How did the interview impress you?

Negatively

What was the stress level of the interview?

8 out of 10

How you think you did?

5 out of 10

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

8 out of 10

How long was the interview?

35 minutes

Where did the interview take place?

At the school

How many people interviewed you?

2

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)?

"Interviewer A: Tell me about your life, starting from the beginning. Why did you go to your undergraduate institution? Why are you so different from other students in HS? Can you tell me about some of your volunteering experiences? Did any of these affect your decision to go into medicine? What do you do for fun? What do you know about PBL? Do you have any questions for me?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

"Interviewer B: Tell me a little bit about yourself. What are you doing during this year? Can you tell me about your research? Why should we accept you to this medical school? What are the strengths that you have? Do you have any questions for me?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most interesting question?

"Interviewer A: S/he asked me about my HS rank and SAT scores! Seriously? S/he asked me if I had been accepted anywhere, and then specifically in my home state. S/he assured me that my answer to both questions would not affect my final decision from Cornell, but I highly doubt that." Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most difficult question?

"Interviewer B: What is the basis of the physician-patient relationship? In another instance, s/he gave me a hypothetical scenario and asked me what I thought was wrong with the patient?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

How did you prepare for the interview?

"Nothing. Just talked to students while I was there, and used what I had learned from other interviews." Report Response

What impressed you positively?

"The facilities, opportunities for international health work, students, and some of the faculty. The financial aid seems pretty good, but we will see if the economy affects it in the future. The area is pretty nice, and the subsidized housing is cheap and decent looking considering the alternatives. PBL definitely has its merits." Report Response

What impressed you negatively?

"The type of interviews that I got here. I think because of PBL, students have less class time, but spend a considerable amount of time studying on their own here. I don't think that NYC is for everyone, even if Cornell is located in a nicer area of Manhattan." Report Response

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

"That my last interview of the season would be my worst one." Report Response

What are your general comments?

"I was told by several people that I would have a great time interviewing at Cornell. Up until my interviews, they could not have been more correct. I was impressed by the facilities, faculty, students, and opportunities at this school. The fact that it was also located in Upper East Manhattan did not hurt, although those looking for a more diverse patient population may not like this posh area of NYC as much. Although most of my day went well, I had the worst interviewing experience here. Considering that this was my last stop of many schools, I think that I am a good judge of what is fair and good about an interview. One interviewer had the strangest and most discomforting way of conducting an interview. S/he asked many questions, got bored at literally every answer, would cut me off to ask another unrelated question, and then even point to random objects in the room and ask how they were related to medicine. The interview was discontinuous and s/he gave no feedback whatsoever. The other interviewer straight up told me that s/he never read my file and we basically had a closed file interview from there. This other interviewer was also bad at hiding how much s/he wanted the interviewing day to end. I understand that the interviewers are not indicative of the type of education that you will receive at an institution, but nonetheless an unpleasant interviewing experience leaves a sour taste in your mouth. I was impressed with what Cornell had to offer, along with its PBL approach, but I wonder if I would choose to attend a place that gave me the worst interviewing experience on my last trip of a very long application season. Your interviewers will most likely interview multiple candidates in one day, so I hope that you get better ones than I did. Good luck to all of you!" Report Response

Who was the tour given by?

Student

How did the tourguide seem?

Enthusiastic

How do you rank the facilities?

7 out of 10

What is your in-state status?

Out of state

What was your total time spent traveling?

7+ hours

What was your primary mode of travel?

Airplane

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

$201-$300

What airport did you use?

LGA/JFK

Where did you stay?

With students at the school

How would you rate the hotel?

10 out of 10

Would you recommend the hotel?

yes

On what date did the interview take place?

01/01/2009

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?

10 out of 10

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

10 out of 10

How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?

10 out of 10

How is the friendliness of the admissions office?

10 out of 10

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

6 out of 10

What are your suggestions for the admissions office?

"Cathy is one of the nicest Admissions Office people that I have met!" Report Response