How many people interviewed you?
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 2.10 | 200 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Positively | 160 |
| Negatively | 21 |
| No change | 22 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 3.10 | 201 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.72 | 145 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 6.98 | 127 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| In Person | 0 |
| Virtual | 3 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 0 |
| 10 minutes | 0 |
| 15 minutes | 2 |
| 20 minutes | 1 |
| 25 minutes | 12 |
| 30 minutes | 88 |
| 35 minutes | 23 |
| 40 minutes | 24 |
| 45 minutes | 22 |
| 50 minutes | 8 |
| 55 minutes | 2 |
| 60+ minutes | 23 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At the school | 190 |
| At a regional location | 1 |
| At another location | 7 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| One-on-one | 201 |
| In a group | 0 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Open file | 129 |
| Closed file | 68 |
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 2.10 | 200 |
""Do you think volunteering/ community service activity should be a metric to judge students by?""
"Most of the questions were ethical scenarios"
"Describe how your leadership experiences have impacted you."
"Why doctor and not something else"
"What are you most passionate about?"
"Tell me about a time you had to use interpersonal communication skills"
"Give an example of a time when you were angry or upset and what you did"
"What are my top 5 careers that I would consider and 5 I won't consider"
"What are your strengths and weaknesses?"
"Why have you decided to pursue medicine and what are the events that have led up to this decision?"
"You only raised $XXXX for the race you directed?"
"Why should I believe anything you say?"
"What do you know about the current events going on in healthcare?"
"What difficulties do you see in a career in medicine?"
"Why medicine? Why at UTMB?"
"Describe your research experience"
"What is a human rights issue that has significance to you?"
"Where would you like to travel (we talked about places I had traveled before for school or family)?"
"Why are you interested in a career in medicine?"
"Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?"
"Have you thought about what it will be like dealing with patients who think they know what is better for them?"
"First interviewer was closed file and she asked me what I thought about healthcare today and the changes that will happen."
"Why do you want to me a doctor"
"Do you read self-help books?"
"do you have any questions for me?"
"Hobbies?"
"So tell me... Why medicine?"
"The first interviewer didn't ask me any questions....he talked about hope and what that means to a dying patient for the entire half hour."
"You have extensive experience in the arts, why not pursue that as a career?"
"How have you displayed maturity/responsibility in your life thus far? How do you think you are prepared for the rigors of medschool? "
"What qualities do you have that would make you a good physician?"
"Tell me about yourself. What do you do outside of school? Why medicine? Tell me about your research. "
"Standard questions. Not too hard."
"One open-file, one closed-file. Tell me about yourself."
"Standard questions"
"When did you decide you wanted to become a doctor?"
"What got you interested in medicine?"
"Is there anything you would like to know about me?"
"What influenced you to go into medicine?"
"What books do you like to read?"
"What experience do you have in healthcare? This is not a question but: Tell me about yourself."
"why do you want to come to galveston?"
"I see you're from the state of XX. What makes you want to come to TX?"
"Why did you go to the college and high school you went to?"
"How do you think you would work in a PBL setting?"
"Why medicine?"
"Why didn't you do biochem research? Why did you do Org. Chem research when it won't apply to medicine? What exactly did you do in the lab? Why do you want to be a doctor? Why did you major in business? You majored in business, why don't you go get a business job? What books have you read in the past year? What do you see yourself doing in 10 years? How would you integrate research and clinical practice? "
"describe who you are"
"What about being a doctor do you like? "
"why medicine"
"What is the major problem you see in healthcare right now?"
"Where are your mother and father from? (they were born outside of the US)"
"If somebody came to you with a problem, but couldn't tell you what it was, how do you help them solve it?"
"Tell me about yourself. (both interviews)"
"How do you intend to pay for medical school? (Asked in different ways by both interviewers.)"
"Why do you want to be a doctor?"
"When did I know I wanted to practice medicine?"
"Tell me about your extracurricular activities as an undergrad."
"What is your full life story? (I have moved around frequently between different countries.)"
"Why Galveston?"
"If you didn't get into medical school this year, what would you do and how would you improve your application if you choose to apply again?"
"How did you get started on medicine... kind like a calling?"
"So you spent a semester abroad in Italy? Tell me about it?"
"What kinds of problems in healthcare do you think you'll face and what are some possible solutions?"
"What would you do if you didn't get into medical school?"
"Why do you want to become a doctor?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary."
"Tell me a little bit about yourself..."
"Tell me about your research experiences."
"What do you like to do to relax?"
"Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"
"What are your study habits?"
"Describe your most important extracurricular activity."
"Why nursing and then medicine? Did you plan this all along?"
"What type of exposure to medicine have you had?"
"How would you tell an individual who was overweight that they needed to lose weight?"
"What is your biggest weakness/ strength?"
"What do you like to do for fun?"
"Who is your hero"
"If you were a genetic consultant, would you feel comfortable telling parents that their child has a deadly disease? What if you know that your answer would lead to an abortion?"
"What else do you do?"
"Why do you want to do medicine?"
"What's your GPA?"
"What do you think about the importance of having accountability as a physician."
"Who is your hero?"
"If not medicine, then what?"
"What will be the hardest part of being at medical school?"
"What else would you like to tell me about yourself that isn't on your application?"
"What do your younger siblings think of your medical aspirations?"
"Standards. What are your mootivations for wanting to become a doctor?"
"How would your mother describe you? Your friends?"
"How will you balance family and practicing medicine?"
"Tell me about your research."
"Why UTMB?"
"What specialty are you interested in?"
"How do you plan to pay for med school? She also kept pushing this issue as if my answer of student loans and family assistence wasn't good enough."
"Are you a bookworm? What have you read recently?"
"Do you think you are mature enough to be a doctor and why?"
"Mostly just conversational. We talked some about health policy which is important because all UTMB hospitals are public hospitals, but the school owns them which is nice. "
"Tell me about your research. You'd better know this stuff pretty well - they aren't going to take it in disdain, they will be genuinely curious."
"Why do you want to be a physician?"
"How did you end up in Houston?"
"No specific questions were asked by either of my interviewers. We just started talking about stuff and it was completely conversational."
"Tell me about your research (clinical research)!"
"Tell me about yourself, and why you want to be a doctor."
"How will you handle having a family and being a doctor?"
"Tell me about yourself."
"What do you think makes a good medical school?"
"What would you like to know about UTMB-Galveston?"
"Have you had any humanities classes?"
"How would you balance your personal life with your professional life?"
"the usual...."
"just basic questions, very conversational while still asking you impt ones like why medicine ect"
"Tell me about your volunteer work?"
"Why do you want to go to Galveston specifically"
"Tell me about yourself?"
"What do you do in your spare time?"
"Why a doctor?"
"What else do you do besides studying and going to class?"
"How are you planning to pay for med school?"
"tell me about your research"
"Strengths/ weaknesses; "
"What sort of specialty are you interested in? Tell me about yourself."
"Tell me about your family."
"Where do you see yourself in 10-15 years?"
"So, tell me about yourself?"
"Tell me about yourself"
"What do I know about Galveston & UTMB?"
"What do you do when you're not studying?"
"What kind of leadership experience do you have."
"Describe a happy and sad time in your life."
"What do you know about Problem Based Learning?"
"Do you have any questions?"
"Tell me about yourself. (This very vague, very open-ended question was how both interviewers began the interview.)"
"Tell me about your family and where you grew up."
"Why doesn't your sister want to be a doctor?"
"why medicine? Is there one particular event that made up your mind? Do you know anyone in medicine or medical school that you talk to about the career choice?"
"As a reapplicant, what have you done since your last application?"
"Where have you traveled & how did that change you?"
"Tell me about your research?(When I answered the lady told me she hates my area of reasearch)"
"Why medicine? Tell me about your work in the hospital."
"Why UTMB. Why Texas. "
"Why TX? (I'm a NJ resident)"
"What "challenges" are there in medicine today?"
"Where does your family live?"
"Both interviewers led off by asking if I had questions for them. Be ready with questions!"
"How will you deal with a diverse patient population, for instance one with different religious beliefs from you"
"Why doctor"
"Greatest accomplishment / greatest failure"
"Tell me about your clinical experience"
"Give an example of a time when you had to make a quick decision"
"How many genes are in the human body?"
"A crap ton of questions about my research"
"Tell me about your research experience"
"Describe the hardest time in your life"
"How have your experiences influenced your intellectual pursuits?"
"Why do you want to be a physician, rather than an alternative career?"
"Are you familiar with any current events pertaining to the healthcare system? Please elaborate."
"What is the difference between cheating in medical school and cheating on income taxes?"
"When has someone misjudged you, and how did you respond?"
"Why not MD/PHD instead of just MD?"
"How will you be paying for medical school?"
"What is something positive you saw in healthcare?"
"Tell me about your non healthcare related activities."
"How passionate are you about medicine?"
"What type of medicine are you interested in at this point? (both of my interviewers asked this)"
"What did you take away from your clinical experience"
"Where do you see yourself in 10-15 years?"
"What are your best friend's best and worst qualities?"
"Tell me about your research experience."
"What was the happiest moment of your life?"
"So you like doing (A) and (B) in your spare time. why aren't you going into a career in either (A) or (B)?"
"(After talking about my family's heart health history) Do you think you are doing much to avoid being another victim of heart disease (i.e. working out, staying active)? What do you do in your free time?"
"Second Interviewer was open file and asked me about my interest in cardiology (from personal statement)."
"Tell me about yourself"
"Do you read medical journals?"
"Tell me about your work experience?"
"do you have any questions for me?"
"What is the difference between a physician and a nurse"
"The second interviewer asked me direct questions from my personal essay and application."
"Where do you want to practice?"
"What are some activities you participate in outside the classroom? Do you have any interest in conducting research"
"Where do you see yourself 15 years from now?"
"What makes you unique/Tell me about yourself."
"How do you expect to fund your medical education? How do you think the future of healthcare will affect your pursuit of a career in medicine?"
"You have a diverse background- why medicine?"
"the usual"
"What do you want to know from me?"
"How did you decide that you wanted to go into medicine?"
"Tell me about TAMS (my high school)."
"What was the worst experience you ever had with another person?"
"What is your weakness? And what have you done to improve it?"
"What are your hobbies?"
"What do you look for in a medical school?"
"how did you decide you wanted to be a doctor?"
"What do you do when you're not busy being busy?"
"How are you going to pay for med school?"
"What clinical experiences have you had?"
"what do i look for in a medical school"
"Who were your role models growing up?"
"What course would you re-take? What course would you take that you've never taken? What is wrong with US health care? What are the pros/cons of physician-pharm company interactions? Pros-cons of phy/insurance interactions? What would be difficult to deal with as a doctor? Have you shadowed a doctor or volunteered in a clinic?"
"how does fMRI work"
"Describe your clinical experiences. "
"tell me about your research as if you were explaining it to your grandmother"
"How would you handle a patient that you really dislike and object to?"
"What advice has your brother given? (he's an MD)"
"stuff from my app"
"How do you plan to finance your medical school education? (both interviews)"
"What experience do you have working/learning in a team/group environment? (Also asked by both interviewers.)"
"Tell me about yourself?"
"If you made a mistake, would you tell someone about it? Would you ever let someone else take the blame for your mistake?"
"Was medicine something I always wanted to do, or a decision I made recently?"
"What other career options have you considered besides medicine?"
"What specialty could you see yourself going into?"
"How will you balance being a doctor and having a family/personal life?"
"Have you thought about how you would finance medical school?"
"What kind of research do you do?"
"Why did you choose that major? "
"Where do you see yourself in 10-15 years? (She asked this with a chuckle)"
"How about this scenario: you're a pediatric oncologist and you have to treat patients when you know half of them will die no matter what?"
"What do you do for fun?"
"Tell me about your travels."
"Where are you from?"
"Your Strengths/Weaknesses?"
"Why do you want to come to UTMB?"
"What do your brothers and sister do?"
"Have you had any leadership roles?"
"At what point in time did you know you wanted to do medicine?"
"How do you think you would fit with our program?"
"What is the worst thing and the best thing about being a doctor?"
"Why do you want to be a doctor"
"What problems do you anticipate with attending medical school and balancing it with your family life."
"List some ethical issues in medicine."
"What kind of research are you involved in?"
"What would you do if you werent accepted to medical school?"
"How will you finance your medical school career?"
"What did you get on your MCATs?"
"How will you balance married life/family and your career?"
"Why UTMB?"
"What do you do to relax? What would you not give up under the stress of medical school?"
"Are you the type of person that easily took tests or did you have to study? "
"Tell me about your research"
"What are you going to do if you do not get in?"
"Ethics question involving patients who do not want treatment and how to treat them."
"What experiences have you had that will strengthen you as a physician?"
"If you don't get into med school what will you do?"
"How will you pay for your education?"
"Did you study any specific human diseases in biochemistry?"
"What do you do? (Tell me about yourself)"
"What do you do in your free time? Any books?"
"Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"
"What do you think of UTMB?"
"Do you know how stressful it is to be a doctor?"
"What do you think is the biggest problem in health care today?"
"Be prepared to talk about just about anything in your ap. Like I mentioned, they asked about my poem - no other school did that. "
"Could you see yourself attending UTMB?"
"When did you decide to become a doctor?"
"What medical school do you really want to go to?"
"Why do you want to study medicine?"
"Questions on some of the basic science behind my research"
"Why don't you want to be a "______", like your dad?"
"What was your favorite/least favorite class?"
"What is your greatest strength/opportunity?"
"How will you handle the stress and workload in med school?"
"Please describe your research experience and what the results signify."
"Would you see yourself as a leader in group problem solving sessions?"
"Do you have any specializations in mind?"
"Tell me about yourself."
"did you parents push you to do medicine?"
"What is the future of medicine?"
"What is you greatest strength, and how does it apply to medicine"
"How will you pay for your medical education?"
"The healthcare question listed above."
"Why not go into another medical field besides being a doctor?"
"Tell me about your job."
"tell me about the intramural sports you played"
"why medicine?"
"Tell me about an issue in health care that you are especially concerned with. "
"Where do you see medicine headed in the next ten years?"
"What would you do if a terminal, incapacitated patient asked you to help him/her end his/her life?"
"Why did you apply to UTMB?"
"Where do you see yourself in 10, 15 years? "
"Where do I see myself 15 years from now?"
"What are you passionate about?"
"Why dont you have any research experience?"
"Why do you think you want to go into pediatrics? "
"Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"
"What is a situation in which you have been misunderstood?"
"Why did you choose your undergraduate institution?"
"Where do you see your professional career ten years from now."
"How do you know you won't change careers again?"
"Can I reiterate the Cost question?!"
"As your advocate for the admissions committee, what would you like me to tell them?"
"Tell me about a time you were misunderstood or mistreated."
"What languages do you speak?"
"Why did you go to XYZ University? What medical schools did you apply to?"
"How would you balance school & what's important to you."
"Does MIT have that many pre-meds?? (yes! we do!)"
"How do you plan to balance medicine with your outside interests?"
"Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?"
"Why do you want to be a doctor?"
