcare?"
"What are some qualities a leader should possess, and do you have any of these qualities?"
"What type of multicultural experiences have you had?"
"Qualities of a leader and how they can be applied to medicine."
"Do you have any role models? Tell me about them."
"How will you prepare yourself for the academic challenges posted by medical school."
"For the open-file interview based on an applicant's experiences and app, I was asked many questions specific to the timeline and hours of my activities (shadowing, research). I'm not sure if my interviewer sought a more condensed presentation of my credentials or was trying to verify that what I included in my app was accurate. It may help to just have a general idea of the hours on average you shadowed and a good estimate of when you started and ended activities."
"Why do you want to come to this medical school? (I was an out-of-state applicant)"
"Why did you take classes after undergrad?"
"Should physicians be honest 100% of the time?"
"Tell me about yourself?"
"Name strengths and weaknesses"
"Qualities you think a physician should have"
"Would you give a placebo to a patient?"
"Why medicine?"
"What do you think are the most important qualities for a physician to possess?"
"Have you ever helped underserved individuals obtain access to care or services? Describe your experiences."
"What are your biggest strengths/weaknesses"
"He asked a lot of specific things about my application....about my anthropology research, about volunteering, etc. I can't remember the specfiic questions"
"what will be difficult abt going to medical school for you?"
"What will be the most difficult thing for you if you attend medical school?"
"What qualities make a good doctor"
"When did you reach your epiphany (ultimately decide to study medicine)?"
"Why do you think we didn't interview you last year?"
"Is there one specific experience that made you sure medicine was the right field for you?"
"Tell me about your community service experience."
"You are in a PBL group, one of the group members is in the corner texting someone, tell me how you would respond to them. Go. (Interviewer plays the part of the texting individual)."
"Tell me about your leadership experience."
"Tell me about a time you did something that wans't ok. What did you do afterwords?"
"Whenever you are asked about confidential information or other information you should be keeping secret, how do you respond?"
"Tell me about your family."
"What kind of leadership positions have you held?"
"Have you ever violated a policy?"
"What disappoints you the most about medicine?"
""Tell me about your clinical experiences.""
"What were your findings in the college alcohol use study?"
"Have you ever been disappointed before?If so, how did you respond?"
"How will attending an OOS school like Miller affect your long-term relationship?"
"What do you think about the current health care situation, and how/what would you change?"
"Do you have any particular medical interests?"
"Tell me about a time that you broke protocol during one of your clinical experiences and how you dealt with the situation."
"What are the 3 biggest accomplishments in your life?"
"Describe a situation in which you saw a co-worker or student do something you knew was wrong, and what did you do about it?"
"Why do you want to do medicine? then he started saying how long the career is and how it will be so hard for the family, etc, very discouraging attitude"
"Teamwork"
"What do you do to relax?"
"See Above"
"Why do you want to become a doctor?"
"Why U Miami?"
"Why did you chose to volunteer for a year after school?"
"What will be hardest for you to sacrifice?"
"I was asked to explain my research"
"Do you know what specialty you would like to go into?"
"What do you do for fun."
"What do you think about universal healthcare?"
"What do you think is the biggest problem in US healthcare? What would you do to fix it? What about internationally? and how would you fix that?"
"Why do you think you did so well on the MCAT?"
"Tell me about your research."
"What sets you apart?"
"Describe yourself by putting yourself in your friend's shoes."
"What does it mean to be a leader? How have you displayed these qualities?"
"Tell me why UM?"
"Why don't you want to be a D.O. or medical assistant?"
"Why do you want to be a Dr.?"
"Tell me about your clinical experiences (and follow-up questions)"
"Why did you choose your undergraduate institution."
"Why medicine? Who do you look up to?"
"Where do you see yourself in 3, 4, 5, and 10 years? "
"My interview really didn't have many questions. It was just me talking about my life. I did hear that one guy was asked a few ethical questions, and about how he works in a group setting. "
"Tell me about your clinical experience."
"What are your hobbies?"
"What would you do if you couldn't get into med school?"
"What were your clinical activities?"
"Do you think physicians should be leaders? How have you shown that you are one?"
"What do you do for fun?"
"How would you fix problems with health care today?"
"Why are you pursuing medicine rather than nursing?"
"If, for example, med schools weren't excepting females what would you do?"
"Did anyone push you to do medicine?"
"The detailed ethical question."
"When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?"
"How did you come to meet X Doctor?"
"How will you deal with the stress of medical school?"
"This was not addressed directly, but they gauged other questions to set you up to talk about how much you know about UM and the school itself, and as a clinical epicenter."
"Do you feel that you are missing any direct patient contact experience?"
"What will you do outside of class?"
"Why do you want to be a doctor?"
"Tell me about your leadership experiences."
"What do you think of your MCAT score?"
"Something about healthcare?"
"Tell me about your life growing up."
"Other than research, what sort of expreience do you have?"
"How did your minor influence your decision to enter medicine?"
"Tell me about a time when you did something that really made a difference in someone else's life, and what it taught you."
"Can you think of a physician in your life that has stood out to you?"
"Why do you still want to become a physician when you aren't going to make any money and you can lose everything you own in a lawsuit? "
"What is it like to take care of people with AIDS?"
"Why do you want to be a doctor? "
"What is your relationship like with your brother?"
"Who has influenced your decision to go into medicine?"
"What resources I am seeking, what UM has to offer and how these fit in with my future goals."
"What books I had recently read"
"Questions on HMO's and the state of health care"
"Some health care questions: What do you think about HMOs, universal health care, why so many people lack health insurance, etc.?"
"When have you met adversity en route to your medical career? How did you overcome it?"
"What is going to school in Boston like?"
"What would you do if you knew a resident had lied to an attending about doing a test for a patient?"
"Do you have any experience with diversity?"
"What are your thought on Gov't Health Care?"
"Why MD"
"Why did you choose engineering as a career?"
"How do we prevent HIV from being spread in the USA?"
"Tell me about yourself? What do you do you for fun?"
"How do you deal with stress and who do you go to for support?"
"What field do you see yourself practicing?"
"are the HMO'S doing their job?"
"After medical school and residency, perhaps 7-12 years down the road, where do you see yourself?"
"What problems do you see in healthcare?"
"What would you do if you didn't get into medical school?"
"Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"
"Is there a particular area you see yourself working in in the future?"
"I saw that you were an EMT, how was that?"
"What qualities do you think make up a leader? Which of these qualities do you have?"
"What makes a good leader?"
"Should physicians in the US care about what happens in health care abroad? (internation health and its implications for us)"
"What qualities make up a leader and do you think you have those qualities? What do you do in your free time?"
"How would you describe leadership and what activities have you shown these qualities? "
"Why do you think patient compliance is a problem and how can you improve it?"
"Tell me what made up your personality?"
"Tell me about the clinic you volunteered in."
"why um, why medicine"
"why miami"
"What have you learned in the laboratory you are working in (lessons, not science/procedures/etc)? Now tell me about your research."
"Why major in Spanish?"
"Tell me about your research (most recent first). This led into detailed discussions integrating my research knowledge into related areas."
"(from MD/PhD interviews)- 1) Tell me about your research. 2) Why do you want to undertake the MD/PhD? 3) Why Miami? 4) What do you want to do following the MD/PhD? 5) What department, or departments do you see yourself joining if accepted to the University of Miami's MD/PhD program?"
"Why engineering? (I am an engineering major)"
"Tell me what you think a leader is and how you are one"
"Medical Students don't have a lot of money for food and other things how do you plan to deal with this. What kinda food to you like to eat?"
"Why are you interested in medicine? Where do you see yourself in 10-15 years?"
"How do you deal with being stressed out about something, not something related to your family or friends, but when you are stressed about not comprehending something?"
"Describe clinical experiences"
"How was it living overseas?"
"How do you feel about research? Would you continue reasearch as a physician?"
"Tell me about yourself. "
"What are the 3 most common killer diseases? (I replied for the world but she was pertaining to the US) What is lacking from patientcare today? What is the biggest problem with healthcare? (Thank God I was not asked to solve it!!!)"
"If I said just to explain you, what would you say?"
"Tell me about your research?"
"What would you do if you weren't accepted to medical school"
"Who are your Role Models?"
"What qualities does a leader have? "
"What are the qualities of a leader, how have you exemplified those qualities in the past, and how do you think a physician needs to show these same characteristic? "
"Talk about leadership experiences."
"Asked questions about research that I had performed during college."
"What did you gain from your research experience."
"What in your life has brought you up to this point where you are sitting here in this office today...? (too open ended for me!!)"
"Name a situation where you were forced to make a difficult decision?"
"Tell me about your volunteer experiences. What did you learn from each one? How did those experiences prepare you to be a doctor? What do you think is the biggest challenge facing medicine today? Medical school will be stressful, how do you relax? Why do you think you'd be a good doctor? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? If you didn't get into med school this year, what would you do? "
"Specific volunteer experience questions."
"why u of miami"
"How have you demonstrated leadership qualities in the past. <I talked about holding leadersip positions in my fraternity (i.e. risk manager, etc.)>"
"Why do you want to go to Miami? What other schools have you been accepted to?"
"As noted in my most interesting question..."
"Why do all of your volunteer endeavors revolve around girls -- rather than working with co-ed groups -- was it a conscious decision -- ?"
"I asked him some questions to keep the conversation going"
"What do you admire most about the Dr. whom you have shadowed?"
"do you have siblings? what do your parents do?"
"Talked about family"
"How would you change the healthcare system?"
"Tell me about clinical experiences and what they taught you"
"Are you interested in doing research here?"
"Why University of Miami? Aside from awesome clinical opportunities (at the main teaching hospital, trips to Haiti, etc.), a technology-rich environment, I said it was the weather that convinced me."
"talk about research"
"Tell me about yourself..."
"Greatest accomplishment.... biggest failure.... strategies for overcoming that failure if you could do it all over again"
"Why University of Miami?"
" What is the last movie you saw?"
"How are you a leader?"
"What would prevent you from your goal of becoming a doctor?"
"Tell me about your volunteer experiences and explain your research (elaborate on personal statement and AMCAS)."
"Why UM?"
"Talk about a healthcare issue you have read about recently."
"Those pesky ethical questions: What would you do if one of your patients is obviously not following your orders, i.e. still smoking though he knows he shouldn't? "
"Favorite class/least favorite class? Brothers/sisters? What do your parents do?"
"tell me about your research"
"Why did you decide to attend your undergraduate institution? What made you decide to major in Economics?"
"How will you cope with long hours in medical school?"
"How did the war in Iraq affect healthcare here and around the world? What new diseases/illnesses have resulted due to the war?"
"Why Miami?"
"When did you know you wanted to become a doctor?"
"Describe your research."
"What attracts you to the University of Miami School of Medicine?"
"Tell me about your family? What do you like to do for fun? Are you religious? Will religion affect the way you practice medicine?"
"Why University of Miami - (besides it being close to home)?"
"Qualities of a leader and how a physician should exemplify them."
"Asked about my MCAT score."
"About my research."
"Why do I do apart from studing?"
"Why do you want to be a doctor (standard)."
"What would you like me to tell the admissions committee about you?"
"Why did it take you so long to decide to change your career and go into medicine."
"I see you were an English major. Why the switch to science?"
"Would money be a factor for you in deciding where to go ?"
"Suggest a solution for the uninsured masses, how can you provide care for them? Who and How?"
"Give me an example of a situation where you were a leader but also had to use teamwork to accomplish your goals. "
"What do you know about Miami's curriculum and what do you think about it? "
"How are you going to deal with the psychological aspects of patient care?"
"Do you have any idea what area of medicine you will pursue?"
"I was asked what I knew about the new curriculum at Miami."
"How did you get interested in medicine?"
"Gave me a scenario in which I had to figure out what to do when somebody in a team isn't doing his part of the assignment."
"Why do you want to attend Miami?"
"Where do you see yourself in the next 15 years?"
"What are some of the sacrifices that you have made or see yourself making for a career in medicine?"
"In the open-file interview based on an applicant's experiences and apps, I was asked some specific questions about hours committed to activities but also to describe a time I exercised leadership, a memorable clinical experience, the most important quality of a doctor-patient relationship, and to define leadership."
"What do you do when you are overwhelmed?"
"Who was your biggest influence/mentor?"
"A sacrifice you made for someone else"
"What is one of American's biggest problems with the healthcare system?"
"Tell me about your clinical experience excluding what was already discussed on your application."
"What is one of your weaknesses?"
"Have you ever had someone close to you be involved with substance abuse, for example family or friends, and how did you help them?"
"Why U of Miami?"
"Tell me about yourself"
"One weakness?"
"Tell me about such and such volunteer experience."
"If a law was passed and you couldn't be a doctor, what would you be?"
"What was the most exciting part of participating in the research you did?"
"Do you think health care is a human right?"
"Tell me about yourself."
"Tell me about a time your friends did something wrong. What did you say to them?"
"What do you think are the most important qualities of a good doctor? Pick one that you have and explain why you think so."
"Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?"
"What is your major weakness?"
"How do you know you want to be a doctor?"
"Tell me about your research."
"What specialty are you interested in?"
""What made you want to come to Miami since you're originally from [wherever]?""
"Why do you want to pursue an MD/PhD?"
"Do you believe physicians have to be 100 % honest with their patients?"
"Do you have family in the area?"
"Name a time when you observed something in health care that you thought was questionable."
"Tell me about your most impactful/meaningful volunteering experience?"
"Why Miami Miller School of Medicine?"
"If you caught a good friend cheating on a test what would you do?"
"Describe the qualities that you think make a great physician. Of those, which do you feel summarizes yourself the most and why?"
"What "specific" clinical experience do you have? When i started to answer, he interrupted me and said: "No!, i read that in your file, I want an specific event""
"Questions related to my listed AMCAS activities"
"Why did you chose medicine?"
"What is your biggest strength, and what is something you would like to work on?"
"What is your greatest strength? Weakness?"
"Why medicine after a few years of research?"
"What is your relationship like with your two younger brothers?"
"What do you like most about the University of Miami?"
"Tell me about activity X that you participated in."
"Then only questions specific to my application, and only because he ''had'' to."
"Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"
"Something about leadership."
"What other schools did you apply to?"
"Tell me about the other schools you are looking at."
"What kind of leader are you?"
"What other schools did you apply to? Why didn't you apply to Harvard?"
"Why would you like to come here?"
"Important qualities in a physician. "
"Why UM?"
"What do you think are your weaknesses?"
"What do you think makes a great leader?"
"Tell me about your extracurriculars and leadership positions."
"What will be the hardest part of medical school for you?"
"Do you have any questions for me?"
"Good luck!! :)"
"Why do you want to come to school here?"
"How do you deal with conflict?"
"What brings you to Miami?"
"What type of doctor do you see yourself being?"
"What are your strengths as a leader? weaknesses?"
"Discuss with me some of your clinical experiences."
"How did you become interested in Computer Science?"
"Do you rely on your parents for advice when facing a significant problem?"
"What do you think of Miami?"
"What is undergrad pre-meds' impression of the different FL med schools?"
"Why are you so good looking? Not exactly, but I cant remember the other questions since it was a conversational flow. "
"What would you do if you don't get in this year?"
"How many medical schools did you apply to?"
"Why do you think you will excell as a physician?"
"Explain ___ grades."
"Tell us about all of your patient-contact/shadowing experiences."
"Tell me about a leadership experience you have had."
"Wave a magic wand and do one thing to fix the healthcare system (I said cut defense spending by one-third)."
"What drew you to Miami for med school?"
"Tell me about the most interesting research experience you have had."
"Asked to talk about my experiences volunteering in an ER. "
"Clinical experience"
"If there was one thing you could change about medicine, what would it be?"
"What do you do in your free-time?"
"What do you think will be the biggest problem you will face as a physician?"
"What was the best/worst day of your life?"
"Name some leadership roles you have had"
"What would you say to a child/patient whose mother just died?"
"How did you decide to become a doctor?"
"Why do you want to come to UM?"
"When you shadowed, what problems did the doctors encounter?"
"Compare 2 health systems and state their pros and cons. What works/doesn't work in US healthcare? "
"Had I seen any good movies recently"
"Why medicine? Why not research?"
"Tell me about your research and clinical experiences. (Miami is big on both.)"
"Tell me about your volunteer experiences with people of different cultures and different socioeconomic backgrounds from yourself."
"What kind of doctor do you want to be?"
"What do you do to relax?"
"If you were the leader for a group of 5 people working on research and the five other people disagreed with you so strongly that they would quit if you didn't agree, how would you resolve the situation?"
"You have 3 minutes, tell me why you are a good fit at UM."
"How do you study"
"How do you plan to practice medicine after graduating with all the restrictions on doctors? (Very vague and I had to ask him to clarify a bit, but basically he wanted to know what I wanted to do afterwards to be able to pay off everything--Kind of a weird question)"
"Education question (look above)."
"What was your happiest day?"
"What do you think about healthcare in the US?"
"Many application-specific questions. "
"Given that you had a passing grade in Organic Chemistry 1, why did you retake it? (I had a C+ in Org. 1 and retook it; this shows that the interviewer actually took time to look at coursework acheivement.)"
"Is there anything about medicine that discourages you from entering?"
"The kickers: "I know I'm not supposed to ask you this, but where else did you apply?" and "Are you going to write bad things about me on those interview websites?""
"What do you feel is a problem with healthcare today? (My answer was lack of access to healthcare for lower middle income families. How would you solve the problem of lack of healthcare coverage in the lower middle income families?"
"Do you think it is important for a physician to be a leader?"
"What do you believe will be the most enjoyable aspect of medical school?"
"How can we solve the inequities that exist in our health system (I brought this up though)"
"Why Miami? What benefits do you think UM would offer you that makes it your first choice?"
"What kind of qualities about people do you not like and hinder your ability to work as a group? "
"What is your opinion of the biggest problem facing healthcare today and what would you do to fix it?"
"How will you take advantage of our school's resources?"
"tell me about your abroad experiences"
"What are the qualities in a leader, and do you prefer to be one or follow one?"
"What role should physicians take in healthcare reform?"
"Why MD/PhD and not MD or PhD only? What speciality are you interested in? What area of research would you like to go into? What are your career goals if you don't get into the MD/PhD program? "
"If you could change one thing about your past life, what would it be?"
"How should a doctor be a leader"
"How do you deal with stressful situations? Do you have any weaknesses and how do you get around these set backs?"
"Do you forsee any problems or bumps in your path towards becoming a doctor?"
"What influenced you to study medicine? My father is a physician and he also asked me what my father did to convince me to be a doctor."
"Why do you think UM should accept you over somebody else?"
"What kind of medicine interests you?"
"Give me an exampole of a leadership position that youve learned from."
"What do you think makes up a leader?"
"I was asked about why medicine and why now (I am non-trad so i knew that question was coming) Why Miami? We talked about curriculum and weather :-) "
"Tell me about UF medical school. (WIERD!)"
"What leadership positions have you held."
"What alternative career would you choose and why?"
"See above- give an example of yourself as a leader"
"3) How would your best friend describe you? 4) How do you think health education is related to the role of a physician? 5) Then.... the abortion question. "
"Any questions for me?"
"Asked about some of my leadership experience. No ethical questions at all so dont sweat it."
"Why did you start playing squash in college?"
"What was your greatest achievement?"
"How do you improve patient compliance?"
"Why specifically do you want to attend the University of Miami?"
"describe most stressful situation"
"Being that you come a very technical background (Biomedical Engineering), why have you decided to go into medicine?"
"My most difficult question:("
"What do you think about alternative medicine?"
"Do you think there is anything that would prevent you from going to UM? Do you think you will be able to fit in with the students?"
"what questions do you have for me?"
"Books and movies and art?"
"What are your hobbies?"
"Tell me about your desire to become a doctor."
"Have you visited the website?"
"What are you doing in your year off"
"Tell me about your travel experiences.... My interviewer REALLY read my app thoroughly and asked more specific questions later on. More like a conversation than an interview toward the end!"
"The interviewer commented on some things in my application and we discussed them; there weren't really any questions."
" What is the last book you read?"
"see hardest/most interesting questions, above."
"How do you like the online application? Do you have comments on the website? (I'm not kidding, Dr. Hinkley was more concerned with how I was doing than grilling me on ethics, and he's very into treating students well)"
"What do you think is most important for a patient to see in is doctor?"
"What can you bring to UM?"
"Which specialty are you interested in? Do you have a lot of friends? What type of research are you interested in?"
"So how was your trip to [fill in the blank]? What did you gain or "take away" from the trip?"
"How to end the cycle of poverty? What to do about the our healthcare system? It was cool cause he is pretty critical of the AMA as am I."
"what is the biggest problem facing healthcare today."
"Some questions regarding my experiences and previous coursework, especially health economics. It's hard to remember the exact questions."
"What are your weaknesses?"
"Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Where do you see yourself in 15 years?"
"Why medical school?"
"What fields of medicine are you interested in?"
"You had one semester where you did not perform as well as other semesters. Can you describe what happened?"
"Discuss what you have done so far during your year off, and what future plans you have?"
"Give me your opinion on Healthcare. "
"My interviewer asked a lot of questions about my experience that influenced me the most to go into medicine on my secondary application. "
"I was asked about weaknesses I see in myself."
"Why Univ. of Miami?"
"Why Miami; why medicine"
"Why I want to study at the UNiversity of MIami school of medicine?"
"What would you do if you do not get into medical school this year?"
"What area of medicine are you thinking about?"
"Why do you want to come to Univ of Miami?"
"Where do you see yourself practicing medicine 10 years from now?"
"Describe your health care related experiences. What was special about them...and so on."
"What other schools are you looking at, and why Miami?"
"Why do you want to come Miami? And, please, something besides the fact that there are pretty women... ;)"
"How did you choose the schools that you applied to?"
"Do you think you'll go back out of state after med school?"
"I was asked if I could forsee any reason why I would not fit into the first year class at Miami."
"Do you consider yourself a leader?"
"How would you react to another doctor telling you to do something in a way different than yours?"
"Why do you want to be a doctor?"
"Why U. of Miami?"
"13. I was asked to give an instance where I saw something interesting in the clinic or in my research lab and did my independent research on the condition. This may have been something specific to my letter of rec."
"What do you do if you notice your attending physician is acting under the influence of drugs/alcohol"
"If you were on clerkship and your resident/attending came in intoxicated, how would you handle it?"
"Suppose you were rotating in the emergency department. How would you handle a difficult patient?"
"How would you respond to a lovelorn patient?"
"Ethical scenario"
"Most unique thing about your life"
"How do you see yourself in 10 years?"
"How would you handle a patient who refused to accept their diagnosis?"
"If you were running late for your surgery rotation upstairs, and you ran into an incoherent patient who seemed to be lost in the hallways, what would you do?"
"Do you think doctors should always be 100% honest with their patients?"
"You said you saw teaching as applying to a career in medicine...how? ...i responded about how senior residents learn from junior residents, etc. and how we teach patients"
"Tell me about X experience"
"Why did you apply for md/mph?"
"How did you make a difference as a mentor?"
"How much time will you devote to research, clinic, and academic medicine? Give percentages. (I want to go into academics)"
"When have you acted as a leader when you weren't expecting to play this role?"
"The multiple scenario questions I received. I loved them though. My answers came very natural."
"Nothing particularly intersting."
"Tell me something that demonstrated your compassion."
"How do you think your having a Down's Syndrome brother will affect your practice of medicine?"
"N/A "
"How would you handle a friend with a drug problem?"
"Have you ever been overwhelmed, how did you handle this?"
""How has playing [sport] influenced you as a person?""
"Could you switch from cheering for the Gators to cheering for the Canes?"
"Have you ever been disappointed before?If so, how did you respond?"
"Are you interested in women's health issues? (based on a course I had taken)"
"What do the Greek letters in your honor society stand for?"
"Given the 80 hour resident work week, what would you do if your patient coded and you had just reached 80 hours?"
"Think of a time when you were late to something important, how did you deal with it?"
"Assume you hospital has regulations about the nuber of hours you can work per day, and that you have already worked the mximum umber of hours allowed. What would you do if one of your patients coded at the end of your shift?"
"I understand how you came to your decision to be a doctor based on your personal statement and AMCAS, but now describe it to me in a different manner, incorporating new elements not included on my papers."
"Who won the nobel peace prize today? last year?"
"Do you think it is ever appropriate to not be 100% honest with a patient?"
"What is the most significant medical event that you have witness, that you will even tell your grandchildren?"
"What was the biggest mistake you made during your experience at ______?"
"Is there anything you would change if you could go back and do college all over again?"
"What do you see as the biggest problem with health care today?"
"Don't remember exact wording, but it had to do with ideas for ''fixing'' or providing indigent care."
"What my relationship with my brothers is like"
"What do you want to do with your MD?"
"What medical issues do you think might become an issue in the upcoming election?"
"I was asked to describe my experience in playing table tennis in High School."
"We just chatted about my application, Miami, and so on."
"Tell me about the TV show you worked on."
"Do you think that women will benefit medicine?"
"In our discussion about baseball he asked if the reason I had chosen my favorite player as a kid was because he was cute haha"
"I was asked about an old job."
"Every question was based on my application - there wasn't a single question that made me stop and think."
"My interviewer asked me about fantasy football (I mentioned it earler)."
"Why didn't you apply to Johns Hopkins, Harvard, etc?"
"I was asked to teach something nonscientific in five minutes. Hard to explain, but it was actually kinda fun."
"Situational Questions and about family history."
"What are the important events in your life that made you who you are?"
"None. It seemed as though the fact that the interviewer could relate to me in my experiences made it unnecessary for me to finish my sentences (I am not kidding, I am not sure if she was impressed by my accomplishments or the fact that my accomplisments resembled hers)."
"Nothing really out of the ordinary"
"What is the current problem with US health?"
"Question's about research"
"What was your favorite/least favorite course in college?"
"Describe your college roommate. Where do you want to live in 30 years?"
"Where you given any special training to handle these children with special needs or thrown right into it?"
"What is your most memorable volunteering experience?"
"why would you want to be a doctor and not a nurse?"
"How did you go from B to a D? What was your strategy?"
"what do you see yourself doing in 15 years"
"You've got a colleague at the lab who is doing short cuts with his experiments. This affecting the quality of his product. Would you tell your supervisor?"
"The questions were pretty standard, not that they weren't interesting, but none especially standout. There were questions on leadership, personality, the healthcare situation, etc."
"What do you think about Japanese Art?"
"What do you think will be the problems you will encounter as a physician?"
