How did the interview impress you?

Negatively

What was the stress level of the interview?

6 out of 10

How you think you did?

4 out of 10

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

9 out of 10

How long was the interview?

45 minutes

Where did the interview take place?

At the school

How many people interviewed you?

3

What was the style of the interview?

One-on-one

What type of interview was it?

Closed file

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

"Why medicine? Why Pitt? " Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

"Tell me about your experience with research? volunteer work? your undergrad institution? hobbies?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

"What other schools did you apply to?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most interesting question?

"In your experience, have you met any physicians who were disgruntled or unhappy with their choice of profession?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most difficult question?

"Have you considered the length and difficulty of residency? What are your thoughts on that?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

How did you prepare for the interview?

"Looked over my application, thought about what I would want to talk about, how I would answer the inevitable " Report Response

What impressed you positively?

"The facilities are amazing. I don't think anyone who visits can be unimpressed with WISER. The faculty interview was very informative. The food in the hospital cafeteria was great and cheap (you get a meal ticket for $5, and it actually buys a lot of food)." Report Response

What impressed you negatively?

"I was hoping to really like the school, since my parents live nearby and my sister will be in Oakland for the next four years. Somehow, I felt a little let down because the atmosphere wasn't as warm and welcoming as I was expecting, and the students that I met, while very nice, just didn't seem the kind of people I could be very close with. I'm not sure how to explain it, I just got a gut feeling that I didn't really fit in. Maybe I was just sleep deprived and tired (I hope that's the case, since I still consider Pitt one of my top choices). Also, it was a little scary how hard they tried to sell Pittsburgh as a city, during the tour, during the lunch with students, and they even showed a short video about it before the interviews." Report Response

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

"There is no financial aid presentation. The schedule is different for different people, with some rushing from one end of campus to the other to get to their faculty interview right after the student interview; while others, like me, have 30 min breaks in between with very little to do. Also, Pitt puts a lot of emphasis on research - all of their merit scholarships are for the CSTP and PSTP. Oh, and the interview portion of the day is after lunch, so bring floss, mints, and stain remover." Report Response

What are your general comments?

"I stayed with my sister (who goes to CMU) over the weekend and walked to the interview. Scaiffe Hall is really easy to find. The admissions office is pretty small. The applicants get a folder and a name tag and sit and wait for everyone to arrive. The staff had a small table set up with breakfast items, as well, so we could get a bagel while we waited. The first thing on the agenda was the tour. We saw the hospital, the lecture rooms, the PBL rooms, the WISER, the library, walked around outside a little and saw some views of Pittsburgh. The tourguide tried really hard to sell the city. Made me wonder why, since I don't think Pittsburgh is that bad to begin with, but maybe other people do. After the tour we had a really short Admissions overview and curriculum discussion, which was actually pretty helpful. Then we had lunch with med students and had a chance to ask questions. After lunch everyone had their student interview. The student only knows your name and undergrad institution/hometown. My interview was pretty conversational and laid back; the student just asked me about typical things, like extracurriculars, research, why medicine, hobbies, etc. Nothing out of the ordinary or unexpected. Then I had a 30 min break and my faculty interview, which was with an attending at the Emergency Department. It was also very conversational, and I enjoyed that one a lot; it was the highlight of my day. The attending was very nice but at the same time very open and honest. She told me about UPMC and what to look for in a hospital system in general when applying to med school. The questions were mostly about my life. The faculty interviewer has access to the personal statement, so she wanted to know more about my move from Russia, what issues I faced and how I dealt with them; my high school and college experiences, as well as my research and volunteer work. The faculty interview was a little less strained and more natural than the student one, probably because the attending had a lot more to say and also seemed more genuinely interested in me. The student tended to just take notes on specific thing she was supposed to learn. Overall, both interviewers had great things to say about Pitt and UPMC, but the attending had a greater effect on me. The last part of the day for me was a 15 minute interview with an adcom member. She just wanted to know how the day went, asked a couple questions similar to those of the other interviews (college, research, volunteering, etc.), and answered my questions. This interview is the most stressful, because it's short and probably bears the most weight, since this person is the only one of the three you meet with who will be in the room when the adcom makes a decision. The structure of the day, with interviews in the second half, is much more difficult to bear, so if you're interviewing there, try to keep your energy up throughout the day." Report Response

Who was the tour given by?

Admissions staff

How did the tourguide seem?

Enthusiastic

How do you rank the facilities?

10 out of 10

What is your in-state status?

In state

What was your total time spent traveling?

7+ hours

What was your primary mode of travel?

Train or subway

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

< $100

Where did you stay?

Friends or family

On what date did the interview take place?

10/02/2006

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

7 out of 10

What is your ranking of this school's location?

7 out of 10

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

7 out of 10