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Interview Feedback

All Questions & Responses

  • University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine
  • Allopathic Medical School
  • Calgary, AB
Individual Feedback 1 20 Responses
Overall Experience

How did the interview impress you?

Response # Responders
Positively 12
Negatively 3
No change 5

What was the stress level of the interview?

Response Avg # Responders
4.79 19

0 = low, 10 = high

How you think you did?

Response Avg # Responders
6.55 11

0 = low, 10 = high

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

Response Avg # Responders
7.00 11

0 = low, 10 = high

Was this interview in-person or virtual?

No responses

Questions

How long was the interview?

Response # Responders
5 minutes 0
10 minutes 0
15 minutes 0
20 minutes 0
25 minutes 0
30 minutes 0
35 minutes 1
40 minutes 0
45 minutes 1
50 minutes 4
55 minutes 0
60+ minutes 14

Where did the interview take place?

Response # Responders
At the school 20
At a regional location 0
At another location 0

What was the style of the interview?

Response # Responders
One-on-one 12
In a group 8

What type of interview was it?

Response # Responders
Open file 12
Closed file 7

How many people interviewed you?

Response Average # Responders
3.10 20

What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 1)?

"Alternative vs. Traditional Health Care approaches. Why is there tension?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about yourself." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Can't give specifics but it doesn't matter because next year they will be totally different! Just wait until you finish this interview, when you see the scenarios you will understand that the possibilities are infinite and they won't be repeated. Oh, and you will also see that your prep didn't help you at all!" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"scenarios..." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Just lots of scenarios, so just be sure to learn your ethics and look at things from every angle" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Your buddy is failling a course and needs your help, how do you address his problem" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why Calgary?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why not nurse?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you had a million dollars to spend in the health care sector where would you spend it?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"questions about my research experience (I have an MSc), research related ethics questions, how would you fix the health care system, if you had 3 wishes what would they be" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What unique experiences do you bring to medicine?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Essay question: If you could invite any artist (photographer or painter), dead or alive to do your portrait, who would you choose, and why?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What do you like and dislike about the U of C program? Tell me about a bad decision you made and what you learnt from it?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How do you feel about the latest develpoments in health care with all the reports having been released?? (i.e. romanow, kirby, mazankowski)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What specialty do you want to go into" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 2)?

"How can your emotions about your family members affect your practice of medicine? " More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me about your research." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"more scenarios..." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"One doctor prescribes one drug, while another prescribes another. Who is correct, how does a patient know whats right or wrong " More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Describe a situation in which you had to solve a problem in a creative way." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell a joke? " More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell us about a time when you completely changed your point of view on a long held opinion." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"what type of MD do you want to be and why, ethics dilemma related to holistic medicine, personal qualities questions like 'name a time when you dropped the ball and why'" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell us about a time when you were wrong and had to admit it." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Should doctors make as much money as corporate CEOs?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What other careers i have considered. What I would do if patients don't agree with my advice." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What do you know about our program at U of C and what do you like about it??" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"why did you take the elective courses you took" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 3)?

"Ethics surrounding an influenza vaccine" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Strengths and weaknesses of program" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"NOT anything like STR/WEAK, why meds, why calgary, etc" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Aboriginal health care" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Where do you see yourself in 5 years?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Why U of C?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Do you have a mentor? Who is it and why?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"are you prepared for the accelerated UofC program, what do you know about it, why would it work for you" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What changes do you think should be made to the healthcare system?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What does medicine mean to me?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Asked a lot of questions about my research experience and how I would manage that with a medical practice. Time management and priorities was what they were getting at..." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Cite a time when you changed a strongly held belief and why did you change your views" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most interesting question?

