How many people interviewed you?
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 3.19 | 16 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Positively | 16 |
| Negatively | 0 |
| No change | 0 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 2.19 | 16 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.31 | 16 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 6.94 | 16 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| In Person | 1 |
| Virtual | 1 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 0 |
| 10 minutes | 0 |
| 15 minutes | 0 |
| 20 minutes | 0 |
| 25 minutes | 1 |
| 30 minutes | 6 |
| 35 minutes | 0 |
| 40 minutes | 1 |
| 45 minutes | 0 |
| 50 minutes | 0 |
| 55 minutes | 0 |
| 60+ minutes | 8 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At the school | 15 |
| At a regional location | 0 |
| At another location | 1 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| One-on-one | 16 |
| In a group | 0 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Open file | 15 |
| Closed file | 1 |
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 3.19 | 16 |
"What made you go into medicine?"
"What is your learning style?"
"I see where you struggled in biochemistry (made a B), what about this course was difficult and what did you learn?"
"Tell me about yourself."
"Have you ever observed OMM?"
"What do you think you will bring to this program?"
"Why DO school? Why VCOM?"
"Why DO"
"Why do you want to be a DO?"
"How do I feel about research opportunities?"
"What do you for fun?"
"All interviewers asked why DO?"
"Honestly, they each opened with a question from my file. Then I literally just explained my file, gave ample context all the while answering questions to the typical Why DO? Why VCOM? Why medicine? Why primary care? without them having to ask me. Answers to all those questions were included in my story."
"Many of the interviewers focused on the experiences I listed in my application: things like mission trips, past employment, and DO observation experience. It was very conversational. They asked me to tell them more about these experiences and what I learned, etc."
"Why medicine, why osteopathic medicine, and why VCOM?"
"Tell me something about you that is not listed in your application."
"Aside from the geographical location, why VCOM?"
"What experience do you have with OMM?"
"What was your favorite/least favorite academic class in undergrad?"
"Who would you put on the cover of Time magazine?"
"If a parent refused a blood transfusion for their child due to religious purposes, but the child would die without it, what would you do?"
"What is your support system been like on your journey to medical school?"
"Why this school"
"How did you hear about VCOM?"
"Am I interested in international missions?"
"Why did you pick your undergraduate major?"
"Why do you want to be at VCOM?"
"What do you think that society expects of physicians?"
"What is one of your strengths?"
"Why DO? Why did you apply to VCOM?"
"Tell me about your experience with research."
"Explain the research you did during your undergrad career."
"Tell me about your clinical experiences."
"What will you bring to this school if accepted"
"Which specialties are you interested in?"
"Why osteopathic medicine?"
"Do you have any questions for me?"
"How do you see yourself fitting into the mission of this school?"
"What are your hobbies?"
"What was the most memorable thing that has happened in the past couple of months?"
"What do you think a doctor should NOT do as a community leader?"
"If a parent refused a blood transfusion for their child due to religious purposes, but the child would die without it, what would you do?"
"N/A"
"What characteristic will you bring to VCOM to enhance the culture and education here?"
"What do you do for fun?"
"Why are you here?"
"What is your dream? Outside of specialty, location etc."
"Why do you want to be a physician (and not a nurse, PA, etc.)?"
"I saw where you talked about _____ program with our school on your secondary application. I am not familiar with it, can you explain what it did? Are you sure it's with our school (I later reviewed my secondary and it was a program the school did and I recalled it correctly)"
"If you, as a pre-med, were shadowing a resident and saw them being unethical in some way, how would you handle it?"
"Tell me about yourself."
"Describe something you are most proud of."
"Will you come here if we give you a seat?"
"Questions about specific grades and why not As"
"Explaining grade trends"
"Why not nurse practitioner? (I am a nurse)"
"none"
"What does society expect of physicians?"
"Where else have you applied?"
"Read over primary and secondary, prepared for common questions, looked on website for more information about program"
"SDN, prepped common questions, read over primary/secondary"
"I reviewed sample interview questions, typed up generalized responses, and reviewed past questions that were asked."