"do you think healthcare workers should enforce a policy that requires vaccination"
"When was a time you were angry"
"Tell me about your volunteer experience; how do you help the people in your community?"
"Why did you apply here?"
"What would I do if I don't get in"
"Tell me about your healthcare activities"
"Talk about your experience working with groups"
"What is your back-up plan if you cannot get into medical school?"
"How did you get into your research? (My research was in chemistry, but I majored in microbio, so I guess she was wondering why it was outside of what I studied)"
"When has someone misjudged you and how did you respond?"
"Explain how you developed the mindset of serving others"
"What do you think will be you biggest challenge in medical school?"
"Do you display good judgment?"
"What will you do if you don't get accepted this cycle?"
"What is something negative you saw in healthcare?"
"How do you handle stress?"
"What are your strengths and weaknesses"
"What's the last movie you saw? What's the last book you read?"
"If I had to remember you by one thing from this interview, what would it be?"
"What do you think about the UTMB interview day so far."
"Tell me when your interest in medicine first began."
"Why UTMB? Why Galveston?"
"2nd interview was very rapid-fire, "grilling": Why medicine? Why not law, business, engineering, finance? Do you think intelligent people are going into medicine today? After mentioning my dad's job- how does oil and that industry affect healthcare? Do you drink? What are your views on drinking and smoking? You have this: MCAT, research paper, read these journals, write an article, and present on a topic. You have two days. How do you prepare? Would you be able to do it without sleep? Would you speed to make a presentation that takes 30 minutes to get to if you woke up late and only had 20 minutes? What stresses you? How do I break you down?... Very demanding interview but very interesting/exciting haha"
"What is one of your strengths? What is a weakness?"
"What have been your happiest and saddest moments?"
"Questions about family background."
"Tell me more about this EC?"
"Tell me about a challenge you faced and handled without the help of your parents or guardian."
""Why a doctor? Why not medical research?" "What does your family think of your becoming a doctor?""
"What are your top three schools"
"What do you think about the current health-care reform."
"What challenges have you faced during your undergraduate years? What kind of experience do you have with working in teams? How would you deal with a situation in which there was a person on your team who was uncooperative? "
"Why should I recommend you over other applicants?"
"What makes you think you're ready for the rigors of medical school?"
"What if you don't get in this cycle?"
"What is hope?"
"Tell me about your experience with medicine."
"What areas of medicine are you interested in?"
"Do you think it will be hard to maintain family life if you have a career in medicine?"
"Will you be able to handle the rigors of medical school?"
"When did you know you wanted to be a doctor?"
"do you have any idea what you want to specialize in?"
"As a physician, you will often times have 14 hour shifts in the hospital. How will you compensate your family, especially children, as a physician?"
"What questions do you have for me ? ''That was the first question my interviewer asked as soon as i got into his office''. "
"Why did you choose your undergraduate school?"
"From your experience with patients, what deters you from practicing medicine and another experience that draws you to medicine? Tell me about your research? Tell me about your family. Should a physician be friends with his patients? What would you do if a parent didn't want a child to receive a necessary medical procedure? Should vaccinations be mandated for people who do not want them? Should the US have a more socialized health care system? What specialty do you want to go into? What is a medical breakthrough that you see on the horizon? How would you handle a patient you know you can not cure? "
"why do you want to go back to india, when so many others are struggling to leave"
"How do you feel being a doctor will influence your future family plans?"
"which specialty do you think you want to purse"
"Why did you choose medicine?"
"Typical strength/weakness stuff, think about 10 years from now, what if med school doesn't work out, etc... "
"How will your psychology major help you in medical school? (one interview)"
"What were the best and worst times in your life?"
"How will you pay for medical school?"
"Where do I see myself in the next 15 years?"
"What did you learn from this specific extracurricular activity?"
"Can you cook?"
"What do your parents do?"
"How will you handle your personal/family/relationship life with being a doctor?"
"Describe some experiences where you have shown teamwork."
"What do you like to do for fun?"
"What do you picture yourself in 15 years?"
"What about UTMB do you like?"
"What do you think is the hardest thing about being a physician?"
"How has your job as a teacher influenced your decision to become a doctor?"
"How did you decide to apply to medical school?"
"What types of things should the nation do to improve healthcare?"
"Tell me about your research experiences."
"Have you been to Galveston before and do you know a lot about the island?"
"What type of specialty are you interested in?"
"Where do you see yourself in ten years?"
"Asked about specifics in my personal statement"
"How have you arrived at this point in your life?"
"What diseases are caused by genetics mutation?"
"Do you have any questions for me?"
"Why would you be the best among the other applying candidates?"
"What will you do if you don't get in?"
"Why do you want to do medicine?"
"what would you do if you didn't get in?"
"How do you want to translate your expertise with bench research to the clinical end?"
"Do you like birds? (One of the interviewers was into bird watching)- I answered no. "
"How did your interest in ophthalmology come about?"
"How do you plan on paying for medical school?"
"A question about how doctors can help prevent problems instead of repairing stuff after it has already happened."
"What has your work experience taught you about patient-doctor and doctor-other healthcare professional relationships?"
"How did you prepare for a career in medicine?"
"You will receive a lot of criticism, both constructive and not. (Option to answer or not respond on that one.)"
"How has your philosophy major affected your decision to go into medicine?"
"what do you think about Health Care Policy?"
"How will you adjust to the intensity of medical school?"
"Do you have any questions about Galveston?"
"Why do you want to go into primary care or OB/GYN when you know about all of the problems with insurance and malpractice that doctors in those fields are facing right now?"
"What specialty are you interested it?"
"What influenced you to want to become a doctor?"
"When it comes to the time when they ask if you have questions for them, be sure to ask about PBL classes etc. Chances are they've worked with students in those courses and can fill you in on how to succeed in those classes or if they are even right for you and the way you study. "
"Tell me about your research. "
"What has impressed you about hour school?"
"What part of med school do you think will be the most challenging/overwhelming for you?"
"Who influenced you to want to become a doctor?"
"What specialty do you want to get into?"
"What specialties are you considering? Why?"
"What's your biggest weakness? "
"Why did you choose the undergraduate university that you currently attend?"
"How do you take/give criticism?"
"How would your research experience fit into your medical career?"
"how can you be sure that you will be ready to handle the rigor of med school classes/"
"How do you plan on handling the stress"
"Do I have any questions?"
"What do you think of our school?"
"What do you see yourself doing in 5 yrs? 10 yrs?"
"Is anyone else in your family a professional?"
"What do you think are the similarities between these two religions?"
"why medicine"
"what would you do if you never got into medical school?"
"What will you do if you are not accepted to medical school?"
"Why UTMB?"
"What qualities do you look for in a physician? Do you have these qualities?"
"What do you want me to know about you?"
"Why do you want to be a doctor?"
"If I knew why I was not accepted the first time."
"Tell me about this particular part of your application (he named something specific)."
"What are your priorities in choosing a medical school?"
"What was your favorite class?"
"What are your hobbies?"
"Why do you want to come to Galveston?"
"Why didn't you take X or Y class?"
"how do you think you will manage medical school with a family? How does your husband feel about your career choice?"
"How do you handle criticism?"
"What's the last good book you read?"
"What is your oppinion about terminally ill patients?"
"What specialties are you interested in?"
"Tell me about yourself & why I would want you for my doctor."
"Tell me about your family."
"What was THE deciding factor leading you to medicine? (I answered this by saying it was a multitude of things -- but the interviewer kept repeating the question and asking me to give a specific point and time...weird)"
"What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?"
"What is the most pressing issue today?"
"Tell me about a time you were not as engaging as you could have been"
"What do you know about problem based learning curriculum"
"What not related to academics are you currently interested in"
"How have your experiences prepared you to work with a team?"
"Typical questions were asked. No surprise/interesting questions."
"You only raised $XXXX for the race you directed?"
"What was the most interesting class you took in college?"
"Parents aren't putting pressure on you to be a doctor?"
"N/A"
"What is your definition of professionalism/What kind of person irritates you?"
"Why not become a teacher?"
"What type of friends do you like to associate with"
"Interviewer had me role play as my best/closest friend and talk about myself from her point of view."
"My first interview, we talked alot about the history of Galveston and the school's ties to the city. Our conversation naturally went this direction, and so it was very relaxed."
"The PhD mentioned that he had 3 kids and I'm the middle child, so he asked, "Give me a middle child perspective on growing up.""
"Do you eat healthy?"
"Describe one of your friends to me. What to you like about him? What's one of his weaknesses?"
"How does oil/the oil industry affect your individual health?"
"Nothing too interesting."
"What would a patient of yours experience based on your personality"
"Not much interesting? Seemed like laid back, routine interview?"
"do you have any questions for me?"
"Your hobbies seem very introverted. Why are you interested in interacting with people as a physician?"
"All pretty standard stuff...nothing out of the blue."
"Did your father's death cause you to resent medicine for a while?"
"How do you think the aging process occurs?"
"If you have a 6-year old patient who you know has one and half years to live, how will you break the news to the family and to the patient?"
"My second interviewer was totally chilled and awesome. It was very conversational and enjoyable."
"Meh, nothing too difficult..."
"How will you balance being a physician and having a family?"
"Is there one question you would like to ask me?"
"None were particularly interesting in a good way"
"A question that referenced my personal statement"
"None, really -- pretty standard questions."
"What was the happiest moment in your life?"
"What do you think you would offer to your patients as a doctor?"
"What do you see as the future of healthcare?"
"What was the happiest moment of your life? What is your favorite place?"
"How do you think insurance effects the practice of medicine?"
"(Prefaced with a conversation about how antibiotics are becoming less effective...) If you were a pediatrician, how would you tell a mother with a sick infant that it would be better for the child to not take antibiotics?"
"As a teacher, how do you prepare lessons / what kind of materials do you use in the classroom?"
"All the questions were interesting and nice"
"how would you tell a family that their child was terminally ill?"
"If you could have dinner with anyone dead or alive, who would it be? "
"What books have you read in the past year?"
"what does your dad do?"
"What was the lowest point in your life?"
"If you had as much money as you wanted, what place would you choose to go and why? (no questions were really that interesting, just straightforward conversational type questions)"
"how would you deal with a little boy whose legs you were forced to amputate and his parents"
"My PhD interviewer told me about his daughter having some sort of abdominal pain and asked me how I would go about diagnosing her."
"None were really ''interesting. Mostly standard fare."
"Imagine somebody comes with you to a problem, but they can't tell you what it is. How do you help them solve the problem?"
"How do you think you will deal with being a woman in a field predominated by men?"
"Do you have trouble with the idea of taking out loans to pay for medical school? (based on my background in business)"
"Nothing really"
"What do you know about skin?"
"Do you typically lead discussions in a group or do you sit back and listen? Explain."
"How is the big mud hole up north?"
"How is my background in finance going to help my medical career?"
"Can't think of any. "
"How do you feel about the cervical cancer vaccine?"
"What criticism about others have you heard that makes you most annoyed?"
"Nothing - first interviewer was conversational and second didn't ask much."
"How do you plan to juggle your personal/relationship life with the life of a doctor?"
"Describe a healthcare problem in psychiatry and give a possible solution. (It seemed like he wanted to talk about the over-diagnosis of ADD.)"
"So what does your email address mean?"
"How are you going to finance your education?"
"None, they were all typical."
"Have you had any encounters with monkeys?"
"Not many questions at all. I asked most of the questions. Other than that it was more like a conversation. I guess the most interesting question was "Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?""
"What would you describe as the best time in your life?"
"How would you set-up this research experiment (given some details of the problem)?"
"More conversational... not a lot of questions."
"What's the hardest thing you've ever had to do?"
"How do cancer survivors know when they are survivors (we were talking about some policy research I was doing)"
"describe your research as if you were explaining it to your mother"
"What was a defining moment or decision that happened during college?"
"Who is your hero and why"
"How dou you define Professionalism? "
"What would you do about the situation in Pakistan?"
"So what do you think about Iraq? (Just a casual question, maybe because I'm Moslem)."
"Why did you join the military? and Are you still married?"
"about my research"
"How would you solve the dicotomy between treating patients well and having to see alot of patients?"
"How ready are you to make the sacrifices required by a career in medicine?"
"How does the healthcare system in India compare to the healhcare system in the U.S.?"
"What do you see as the negative aspects of medicine in the US and in Nigeria?"
"If a child fell from a 10 ft. celing and was broght to the ER with no outside abrasions or lacerations, and seemed fine mentally what is the first thing that you as a physician would do?"
"What do you think about this painting? (Turns out his son gave it to him as a gift.) "
"all conversational"
"When one interviewer saw that I was a political science major, he started asking me about health care policy, and if I thought it should be a privilege or a right."
"standard stuff; why md? what field do you want to go into?"
"What is the one criticism that makes you most sensitive?"
"Mostly just standard stuff"
"Being the oldest in your generation, do you feel pressure to succeed?"
"What was the hardest life experience you have had to deal with?"
"Nothing very interesting...just ordinary questions"
"it was all pretty conversational- nothing too interesting"
"Any interesting questions I had were directly related to the material in my file - I felt like my interviewers were genuinely interested in me and not in asking me really tough, what-if questions."
"As a reapplicant what have you done in order to improve your application?"
"If there was one place you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why?"
"Nothing. All questions were either standard or badgering."
"How come you didn't apply to Baylor?"
"Since hockey is a rough sport, how does it prepare you for being a calm, compassionate physician?"
"Tell me about a happy time in your life."
"How did you become interested in medicine? (standard questions...nothing special)"
"No ununusual questions."
"Sorry, don't remember"
"What characteristics drew me to UTMB"
"Have you worked out the net present value of going into medicine over the potential future earnings in Finance? (I have a degree in finance)"
"Do you know any doctors from your hometown?"
"I didn't get any non-standard questions."
"Standard questions"
"nothing too interesting"
"Since you are interested in microbiology research, what do you think about our new BSL-4?"
"What is the role of a physician in the 21st century?"
"None"
"Pretty standard interview questions. Nothing too interesting."
"What is the biggest problem facing healthcare and medicine today?"
"What was the unhappiest time in your life?"
"Do you have any questions for me? Not just about the school, you can ask me anything. "
"Absolutely nothing...."
"How do you think you will handle the debt that you will incur during medical school?"
"When does the U.S. medical system spend the greatest amount of money during an average person's lifespan?"
"(In the future)...A couple asks you to use gene therapy to change the IQ and eye color of their unborn baby. What do you do?"
"Do you thing you are ready to commit to the difficulties of a medical school Curriculum?"
"How do you deal with people that you can't stand? (Several questions leading up to this one.)"
"What makes you angry?"
"What do you like to do to relieve stress?"
"What do I think about telemedicine?"
"What should I tell the committee about you?"
"What would you do if you started med school and discovered that it wasn't intellectually challenging afterall?"
"I'm a student in your group. I'm difficult to get along with and none of the students like me. They approach you to try to rectify the stituation. What would you do? "
"What is something very unique about you?"
"Looking back on your whole life, what is your most significant accomplishment?"
"About my family background and the community I grew up in. "
"Name an experience from the Er that made you want to become a physician."