"Asked to describe what I saw in a picture! Wasn't expecting that!" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Naturopathic medicine q?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"It was all the most random scenarios I have ever seen. Honestly, there is NOTHING you can do to prepare for this interview. One personal question was asked but it wasn't any of the one's you would have prepared for or expected." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"The multiple-mini interview format had a lot of interesting scenarios." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"they were all scenario based, very different than most schools" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"lots of scenarios about patient confidentiality and autonomy" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"who looks up to you the most and why/ vs who looks up to you the least and why" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How do you feel about alternative medicine?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What I would change about my current job skills in order to be a MD" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell us about a time when you were broke and had no money." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is your biggest regret in life?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you had a 3 yr old patient who asked you 'why is the sky blue', what would you say?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How would your friends describe your sense of humor?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Would you want to be a doctor if the pay was $30,000 per year?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"It was a very interesting discussion." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What 3 people (dead or alive) I would invite over for dinner and what would i serve." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Because I have a MSc I was asked some ethical questions about working for big pharmaceutical companies. How I felt about their motives, etc. " More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Doctors make more money and work fewer hours in the United States - would you ever consider practicing there?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me a joke" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most difficult question?

"What role can doctors play in preventing bullying in schools? Should medical students give medical advice?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is a decision I made that may have been wrong?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Confidentiality agreement, sorry! But they were all so different and not healthcare related even!" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"The essay topics were vague and a bit more stressful than I had thought they would be." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"again, all scenario based (MMI) and couldn't really prepare for specifics." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"doctor-assisted suicide in an ALS patient" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"doctor assisted suicide. Know the difference between turning off a respirator vs injecting someone with KCl" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If you saw someone cheating in first-year chem lab, what would you do?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Most important healthcare issue facing us today? Hard because so many choices to choose from" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Nothing to difficult - I guess just the regular ethical questions..." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"What is the most difficult decision you've ever had to make? I was surprised that I didn't get a single ethical scenario question." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Four questions in a row that called for pretty much the same answer (what qualities make you a good roommate, what would you write in a reference letter about yourself, how would your friends describe you, how would your supervisor describe you). I think they were looking for consistancy." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How do you feel about alternative medicine?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"An ethical question--a crazy one that I'd never heard before that I was asked to give my response to in 20 seconds." More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"Tell me how you know when someone is being passive agressive (follow-up question to a previous discussion of my essay)" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"My opinion of the Utah C-section case in the news" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"How would I rank not only in importance but in terms of time management family/friends, my profession as an MD and my profession as a researcher. i.e. what would come first?? And how would I deal with the demands of researchers wanting me to be productive in the research field when I have a medical practice that is already very time consuming?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"If your father died how would that affect you?" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

"tell me about some current expansions in health. where is the money going... describe in detail" More from this Member | Report Response | I was asked this question too

How did you prepare for the interview?

"went to mock MMIs, read websites, newspaper articles, took a bioethics course" More from this Member | Report Response

"Student sites, read over my essay, ABS, looked up ethics, RELAXED" More from this Member | Report Response

"Read the news, used this website, read my application and info on the school, prepared answers for common questions (huge waste of time!) I did everything I could think of to prepare and none of it helped me in the slightest! MMI's are very odd." More from this Member | Report Response

"Read a few articles about MMIs, quizzed by friends." More from this Member | Report Response

"read some ethics literature, discussed possible questions and answers with physicians, family and friends, self-reflection and re-read essay/resume" More from this Member | Report Response

"going to 4 other med school interviews, learning a bit about bioethics" More from this Member | Report Response

"Read the website coalition for health care in canada" More from this Member | Report Response

"read romanow, read over my file" More from this Member | Report Response

"I really didn't. And they never asked any current events or health care policy questions anyways." More from this Member | Report Response

"Read the news, thought about the usual questions, tried to relax." More from this Member | Report Response

"Read this site, thought about my responses to possible questions, glanced over the Romanow report, but basically just tried to relax and believe that if it's meant to be, it would go all right." More from this Member | Report Response

"Read lists of possible interview questions, did practice interviews, read Romanow report, looked at CMA ethics guidelines, read a book on bioethics theory, checked out how residents are matched, interviewed MD's in the field I want to go into" More from this Member | Report Response

"Read website, read my application over, talked to others who had interviewed." More from this Member | Report Response