"This was an interesting interview. I led things, talking about what I was interested in, and my interviewer followed up with facts and advice. No real questions in the traditional sense. Very conversational."
"What sort of travel have you done?"
"Do you think salsa or merengue is harder?"
"What led you to be interested in computer science? Interviews typically start with my background as a given and ask "why medicine"."
"Would I like to study abroad."
"How do you feel about the war in Iraq?"
"What do you think of your MCAT score?"
"Which parent are you like? Why?"
"Why/would you come to UM if you got into every other medical school you applied to?"
"A very detailed ethical question."
"What rewards do you expect to receive from your profession as a physician?"
"Tell me more about your stamp collection."
"Have you partaken in NYC's culinary offerings?"
"what do you think are the characteristics that make a good leader, and how can you reflect that on the medical practice?"
"Can you tell us about the more compelling moments in all of your shadowing experiences - in other words, moments that tended to solidify your desire to work toward medicine as a career?"
"How did your experience at the 911 dispatch office affect your understanding of medicine?"
"What will you do if, after all of this, doing research is just not in the cards - what will you do if you get an MD-only acceptance? "
"How would you get medical students to volunteer more in the community? (Kind of a difficult question too, but interesting nonetheless.)"
"Where did you get that tie?"
"None of the questions were too surprising. "
"About what I do for fun"
"What are your plans for this summer?"
"How is your relationship with your brother?"
"How do you envision yourself acting as a leader among your future peer medical community?"
"What has been the best and worst day of my life?"
"Would you be willing to work in an underserved area if you could make a lot of money elsewhere?"
"What was your roommate your freshman year like?"
"Did you see RENT? Are the patients you work with like the people in RENT? "
"What do you think about our healthcare system?"
"If you could repeat one volunteer experience, and it doesn't necessarily have to be related to medical school--just because you truly enjoyed it, what would it be and why?"
"What qualities help a physician be a good leader?"
"Why would you not succeed/fit in at our institution?"
"What qualities make a good leader?"
"If you had to treat someone with a procedure that went against your moral grain, what would you do?"
"Since I'm a re-applicant: You said that you had a bad interview the last time you applied here. What happened?"
"You have 3 minutes to convince me to choose you over other applicants. Go."
"How do I think my family would feel if I didn't get accepted and I had to go away for medical school?"
"questions based on my file"
"What are your thoughts on Gov't health care?"
"Hypothetical situation about abortion"
"Can you think of any reason that you may not be a successful medical student at U Miami?"
"In an affluent country like the United States, why is health care still so hard for people to access?"
"The federal government has been throwing money at the educational problem in the United States for countless years now. The fact is that children born in poverty tend to remain poor when they grow up, despite the fact that schooling is required. How do you suggest that we counter that?"
"Tell me something interesting you learned from a course in your major in college?"
"what high school did you go to, and what did you think about it? (it turns out my interviewers children go to the same school)"
"What do you think about abortion/gay marriage/HIV patients?"
"Tell me about some of the initiatives that you wanted to take in running for office (in reference to the fact that I ran for several offices in Student Government as an undergraduate)."
"Do you think hispanic patients prefer hispanic doctors? "
"Why U. Kentucky? (In regard to a graduate program I had attended several years ago.)"
"Why come to Miami?"
"Are you an animal lover?"
"None really but if I had to pick one: Did you like Emory University and what did you like most about it?"
"List the people, events, and places that have shaped you becoming the person you are today."
"What type of advice would you give my daughter before she went off to college?"
"Should physicians in the US care about what happens in health care abroad? (internation health and its implications for us)"
"Where do you see yourself 12 years from now?"
"How did you get your name? (My first name is not very common)"
"What do you think the positives and negatives of this school are?"
"Fastforward 12 yrs. You are a family practice physician and you have a private practice. You are married with no children. Your best friends live across the street from you and they have a 15 yr old daughter. One day you walk into your office and see their daughter who runs to you and starts to cry saying that you need to help her because she needs an abortion. She can't tell her parents because they would think she is promiscuous and she isn't as she has gone out with her boyfriend for 2 years and it was their first time going too far. What would you do, how would yopu handle the sittuation, with all legal issues set aside. "
"Why engineering?"
"If there was no such thing as medicine, what career would you choose?"
"Tell me about Cuzco."
"In your future career as a clinician researcher, would you consider returning to the University of Florida?"
"Have you ever heard of the New World Symphony?"
"Tell me everything about yourself from your birth up to this point. (I then talked for 30 minutes without interruption)."
"Do you think medical care is accessible in the United States? How can you make it more accessible?"
"What would your best friend say about you if she was applying for you to get into medical school?"
"Pretty standard questions."
"The most interesting question he asked me was what my roommates did and if they partied while I studied?"
"None"
"What was an embarrassing moment for you in your life? What was a moment in your life when you were filled with content and very happy?"
"If you were accepted at Miami and another school, how would you decide?"
"What books have you read/movies have you seen recently?"
"Who is a role model of yours, not in your family"
"What do you think about the practice of medicine today compared to in the past?"
"None really .... all the questions i was asked were standard questions from this website .... if you go through all the interview feedbacks for Umiami, you will have no surprises."
"What is the smallest town you have been to?"
"Tell me about UF medical school (I had just interviewed there previously to UM)"
"Should research funding used to devlope drugs be better off used for cancer or arthritis (in reference to Vioxx being pulled from the market)"
"What other career would you choose if Medicine did not work out for you?"
"Give an example in your personal life of when you exhibited leadership qualities (meaning with friends etc not ec activities)"
"Your best friend's fifteen-year-old daughter comes to you, in a fit of tears, and wants you to give her an abortion and NOT tell her paretns. Without regard to legal issues... what do you think is the right thing to do? (This is interesting all right <wink>. As if ethical questions are not touchy enough.... the interviewer made it personal!)"
"Nothing unexpected."
"What would your fraternity brothers have to say about you and any qualities that would make them want to be one of your classmates?"
"What, do you think, is the value of professional athletes in American society today?"
"How do you feel about euthanasia? I know, not that "interesting"...sorry ;)"
"What would you do if a patient refuses medication or treatment? "
"If you were working with a group of people and they all had one point of view but you had a different view that you felt was right, how would you go about convincing the others to accept your point of view?"
"The doctor interviewing me said that he had a patient that was brain dead and the family went out and got a court order that the patient was not to be taken off life support. He asked me what I thought he should do."
"personal questions in regard to how I would react to certain situations "
"When stress levels are high, who do you confide in and what sort of activities do you partake in to alleviate the stress?"
"What qualities do you consider important in leadership/being a leader and how have your previous experiences influenced your response?"
"What do you think about the necessity of a relationship between psychological intervention/treatment and classical medicine? "
"Why Spanish? (I was a Spanish major)"
"none, everything was standard."
"What was the last movie and book that I had read, we also discussed art briefly."
"My interviewer just asked me to summarize my life up to the present and explain what has led to me to choose medicine. I felt as though he really wanted to get to know me and to make the interview as relaxed as possible."
"What is your idea of a leader?"
"if I was to write one last sentence to the admissions board about you, what should it be?"
"no real questions. my interview was very conversational and relaxing. we talked more about running than anything else! um doesn't interview that many people, so if you make it to the interview, they really just want to see if you have a pulse and are personable - stuff they can't figure out from reading your file."
"What is toli?"
"We had a great discussion about the importance of research in medicine..."
"have you worked with REALLY sick people?"
"Do you have a best friend and tell me about him/her. "
"A challenging experience you have had."
"What kinds of students do you NOT like who are in your class? Explain what makes them unlikable."
"We had some interesting conversations, not a result of any questions."
"What is the difference between judo and jujitsu?"
"What has been the most important scientific breakthrough in the last century? (I'm a history of science major)"
"What will keep you from changing your mind about going to medical school?"
"What would prevent you from your goal of becoming a doctor?"
"About my love for Hindi movies and culture"
"Questions concerning my personal statement (volunteer experiences and family)"
"What have you read recently about healthcare? (I read a lot about healthcare issues)"
"None of the questions were all that interesting, though he did ask some good questions about my application that showed he actually read everything."
"How are we end the cycle of poverty in America?"
"Nothing really - tell me about yourself."
"What do you think is the most important class in the first year curriculum?"
"Do you like kimchi?"
"What would you do if you don't get into medical school?"
"Why do you feel people from disadvantaged backgrounds tend to stay in a similar place/ socioeconomic status?"
"How has your education/experience prepared you over our other applicants?"
"Some say that the number of women in medicine will dramatically increase in the future. Do you agree or disagree and why?"
"Discuss the research you conducted in college?"
"What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you?"
"???"
"How I could integrate my hobbies and work in the future."
"Qualities of a leader and how a physicians must exemplify those qualities."
"How does your family feel about your accomplishments."
"What is a leader? Describe a situation when you acted as a leader? What is the role of a physician as a leader?"
"All of the questions were ones that I was prepared for (and those listed in the interview section of medical school review books)"
"there were no interesting and/or strange questions, just chatting about my file"
"What I would like to do for the international health?"
"He asked me about what some of my more interesting experiences as an EMT were."
"The interview was an informal discussion as opposed to the typical monotonous questions so often asked on interviews. "
"If you're the lead (not a superior) on a team doing a project, and all others on the team think your idea is wrong and threaten to quit the project, what do you do? "
"What do you picture (the practice of) medicine will be like when you graduate from medical school?"
"About rap as poetry and poetry slams"
"Can you demonstrate what Hanmi is? (It's a position in a martial art I learn, so I actually stood up during the interview to show him what it was)"
"How would I resolve India Pakistan tension, as they are both nuclear capable?"
"Give me an example of a situation where you were a leader but also had to use teamwork to accomplish your goals. "
"Why should I accept you?"
"do you think human cloning should be allowed"
"What kind of car do you drive that gets 50 miles/gallon?"
"There was nothing out of the ordinary or particularly interesting"
"How did I plan to take advantage of the things the unique curriculum and clinical experiences at the University of Miami had to offer me."
"What disease is the most problematic today?"
"?"
"What kinds of multicultural experiences have you had?"
"There wasn't a particular question that I was asked that stood out in my mind. The entire interview flowed as a conversation and I was allowed to direct the topic of conversation. The faculty member doing the interview went through my extra curricular activities listed on my AMCAS and asked about a few of them. "
"I was given a scenario where I would have to make an ethical decision about abortion. Some people might be offended by it, but frankly, I thought it was an appropriate question and I was happy to answer it."
"None. The admissions officer had the charisma of a corpse. He really spooked me out. He asked questions that were not pertinent to my file and mostly surrounded my hispanic background which he managed to offend at different times. "
"How would you improve the foster care system in America?"
"I had seen this question in the interview feedback and had practiced it once, but in the moment got tripped up. I was asked if I deemed health care to be a right or a privilege."
"Something about a new drug that costs $400k a year and how would I make it possible for patients to take it."
"The most interesting question followed up with: Have you ever been in the emergency room? If so, how does that influence your opinion of the difficult patient?"
"Brag about yourself"
"Role-playing with ethical dilemmas"
"None - straightforward"
"How would you handle an openly hostile patient?"
"Would you give your telephone number out to patients? How would this affect you in practice?"
"none - questions were all pretty straightforward"
"He asked me about a reckless driving charge I had for unsafe speed.....he asked me how I had changed since that......I told him that I used cruise control and asked my boyfriend to drive me when I'm late"
"Tell me about a difficult day in your life"
"Weakness question"
"She asked me to talk about a shadowing experience I totally forgot about. I struggled to remember the details."
"Is it ever okay to lie to a patient?"
"When have you felt the need to break the rules?"
"What is one of your weaknesses."
"Is your practice vision realistic?"
"Why are you interviewees so nervous? It won't help you get in."
"Any questions for me? (That should have been the easiest--I had a few prepared--but my brain simply went blank. But I detected a subtle smile indicating he understood good and well...)"
"Have you had any acceptances?"
"Lots of questions about my background and why I made certain decisions and what I learned from them"
"What makes you so special?"
"None really. There was nothing that wasn't posted by others on previous feedback."
"How will you prepare for the ethical side of medicine?"
"Do you believe physicians have to be 100 % honest with their patients?"
"n/a"
"When was a time that you made a right decision even though it seemed like the wrong thing to do traditionally?"
"None were really difficult"
"Tell me about a time where you ended up getting in trouble and how you turned the situation into a positive."
"What is the worst advice you have ever given someone? WTF!!?"
"None stood out as being too difficult."
"Why do you think the US health care system is going down?"
"How has your personality landed you in trouble?"
"What do you think about poverty in this country and the idea of universal healthcare?"
"None were difficult if you know yourself well."
"How would you deal with indigent care?Don't remember exact wording, but it had to do with ideas for ''fixing'' or providing indigent care."
"none really, but a very structured interview...one question after another with barely enough time to answer."
"You are from New York and went to school up north. Miami seems a bit random. Why Miami?"
"What will be the hardest thing for you as a physician to sacrifice?"
"All the question were pretty standard. The interview was more like a conversation."
"''Since your application is obviously strong enough to be selected for an interview, tell me why you think you should be admitted.''"
"None, really."
"What is the bowel prep for taking a video pill?"
"What do you think about Universal Healthcare?"
"none difficult"
"What other medical schools did you apply to?"
"None."
"Nothing much really. Just the health care questions."
"What do you like about the other schools you have visited so far? How does Miami compare with them?"
"Nothing was difficult."
"Weaknesses."
"''Tell me, what are some of the ethical problems that the health care system of the United states is facing? Please do not mention stem cell research or doctors making their consultations shorter for money purposes, I've already heard these before. "
"1. How would you solve world poverty? (I mean seriously- come on- this is a horrible question) 2. Two patients come into the hospital at the same time: one with private health insurance, one without health insurance. Their are two rooms available: one clean private room and one communal room where someone has just had explosive, stinky diarrhea. Which patient goes where? (horrible, stupid question)"
"Have you done any traveling by yourself to show that you're independent?"
"What makes a good leader?"
"some research questions not specifically related to my work"
"Nothing too difficult. Describe the current healthcare situation in America, and what you can contribute to help the problem."
"What do you thing contributes to the poverty cycle in the USA and how would you change the system?"
"nothing very difficult...mostly conversational...i guess the hardest question was in regards to my father's role in my life in general and in making big decisions"
"Probably the one above"
"what do you see yourself doing in 15 years"
"Probably the one above. "
"I was asked a situational question about abortion, which involved doctor patient confidentiality issues."
"Nothing all too difficult"
"NA"
"How would you fix the healthcare system?"
"What happened on the writing portion of your MCAT (big difference btw. writing and rest of sections on my score)?"
"I thought all the questions were fair and reasonable."
"How I would contribute to the school."
"none too difficult"
"How can we improve access to health care?"
"What do you think is the biggest problem in health care and how would you fix it?"
"Ethical question dealing with providing free health care repetitively and how I would deal with it. "
"Talk about your weaknesses."
"How would you characterize your future relationships with your patients?"
"None really..... "
"Tell me what you know about the Medical Scholars Program"
"One of your interviewers described you as "___". Please elaborate on this quality."
"What do you think about yourself?"
"What would you do if you didn't get in this time around? (I answered). And if your 2nd time around you didn't get in again?"
"No matter who or how nice you are, someone, somewhere, doesn't like you. Can you think of what reason they might have for not liking you? "
"So how do you think your experiences make you prepared to be a doctor? (Not the exact wording, but that's the essence of the question.)"
"Question about a 15 year old girl dealing with thoughts about abortion and how I would act on the situation."
"If you could change the health care system, what would you change?"
"Some in depth questions about the US healthcare system"
"What do you look for in a medical school?"
"None, all were pretty straight-forward and conversational."
"What do you think was the worst day/time of your life and what did you learn?"
"What do I think will be the most significant up-and-coming ethical issues regarding medicine?"
"Nothing really. Basic standard questions for the most part"
"You have 3 minutes to convince me to admit you."
"How should we fix health care in thie country?"
"What do you think about our healthcare system?"
"Can't think of any at the moment"
"At what point in your life did you first feel the fire to become a doctor?"
"What is social medicine?"
"How would you incorporate medicine into your previous activities?"
"The above, plus a variety of questions on HMO's."
"Where does Miami rank on your list of schools? This question followed another where he asked where else I had interviewed and expected me to name names. I have to say that I found these questions to be completely inappropriate. Of course, you can't say that to the interviewer, but be forewarned that you may get asked this, so have a positive, noncommital, pro-Miami response ready."
"If you could single-handedly fix the health insurance problem in the US, what would you do, and how?"
"How do you isolate interacting proteins? (I'm currently doing research on transcription factors and was asked this thinking that I had done enough to give a decent response.)"
"What do you think about HMO's?"
"Hypothetically, what would you do if a patient came to you and straight out told you they could not pay for it?"
"Tell me about yourself."
"Hypothetical question about abortion"
"What is your motivation for going into medicine?"
"How do you fix healthcare/HMOs in this country?"
"Look above."
"What quality about yourself would you want to change?"
"What do you think about healthcare in the US, and what do you think the solution is?"
"If you had the money to fix the HMO's problems, how would you do that?"
"The interview was very conversational, and it was obvious that my interviewer was not "out to get me." None of the questions were very difficult, they were all general questions about my application, my research, my experiences, etc."
"None really, it was very conversational."
"Please give me the highlights, not related to medicine, of your life.... (I asked what specifically the interviewer was interested in, given that it could take me hours to answer that question otherwise...the interviewer replied by asking what hobbies I had outside of medicine....)"
"None really but if I had to pick one: How would you solve the problem of lack of healthcare coverage in the lower middle income families?"
"What is your worst quality?"
"I don't recall any difficult questions"
"How can we solve the inequities that exist in our health system (I brought this up though)"
"What are your weaknesses and how have you tried to strengthen them?"
"What do you see as an ethical dilemma facing you as a physician? "
"None.. they were all pretty routine."
"None- the interview was completely laid back. I felt like I was talking to an old friend."
"If you could tell me, the last sentence that you would use to describe yourself to the committee, what would it be?"
"If you had to choose between the MD or PhD program, which would you choose and how would you arrive at that conclusion."
"What percentage of time would you devote to research, clinical work, and teaching? Explain why and whether this is feasible."
"If you were to choose between the MD or the PhD only (and you couldn't receive any NIH funds to be an MD doing research) which track would you choose?"
"If you were working with a team & the team didn't agree with your ideas, how will you resolve the conflict?"
"What would you do if your best friend's daughter (15) came to you for an abortion? "
"Something about how would you change healthcare in Florida."
"None of them were that difficult at all, he most asked questions about my file it was real up front and more like a conversation than an interview."
"How would you fix healthcare in America"
"Nothing really that difficult. "
"I honestly can't say anything was extremely difficult because all of the questions were straightforward and he did not ask me any ethics questions, which are usually the tough ones. He did also try to give me advice on how to decide on a med school and then asked if I had any questions when he was finished, which I liked."
"What do you dread about medical school?"
"How have you demonstrated leadership?"
"What do you think can be done to change the direction of the healthcare industry"
"What happens when your religious faith conflicts with a patient's request?"
"None really......all were pretty standard-get-to-know-you kind of questions"
"How do we deliver healthcare to these small towns?"
"None really...it was very conversational."
"How would my moral beliefs affect the way I practiced medicine"
"None. There was not really a question that put you on the hot seat or anything. "
"Sooo... how did you come to be sitting in this chair across from me today? (hubda wha? Unlike the abortion question where I confidently knew my beliefs before the interview, I found this question to be more difficult because of how open-ended it was. Fortunately, with such vague questions, the interviewer allows you to control the direction of the conversation.)"
"Again, nothing unexpected."
"see above"
"Which of your hobbies would you continue to keep if your free time in medical school only allowed one?"
"What qualities do you think a leader needs? Do you have those? Also, how do you think that the doctors that you shadow need to improve?"
"Tell me about your self-awareness. I really did not know how to answer this. "
"The question above."
"The doctor interviewing me said that he had a patient that was brain dead and the family went out and got a court order that the patient was not to be taken off life support. He asked me what I thought he should do."
"what was the most stressful situation that I have had"
"Your GPA is outstanding. Why is your MCAT score just average?"
"Explain how you would respond if you had a family friend's daughter (15y/o) approach you about terminating her unplanned pregnancy. Also, explain your reasoning and why you would respond in this fashion considering that you know her family very well."
"Why do you want to come here -- other than family connections. "
"None, the interview was conversational and I felt prepared with my background reseach of UM."
"Where I had interviewed - and why I wanted to go to UM over those schools."
"How would you change the healthcare system?"
"same"
"no difficult questions."
"Why did you choose to attend your undergraduate institution?"
"How do feel that you will balance a career in surgery (what I'm interested in going into) with having a family life (as I'm female)?"
"No difficult questions; just things about research/clinical activities, etc."
"see the idiocy of the above question"
"Same, because it was a little unexpected"
"How would you talk to the student you described above?"
"There were no difficult questions; it was very conversational."
"Why medicine instead of something in the humanities? (I was a history major) -- This isn't really a hard question, but that's seriously the most difficult thing I was asked. The interview was definitely not stressful at all."
"How would you address poverty?"
"The interviewer was not trying to make the situation difficult. This was my first interview and the interviewer made me feel rather comfortable."
"What is your favorite color?(What does this say about me?)"
"Same as above"
"Nothing too difficult was asked"
"How would you handle a patient that does not have insurance?"
"Name the 3 diseases/conditions responsible for the most deaths in the U.S. per year. (How could I forget stroke?!?!)"
"What would I do if I was working in a small group in which we all had to come to some sort of consensus and I was the lone dissenter, a la "Twelve Angry Men," what would I do?"
"Tell me about yourself (I tend to ramble at questions like this since they are so broad and unspecific)"
"What's the biggest problem facing healthcare today?"
"Nothing difficult. Just make sure you've researched about the school and are prepared to expand on your application. "
"How would you approach the son of a man to whom you had just given the wrong medication?"
"Often your ethics will conflict with your patient's request. Pick any example and comment on what you would do. Also, what is wrong with HMOs and what you would do to improve the state of healthcare today? "
"What would you change about yourself (personal qualities) if you could change one thing? I thought this was hard, although I should have thought about it beforehand like everyone else."
"Honestly I think I blanked when he asked me, but one difficult one I remember was: What do you think is missing from patient care?"
"Is there a reason that you believe you would not fit into Miami? This was difficult because I couldn't think of any reason because it is a perfect match for me. "
"What qualities do you believe will make you a good medical student and doctor?"
"If you could come up with a plan to pay for uninsured patients, what would you do?"
"???"
"If I were president, what would I change about the healthcare system."
"What should I say to the committee if they ask why you did not get a 4.0 GPA in your graduate program?"
"none were difficult"
"None! "
"Again, nothing difficult. He did ask me to simply describe myself. this could be difficult if you have nothing planned to say."
"Exactly what in the US education system prevents you from being a teacher?"
"The questions were fair and I don't think there were too difficult questions."
"I was all set to talk about why I want to go to medical school, why Miami, etc. but it sort of threw me off when we started talking about my high school experiences (since that was 10 years ago)"
"No difficult question. "
"Why did it take you so long to decide to change your career and go into medicine."
"None, every question were pretty much laid back."
"Suggest a solution for the uninsured masses, how can you provide care for them? Who and How?"
"How would I change (insert volunteer activity here) to make it better?"
"Why should I reject you? (Very hard...b/c I don't want to get rejected!)"
"none"
"Are there any other patients that you can think of that have impacted you personally and/or professionally? (I have worked/volunteered in healthcare for three years)"
"What do you think is happening with US healthcare. (But really the interviewer was not expecting an indepth analysis, just an opinion) "
"Why I thought I would be a good doctor."
"What was the last movie you saw (i drew a blank!)?"
"How do you feel about the state of healthcare in our country?"
"Why did you apply to the University of Miami? I wouldn't consider any of the questions I was asked to be hard, but considering I am an out of state resident, I had to think about this one for a moment."
"None. He said. You're a great candidate. You have everything going for you and he starts listing things. Then he says my GPA and he states "amazing". He starts reading my MCAT score and he states great, but then he goes "you scored very poorly on your verbal section." He continued to state that I would not be accepted because of this, no ifs- ands- or buts"
"What is the biggest problem in health care today and how would i fix it? "
"SDN, and read over my application."
"SDN, UW BioEthics site, reddit, general interview prep"
"SDN and reviewed application both primary and secondary. Know your experiences well."
"Ironically, something definitely incredibly helpful was reviewing aloud and writing key points for my response to questions from SDN's interview feedback section. UW was also really great (spent the entire week prior to interviewing, reviewing it—most importantly answering by myself the scenario questions at the end of each section). Specifically for the interview based on my app and experiences, I thoroughly reflected on and reviewed multiple times the responsibilities, lessons, memorable experiences, and skills I gained in each activity. This helps with questions like describe a time a teammate was uncooperative, a time you demonstrated leadership skills, a time your actions had a ripple effect (this last one wasn't specifically asked, but I think something similar was). *For those with time and interested in seeing different kinds of scenarios, I personally enjoyed watching the YT video "A Conversation About Challenging Cases in Clinical Ethics" just because it shows how professionals would more naturally respond and the importance of considering the implications of each decision and approach. The three scenarios presented are MUCH more complex than the ones given at any interview I have ever attended!"
"SDN, interview prep, went through my whole AMCAS application and personal statement"
"Re-read my application, UM website, SDN"
"I had taken mock interview prep"
"Reviewed bioethics on University of Washington website (Google it!) Scanned over my app that I sent, right before my interview."
"SDN, Private Interview Coach, Online Resources, Multiple Mock Interviews"
"UW bioethics website, introspection"
"SDN, read primary and secondary, looked up top interview questions"
"Reviewed the website, AMCAS app, and secondary."
"Reviewed primary/secondary and researched the school."
"Reviewed my primary and secondary app essays, reviewed UM website and MSAR, SDN"
"Reread AMCAS and secondary"
"read up on the school (wikipedia, their website), read these"
"read this site, studied the school's website."
"SDN, AMCAS review"
"Didn't really, hence the struggle."
"SDN, UM website"
"Mock interviews and improving with feedback"
"Student doctor, UMMSM website, reviewing my application"
"I went over my applications essays as a reminder of what I included."
"Sifted through questions on StudentDoctor, prepared my own questions and wrote down potential answers to questions."
"Mock interview."
