How did the interview impress you?

Positively

What was the stress level of the interview?

3 out of 10

How long was the interview?

50 minutes

Where did the interview take place?

At the school

How many people interviewed you?

1

What was the style of the interview?

One-on-one

What type of interview was it?

Open file

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

"Why do you want to be a doctor? Why Loyola? What specialty? What other careers have you considered? (The standard med school interview fare.)" Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

"What would you do if medicine was not an option anymore?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

"What do you think is an important ethical issue in medicine today? (end-of-life care, physician-assisted suicide, stem cells, etc.) It helped that this was a little more open so I didn't have to talk about something that I didn't really feel knowledgeable about." Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most interesting question?

"What do you do in your free time?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most difficult question?

"A couple with a sick child cannot find a bone marrow donor. They plan to have a child for the purpose of harvesting the marrow, aborting any fetus that is not a match. What do you do? (Not so much interested in what my feelings were on the issue, but more about how I would counsel the parents and accomodate their desires and goals.)" Report Response | I was asked this question too

How did you prepare for the interview?

"I read some interview feedback on SDN and went over a lot of resources on medical ethics. There's one interview feedback entry for this school that had a link that was very helpful." Report Response

What impressed you positively?

"The facilities are very nice. Coming from a public university dealing with budget woes, everything seemed like a palace to me. Every person I met was friendly, and the students in the anatomy lab dropped everything to stop to the few of us interviewing that day. Students were not burnt out at all." Report Response

What impressed you negatively?

"As others have noted, the living situation is not ideal. Apparently, most of the students live in Oak Park, so you may want to check out a map to see what you're dealing with exactly. A car is pretty much necessary, and the students claim it's a 20 minute commute each way. If you want to get up at dawn and drive from Chicago, you could do that too." Report Response

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

" I was a little early for my interviews, so I had some time to thumb through the viewbook a few times, and it really let me prepare some better questions. About 15 minutes into my second interview, my interviewer asked, "Do you have any questions for me right now?" and I was able to ask him questions for the remainder of the time. If I didn't have anything specific prepared, it would have been bad. Also, give yourself time to walk from interview to interview. I got lost once and was running around with stress rising with every step." Report Response

What are your general comments?

" I arrived at 9:00 AM for my interview, which I found out didn't actually begin until 10:00 AM. I had to fill out some paperwork (update your grades, courses for the spring, and a volunteer activity form,) and then I had time to watch a video about their summer medical mission trips. At 9:45 I left for my first interview with a surgeon, and I got lost. I got off the elevator and a fiberglass Ronald McDonald was staring me down (I was on the pediatric floor.) Luckily, a janitor pointed me in the right direction, and I arrived at 9:59:48. She was waiting for me, and didn't mind that I was just on time. The first interview went well, and she seemed to focus more on ethical questions and my experiences rather than giving me information on the school. After that, I went on a tour of the medical school with a second year student, and then to lunch. The lecture halls are fully wired and decked out with the latest in technology (even the shades are controlled from the podium.) My second interview was at 1:00 PM, and I got there on time. We talked for about 20 minutes, and then he offered me a tour of the neonatology ICU. (I think he had to check on something actually, but it was still interesting.) After that, I went back to the admissions office and waited to make sure I didn't have to go to a "tie-breaker" third interview, and I was off home. The staff was very polite and helpful. I felt very welcome there. It was finals week, so I was braced for a school full of strung-out zombies, but that really wasn't the case. I don't know if I got in yet, but this is my first choice." Report Response

Who was the tour given by?

Student

On what date did the interview take place?

12/15/2003