"How would you shoot this scene (interview) if you were filming a movie? (I was a film major)"
"What qualities do you have will help you become a good physician?"
"What books do you read?"
"Do you realize that medical school is expensive? *later* How do you plan to pay for medical school? *again* Have you you considered the cost of medical school? (I guess medical school is expensive?!)"
"As a reapplicant, what have you done since your last application?"
"Why does [my school] have a >90% acceptance rate to med school?"
"my thoughts about correctional medicine"
"What kind of books do I enjoy?"
"nothing really interesting---just talked about myself"
"How was I going to balance school & being married? How much would I be willing to sacrifice to go to school?"
"I had a lady and a guy interview and the interview w/ the guy was so much more interesting. he asked, "who is your role model?""
"You study politics. What are some challenges posed by capitalism on medicine?"
"Does your little sister want to be a doctor, too?"
"Do you enjoy teaching yourself?"
"Name a time where you had to deal with a very difficult person and how you handled it."
"How will you prevent bias when your beliefs / religion/ culture are different from the patient?"
"How would you fix healthcare"
"What do you think is an important human rights issue? Follow up: What can you do about it?--It was so hard to answer this without mentioning something super controversial."
"Give an example of a time when you did not agree with a policy and what you did"
"How many genes are in the human body?"
"The questions about my research"
"A time someone misjudged you and how you responded"
"If not medicine, then what career would you choose?"
"N/A."
"List your top 5 careers and bottom 5 careers. Tell me why you don't want to be each one."
"How will you prevent burnout during school?"
"What if I told you that you're not ready to be a doctor?"
"None were difficult"
"N/A"
"Nothing particularly difficult."
"Why do you think you will be able to handle our curriculum? Give an example."
"Describe 5 careers you would do if you didn't pursue medicine, 5 that you would never do, and why"
"Interviewer had me role play as my best/closest friend and talk about myself from her point of view."
"Second interviewer, I was asked about the ethics behind organ transplants and what type of ethics and role you as the doctor take behind organ transplants."
"Was there a driving force (event or person) that motivated you to pursue medicine?"
"What is a professional to you?"
"What do you think you will not like about being a doctor?"
"Are you going into medicine because of the prestige? (Said no and gave my reason, but interviewer mentioned that it will still happen, wasn't sure how to interpret his response/if he liked my answer)"
"What is a weakness of yours?"
"What is your philosophy? (Note: I asked if he meant my philosophy on life or on something in particular, he said "no, your philosophy," then lectured me for not having a proper philosophy....oh well)"
"do you have any questions for me?"
"biggest weakness? Name a situation when something really bad happened to you and you turned it around."
"Why a doctor? You can still help people..... as a nurse or EMT or another healthcare personel."
""How do you see your career unfold in your mind?" "How do you see yourself interacting with your patients?""
"Tell me about yourself (shouldn't have been bad, but first q, first interview ever, a little hard to hit the ground running)"
"If you were living in he dorms and a fellow resident was under the influence of drug prior to going on a date, would you do anything? If so what course of action would you take?"
"Is healthcare a right or priviledge"
"The first interview grilled me on the question "why medicine." I've prepared a good list of reasons, yet she kept on making comments like "You could've be a nurse to care for others," "You can get a PHD and teach" while I was trying to emphasis the "combination" of all these things. She also spent at least 5 min telling me not to get pregnant until after residency (I'm married). Over all, she was very intimidating and it wasn't a pleasant experience. "
"If you don't get in this cycle, then what do you think the reason would be? And what would you do in this case?"
"What is your greatest weakness?"
"#3"
"Interviewer described a scenario in which a patient was surely dying and asked you (the doctor) if there is any hope. How would you handle the situation? My response was followed by the interviewer going on a very long tangent about hope and post-death things. Tons of weird religious undertones, kind of uncomfortable."
"Why should you be accepted to UTMB over other applicants?"
"Describe the last situation where you had to use teamwork."
"If you couldn’t practice medicine, what would you do?"
"same as above"
"Nothing difficult."
"Do you agree with the way House (from the t.v. show) handles patients and teaches the residents? Why or why not?"
"What would you do should you not get into medical school?"
"why a doctor and not a scientist"
"One of the doctors during Katrina stayed behind to care for his patients and was forced to split them into 3 groups based on their probability to survive the aftermath. As the supplies ran low, he asked the patients who he thought would not survive for their consent to be euthenized. He then euthenized them. If you were a juror would you find him guilty or not guilty? If you were the doctor would you do the same?"
"Why didn't you work in a biochemistry lab doing research?"
"how does an fMRI work? what do you regret most in your life? should a physician with HIV have to disclose to his patients that he has the virus?"
"Given the school's curriculum and style, are you a good fit for this school?"
"Describe a situation when you took on a leadership role. (actually not that difficult, but there was nothing difficult really)"
"same as most interesting"
"Would you discriminate against persons that make too frequent doctor if you were a health insurance provider?"
"How will your age play into your time here at our medical school? (I'm a bit younger than well.. just about everyone!)"
"above."
"How do you see yourself handling a patient who comes to you wanting an abortion? (she knew I was a Christian because of my involvement in Younglife)"
"A role-play scenario of a group member who was being difficult and not holding his own in the group."
"Nothing really, more conversational"
"What do you know about skin?"
"What is the most significant situation you have been involved with in medicine?"
"See above."
"There really weren't any."
"So you have all of these interests that have nothing to do with medicine... why are you even going into this field?"
"Feelings about the cervical cancer vaccine"
"Compared to your peers, how competitive are you?"
"Nothing - first interviewer was conversational and second didn't ask much."
"None really...one ethical question that was difficult simply because you would not know the appropriate answer (not right/wrong answer) until you were put under that situation."
"They were all basic interview type questions."
"Nothing specifically - just trying to graciously handle my second interviewer's bitter and blatant attempts to deter me from medical school, which isn't really hard if you have thick skin. I think I pulled it off. He stopped being mean and walked me to my next stop."
"What are some of the problems that you might face as a physician?"
"I wasn't really bombarded with questions... we talked about the hurricanes. It was extremely conversational."
"What's the hardest thing you've ever had to do?"
"What do you think will be the hardest thing about medical school?"
"Have you considered the logistics of overseas medical relief work?"
""Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?" I was asked this by each interviewer. I think they just want to ask a question from their sheet to help start our conversation."
"How does becoming a doctor affect your future family plans? (I feel this is an inappropriate question, but I answered it.)"
"Nothing was too bad."
"Again... not a lot of questions."
"None really"
"what is a situation in which you felt you were incorrectly judged?"
"Are there good physicians and bad physicians?"
"How do you feel about abortion? What would you do if you were an OB/GYN who was asked to do an abortion."
"same as the most interesting question"
"What do you know about a physician's life? (This one seemed difficult because the interviewer didn't seem satisfied with my answers, and kept repeating the question, emphasizing life."
"real laidback nothing really all that difficult"
"Why medicine?"
"How would you deal with a classmate who just won't cooperate with you?"
"Do you like birds?"
"What will you do if you don't end up becoming a physician?"
"Both interviewers kept asking me if I had any questions for them, even after I asked all my questions!"
"I was drilled on ethics for almost 50 minutes by my first interviewer."
"In your opinion, what is the difference between psychologically ill patients who have become physiologically sick and those who are sick from the start?"
"what can you tell me about the US healthcare system today?"
"Same - I'm not an art enthusiast by any means. Also, do you have any weird personality traits? So random and out of the blue that it was hard to answer."
"all conversational"
"same"
"i was asking about the phd's research, so we started talking about euthanasia & suicide (he was into psychiatry)"
"How does your mom feel about the fact that you did not want to be a lawyer like her?"
"Why medicine and not nursing, etc? This really isn't difficult but she really kept pushing the issue as if my answer wasn't good enough."
"In short, if you were treating a child whose diagnosis included revealed some degree of infidelity on the mother's behalf, what would you tell the father?"
"same as above only because after I answered the interviewer said, "you haven't had a very hard life have you?" It was pretty funny, but I haven't had any murders happen next door or anything."
"Nothing very difficult"
"To remember the lines to a poem I wrote that was published in my college literary magazine my sophomore year. I didn't remember - they were both disappointed."
"None."
"What makes you a better candidate compared to other interviewees?"
"Why did you choose a university where you knew you would not be challenged?"
"Do you really mean it when you say you want to become a primary care physician or are you being dishonest? Of course I reported this interviewer to the responsible people and I got a second interviewer. "
"What is an interpersonal conflict you have encountered and how did you handle it?"
"Who will pay for socialized medicine? What if someone works hard and another person doesn't, why should the person who works hard have to pay for the other person?"
"Nothing really difficult at all. I guess the question I was least prepared for was "how do you plan to balance family life with medical school." I should have seen that one coming, though."
"Where do you see yourself in 10-15 years?"
"No difficult questions."
"Questions were very simple; no ethics or current event questions Now that I think about it, he may have asked what I thought was the biggest problem with medicine today. "
"How did I plan to have a family, conduct research, and practice medicine"
"Tell me about yourself. (no difficult questions at all)"
"What are your plans for a family and how would you balance a family with your career?"
"What do you think about the current healthcare system?"
"nothing that difficult"
"Why Galveston?"
"Do you think you will get bored with family practice?"
"No difficult questions"
"What was your greatest disappointment, and how did you deal with it?"
"What do you think is the current state of healthcare today; whose fault is it; and who is going to fix it?"
"Why not go into another medical field besides being a doctor?"
"What should I know about you?"
"Does your husband know what he is getting into?"
"nothing really"
"No difficult questions..."
"Don't you think you are a little OLD to apply to medical school?"
"None were very difficult."
"What would you do if you did not get in to medical school this year. What would you do if you never got in to medical school?"
"What are your weaknesses? What other academic areas are you interested in besides medicine"
"What will you do if medicine is just as disappointing as your current job?"
"How would you like to get paid as a doctor?"
"There are many areas of the country that are medically underserved. How do we go about fixing this problem?"
"none that i can recall"
"What should I tell the committee about you?"
"Where does UTMB rank in your list of preferences?"
"Nothing too difficult...I suppose there was this wacko question "when choosing your priorities in life, what values/beliefs do you base your decisions on?" or something like that. he seemed dissatisfied w/my answer (or maybe i was zoning out.) "
"What might be a potential hurdle that would prevent you from obtaining a MD."
"How do we fix the public school system?"
"Describe my professional career ten years from now."
"Give me three positive and negative traits words as your friends would describe you."
"Why didn't you take anatomy or biochem? "
"None, the interview was very conversational"
"Why do you want to be a doctor if your parents divorced because of your father's work as a physician?"
"none, just conversational"
"As your advocate for the admissions committee, what would you like me to tell them?"
"Tell me about a specific point in time when your entire view of the world was changed."
"Why i want to do pediatrics and not family practice. The interviewer was really annoying and kept pressuring me to elaborate."
"Specific questions about my recomendations."
"what do i do for fun intelectually"
"No real hard questions. Everything was chatty & get-to-know-you stuff. How much would I be willing to sacrifice to go to school?"
"none"
"What challenges do you foresee in your future practice of medicine? What do you see yourself doing 20 years from now?"
"none were really difficult"
"Do you have a partner?"
"Describe a situation where you failed at something."
"Review common MMI questions and how to answer situational questions."
"Didn't do much, it felt a lot like Casper"
"SDN, interview questions"
"reading through SDN questions"
"SDN questions, mock interviews with friends. Look up useful interview skills. PRACTICE"
"SDN, Reddit, researching school, practice, advice from other students"
"Student doc questions, practicing with family"
"pre-med years podcast, asking med students, one mock interview, read over app"
"Previous interviews"
"SDN, interview book, advice from friends who attend the school."
"Practice questions with friends of family. Looked over my application."
"Looked over application and my own interview notes a couple of nights before the interview."
"Review my application and mock interviews"
"Read through my application."
"read over my application"
"Some light online reading on how to interview and about med school specifically."
"Sdn interview feedback, mock interview"
"Practice questions and research."
"SND, mock interviews, and practice questions online."
"School's website, etc."
"Read about the school on their website, SDN, 1 mock interview"
"SDN. Reviewed current events and health care reform online. Reviewed my application. Information from student ambassadors on interview day."
"Practice questions from the internet, read about the school. Practice questions helped a lot"
"school background, UTMB motto, UTMB future goals, talk to older students."
"SDN, review current health policy, chat with family members, look over AMCAS, breathe"
"Student Doctor, reading over all my material that i submitted in my medical school app, reading up on healthcare policies and reading UTMB website"
"SDN interview feedback, other med school interviews"
"SDN Interview feedback, UTMB website, healthcare reform, was my 5th interview so there was nothing too different"
"Read the school's website and curriculum. Stayed with a student host who told me a lot about his experiences at the school."
"Read SDN and the school's website. Looked at health care reform"
"Looked at questions on SDN"
"Researched PBL format, UTMB website, SDN."
"health care stuff online"
"Only read some brief material on wikipedia concerning UTMB and health care reform."
"SDN, talked to 1st year medschool students, internet "
"sdn, read my personal statement and TMDSAS app."
"This was my second interview so I didn't do much to prepare for it besides browsing through the school website, which was useless since one of the link to an informational page wasn't working, and I couldn't get the downloadable video file to play on my computer."
"Practiced answering questions given to me from my school's health professions office and from SDN."
"SDN interview feedback, reading a book on healthcare reform, articles on healthcare, read up on UTMB's general info and curriculum, reviewed my application/PS"
"Read my application a couple of times, read SDN, kinda wrote down basic traits I would like them to know about me, and kinda a list of my favorite books and movies. and rested "
"Prepare standard questions. Talk to med students there."
"website, interview feedback"
"Didn't"
"re-read application, went over potential questions"
"SDN, looked at possible questions, researched the school"
"Learned all of the details of how the school was run. Learned the curriculum and pace of learning. Learned all of the current news of the school. "
"Didn't really do anything special"
"SDN, stayed with a friend who is a first year, spoke with faculty beforehand"
"SDN, reading topics in healthcare, "
"reviewed my application, looked at practice questions, visited school's website"
"SDN, good night sleep, relaxed, played a board game with friends."
"Read medical ethics and policy articles, read Health section of NYTimes, re-read my statements, read UTMB website"
"SDN, GRAD interview questions, read PS and reserach stuff."
"read app, talk to med students"
"Read sdn, read healthcare materials, and read my resume."
"I did not. "
"used experience from utsouthwestern interview, which i prepared for using sdn"
"Relaxed"
"other interviews, SDN"
"SDN, read ethics, healthcare issue books, prepared for possible interview questions, way over prepared (that doesn't mean you shouldn't. there's nothing wrong in being too prepared, because it can come in handy)"
"Read some of a healthcare book, followed the guidelines in a medical interview book, and did a mock interview"
"SDN interview feedback"
"I didn't - tried to look at the website, which wasn't very helpful. Did attend the night-before social. "
"sdn, thinking over my opinions and stances on hot topic issues, reading my personal statement, talking to my dad and other doctors"
"SDN, good night's sleep, talk to friend who is MS2"
"SDN interview feedback, TMDAS, mock-interviewing"
"SDN feedback, read my app"
"student doc & school website"
"SDN; School's website; Various websites with interview advice"
"Read personal statement."