"I reviewed my primary and secondary applications, including essays, as well as my old research paper. I looked up various things like types of health insurance, stem cell research, etc. I also looked at the questions other applicants have provided in this interview feedback section."
"School website, SDN feedback. "
"SDN "
"read my file, read interview feedback"
"mock interview, SDN, school's website, MSAR, AMCAS, secondary"
"read SDN interview feedback, looked at med school website"
"SDN, looked over my application."
"SDN website, talking to medical students from the school, pre-professional committee and other online resources."
"Re-read application, SDN, arrived 2 days early to explore city with rental car"
"SDN, reread old AMCAS material, internet website"
"SDN, School workshop, mock interview, school/city research, reading!"
"SDN, Other interviews"
"SDN, primary, secondary, website, spoke to a friend who goes there"
"SDN, secondary, AMCAS, and practiced with some generic interview concepts (health policy, current affairs, etc.)."
"SDN, friends, talk to self"
"SDN, MSAR, school website, brochure"
"UM pamphlet, SDN, MSAR, Secondary, AMCAS"
"SDN, Mock Interviews with Family/Friends"
"read UM webiste, my AMCAS, studentdoc.net. HMO/PPO/universal healthcare"
"read through interview threads, SDN, healthcare articles"
"Med interview prep books, SDN, interviewed myself in front of a video camera"
"Reviewed file, reviewed SDN feedback."
"SDN, read over my app, University of Washington Ethics page"
"School's website, mailed materials. Also, I've been reading up on the Miami Project for a long time."
"SDN, talked to friends"
"Read over my own file, secondary materials, and did some research on the school."
"SDN, school website, AMCAS, secondary application"
"Getting potential Qs from SDN interview feedback database, mock-interview"
"Read health policy books, SDN, interview books. I was way overprepared, it turned out."
"SDN, website."
"SDN, friends, school website"
"read over my application, SDN, school's website"
"I prepared with friends and an advisor."
"Read my application, a few things on the health care system and its problems."
"Read my application, this site, read up on health policy, looked at miami website."
"Read over application and the UM website."
"I prepared lists of questions that I'd expect to be asked and came up with answers to them. Also read SDN and other websites."
"Read file, browse websites for frequently asked questions."
"SDN, reviewed my AMCAS and secondary app, researched the school's website, talked with a current student"
"SDN, read my AMCAs and secondaries."
"SDN, school website, read over recent health care issues, AMCAS and secondary"
"Read my applications, read their website (this helps), read SDN, read wikipedia."
"Review School info, amcas, essays, sdn, practice interview Q's"
"Read over my application/essays, SDN, read about UM in med school guides"
"other interviews"
"read over secondary, supplemental, read a few things on healthcare policy, newspapers, browsed school's website"
"SDN, read over my secondary. The school website wasn't very helpful. "
"SDN, read over application materials, UMMSM website."
"SDN, Interview Feedback, came up with key points that I wanted to address for different question types and asked my family members and friends what they thought."
"Read SDN and school website"
"Nothing."
"Typical preparations...."
"SDN, read AMCAS application, read secondary, reserached the school..."
"SDN, website, secondary application, AMCAS"
"Read SDN. Read UMiami's website. Looked over my AMCAS, secondary, and notes on my research. "
"Read SDN, looked at the school's website, went to some other interviews first, so I felt pretty ready."
"Read web-site, SDN, my secondary, newspaper"
"Read SDN. Read the UMiami @ FAU website. Reviewed my AMCAS and secondary."
"Reread essays, newspaper."
"SDN, website, sleep"
"Reviewed U Miami website."
"SDN, re-read my APP, website"
"AMCAS, UM secondary, read a book on healthcare, HMO's, and reviewed my research."
"SDN, read over AMCAS"
"Read over AMCAS, secondary, web site, SDN"
"Web site / SDN "
"UM Med School website, student doctor, aamc, my application"
"SDN, read my application, mock interviews, UM website"
"UM website, interview pamphlet, SDN, MSAR"
"Nothing"
"MSAR's UM Miller Profile, SDN, UM Website, UM Med's Magazine, NEJM Editorial by Atul Gawande"
"Read over application, etc."
"Mellowed out and went a day early to catch the weather - printed out some bios of the research faculty I asked for, but basically just made sure I was in a good mood."
"reading my resume, SDN.com, reviewing possible interview questions"
"Usual stuff, re-read my AMCAS, looked at UM website and read up on some ethical issues."
"AMCAS application, UM secondary, UM med website"
"This site, some articles on healthcare, UM website, secondary, AMCAS"
"sdn, read over amcas & secondary"
"sdn, review my AMCAS and secondary, understand my research well enough to explain it. "
"Read a short introductory book on interviewing skills, visited school's website, reviewed AMCAS, common questions"
"sdn, website research"
"SD feedback, AMCAS review, made up a list of questions that I could expect to see"
"sdn, read secondary, studied up on HMOs and universal healthcare."
"SDN, read my application, read up on HMOs and other health care systems"
"SDN, Internet, review my AMCAS and secondary application."
"SDN, reviewed ethics/healthcare policy issues, reviewed my app, the school's website, etc."
"SDN, mock interviews, reading my previous essays and applications. "
"School website, re-read my apps and essays, reviewed this website, called administrator prior to interviewing and asked pertinent questions, which gave me a heads-up on new programs not listed on website."
"SDN, looked over my research, Miller website."
"Brushed up on healthcare issues"
"Read the Miami website, read the feedback on SDN, practiced answering questions, re-read my application. The interviewer has access to both your secondary and AMCAS applications."
"read news, watched the news, SDN, RELAX"
"looking over AMCAS application, school website, sdn"
"SDN, my AMCAS and secondary applications, read up on the school, healthcare issues in the US, and "hot topics" in ethics (I live in the city and attend UM undergrad so I knew a lot about the school already)"
"SDN, mock interviews, reviewed my files, studied ethical situations"
"Didn't prepare. I just decided to be honest and spontaneous."
"SDN, miami website, etc."
"Browsed interview reviews on this website, reviewed my application."
"SDN, read my AMCAS app, read my Miami Applications, and read up on HMOs and PPOs"
"Created a 200+ page packet describing the U.S. healthcare system, and contemporary issues. Also, SDN of course lol."
"SDN Med School Interview Feedback, AMCAS, secondary, wrote out questions and answers and practiced"
"sdn, read miami website, read over my amcas"
"Read the UM website, which is informative. Looked at SDN, reviewed my secondary."
"Read over applications, sdn."
"I did little to prepare; read up on SDN the night before and read over my AMCAS and secondary answers."
"UM website, SDN, internet, prior interviews"
"I read SDN, printed questions off of it, and had someone ask me the questions. I participated in a mock interview with an admissions director from another institution (at a Pre-Med conference). I went to Borders and read books on interview questions & perused similar websites."
"sdn, school website and a mock interview."
"Reviewed applications, SDN, reviewed my research notes"
"Mock interviews, SDN, various interviewing sites on the web."
"Student Doctor Network, read over my application"
"SDN, watched the presidential debate, reviewed my application "
"read amcas"
"Read SDN, read basic healthcare policy information from internet/books, re-read my AMCAS and secondary applications."
"read over AMCAS, application essays, read about school"
"studentdoctor.net, reviewed my applications, and researched the school and its facilities."
"sdn, UM website, read application over"
"read about the school"
"prayers, sdn, review my application, relaxed, had fun and really tried to enjoy my conversation with the interviewer."
"read ap / sdn"
"I read over my application, looked over the school website, and read the bio's of the interviewers whose research interested me. "
"reread AMCAS application and UM secondary application, researched current issues in healthcare"
"Read over my published articles & abstracts, thesis, primary AMCAS essay, and secondary application essay. Since my focus is molecular biology, continued to keep myself up-to-date on current research developments in the area. Discussed potential questions & strategies with professors I work with currently."
"-briefly read over my AMCAS application; read the bios and the most recent primary journal articles of each interviewer for the MD/PhD program; read over the history of the school etc via the 'net"
"Read over my AMCAS, secondary application, SDN"
"SDN, website, application, and secondary"
"SDN, AMCAS app, personal statement, secondary essays, school website"
"I read these reviews, went over sample question and my application"
"SDN, MSAR, read my essays, current events"
"AMCAS, Secondary, Current Events"
"I went over my applications, reviewed studentdoctor.net and went over questions and my answers to them with family members to prepare."
"Splurged on a nice suit ;)"
"Read SDN, Miami website, AMCAS application"
"Student doctor, previous interview helped (same questions were asked), read my AMCAS app again, talk to people who go/went there"
"Looked over school website, reviewed common questions, reviewed amcas application"
"found out about UM through its students at a college forum"
"Went to UMiami's website, looked at question here"
"Read interview feedback and their website."
"read SDN, read the UM website"
"Read this forum, reviewed my application"
"SDN, UM website, Freinds at school, etc..."
"I read this website and talked to a few friends that had previously interviewed at Miami. "
"I read about current healthcare events, visited the UM website (easy to navigate and really informative), reviewed my application info, and explored downtown Miami (the night before) to make sure that I knew where the college of medicine was located. "
"SDN, secondary, and the School's website."
"same as everybody else. Miami has a website that is actually better than most schools so its worth taking a look at."
"I didn't."
"Read this site, read about UM (he never quizzed me on it though, yay!), Read over my CV and applications!"
"Speak to current medical school students."
"I read over Miami's website and SDN forums and interview feedback secions."
"SDN, UM website."
"Studentdoctor.net, reviewed my application, went over some possible questions and how I would answer them"
"studentdoctor.net, u of miami site and publications, students at school"
"Reviewing secondary application, personal essay, school website, and studentdoctor.net"
"Read UofM and this website, made sure I was aware of local issues, practiced Spanish (just kidding!)"
"SDN website, UM website and literature"
"Lots of coffee!"
"read SDN, read school web site, read articles on web, etc.."
"Studied my AMCAS essay and University of Miami secondary application, reviewed the University of Miami website, spoke with UM med school alumnis and read follow-up responses from this website."
"looked at UM website, sdn."
"Read primary and secondary"
"Reread my AMCAS and secondary app, read through the Miami website"
"Extensive review of my amcas and secondary application in addition to UM's website."
"re-read amcas, introspection, slept well"
"the usual: sdn, um website, my amcas application"
"Scoured the UM website, reviewed personal statement, visited campus the day before my interview, SDN."
"Stayed with some UM 2MD students and learned a lot about the program so I could ask good questions. Made sure I could confidently discuss leadership situations I've been in, and the items I had discussed in my AMCAS and Secondary Application."
"Read the website, kept up with current events, went over my primary application."
"SDN, Miami's website, talked to friend who goes there"
"Studentdoctor.net, reviewing my AMCAS, reading up on medical issues which we never even got to talk about"
"AMCAS, secondary, sample questions."
"Read UM website, literature, re-read personal statement, SDN"
"Reviewed my application, the UM website and current healthcare issues."
"I read the interview feedback on this site, scoured Miami's web site for info. on programs, etc."
"Read the website"
"studentdoctor, read over my application, asked questions from friends in the program"
"reviewed primary and secondary application, read interview feedback on SDN, kept up on current events"
"read the website, sdn, re-read secondary"
"Read over my ps, secondary, SDN, Miami Website"
"student doc, UM website, read over application and research"
"Read SDN, reviewed my application, read through school's website, went through practice interview questions."
"Read over the website and my application."
"SDN, UM website, re-read my application, Jackson-Memorial website."
"read over this site and the U. of M site."
"I spoke with current students about some of the specifics of the program and postings on this site. Read over my AMCAS and secondary application as well as the UM website. I had also done some mock interviews."
"I read about the school on the web and spoke to current and former students."
"Read the website backwards and forwards."
"read MSAR, school website, my application"
"I read over my application(s), read the MSAR and any online information I could find, talked with co-workers and friends about myself and Miami, etc."
"Reviewed AMCAS application, had an ex-committee member mock interview me, read everything on SDN, talked with friends who interviewed and attended the school."
"Reading the website, this website, reviewing CV, and talking to current students."
"Reviewed the school's website and looked at responses posted on this website."
"I looked at the University of Miami website, looked at Studentdoctor.net, and went over my primary and secondary applications."
"Read the UM School of Medicine website, Read SDN, Went over my primary and secondary applications, Relaxed "
"Read over my file, the secondary application I sent, talked to my friends that are current students there (definitely the most helpful)"
"I read the web site for the University of Miami School of Medicine. In addition, I have friends who are current students. Each one gave me ideas of important things to mention as well as quizzed me on questions they had been asked during their interviews. I read through the feedback on studentdoctor.net as well as the standard of reviewing my primary and secondary application information."
"Website, "
"studentdoctor.net , school website , reviewed my app"
"sdn, website, books, talking to students"
"Went over my amcas and secondary, UM website is important b/c they actually drill you on that a little bit."
"I when over my application, obtained information about the university and the city, I used the school website for that . I also visited the campus in a previous occasion. kept track of the recent and important topics in medicine. I visited this site which provide input and really help. "
"studentdoctor.net, med.miami.edu, asked my student host questions."
"SDN, Miami web-site"
"sdn, UM website, looked over my application"
"Reviewed my AMCAS and secondaries, this web site, school web site, healthcare/ethical issues"
"Reviewed applications and general prep questions."
"Read Miami's web site, read interviewfeedback, read over AMCAS and personal statement, ran through ethics and healthcare issues, spoke with some researchers I work with."
"Went over my AMCAS and my Miami application, and past interviews."
"Current events, miami.edu website, read profiles of their hospitals and affiliations with the AAMC, SDN, interview feedback."
"Looked over the Miami website and my files. "
"Check out the Miami website, Talk to student host, Be myself..."
"browse school website, talk to current students, reviewed application, researched current healthcare topics"
"Read UM's website, SDN, read over common interview questions, spoke with people that have already interviewed at UM."
"This website, and spoke to student host who was very friendly"
"I visited their web site and took advantage of their offer to be housed by a medical student on the night before my interview. I guess I just did my homework about UM."
"MSAR, StudentDoctor.net, AMCAS, Secondary, Health Articles"
"SDN, reading up on UM website"
"Read interview feedback; talked to students who had interviewed at the school; Read my application and information about the school"
"I read the newspaper during my flight and I skimmed over their website."
"UM is my alma mater, so I didn't have to do a great deal of preparation."
"Read feedbacks. "
"Mock interview, read over my file and the U of Miami website, and read about HMOs, etc."
"Faculties, students, and my interviewers were all so lovely. The location of the school is great. Weather is great!"
"fantastic enthusiasm from faculty and admissions; interviews were incredibly conversational even with difficult behavioral/situational questions"
"The number of different programs / combined degrees and the experience of working at Jackson Memorial Hospital"
"My interview was via zoom because of the pandemic, so my impressions are nearly entirely based off of the interviews. I was surprised by how casual and conversational the interview went. Before interviewing, I was intimidated by this school and secretly expected kind of snobby interviewers, but they definitely were not. Definitely an interview to prepare for (many questions) but not one made unnecessarily difficult by interviewers."
"Beautiful weather, Proximity of hospitals to the med school (literally steps away), Positivity of students, Incredible clinical training program"
"Everyone was so very friendly and helpful, including the interviewers. It was also clear that the students love UM and feel good about the new curriculum that was made from student feedback and will be implemented in the 2020 incoming class."
"They really wanted to get to know me as a person"
"The interviewers are there to be your advocate."
"I loved how happy all the students were to be there. Many other schools I interviewed at had students who seemed miserable about being in medical school. There is an amicable atmosphere at UM that I grew to appreciate."
"Great faculty:student ratio, happiness of students, opportunities"
"The students seemed genuinely happy and proud of their school, and the admissions team did a great job selling the school to us."
"The opportunities UM has to offer, you can do pretty much anything in the field of medicine there"
"Awesome clinical opportunities. I love that the med school is smack dab in the middle of a mini medical city with great hospitals next door."
"How beneficial having access to Jackson is to your development as a medical professional."
"Everything about the school left a positive impression. Miami is a truly international city, and the patient exposure the students were getting here was unmatched. I talked to several M2s who had been DIRECTLY involved in patient care (one had conducted a live birth). People from all over the south (think Caribbean islands) are flown into Jackson, the second busiest hospital in the nation. You know that rare disease 0.005% of the population has? How about those tropical diseases? Miami sees it all the time. The curriculum was well set up (integrated blocks, and later organ systems), the Department of Community Service was active, and students had a plethora of extracurriculars to choose from, including mission trips, research, etc. Miami is my #1."
"Cultural/social aspects of Miami. Friendliness and enthusiasm of my interviewer. Relaxed nature of interview. UM students: work hard/play hard attitude. 4-year MD/MPH program"
"The happiness of the students. Everyone I spoke to seemed to adore UM"
"the facilities and resources....even the gym had really high ceilings with everything brand-spanking new!"
"passion, excitement of the students"
"Students are really happy and have positive things to say about the school, early clinical contact, 3 different hospital systems within walking distance"
"great location, facilities, and everyone seemed happy lol"
"How friendly the admissions floks were and how happy the students were. They were eager to get to know the interviewees and help us out,"
"The resources and opportunities the school has to offer."
"The entire interview was amazing. I left the interview feeling happy and good about myself, I loved my interviewer."
"The school is fast-paced and in a great location to learn medicine."
"The med students were nice."
"Just about everything. Cool area, great facilities, enthusiastic students, interesting curriculum."
"The weather. Seriously, I think human beings are meant to live in that climate, rather than the NY climate. "
"He was very open and honest."
"you can't beat their hospital network, they seem very attentive to students' needs and suggestions, lots of care for underserved populations"
"The fact that I have lived in Miami all my life makes the transition much easier, the students seem happy, the international programs, Jackson Memorial Hospital"
"the facilities, Jackson Hospital, Miami, the students, the faculty, pretty much everything"
"I was unbelievably impressed by the school. In the last few years, they've received hundreds of millions of dollars in grants and donations, and they've also purchased a new hospital. In the same time, they've attracted a few world class physicians for their paralysis research center and their ophthalmology center, as well as in a few other specialties. Because of that, there are opportunities to do anything you'd ever want to do, whether its clinical experience, research, or whatever. They also have a gigantic simulation center, which is one of my biggest interests in medicine. They've pumped a ton of funding into it, and IIRC it's the largest one in the United States. They have a blocked curriculum, so students are never forced to have strings of exams in anatomy, biochemistry, histology, etc. -- it's just one science course at a time with other courses in ethics and patient care to supplement that. There's a good mix of traditional lectures and PBL (a 75/25 split). There's also a lot of student support. The class is divided up into 12 different "societies" of 12 or 13 students that work together throughout the year. The societies also compete in intramural events so it's not all just work. The interview day was very laid back. There were, I believe, thirteen other people interviewing with me. We got a free breakfast and a campus tour beforehand, and the tour guides were very helpful in answering any and all questions that we had. The interview was with one physician and was open file. He asked a few general questions that he said he was forced to ask (including one silly ethical question), and then we just chatted about my application and what I do for fun and all that. It was only like 45 minutes long, and then there was lunch with med students and some more Q&A. All of the students there seemed enamored by the school (obviously a biased sample, but whatever)."
"Students were friendly and laid back, although we did play the Element Game at dinner. The program directors were very nice, and the dinner at Scotty's Landing was amazing! The hotel was also very impressive."
"The entire day was done professionally. Everyone was friendly and enthusiastic about what they did and why they chose the school."
"Everything! The school's location (right in the middle of the city), facilities (top notch trauma center, 3rd largest teaching hospital, etc.), and the fact that several different clinical affiliates are conveniently located right on campus. There seem to be many opportunities for students to get involved with volunteering and social activities. I had also never been to Miami, and the city itself was much nicer and more interesting than I had expected."
"The weather: 78 in December! It is beautiful and has a county hospital on campus. Its a great place to learn Spanish and get a U.S. accredited medical degree."
"EVERYTHING! Faculty, staff, location, students, facilities, culture..."
"There are so many opportunities to explore almost any sort of interest in medicine. Everyone is very friendly and the docs really want to teach."
"Patient Population, Jackson's ER (the main hospital), a huge campus but still conducive to walking"
"The size of Jackson Memorial Hospital, the opportunity to work with Latinos, the classes seem cohesive, and most importantly, the location."
"Hands on clinical opportunities and research. academic societies"
"The student body was by far the most friendly and positive that I have come across, lots of unity and genuine excitement about the school and the program."
"Jackson, Academic Societies, and the med students were really nice to us and helpful. "
"Students, Faculty, Clinical Opportunities"
"Everyone I encountered was extremely kind. Students seem genuinely happy here. Faculty are actually interested in the medical students and want to work with them. The clinical opportunities are incredible beginning your first year."
"A lot of things. It's obvious that med students here get incredible clinical training, among the best in the country. Also, everyone was really friendly and seemed genuinely happy there (I think it's pretty obvious when this is an act)."
"The emphasis on clinical experience from the day you set foot on campus."
"Enthusiasm and clinical opportunity/exposure from day 1 (if you want it). That our files are completely digital. Apparently only UM and Harvard are doing this. "
"I was blown away by the school. Honestly I think this is where I want to be for the next four years. I was very impressed by the facilities, the cultural diversity of the area (I heard more spanish and Haitian Creole than English) and getting my training at Jackson with the beach 10min. away seems amazing. I also really loved the students I met. They were all very positive and helpful and were very relaxed. Overall Miami was pretty awesome and I hope I get an acceptance in a few weeks!"
"The tour, info session, interview were all great. Everybody was nice and caring and the facilities were great. I came directly from another interview up north and it was like night and day. "
"The CLINICAL OPPORTUNITIES and what I'll be able to see and do in Jackson; enthusiasm of all of the students I met- especially one girl who spoke to us who came in with the most unique background i've heard (she was a Navy Cheerleader, medic in Navy, played piano & then studied Political Science/French at Univ of Florida) and she chose UM over other options bc of the clinical opportunities. She had a test the next day and was still chatting with us at the interviewee lunch, smiling & laughing. That says a lot about the students. "
"The early clinical experience you get on REAL patients starting in the 1st year. The ''Academic Societies'' seem like they will really help students adapt to life as a medical student."
"Great clinical opportunities in the first two years of med school"
"(1) Size of Jackson Medical Center and testimonies of the students that just recently they saw ''Dengue Fever'' and serious ER cases. (2) The students say that the academic environment is not competitive. (3) The students were happy of their choice to attend UM and were very active people. They also gave us advice to work at having a balanced lifestyle in med school."
"The amount of clinical exposure the students are given from the second week of medical school. Also, all the medical students were happy, enthusiastic, and had only good things to say about the school. The worst thing anyone said is at UMMSM they have lectures immediately after exams."
"Huge facilities."
"how enthuisastic the med students were about the school"
"all the students there are so happy!! The academic societies sound like something students really benefit from, and the clinical experience students get at Jackson seems unparalled."
"Everyone was very upbeat and nice. I was especially impressed with first year students who had an anatomy test coming up. It was evident that they had a lot on their mind, but they still came out to meet all the people interviewing that day and put their best foot forward. I was really impressed with the endless number of clinical and research opportunities. Anything you might be interested in is offered through UMiami."
"Everything. Jackson, Dr. Hinkley, the medical students."
"I was impressed by the tour; the sheer number of hospitals on the campus offer a variety of opportunities, right in the same area. Also the weather."
"The students were INCREDIBLY enthusiastic and helpful, especially about the apparently unparalleled clinical experience you get here."
"1. What's going on here with regards to research and recruiting is incredible. I'm convinced UM's ranking is going to skyrocket in a couple years. Spoke with a number of students who were actively involved in research projects. 2. The clinical training seems to be unbeatable. One 4th year student remarked that the residency program director at his first choice essentially told him they'd be ranking him highly because of UM's clinical reputation. 3. The atmosphere was very relaxed and the students seemed very warm and friendly. I really feel like I'd fit in here. 4. USMLE Step 2 scores appear to be through the roof. 5. Miami. Enough said."
"despite the facilities being older than most I've seen, Miami did seem to provide the best clerkship experience (easily beats that of Harvard's or any other school I can think of). It's locale not only makes anyone's decision to live in South Beach convenient, but it being the only major hospital in the South East and Caribbean region really puts itself in an ideal set up for your clinical experience. The strength of all its residency programs reflect this (Jackson Memorial is a well respected institution) Really hands on clinical experience and the most diverse patient population I have seen thus far. 3rd and 4th year students reaffirmed this. Societies really integrate upper and lower classmates (not segregated like almost all schools)"
"The number of amazing facilities for research as well as one of the most diverse hospitals in the nation in terms of clinical exposure. Also amazing location."
"Jackson Memorial is an enormous hospital with a huge and diverse patient population, the location of the school is amazing (students live on the water), and all the students seem really happy to be there."
"Jackson Memorial and is adjacent facilities. The whole place is huge. Moreover you can get patient contact your first year of med school. And of course you can leave out Dr. Hinkley, he made the interview day more relaxed and friendly with his jokes."
"I liked the weather. "
"JACKSON! It's awesome! Also the students really seem to have a great commraderie. They seem to genuinely enjoy each other and the school."
"Everything. They set up everything to get you comfortable so that you can be yourself. They have a huge medical campus and 1st/2nd year med students get plenty of opportunity to participate in patient care."
"Everything"
"The size of Jackson Memorial Hospital and the diversity/number of patients it takes in. The students. The facilities, clinical opportunities, research opportunities, etc."
"Research facilities and the amount of $$/opportunity within the school"
"the students, Dr. Hinkley, the facts and figures in the initial orientation (Jackson Memeorial is top-notch...the place you will get to learn it all)"
"Everyone was really nice. We passed a lot of students on our tour, and everyone stopped to wish us good luck. Also, the extensive hospital system is very impressive. You get to see any and all kinds of cases. One student said she had just seen a patient with some kind of rare disease, that only there were only 40 documented cases of that disease in the world. "
"Jackson Memorial Hospital, the medical students seemed extremely happy, the research opportunities, and diversity of Miami."
"The amazing research opportunities, all the new buildings and recruitment of scientists, and faculty. The fact that the students have so many opportunities to have real patient contact. THE NEW WELLNESS CENTER - it's the kind of place that people pay big money to go to in a major city."
"Beautiful campus, clinical opportunities are second to none. Extensive research opportunities."
"The ''propaganda'' bit of the tour was actually pretty funny and I was interested. The school offers all lectures and stuff online, along with taped classroom lectures you can watch."
"Everthing about the school was positive. The facilities were great, the students were nice and interesting, and the faculty were warm and welcoming."