"Met with a few interview counselors; re-read my essay and sketch; kept up with current events; knew a lot about the school." More from this Member | Report Response

"Read newspapers, watched the news, Ian Wong's site, SDN, mock interviews" More from this Member | Report Response

"Read about health care issues, researched U of C's program, and all the other usual stuff" More from this Member | Report Response

"I read the Kirby, Romanow, and Mazankowski summaries, talked to MANY residents, med students, physicians, found out a lot about the U of C program, and just tried to be as informed as possible on a wide variety of issues." More from this Member | Report Response

"Talked to professors and other students, read the local papers and read the Romanow, Mazankowski and Kirby reports - summaries not the whole documents." More from this Member | Report Response

"read paper, read biographical sketch, ethics senarious" More from this Member | Report Response

What impressed you positively?

"The students were very friendly!" More from this Member | Report Response

"The facilities" More from this Member | Report Response

"The students seemed really happy. They were also very enthusiastic. The interview experience was great. I loved the MMI format - I felt it was a lot of fun and more ''objective'' than the traditional interview format." More from this Member | Report Response

"The med students lounge is awsome! Air hockey, pool, the whole bit..." More from this Member | Report Response

"Everyone in the med school class was extremely friendly." More from this Member | Report Response

"the facilities are incredible...one of the benefits of having the premier of the richest province in the country live in your city. the students really loved the school as well" More from this Member | Report Response

"the facility and the enthusiasm of the students - they know how to sell their school" More from this Member | Report Response

"the type of interview" More from this Member | Report Response

"The enthusiasm of the students" More from this Member | Report Response

"Relaxed atmosphere amongst interviewees" More from this Member | Report Response

"The amazing program at the UofC, the technology, the students, the organization of the program. " More from this Member | Report Response

"The admissions staff are fantastic. I had to reschedule my interview because I got sick and they were very accomodating. The students all seemed very cool too. It is a really relaxed med school with a team environment." More from this Member | Report Response

"Very friendly interviewers, very low stress overall. They worked hard to make it easy for us." More from this Member | Report Response

"Active, diverse student body." More from this Member | Report Response

"The students and faculty were incredibly welcoming." More from this Member | Report Response

"The students and faculty were soooo nice!! They can *really* sell their school!! The first year students seemed so well qualified... it seemed like everyone there was *at least* on their third degree - very interesting chatting with everyone." More from this Member | Report Response

"They were very familiar with my file." More from this Member | Report Response

"The friendly, non-competitive atmosphere. The faculty. My interviewers were both very friendly." More from this Member | Report Response

"The cooperative attitude and the way the students and faculty seemed to accept and respect you just for getting an interview" More from this Member | Report Response

"the non-competitive attitude and friendly environment" More from this Member | Report Response

What impressed you negatively?

"Nothing by itself....it was just very different from what I'm used to." More from this Member | Report Response

"I didn't like the on-site essays" More from this Member | Report Response

"The curriculum setup: 3 jam packed years with two 2 week holidays a year. The presenter at info session: a med student who spoke quite unprofessionally. The fact that you are not really informed about exactly how the MMI works and what is going to happen AND THE ESSAYS- worst experience of my entire life, so stressful! I couldn't even hear the guy giving instructions at the front of the room and all of a sudden about 100 people start typing as fast as possible and i didn't even understand one of the questions, I almost was in tears by the end." More from this Member | Report Response

"the MMI format was wierd, i hadn't seen or heard enough about it beforehand to really be comfortable with it. also, close-file interviews didn't with specific stock scenarios made it difficult to incorporate all of my experiences into the interview" More from this Member | Report Response

"the essay, and also how early my day started" More from this Member | Report Response

"the essay (like i havn't written enough..2 mcat, 2 application itself. etc." More from this Member | Report Response

"The attitude of the student interviewer" More from this Member | Report Response

"My interviewers didn't ask any followup questions and they were late. The student interviewer seemed extremely tired although this was a first interview. I wish they would have asked more probing questions instead of generic ones." More from this Member | Report Response

