How did the interview impress you?

Positively

What was the stress level of the interview?

2 out of 10

How you think you did?

7 out of 10

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

7 out of 10

How long was the interview?

45 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)?

"So why do you want to be a doctor?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

"What fiction books have you read recently? What do you do to keep physically fit? What do you think of stem cell research? How about euthanasia?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

"Is there an alcohol problem at your undergrad? Drug problem?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most interesting question?

"What are your views on Euthanasia. This prompted a disscussion about what a physician's role is as a healthcare provider, and also about the leaglity of the Oregon law (which I was fairly familiar with). Just FYI, it was recently upheld by the supreme court." Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most difficult question?

"None were especially difficult. I think they were intended more to encourage conversation than to intimidate or forcefully extract information." Report Response | I was asked this question too

How did you prepare for the interview?

"SDN interview feedbacks (very helpful, the questions were on all here I think), the school's website, the MSAR, SDN forum threads about VCU." Report Response

What impressed you positively?

"The facilities are very nice, and Richmond wasn't half as scary as I was expecting. The focus on training excellent and well rounded physicians. The faculty seem dedicated to helping the students learn, and not just to pursuing their own research interests." Report Response

What impressed you negatively?

"Richmond, while certainly not horrible, is a little run down with graffiti and wandering around alone at night is probably not a good idea. The school is in a pretty safe area, however. I didn't care for the Egyptian building; it seems like a strange place to take your first year classes. I mean, what the heck is that thing doing in Richmond, VA? The other negative thing was that Dr. Heldberg basically told us that if you are out-of-state, you should expect to be waitlisted, at best. The waitlist does move quite a bit though, and in the end, 30-40% of the class is OOS. Also, the OOS tuition is very pricey, but that's to be expected. I was also disappointed that we didn't get to see the ER that I've heard so much about (they used to take interviewees throught there, but I guess it was causing too much disruption)." Report Response

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

"That the focus of the school is clinical medicine (which is my goal, but I realize it's not everybody's), and they have a very good reputation in the mid-atlantic area. There is also research for those who are interested, and many students do participate in this during the summer (apparently most faculty members have a study going on). " Report Response

What are your general comments?

"The interview was pleasant, although it makes me wonder how much the interviewer learned about me since none of the questions were particularly challenging or in-depth. The interview is your advocate to the admissions committee, so you want them to like you and give them the information they need to convince the rest of the committee that you would be a good doctor and a good medical student at VCU. Dr. Heldberg, the Dean of Admissions, gives an informative speech about the selection process post-interview. She is a very nice and very smart lady who actually reminded me quite a bit of my mom. But I have a science minded mom, so that's probably just me. 2nd year medical students provided the tour, which included a free lunch in the cafeteria. They are very helpful in answering any questions, especially practical questions like "Where do you live?", etc." Report Response

Who was the tour given by?

Student

How did the tourguide seem?

Enthusiastic

How do you rank the facilities?

9 out of 10

What is your in-state status?

Out of state

What was your total time spent traveling?

2-3 hours

What was your primary mode of travel?

Automobile

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

$101-$200

Where did you stay?

Hotel

How would you rate the hotel?

7 out of 10

What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?

Radisson

Would you recommend the hotel?

no

On what date did the interview take place?

02/01/2006

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

8 out of 10

What is your ranking of this school's location?

6 out of 10

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

7 out of 10