"It's location is amazing! The medical complex is gigantic, and there are a lot of patients to be seen."
"The growing facilities and the happiness of the students"
"Everything. Miami is incredible, many students live on South Beach and drive to class. Jackson Memorial Hospital is huge and there are incredible chances to have responsibility as a medical school student. The administration was outstanding, and my interviewer was one of the nicest people I have ever met. The students are all very down to earth."
"I LOVED the medical campus. It was really nice. The people were all really nice too, and lunch was incredible. What really made me love the school was how happy the students were."
"Students were happy, funny, and down to earth. So many clinical opportunities, and 1st years start interviewing, taking blood pressures, etc. immediately. Laid-back attitude of adcom & students -- not stressful at all."
"I loved the class size. The students were very warm and intelligent. My interviewer was outstanding. He knew my file inside and out. Because this is the first year in which the clinical years will be spent in Boca Raton, there are great opportunities to take on responsibility, both in the clinical and the pre-clinical years. Boca Raton is beautiful and the campus is literally 5 minutes from the beach. "
"Patient contact, facilities, new dean"
"Friendly faculty/students. Extremely large medical campus, which was really impressive."
"Number of on-campus research and clinical opportunities. Attitudes of admissions staff."
"I interview at the boca campus. Everything is new and nice. Everyone was friendly. A small interview group (6). Breakfast and lunch were provided. BRCH."
"The medical center is located in downtown Miami, not in Coral Gables. So there is always something going on, culturally or medically. There are 7 hospitals at Jackson and it is the 2nd busiest medical center in America, so the amount of clinical exposure you will get is second to none. "
"All of the students were affable and seemed very happy. The school is really trying to expand and improve itself. "
"Students kept saying over and over how happy they were and they all chose UM because everyone else there seemed so happy. They all really seemed to like it."
"I was suprisingly impressed with Miami.....They have top notch research opportunities and are growing at an unbelievable rate. All of the med students were the most down to earth I have ever met. Jackson Memorial is a vibrant hospital with lots of things going on. "
"Dr. Hinkley starts the day with a breakfast so everyone can get together and “break the ice†in advance. He is very adept at easing off the stress. "
"The staff and Dr. Hinkley are VERY nice and cordial. They make you feel right at home."
"The happiness of the students. Hands-down the least stressed, coolest, and most fun loving med students I met in my interviews. Jackson Memorial Hospital, its "inner city" quality. The availability of research opportunities. Hinkley."
"Everything about UM. I definetely change my mind aobut the school, and i would love to be in their class."
"The sheer unmatchable range and profundity of patient diversity available from day 1. Jackson sees sick people from all over Central, Southern FL, the Caribbean, Central America, and often South American countries too. They don't forget to pound in how much clinical opportunity is valued here - and the hustle&bustle of the medical city that is Jackson is a clear testament."
"The number and quality of experiences available at Jackson Memorial Hospital."
"Pretty much everything. I love this school. It became my first choice after my interview day."
"The research faculty and labs are TOP NOTCH for neuroscience, esp paralysis work (Miami Project). The campus is beautiful, the hospital awesome, and the student's attitude as you would expect in a beach town."
"ample clinical opportunities, Mr. Hinkley (he will answer any question and is quite humorous), opportunities for research and other involvement (e.g. medical missions), the Boca Raton campus (in case you want a more quiet place for your first two years), high acceptance rate if you're interviewed (>50%), med students were pretty nice"
"The medical students seemed extremely enthusiastic and generally happy. The gave me a geniune impression of what it's like to attend medical school there and made me feel extremely comfortable during my visit. The weather is nice all year round and the city is beautiful. There is a very unique blend of cultures in the city."
"The students really emphasized that the third and fourth years at Miami are outstanding because of the clinical experiences that are available at Jackson Memorial Hospital"
"Every one is very nice and positive about the school..Especially Dean Hinkley"
"the location, the weather, Jackson Memorial Hospital, the happiness and enthusiasm of the students, that clinical experience starts in the first year"
"The students were not overly competitive and seemed to really enjoy being at Miami. Everyone in the admissions staff was great. The campus is really buzzing with life and during clinical rotations it seems like an awesome place to be."
"The school's enthusiasm for its students, the confidence and competency exuded by the current medical students, the focus upon learning to practice medicine within the community, the way academic socities feature into the education "
"UM is constantly striving for self-improvement."
"The clinical experience at the school is amazing. From week one you are involved with patients."
"The hospitals affiliated with UM are amazing!"
"The resources at Jackson and the tour guide's emphasis on the amount of clinical experience available to students. "
"The enthusiastic attitude of everybody in the school. The students seem very happy to be there. "
"facilities; student body; technology; jackson memorial; too much to list!!!"
"On my dry run to find the site the night before, a student showed me around and spent an hour answering my questions. The school could not have had a better representative. All the students I met seemed very happy."
"Warmth and friendliness of students and staff. Eagerness to grow and evolve their curriculum The numerous projects in the works for the school and the extensive research opportunities available. It sounds like an exciting time for UofM Miller!"
"Early opportunities for great clinical experience and Dr. Hinkley"
"Very enthusiastic students, and a very transparent approach from the admissions department. One of the best lunches around. "
"Miami is a diverse city. Jackson is a bustling place with tons of opportunities for clinical exposure. The students seem relaxed (maybe TOO relaxed!) and seem to like the school. They do a lot of service projects to help the surrounding community (health fairs). Dr. Hinkley and Agnes are both super nice. There are tons of research opportunities available here for students who want to take advantage of them. The FAU satellite campus is really awesome. Right now the FAU students spend their first two years in Boca and the other two in Miami at Jackson, but they will eventually have their own teaching hospital in Boca. I speak Spanish, and this is a very useful thing in Miami."
"really what didn't? UM is amazing! UM has an amazing location, unmatched clinical opportunities, the most team-work oriented educational environment (in terms of students helping students learn, rather than be cut throat competitive... which, by the way, is hard to find in many campuses). Also they're building a new wellness center that will have a new gym. I was also very impressed by the students that came in to talk to us at lunch- they seemed bright, happy to be learning (not depressed by a boring work load), enthusiastic about the way the classes are held with live classes, plus saved online lectures & podcast (lectures in ipod format) supplement, and the academic societies sound really supportive of a student friendly (NON cut throat) environment "
"The weather is nice. The facilities are great. The beach is 10 minutes away. The students don't seem to be very stressed. They all seem to be very happy to be there."
"How nice the admissions staff was. Lunch with current students was a lot more informative and relaxed than the same experience at other schools I have interviewed at."
"The students/staff were so friendly and nice. The clinical experience is awesome!! This is such an excellent school and I am excited that I was accepted here."
"Students, hospital"
"the amount of clinical facilities. all the students I met were great"
"The societies that all students are required to participate in that allows interaction between all students (1st years - 4th years) and the faculty."
"The students with their enthusiasm for the school, facilities, and Miami as a great city. The Academic Societies sounded great, as a great support group for not only academic help but also fun and recreation. I also really liked the Community service Health Fairs that allow the students to travel to underserved areas and act as the primary physician for many poor residents that normally would not receive any care at all."
"The clinical experience is simply unmatched. I came away extremely impressed. Also, the environment is supportive and not "cut-throat." The research opportunities are plentiful."
"Dr. Bookman's talk on the importance of research, Dr. Hinkley was easy-going and made it a fun day"
"The friendliness of the admissions staff and students. how easy-going my interviewer was. All the hospitals associated with the school."
"Admissions staff and students were very welcoming. Tour was good, we saw both the school and the hospital ER. There were many opportunities to ask questions. Excellent hot lunch. The campus was impressive."
"the hospital facilities and motivation that the students have for the school and the program. "
"The atmosphere was very laid back and stress-free, the current students were enthusiastic about being there, Jackson Memorial is an awesome hospital, and the medical school staff were very cordial."
"The great facilities and how happy the student seemed."
"The vast range of clinical and research opportunities & the new technological resources. (I worked at UM Med for many years, so I was already familiar with the campus & the schools offerings before the interview. I believe the school's biggest asset is its relationship with Jackson Memorial Hospital (county hospital) and the Miami VA Hospital. The range of clinical experiences & cases one has the opportunity to see there is truly unparalleled.)"
"the facilities, the researchers and the people (all were so friendly)"
"The medical students were all very enthusiastic and encouraging. The faciities and opportunities are really impressive."
"1. I was impressed by how welcoming, friendly, and efficient the Admissions office was. They were great and really made the interview experience a relaxing and enjoyable time for you to learn about the school. 2. I was impressed by all the hospital systems affilitated with the school, the extent of their capabilities to serve all of South Florida and the international waters around Florida. They get all the major cases from nearby countries. "
"The research and clinical experiences available to the students. Also everyone was so nice and helpful, you can tell the students are close and love their school."
"The school, the facilities, the admissions staff, the medical students, the faculty, my fellow interviewees, the interviewer (a trauma surgeon), basically everything"
"Great clinical experience at Miami (one of the busiest hospitals in the country). It is the gateway for medicine in the Carribean if you are interested in international health. Students all seemed happy and laid back. Lots of money coming into the school right now. School definitely seems like it is continually improving itself."
"I was impressed with how accomodating Dr. Hinkley and his admissions staff were. The students showed alot of dedication and pride toward their school by making themselves available even when they had an anatomy exam. The facilities are wonderful and the curriculum sounds great. I couldn't have asked for a better experience."
"How relaxing the whole day was, how much everyone loved it, no one had anything negative to say except that the traffic was often bad"
"Everyone was genuine and seemed to really love their school. There is a huge opportunity to do research if you are interested. "
"The facilities and the amazingly freindly atmosphere the students enjoy. Not to mention the helpfulness of Dr. Hinkley and the entire admissions staff."
"The number and size of the hospitals associated with the school. All in all a total of seven!!!! We were told "If you haven't seen it here (trauma, disease) it probably doesn't exist." They see a large number of patients brought in from neighboring islands (Haiti, etc). The diversity of the student body and Miami overall provides an opportunity to familiarize yourself with so many different cultures. It's city living blended with awesome tropical weather. It doesn't get any better than this."
"Jackson Hospital, How prepared the students are to become great clinicians."
"very friendly, well run day"
"The attitudes/moods of the faculty and students there. They seemed to enjoy being there, and some of the 1st and 2nd year students came by to show support despite having an exam in the following minutes. "
"relaxed atmosphere, straightforward talks by the dean of admission"
"The wealth of clinical experience available. UM is the second busiest teaching hospital in the United States. Research wise, I was impressed by the faculty currently on staff at UM and their focus on interdisciplinary research efforts. In addition, UM is poised to participate in the MSTP program in the near future. UM also offers societies, groups comprised of 15 students from each year of medical school, that create continuity and a support structure for its members. I think this will be especially helpful for students moving into research after their first two years of medical school and facing a return to clinicals in the future. Finally, during my tour of Jackson Memorial, we actually saw an acute trauma case come in by helicopter. That just re-affirmed the benefit of being at a hospital like Jackson Memorial in terms of available clinical experience."
"-the strength of the neuroscience and immunology programs; degree of organization of the MD/PhD program; volume of clinical cases seen by the hospital etc."
"The lectures are videotaped. If there is anything you want to do research on, just ask and it shall be yours. If you get accepted and want to take a second look, call up the school and you can come down to get more information."
"The facilities are amazing. I saw a trauma patient during the tour."
"The students.. they were so nice and really loved the school, the admissions staff, and the facilities are awesome.. they really do see a wide variety of patients and there is a lot of opportunity to shadow doc's early"
"Relatively relaxed atmosphere. Students seemed to really enjoy going to school at UM."
"I was impressed with the school and the way that medicine was taught there. Student seem to really love their school and wanted you to know that they did. Plus a high percentage of those that interview get in."
"The students are soo happy and so pro-Miami, it was awesome to see how much they loved the school."
"Food"
"Miami is one of the very few schools where you get top training because you see every imaginable illness as well as interact with a wide spectrum of patients and the Jackson Memorial hospital as well as the huge size of the med school impressed me because you are exposed to so much."
"The happiness of students there...also the campus/med school is Goregeous/expansive...after the interview/tour UM went from last resort to first choice by far...it just feels right!"
"The students get alot of responsibility and exposure to patient care early in the program."
"The third and fourth year students are really an integral part of the Jackson staff. They have lots of responsibility and are not just "playing doctor"."
"Friendliness, low stress environment, advanced technology at the school facillities"
"how friendly and happy the students and staff were. They really tried to comfort you and make jokes."
"Students looked very happy and everyone was trying to sell the school in a good way... not that they needed to ... school has a good mix of clinical and research experiences .... and during lunch the students discussed bith psitive and negatives of the school, which was nice for a change."
"The clinical centers are amazing."
"Miami, the students were really nice and seemed very happy, the patient population at Jackson Memorial and the surrounding area"
"The atmosphere at the school was very warm, and welcoming. Dr. Hinkley was great, the interviewer was freindly, the students were very helpful, and seemed very happy. Jackson Memorial Hospital is also very impressive. There might not be another hospital in the nation that gives you the same clinical experience that Jackson does. "
"Everyone was wonderful- very friendly and incredibly positive about the university. Dean Hinkley was very funny and very welcoming. The student lunch was great and very informative. "
"I really liked the atmosphere. The students and admissions faculty are very warm and professional. You could see the good intent behind their efforts to make us comfortable as "visitors of the college of medicine". As with all medical school interviews, they did a WONDERFUL job of selling the school to us <wink> I really like the "non-traditional" additions to the curriculum, the UNBELIEVABLE medical facilities, the focused attention on clinical experience, and their new research successes and opportunities. I also really liked the personal attention that we EACH recieved. Unlike a lot of other schools (who pack in tons of interviewees in one day), there were only twelve (or so) of us. The admissions staff truly made an effort to reach out to each one of us individually. Finally, I really liked the interview! My interviewer was wonderful :) He was very professional and had a great sense of humor. I thoroughly enjoyed sharing my opinion on medical issues with him (he listened well and tried to see things from my perspective) and I liked how he made long clear descriptions of what he wanted me to answer. "
"Being one of the busiest hospitals in the country, Jackson provides UM medical students with an incredibly wide variety of cases. Whatever you want to see, you will see plenty of it there. It also sounded to me like research opportunities were readily available for any students who were interested."
"The students who came up to us and talked about Miami and really seemed to love the school. I was also very impressed with the diversity of the students--not only race/culture but in their personalities as well. The students seemed very laid back and not under too much stress. Jackson medical center is enormous and would offer clinical experiences that far exceed other med schools. Their student societies sound like they foster a strong connection between upperclass/underclass students--but it still sounds like my "teams" in middle school haha. The city of Miami is a definite plus, although it feels too congested at times. The school is very "wired" and allows students to watch lectures from their computer and many use this option instead of attending class (not sure if this is good or bad). It sounded like the administration seeks input from students and actually responds and takes their suggestions seriously. "
"A lot of the medical students drop by to say hi. And the Dean of Admissions is very accessible throughout the day."
"That alsost 3/4 of those interviewed get accepted! Also, lunch wasn't so bad..."
"The enthusiasm and kindness of the staff"
"The extensive clinical training students receive (Jackson 2nd busiest hospital complex), the cohesiveness among medical students (they play competitive sports together and dance salse), my interviewer was the nicest guy, the admissions staff and faculty (Dr. Hinkley and Agnes), and the diverse atmosphere surrounding Miami."
"The WHOLE medical campus is wireless, including the lecture hall! If you can't make it to class, lectures are streamed live on the internet and then stored on the web for access whenever you want. The lecture hall actually has a small television like control room at the back of the room to carry that all out, I didn't expect it to be that high tech. Very nice surprise. The whole UM/Jackson campus was very nice and well maintained, you can really tell that people are proud of their school. "
"The most impressive part of the Miami School of Medicine was the amount of hands-on training you get there and the fact that you start working with patients right away."
"students, weather, faculty who really go out of their way to accomodate students"
"People were all very friendly and the atmosphere was laid-back."
"The clinical opportunities, the med school itself is beautiful, Miami is FUN city, the students seemed laid back"
"The food and the luncheon. The atmosphere was less chaotic than other med student lunches with lots of opportunities for questions/answers. The facilities are great...unparalelled clinical opportuninties are available for the brave:)"
"The entire school was EXTREMELY hooked-up. Everything was computerized; lectures were online within an hour. The students were very happy about being there, and only had good things to say. Additionally, the environment was extremely laid back. There was no pressure, a delicious catered lunch, and lots of socialization. "
"the location, the amazing opportunities at the hospital, the students seemed very happy, early clinical opportunities and chances for experience in overseas clinics"
"The shear volume of patients that are treated every year (they are the busiest single location hospital treating over 1 million patients), their new organ based system curriculum, their state of the art hospital facilities (a patient is able to go from ER to surgery to ICU in a matter of feet; the helipad has the capability to accommodate the weight of a blackhawk helicopter), the consistent high ranking of many of their departments (including the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute) and their connection to cutting edge research (ie, the Lois Pope Life Center, dedicated to finding a cure for paralysis)."
"the clinical experiences you get at UM seem incredible. top-notch eye care facility. the hot lunch. dean hinkely is genuine and friendly."
"The atmosphere was great - My most pleasant interview to date. My interviewer was incredibly relaxed. I was also amazed by Jackson Memorial Hospital - an impressive hospital with tremendous patient population diversity. Dean Hinkley and the rest of the staff were VERY friendly."
"Everything! The students are so genuinely happy at Miami. My interviewer was very laid back and made every effort to make the interview as painless as possible. He just wanted to hear my life story and how it was that I came to choose medicine. The hospital is enormous (which in my opinion is a definite positive) but the faculty and students seemed very close knit. The curriculum changes made a few years ago seemed to have improved the program significantly and the students say they really like the way it is now structured. Dean Hinkley is about as friendly as they come! "
"There's really nothing negative to say about UM. The whole day was put together wonderfully. The day started with random medical students coming in to greet you as well as make you feel at home. Everybody was really cordial and friendly and appeared genuinely interested in getting to know you. Everyone from Dr. Hinkley, the secretaries, and the physician who interviewed me definintely were nice people who were more interested in you having a positve and enjoyable experience at their school. In terms of training and clinical contact, I dont think there is another school that could compare to the extensiveness of clinical exposure or sheer amount of patient contact. As it is one the busiest hospitals in the nation Im sure you will be leaving that medical school well trained and informed. In a nutshell, the whole experience was wonderful, facilities were great and on the cutting edge (with adding new buildings and technology), and probably most importantly, the people there from med students to faculty were 100% top notch in way of friendliness, professionalism, and personalities."
"great clinical experience, fun students, location is great, laid back atmosphere, co-operation between students. Nice focused interview, JMH is a great hospital."
"so much!! first of all, the students at um are great! they were very friendly and they did not look stressed out. secondly, the hospitals offer unsurpassable clinical experiences. you can't ask for better in this quadrant of the u.s. i also thought bookman's speech on research was inspiring and a unique approach from the admission's office. oh, and the food was good too."
"Absolutely everything. The innovative curriculum, superior facilities, Dr. Hinkley, and the immensely helpful students all made my choice of a medical school an easy one."
"The whole experience was very positive. I stayed with two fabulous 2MD students and they introduced me to other students as well as answered a lot of my questions while telling me about the school. The day that UM had planned out was great. They let us have lunch with a mix of med students (1MD-4MD) and no admin people present which was great. Also, my interviewer was extremely knowledgeable about the school and answered my questions very thoroughly. I thought his questions were effective in bringing out important information from me for them to make a good decision."
"Almost everything: interview was low-stress; the people were unbelievably nice ... things could not seem to have gotten better. Everyone else seemed to be happy with their interview experiences also."
"great location in miami; school is on the rise due to a more aggressive approach in taking non-Florida residents, and also, because it's getting mad funding from top-notch eye research and a powerful dean"
"Both Dean Hinkley and the doctor i interviewed with are terrific people, and i would love to go to a school with such great faculty. Also, Jackson Memorial is a fantastic hospital with great opportunities for students. We only had 1 interview during the day, compared to 2 with most other schools. Stress level was low"
"The faculty and staff were all very nice. The students were laid back and happy to be there."
"The medical quadrangle near the school is AMAZING. Jackson memorial is such a behemoth of a hospital, it's overwhelming. In a 3 block radius, there are is a cancer center, eye institute, peds center, spinal cord injury, the list goes on. VERY nice to have everything so close together. Lots of small places to grab a quick bite to eat. The whole area was bustling with people - seemed similar to a NYC block almost!"
"Dr. Hinkley and the admissions office staff are very nice and helpful. Hinkley explains things thoroughly and is very concerned about us having a good experience, understanding everything about the school, etc. The med students were nice and talkative; they were enthusiastic, but not high-strung stress cases. They had great things to say about the school and experiences at Jackson. It was very nice to hear from them about their feelings about the school, housing, living in Miami, volunteer projects, school debt, etc."
"low-stress interview, lunch with students -- the most student contact of any of the schools I have visited, great clinical experience at the hospital -- the busiest in the nation, TALK WITH DR. HINKLEY! (I was very impressed that the Dean of Admissions sat down and talked with us for over an hour), food (the best food of any of the schools I visited -- a hot lunch, which is almost unheard of)"
"Friendliness- everyone seems to be having a great time and to have time to enjoy themselves outside of school. Students are also really involved in the community as well as in health fair outreaches in greater Florida. Also, the administration really seems to care about the students and their opinions about the curriculum."
"I really like the module system that the school has initiated."
"The facilities were amazing. Great teaching philosophy and approach to educating future physicians. Almost unbelievable number of clinical and research opportunities available. Very friendly and outgoing staff/medical students. Diverse patient population. Great lunch!...no boring sandwiches, lunch was turkey, stuffing, and even pie!"
"The students were so friendly and well-rounded. The hospital is all in a central location with dozens of great facilities. Everyone was just so nice and genuinely loves the school that it's infectious."
"I got the impression that the faculty and administration really care about their students. There will be numerous clincal opportunites since Miami sees so many patients. Also the facilities are amazing"
"students had a lot of positive things to say about UM students/staff were open to questions great food too! "
"Students all seem very friendly and positive about the school. Dean Hinkley seemed very open to receiving feedback from us, which impressed me. Great clinical exposure, lots of opportunities for research, seems like everything you can hope to get out of med school is available if you just seek it out. All in all, it struck me as a great place to go to school."
"Everyone was really happy and nice, med students and staff alike. The students were very socialable, many second year students were even planning to go out to South Beach that night."
"The cirriculum, the early patient contact, Jackson's committment to treating the underserved, archived lectures, total wireless at the school. "
"The fact that we had so many medical students at the lunch who were able to provide insight into life at U. of M. Facilities are great and students are really nice and laidback."
"Everything. The students were really nice and approachable and the admissions staff was very welcoming. The Jackson Memorial facilities were very impressive. I also liked that they had a gym for the students to use, which is very convenient. Overall, the entire day was impressive."
"In addition to the world-class facilities, everyone was extremely friendly and enthusiastic about the school."
"Everything: the students, the faculty, the staff, the facilities, the program, right down to the lunch served!"
"GREAT facilities/hospitals; really friendly/satisfied student body; interesting curriculum; Dr.Hinkley (associate dean of admissions) greets and closes the tour, which I was very impressed by (other schools I saw just sent a random staff member to talk about the school)"
"Pretty much everything, my interviewer was a kind and humble man and I enjoyed his conversation. The administrators were friendly, helpful, positive, and engaging. The students seem very happy and seemed more social, outgoing, and cooperative than I would have expected although this was my first interview."
"The size of the complex is awesome, but I was most impressed with the "attitude" or "feeling" of the students. Many random students went out of their way to say hello, offer good luck, or mention that it was a good choice, and that made me feel more comfortable. Dr. Hinkley is a funny and caring man, and very approachable. Agnes, the secretary, is also amazing and very nice."
"The patient interaction and the clinical exposure. As well as the new curriculum sounds awesome."
"The student led tour was excellent allowing me to get a feel for the student body and their opinions concerning the school, professors, and hospital system. In addition, the small number of interviewees allowed for a large amount of individual attention. "
"The students, professors, staff, and the campus were very nice. Miami has an unbelievable program, and it was very impressive. The interview was very relaxed and non-stressful. They go out of their way to make you feel as comfortable as possible. The students were very happy and eager to provide advice and answer any questions. The food was real good too."
"Everyone at UM really went out of their way to welcome the interviewees... even more so than most of the other schools I've visited. The students were extra friendly and helpful."
"Dr.Hinkley was probably the most personable dean I have met in all my interviews (and I've been to a lot). He seemed genuinely interested in getting to know each of us, and was very helpful in answering any questions. The students that were at the lunch and gave the tour were very enthusiastic. The curriculum, facilities, and clinical resources are, of course, amazing. And the lunch was very good compared to the other schools I have interviewed at. Before the visit, Miami wasn't my number one choice - now I think I'll definitely have to reconsider. "
"I loved the business of the whole hospital system. The University of Miami-Jackson Health System is huge. Many say that if you don't see it during your time at Jackson, it doesn't exist."
"Everything, the students were great. The program seems to be making strong attempts to better all of their programs. The school was intent on selling themselves to you. "
"The incredible sense of community and excitement among the students. Everyone I talked to loves it there and people work together, decreasing the sense of competitiveness among peers. "
"I was able to see JMH briefly and how happy the students are"
"The fact that the school tried hard to impress us, not treating us as beggers, but as choosers."
"The campus tour and general overview were very informational and allowed me to have a much deeper understanding of the quality current and future educational programs at the University. The friendly attitude of teh current students and staff provided stress relief. My interview was a positive experience , the questions were done in a professional and clear manner. In general the program was very well organized."
"Pretty much everything. The clinical exposure you can get as a first year is great, Jackson is amazing, the research opportunities are incredible, the weather is great, the students are very friendly, the quality of life seems good there. Since they've implemented changes in the curriculum 2 years ago, when we start school the problems with the new curriculum will have been ironed out. There are a lot of opportunities to work with underserved populations (Health Fair in the Keys, trips to Haiti during the break) "
" First and foremost, as the day began, the secretary put us at ease with some friendly chit-chat. Students continuously strolled in and out in an attempt to make us feel at ease. At my interview, my experience with my interviewer, was a most enjoyable experience. He truly made me feel that I wanted to become a member of the "Miami" family. To top it off, Dr. Hinkley's step by step explanation of the process was extremely helpful. I was also quite impressed with the research opportunities for students, as well as the many opportunities with patients at Jackson. Though Spanish is not required, it is an asset in a city with as large a Spanish speaking population. "
"The students were genuinely happy and did not have anything negative to say about UM. Dr. Hinkley was very kind and made an effort to put the interviewees at ease. I was very impressed with Dr. Hinkley who said he would personally call each interviewee with the results of their application. "
"The day itself was very well organized. Their was a great "pep-talk" from a doctor about the importance of being a doctor and adding something to the body of knowledge (his focus was research, but he did not try to sell Miami in particular). The facilities are impressive. The trauma center is a hospital in itself - it has a triage to redirect patients to the appropriate section of E.R. "
"Clinical facilities, student organizations and the surpringly noncompetitive atmosphere."