"sdn feedback, school website, my application"
"Re-read my application, read current articles about medicine, read up on UTMB"
"SDN, mock interview, looked over application"
"SDN; mock interviews; classes in Medical Ethics, Health Policy, & Health Disparities; re-read my personal statement; read about the school on their website; work as an interviewer for my own university's undergraduate admissions office"
"SDN, mock interview, Understanding Health Policy, Health Care Meltdown, UWash Bioethics, current events, reviewed my ps, revieweed my pubs, read about school"
"SDN, Reread application, talked to med students the night before and that morning"
"SDN, UTMB website, reviewed application"
"website, sdn"
"nothing"
"SDN, mock interview, school's website"
"Online web page, SDN, talked to friends"
"read sdn feedback, utmb site, my app"
"SD, school website,"
"Student Doctor, review school website, review my application, prepare a resume for the interviewers."
"I used the internet to look up several different things about the school. I also emailed a student at UTMB that went to the same undergrad. school that I go to."
"Read through some sample interview questions and thought of answers, browsed this site and the school website."
"SDN Interview Feedback and reread my application."
"UTMB website, SDN, read over applications, practice questions, social policy/ethics books"
"this cite, read my thesis and application, practiced questions"
"reviewed this website and the school's website"
"SDN and school website"
"SDN, read over my application, and looked over the school's website"
"school's website, sdn"
"Read over my app, SDN, momMD.com, Ask.com for health issues, The Insider's Guide to Medical School Admissions"
"read SDN, read my app, read up on ethical questions, current events, etc"
"This is my second time applying so the process is old hat. I just relaxed the day before and got a good night's sleep. I knew my application and why I wrote what I wrote in my personal essay."
"read SDN, read my application"
"SDN, wrote some common questions and practiced their answers, read up on PBL."
"3 previous interviews"
"SDN, reviewed application/resume"
"sdn "
"Went over my personal statement, looked up information about the school."
"This website, MSAR, practiced with my wife. "
"Looked over SDN, my personal statement, prepared answers to questions about ethics"
"went over SDN interview feedback"
"Read website, personal statement"
"Read SDN, Application and practiced answers to common questions."
"this website, read over my appl"
"Reviewed my application, health policy issues, ethical issues, basic questions, SDN."
"I have a list of interview questions that I went over to see if I could come up with good answers on the spot"
"reading this website, brushing up on current events!, reading over my apps"
"google, sdn feedback, talking to current students (best resource)"
"SDN, school website"
"Didn't do much. Read the SDN website and relaxed."
"read my application over, read about the school, talked to students, made up answers to probable questions"
"School web page and friend in PA school at UTMB"
"sdn, looked over utmb website."
"I visited the school after my interview in Houston and had a chance to talk to lots of students, to hang out locally, and to tour the school, gross lab, etc. That prepared me pretty well."
"Read on here and on the UTMB website. Talked to other people who had previously interviewed."
"read SND interview feedback, read my application, reviewed my research, practiced answering questions"
"this website, advice from friends who had already been interviewed, practice answering possible interview questions"
"I didn't."
"Mock interview, talked to students at night before social."
"Read my application and this site. "
"Read this site, my application"
"Read my app, read the news "
"Read the UTMB website and course catalog, this site, and talked to people who had interviewed there before."
"interview feedback, looked over application"
"Read old interview questions. Re-read my application."
"Didn't know about this site, I just anticipated questions, researched the school and typed out some responses to questions I knew they'd ask"
"sleep, this website, mock interview"
"didn't. It was my sixth one, so I figured I knew the drill. "
"Mock interview, read school website and this website"
"Read interview feedback."
"Sleep, SDN, School website"
"read this site"
"read SDN"
"SDN, website"
"Read this website, wrote out my ideas, practiced interviewing with friends."
"researched UTMB website, asked current students what to expect"
"SDN, UTMB website FAQ section, Mock interview"
"SDN Interview feedback, wrote answers to hypothetical questions, read UTMB website and did virtual campus tour."
"Read the website, my application, studentdoctor.net"
"SDN, school website, application"
"Looked over my application and personal statement, read school viewbook, read feedback on SDN, read website, got plenty of sleep."
"Didn't really."
"this website, a friend from texas, www.utmb.edu "
"Just read about UTMB, SDN, and went over my application."
"Researched questions at this site and others, and formulated my answers without rehearsing a word-for-word answer."
"I read the UTMB website and reviewed my application."
"Stayed with a medical student the night before and relaxed."
"The usial stuff I read their website consulted the MSAR. Read all of the reports on this site and got a good night sleep the night before."
"1. StudentDr.Net feedbacks 2. Knew application, my own CV 3. Thought about likely questions 4. School website - Know about the new PBL-style curriculum"
"SDN, mock interviews, talked to current med students"
"Smile. Interviews are always a mixed bag. Sometimes you get the friendly ones, sometimes the grillers. Completely random."
"SDN website"
"SDN, school's website, personal statement, my research publications"
"relaxed, talked with current students, read over my personal statement"
"web site, talked to students"
"relaxed, SDN"
"School's website, Interview feedback"
"The usual"
"Talked with students at UTMB and alumni from my college (TX A&M) who are attending school at UTMB."
"Read over application, went to the night before dinner/meeting at the school, read about the school, talked to doctors."
"this site, talking to alumni"
"Read comments on this site, read my application and essay, mock interview w/ my pre-med advisor (and he gave me a book on how to prepare for the interview --- it helped a lot!), talked to med students (my friend goes to UTMB and she took me to one of her classes), prayed, and relaxed."
"Relaxed and went to Moody gardens the night before. "
"reviewed my application and checked out the feed back on this site"
"read my personal statement,studentdoctor.net, thought about my experiences and talked to physicians/med students."
"Nada."
"Read my application"
"read SDN, my app, and slept"
"n/a"
"Read interview feedback, looked at web site, read material sent, practiced answering questions."
"read about UTMB's curriculum, read SDN's feedback"
"Nothing much. Just read over my file."
"SDN, looked up health care issues on the web"
"Researched the school.....not good!"
"Went over my application, read interviewfeedback.com, UTMB's website"
"The orientation before the interview was great! My student leaders were engaged and enthusiastic but also very down-to-earth."
"The friendliness of the interviewers and their love for UTMB"
"Very relaxed and honest interviewers, one of them had clearly gone through my application"
"The environment seemed laid back and everyone (interviewers and student panel) seemed happy at UTMB"
"Everyone was really nice, they made an effort to have engaging conversations."
"The student and faculty collaborative culture"
"Beautiful campus and facilities."
"The second interviewer was really conversational"
"emphasis placed on students' well-being"
"Campus is beautiful"
"The relaxed atmosphere and that all of the students seemed genuinely happy to be at this school."
"The atmosphere is very non-competitive. Everyone seems to genuinely want to help each other. Interview was very relaxed and comfortable."
"the historic culture of Galveston, the campus (size and buildings and the history), the students' high scores and their curriculum, the students' calm demeanor, cheap tuition, distinction tracks, med school fraternities, student organizations, location (1-1.5 hours from home)"
"Supportive environment"
"The facilities and programs in place were all exceptional."
"Research opportunities and friendliness of everyone"
"How incredibly calm and relaxed everyone is. The environment is incredible. Everyone is so friendly."
"large campus"
"Atmosphere."
"How welcoming the student body was and the new medical buildings going to be used for rotations."
"The school is near the beach! You can do rotations at the prison hospital on campus - I did not know this coming in. You can do third year rotations in Houston."
"How happy everyone was, the curriculum is nice, the testing is board style, its pass/fail, and you can have a life and be successful."
"Everything. The campus. The curriculum (basically one class every 8 weeks for the first year and a half-day schedule). The extracurricular activities available. How relaxed the students were. The city (small town feel in close proximity to a big city). The beach."
"How relaxed the students are. They have time for their life outside of medical school."
"The facilities, how much the students were relaxed and loved the school."
"Problem-based learning! It is the future of medicine. Any school that makes their students sit in a classroom for 7 hours a day is doing a great disservice."
"The curriculum. Students seem to have a lot of free time to go home or engage in community activities. USMLE scores are the second highest in Texas."
"How incredibly NICE everyone was"
"Both interviewers were very nice, very relaxed. One was also very complimentary. No questions I felt unprepared to answer."
"Laid-back students, camaraderie between students, caring faculty and great support system, more time to prepare for Step 1 and with more free preparation, high board scores, huge alumni base, I loved the global health track option. Campus hardly looked touched by Ike."
"Half day schedule. Students seemed very relaxed and laid back. Students were happy to be there."
"The tour was great! Learned a lot about the school. The schedule was pretty good and allowed for a lot of free time and study time."
"Campus tour and students"
"PBLs, good USMLE I avg (234), research oppurtunities are great,seems like UTMB is back after IKE."
"Curriculum"
"the students and faculty at the reception seemed very friendly and excited about the school"
"How much they worked to make the entire day a positive one."
"Wonderful atmosphere, great curriculum, schedule, community-like campus"
"The people are genuinely very friendly including the students and faculty. The speed at which they have renovated most of the campus following the hurricane."
"It's quite laid back"
"The Board score; Everyone I encountered there was very nice and friendly (not just people in the med school); Good curriculum, integrated, 8am-12pm. Also, they served awesome food during the interview. :D"
"The curriculum, opportunity for international electives, laid-back atmosphere, and class schedule."
"Above all, the warm and welcoming atmosphere. The students and faculty are all so nice and encouraging. Also, the style of learning and the curriculum in general seems to provide students with an excellent medical education, which is is reflected in their high board scores. "
"I liked the location- small town near a big city by the beach (for me that's the best of all worlds), I liked the schedule and curriculum and the USMLE scores, the students seem laid back and happy"
"Very chill interview. Students are happy there. Seems like a great environment. 1st interviewer just asked standard questions. 2nd interviewer talked about UTMB and his life, and I mostly just asked him questions."
"everyone is extremely friendly"
"Student/faculty attitudes - everyone really nice & really happy"
"Faculty and staff very positive. Seemed supportive and accessible to students. Even with the hurricane, they had everything organized for their current UTMB students as well as for those interviewing."
"Everyone was so laid back and so nice. Everyone was friendly and having a good time. Everyone was just cool. Great board scores. My student host was chill and good to me. The student body is very close and have a lot of activities together."
"PBL, the clinic run by med students, community involvement, lack of competition, wonderfully nice students, BL-4 lab, awesome USMLE scores and pass rate, computerized mannequins."
"Very laid-back and friendly school, fantastic curriculum"
"The calm atmosphere and willingness to help others."
"The curriculum"
"The integrated cirriculm and the USMLE passing rate of the students"
"Everyone was nice and helpful."
"the laid-back atmosphere and the happy students. "
"How happy everyone was to be there. We walked into an M1 lecture and everyone seemed to be in a good mood. I also really like the computerized mannequins they have to learn on and their high board scores."
"The enthusiastic faculty, weather (I know everyone else says it's hot, but the time I was there the weather was perfect), problem based learning strategy."
"Collegiality of students and faculty, over-all air of support and fostering growth, curriculum and facilities"
"I loved the school and their curriculum."
"relaxed atmosphere, students actually had a life outside of medical school"
"The curriculum is clinically based, they have higher board scores than any other public medical school in Texas, they have many opportunities to develop you clinical skills, and the students are very nice and willing to answer your questions."
"The wonderfully happy people, the friendly environment, laid back attitude that looks like it would lead to a more stress free medical education and lots of programs to join. "
"tour guide LOVED the school, student panel had many people with kids and spouses and had time to balance that with school life"
"High step1 scores and PBL sessions plus all the ''free'' time in the afternoon"
"I wasn't expecting much from UTMB, but I was very impressed. Galveston really wasn't that bad. It's obviously not a big city so you shouldn't expect that."
"board scores of course, highest in tx, way above national average. authority on infectious diseases"
"The noncompetitive atmosphere."
"They hammered into me that their board scores are the best in Texas and PBL (problem-based learning) is the best thing since sliced bread to them. Also, a lot of prep for USMLE is very helpful. Also a completely student-run clinic that you can help with immediately so you have contact with patients within the first WEEK! Yep. Lots of nifty, ''exclusive to Galveston'' research facilities compared to other Texas schools like a BSL4 lab."
"A lot! Great students, very nice, lots of times for away rotations, PBL & organ systems based curriculum (they don't even go full days!), they have a brand new Global Health track "
"how happy the students are, super high board scores, residency matches, problem based learning and curriculum structure, pretty campus"
"The positive attitude and diversity of the students. The problem-based curriculum."
"Nothing was really a super positive compared to the other med schools in Texas, but I did like the IMC"
"Students were friendly, the facilities were nice, but a little bit old."
"Anatomy lab was awesome. Also, everyone seems so relaxed...like medical school is easy :)"
"Warm and friendly environment"
"The focus on student life, the simulated OR, and early patient contact in first year."
"The numerous hospitals, the PBL curriculum "
"I liked the anatomy lab and their curriculum"
"The laid back atmosphere and the USMLE preparation"
"The students were very friendly and kept pushing the idea that UTMB was a great, balanced environment for med school... The second interviewer was really nice, informative, and encouraging..."
"My first interviewer. Possibly the best interviewer I've had, I could really, really relate with this man. Excellent person."
"The curriculum, the students, the SimMan, UTMB's above national average passing USMLE Step 1 rate, the number of facilities it has, the anatomy lab, the Galveston National Laboratory in construction."
"The students were all very open, the gross anatomy lab is nice, and the aerospace program seemed interesting. The second interviewer was friendly and laid-back."
"International opportunities, how CHARMING the facilities and town are!"
"The aerospace program"
"Beautiful lab at the top of a gorgeous, old building with huge windows. Great volunteer opportunities at St. Vincent's. My interviewer walked me to my next interview! Galveston is very beautiful."
"Board Scores"
"Their board scores are amazing! They're all very nice and enthusiastic. "
"Their PBL curriculum is flexible and gives you real life examples of what you learn in lecture. The board scores were v. good for the past year, the new grant they got will build some awesome new facilities ready in 08, the students and faculty were really happy to be there, v. good place for med students with families or kids! Their international program is also excellent!"
"The quality of the gross anatomy laboratory."
"The medical students were very honest and real."
"The students and curriculum"
"Everyone was laid back; people were nice; half day of class with only one course at a time; USMLE pass rate is 99%"
"the other interviewees were nice, everyone was relaxed, the presenters had a sense of humor"
"the faculty seemed to really care, the students were very friendly, great facilities, very up and coming"
"The curriculum and amount of freedom that the program allowed for students to learn"
"Their board score rates are quite good (99% pass; average is around 226)"
"the curriculum - I like the emphasis on problem based learning combined with lecture"
"The school pays actors who serve as Standard Students. The Practice of Medicine course and the Problem-based learning are impressive."
"Students were really friendly. Stimulation center is a plus. Love being in a campus."
"The price UTMB is one of the cheaper schools in TX and it doesn't skimp on education. Apparently the cost of living in Galveston is cheap, cheaper than Houston at least."