"Basic practice questions, mock interviews, review my resume/primary application"
"Practice questions."
"Researched the school, practiced general questions, looked through SDN"
"going on SDN"
"SDN Interview Feedback, Mock Interview with med school adviser, typed up general answers to questions and collected all my anecdotes in one place so I could have them ready for situational questions."
"Review my application, Sleep, research on school"
"Reviewing my primary and secondary application, thoroughly going over the school website, and SDN interview page"
"Reviewing my portfolio (especially personal statement) and preparing for common questions (why DO, why VCOM)."
"Reviewed my file and made sure to fit their mission statement to my story and my goals."
"Reading interview questions and reviewing why I am pursuing medicine and what the mission statement is of the school"
"Read their website."
"You can immediately sense how close knit the community is. Everyone is super supportive of each other, and there is virtually no competition between students. The interviewers genuinely want to get to know you as a person, not how you perform as a student. I would say for 75% of my interview time, I was talking about my hobbies and what I do outside of medicine. The interviewers are easy to talk to, and they are very personable. They share their own experiences with you from the time they were medical students to where they are now. I genuinely loved talking to them!"
"How welcoming and friendly everyone was"
"My first interviewer wanted to know me more as a person"
"How welcoming and cohesive the staff, faculty, and students seemed!"
"It was a very low stress day."
"The close relationship between the students and between students and faculty"
"Campus was nice"
"The people there are amazing. Very warm and supportive atmosphere. Everyone was very happy to answer questions and present VCOM well."
"The people, the location and the facilities. The faculty were extremely welcoming and helpful, students were happy and seemed satisfied with their decision. The whole area is beautiful, especially the facilities. It is close to the local hospitals and clinics. It was a small campus and everyone seemed to know everyone"
"staff was very friendly, the school itself was great"
"Everyone was very warm and welcoming, very low stress throughout each 30 minute interview."
"So receptive of my input, and they each gave great feedback immediately after the interview."
"The facilities are modern and attractive. They have affiliated hospitals that third- and fourth-year students "match" with and spend their entire third year and most of the fourth year rotating in that hospital, rather than having to find clinical rotation sites like some other schools. The staff and students all commented on the "family" atmosphere of everyone there, and they genuinely hope and work for every student to succeed, unlike some schools that take too many incoming students and expect that many will not make it. Lectures are recorded and shared between campuses, so all lectures at all campus sites are available to every student online. Students seem happy to be there."
"The environment was very welcoming and friendly. Awesome SIM lab as well."
"No pass/fail grading and multiple exams every week (totaling to 160 exams by the end of the first year). However, they have very good support services such as peer support, student success center, and academic advising to help you."
"Most of my questions were critically analyzing my application and not about me or what I contributed as a person. I felt that I had to defend my answers and experiences section moreso than them asking me new questions or asking why I wanted to go to this school. I also got minimal feedback on my answers and my interviewers didn't show much emotion."
"I wish the tour could have been in person, but I completely understand why it wasn't."
"Grades are not pass/fail"
"It seems that many students don't place much emphasis on research, despite the fact that there are many opportunities for research there (that was the feeling I got from talking to the students)."
"It was a small campus and everyone seemed to know everyone"
"Nothing negative to report."
"It is 6 years old at this point, and I wish it had a few more years under its belt. However, they do have students in residency already, and they are connected with the Virginia campus that is a bit older."
"They don't do pass/fail grading."
"Relax! The interviewers aren't going to grill you. They just want to learn who you are as a human being and what you like to do in your free time."
"Relax, they truly want to get to know you as a person"
"To review my secondary application responses and be familiar with my previous answers."
"Relax! Treat it like a conversation!"
"It isn’t as bad as you’re probably expecting."