"The opportunities for clinical training early on and throughout the four years at Jackson Memorial. It's really quite amazing how much involvement the students have compared with other schools. Beautiful research facilities. Great lunch. Incredibly friendly staff and students. Amicable atmosphere for interviews - they definitely don't conduct stress interviews. I really felt they gave me the opportunity to express who I am as a person and I got the impression that Miami really looks at the whole package and not just numbers. Also the new curriculum - an organ systems-based approach that integrates knowledge as you proceed."
"The food that U. of Miami treat their interviewees to is really good! If you are heading to Miami for an interview, be prepared for a nice lunch."
"I was impressed with my interviewer, he was very thorough and well educated about current events and univ. of Miami. I was also impressed by the genuine happiness and satisfaction of the students. I simply adored Ms. Murphy (she is very capable and professional, and at the same time makes you feel comfortable). I also Liked Dr. (Prof.) Hinkley, he cares and is very knowledgeable about what students go through (as his daughter is also a MD, so he knows the process in and out as a Prof/Dad/adcom member)."
"The campus and facilities are amazing! The staff there was very relaxed and welcoming. The new curriculum seems to be working well. Interviews are not high stress, and the students seem genuinely happy"
"I thought the atmosphere at Miami was awesome...very relaxed and sensitive to student needs. Dr. Hinkley was also great, as was the staff in the Admissions office. Also, the new Lois Pope Center is gorgeous!"
"the clinical facilities"
"Just about everything! UM/JHM is a truly magnificent place to become a physician. The students are very friendly and happy, and the staff is outstanding!"
"The students, faculty, administration are all extremely friendly, open and honest. The students seem like they work hard but also have time to enjoy themselves because of a modified curriculum that decreases lecture time. They only have one single class at a time which can go for just a couple weeks to several weeks. The clinical exposure available at Jackson Memorial is incredible- it is the 2nd busiest hospital in the nation. The students say that you can do more at Jackson as a Med student than a lot of other places, but I think this is true of any public hospital in a diverse urban area. Jackson will see anybody with or without insurance, and it is funded by a half cent sales tax. Miami has a very diverse population- it serves as a gateway into the US from many foreign countries, and the population is 60% Hispanic. There are a lot of opportunities to go on medical trips to countries in the Carribbean and in the Florida Keys. The University now looks favorably upon out of state applicants because it is trying to gain national recognition- (which obviously is good for out of staters "
"The friendliness and candor of the students I met on the tour and at lunch. They are really enthusiastic about their school, more than any other students at schools I've visited this year (6 of them so far). The incredible opportunities of early clinical training and the diversity of clinical training experiences are unmatched."
"Jackson HOspital, the weather, the very happy students"
"the lunch, the anatomy labs (no smell!)"
"Jackson Memorial Hospital is an unbelievable place. There is a real sense of accomplishment all around the school."
"Although the University of Miami is not considered a "top tier" school," I really enjoyed my stay because the people I encountered were extremeley friendly and hospitable. The student hosts I stayed with offered to pick me up from the airport, which was beyond their responsibility. The friendly personalities were evident from the students to the administration. The Dean of Admissions is awesome and he comes across as being an advocate for the students. The administration people are very warm and welcoming as well. I am wondering if the bubbly personalities have any correlation to the sunny weather. Anyhow....a fourth year student gave us a tour and I was amazed by the fact that people stopped and smiled to say hi as we toured Jackson hospital. The capacity of the trama center is impressive and the Jackson ER is unique in that it is separated into different departments. Jackson is such a huge, busy hospital that patients are triaged and then sent to a particlar part of the ER. I think Jackson hospital is full of excellent opportunities to gain direct hands on clinical experience even before you begin your rotations. The University of Miami appears to be an excellent insitution that promotes generating clinically prepared candidates for residency. Apparrently last year was the first year they began admitting out of state residents and in the next few years they hope that as much as 40% of their entering class will be non-Florida residents. I suppose this change is to push the University of Miami towards becoming a nationally recognized institution rather than being only known as a Florida med school. There are lots of things to do in Miami and I really liked the cultural and ethnic diversity of the area. Being a California resident, I would like to ideally remain here, but if I can't, then Miami is just as good except my family wouldn't be near by. "
"This was the first and only interview that actually felt like one. I was asked questions about my character, my reasons for going into medicine, my goals as a practicing physician, how I would deal with ethical issues, etc. It's actually what most students expect on an interview when they are preparing for medical school interviews. It was nice to actually have a conversation that showed that I had some depth as an applicant. That was very impressive."
"Nothing."
"Medical center is awesome- high volume and patients are international and very diverse. Students are well-balanced, and friendly."
"A bit disorganized, caused me a significant amount of stress since I did not get my agenda til a couple days before the interview."
"One of my interviewers was a concierge physician with seeming little ties to the admissions committee and did not seem to take the interview very seriously."
"I'm not sure if I was too nervous to more or less objectively comment on this, but my first interviewer didn't provide me a lot of time to answer some questions and seemed to want to quicklymove on to the next question. I recommend detecting the pace of the interview early on and remembering to enthusiastically but respectfully incorporate what you want them to know about you—what makes you a competitive candidate and just generally the things you love."
"Things were a little disorganized in terms of running over time. But it wasn't a big deal - it all worked out."
"I didn't like how it was only 1 person's impression that decided how my interview went"
"Lunch"
"Buildings were a little old"
"The med school building was definitely aging, although they will be constructing a new one in the next few years."
"The cost of living, the classroom building is pretty old looking on the inside"
"Nothing really, good school."
"We were toured by an MS1. Did not feel like she did her best to "sell" me on the school."
"The one caveat is that students are ranked with a HP/P/F system. At the end of the day though, rank is summed up in a sentence on the dean's letter."
"Traffic/driving in Miami. School facilities seem a bit dated. Cost of living in Miami. Regional campus."
"None to speak of"
"I guess after I went to their other campus they told us that even though you get a TON of clinical exposure in your 4 yrs at Miller, they are such huge teaching hospitals that teh likelihood you will actually DO much isn't that high because there are residents and interns on your teams too.....but still seemed REALLY REALLY impressive, this was a very minor thing, and you can always do away rotations"
"city of Miami"
"They kept trying to fatten me up with delicious au bon pain pastries for breakfast and the lasagne and brownies for lunch :)"
"The interviewer didn't show great interest in the interviews except when given the chance to talk about his own research and experiences."
"The traffic is not great, but that is not anything to do with the school."
"My interviewer was a PhD and had very little in common with me or with anyone pursuing primary care."
"The fact that I'm not attending the school yet."
"Fellow interviewees seemed kinda cold. I guess it doesn't say anything about the school itself."
"He seemed almost disinterested and unhappy with the entire interview process. "
"My interviewer was very intimidating and scary so my interview was not relaxed at all."
"really far from home (i'm from the west coast)"
"Apparently, 95 and humid in October means that it's even hotter in July and August. That might not be fun."
"The students seemed to party a lot and grading is not pass/fail. "
"Not much really."
"not in the best part of town, but you get a good patient population; not the greatest facilities"
"The students seem to like to party. That's a good thing in some respects, but it just came across to me as a bit overkill."
"Huge classes"
"Nothing stuck out as negative."
"Interviewer"
"Old classroom facilities"
"Not much, although I didn't like how I had to miss out of the financial aid presentation because I was in the afternoon interviewing group."
"Unfortunately, interview scheduling conflict caused me to miss a presentation on financial aid that others got to sit for."
"I wasn't able to stay with a host. There are tests the same week, but I am sure one person could have housed me and dropped me off in the morning...is it too much to ask?"
"I honestly can't think of anything."
"The cost of parking seems a little scary, to be honest - but the students I spoke to said that they were working on getting a discount for the students."
"At least half of the patients speak spanish as their primary language"
"Besides seeing a class in session, I didn't see other students in their normal activities. Also, I didn't see the anatomy lab or the simulation center."
"The facilities were older than I expected."
"The inteviewer, an MD/PhD opthamologist, seemed disintersed during the whole interviewer. Not much personality or enthusiasm. He had no idea if bioethics was integrated into the curriculum."
"the cost of living/parking in the area"
"I already knew Jackson is located in a bad area of town, so that didn't bother me at all; and I already knew that traffic in Miami is horrible!"
"There were no negatives, everything was wonderful."
"Everyone I talked to from the school says you don't need to be able to speak spanish, but I don't buy it. The school is in an area where the people seem to use spanish as their first option for communication."
"I wish my interviewer had been a little more familiar with my application, since the interview was open-file."
"The traffic was kinda lousy."
"As the negative post alluded to before, I really think the first two years need a complete overall. Students seem left to learn the basic sciences on their own. Anatomy is poorly taught (1/3 of the students failed this exam), while some of the students didn't seem terribly mature. The step 1 is below average (210 if i recall correctly). I really think they could hold off on the clinical until after xmas break your first year. Ranking amongst your classmates throughout the entirety of your 4 years wasn't too appealing either. "
"N/A"
"my interviewer rarely let me finish my answers."
"1) The interviewer answered his cellphone on a personal, mundane call during my interview. 2) The interviewer was obviously bored by my answers, and spent most of the time looking at the ceiling or picking his nails 3) The interviewer held a crumpled sheet of paper in front of his face and asked me questions he had typed up in a drolling voice. He told me 'these questions are good, don't worry, I ran over them with the head guy, ha ha!' 4) The interviewer assumed things about me because of my background. 5) While I was in the restroom, the campus tour left me. I notified the admissions committee before I left for the restroom that I was leaving to use the restroom and that I'd be right back. The interview was horrible and impersonal. The school seemed to completely ignore their students. Also, all of the 3rd + 4th years told me that basic science training (the first two years) are pretty bad, and that students are left on their own to study for the Step 1's. However, they said that 3rd and 4th year was great because you are exposed to so much in the hospital. To me, this means that Miami is a great place for residency, but not a great place for medical school. The students seemed to be of the ego/snobby/partier type...drawn to Miami because of the South Beach lifestyle. "
"The actual med school facility is kind of outdated, but Jackson makes up for it."
"The Rosentiel Building seemed dated (but I must mention that they have a lot of new and beautiful buildings on this campus)."
"It was the worst day for weather....75 and partly cloudy"
"ridiculous humidity everyone talks about in the summer"
"Miami is so expensive (both the school & the city). Also, they don't have any kind of formalized prep courses for the USMLE"
"It was cold in Miami!!!!!!"
"We didn't get to see the classrooms or the computer labs. I know they were not state of the art, but I still like to see that stuff."
"Miami is a little confusing and I had a tendency to get lost. Plus, really really really expensive."
"I wish we had been given a more extensive tour of the hospital."
"The facilities (lecture halls, labs, etc) are a bit dated, but they still are well kept."
"Do NOT stay at the Days Inn. Seriously. I am not kidding. Cockroaches. No hot water. Wake up call 15 minutes late. I could go on."
"Not much really, just that the area the school is in is not the best part of Miami."
"humidity"
"Nothing really. "
"Not seeing anatomy lab"
"Med school facilities are a little old, but not too bad."
"The population that lives around the medical campus and the traffic."
"Nothing really. I got sweaty when I walked outside."
"While quite a few MD students take part in research, and there are a lot of really cool clinical projects going on, research was not emphasized too much."
"Classrooms a little dingy. They're constructing a new building for that but not for another 5 years."
"Nothing really....."
"Med student facilities are a little dingy. That horrible black-walled workout room!"
"The tour guide...she was kind of boring and she was not able to answer a lot of questions."
"Honestly - this is no one's fault, but the medical school building suffered a lot of damage from the last series of hurricanes. The Office had to close at one point due to flooding! So, they're trying their best to get back on track asap, and I'd say they're doing a great job considering."
"Everything else. Traffic was horrid (ALL students admitted to skipping class because of it), the school is in shambles (wiring is exposed and the facilities are minimally functional at best), my interviewer made a telephone call during the interview after receiving a page, overall profesionalism does not start here until year 3."
"High potential for superficiality."
"the location (Miami is a hectic place if you're not used to it), the costs of the education, some of the facilities could have been more updated"
"Didn't get to see everything during the tour, but I wasn't expecting to, really. The complex is huge and we only had an hour to spend."
"The tour of the hospital and of the classrooms was weak in comparison to the tours of other schools. We barely saw any of the med school - just a classroom and the student lounge."
"I wish the tour covered more"
"the facilites were not as updated as they could be and there were not enough choices for lunch"
"People asked me for "spare change" on the walk from the train station to the Medical building and back. "
"The brevity of the medical school/hospital facilities tour"
"lack of minorities in student body, at least those that spoke with us during the day. not very reflective of Miami's cultural diversity."
"I am not a huge fan of Miami, the city."
"The city of Miami and the area the school is in. I got lost the night before and was scared for my life."
"the only thing a little off was the lack of consensus about certain questions among the students at lunch"
"The location of the school. "
"Our tour was very rushed and I would have liked to have spent more time seeing the facilities."
"Miami is hot. The student who ran the tour walked very fast. It was hard to keep up in heels."
"Facilities were outdated. Some students seemed callous and quite brash in their comments of patients--this could be a biased sample though! The school really could use a medical spanish course considering its pool of students don't necessarily reflect the patient population it is serving, linguistically and culturally. However, we're all here to learn and grow, so there's still hope for positive change."
"Some of the current medical students that I spoke with were really arrogant."
"They should sell what they have to offer at the FAU campus more. That place is awesome. "
"The biggest things that made me uncomfortable here are that the Miami campus is in a horrible area (I felt very unsafe), and the attitude of some of the students on the Miami campus. When I mentioned being interested in FAU, they pretty much all started bashing FAU. These students probably hadn't ever even seen FAU, so I took their opinions with a grain of salt, but it still left a bad impression on me that they would bash their own satellite campus. Also, Miami may be a little TOO laid back for me. I think it's great that the students there don't stress or get competitive, but I was not impressed by some students bragging about how they have never opened a textbook the whole time they were in school, and how they go clubbing every night. Call me crazy, but I think people SHOULD read their textbooks in med school. Finally, I am not that into seeing major trauma, but if that is your thing, you will absolutely love it here."
"parking sounds like it won't be too fun - but there's no parking at the school i'm at now either"
"The tour guide seemed to be running late for something and made me feel like we were runnning around the school and the hospital. Didn't really feel like we had enough time to take everything in. It was very hot."
"nothing. The day was well planned."
"some of the parts of the main building were pretty old. "
"The Gym, it was dark and tiny with what seemed like little Cardio equipment, BUT they are building a huge new facility at the top of a new building for a huge Gym and swimming pool. It should be gorgeous and ready in this coming year."
"Well the main educational building seems a little dated; also, you will have to study in parallel with the curriculum to do extremely well on Step 1. I think though, that the clinicals more then make up for it in matching."
"Tour wasn't as extensive as I would have liked, Wish Dr. Bookman spoke more about research opportunities at the school"
"The gym for the med students is, well, ugly and small. however, they're building a new one that will have a wonderful view of downtown."
"We didn't have a chance to see gross anatomy labs."
"I had no negative impressions whatsoever."
"Traffic!!!"
"The cost of tuition--it simply keeps going up, & up, & up.... Given that Miami is an expensive city to live in already, & that the amount of federal loans is limited, it is hard to imagine how one might find the money to pay for school & living expenses."
"Traffic"
"Nothing really... everything is very expensive, but I knew that going into the interview."
"A bit more expensive than a state school, however, I believe Miami is worth it."
"Need a car and parking is a problem. "
"Downtown Miami is a little scary if you aren't from a big city, however the school does provide security at the main medical school building and the students said that security guards are available 24/7 to escort you to your car."
"It wasn't a big deal, but the Dean who usually speaks during the interview day was out of town. "
"Traffic is bad.. but what can you do?"
"The grading system (it seems like a fake pass-fail)"
"nothing..everything was great"
"The students compared themselves to other students in other schools, and from what I understand, they are not too focused on the academic and on the sciences, but mostly on the clinical aspect."
"nothing really"
"The most negative part of experience was actually my medical school interview. Although my MD/PhD interviews were thoroughly enjoyable, leading into interesting research and personal discussions, my medical school interviewer seemed stand-offish and was very hard to read. "
"-fact that financial support during medical school is not a given following acceptance. Students have to be selected for a "Dean's Scholarship" to receive a stipend during the medical training, although the tuition for medical and graduate school is covered and a stipend is provided during one's graduate years."
"Miami is a cool city, but the traffic is terrible. Driving 30 miles on the interstate took 90 minutes on the morning of my interview. A lot of people couldn't answer simple questions about elective courses and specialty tracks other than research. While students have a lot of Hispanic patients, UM does not offer a course in medical Spanish."
"Miami traffic"
"The traffic.. leave early if you are driving! "
"The housing situation for students down in Miami is not very good."
"Not in the nicest area of town, but not much that you can do about that. Plus we did not here about any finacial aid stuff because those people were gone."
"The quality of the interview. My interviewer genuinely did not care at all about me, nor did he express an interest to get to know me. He was extremely combative, questioning everything I had to say. He made absolutely no eye contact, interrupted me at every chance, and scribbled numbers in the middle of my response. Very unprofessional in comparison to other previous interviews."
"To be absolutely honest there was nothing about the medical school that negatively impressed me. The traffic is pretty bad and the location of the school in the inner city is not great, but that's why you get the exposure you do."
"They don't offer much scholarship money."
"Wanted to stay with a student but that never got worked out to where I could."
"Long day and interview was not till the end of the day. Had an hour of nothing to do becuase of scheduling problems"
"My interviewer didn't really give me any kinda feedback as to how I was doing. He was pretty much poker faced. "
"I didn't experience it but I heard that Miami's traffic is horrible.. but I knew that going into the interview"
"Its hot."
"the area that the medical school is definitely not the nicest part of town"
"my interivewer"
"Nothing- I was just overall very impressed with the school. "
"The tuition.... really, really expensive! The tour was nice... but our student guide didn't talk loud enough! He walked ahead of the group and talked facing forward.... none of us could understand his soft-spoken explanations. We just enjoyed the view :) "
"Nothing about the school; only the Miami area. One of the students at lunch noted that some people forget that Miami is a big city like any other, and Jackson Memorial Hospital is right in the middle of it. I could very easily get used to it, though."
"Miami is expensive for both in-state and out of state students--but i'd say its worth it for the clinical education and opportunities aviable at such a large medical center. I think the FAU campus is a downside unless you really wanted to be in Boca instead of Miami(but would only be for two years). FAU students have to drive down to Miami for meetings/events ect, and it sounds like they miss out on a lot of the clinical stuff that jackson offers--but the academics and coursework at FAU sound on par with the miami campus. Students claim you dont HAVE to know spanish--but their stories made it sound like you either know spanish before or you learn a medical version of it very quickly."
"The smell next to one of the buildings. I heard there was a shipment of pigs that morning."
"Being from UM I had heard the spiel a million times about the school and having to listen to it again was not my favorite thing...."
"The surrounding areas of Jackson are less than desireable"
"The price of tuition. But it's worth the money based on reputation and location alone! "
"I found out from one of the med students that UM's grading system actually uses numbers and pass/fail together. So unlike most med schools and their straight pass/fail/honors systems, UM records your numerical average for a course on your transcript as well as whether that number was good enough to pass or fail that certain class. For example, your final grade in Pathology may be recorded as something like this: P/85. I personally think this will just make the class more competitive but its supposed to help the students land good residencies because it shows how much they truly learned. "
"My interviewer seemed rushed and didn't spend the full hour I thought he would with me."
"days inn--DO NOT STAY AT THIS HOTEL :)"
"Traffic; students talked about Emory as one of the best residency matches and since I was already accepted there for undergrad med school...; expensive school; lunch didn't have any vegetarian options."
"Plan for traffic if you are driving to the interview. Miami is a busy place!"
"The guy who lead the tour didn't show us the nitty gritty -- for example, we got to see the door of the emergency room.... a room full of students waiting for a class... stuff like that!"
"It was very hot in the building, I felt very hot and uncomfortable in my suit."
"some long and dumb talk about our "personal relationship" with the existing body of medical knowledge or something like that. i guess it was supposed to encourage us to do research, but it just irritated me. the students seemed boring and uptight. my interviewer kept saying "uh-huh, yeah, uh-huh" and knodding her head furiously while i was answering questions. i wonder if she was even listening to me..."
"The students- during our lunch, when we had a chance to talk to students, some didn't seem too excited to share their experiences. Also, the classrooms and labs weren't very impressive - kinda old. But the hospital definitely makes up for any lack there."
"absolutely nothing"
"I have to say that there aren't many negative things to say about the school. I know it sounds wierd and after reading the so many other student experiences about how great this place was, etc. etc., I have to hop on the band wagon and truthfully tell you that this place is incredible and I just hope I get in! However, if I must think of anything negative, it would be having to wait until early March before finding out the outcome!"
"Everywhere I turned there was a subliminal put down of UF. Someone actually said, we teach to be good doctors, not just to take tests (referring to UF's bettr board scores). They care more about proof of Florida residency than UF because they get money for every Florida resident. They just committed to getting more out of state students (30 out of a class of 160 up from like 10). This bugs me and they need to change their philosophy if they want to be a top med school. It just seems that they have all these resources but don't use them to the fullest. Eg. they went on about this great electronic application process they have that lets them all vote quickly on your application and then told us how we should not expect to hear any time before March. (2 mons. after interview)"
"rosentiel (the building where the admissions office and classrooms are located) is a total maze and is pretty old. "
"The only disappointing part of my interview was boarding my return flight!"
"the total cost of attending school there (esp. if you're out of state); but, the financial aid information definitely resolved many of those issues."
"although there are many intelligent people there, it could be due to the weather, but i met a few flakes. my interviewer was a combative machine. didnt care about anything but research. another fellow interviewee also had a bad experience. "
"I know what previous feedback says, but take it from me. It's ok to STAY at the days inn hotel, just don't EAT there. Got it?"
"None"
"Some of the facilities were a little dated. For instance, there were these ugly wires that ran the length of the ceiling in some places. I didn't like the fact that there are no actual slides to look at during histology. "
"The worst thing about the day was walking around in the heat in a suit, getting sweaty right before the interview. (It would be nice if the interview invite specified business casual dress to make the interviewees more comfortable...) I also would have liked a more extensive tour of campus and Jackson...we just peaked in the ER. "
"the humidity in Miami! I loved the school, but I don't know if I can handle the heat and humidity. If those things don't bother you, I definitely recommend checking out Miami, because it is an excellent school, and all of the students seem very happy there."
"Some of the facilities are a little old, but they're really turning most of the main building into rooms for small-group learning and other rooms for medical education. The new curriculum is still a little shaky but people seem excited about it."
"The student tour was very unprofessional. We are walking around in suits and they were wearing shorts and a t-shirt."
"I tried to be as critical as I could when evaluating the school, but I honestly did not find any major faults with the program, facilities, or school in general. Now, the Days Inn across the street...that was a different story! Oh, cab fares are on the high side too (20 cents per 1/11 mile), so have cash avail if you wanna check out South Beach and town while you are there."
"Nothing about the school, but do NOT stay at the days inn, it was awful. The rooms aren't bad and it was nice to just walk to campus, but the service is awful and you may have a really hard time actually getting an iron if you need one."
"Honestly, not much. The school is not in the best area, but that shouldn't be surprising. There's a small free weights gym for students to use, but otherwise no rec facilities available unless you go to the undergrad campus in Coral Gables."
"Some of facilities seemed kind of old and in need of attention. "
"Coming from NYC, the student body didn't seem very diverse. "
"Parking is 60/month, and there isn't a lot of it."
"Nothing."
"The commute to school can be long depending on where students choose to live."
"Absolutely nothing. The school and students are amazing. "
"heard it's hard to get parking near the school"
"The humidity, but I could easily get used to it. I'm spoiled with CA weather."
"I am most concerned with safety and overwheming size of the city. That will be a difficult transition, and the hospital isn't the Ritz Carlton, but would provide outstanding clinic exposure (which you get first semester). Also be prepared for sweltering heat. It is hotter than Hades."
"The price of living in Miami. It is pretty expensive."
"nothing"
"The traffic is horrible. The day (Sunday) before the interview, it took me 15 minutes to get to campus. It took me an hour to get campus for the interview."
"It was hard to find parking, but this seems like a trend at most schools!"
"There weren't too many negative things - yes, it is in a bad area, but what major hospital isn't? The guy that came in to talk about research went a little off topic - I felt as if I was already listening to a lecture in med school. "
"The area/location of the campus, but since you had to realize that many great medical schools are in bad areas. It can't be helped given the proximity to these major hospitals."
"SOme issues with the safety around the hospital complex."
"Nothing! "
"The Days Inn which is the closest hotel to the medical campus, so it is generally the one interviewees would stay at"
"students admitted that they are not THAT friendly, even though are friendly enough?"
"everything was positive"
"Nothing, really. "
"Parking is pretty bad (not just the school but also within the Miami area). "
"The cost - as an out of state student, this may be as much as $60K/year including living expenses."
"Lack of a tour of Jackson Memorial Medical Center. There was a student tour but we got outside the first building and ran out of time and went back inside for lunch."
"Lack of interest in research/advancing scientific knowledge amongst many of the students. I think this will change as Miami becomes more of a nationally recognized school. That said, they do have quite a lot of funding and amazing facilities and interesting research going on. It may just have been the students I spoke with."
"Can't think of one at the top of my head."
"The weather, but it is a small price to pay as the campus, people are gorgeous."
"the cost of tuition and living expenses in Miami"
"The Florida humidity..."
"parking is a hassle"
"The parking cost. $60 per month."
"but I sensed a small amount of surprise from Miami students when I said I was out of state- a common response was that they were surprised because there are very few places for Florida residents as it is in Florida schools.- (But really I can't do anything about that) There really wasn't any thing very negative about the whole experience, I got the impression that there was very little in the way of research available there, but I'm more interested in the clinical opportunities, so it is fine with me."