"the curriculum, Big Red, the people "
"The friendly folks, the way they presented their curriculum, their use of standardized patients, the history (they even have a 100 year old building with huge heave doors; it was only one of 3 buildings to withstand the hurricane of 1900)."
"the students, faculty, administration were all super nice and very helpful. All the students that saw you out on the campus smiled and said hi. The curriculum. PBL."
"board scores, curriculum(they have smaller amount of time in class for free time/self study)"
"PBL (problem based learning), intergrated cirriculum. saw alot of kids from my school"
"Friendliness of staff & students, the amount of research work being done at the facilities."
"Great diversity program. They have like 33% URMs. (and no, I'm not URM) Great facilities. The anatomy lab is the best I have seen. It has natural lighting and is actually very inviting. "
"The integrated curriculum, the sense of community among the students and faculty"
"the whole visit was very laid back"
"Students were nice, the facilities seemed pretty good too."
"The facilities were amazing and the laid back atmosphere. "
"curriculum focuses on clinical skills early on, standardized patients, friendly students/staff/faculty"
"The opportunities to travel or do research during summers, how kind and relaxed everyone was, half-days of class, problem-based learning, Standardized patients."
"friendliness of students/staff"
"The easy atmosphere of life in Galveston. I used to live there when I was a kid, but I never appreciated it as much. The school aslo fit this easy-going atmosphere very well."
"school is very nice, near the beach; utmb does a lot for the prison population"
"The integrated curriculum: it really makes you think clinically & preps you for the USMLE. The students and faculty were laid back."
"PBL curriculum, friendliness of the students. It is a very pretty campus. Also, the lunch here is the best."
"That the students are scoring above average on the USMLE Step 1 even though they are in class significantly less than students at other schools. I like free time."
"The location, warmth, how friendly the students were, how inexpensive housing is, and all the new research buildings."
"Very friendly people. Very relaxed atmosphere. Class 8-12 only. One subject at a time. Community service and travel abroad opportunities. Able to earn fourth year credit during first summer so that you may graduate early from medical school. Problem based learning seems cool."
"The curriculum - they really tailor things to make the best doctors possible while meeting the needs of the students. It's really easy to go abroad your first summer. The students were really into what they were doing."
"The friendly and positive attitude of the faculty and students. It really seemed that they were trying to recruit more than judge."
"learning facilities, nice campus, students "
"I like the old, historical town and that the school is on an island. I liked how the classes are scheduled only in the morning and the problem-based learning."
"The students were very friendly"
"Loved to hear about organ-based curriculum and problem-based learning. Also liked hearing about Frontera de Salud. The students were also really cool and friendly. They weren't all about advertising the school constantly and being fake which was the impression I got from UT Houston."
"They have all the facilities you need to become a good physician. They have a new bio-terrorism facility which is second to CDC. "
"How laid-back everyone was. The island seems like it has a slower lifestyle. Also, the campus is beautiful and the hospitals are really modern. The anatomy lab was neat, though the formaldehyde smell after lunch made me a little nauseous."
"Pretty laid back and helpful medical students, interesting concept for curriculum"
"Nearly everything. Student and faculty friendliness, innovative curriculum, facilities, 3 free meals, pre-interview social, Galveston, etc., etc."
"Very laid back. They sold me on their curriculum. I don't know how my opinion will change after I hear the perspectives of other schools. I think the students here have a lighter workload than at other schools. They claim the curriculum design allows them to learn as much as other schools despite this."
"I like the campus, its small, the buildings are nice, students are nice. I like that out-of-staters can get in-state tuition (although its not exactly automatic like with Southwestern). I like PBL schools. They have extensive standardized patient program. "
"UTMB-Galveston has a very friendly atmosphere, and the interviewers seemed to want to get to know me personally as well as judging my potential"
"The campus is pretty nice, the school seemed like they were moving forward, the interviewers were very good, the school was very relaxed, and I liked the palm trees on campus."
"The students I met seemed really easy to talk to. The curriculum emphasizes patient experience, and there is a board exam review class. One of my interviewers had thoroughly read my application and seemed very interested in the process."
"The PBL (problem-based learning) cirriculum they have seems to be successful at training their students to learn clinical skills early and well."
"Friendliness of students"
"the school had amazing research centers and i got the impression that it has more of a national scope than some of the other texas schools"
"pretty quite town"
"the students, faculties seemed really new, CURRICULUM"
"The students seem very down to earth. They all seem very happy where they are."
"The curriculum is very unique"
"Students have strong sense of unity, and are pretty friendly, nice anatomy lab"
"Students said faculty bends over backwards for medical students. Atmosphere of students and school is very laid back, yet you can tell they are producing competant and compassionate physicians."
"The curriculum is absolutely awesome. I love the structure of the courses and the testing schedules. The separate Clinical Skills laboratory was neat, but kind of intimidating. By the way, lunch was fantastic!"
"Students seem to really enjoy being at the school."
"The campus was very nice. UTMB OWNS ITS OWN HOSPITAL so it has a mission to teach, more so than other university affiliated hospitals. Also, there is not a lot of traffic and the campus doesn't have a hustle bustle feel to it. "
"The facilities, the curriculum, the humanities opportunities, the general laid-back atmoshpere."
"The fact that they are financially secure(they own their hositals and have tons of government contracts). Their facilities are great. Their out of state tuition is only 21 grand!(My instate tuition(at UVA) is 20 grand!)."
"The laid back atmosphere."
"The first interviewer was nice and just an all-around fantastic person. The students were very enthusiastic about UTMB being a good place to go to school. The anatomy lab was incredible."
"The students and faculty are very friendly and open for questions."
"The curriculum is innovative and unique. Also, board scores have been very high in recent years. "
"I liked the fact that it was low key and the curiculum seemed to be more real world focused rather than stuffy and traditional. Everything was really relaxed. The new Level 4 virology facility and the upcoming Bio terror research lab sound really cool. The anatomy lab was top notch (really everyone says it it must be true!)"
"Staff was friendly, interview was laid-back, students really seemed to enjoy going to to school there"
"nice campus, current MS seemed genuinely happy"
"They sell the integrated curriculum very well."
"laidback atmosphere, good facilities, opportunity to do some rotations or a full year in austin (3rd or 4th year) "
"The students were awsome. They were all really happy being there."
"the curriculm- integrated with problem sovling, classes are half day (more time to study and have a life)!!"
"the relaxed atmosphere of the entire school, the fact that it's on an actual campus, everyone wanted to give you any information they could to help you out"
"They students and the faculty are very proud of their program and curriculum and they are more than willing to answer any questions you may have about it."
"Hmm...anatomy labs, old red, i suppose..."
"The students were very personable. Even though the class has 200, they seem to really know everyone really well in their class. This is not a cut-throat school. The students are even known to hand down textbooks to the next class for virtually no cost. Their curriculum is great. The previous poster said that the students didn't really know about the 3rd & 4th year option to spend time in Austin. I believe this is because all the students which lead the tour were beginning 2nd years. They did have a student panel with 2nd to 4th year students, but no one asked them a question about the option to spend time at Breckenridge in Austin. The great thing about the curriculum is that you begin school earlier during your 2nd year. This allows all the students a 6 week time period at the end of their 2nd year to just study for the boards. I believe this is why their pass rate is improving, and I believe it will continue to be high."
"The interview environment was very laid back and stress free. It was my second interview of the season which probably helped, but it was much less stressful than my first experience. I liked the small-community feel of Galveston as well as its history and evident character. "
"Facilities were excellent. The labs and lecture halls are all spacious and well equiped. I liked the atmosphere of the island. Very laid back. The adjacent neighborhood is beautiful (there is also a not-so-nice neighborhood boardering the school too.) The student gym is fantastic. Fraternity housing seemed decent and cheap ($360 a month, all bills paid and food included.)"
"Some of the campus was pretty. They only go to class from 8-12pm to give the students more time to study out of class. "
"Anatomy lab has windows and is fairly nice and modern"
"I liked the camaraderie among the med students and I liked the school's curriculum"
"The excellent attitudes, friendly students and faculty"
"the curriculm! most people were complaining about the self directed learning but i find that i learn better that way. Who really wants to spend all day in class anyway? I prefer having half of the day to study on my own since I am notorious about skipping lectures to begin with."
"the curriculum with its PBL component integrated with lectures and early clinical exposure."
"Anatomy labs were best I've seen yet. Gorgeous--on the top floor, skylights, & a fabulous specimen collection, including infants to geries. (Don't go in if you're not ready to see bodies in jars.)"
"The campus is beautiful"
"The anatomy lab and the skylights. Plus, the students were quite friendly and easy-going."
"the old red is beautiful"
"Attitudes of the students and size & quality of the campus."
"the "old red" is a BEAUTIFUL building in the middle of campus. it was the first building of this med school, which is the oldest med school in TX... so pretty old. but very pretty!"
"Anatomy labs are simply amazing -- light is provided by skylights and it is on the top floor of the medical education building. Very impressive. Also, some residents were very eager to help me find my first interviewer. They really went out of their way, and I wasn't even lost! "
"they were so laid back. more like conversations than interviews"
"Nothing really"
"The students - they are awesome."
"The fact that the school prioritizes older applicants and applicants with families when it comes to campus selection for 3rd year"
"One interviewer clearly had not read my file even though it's open file"
"One of my interviewers asked some "gotcha" questions. Mostly follow up questions to see how fast I can think. Not cool."
"Virtual interview with 2 faculty members who did not speak english very well"
"Robot-like interviewers. Neither were MD/DO. Both held PhD's."
"The first interviewer was a nightmare to speak to"
"weather/location"
"Curriculum is kinda confusing"
"Campus tour was extremely hot."
"Cool being near the beach but Galveston is ehh."
"Nothing much."
"One stressful interview"
"There seemed to be a little bit of disorganization, but nothing too major."
"The questions that my interviewers asked were NOT original questions - there were from a list provided by the school. I was asked the EXACT SAME list of questions in both interviews, Furthermore, I was not allowed to expand on any of my answers to the questions because I was cut off by my interview with an unrelated question. Both of my interviewers seemed more concerned with getting through their list of questions than actually evaluating me as a candidate."
"The weather in Galveston is horrendous in the summer. HOT AND HUMID AF."
"old buildings"
"None."
"Tour at the end of the day was not really that amusing. Didn't finish it and students giving the tour weren't really into it (selling the school)."
"The campus and medical center seemed deserted - I didn't like the lack of people around. We did not tour the hospital so it was hard to tell what the facilities were like. Both of my interviews were strange...my first interviewer was seeing patients at the same time as interviewing me so he kept leaving the room - my second one did not know he was supposed to interview me..."
"The heat, and the heat, and the heat"
"One of my interviewers was rude and seemed disinterested in the whole thing. But the school allows a third interview if you feel one of your interviews didn't go too well, so that was nice."
"Second interviewer grilled me, didn't seem that impressed with any of my answers"
"We had to find where our interviewer's office was by ourselves. The first time we were directed by a student, but if you had an interview right afterwards then you had to travel across the campus with the help of a crappy map."
"Humidity and traffic into Houston."
"One of my interviewers said that research here kind of got set back after Ike because a lot of their gene knock out animals died."
"Nothing honestly"
"Not much"
"Galveston is not the nicest place- not awful, but not very nice. It's what you make of the time though the way I see it. It's only 30 minutes away from your city amenities. Students openly admitted that they are always at a disadvantage in pharmacology when preparing for Step 1 since they don't have a dedicated class for it."
"Facilities still show signs of Hurricane Ike. Students seemed to want more things to do in Galveston; seemed to almost have too much time on their hands."
"NOTHING!"
"Having to walk around campus and through buildings to find interviewers' offices. Would have been better if all interviews in one central location"
"How relaxed the students and some faculty seemed. Its a neg for me cuz I like some serious environment."
"EVERYTHING except the curriculum. Everything went wrong..."
"the facilities, still felt like they were struggling from the hurricane"
"The humidity."
"The setting outside the actual campus is more small town with many dilapidated buildings, but they are still recovering from Hurricane Ike so can't be to frustrated with that."
"Also, it's quite laid back"
"Hurricanes; And I was concerned about the crime rate in Galveston, but they said it's mostly theft rather then physical attacks like rape and murder. I guess that is less concerning. "
"Galveston itself is not that appealing. "Old Red" will probably not be reopened after damage from Hurricane Ike. Shriner's Children's Hospital is still not reopened (but they have plans to do so)."
"Galveston is nothing spectacular, but it's not too bad either."
"There is still some uncertainty about certain aspects of the future but mostly it seemed like most of that won't affect med students directly"
"Facilities are not as new."
"the area around the school kind of sucks"
"Galveston is poor and small. I would not like living there, but I could do it if this was my only choice."
"The location, the mosquitoes. Wish I could have seen the anatomy lab."
"Some of the older facilities"
"The area around the school"
"Just the fact that it's galveston."
"Nothing really"
"galveston is a small town on an island with little to do."
"Nothing except my second interviewer never showed up... she didn't even have me listed on her calendar. But, another doctor (who obviously hadn't read my application) squeezed me into his schedule and he was absolutely wonderful."
"After the morning orientation, they just cut you loose to find your interviewer. With all of the construction, it's like a maze finding your way and I actually got lost. Just be prepared and don't be afraid to ask people on campus for directions."
"There was almost too much emphasis on how ''laid-back'' the school is"
"The Ocean"
"galveston"
"Galveston is a small town."
"The interviews were pretty harsh and they asked an enormous number of questions. I would guess at least 20 each."
"not much to do on the island"
"weather was hot&humid and some of the faculty seemed unenthusiastic"
"Some of the street signs didn't seem to exist so it made it a little difficult trying to find where to park, but that was minor."
"students were meh..i hated the location with a passion, galveston is such a crappy city"
"Galveston and its oldness. The hospitals showed their age too."
"Some areas of the hospital are ''bleh''. Island itself could definitely use some improvements. Beaches in Galveston are not worth swimming in."
"I like Galveston and all, but it's just not a huge center for medical stuff. Since I'm from Houston, I always end up comparing everything to the TMC.."
"we didn't get to see the simulation center and anatomy lab because it was orientation week for freshmen (but I've seen them before and they're pretty impressive)"
"The admissions staff was notably absent after the morning introductions. Never met the dean of admissions. No chance to ask faculty or staff questions after interviews/tours."
"The low budget breakfast, the tour guide, the city was horrible, and it just seemed a tad bit unorganized."
"The smell of the island when you first drive into Galveston"
"My second interviewer was late. And when he finally showed up, he just asked me two questions. Took 5 minutes and he sent me away."
"While looking for the building where my first interview was held, several of the med students told me they didn't know where it was because they had never been to the building"
"Living on an island."
"Location ... Galveston is a bit ghetto but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make. "
"I'm not a fan of Galveston Island honestly."
"The location... on an island"
"The first interviewer kept interrupting me!"
"The second interviewer. Was supposed to be closed file, he still asked about my GPA/MCAT. Was late, and also only spent 20 min reading my file and asking a question every now and then. Not conversational and not relaxed at all."