"not really anything that I can think of." More from this Member | Report Response

"The facility was all under construction, and thank goodness, cause some of it is old and ugly." More from this Member | Report Response

"Gathering with all the other interviewees on the day of the interview - I didn't need to hear how wonderful all their other interviews at other schools had been!" More from this Member | Report Response

"The whole place was under construction, and they had a current faculty talk with us who said some negative things about the program." More from this Member | Report Response

"The faculty member interviewer was initially quite challenging, but softened up near the conclusion of the interview." More from this Member | Report Response

"Nothing! (there is construction going on, but it wasn't disruptive)" More from this Member | Report Response

"All the construction going on in the Health Sciences Building." More from this Member | Report Response

"NOTHING" More from this Member | Report Response

"the interview was a bit dissappointing" More from this Member | Report Response

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

"I researched the school prior to coming, but knowing that there would be no faculty member at the interview would have been helpful..." More from this Member | Report Response

"That I wouldn't leave feeling like calgary is an amazing school - I interviewed last year at UWO and when i left I wanted nothing more than go to that school. I wasn't sold on UofC at all!" More from this Member | Report Response

"how different the MMI was than a regular interview...would have prepped totally differently...some of the most random scenarios" More from this Member | Report Response

"who unstressfull the interivew was going to be" More from this Member | Report Response

"I wish I wore my suit there, because I ended up changing uncomfortably in the bathroom (albeit it was a nice newly renovated bathroom)" More from this Member | Report Response

"How casual the interview was." More from this Member | Report Response

"That I could have my interview and come back for the orientation and tour another day rather than having to cart all my good clothes there and change in the bathroom and spend all day sitting in the room with other stressed out applicants. " More from this Member | Report Response

"I was really surprised at the differences between the interviewees at Canadian med schools vs. American. They were a lot less stuffy and formal, and more talkative. They were also a lot less polished." More from this Member | Report Response

"How I should just relax and calm down (I was very nervous)" More from this Member | Report Response

"Nothing" More from this Member | Report Response

"Nothing. I just wish I hadn't gotten myself so worked up about the interview. It was a very positive experience." More from this Member | Report Response

"The process of residency matching in Canad" More from this Member | Report Response

"more about uofc's program" More from this Member | Report Response

What are your general comments?

"The MMIs happened very quick! I was nervous, but relaxed a bit as they went on. I was pleasantly surprised that the interviewers were friendly and gave good feedback such as nodding, smiling and commenting. I wasn't expecting that!" More from this Member | Report Response

"Good, but different..." More from this Member | Report Response

"I had a good time. I loved the interview. I found that I liked the school a lot more than I expected. After the first couple of MMI stations, I started to enjoy myself rather than being stressed out." More from this Member | Report Response

"My feelings on this interview are mixed. The MMI format does not allow the interviewers to get to know you at all. Someone with no social skills would have soared through this interview! Unless they have discovered some secret way to truly analyze what should be analyzed in a med interview then I would say that it doesn't give them any indication of how you will behave as a physician. All you need to do is read the scenario and talk about every aspect you can think of - all common sense. I'm almost sure that every single person would have given the same response to these questions. The only difference would be word choice and the sequence they come out in. " More from this Member | Report Response

"Overall, very positive; but it is difficult to assess your performance in an MMI." More from this Member | Report Response

"it was good...not really sure how I did. it went by quite quickly, as the MMI was very much like a bell ringer. i felt a lot more stressful than I felt I should have. the essays were really weird (2x25min essays post-mmi)...good experience, have no idea how it went though...very difficult to tell" More from this Member | Report Response

"I had a lot of fun with the MMI format. I was also impressed with the way they organized your entire day and just took care of you." More from this Member | Report Response

"Very Good" More from this Member | Report Response

"I felt like the interviewer kept trying to put words into my mouth. It was one thing to ask follow-up questions to clear up a point, but it's another to totally go off on a tangent about something I did not suggest in the slightest." More from this Member | Report Response