"The traffic in Miami. The student who housed me the night before leaves for school an hour before his classes start."
"the diversity of the students...no real diversity (90% Caucasians)"
"The labs and classrooms, students didn't seem as happy as students at other schools"
"The Rosensteil building could use a face-lift."
"The humidity bothered me a bit and the sporadic momentary showers were annoying, but I think I could get used to it. Everything in Miami is air conditioned anyhow."
"The student tour. It was terrible. It was not very informative, and it seemed to be very last minute. I was not impressed at all with the perception of the school that I got, but fortunately, I had many other opportunities to view the school in a positive light. However, had that been my first and only impression of UM, I might have been very put off."
"The students do not seem to be happy. They only seem to be there because they really want to become doctors and were not accepted anywhere else or because it is close to home. The school is very overpriced. The staff, except for the secretary are all gnomes from the Inferno. Hinkley. He manages to distort every piece of statistic on the school to disguise its impending decline. I was very unimpressed with every facet of this institution, even though it is my alma mater. Very disgusted. "
"high tuition and few out-of-state applicants/students"
"That it's pretty chill and conversational. The stress level was pretty low."
"There are large empty space time on the interview day"
"I wish I would have known how to more concisely/effectively in a given a short period of time respond to a question. Just because one of my interviews felt fast-paced."
"to bring bug spray! Got so many mosquito bites hanging out on campus/in Miami."
"How many scenario based questions they would have"
"That it would be very laid back/conversational"
"My interviewer's style was unique. He liked to cut me off and I got used to it after about 20 minutes. I learned to give conciser answers and to anticipate lots of follow up questions. It was a little jarring at first, but I just realized that it's just his style of interviewing."
"That the interview does NOT take place on the Coral Gables campus. Mapquest more than 24 hour before your interview. ACCOUNT for traffic."
"They give a light breakfast which is nice in addition to the lunch. Coffee will be provided."
"Miami/South Beach takes their parking meters VERY seriously. Don't skimp, lest you get parking tickets. They are vultures."
"that the residency process is just like applying to med school.....sigh. but honestly, not much.....be careful ordering a cab, i would order it WAY ahead of time"
"it's very laid back."
"I thought the interview would have been more conversational and not a quiz on my file. I should have thouroughly re-read my app cuz she asked detailed questions."
"That my interviewer would not ask the usual "why medicine", "why this school" type questions."
"If you apply to both the MD-MPH and the MD program you still have just one interview, but you have two days of touring."
"I was going to get a PhD and not an MD for an interviewer."
"That there would be no coffee in or near the presentation room (first thing in the morning). "
"I wish I had known that my interviewer was going to be dismissive. "
"The exact location of the meeting place for the morning and that it is possible to get an interviewer who tries to intimidate you...just remain confident, positive, and calm, no matter what they ask or say."
"How much I would like it"
"Not an NIH-funded program."
"That Miami traffic is bad anytime of the day"
"How awesome the school is. I don't think their website does the school justice."
"that the metro rail takes you right to the campus!"
"It is a lot easier to get to than you'd think if you're not from Miami."
"Most students at UM are Florida residents."
"My interview was very "what if" oriented. Basically, every question was hypothetical. But, that's not to say that my interviewer was mean/rude/etc. He was very soft spoken and respectful, but it seemed like he had to ask the questions he did."
"once interviewed and decision made, adcom will not re-vote on file even after sending in updates."
"That everyone is so laid back and there really was no reason to be nervous."
"The atmosphere is anything but intimidating... although it could also be a tactic they use to get you too comfortable."
"How amazing the medical campus really is. The buildings and centers all look great and the diversity of the city is far beyond what i imagined. Granted I want to go into international health so that really appeals to me, but I really loved the feel of the place...I wasn't sure if I would like it going in to the interview"
"The hotel across the street is really dingy. It is definitely worth your while to get a student host to take you in."
"How to maneuver in Miami traffic - haha"
"The thing about spanish."
"1 hr-long interviews aren't long at all. Time passed quickly when the interviewer just carried a friendly conversation with me. The interview was not very stressful, but I was nervous because it was my first interview."
"I wish I had known who I was interviewing with in advance. I interviewed with a very important person and was really nervous when I found this out the morning of. "
"Even though I live here, I was still surprised by how hot it was walking around the campus in a wool suit (even during a cold front). Also, based on the other responses on this site, I expected a few health care questions, but I didn't get a single one."
"The traffic is horrible."
"Your society is more than a mere social network. 3rd and 4th years are the ones teaching your basic clinical skills. You take exams with your society in the individual lab rooms, not as collective class. The students are huge on ping pong."
"How nice and calm I should be as everyone was very welcoming. "
"How big the Jackson memorial is and how much patient contact you get at this school"
"A lot of the students have a lot of money, and so tend to live on South Beach or in these beautiful apartments downtown. Some of the bars don't charge the medical students cover? The medical school and hospital is in a bad area. "
"That I wouldn't be interviewing until 1:00 p.m."
"I can't think of anything right now"
"how amazing miami is and to spend more time in south beach"
"That it was going to be cold"
"Nothing really. I was pleasantly surprised and I think that made the day all the more wonderful :)"
"i should have practiced my spanish a little more. No one in miami seemed to be speaking ingles."
"That it would be so expensive."
"I was aware of the amount of volume of patient traffic at the hospitals, research at the various centers, and community outreach programs, but I must have underestimated just how extensive it really is. Upon, visiting, I was not only impressed, but encouraged about the amount of opportunities available to medical students. "
"Parking is really expensive--student hosts are incredible and very helpful."
"That housing costs are actually somewhat reasonable (relative to other big cities)."
"I wish I would have known how amazing the school would be!"
"I never realized that the hospitals in Boca do not currently have residents (i.e. the hospitals are not yet "teaching hospitals")."
"Nothing, I feel like I had ample preparation."
"To stay with students"
"That the building where the interviews were held (Rosenstiel) has a different name written on it on the side facing the expressway."
"Be relaxed."
"Students get clinical experience from day one."
"You may think that if the drive would take you 33 minutes with no traffic you could just add an hour and a half to that and be fine but...you'd be wrong. Also, admissions will tell you spanish isn't necessary but med students said YOU'LL NEED IT!"
"Relax. That I was going to like this school so much "
"How great the Boca campus is. "
"How horrible traffic is on the way down to the campus. I got there in the nick of time. And how much I want to be accepted here."
"The cost of the parking"
"How bad rush hour traffic can be in Miami, leaving or entering, in the morning or the afternoon. It's atrocious, and many med-students told me they biked to school quite often because of it, or sometimes even skipped class and went to Starbucks with headphones to listen to livecast lecture from the comfort of their laptops and lattes. :)"
"It will take you 2 hours to drive less than 30 miles on weekdays. I could have biked there faster."
"How expensive it is to go there. "
"They accept 68% of interviewees."
"parking and driving in Miami can be crazy"
"Make sure to leave extra time for breakfast in the morning."
"The interview is a lot more relaxed than I could have imagined, and there is over a 50% chance of getting accepted if you interview."
"The name of my particular interviewer (not provided by school ahead of time)"
"The Days Inn across the street is very close, but it is built almost ON the highway. It is very noisy, service is bad, and you cannot expect to get a good night's sleep unless u are a very heavy sleeper."
"How bad people in Miami drive!"
"nothing really"
"Who my interviewer would be."
"That once offered an interview, you have a 75 percent chance of being offered an acceptance. "
"How fantastic the FAU campus is. They don't talk about it much during the interview day. You'll have to make your own arrangements if you want to see it for yourself."
"How long it would take me to get there. I overestimated and ended up being in the admissions office over an hour early."
"SDN prepared me very well for what to expect. Just know that you are going to sweat on the tour, unless your interview is in December or on, Florida's best months!"
"That everyone was so nice! I was a bit nervous prior to the whole experience, but that was unnecessary."
"It's Miami, you sweat outside"
"nothing, really. I work on campus, so I was very familiar with the school. I wish I would have known how stress free it was going to be- it would've saved me a lot of pre-interview jitters."
"you should know about everything because anything is a fair question."
"I wish I would have known far enough in advance that we can be hosted overnight by a current medical school student before the interview."
"Was not surprised with anything."
"Nothing. (But as I mentioned previously, I worked at the school for years. If I hadn't, I'd want to know the following: (1) it's usually *very* hot, so don't wear a suit that you'll sweat to death in; (2) do *not* stay near the medical campus (i.e. the Days Inn) as it will give you a bad impression of Miami. a good choice would be to stay at the Dadeland Marriott or a hotel on Brickell so that you can take the MetroRail to campus (that way you don't have to rent a car) & have a postive experience of Miami; (3) wear comfortable shoes--the campus is *huge* & the tour involves a lot of walking; (4) if you choose to drive to your interview, give yourself a *lot* of time to get there--Miami traffic is horrible & parking at the medical center is not great, either. also, do yourself a favor and print directions off the internet so that you don't get lost.)"
"how amazing the Miami Project is."
"How big and nice the University of Miami Med school's healthcare system is. I didn't realize the school had so many places within that one area to train their physicians."
"Need a car if you will go here. "
"They don't have much for breakfast- I wish I would've eaten ahead of time."
"Not much"
"To eat breakfast. They did not have much in the morning compared to other schools."
"I was pretty well informed, thanks to Ochatt about what was going to happen. "
"That the medical school (non MD/PhD)interview was with only one person. Personally, I would have felt more comfortable having more than one person judge me."
"With the exception of the issue of financial support during one's medical school years, I felt as though I prepared myself adequately for the interview day. "
"Everything is so expensive. A parking decal costs $600-$700 a year!"
"-"
"Nada"
"The amazing statistics on Jackson Memorial Medical Center- the amount of patients they see a year, the great facilities, and the rarity of the cases."
"I already knew the staff and students would be helpful and friendly and they exceeded my expectations. I have to give a tip to wear comfortable shoes because it is a big campus!"
"They don't have a solid MPH program."
"The ridiculous cost of attendance there"
"Curriculum is Pass/Fail but the transcript will still show your score with class averages on there for each class. And you will need a car to stay in miami... there is good public transportation but still "
"That a large number of the those interviewed are accepted! Woohooo.... we made it past the thin part of the admissions funnel :) "
"The the medical school and the law school at UM compete each year in sporting/fun events for what they call the "Dean's Cup." What a great idea!"
"Stay at the Days Inn--its no Hilton but you can walk to your interview, its inexpensive, and you wont have to worry about parking--no alarm clocks in the room though. We were told that the FAU campus was set up because FAU wants to develope a med school there in the future and it sounded like the Miami students are being "donated" to get things set up for the program. I think approx 3/4 of those interviewed are accepted--so being invited for an interview is huge."
"The interviewer doesn't see your mcat score unless someone has written about it in the letters...this is so that they dont get an impression about you based on it --it already counts as one part of their formula and they don't want it "leaking" over to the interview score as well."
"How a short walk to the admissions office made me sweat? I arrived super early and sat down in the office. Little did I know that my interviewer was sitting next to me. We started talking and he told me that he was my interviewer. I was so relieved because he was such a nice guy and at that point I knew that I was going to have a great interview! Lesson learned: arrrive early and be nice to everyone you encounter along the way. You never know. "
"I found out from my interviewer that the admissions committee REALLY likes to see that you've shadowed a physician. My interviewer said that it shows dedication to the study of medicine. If you haven't shadowed anyone and your interview is still some time in the future, try to find a doctor to shadow, even if only for one day. This seemed to be very important, if you've volunteered at a clinic/hospital, they still want you to shadow someone. If you haven't shadowed anyone and your interview is tomorrow, dont worry. My clinical experiences were limited to having been a volunteer, I hadn't shadowed anyone and I still got accepted a few weeks later. Its just that it seems like a major point to them so if you still have time to do it, do it. After my interview, I just felt that not having shadowed was the biggest negative on my application. "
"That you do a lot of walking on the tour so do not wear high heels."
"days inn"
"Nothing."
"Although the surroundng neighborhood is a little dangerous, I was pleasantly surprised by the hospital and facilities...they were really nice! There are a lot of clinical research and international health opportunities. The students seem genuinely happy and like each other."
"Get a good map of the Miami highway system:)"
"Do not wear black. Everyone wears black. Stand out!"
"I did not know about their satellite facility in Boca Raton which began last year with an inaugural class of 16 students. They will have a class of 32 this year. The facility is new, integrates modern technology and promises to provide an identical medical school education as Miami for the first two years. Students will complete their third and fourth years at the Miami campus."
"Students live all over the place - and Miami traffic isn't the most enjoyable experience."
"Miami traffic is pretty bad."
"How friendly and laid back everyone is. Compared to my other interview, everyone seemed so happy and friendly. At the other school I couldn't see myself realistically "hanging" with those students, but at UM - they are definitely my type of people and I can definitely see myself forming good friendships there."
"nothing new"
"impressive faculty accomplishments"
"That Miami is SO HOT! (I live in FL and it still amazed me at what temp it could be in December)"
"That UM would become my top-choice school after the experience."
"I found out at the last moment that no med students would let me stay with them, so that was a bummer because i had to get a hotel. "
"That it was going to be a nice and laid back interview."
"I wished I'd read up more on the new curriculum they have there. It really seems like a great direction to go in. I liked the idea that you learn about medicine on a organ by ogran basis rather than doing anatomy for everythig first, then the phys, the the patho a year later. This new curriculum seems to cover everything about a specific organ at once. Students seemed to like it better!"
"I would recommend staying with a student. I didn't and I think I would have gotten a better feel for the school and students if I had. If you stay at a hotel, ask about parking availability and cost. Bring plenty of money for cabs. "
"That I would be walking around in a wool suit in 90% humidity. "
"The grading system is a combo of pass/fail and numerical grading, both of which appear on your transcript. "
"The recommended hotel to stay at, Days Inn, is terrible! That it really would be a relatively stress free day!"
"Do not go to the days inn!!"
"Apparently the traffic in Miami is even worse than the traffic in California. Who knew?"
"The Days Inn: not so hot. Stay with a Med student if you can."
"That getting a interview is a big big deal; of the 1,000 or so secondaries submitted, ~320 are interviewed and ~250 are offered acceptances. Pretty good odds I'd say"
"how unique/amazing it is to work at jackson memorial hospital, where you apparently see so many varied cases "
"Just that the school hopes to have 50% of its class from out of state within the next few years. I also did not know that the President of the University is Donna Shalala (spelling may be wrong)!"
"Prepare yourself by studying the area, I was completely lost. Forget about parking, and leave EARLY so that you find it OK. Try to arrive at 8:15, any earlier and they may not let you in the door (security stopped me)."
"I read about a lot of things that would've been surprises on this website. Therefore, I felt comfortable and well-prepared. "
"How bad Miami's traffic is."
"How massive the Jackson Memorial Complex is! I knew it was big, but wow! Everything that you would need to have a great medical school experience is right there!"
"I basically live there already so I'm not the best person to ask."
"Parking can be a problem. Make sure you know where you're going."
"It was cold that day!"
"How spread out the city of Miami is. I have been there before but never really knew just how far away places could be from the campus. "
"parking sucks"
"How laid back the interview is. I was expecting to get grilled (my last couple were like that)."
"How cold the weather would be that day. It was freezing!"
"They interview only 250 applicants for 150 positions - getting an interview is a huge deal!!!"
"If you want to see a better side of Miami, stay on North Miami Beach. It is not expensive and the traffic on the way in isn't that bad. The area around the campus is not a great area."
"I knew Jackson was the second largest hospital, but I really did not realize how many incredible clinical opportunities exist there. "
"The amount of research that goes on at the U. of Miami. They have a lot of buildings dedicated just for research."
"I wish I had visited Camelia's house as that is something I would love to do ... and just so that I do not forget it I will keep it in my diary."
"It is very hot in Miami! (even in December!)"
"Of those interviewed, roughly 2/3 are accepted..."
"nothing"
"Nothing. The place was everything that I expected, and then some."
"That wearing a suit and pantyhose in 80 degree Miami weather can be an ugly experience. "
"How relaxed, friendly, and informal the experience was. I was prepared for an experience like I had at other schools. I just had a good, positive visit at UM."
"I am still confused about the grading system...the first years are confused too...pass/fail or grades??"
"They don't validate your parking slip!"
"N/A"
"Why did I apply here????"
"I think this is a great school, I love everything about it. currently my No. 1. I think this is where I'm going."
"Great school in a great location for clinical opportunities!"
"Relax, and get ready to answer hypothetical questions while connecting it back to yourself and your app. Don't sound too rehearsed. Be genuine."
"Great school but campus is a little dated. They are breaking ground on a new Med building so there's that."
"I liked my interviewer - kept me on my toes. Great school - didn't like the high cost of living in Miami."
"I still really like the school, but I did not feel like they did a great job of convincing me of why I should choose them over another school. There are many perks to going to school in Miami (and at the UMMSM at that), but in comparison to other schools, I felt pretty "foreign" on campus (if that makes sense). I had a harder time picturing myself there...just felt a bit disconnected. The interview day made me feel like I was just going through the motions."
"Overall a great school, with a fantastic clinical experience. Lifestyle is second to none, though you get what you pay for. MD/MPH candidates benefit from 1 on 1 interactions with preceptors and faculty during clerkships at the regional campus, but the regional campus is kind of in the middle of nowhere, so you might lose out on the craziness and diversity that highlight the UM main campus clinical years."
"Solid school with a very happy, kind student body and dedicated admissions staff. I really like this school!"
"great school"
"Great school, everyone is friendly, in a diverse, underserved patient setting"
"nothing on ethics, nothing on health reforms..."
"I enjoyed. Admissions really wants to make a good impression."
"The interviewer showed very little of his impression of the student so it is hard to judge your own performance once it is over."
"I really want to attend UM. The school is amazing, the students were nice and intelligent, and I cannot believe I left an interview happier than I was to begin with."
"The various parts of the interview day are spread all over campus. Presentation is in research building, admissions office in another, and interview itself in yet another. "
"Look, my application is not out of this world and there are specific things that I'm missing. This guy made these deficiencies evident (which is mildly considerate), but he did it in a way that was standoffish and dismissive. I felt almost belittled and that I was being put on trial. He even asked about other schools I had applied to and if I had any acceptances. He autonomously switched between interviewer and guidance counselor and I wasn't sure what was going to be discussed with the adcomm and what was going to stay between him and I. I almost feel like this was a tactic to get me to reveal private information (which I did), and I'm not altogether comfortable with that. Basically, this guy was probably a deviation from the mean, but it's worth noting that there's a fair chance that another applicant could have this experience. By all means, he was very honest about my application and the admissions process, I'm just a little suspect of his motives and overall demeanor."
"I heard a few others say they had tough interviews. My interviewer clearly wanted to try to challenge me and ask the hard questions, but did it in a very nice manner. It seemed like he wasn't trying to trip me up as much as to give me an opportunity to impress him."
"It is possible to be accepted with a scary/very tough interview. Just be positive an confident. This school is awesome! I didn't let a tough interview bring me down. My impression of the school didn't change much because I've been involved with the campus throughout college so I know it pretty well."
"Awesome, my top choice so far"
"Don't use USNews rankings to decide your school. "
"Interviewing at this school was a dream come through"
"I was blown away by UM and would be very excited to attend school there."
"The school was fabulous, but I did not have a good interview experience. "
"loved everything i experienced, would love to go there!"
"I could see myself really enjoying Miami and the Florida weather in general, I am just not sure how I feel about UM. Does UM have the prestige or respect that you need when aplying to residency? how do UM grads place for residency? Everyone at UM loved it."
"Overall, I like the school."
"Awesome school, loved it, top choice. very relaxed interview day, welcoming students. even though had some very rough questions, still got the feeling that the adcom member was really trying to get to know me to present me in a positive light to the full committee. Got the feeling he really wanted to be on my side."
"Great program, early exposure to clinical side of medicine, great research opportunities, and ofcourse Jackson is a great place to learn."
"I was extremely impressed with my experience here. Students were friendly and outgoing and there is a strong sense of community and camaraderie among the class. Students cited low levels of competition and noted how they help each other to do better. Next, great clinical opportunities. Jackson is huge and you will see a lot. When asked about the schools weakness, students said it is not a place to be if you need your hand held throughout your four years. You must be motivated to learn and pursue opportunities on your own. If you want them, the opportunities are there. Miami is great (but not for everyone). Overall, I was left with a strong affinity for the program and would be reluctant to leave Miami if offered admission."
"Relaxed, comfortable, down-to-earth"
"Overall, it was good. My interviewer had obviously read my personal statement and secondary essay responses closely, so it made me feel like he actually cared. The interview was mainly just to get to know me, no real curveballs."
"Dr. Hinkley opens with a presentation at 9 AM introducing you to the facilities on campus and going over some admissions statistics. He is friendly and inviting, and you can feel free to ask him just about anything. After his presentation, Dr. Bookman, who heads up the MD/PhD program, presents for 30 minutes on his interpretation of medicine as humanity's single biggest accomplishment. Afterwords, students either have an interview or go on a tour of the facilities. At noon, a very nice buffet lunch is served and six or eight med students join you to answer any off the record questions you may have. Then, afternoon interviews are up and those who did not tour earlier do so at this point. After all is said and done, Dr. Hinkley closes with some remarks about when to expect the decision regarding your application and he would like to know your impressions of the day."
"Very non-stress interview. I felt like it was a conversation peppered with the usual, to be expected, interview q's (Tell me about your research. Why medicine now? Family? Where are you in 10yrs? Strengths/weaknesses? etc). I heard a couple other candidates talking about their interviews: one talked heavily about health care, another mentioned a lot of ethical situations. So it's sorta luck of the draw on who you get and what direction they take you. But I think everyone would still say, no matter what the focus, that the interview was conversational and not confrontational. Watch out future candidates, Dr. Hinkley hinted about a ''behavioral'' interview in the future -- joking that we wouldn't be able to predict the questions based on SDN feedback. Interesting. "
"I think this was probably the best interview day I was at. This was my 6th interview and I felt like it was the best orgainized. The information sessions were informative and not too long. The tour took us pretty much everywhere and lasted over an hour (so wear comfortable shoes!). The student lunch was really sweet because we all sat at one table and asked M1, M2, M3 and M4s questions they could all share about! "
"My interviewer went through my file and told me what he thought my weaknesses were and we discussed them. It turned out that I neglected to include some important information in my AMCAS application. I have since sent the admissions staff an update; I am very grateful to my interviewer for helping me realize my error."
"(see ''what positively impressed me''"
"The whole day was very laid back. Dr. Hinkley was very informative, funny, and enthusiastic when explaining various details concerning the school. The students all seemed very happy."
"Very relaxed interview. Hinkley is awesome. Great lunch. Lots of interaction with the current medical students. Great overall day."
"It was great! "
"It was friendly, open, and a learning experience. From everyone I talked to, the interview is low stress. The med students are nice and tightly knit. It looks like a great place to go to school."
"Definitely a big city experience. You are on your own to find mentors and research projects - a "self-starter" med school with opportunites for those who are hungry. Opportunites are there, but you are responsible for finding them."
"they try very hard to make your interview day as stress free and informative as possible. My interviewer was interested in me as a person then grilling me with scary questions that I hadn't prepared for. Overall, it was a good experience."
"Overall a great day!! Nothing to stress about, and we got a nice hot meal for lunch!"
"My interview was so casual, we talked for the first five minutes and I was still wondering if the ''interview'' had actually started. I was asked about an old job completely unrelated to medicine. My interviewer was very nice and relaxed which made me feel comfortable throughout. This was my first interview and a great experience. I was sad to leave because I wanted to stay and look around some more. "
"Great school, really nice and helpful staff and students."
"Outstanding experience. The admissions office, especially Dr. Hinkley, does a great job making the environment relaxing prior to the interview. The interview was pleasent. My interviewer was meticulous, took notes, and showed interest in some of my non medical activities. The tour was outstanding. I learned so much about the magnitude of opportunities availible thanks to Jackson Memorial Hospital. All-in-all the day was great."
"UM seems to have a great program. I'm glad I went to the interview, as I was pleasantly surprised."
"Overall, a great experience. The students struck me as intelligent, warm, and friendly, and my interviwer was great. I got accepted to a top 10 school and two more top 30's, though I'm 95% sure I'm going here next year. I'm convinced this place will rank up there with them in a few years. "
"I'd be content with Miami. It's recent and very sizable endowments have put the school in a very good financial position. It will probably jump quickly in ratings with this new found wealth, which has enabled the school to attract prominent faculty from Duke and Hopkins. School did raise some flags as I mentioned before. Interviewer was pleasant, but very apathetic (making it very difficult to read or gauge how I was doing)"
"Overall, great interview experience. Don't be nervous. I know that this is the cliche statement; however, the faculty at UM Miller do everything to make your visit a good one. "
"A talk from the dean of admissions, followed by the interview and then a tour. Lunch was amazing (Chinese food!)."
"It was fun and the students seemed to be happy that they attend UM"
"horrible- see above! I got the feeling that Miami is kinda like New York. People are rough, impersonal, and you're on your own. This works for some people, but I am looking for a supportive environment at medical school. "
"Overall the interview was a good experience. Dr. Hinkley is really cool. It's a very laid-back atmosphere there. Everyone was very nice and the lunch was really good too! :o)"
"Throughout the interview, med students were coming in to talk to us about their experience. We saw some interesting presentations with the stand-up comedian Dr. Hinkley. I must warn you that if one of the med students seems to speak with authority, watch out! He may be in the board that grades you. Everybody else was very nice and told you their opinions of things. The doctor who conducted my interview was very warm and did not try by any means to intimidate me or to confuse me. My opinion of this school improved dramatically after this interview."
"Amazing!"
"Talked with the interviewer for a little less than an hour in his office. He really just asked a lot about where I'm from, how I chose my undergrad college, why I'm considering UM, different extracurriculars, problems in healthcare, etc. Overall, it was very laid back and pleasant. I did most of the talking until the end when he gave his thoughts on healthcare and asked if I had any questions for him."
"Good - I got quizzed, but it may be b/c I'm out-of-state"
"The interview day was an exceedingly favorable experience. (Hit the wrong button on previous post.)"
"The day was quite enjoyable. It started off with very informative sessions which boasted many of the school's accomplishments followed by interview sessions and then the tour. Meeting some of the medical students for lunch was also a high point. Everyone there is extremely happy to be there (there appear to be rarely any complaints). The day concluded with a financial aid session and a wrap-up session."