"The construction going on which could mean working progress which is a good thing. I was a bit weirded out by all the security in some of the buildings but then again I understand that those facilities were high security for good reasons."
"The tour wasn't that great. We only went to the anatomy lab, the student lounge, and day surgery to see the "
"second interviewer didn't represent the school well, but I'll chalk it up to personal issues"
"You have to keep going outside to get from one place to another"
"Certain students were very close-minded and conservative. Small town, small minds. When you feel like going out, you run into ten of your classmates. People were TOO laid back. One class a month in lab is a game show. They have fraternities... people seem to think they're still in college."
"Presentation lacked inspiration"
"It's hard for spouses to find jobs on the Island."
"The campus wasn't very pretty from the outside. Only one or two nice buildings."
"My first interviewer was unprofessional and rude."
"Hurricane risk at the location"
"Galveston isn't a large city"
"There was a weird solid in my apple juice; campus smelled like a zoo in some spots; lots of mosquitos"
"the students mainly focused on how easy it was there, and how you can get away with doing the minimal amount of work. they acted like the school was known as being worse than other texas schools, but highlighted the laid-back atmosphere as a plus despite that."
"lots of construction"
"the city - its a bit ghetto"
"We were let out of the morning intro session to go to our interviews only 10 minutes before time. I was not too worried because I knew the school very well to find where I was going but I felt bad for those who had no clue where to go."
"Part of the campus is a little run down. A little concerned about safety."
"The focus on research dollars earned. I'm just not turned on by research dollars, the PhD is not for me."
"hospitals arent TMC"
"The second interviewer seemed aloof - just kept a straight face, not a smile during the entire interview."
"longer walks and lots of closed entrances due to construction, but seeing as it's for a BSIV research facility, I think I could deal with it"
"mosquitoes! I'm one of those people that always get bit. I'm going to have to always have off on hand"
"also PBL (possibility of being stuck with a poor group/facilitator). must walk to interviews in random buildings in the medical center in the heat. interviewer were in the middle of the work day & seemed busy. Some took calls, random people walked in. all very distracting. everyone was trying to assure you that galveston is safe from natural disaster which makes you question it even more."
"Galveston seems somewhat limited in what there is to do, although the students firmly deny this."
"My first interviewer was interested in her career only, it seemed like; she seemed shallow that way. Acted like it would be impossible to go to med school being married. "
"There's not much to do in Galveston, all the construction going on on campus"
"i got mosquito bites all over my legs and on my face :("
"Galveston and the fact that my second interviewer did not show up.(They found a replacement, but I had to miss most of lunch)"
"i had to walk across campus to get from the first interviewer to the second interviewer in a black suit on a really hot day"
"Galveston."
"people seemed too laid back"
"not too much"
"the curriculum--classes only last half days, so I honestly believe you don't learn quite as much; one of the morning speakers mispronounced hippocrates' name after she said it was one of her favorite philosophers"
"The interviews were rather useless - I felt like they really did not set out to distinguish me from other applicants. It sort of confirmed that your admission decisions is made before you get there."
"Nothing about the school. It rained the entire day and we took the tour in the rain and then had to interview afterwards. Bring an umbrella!"
"Some students seemed almost too laid back to the point that they stopped working as hard in medical school as they did in undergrad. And that worries me a little...if anything, I want to learn all that I can in medical school to be the most competent doctor I can be."
"The food during lunch and the mosquitos"
"Galveston is not the most beautiful of resort cities. I love the curriculum, but I would prefer to live in Houston."
"i had an afternoon interview, so my tour was given by an md/phd student- I felt like she was answering all of our questions with phd answers"
"The "work hard play hard" motto -- It's just not for me. And they mean it when they say that they play hard. My interview day happened to be the day of a first exam, so that night I went out with some friends who were first years. It's true."
"Nothing."
"weather, Galveston"
"There was some construction on parts of the campus."
"The facilities were less than state-of-the-art. One of the interviewers badgered me. "
"Very ghetto parts of Galveston scared me. Homeless people were asking us for money."
"The heat of the Texas weather. "
"How few people were around. This town is not exactly bustling."
"disorganization, trouble finding buildings, no EM (my choice of specialty) residency program "
"Um, not much. Our tour guide was a bit stressed, but I think that was because she was a mother of a two year old who lives 45 minutes from campus, just coming off the OB/GYN rotation. The associated hospitals did not have the "exciting" feel of say, Parkland in Dallas."
"um...maybe Galveston if you don't like small towns"
"Staying with a medical student. I realize I can't say much about the school based on this, but it wasn't the best experience. Probably just bad luck."
"One of the interviewers, who was very nice, spent all but 5 minutes just telling me about the history of Galveston and the school, etc. Now to the negative part; he told me straight up, matter of factly, that if I go to UTMB I won't score as high on my boards as if I were to go to Dallas. But I don't know. I'm a 34/4.0 and I intend to study hard there and do very well. I'm going there (I picked it first on the match & got in) but I'm a little worried that I will have to drive nearly an hour to get to the nearest major shopping mall. I'll deal with it when I get there, I don't shop much anyway. "
"The night before even was a joke when the students from UTMB that were supposed to host did not even show up for the event. So other interviewees and I received the pizza, and finally a student studying at the facility talked to us."
"Driving through Houston to get here. Houston traffic is bad."
"There didn't seem like there's much to do on Galveston Island. Some of the students seemed somewhat too laid back."
"Galveston Island"
"the PBL curriculum impressed me positively and negatively. it leaves a lot of free time for independent studying which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what kind of student you are and how much structure and time management you will require for your medical education."
"that it is a "pretty quite town" -- ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO IN GALVESTON!!!! Imagine spending 4 or more years of your life trapped on Galvatrez. The student spend only about hours in lecture a day and the rest of the day is spent teaching YOURSELF how to doctor with PBL. THe curriculum is not structered enough and the student complain that they are SERIOUSLY lacking a pharmacology class to do well on USMLE. IF you are interested in doing well and performing high on the boards to get into good residency, be ready to do ALOT of research and learing on your own. I think that school puts too much responsibility on the student as if we don't have enough things to worry about."
"the heat and humidity"
"The humidity"
"Students are way too relaxed, so relaxed that I sensed an attitude of laziness"
"The facilities are starting to look a little too old. The Night Before event was a waste of my time - I showed up ten minutes late and no one was there (they had moved and left no notice)"
"Mosquitos!!! There were "jillions" of them and I was there in Aug. so probably a bad time."
"The student leading my school tour told us he was not very social; he only had a few friends that he hung out with. It didn't give me a sense of comraderie among the students. Also, my second interviewer spoke for 35 minutes during my 45 minute interview! But I hear that's normal for him."
"The HORRIBLE humidity and heat."
"Nothing really."
"There wasn't any major galveston airports so i spent 4 hours on shuttle rides between galveston and Bush Intercontinental in Houston. It's not that big of a deal really...Since most of your guys are driving from other parts of Texas. Shuttle rides cost 60 bucks, last shuttle leaves Bush Intercontinental at 9PM."
"The welcome address started at 9:35 and went all the way to 9:50, which didn't leave enough time to get to 10am interviews."
"Being called old several times during the second interview. What do they want, babies? Also, many of the students I met were more interested in describing the nightlife and parties than learning experiences. I was expecting to find a bunch of people who were seriously interested in learning about medicine, but they seemed to regard it as a chore from which they needed long breaks."
"The tour. The seating was not the greatest to sit on for 2-3 hours."
"Galveston is not very exciting and a pretty small town."
"It rained all day the day before and the humidity was positively opressive."
"The "Night Before" gathering was just us and a bunch of students, sitting around, waiting on pizza to show up. I could've skipped it and wouldn't have had to miss another day of class."
"Galveston...not the bustling city I'm used to being in. "
"the island"
"the location- galveston"
"The school is in a crappy part of the island"
"i got a bad rash (eczema)...i don't know if it was the weather or something I came in contact with while staying at one of the frat houses"
"At first it seemed like everyone was giving the party line about their great board scores this year. I wondered how genuine the enthusiasm really was."
"GALVESTON...sorry to be a city snob but i don't know if i'd be happy in such a small, humid, and relatively boring place for 4 years (even though, yes, i know you have no free time in med school etc. etc. still!) besides, no one i talked to had placed galveston as their 1st choice. "
"I think this self directed studying is great. However, I think there are some people who don't learn well this way. If this is not how you can learn (you like information given to you straight up) you might not like this format. However, I think it is a very great way of learning & would work well with how I learn."
"Both the students and the faculty seemed a little hestitant to fully endorse the relatively new curriculum. Some third and fourth year students implied that they didn't feel quite as prepared for the Step One Exam as they may have in a more traditional environment. Overall, however, the curriculum seemed positive for the motivated among us. I think the character and the makeup of the class is probably more important at Galveston than most places given that you rely so much on your peers in order to learn."
"It seemes as if there are two types of students here. Party Crazy Frat types who talked about nothing but beer/parties/bars and unhappy students who were bitter due to the self-learning curriculum that they felt had given them too little time and guidance under faculty and in classes (which are minimal at UTMB) to allow themto master the enormous amounts of information required for the USMLE board exams."
"Students seemed extremely apathetic, falculty was not well informed about the process (my interviewer didn't know what was entailed on the MCAT), Galveston (when I got back into my car, there was a film of sticky mess on my windshield from the extreme humidity, pollution, and sea salt I assume), the facilities were aweful, the school right next to the worst area of town, there is a fraternity (drinking, parties, etc... that most of the students are involved in), the statement from one of the students " most of us try to just coast here, they can't fail us all". "
"At the student mixer the night before the interview several MS III and IV's were there to answer any questions. They spend the majority of time talking about what bars they go to on a nightly basis, the frats, and how they use their student loan money to go on ski trips. No wonder they can't pass the boards. There seemed to be two types of students: party frat types and geeks. No middle ground. Also, the hospital and facilities seemed fairly run down. "
"NONE"
"Not much!! I loved it"
"Galveston is pretty dirty and there isnt anything there except a walmart (and traget is coming)!"
"Galveston is a pretty small city."
"They tried to sell the schedule: classes 8am-noon. To me that meant less time being taught by professionals & more time struggling to teach myself! Also, it seems like a party high school; might be a lame environment for anyone matured beyond that."
"The interviewer"
"The curriculum and general decay of the buildings; however, they are building new ones. The match list."
"ut galveston has about an 85% pass rate on their step ones--not very impressive"
"Galveston - humid and ugly."
"the area. The island is pretty much dead, with nothing much to do, and the beaches were ugly. and OMG! the mosquitos were crazy when I was there! b/c it's by the gulf...I got like 30 bites!! yuck!"
"nothing"
"the weather - really humid"
"82% board pass rate vs nat'l avg=93% Dean is a crazy! Students are generally disaapointed with the curriculum at UTMB which stressed self directed learning and ver few lectures."
"The idea of learning on prison patients."
"how little time there would be to ask questions during the interview - If I had known this I would have talked more during the student panels instead of staring at the camera freaking out abt the interview lol"
"Current event issues and what to do about them."
"How insanely hot it was going to be that day (early September) and how much walking we were going to do outside. They send you off to find your interviewers by yourself. They can be located ANYWHERE on campus. Luckily, mine were located really close to each other, but others literally had to walk from one side of campus and then back to the other. They were probably drenched with sweat by the second interview. Also, some had to call the interviewer to open the door since buildings required access. Some interviews were held at a building that required security checkpoints. Ridiculous."
"Lots of walking"
"You can either have interviews in the morning, afternoon, or late afternoon"
"Not to stress so much about the actual interview"
"One interviewer didn't ask me any questions, only answered questions I had. I prepared a few questions to ask, but nowhere near enough to take up 30 minutes."
"Nothing much."
"How large the campus was - there was a lot of walking in between events!"
"I wish I had known that the questions were provided by the school and were only generic "what is your personality/are you a good person questions" rather than questions about my research or what makes me uniquely qualified."
"Read up on current events more."
"humid weather"
"Definitely go to the social! (I did) It was great! Definitely what I needed the night before my first interview to calm me down and to talk casually to current students."
"To not overthink it, even though one interview ended up being somewhat was a stress interview, it was a great day and they wanted you to be there."
"There is quite a bit of walking because the campus is so spread out. There was definitely more walking than I expected. Wear comfortable shoes."
"Galvy is hot and gross"
"Super hot when I interviewed. Don't be afraid to take off your jacket (this goes for any TX school interview in the summer)"
"The keypad to get into the parking garage is hard to see from the street, so I didn't even see the thin silver pole until I circled around a few times."
"The campus is pretty big. Depending on where your interviews are at, you might have to walk a lot. Be prepared for long distance walking and give yourself plenty of time."
"That they wouldn't ask a single ethics question, and wouldn't have access to my file."
"Galveston really is not as "OMFG it's hot here!" as many people say. Very hot, yes, but that's Texas."
"Galveston ain't that great of a town lol."
"That they would interview before giving campus tour."
"Not to go...I spent a lot of money traveling from CA"
"that there would be no a/c in one of my interviews... in august :("
"The humidity."
"If you can, definitely attend the night before social, meeting med students and other applicants in a casual setting really helped relieve a lot of my stress"
"Wish I had brought a bigger purse that would hold my shoes with heels, bottled water and umbrella. "
"It rained on our day and some people had to walk through the rain to get to their interview on time Oh and if you have to drive thru Houston... be prepared for some soul crushing traffic"
"Wish we could have seen the campus."
"What galveston was like (humid, hot, run-down)"
"That my first interviewer was going to be a little off his rocker. That I should bring mosquito repellent. "
"Wish I would have driven to the campus the night before to see where I had to go"
"It was my first interview, so I did not have a lot of questions lined up to ask the interviewer. This gets easier with more interviews. But it worked out...I am going to Galveston this Fall!!!"
"Nothing, reading the responses on SDN were very helpful."
"Nothing... I am extremely grateful that I brought comfortable shoes to walk in for the tour though... I would have been in some major pain otherwise."
"Both of my interviewers were PhD researchers and not MD's. So, most of my interviews were about my research. Good thing I have good research experience."
"Scholarships are automatically applied for for all matriculants. There is a Global Health Tract for students who are interested in International Medicine."
"How nice their curriculum is."
"The social hour is very casual."
"That the breakfast would be rinky-dink."
"houston traffic is a b****"
"That UTMB is really a nice school with friendly and laid back people."
"n/a"
"Interview is really more dependent on who you get than how ''good'' you are as an applicant. A laidback interviewer will make you think UTMB is the best thing since sliced bread, but a harsher one might instead make you through in the towel. Some things you just can't control!"
"I'm glad I learned it while there, it kept the day interesting!"
"bring bandaids for your feet because all the girls got blisters from all the walking! also, that the interviews are more like conversations than anything"
"UTMB is a big, spread-out campus that is full of construction. It can be a real challenge to find your way around, even with a map!"
"How informal the interview would be"
"Bring comfortable shoes for the tour."
"Not much ... the feedback from sdn prepared me enough. "
"Both interviewers had the same set of questions to base their interview on, so a lot of similar questions came up both times!"
"That the shuttle I was taking would be late both ends of the trip."