"You only have 2 weeks to respond after receiving an acceptance"
"I shouldn't have talked so much about OMMS. I was trying to express my open-mindedness considering the subject, but I may have simply come across as ignorant in that area. You can navigate the entire interview without bringing it up, and I was dumb. So don't (unless you know a lot about it and are excited about it)."
"There are 3 one on one interviews"
"-"
"They respond quickly with admissions decisions (2 days after the interview in my case). If you are accepted, you are given one month to decide whether to accept or decline admission (and to pay the deposit if you accept). The entire campus is one building, which may seem inadequate for many, but the facility looks great and I like that everyone on the property is affiliated with the school. Easy parking and lots of study space."
"They do a good job of welcoming you and showing what their school has to offer. I had two open file one-on-one interviews that each lasted 40 minutes. However, by the end of the interview, it felt like not as much time had passed. I had genuine conversation with my interviewers. We shared laughs and stories about our own lives. It felt like talking to a friend!"
"Overall it was a nice process, with a good tour and a great student discussion section but the interview itself was long and taxing. Three, independent, open file interviews that each last 30 mins was an exhausting process."
"I really liked how warm and welcoming everyone was. They really try their best to make you feel comfortable!"
"It was a good interview day overall."
"Very laid back and conversational, don't stress about it!"
"Very supportive school with a multitude of opportunities. However, board prep seems to be a bit more self-directed than at other school where I have interviewed. However, there IS dedicated time for studying for COMLEX and the USMLE."
"Excellent experience!"
"This school is very professional. I learned lots about the school and curriculum despite having done ample research before hand. The disaster training program is fascinating. Ask as many questions as you can, they all have a wealth of knowledge."
"I like the school and the apparent determination of the staff to help students succeed. I like their facilities. The town seems nice. I appreciate that they have a "hospital match" rotation system for third and fourth years. It is still a fairly new school, but its connection with the Virginia campus gives it some credit."
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Student | 8 |
| Faculty member | 0 |
| Admissions staff | 8 |
| Other | 0 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Enthusiastic | 13 |
| Neutral | 3 |
| Discouraging | 0 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.13 | 16 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| In state | 4 |
| Out of state | 12 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 0-1 hour | 5 |
| 2-3 hours | 2 |
| 4-6 hours | 3 |
| 7+ hours | 5 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Airplane | 3 |
| Automobile | 12 |
| Train or subway | 0 |
| Other | 0 |
GSP
GSP - Greenville/Greer/Spartanburg
SGP
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At school facility | 0 |
| With students at the school | 0 |
| Friends or family | 0 |
| Hotel | 10 |
| Home | 4 |
| Other | 0 |
Howard Johnson Inn
No
Quality inn and suites...Cheap and very close to campus. Highly recommend.
Yes
Holiday Inn
Spartanburg Marriott
AC Hotel by Mariott
Best Western Plus
AC Hotel
Days Inn
Howard Johnson Inn
No
Quality inn and suites...Cheap and very close to campus. Highly recommend.
Yes
Holiday Inn
Spartanburg Marriott
AC Hotel by Mariott
Best Western Plus
AC Hotel
Days Inn
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| < $100 | 4 |
| $101-$200 | 5 |
| $201-$300 | 0 |
| $301-$400 | 1 |
| $401-$500 | 0 |
| $501+ | 2 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.25 | 16 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.13 | 16 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 6.81 | 16 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.75 | 16 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 9.44 | 16 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 6.31 | 16 |
"I was very impressed by the professionalism of the admissions office. I don't have any suggestions. It was great!"
"Way too many emails are sent from school in regard to non-admissions related information."
"N/A"
"Give more dates to choose from for the interview, or give more time between invite and the interview, like at least 2-3 weeks advanced"
"None"
"Give more dates further out. I was given only 2 weeks of interview dates and had to chose one that was within a week of the invite. Plane tickets and hotels are very expensive within a week of travel."
"Can't think of a single improvement to be made. I was extremely impressed by the overall presentation of this institution. Very professional."
"No suggestions. I appreciate the warmness of the staff."
We help students become doctors. TM
What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 1)?