"When I got to the Admission's Office, there were a few med students there. They weren't part of the tour. They just wanted free coffee & donuts, but they still were very helpful. They talked about their experiences at UM. Then we had a couple of talks, then the interview. My interviewer was really nice. He made me talk about my entire life during the interview, as in starting with where I was born. Then we talked about pre-high school, high school, then college. You should probably read over your AMCAS app. Then he talked about UM and what he liked about it. Then a few of us went on a tour. We walked around the campus, saw the ER and trauma units at Jackson, & went through the Wellness Center (which is beautiful). We then had lunch with a bunch of med students. They were really helpful. Then we got a financial aid talk and were told what happens to our app when we leave. It was nice, because they gave us an exact date. I was really impressed overall"
"Overall it was very informative, the school sold itself very well. It would be great to be offered an acceptance."
"I didn't know how much I was going to love this school. It was awesome and I had a great experience on my interview day. The students were helpful, and everyone that I came into contact with was warm and helpful. They really do try to make you feel at home and I appreciated that."
"very laid back and conversational. The clinical experiences you get from this school would make you more prepared than any school in the country IMHO."
"Very laid back. This was the third one I've been on and it really did feel like a regular conversation. It was probably more because most of the questions were pretty standard."
"Overall, it was positive and encouraging. It was much more casual than some other places I have interviewed at so far, which put me at ease. The other interviewees seemed relaxed as well. "
"The interview process was very laid-back and the interview was like a conversation. Hinkley and Agnes are so helpful and understanding."
"Outstanding. I would be happy to spend four years there. I am applying to some schools that are "
"I felt really relaxed and ready for my interview. When we got there, we were given a small breakfast and were given some time to talk to fellow applicants. We then were led down to the assistant dean's office where he gave us a short powerpoint presentation on the school, the curriculum, and the hospitals. We were then met by a PhD who came and spoke about the research opportunities available for medical students and how all of the faculty would love to have us come work with them. Then it was time for my interview. The interview started off ok, but then it seemed like my interviewer had heard enough from me and began to discuss what the school had to offer, etc. I spoke to the assistant dean about this and he was incredibly helpful, talking to my interviewer and making sure things went ok. (It turned out alright!) Then we went on a tour of the amazing campus and brought back for lunch - which featured some amazing food and great conversation with eight or nine medical students ranging from M1 to M4. This was the best part of the day because you can really let loose and ask everything you ever wanted to. After lunch, it was time for a short financial aid talk and a wrap-up by the assistant dean. I was very impressed by the day and I was very pleased by the school and all of the opportunities it offers. Oh, and I believe there were nine of us present for my interview day!"
"Would be thrilled to get in there -- a great place to earn a medical education."
"I really enjoyed my interview at the FAU campus of the University of Miami. The program only takes a small number of students, and everyone seems to get along well. The opportunities for students seem excellent, as they are the "only show in town". The Simulation Center is outstanding. Overall, UMiami @ FAU has a nice academic atmosphere in a beautiful location."
"Very relaxed and enjoyable. Students were enthusiastic and school is heading in a good path."
"Very relaxed, one on one, friendly"
"I stayed at the Days Inn on campus. It was safe, quiet, and affordable. Driving at night to South Beach along 14th was neither safe nor quiet. Be sure you know where you are going and how to get there when touring the local area at night. The admissions staff was approachable, enthusiastic, and well-informed. The day began with a PPT overview of what UMiami has to offer (in short: a lot) and then proceeded with a discussion about the importance of advancing medicine through research. My interview was conducted at 10 AM while other students were either touring the campus or interviewing. My interviewer had not only read my application but had taken note of its special features. He remebered my MCAT, my GPA, details of my personal statement, and even information from my LORs. One interesting question was, "
"It was great. UMMSM@FAU is my #1 choice. "
"Relax! The only thing you have to worry about is not spilling the delicious food on your clothes. Interviewer was genuine and knew about me right when I entered the interview. It was conversational and I actually enjoyed talking. Just be honest and that will lead to a great interview. "
"Very laid back interview. Seriously, don't be nervous before this interview. I wasn't expecting to be as impressed with this school as I was."
"We had two info sessions in the morning, one about the school itself and one about the importance of doing research and being custodians of the greatest single achievement of mankind (doctors). At ten was either an interview or a tour. I had the tour. The guide was good, though a little hard to hear. She took us to the various ERs and the trauma center. At 11, some of us interviewed and some of us had a weird hour of nothingness. 12 was lunch with med students. This was fun and informative. 1 was either a wrap up session or an interview if you had yet to do one. Those interviewing at 1 wrapped up at 2. At the wrap up, we learned when we would find out about our applications and scholarships, etc. We were also told to go post on SDN! Interviews were SO relaxed. Really nothing to worry about. It was just a "conversation." No questions about health care policy or anything like that."
"Breakfast.......presentation.....interview.....lunch.....tour"
"I did enjoy my interview day. The school seems to be great. Faculty and Staff also seem very helpful..."
"The mood was much like the med student that Dr. Hinkley spoke with right before interviewing me: funny, laid back and conversational. Dr. Hinkley seemed very interested in what I had to say and did not ask difficult questions. The interview was rather short pressumably because the interview was for the 7 yr Medical Scholars Program. I was well prepared for the interview, made good eye contact and never stopped talking. I would defintely reccomend preparing for the interview by going over as many hypothetical questions as possible. Overall, the interview was a wonderful experience, stress free and the UM facilities and the quality of their students really impressed me. "
"Overall it was great. Dr. Hinkley is warm and entertaining, the hospital is fun to see, and my interviewer was funny, cool, and very relaxed. I felt like he was trying to bring out my interest in the school and my stronger points in our conversation."
"Out of 5 interviews I have ahd so far, this one was the best. My interviewer was very interested in me and that made the interview a whole lot easier."
"Dr. Hinckley is a wonderful guy, and has a wonderfully witty sense of humor. Be sure to speak with Agnes Murphy, the Admissions secretary - she's a total sweetheart and can answer tons of your questions when you arrive and are waiting for the day to roll on forward. I arrived 10 mins before 9am. Give yourself a good 2.5 hours to travel from anywhere similarly distant as West Palm. Getting to Miami via I-95 is no big deal. Once you reach the Miami region, it's bumper-to-bumper hell. So plan accordingly! No excuses! The day begins with a green folder that has your day's schedule in it, along with info sheets on curriculum, UM's nearby attractions/cultural life, Financial Aid, Research Opportunities, etc, etc. Standard get-to-know-us type stuff. After that, Dr. Hinckley meets and greets you, offers you coffee/juice and donuts - although you will see lurking med-students seem more prone to be attracted by this display than anyone else! :) haha - it was cool though - because you got to talk to them as they grabbed donuts, etc. Once some 15-20 mins had passed, you were walked right outside the door to your left, to a typical whitewashed conference room with huge wood table and comfy chairs - the same place, as Dr. Hinckley will inform you, that your file will be discussed and voted upon by the AdCom. Dr. H then gives you an Intro to the School with a PPT presentation on a laptop - curriculum changes, the two campuses, tidbits od medical history you can tell he's fond of (Edward Jenner and cowpox/smallpox, etc), stats about appplicants, the school's rankings, the hospitals' rankings, etc. He then opens up for questions as he goes, and again at the end. When that's over, a bearded gentleman named Dr. Bookman walks in promptly and sits down to give you a well-read sermon about Medicine being the Greatest Accomplishment and Gift to Mankind. The talk has little to do with UM at all, it mostly has to do with the process of scientific inquiry and the nature of exploring for the purpose of helping our own species survive ... better (Bookman heads the MD/PhD program and will tell you he thinks rarely anyone is right for it). Topics mentioned in the speech: philately, the MD/PhD program, space exploration, antiquated vs modern medical education, men on the moon, Cold War, his wife writing boks on the Economies of Lesser Developing Countries, his youngest daughter's talent for multi-tasking ... he weaves these into a triumvirate of acronyms he calls TIP = Talents, Interests, Passions. He'll single one person out (it was me this time), and ask you whay your talents are, and of course, like anyone else he picked on in the past, I said: UHHHM. haha Hethen told me to stop right there, because everyone was unsure of how to talk about themselves since our culture tells us to move away from grand-standing and show-casing our abilities. Rather, he says, you should use those to assist your pursuit in medicine, and to help take off stress in your life as a human treating other humans. A very far-ranging talk indeed. But he was very interesting. I liked it a lot. After that, you're taken back into the Waiting Room, where some of you are taken on a tour, and some of you are taken to the galleys for interrogation! :) haha I was interviewed at this point. I was actually caught off guard - I had read all the SDN posts, and was thus expecting a mature male faculty member, 1-on-1 interview. What I walked into was a 2-on-1 interview: a female professor of NeuroRadiology named Judith Post, and a male 4th year medical student named Andy Berkman. The medical student seems to play devil's advocate in the interview asking more uncomfortable questions about your file - almost felt like they just wanted to see how I'd react to that kind of prompt under pressure. I tried to keep calm as best I could - esp when he kept nudging about what I would do if I did not get in once, twice, etc. I said I'd keep trying until someone let me in. :) After that, he kind of backed off and was actually super nice to me. The lady doctor was very nurturing, and asked plenty of information about my early life - elementary/middle school, HS (her daughter did IB Program like me, so she asked me about it). They then asked me about the nature of my classes in college, and if they'd affected my progression toward medicine at all, and if so why? They then also asked me about the problem with Healthcare today, and how to provide a decent fix of some sort. I mentioned: cap pain&suffering litigation, and cap insurance premiums, and possibly even federally regulate them so physicians can practice medicine without fear, esp in major metro cities in big states. Also - disparate reasoning: illegal immigrants get free instant access to quality healthcare, but hard-working lower-class Americans that pay taxes and do their best are shunned without insurance and cash up front. I said that was just wrong and had to be changed - probably by a politician with more guts and gusto than ambition. After that, most questions were mostly getting to know you type of deals to round off the image of the applicant, or so I felt. INterview ended, and then I was given a tour with the other student that had been shuttled off for interview like me. That was amazing!!!! - I got to see Ryder Trauma, Sylvester CCC, Lois Pope LIFE housing the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, Jackson Hospital, Mailman Center, Children's Hospital, etc. Everything is SO close by to one another too - it feels like a small medical city amidst a concret jungle to be exact. VERY COOL - and the hustle and bustle is OBVIOUS from the first second you step foot in the quadrangle in front of the Old Spanish Colonial Jackson Hospital/Infirmary. When I got back, I met the other students in the waiting area - and we were taken back to that conference room, and were served a full buffet lunch - I was impressed. Chicken Piccata, salad, soda, cookies, fresh fruit. Good stuff. About 4 to 6 med students hung around that conference room and answered TONS and TONS of questions. Moreover, since HInckley nor anyone else from AdCom or the Admin was there, it felt a little less air-tight, and you could let loose to ask questions, if you know what I mean. Feel free to ask them - they like talking about all that stuff. Then after that, a Latino gentleman came in and gave us a 30 mins schpeel on Admissions and Fin. Aid - this felt like that sticker-shock you get at the car-dealer when you look at the fully loaded BMW. Total Cost of Attendance for in-State: 54 grand. OUCH. Suck your thumbs, it is a painful number - but remember, that does not include loans of any kind, nor does it include FAFSA's and the UM Fin. Aid's expectation of payment from your parents'/your pockets. Dr. H comes in again, takes one more brief talk to tell you about what happens to a file's shelf-life after we leave campus ... takes you step by step until the point od the decision by the AdCom - so it's enlightening to learn about - makes it seem less steeped in mystery and fog. One last round of questions for Dr. H, and then, you're done, and get to go drive through Miami rush hour traffic, which Dr. H is happy to inform you before leaving - starts at 2pm. :( EW. It feels like the opening scene from Office Space - for real, it does. NONETHELESS - great place to come study, and pleasant interview experience :)"
"The staff were pleasant and warming when we arrived. And we were shuffled off to a room where a small schpiel about the school is given. Then another about research. Some canidates are interviewed while others go on the tour. The students seem enthusiastic about their third and fourth years and eager to leave. My interviewer hadn't read my file very well as he thought I lived in a rural town and I don't. Then late into the interview he received a page and told me to come up with the answer to a question while he made a call. When I returned everyone had left and the process was over."
"It was really great. Everyone was so nice, from the Dean, to my interviewer, to the students."
"Wonderful. Ecstatic. Laden with alcohol (they threw a big party on the water)."
"The day was relatively quick and easy. After some presentations about the school and research, you tour and have lunch. Then you have your interview. There is only one interview (versus the two interview format of many schools). I was a bit nervous during the day for two reasons: 1) Miami is very hectic for a small-town person like me and 2) I didn't prepare and come in as relaxed as I should have. My interviewer made me feel a bit nervous, but that was because I was not giving clear enough answers (again, my fault, not his). The day wraps up and you're sent off. You find out the school's decision about 3 weeks after the interview by e-mail. "
"My interview experience was outstanding. Even though I'm from the North I felt right at home, in large part due to the cordiality of the students and the personable nature of the faculty and staff at the school. My interview was pretty rigid in structure as far as questions and allotted time to answer, but I didn't feel as if I was being tested. More of a controlled conversational tone."
"I was impressed with the enthusiasm of the medical students. They really emphasized all the clinical opportunties available. I wish I had seen more of the hospital and more of the campus. "
"It was great. My interview was very nice and very laid back. Only wanted to get to know me and was not out to get me."
"I had a great interview experience at Miami. The interview was very laid back and conversational and there were so many students willing to talk to us about how great Miami is. I loved getting a tour of Jackson and getting to see different areas of the hospital."
"The entire day was great. It is good to arrive early to get to talk to Dean Hinkley and the med students that stop by for the free coffee and pastries. The environment is fairly relaxed but the tours are warm, so try to stay cool while indoors because the weather will make you sweat."
"Establish quick rapport with my interviewer and proceeded naturally into basic personal questions. I was interviewd in a conference room where PBL sessions evidently took place. My interviewer seemed to pick out the areas of my application that were most meaningful to me and asked me to elaborate upon these areas. My interviewer was also very open and volunteered personal information as well as responded to questions which I asked "
"The interview day was good. It was very efficient in its use of time, and I felt it was impressive overall. I would have liked to see more of the hospital, but that is the only thing I can really say I wish we had done more of. My interviewer was very nice, and the interview was very comfortable."
"The school is great, the clinical experience you receive at UM is amazing, but the city really negatively impressed me."
"The interview day was well organized and informative. Jackson is a very busy place and medical students get a lot of clinical exposure at UM. "
"Overall, the interview was wonderful. It was laid-back, yet still professional. I was especially impressed with how approachable EVERYONE was. They made me feel so comfortable, and I felt that they were completely candid in our discussions (as opposed to other places where you get the feeling that they are sugar-coating stuff)."
"This was a very positive day. The presentations were informative and everyone was helpful. The process, in general seems much more transparent to applicants than at other schools."
" Low-stress, informative and very personalized. "
"Overall it was a positive experience. My interviewer was SUPER nice and made me feel comfortable right away. "
"I was interviewed by a PhD, who was pretty unresponsive during the interview, leaving me to wonder how well it went for weeks afterwards. He was very nice, just hard to read. He knew my application better than I did- but asked a lot of canned interview questions-- stuff I should have been prepared for. "
"I felt that this interview was kind of lukewarm. Not that it went badly, but it seemed like the interviewer was asking me a lot of standardized questions, as opposed to asking me questions that were pertinent to my specific application. I got the impression that the interviewer would ask the exact same questions to every single applicant, which made the interview seem kind of impersonal. Note that the area around Jackson Memorial is not very good, so be careful about walking around there by yourself. And of course, this is Miami, so you can expect it to be hot and humid here. I took a separate trip to see the FAU satellite campus, which is up in Boca Raton. I highly recommend doing this if you think that you might be interested in attending that campus."
"AMAZING - UM is my first choice. The facility, educational opportunity, and studnets there have impressed me the most so far. The whole atmosphere is very relaxed, very conducive to learning. "
"It was a standard question and answer interview. It was somewhat conversational. The overall day was great. Medical students were around throughout the whole interview day to answer any questions we had."
"Arriving early, I got to talk to the director of admissions for awhile before any other interviewees arrived. The day was very organized and the presentations on the campuses of UM were very informative. Lunch with the students was also beneficial: I live in the area and I wanted to know how many students that live in Miami live with their families or sought other places to reside. Walking around the hospital really made obvious how highly trafficked the facilities are and how many opportunities are really available to the medical students because of this. Dr. Hinkley is a real nice guy and really tried to create a relaxed atmosphere so we wouldn't be too nervous for our interviews."
"My interview was with a doctor in one of the hospitals on campus. It was a casual one on one conversation mostly based on my application. He didn't see my MCAT or transcripts."
"Not very stressing. The medical students were very nice. Random students stopped to ask if I was here for the interview and introduced themselves all over campus. Students seemed very happy which was a positive. "
"Overall a really great day. The day was only from 9-2, so not that long. I had an interview from 10-11, so I got that taken care of pretty early. Everyon I met was really nice."
"I was interviewed by 2 people at the same time, one of which was new to the admissions committee. The interview was very relaxed. I felt their questions were designed to get a true understanding of my motivation and my personality. I am a post-bac student and they were interested in understanding why I am changing careers and what I my experiences have been leading up to now."
"I had a PhD interview me, which threw me off at first, but he was very nice and asked hard questions but in the context of our conversation. He was not out to get me, but just see my thoughts related to certain hot topics that I had experienced for myself."
"Overall, I was extremely impressed. The pros are the outrageoous clinical experience, the research opportunities(they're making a state-of-the-art research building that is equipped with a gym + pool on the top most floor!)are plentiful - overall, really positive. U.M. quickly climbed up to become my first choice."
"Relaxed and conversational for the most part"
"The whole day was very easy-going and stress-free. Lunch with the medical students was informative and fun. My interview was very conversational. My interviewer was very friendly and was not out to get me. KNOW YOUR AMCAS!"
"Everyone was friendly and helpful, and made this a positive experience. The facilities and clinical opportunities are outstanding. The interview format was conversational, and I felt that my interviewer really wanted to get to know me as a person."
"It was a good day. The admission staff were really helpful. "
"I appreciated the stress-free, laid back atmosphere that characterized the interview day's setup and staff. The tour given by a student was enthusiastic and detailed. My interviewer was very cordial, and had obviously taken time to read my application thoroughly in advance. Our interview was very conversational in nature, and was both a pleasant and comprehensive exchange. Overall, UM was the best place that I interviewed."
"Begins at 9am - presentations and tour of facilities till 11am - Lunch at 12pm - interview at 1:00pm - rap up session at 2pm"
"UM does a good job of putting together a well thought out, informative interview experience. The day proceeds as follows: You arrive before 9:00 am. The first person you'll meet is Agnes Murphy, secretary extraordinaire, who shepards the students throughout the day like a loving mother. She'll provide you with a folder of information, containing your schedule & all sorts of information about the med program & Miami. You may then sit in the admissions office, eat dougnut holes & drink coffee, & chat with current med students & other interviewees. The day officially begins at 9AM with an orientation talk by Dr. Hinkley, who is hilarious & very welcoming. At 9:30AM there's a talk about research opportunities. After, the day diverges a bit. Your interview will either be at 10AM, 11AM or 1PM. During each hour, you'll either be interviewing, touring the facilities, or hearing the financial aid talk. At noon, you have the opportunity to have lunch with current medical students & residents. Fretnot--the food is good & they do have a vegetarian option. At ~1:15PM, Dr. Hinkley provides a closing talk, during which he tells you when you can expect to hear back from the school. In all, it's an informative, well-scheduled, & relatively non-stressful experience."
"Great day. I thought the Dean was honest and very approachable. The interviewer really respected my history and was just curious about some details. All the other applicants were good, too."
"I felt that the overall experience was very informative and enjoyable. I really liked getting to talk with several of the medical students."
"From the morning when I stepped into the Admissions office, when I was greeted by everyone, and offered the remote control to the waiting room TV, it was a very relaxing and welcoming environment. Everything was organized well and scheduled with the applicant's comfort in mind. The office and the students were extremely friendly and they seemed to really enjoy being there. The lunch was amazing, they even had cheesecake for dessert. The interview itself was very enjoyable as the interviewer asked questions about you regarding your personal statement and your interests. "
"It was the most relaxed interview I've had so far. The Dean was humorous and personal. You get to eat lunch with just the medical students, which was a great opportunity to ask questions about the school. Starting your freshman year you can go over to Jackson and ask to observe things. Most of the students make a yearly trip to Key West to provide medical care and have fun... seemed like the students work really hard, but have a lot of fun."
"Miami is a great place to study medicine. The interview basically helps you see that."
"The school offers great clinical training. Miami is a great place to be a young person (some students live at Miami Beach which would be awesome). School has received lots of money recently and really seems committed to improving itself."
"Overall, I had a very enjoyable, low-stress interview. My interviewer was extremely nice and put me at ease right away. I was impressed with the school overall and have no real complaints. The students seemed very happy at the school and it seems that there are many exciting things happening on campus as far as research and academics. "
"It was very organized, everyone- from office of admissions staff to med students to the dean and the interviewer were extremely nice and made it a very low stress experience."
"My best interview yet. My interviewer was an amazingly personable individual, the student lunch was extremely helpful and informative. (it is closed doors so you can ask the nitty-gritty detailed questions)"
"My interviewer was so easy to talk to. It didn't really even feel like an interview to be honest. The time just flew by."
"Um can definetely help me become a great doctor, a great clinician. I will be exposed to all kinds of diseases...Also, I can learn at my own pace bcoz the lectures are recorded and posted on the web."
"great day, great tour, amazing weather!"
"UM was my alma matter, so I was pretty familiar with the campus, curriculum, etc. However, the interview experience, with the tour, and the way we were treated, still really impressed me in a positive way. It was obvious that Ochat, Bookman, and Hinkley put a lot of effort into planning the day and maximizing our comfort. I felt really comfortable during the interviews, and the conversations and questions were very interesting, despite many of them being "basic questions." The tour was really cool, the students there seemed to share a strong, cooperative bond, not an overly competitive one, and the faculty was friendly. Later, at the evening dinner, I was very impressed by the comfortable relationship between the current students and the dean, professors, and staff. The other applicants were very qualified, and well rounded in their achievements and personalities, and I hope that I will see many of them at UM (hopefull!). The facilities, with the great amount of specialization, were amazing, and there are many labs with all sorts of research available to graduate and medical students. The school, despite being in Miami (which is a lot of fun) had many different areas for students to study, which I think is important...I could go on, but I have to go..."
"After visiting UM, it's my top choice. The facilities on the UM campus are excellent and the students benefit from Miami's location as a referral center for South and Central America. The interview day is relaxed and informative. "
"Overall, an excellent interview experience. Drs. Bookman, Hinkley, and Ochatt went out of their way to make the process informative and enjoyable. Everyone at Miami was infectious with their love of the program (students, faculty, staff). The day went by surprisingly quickly. Each of my interviewers gave a unique interview experience, keeping the back-to-back interview process interesting. The caliber of the faculty and the depth of their knowledge was apparent. I felt completely comfortable interacting with my interviewers and genuinely had fun! Miami has a very impressive program and remains my top choice."
"Overall, the interview day was well-organized and, strangely enough, almost enjoyable. The program makes every effort to accommodate the MD/PhD candidates, and even placed them at a quite nice hotel right in Coconut Grove. In sum, the program has a great deal to offer students in terms of research (particularly for Neuroscience students with the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, and Immunology) and clinical experience due to the size of the UM Hospital Network, but has yet to fully realize the national attention that older, more established (the medical school was founded in 1952) programs currently enjoy. In addition, interviewees are asked at numerous points during the course of the day for feedback regarding their experience, a demonstration of the willingness and desire to consistently improve on the part of the institution. "
"You'll arrive at 9am, hear some presentations for an hour, get an interview, take a tour, eat lunch with other students, get the financial aid talk, and then leave by 2pm."
"The interviewer was nice & had studied my file thoroughly. I felt very comfortable answering her questions."
"My interviewer was very friendly and laid back.. he was very easy to talk to and his style was very conversational.. "
"The overall experience was very positive. The only thing negative was that it seemed like my interviewer had not looked at my app. at all before the interview and he didn't have it there in front of him. Maybe that is just the way they do it there."
"Well the day started @ 9am with a introduction by the Dean and then a short discussion about research at the school. All of us in our group had our interview @ 10am because there was a big annoncement at the school. At 11 we went out to the press conference in which they changed the name of the school to the Miller School of Medicine. I was able to meet a couple students and faculty at this time which was cool. Then we had a little tour and lunch with students. No SANDWHICH which was great. Then they told us when we would hear back. All in all it was a good day."
"The day was very hectic, because they were receiving a $100 million donation from Leonard Miller, so we were there for the reception, which was pretty cool. But it definitely wasn't a standard interview day. Everyone was very friendly and Dr. Hinkley was great."
"I have only positive things to say about the school. From the moment you arrive, Dean Hinkley is waiting for you and has a direct role in all the day's events, giving a good amount of time to interact directly with him and the faculty to get a sense of the relaxed environment."
"The interview really ruined the otherwise pleasant experience. Dr. Hinkley is a great guy, and very friendly. "
"The day starts at 9am with Dr. Hinkley, who is a very kind man, introducing you to the University of Miami and giving you information about the medical school. Then the dean from FAU in Boca Raton talks about the program they have there where you go to FAU for the first two years of med school and UM for the last two. After that it varies depending on your interview. Either you interview at 10am, 11am, or for a few 1pm. If you are not interviewing then you go on a tour of the campus with a med student. I interviewed after that at 11am and then at noon there is an informal lunch with med students, which is a great time to really ask questions and talk to them. The lunch is good also. At 1pm they talk to you about financial aid and then Dr. Hinkley finishes up by telling you when you can expect to hear from him, which is about 2 1/2 weeks later. The day for me was done around 2pm, which is nice because you beat the rush hour traffic. Everyone is extremely friendly and I forgot to mention there are donuts and coffee in the morning. Don't be nervous because the whole day, including the interview, is really laid back. I know there are a few other people on this site who sort of talked bad about their experience, but I had a great day."