"That Houston/Galveston area was having severe thunderstorm weather the night before the interview day....my flight was almost delayed to the point where I would miss getting my car rental...plan accordingly...I should have done a better job...however everything worked out great!"
"Come with a lot of questions...the tour guide, medical students, interviewers, and the faculty members that ate lunch with us all wanted questions. I had to re-use the same questions by the end of the day."
"that Galveston does not like to label their streets clearly"
"the aerospace program"
"Bring an umbrella... yes it was raining and I had to walk outside."
"How great their board scores are. PBL is the key."
"They actually feed you lunch on china plates :)"
"Medical Fraternities are not much different that Undergraduate Fraternities."
"Nothing was too surprising"
"International opportunities available, Bioterrorism labs"
"International medicine program is top notch"
"that the interview would be so easy"
"that the board scores were the highest of any school in Texas"
"problem based learning"
"That they would ask so many ethical questions."
"How close to the beach the school actually is (4 or 5 blocks), and they only go to school a half day the first two years, presumably so they can "study" in the afternoon (ie. go to the beach)."
"that it would be freakin hot"
"The campus tour was a little tiring."
"That the curriculum isn't just "learn on your own" as a lot of 1st and 2nd years at other schools told me. There's lots of small group discussions and PBL groups which make sure you don't fall behind."
"facilities didn't seem that great. "
"UTMB's board scores are actually well above average nationwide, despite its possible reputation as a lower-tier type of school."
"They were a much more impressive program than I was expecting. Good board pass rates/means for their lower MCAT scores. They have some sort of NASA residency program. (sounds cool) "
"That the interviewers weren't going to ask me about anything really medically related"
"i should bring insect repellent"
"Their board scores are better than most Texas schools."
"The expense of hotels on Galveston Island."
"since i had my interviews in the morning i was done by 2:30 pm"
"The excellent infectious diseases research they're doing. "
"UTMB's funding and USMLE scores are better than I expected"
"the pediatrics program is definitely less than ideal--the student giving the tour told me there are very few pediatric patients, so the exposure is not as good as in other locations"
"UTMB goes by numbers or "diversity" now - you're in if you have good gpa/ MCAT or are URM. Funny, because the deans I talked to say there's minimal correlation between MCAT and step 1 scores (it's there, but small). They have "Step 1 bootcamp" in Missouri if you pass the first board exam. The students themselves don't seem to like the assistant dean of admissions/ student affairs & are kind of offended that this person instituted a minimum MCAT for admittance (there never used to be one at this once "party school"). I worry that future UTMB grads will not be making a difference in society if they all turn out like a cookie cutter product of the asst. dean's vision."
"The international health program, which is something I'm interested in."
"Although they use a H/HP/P/F graiding system, it's all on a curve...which is strange because they don't rank."
"Bring earplugs if you stay with a student!"
"All UTMB hospitals are public hospitals and owned by UTMB. "
"that I would be done by 3pm."
"Bring bug spray. There are lots of mosquitos this time of year. And an umbrella. Staying with a student is the best way to get to know how things work at UTMB."
"One of the major teaching hospitals is the state jail's."
"The gross anatomy lab tour--really kind of sick and in bad taste. "
"Galveston is scary in some parts."
"How humid and uncomfortable the weather is. But I am spoiled since I live in southern calif. "
"More about the PBL curriculum, and how many abroad opportunities there are."
"the day was greatly disorganized and the staff weren't as people-friendly as other schools "
"A moth ate some holes in my pants. (I don't think anyone else noticed)."
"hmmmmm......nothing really"
"Be sure your interviewer is actually where they say he is! I ran to several buildings to locate where my interviewer actually worked because the room number I'd been given was for his secretary, who was unavailable."
"How remote the surrounding area is."
"nothing"
"It is the oldest medical school in Texas... and they pretty much just live on thier legacy as being the first in Texas.... there is nothing much else for them to brag on... just my .02"
"how much walking there was!"
"UTMB has a space medicine program"
"The school has way more to offer than I thought. UTMB serves the prison population in Texas"
"Be prepared to walk all over the 10th largest medical campus in the US. Familiarize yourself with campus if possible...they hand you a map and the names and places of your interviewers, and you go find them on your own."
"Nothing. Everything went really well; just as I had expected."
"That I would like it as much as I did."
"That they were supposed to give me a token to get out of the parking garage. I did tell them that I parked in the parking garage, but didn't get one...I guess it was an oversight. The security guard was nice enough to let me out."
"The parking garage location. The sheet given gave okay directions but there are several parking garages on campus and they are all labeled the same."
"The interview ends at 2 PM."
"Be prepared to walk, when they say you need an umbrella they mean it! No ER residency program."
"There is a campus tour and you do ALOT of walking - be prepared. Also, there are two one-one-one 30 minute interviews that are very relaxed and not stressful."
"If you felt that 1 of your interviews was not representative of who you as a candidate, you could ask for a 3rd interview that same day."
"The campus is much nicer that I had been thinking. Probably my favorite campus layout of all the Texas schools. Very spacious with lots of room and no traffic. How much time they spend in PBL--the school's policy is that students will never spend more time in lecture than PBL. Amazing. Sounds good for making good diagnosticians, but I can see how it has hampered their board scores. This year's has improved, but the teaching method doesn't seem to lend itself to aceing standardized tests (USMLE)."
"that students regularly get together (even during first year) and travel to clinics on weekends to shadow doctors and help out."
"I learned a lot more about the integrated curiculum. They helped make it more clear to me."
"How many different opportunities they have available to the students to tailor their medical educations."
"It didn't rain, but looked like it would so I would recommend anyone interviewing later to bring an umbrella."
"They have a Medical Humanities Department that appears to offer a lot of opportunities, not only for dual degree programs, but for some deeper exploration of the human side of medicine even if one is interested in only a four year program. The staff was not very helpful in connecting me with the right people to pursue this while I was there, and they only gave it a cursory overview in the morning presentation. I had to seek out the department myself when the day was over, and they provided me with some contact information and a packet. It seems an opportunity like that would be a motivating factor in a student's ranking of the school, but they didn't seem to promote it, even when I showed a lot of interest."
"The USMLE pass rates at this school! I was informed that it has been in the low to mid 80s for the past few years by my tour guide as compared to a national pass rate of 91-93%. Seems like the curriculum stresses minimal class-time and plenty of "self - learning" which amounts to "teach yourself" medicine (no wonder their board pass rates leave more to be desired.)"
"There is a bunch of walking. Be prepared."
"bring good walikg shoes!"
"Not to where high heels, two of my interviews were quite the distance away"
"Bring extra shoes for the tour. I did for al of my other interviews and assumed that this one would be less walking. i dont know why I thought that, so I didnt take then with me to this one, MISTAKE!"
"900 interviewed; 600 names put forward to TMDSAS, of which 250-300 are ranked. The rest are on the alternate list and are not ranked."
"I wish I could have switched my interviewer. I felt like she was biased against me because of my race."
"I wish I could have switched my interviewer. I felt like she was biased against me."
"..."
"a lot of the students i talked to said if they had a chance to do things over again, they would NOT chose to go to galveston "
"Nothing."
"I should have worn OFF!!! Mosquitos!"
"read up on what UTMB has to offer. for example, they have a medical humanities institute which offers great electives like "medicine and the law." "
"heh, shoulda let my hair go curly rather than try to straighten it...the humidity really messed it up. "
"82%!!!!!!!!!!!!! "
"A majority of my interviewers were current medical students and only a couple of faculty members."
"UTMB's interview day was relaxed and enjoyable, and I believe it is a fantastic place to receive a medical education;"
"Very positive feeling, open communication with faculty which is rare"
"My interview was virtual due to Covid-19, but I still felt I was able to connect with the interviewers via Zoom. The interview was thorough but still relaxed. They did ask a lot of questions, but nothing out of the ordinary. Great experience overall."
"The interview was pretty chill. They do look at your CASPer scores when making decisions. There are required questions from the committee and from the interviewer themselves. Be prepared to explain some weak points in your application, be aware of your weaknesses."
"Overall, I left interview day feeling good about how I performed and excited by the idea of potentially attending the school. Everyone was very nice."
"Make interviews in one building to avoid the sweatfest my interview group went through. I'm sure other days were the same."
"UTMB was at the bottom of my list as far as Texas schools go. After visiting it is near the top. Every single student and faculty member talked about how the program is geared toward cooperation. not competition. The p/f grading and PBL style curriculum certainly help you understand how to work in a team and meet nearly every med student. The campus is big and very historic being the first med school in texas and with the infectious disease research center. The surrounding area is kind of sketch but that's coming from a suburban kid who now lives in a nice city so in reality it's probably not bad. Everyone seemed to genuinely enjoy being there, despite the oppressive humidity and unpredictable rain. Both interviewers were PhDs which was disappointing (considering I'm MD only) but both implied the interview here is mainly a formality to split hairs between similarly qualified applicants. Don't sweat the interview, use it to really find out if it's a place you could see yourself living in."
"Very chill interview and super conversational."
"I was very impressed with this school and I hope to attend! Interviews went kind of well... in my second interview, I was not sure if the interviewer understood some of what I said and had this confused look on his face 50% of the time which led me to babble more than I wanted. But overall, I think I did well and am keeping this as my top choice!"
"Great school, awesome history. Would love to matriculate here!"
"This was my worst interview thus far. Walking out of this interview, I didn't even want to be a doctor any more. I loved the school's curriculum, campus, track programs, and basically everything about it, but after such horrible interviews I can say with 100% confidence that I would take a gap year before going to a school that cares so little about recruiting good candidates."
"Had a great time. Easily became one of my top choices after everything I heard and saw at the school. VERY VERY impressed."
"great school"
"Laid back interview but somewhat stressful."
"Overall I liked the school! I was disappointed by some aspects of the medical center and my actual interviews though."
"It was a great place and a very fun interview, the students were awesome, and with the new hospital it should be an attractive school to anyone."
"Overall, I'm greatly impressed with this school and would love to be able to attend school here. Hope I get in!"
"Great school, everyone is really relaxed."
"Great curriculum, interesting track programs, amazingly enjoyable and conversational interviews, cheap housing, very happy students!"
"UTMB is a great place to interview at and a great medical school to attend. I kept on reading how laidback their medical interviews were and I didnt believe it until I did mine. I was so shocked how laidback it was both of my intervieweers were super nice, friendly and personable!!!!"
"Great interview, great town, great school!"
"UTMB is a great place. Awesome, friendly students, so many opportunities other than just the standard MD route, Galveston National Laboratory was amazing."
"Make sure you where good shoes for walking : )"
"Best lunch on Interview day is served here."
"Last choice."
"Really liked the people at this school. It was my first interview and I didn't feel like it went well at all. First interviewer was a phd: very conversational, but talked mostly about himself. Second was with an MD: friendly, had specific questions prepared from my application. One of the main drawbacks about this school was that I felt they were trying to hide the damage of the storm. The few places they showed us were nice, but i got the impression that the rest of the school/ hospital system was still in shambles. My first interviewer told me his department was only 10% of what it was, and he felt it was a similar story across the UTMB system. I know they are making significant progress in the rebuild, i just don't know how quickly its happening."
"This is a no-stress event so be relaxed and comfortable."
"We got to see the cadavers which was soooo cool!!"
"It was over all a great day for me. Good luck everyone!"
"--My interviews were more like conversations than question and answers. They were both very laid-back, and my first one I was even able to talk to for almost an hour. Not stressful at all!"
"Bring mosquito repellant! Also, the food is not nearly as bad as everyone says it is! The interviews at UTMB are very laid back. There's nothing to stress about... just be yourself."
"I LOVED this school and really hope that they give me an offer!"
"open file except for GPA/MCAT great school. even with ike, they haven't skipped a beat. if i only got in here, i would have no problem attending."
"GREAT school. Really, really enjoyed it. "
"School has above average board scores and offers significant residency application assistance. Interview was conversational style. "
"Good school--much better than the city it's located in. They really take care of their students and everyone is friendly. The laid back atmosphere is perfect for certain people. I think this will be my back up school. In terms of "fit", I think I need a medical school that is a little more intense for me to have the best experience. Galveston is just so laid back and so chill that it doesn't fit my personality. "
"Interview day made me go from "maybe this place will be kind of cool" to "I could really see myself enjoying being a student here""
"Great school and very personable students and staff. Loved the history of this, the oldest medical school west of the Mississippi."
"I ended up liking the school more than I thought I would."
"I LOVED the school. The students seem very happy and well prepared to be doctors. I like that as an MS1 you have patient contact (not simulated patient contact). The classes seem well diverse which is a plus. My interviews were pretty much conversational...just wanted to get to know me not size me up. (Kudos to our tour guide, Patrick-he sold me on PBL!!)"
"the interviews were very relaxed. a few questions regarding my application were asked in the beginning, but as soon as we started talking, we ended up chit chatting the entire time about everything. it was more like a flowing conversation than an interview."
"Really enjoyed the school. My tour guide was so excited to show us the school and it made it so much better. I really like the schedule and how the school wants the students to have lives outside of school. Very enjoyable experience."
"Nice area, impressive teaching strategy, high board scores (higher than Hopkins), laid back atmosphere, prison hospital"
"I was very impressed with the atmosphere at UTMB. The students and faculty all look and sound very happy. The students had very few criticisms about the school, the biggest one focusing more on Galveston than UTMB (that Galveston needs a giant mosquito net), which says something about how they feel about the school's program. UTMB is one of the few sites in the country with a BSL-4 facility --- how exciting --- and there are opportunities to work in Global Health, research, volunteer/community service projects, etc."
"It was very relaxing and exciting. My interviewers were really nice and got to kinow me. My first interviewer actually used 45mins! and then my second used about 7 mins!. My second interviwer gave me lots of advice about medical school. Overall, i'll say it was good."
"very relaxed atmosphere, interviews are very conversational"
"I went to the interview not expecting much out of the school, but in leaving I dont know how this school is not ranked with their high bord scores and their clinically based curriculum. But the interviews were really relaxed and the interviewers were really nice."
"I felt like I was being grilled. They asked many many hypothetical questions as well as scrutinized my past education. I did not feel like I was having a conversation to get to know me, I felt like I was proving myself and explaining why my life choices were not inappropriate for a medical career. "
"i expected really laid back interviews, and one of my interviews was as such, but the other interview was intense, with questions about fMRI (i work on a study that uses it, but am not expected to know the technical aspects of how it works) and medical ethics."
"Overall it was fine, the interviewers didn't ask any tough questions. Both of mine were PhD's and professors of some of the 1st year courses so they just talked alot about the curriculum and if it was right for me. The students seem pretty relaxed and the really high board scores are what set this school apart for me. My car brokedown on the way back to Dallas in Houston so it was very frustrating being stuck."