"I really have no idea how I did. I actually think I may have been "too friendly" and not serious enough. Although they are supposed to be laid back interviews I feel a little grilling of people's reponses is a good thing and I had none of that." More from this Member | Report Response

"The were very relaxed and easy going, I just wish I had more interview experience so that I wasn't so stressed." More from this Member | Report Response

"My interview experience was awesome. I just felt like I was having a conversation with two friends. It was so low stress I couldn't believe it, but I guess I had a sort of low stress attitude going into it as well. They asked funny questions like "What is your favourite comedy and why?" I was surprised that for an open file interview, the interviewers didn't seem to know much about me. Maybe they chose to be that way to stay unbiased. My interview was over really fast, 35 minutes instead of 60, and in the end I got in so I guess in my case it was a good sign. Overall I had a really positive experience in Calgary." More from this Member | Report Response

"I did a lot of research prior to the interview, which really helped. Especially knowing how residents are matched, having good understanding of what being a MD is really like in the real world, and understanding Canada's health care system. Overall a pretty good experience." More from this Member | Report Response

"I had a young MD and a 3rd year interview me at the same time. They had my extracurriculars and my essay (admissions, not the onsite essay). All in all, it was not very stressed and very conversational. I had no ethical questions. By the way, I got in :)" More from this Member | Report Response

"Overall, not bad. This interview was the most stressful that I've had thus far (and I've had a few). The faculty member really tried to put the pressure on with some tough questions (to the point where the medical student looked a little shocked at his questions). " More from this Member | Report Response

"This was very relaxed and conversational in nature. Very few "standard questions" - Lots from my sketch and essay. Here is a list of topics/questions that came up: -how would I feel if my patient was HIV + and didnt tell me -recent dialysis error at foothills and mistakes I've made in my work and how I dealt with them -euthanasia/end of life decisions -good and bad aspects of their program (what I know) -describe my research in layman's terms -my strengths and weaknesses -where see myself in 10 years -if I was health minister, what problems would I tackle" More from this Member | Report Response

"The interviewers were very friendly and I got the feeling that they had a genuine interest in getting to know me. The majority of their questions were based on my autobiography." More from this Member | Report Response

"Overall it was a great experience the students and faculty were amazing and the interviewers were fair and tried to reduce stress as much as possible." More from this Member | Report Response

"okay, but it really depends on the interviewers" More from this Member | Report Response

Tour and Travel

Who was the tour given by?

Response # Responders
Student 17
Faculty member 0
Admissions staff 0
Other 1

How did the tourguide seem?

Response # Responders
Enthusiastic 9
Neutral 1
Discouraging 0

How do you rank the facilities?

Response Avg # Responders
8.00 11

0 = low, 10 = high

What is your in-state status?

Response # Responders
In state 7
Out of state 4

What was your total time spent traveling?

Response # Responders
0-1 hour 3
2-3 hours 4
4-6 hours 2
7+ hours 2

What was your primary mode of travel?

Response # Responders
Airplane 3
Automobile 8
Train or subway 0
Other 0

What airport did you use?

YYC

Where did you stay?

Response # Responders
At school facility 0
With students at the school 0
Friends or family 4
Hotel 3
Home 0
Other 0

What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?

Would you recommend the hotel?

About how much did you spend on room, food, and travel?

Response # Responders
< $100 1
$101-$200 0
$201-$300 3
$301-$400 1
$401-$500 0
$501+ 1

Comments on where you stayed

No responses

General Info

How do you rank this school among other schools to which you've applied?

Response Avg # Responders
7.18 11

0 = low, 10 = high

What is your ranking of this school's location?

Response Avg # Responders
7.09 11

0 = low, 10 = high

What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?

Response Avg # Responders
6.55 11

0 = low, 10 = high

How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?

No responses

0 = low, 10 = high

How is the friendliness of the admissions office?

No responses

0 = low, 10 = high

How eco-friendly are the school's application materials and interview process?

Response Avg # Responders
10.00 1

0 = low, 10 = high

What are your suggestions for the admissions office?

No responses

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