"AWESOME...Love the School!!! Weather great, Jackson is #1 for exposure, ppl are warm/friendly, quality program...aka you can beat the UM med School Experience (cross fingers that I get in)"
"Overall, the interview day was a great experience. Dr. Hinkley is very humorous and his administrative assistants are great. The medical students seemed to really enjoy the program and most of all they seemed to be a part of a team. The interview was conversational but after the second question, I realized that my interviewer had not read much of my application file. I was a little disappointed but this gave me some feeling of control over the interview."
"Pretty standard stuff, just had to be myself and sell it."
"Research professor really made you think about what the practice of medicine entails and asked us medical questions. I really like the friendly students and director of addmissions. He was honest with exactly what happens with our application after the interview and gave us an exact date when we would receive our decision. "
"What impressed me most was that how organized the interview day was...everything started and fiished on time, as promised. Dr. Hinkley was the most laid back admissions dean I have seen so far, he made the process very simple and enjoyable. He explained how the whole process works and touched upon the most prominent aspects of the program and the new one at FAU. The day started at 9 AM and we were done by about 2PM. Tour guides took us to most places on the campus and lunch was good. Atlast something other than the cold sandwiches."
"It was really a great experience. The students all seem to love the school. We got the usual presentions about the school/research/financial aid and they had interview. Oh, the lunch was great!"
"Overall,the interview experience was incredibly relaxed. Agnes Murphy and Dr. Hinkley do a great job of making you feel comfortable. "
"My interviewer was very impersonable and did not use the interview to get to know me as a person. She spent the majority of the time making me defend myself and my moral beliefs (as a Catholic), and concluded the interview by saying that I was overly idealistic. Furthermore, she knew very little about the medical school program or curriculum."
"I thought the interview experience was terrific. Having gone to the interview, UM has jumped to be one of my top choices. "
"Great experience. I am glad it was my firs interview because it eased me into the process. It was very casual and laid back. "
"It was great :) The people were friendly, the interview was fun, the food was great, the medical students were welcoming, and Miami was beautiful. "
"The day is run very well by Dr. Hinkley and the rest of the staff. Interviewers are very warm and friendly, and the students are ready and willing to answer everyone's questions. And yet, as perfectly as the day went, they still would like to know how to improve it for the next group of students. In my opinion, that's a true sign of greatness!"
"We were the first round of students to come through for interviews and the day still ran like butter. You meet up at the admissions office between 830-9am. Id get a coffee/bagle at Au Bon Pain (located near the school) if your early. I think there was ~15 students with scheduled interviews. Dean Hinkley gives a presentation on the school, followed by a talk about research. Some students then interview while others go on a tour. The tour is outside and you will sweat like a dog. The tour wasnt that impressive but it was the first one this year and it sould improve over the course of year. At 12 you are joined by med students for a closed door lunch (ravioli) for a Q+A session. There is a financial aid talk after lunch, but some students interview at this 1pm time slot. I think the day ends around 2pm so you can avoid the rush hour traffic."
"A very pleasant day from the start. The food was good, and the medical students were with you almost all day. It was nice to see everyone (the staff, dean, and students) so involved with the applicants. The tour could have been better. The interview was relaxed and led to a very interesting conversation. I would come to UM just for the experience you can get. "
"Day started with donuts and coffee--I'm glad I stopped to get a cappucino first because not many people touched the food and I wouldn't have wanted to be the only one. Then we listened to how we should do research--this sort of convinced me--it's important, you guys!...Then I had an hour off...Then a tour led by a student in the really really really hot sun...And she talked pretty quietly too...Then lunch at 12...Then my interview at 1...People who had interviews at 10 or 11 got to leave earlier than me: No fair! Also, my interview seemed short! It was a bit of a walk away and I was gone and back in 45 minutes...Is this bad, I don't know? ;) Also funny was when the interviewer said "I hope you applied to other schools"....he didn't mean it like THAT...but still!"
"Miami is a unique place. The students range from genious to average at best. Most importantly they all have the desire to study medicine. Miami is one of the few schools that truly seeks to diversify their class. The enviroment seems to be a nuturing one. The students seem to be happy with the choice they have made. The admissions office staff is incredible. While the wait is tough, they patients they show with the applicants is tremendous. Agnes Murphy does not get the credit she deserves. She makes the med school shine. I declined interviews from other schools simply b/c the staff was rude, and i felt that would reflect the schools enviroment. Hinkley is a man who runs nearly a flawless show. Everyone is treated with dignity and respect. Most importnantly he is willing to talk with you, not down to you. Im not sure how Miami "ranks" compared to other medical schools, but based on my experience with the faculty and staff, they must be delivering the best doctors. GO CANES"
"Miami was and is my first choice all the way! I absolutely love it hear. There are so many opportunities for hands-on clinical experience in an easy-going environment. Also, the research facilities in the vincinty like the Diabetes Research Institute and the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis conduct nationally recognized research projects through collaborative efforts with other leading institutions. UM Med is also looking to expand which is wonderful because students have the option to choose. The FAU program has a lot of offer, namely: small class sizes, intimate relationship with professors, excellent professors dedicated solely to teaching, brand new state-of-the-art (classrooms, medical examining rooms, research facilities, student lounges, student study rooms), each student gets his/her own personalized desk for the two years, lots of extra love <3. Dr. Hinkley is one of the most down-to-earth Deans ever. He is friendly and approachable...and has a great sense of humor. He takes the time to listen to students and address their concerns/questions. Yeah, maybe he is not able to call or email recent interviewees of the committees decision when he said he is going to...but what other dean tries to commit to a deadline like he does. Dean Warren at the Boca campus is also a wonderful dean and very forward-thinking. "
"The day starts off with all the interviewees meeting in the admissions office between 8:30-9:00AM. The day of my interview the size of the interview group was about 10-15 people. The secretaries hand out folders to everyone as they come in, inside is your personal schedule for the day, a few other papers about UM and your name tag. After you get your folder, you just sit down and chat with the other interviewees over some dunkin donuts and coffee. A few med students had also dropped by so you could also start asking them about the school if you wanted too. At 9:00AM, Dr.Hinkley (the dean of admissions) comes in and takes you into a conference room next door. He presents a good informational slide show about UM and talks about all the key points of the school. At 9:30AM, the director of research comes in and gives a 30 minute talk about the importance of research in medicine and how all medical students should try to find time to get involved with a research project while in med school because research is the future of medicine. At 10:00AM, medical students then lead you on a tour of the school and its grounds. The school is VERY nice, inside and out. The highlight of the tour is that they take you up to the helipad on the roof of Jackson Memorial Hospital. My group lucked out though and we couldn't see the helipad because there was some maintenance or something going on that day on the roof. The tour lasted an hour and afterwards I had my interview. The interview wasn't as laid back as I've had at others schools but it certainly wasn't the worst either. I didn't get any ethics questions but my interviewer did ask me what I would do in certain situations, i.e. how would I convince others who had a different point of view than I did. Some schools I've interviewed at the interview was more like a conversation than anything else, at Miami the interview did have conversational elements to it but it was also more probing than most of my other interviews. Just relax, smile and answer honestly and you should be fine. After the interview there is a lunch with all the other interviewees and a big group of med students. The lunch was awesome, pasta, bread sticks, cookies, sodas... lol. We got to ask the med students anything we wanted and they were all very honest and direct. After lunch there's a 10 minute talk from the financial aid office and then Dr.Hinkley comes into the room to give the group a closing talk where he tells you by when you should find out the committee decision and answers any questions we still might have. Overall, you should be done by about 1:30PM. They try to get you out early so that you can beat the traffic home or back to your hotel. All and all I think the day was great, I was very happy to be accepted a few weeks later and will definitely be attending UM this fall! "
"It was not as long as I thought it would be, but the interview was very relaxed and the interviewer was just trying to get an idea of who I was and what my life was like rather than trying to drill me with hard questions."
"med students were in waiting room to greet and answer questions at the start of the day, followed by the tour of the med school by a 3rd yr student, then lunch with med students and the one hr interview w/one member of admiss committee and then closing"
"The interview process at UM was quite stress-free. My only advice is to be yourself and show the people how much you REALLY want to be a physician."
"It was a laid back experience and everyone was very friendly. My interviewer was SO NICE and made extra effort to make me feel relaxed. He also was honest about the strengths and weaknesses about the school. The city of Miami is amazing!"
"Overall, it was a relaxing interview day...they really try and make you feel at ease. The whole process was very fair, so you really get a chance to show them who you are... beyond your MCAT score:)"
"It was wonderful. The entire process got me very psyched up for medical school. Their ability to turn such a high pressure situation into a fun endeavor left me with very positive feelings towards their institution. "
"Everything was really cool about the school and evreyone was chill. Except my interviewer was really stiff. He tried to be friendly, and it was definitely not a stress interview, but he was not a very dynamicpersonality. I had to keep the conversation going. I wish that I could have interviewed with more than one person."
"First of all, make sure that you arrive early, parking is a challenge if you arrive after 0815-0820. You will enter the medical school and a guard will check you in. If you arrive between 0830-0900, you will have coffee and doughnuts in Dr. Hinkley's office and converse with the medical students. At 0900, Dr. Hinkley takes you into a conference room and presents a Powerpoint presentation about the school and its attributes (make sure that you visit the website since the presentation expounds on information found there). At approximately 0930, a researcher will explain the different research departments at UM and their contributions in particular research areas. The researcher who spoke with us had a Ph.D in pharmacology. At 1000, students either go on a tour of the campus and hospital facilities with a medical student or have their one-on-one interview. At 1100, the students that had their interviews swap with the ones that had the tour. At 1200, you have a wonderful hot lunch (ours was tortolini and ravioli with red or white sauce, bread and cheesecake) and have an informal question and answer session with approximately 6-8 medical students in the conference room. At 1300, a gentleman discusses financial aid options. And, closing at 1330, Dr. Hinkley talks about the documentation that UM requires as proof of FL residency (they do accept out of state candidates, but part of their state funding requires that they accept a certain percentage of FL residents). They try to finish the day prior to 1400 so that the candidates can get ahead of the infamous Miami rush hour traffic."
"it's a fun day, very relaxed, and by the end i think most people had a great impression of the school and the quality of education here (i did)."
"Very laid back atmosphere - had a nice day. And my interview was just a great, fun time."
"Having been through several interviews this year, I can say that Miami was without a doubt the best interview experience I've had. The interview day put Miami at the very top of my list!"
"What's there to say besides the fact that the school is amazing with a great reputation, the hospital is one of the best in the nation, and the people as friendly as you will find anywhere. "
"The interview was the most laid back I have had... DON'T STRESS, you will feel stupid if you do. Know why you want to do medicine... thats all really. They just want to make sure the applications didn't kill you. The real benefit of UM is the last 2 years. Many students have told me that after the 1st semester it is easy. You will have to work a bit harder for the USMLE step 1, but after that, it is the best clinical experience (save Grady hospital in Atlanta). If you want to do rural medicine, not the place, if you want to specialize in trauma, a great education"
"UM is a great school - the two best things about it are its location and the clinical experiences it offers. the students seem to have a good balance between academics and actually having a life. definitely a top choice!"
"My UM interview was by far the most enjoyable, laid-back experience I had during my application process. Voy a Miami!"
"We essentially went over my personal statement and clinical experiences as mentioned on the application. The interviewer would comment on my remarks, and relate them to her own experiences -- what a great way to interview! The entire experience was very low-stress, and I am really hopeful that I am lucky enough to attend University of Miami."
"the day went pretty well, except for that hour long speech about the importance of research. c'mon, do that after the damn interviews- what a snooze fest! tour was good. hinkley is a good guy. interviewer was not very friendly, had a list of questions and basically drilled me. also extensively criticized my responses."
"Really nice time, low stress. Students are available to talk to readily."
"The school is really focused on preparing the students for a great medical career, and so offers a lot of clinical practice."
"A WONDERFUL day. Everyone was friendly. Today totally changed my perception of them!"
"We met at 9, Dr. Hinkley gave a talk about the school, then there was a talk about financial aid, then some of us went on a tour while others had interviews, then vice versa, next was lunch with med students, then another discussion with Mr. Hinkley. We were out by 2. Overall, it was a good experience. Very low stress. I left with an even better impression of the school. "
"The tone of the interview was generally conversational, and my interviewer seemed more keen on recruiting me to go into anesthesiology than stressing me out with tough questions. My interviewer was from Japan, so we talked a lot about living and traveling in foreign countries and communicating in languages other than our native tongue. "
"I had a really, really nice time. The girls of 1920 were so welcoming (and had a GORGEOUS house) and even drove me to and from the interviews. Definitely stay with a student-- you'll get a much more interesting experience. The campus is beautiful as well, and Jackson would be a terrific place to do clinical training."
"I enjoyed the interview. It was more of a conversation rather than being question based. Most of the people that were in my group felt that they had a positive experience as well. "
"Great experience overall! Please let me in! Now to those who are interviewing there in the future, Do not stay at the Days Inn!!! The hotel is right next to the freeway, so you may have a difficult time getting to sleep. The customer service is terrible. Their "complimentary" shuttle stands a high likelihood of being full, so you may end up late to catch your plane if you depend on it. They do not actually have irons in the rooms (despite what they advertise), and you may not have access to one b/f your interview. Rooms are not very nice either."
"The whole experience was fantastic. The school is obviously a place that offers many opportunities and is very focused on helping the students. Everyone was so fantastic, it really makes me want to go there. My interview was not at all intimidating, the lunch was great, and we were done before 2pm!"
"The whole day was low stress, and the interview was conversational. "
"The interview was held with one faculty member and was fairly conversational and low stress. She asked a wide variety of questions, but nothing too off the wall that really through me for a loop. Besides the standard questions gauging my knowledge and exposure to healthcare, she was interested in determining who I was as a person and whether I was happy and well-adjusted socially. I thought it was a good idea to ask these types of questions at an interview. Miami seems to like students who are well-rounded instead of gunner stress cases."
"The whole thing was really pretty easy. Most of the questions dealt with me and what I put down on my application, which is good because I really did not prepare much for this interview."
"Overall a great day. It started at 9 am and ended at 2 pm so we could beat the traffic home. The admissions office, faculty, and pretty much everybody was extremely friendly and very proud of being a UM med student. Lunch was fantastic compared with the other schools I interviewed at. The clinical training is superb; my interviewer, even though he wasn't a physician, said that should be the greatest draw of the school of medicine. "
"Overall, this was a great experience. My interviewer told me that he doesn't think of this as an "interview", but just as a conversation really. "
"The interview was very relaxed. I thought the interviewer asked me very relevant questions pertaining to my application. We basically had an open discussion about a variety of topics. "
"The experience was great. Definitely stay with a student."
"This was my first interview, and it has definitely set the bar very high for the ones that I have coming up (and the most recent one that just passed). I was so impressed with the school itself and the students are so happy and welcoming and pleased with their school. I know that I would be happy attending UM. I couldn't have asked for a better interview."
"I was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved the school, but this was definitely my most stressful interview so far. My interviewer wasn't mean or anything, but it was hard to judge his reaction to my answers. I was surprised by how he kept asking so many difficult questions, especially since everyone told me this was a laid-back interview."
"This is a great school with great people, and definitely not as stressful as the average medical school from my perspective. Miami seems like a great place to live."
"I really enjoyed the school, it is amazing and I have many friends there that love it. It is expensive. It is almost twice what you will pay at the other Florida schools, so you must decide how important that is to you. For me, I want nothing more than to get in, and the experience you will get in a city like Miami will make it a worthy lifelong investment. "
"It was extraordinary! I loved it and am going to Miami this fall."
"Overall, this was an excellent experience. Dr. Hinkley was very personable and informative. He helped to break the initial tension that all interviewees have while providing a wealth of background information concerning the school, its professors, and student body. The students were very informative and open communicating both their likes and dislikes (which were very few) about the city and school. My advice for future interviewees is to be yourself, relax, and ask questions."
"The day began at 9am and ended at 2pm. From 9:00 - 10:00, we were given information about the medical school and research. From 10:00-11:00, we had our interviews. 11:00 - 12:00, we were given a tour of the school by a student. 12:00 - 1:00, we ate lunch with a few of the Medical students. 1:00 - 2:00, we were given information about financial aid, and what to expect with regards to their decision on applicant admission. "
"I had an extremely positive experience at University of Miami School of Medicine. The people were SO helpful and friendly. Dr. Hinkley gave us our orientation presentation, Mr. Garcia gave us a financial aid presentation, then we went on a tour of the facilities with both a third year and first year student (some people interviewed first), next came the interview (which is very relaxed - just be yourself), and then lunch with the students (lunch was very good and the students were enthusiastic and honest), and then Dr. Hinkley gave us our closing pep-talk. They got us out of there by 2pm so we could try to beat the rush hour traffic. I was extremely impressed with the program and atmosphere at UM overall. "
"Overall, very positive experience. Don't be nervous. It was a very laidback atmosphere. Eat the donutholes before the med students get to them!"
"The whole day was absolutely amazing. From the moment I walked in, everyone was nice. I think the best thing is just to be yourself. They have SO MUCH information about you already that they can tell if you aren't being honest. My interview was a conversation instead of an interrogation. I felt like I was able to make a genuine connection with the interviewer, in turn allowing me a better chance to present myself. The students all seem very happy with many stopping by the office in between classes. Dr. Hinckley is very personable as is the rest of the admissions office. By far, I believe it was the best interview I've ever given. Before the interview day, the University of Miami was my first choice. It was reassuring to leave the campus with an even stronger conviction that they are my first choice."
"Great experience. I went there not knowing too much about the school, but came away with a great impression. It is definately one of my top choices."
"I had an overall positve experience at UM. I didn't know too much about the school when I applied, but after being there for one day I know I could be very happy there. The students were wonderfully welcoming, stopping in to the admissions office throughout the day to say hi and answer any questions I had. They were all very excited about the upcoming Health Fair on the Florida Keys. I felt their sense of enthusiasm about the school. Dr. Hinkley and the rest of the admissions staff was great. He was very nice, being open and honest with us about the process and urged us to contact him with any questions/concerns. My interviewer was very friendly as well. We had more of a conversation than an "interview" and he asked some specific questions about my application. Other questions were more general. The luncheon at the end of the day with the med students gave me the opporunity to ask ANY questions that I had, in a low stress environment. (Although the whole day was pretty low stress!) Throughout the day I had the chance to really get to know UM."
"The interview was GREAT and very relaxed. Just be yourself and you are fine. If you plan to stay longer than the interview bring lots of cash for taxis if you have no other means of transportation. Make sure to visit some of the beaches and shopping areas. "
"The interview process was a very pleasant and memorable opportunity and I felt part of the University."
"Miami is a great school with excellent clinical settings, incredible research opportunities, and lots of volunteer opportunities as well. The students are friendly and happy. There's a lot you can do there if you take the initiative. Jackson is huge! They match to some pretty competitive places (those that choose to leave UM - something like half stay there for residency). Before I interviewed there Miami was probably 3rd or 4th on my list. After the interview, it's tied for 1st."
"In sum, my experience at Miami was far better than at any of the places that I have thus far interviewed. The experience truly made me yearn to become a member of the University community-and not merely for the Miami weather!"
"I really enjoyed my interview at UM. My interviewer was great and we ended having more of a nice conversation rather than a formal interview. I felt that my interviewer was there to really get to know ME and was not there to try to put me on the spot or stump me with difficult questions. It was a completely relaxed day with a great lunch. Students were extremely friendly. Many just stopped by Dr. Hinkley's office to say hi and to wish the interviewees luck with their interviews. UM has a new curriculum which the students seem to like more than the old one. They also get a lot of clinical experience within the first year. I was told that if you made the initiative, you could be delivering a baby as a first year med student!!! I would be honored to be a student at UM."
"The whole day was well organized, with "guides" escorting us to interviews in different areas of the school. The interview itself was relaxed. The doctor who interviewed me was wearing scrubs, and treated it like a conversation. The tour was fairly comprehensive, and we had ample time to ask questions during it and lunch, when about 6 students joined us to eat. All the students were very positive and seemed happy and not faking it. The clinical training is excellent as well as the facilities. Fairly affordable housing (compared to LA) is available within 15-30 minutes, although a monthly parking fee is required. Of course, the surrounding area is beautiful! I left feeling incredibly enthusiastic about the school, much more so than before I arrived. "
"It was a great experience, you can tell Robert Hinkley puts a lot of effort into the presentation of the school."
"Miami has a lot to offer and the student seem really happy there and balanced. If you are ultra-competitive, Miami probably isn't the place for you. If you are interested in having great clinical training, the chance to work with under-served communities, and have motivation to pursue research in a laid-back environment, then I think Miami is worth taking a look at, even for out of state students."
"Great weather, outgoing faculty, plenty of clinical and research opportunities. For everyone not from Florida, go check out all the great sites (coconut grove, south beach)...Miami is absolutely beautiful. Definately stay with a student as well. The host I stayed with was great, he even cooked me dinner. From hearing the other interviewees talk, it sounded like they also had great hosts. The interview was very laid back. Just be yourself and know why you want to enter medicine. As for the curriculumn, Miami is currently undergoing changes in their curriculumn and should have everything solidified for next year's incoming class. The sophomores that we had the opportunity to talk to said that it should be pretty good. Their classes are in modules, so you learn one subject for a couple of weeks, take its exam, then you switch the subject, and so on. So basically, you are concentrating on one thing at a time and not bombarded by many different classes at once. They also have "societies" that you will be assigned to should you become a student there. It's a system where second years tutor first years, third years help second years ready themselves for boards, fourth years help third years with their clerkship, etc etc. You'll also have a lot of volunteer opportunities. There are centers there such as the Mailman center for children and activities such as their annual Health Fair where you head out to the keys and provide care to people who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford it eceive it. This is pretty cool in that you actually get to begin working with patients right when you enter medical school. To close: I enjoyed my visit at Miami, I learned a lot about the school that I didn't know before. Coming into the interview, Miami was probably my 3rd or 4th choice, now it's probably my top."
"Excellent from start to the finish. Very punctual, professional, relaxed (good two way information exchange), nice campus, smiling faces (and not made up but genuine), not stressful, good lunch, good info about research possibilities via Dr. Bookman."
"very relaxed and laid back, interviewers did not ask off the wall questions and seemed very interested in just getting to know you. The interview day is set up well and is very student-applicant oriented. "
"Overall, a great experience. If you can, stay with a student host. I did, and it was definitely a great decision. "
"very relaxed atmosphere. Everyone from the Dean to the students were very helpful. An enjoyable experience."
"Wonderful!"
"The interview day was great!!!!! Everyone was seemed happy to be there and friendly including the people working in the admissions office. Stress free interview- she spent most of the time selling the school, rather than me selling my self. I'd love to go to school here. Don't stress over this, just enjoy the day! "
"Right from the time I got to the Office of Admissions, the staff were incredibly helpful and friendly. The day was superbly organized. Interviewers came to the Office so I didn't have to find the interviewer's office. The student tour could have included more things to see but the enthusiasm of the students I met at lunch was a real plus!"
"had an amazing time in the sun, students were so friendly and happy, the volunteer opportunities are numerous...going to haiti, the keys, going abroad, etc. "
"The actual interview was great. She really wanted to get to know ME! instead of asking me actual medical questions, that i probably wouldn't understand since i am not a doctor, she asked me the questions in terms of what i know! The lunch was great too! Eggrolls...yum!"
"It was a great interview day. The lunch was good and the students were friendly. The interview was extremely relaxed. "
"Compared to other interview experiences, this has been one of the more enjoyable trips. The interview was very laid back and the people conducting the interview conveyed an interest in what I was saying. "
"UM has some pros and cons. It's not a bad school and I feel that it is well on its way to national recognition. Its location provides excellent teaching opportunities and it tends to draw very capable students who may have gone to elite institutions for undergrad, but because of their Florida residency, have decided to stay in state for medical school. Still, it's a work in progress and its age works against it in ranking and competing with other medical schools. I found in later encounters, that many of the students are not happy there. This is probably due in large part to some changes in the curriculum and in general, that are still taking place. Just do your research, but it's not a bad school to consider for medical training. "
"Apalling. I think the medical campus will change a lot with newly instated president Dr. Shalala. She views the medical school as an important project. I truly hope she cleans the house. These people have been here for years and have not had any positive impact on the school. It is because of them that the school has declined to its current state. "
"Low-stress. Typical questions. Hard/interesting questions were part of conversation."
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Student | 226 |
| Faculty member | 16 |
| Admissions staff | 14 |
| Other | 0 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Enthusiastic | 134 |
| Neutral | 13 |
| Discouraging | 0 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.41 | 152 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| In state | 99 |
| Out of state | 44 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 0-1 hour | 46 |
| 2-3 hours | 28 |
| 4-6 hours | 45 |
| 7+ hours | 27 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Airplane | 55 |
| Automobile | 77 |
| Train or subway | 15 |
| Other | 2 |
Miami
Ft. Lauderdale Int'l
Ft. Lauderdale
Miami International Airport
Miami International
Miami Int'l
Fort Lauderdale
fll
MIA
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At school facility | 0 |
| With students at the school | 16 |
| Friends or family | 38 |
| Hotel | 51 |
| Home | 4 |
| Other | 3 |
Yes
Yes
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| < $100 | 42 |
| $101-$200 | 20 |
| $201-$300 | 20 |
| $301-$400 | 13 |
| $401-$500 | 5 |
| $501+ | 14 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.66 | 151 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.67 | 152 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 9.31 | 153 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.15 | 59 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 9.00 | 59 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.20 | 54 |
"Be a bit more organized I would say... Internal ranking is a big negative, so I would consider making the school pass and fail"
"The point of contact you reached when you called the admissions office was an extraordinarily rude woman I have heard several others complain about, and I suggest she be replaced."
"Maybe leave a little more time for the tour on upcoming interviews because there were a couple things we didn't get to see."
"Change of "holding" room. Chairs were a bit too close together...it made it difficult to speak to one another. Felt pretty crammed."
"The admissions office did a fantastic job. They were warm, kind, funny, and they made the entire interview day relaxing. The CD was nice and I was grateful that I could review their presentation at home."
"Secondary application format could be improved. Application completion time was rather slow, and the office took a long time to inform me that I needed a new application photo."
"Making the secondary easier to edit- it was pretty low-tech"
"The admissions office was very helpful and prompt."
"Nothing, they have been great so far."
"Just a tad more friendliness, please."
"None!"
"none. everyone was very nice and welcoming."
"Quite possibly the nicest admissions office you will find...truly a pleasure."
"Sent a "complete" status email. That way they avoid tons of calls from us."
"Keep doing a great job."
We help students become doctors. TM
What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 1)?