"I thought that the staff, students, and interviewers that I met with were all very courteous and informative and they did the same thing all the schools are trying to do...recruit intelligent students. It's amazing to me how quick people are to criticize something like the food they fed, as if you should choose a school based on the food they serve on interview day or like it is some how their fault that you didn't like it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions but you have to take all of the stuff that you read on here with a grain of salt. I have interviewed almost everywhere in TX and even though each place is different I have no had a bad experience anywhere and would feel lucky to go to any of the schools. The point of SDN should be to prepare other people for the type of atmosphere and interview philosophy to expect. It was a very pleasant day. Yes, Galveston is galveston it's not Houston or Austin or Dallas so if you go into it expecting that then it won't be for you. They have a well thought out curriculum and are genuinely focused on the student's learning, which is represented by their excellent board scores, but again if you are a big city person then just simply don't waste your gas, your money, or UTMB's time."
"UTMB is an ok school, i just really hate the location, and campus. the construction going on was annoying.. my interviews were fantastic, the first was a surgeon at shriners and although he didnt read my file, he was very nice and wanted to get to know me. he talked alot, but also gave me alot of time to say what i wanted, so that worked out well. my second guy was a phd who published some paper in nature (!) and pulled that out in the middle of our interview when he realized how much into research i am. very nice guy and asked interesting questions about my research, and i really liked his research as well, although his lab looked very out dated. food was HORRIBLE... "
"Very laid back and informative. I got the morning interviews, so after a brief introduction with breakfast, I immediately went to my two interviews. My first interview with a PhD professor went very well and we ended up conversing for 45 minutes despite the time limit being 30 minutes. My second interview with an ID doctor went well too, but he spent most of his time explaining the opportunities at their school rather than asking me questions. We ate lunch and then went on a tour of the campus."
"Interview was pretty nice. I had my interview in the morning after a brief introduction to the school. Interviews are really all over the campus in PhD's office and some parts of the hospital (for MDs). Interview wasn't too stressful as I did some prep-work, but could have been better. Nothing really too obvious except to KNOW the flaws of your application and have a prepared answer for it. There's nothing like trying to answer a question like ''Why haven't you done research?'' or ''Why don't you have more clinical experience?'' because honestly there's NO good answer to those questions and trying to deflect them on the spot can have disastrous results. Also, be aware that they have no idea of your GPA or MCAT while you are interviewing, so there's no bias in your interview."
"Good. Nice people. 2 interviewers: 1) Reviewed my entire application with me (they don't have scores tho). Was very nice, very easy to talk to, not a single difficult question. 2) Didn't talk about my app once - talked about health policy, just had a conversation. Really liked the guy. "
"UTMB has mastered the art of ''Work hard, play hard,'' and that really helps to create the positive atmosphere there. Considering their match rates and board scores, the curriculum is obviously very effective. But unlike other places, the students also seem to be very happy and get a fair amount of time for activities such as working out, intermurals, families, etc. The atmosphere at UTMB is what sold me. It's not about competition at all...moreso just the attitude that they are all becoming doctors together and will do anything to help the experience be more positive in any way. It's quite amazing, really. If you're looking for the cut-throat, prestigious type reputation, this place is definitely not for you. But if you are like me and want a good, solid medical education with a positive atmosphere and a chance to have SOME fun during med school, then you'll probably love this place. "
"If only it weren't in Galveston..."
"I thought I would fall in love with UTMB, but I quickly found out that it is not the school for me...seems way too laid back...the facilites are outdated...and looking at galveston crime rates a horrible city to live in, just about every med student I talked to there said at one point are another they (or someone they knew) were victims of crime."
"I was nervous because it was my first interview. Other than that, it was a great experience meeting other applicants, the med students and checking out the facilities."
"It was great...definately one of my top choices. Interviews were very relaxed and stress free. The campus and hospitals are nice. Lunch was good and all the students had to talk about was ''free time'' and how much fun they have at school. "
"I stayed at the Quality Inn Suites, only about 10 mins away, and it was very nice. It was rather windy the day of interview so the our was a little uncomfortable. Overall, it was a great first interview experience."
"I don't know if it was because it was my first interview but I really had fun and thoroughly enjoyed the tour. People were laid back, I was fully enthusiastic about expressing myself and the questions weren't really challenging. It was more like getting to know a friend. I have heard that students at UTMB Galveston are required to go to the prison and treat people there but I think that would only be a good learning experience. After all, you don't get to choose the patients you treat. Definitely go on a tour of a medical school. It will motivate you like no other in realizing how much you want to pursue this profession. At least it did for me. I already know how much I wanna go but touring the school made me picture how things would be if I were actually there, which excited me even more. "
"The first interviewer asked questions almost exclusively from a form. The second interviewer was awesome and basically said that he didn't think that any of those form questions were relevant to whether or not I would be a good doctor. He just wanted to get to know me. Neither were MDs, both were PhDs."
"Overall both interviews went well."
"The interview day was more enjoyable than it was nerve-racking. In the morning my half of the group took a tour with a student, who was quite sarcastic but pretty entertaining and truthful nevertheless. The facilities were nice and there's a lot of construction going on for projects that should be completed relatively soon. The second half of the day consisted of the two interviews. I got to the first interview early so it ended up lasting almost an hour, and then the interviewer walked me half of the way to the next interview. The second interviewer was very easy to talk to."
"The weather was great, fortunately I didn't have to go through all the humidity and heat that people usually have to deal with at UTMB. The hotel I stayed in had bugs, wasn't too great. The campus itself was fine, I'd rank the facilities between Houston and SA. The people are about the same - they seem to be great no matter where you go in TX. My interviews were mixed. The first one was just simply awesome. Felt like I clicked with the doc, we shared common interests and he was very engaging and informative. The second interviewer ruined the whole experience for me. He was late (understandable), but he spent 20 min reading my file and asking a question every now and then. Also asked about MCAT/GPA when it was supposed to be closed file. Then he got beeped away (understandable). I just wish I had a more discussion type interview, but oh well win some lose some."
"I arrived in Galveston about midnight the night before. I stayed with a MS II which was a really wise decision as he gave me a tour of campus and told me where orientation would be and where I could park. Orientation went from about 8:30-10am and they went into detail about the history of the school and its many attributes as well as the curriculum which to me is the best of all the meds schools in Texas; my interviews were in the afternoon so half of the interviewers split off to their morning interviews and those with afternoon interviews went on a tour of the campus; lunch went from 11:30-1pm...I left early enough to make it to my 1:15pm and 2:15pm interviews...both interviews were supposed to last only 30 minutes but I was lucky enough to have a lot in common with my interviewers (a Ph.D. and an M.D.) that time flew by faster than we thought....the interviews themselves were at the same time laid back but serious....they really got to know me well....I do hope to put this as my first choice of at least 4 schools...after my interviews the MS II I was staying with invited me to an afternoon class on Colorectal Cancer...pretty cool...after that I hung out with some med students and then drove back to Hobby to make my flight."
"I was impressed by the information session in the morning; I had no idea the school was an authority in infectious diseases. The tour was mediocre, but they faculty and medical students were all very friendly. My first interviewer seemed to be negative from the start and the second interviewer assured me that I would have no problem getting accepted...I felt like they were using the "
"It was really enjoyable, very friendly, but different from all the other "
"UTMB is a really decent school. Anyone who gets accepted should really consider going. "
"They were the most low stress conversations ever."
"It was my first interview. I went into it expecting to be challenged and grilled but left feeling like I had spent an hour not really offering them any reason to select me over anyone else. To me, anyone can sit and have a decent conversation. They were very laid back and basically just wanted to get a feel for my personality. UTMB has a very interesting curriculum, but its location coupled with its recent funding struggles make it an unattractive choice for me."
"They sold me on the place. Their anatomy lab is incredible. Nowhere else will you find sky lights in the anatomy lab. They really sold me on the place. Everyone there loves to be there."
"Extremely pleasant. Everyone was friendly and helpful. Interviewers were extremely interested in me as a person. Location is good and reasonably priced. "
"I stay the night at a fraternity house. The fraternity guys weren't very hospitable. My interviews went fantastic. I was able to get a lot out and learn a lot about the curriculum and the programs of interest. The interview was more like a conversation. The tour was good. We got a demonstration of their artificial intellegence maniquins. Their gross anatomy laboratory was impressive."
"I had the single worst interview I have ever had and the single best interview I have ever had."
"Good overall. The first interview was pretty typical, but the second was more interesting. We talked a lot about foreign travel and health care systems."
"Overall it was a great day. My first interviewer LOVED me and wanted to keep talking but I had to leave for my next interview. The second interview went well, but the guy interviewing was one of those people that didn't seem too interested in me but rather liked to inform me about the school and admissions policies. I really liked the school."
"My first interview was very conversational. Our topics ranged from destination weddings in mexico, to rock climbing with priest/professors, to my experiences working with underserved groups. The second interviewer seemed annoyed because i was the "second of four of these today." She didn't have much of a personality, but I think it went ok."
"It was overall a good experience; the people were friendly and helpful. The day was relaxed and was meant for the school to get to know the applicant better."
"The interviews were very relaxed. More of a conversation than anything. The 2nd interviewer talked more about himself than about me."
"Overall, the interview experience was very relaxed."
"Don't like Galveston that much, but faculty and students seem nice. "
"My first interviewer was a PhD and super laid back, t-shirt and jeans laid back. No real questions were asked, he just got to know me. My second interviewer was a general surgeon. He seemed a bit retentive, but overall the interview was similar to the first, laid back conversation style."
"really laid back...almost unnervingly easy interviews. lots and lots of walking around construction"
"The first interviewer was great. Talkative, and jovial. The 2nd was a stark contrast. He didn't look like the talkative type, so he just shot tough, straight questions at me without an expression. Seemed very different from the first interviewer. I freaked out and got a 3rd interviewer. He seemed much cooler, but since he didn't know anything about me until the last minute, we mainly talked about other stuff, like authors, Iraq, and the UTMB administration."
"Extremely laid back. I walked into my first interview and I was pretty nervous because he was a neurosurgeon. He told me to sit down, I did, he looked me straight in the eye, and said "I don't believe in canned questions. I think they're a bunch of bullsh!t." Right away, I knew I was home. "
"Really great time. Number one choice!"
"8:30-9 breakfast, 9-10 welcome, 10-11 interviews, 11-12 second interview, 12-1 lunch/student panel, 1-2 tour"
"Very laid back kind of atmosphere...the students and admissions staff were friendly and emphasized their spirit of cooperation. I have actually done an internship there so I know this is not a show--this is really one of the nicest places to get an education. The interviewers were kind of weird, the first was an OB-GYN who asked quite a few direct questions at first, but then it became more conversational. The 2nd guy (Rabek) was a PhD who threw out a lot of weird hypothetical situations...stuff that I really couldn't answer definitely without having experienced them. I just hope my answers didn't sound too out there."
"The 2 interviews were night and day. The first one was probing. She wasn't very respectful- believed that no one could really want to go into medicine to help other people. (I talked about a shadowing experience with a great doctor who made next to nothing but was making a huge difference in his community) The second interview was a conversation. She didn't ask me anything except if I liked birds. At the end of the talk she said that she hoped I came to this school and that my creditials were above what they were looking for. "
"This was my first interview, so I was probably overly prepared. Everyone seemed really nice and laid-back though, which definitely made things easier."
"the interviews were very conversational"
"My first interviewer asked many difficult theoretical ethics questions. I was prepared to anwser such questions, just not for 45 minutes in depth. It didn't help that he didn't make eye contact and mumbled as he spoke(MD interviewer). My second interview, while very late and not with the person it was orginally scheduled for couldn't have gone better. "
"Overall it was a great interview. I don't know if I got in but it was a positive experience."
"i like this school a lot, especially the people and the curriculum, plus the students are only in lecture a couple hours a day, but they still do really well on the boards"
"Great. Both interviewers were extremely nice. The first had a list of questions to ask, without looking at my application. The second (also without my application) was conversational with occasional "Tell me about yourself" or "why do you want to be a doctor?" questions mixed in. I LOVED this school."
"Very easy, very low-stress, I don't think they learned anything from me other than the fact that I could speak english and could make eye contact"
"The interviewers were both great and very different. One had read my application from top to bottom, the other printed it out when I got there. When the second one had to go see a patient, I went with him and watched an endoscopy"
"interviewers very relaxed and laid back; the med student i stayed with was absolutely awesome (i recommend this experience!); lunch was great (catered mexican food)"
"The interview is meaningless at UTMB. It's nice that you get a free meal and a tour, but the interviewers are told to keep their time with you short (which really quite offended me). I worked hard to get here, but I am also more than just a statistic! "
"I love this school! It is definately one of my top choices."
"I'm a little iffy about Galveston - it's small island surrounded by dirty Gulf of Mexico water. But it's a really historic town, and if you're into cities with kind of an old-world small town feel, it's not so bad. Because it's a small city, students seem to make their own fun and have an extensive extracurricular system in place. The campus itself is nice and there's lots of construction going on for biocontainment facilities and whatnot. They schedule and hour for interviews and say that most interviews take 30 minutes, but I went over an hour on both of my interviews. Food is the best out of all of the Texas schools (FYI). However, I've never really liked open-ended interviews (feels like we're always getting off subject), and both were extremely open-ended even though they asked me some of the hardest questions I've encountered so far. The biggest hesitation I have about this school, however, is that I don't know if a curriculum with so much emphasis on PBL is right for me."
"Very enjoyable day. Very relaxed and comfortable atmosphere."
"overall a great experience. it was my first interview and I left feeling very great about the whole day. my first interviewer was a phd from japan- it was difficult at times to understand him clearly; however, he was extremely supportive and down to earth. My second interviewer was very laid back and very interested in just hearing about me and my experiences thus far."
"I LOVED my interviewers. They were both so outspoken and genuine. My first interviewer recited a poem he wrote while he was a sociologist to me and showed me pictures of toddler - we just had a great conversation. My second interviewer was also excellent. The curriculum is awesome -they've really been working hard to help their students succeed, and it shows with scores better than the national averages on the USMLE. I was watching a path video from a first year lecture, and the professor cracked some pretty funny jokes. I didn't think I would like this school AT ALL when I went down to interview - now it is probably my first choice. "
"It was a great interview day! The facilities are great, the faculty is relaxed and for the past two years UTMB has had the highest scores on the USMLE's."
"One of my interviews lasted an hour (it was supposed to be 30 minutes). I didn't put any specific questions down because they asked standard interview questions (why doctor, what specialty...)."
"Overall, the interview experience was great. I really enjoyed the interview part of the day the most. Folks are very helpful and friendly. The tour was very informative and I thought that the anatomy lab looked nice."
"It was ok but not great, the students are nice but some of the researchers there will badger you if you get them for interviewers."
"Very laid back day. If you have any inclination that you did not get a chance to represent yourself positively to your interviewer, let someone know and they will glady re-schedule your interview. They want everyone to have a fair chance at acceptance and no butthead interviewer should get in the way of that. I thought that was pretty cool!!"
"The school is great but the climate sucks."
"I was really impressed by the curriculum, the facilities, and the school. My only concern is that Galveston might get a little boring after 4 years."
"Pretty decent if you ignore the problems with the administration"
"I loved Galveston, and I really think I may be ranking it #1. The people there were awesome. I never thought a medical school could be so chill. "
"Pretty much what the previous poster said. I was glad that this was my first interview...very low key, low stress. They made us feel very welcome and like they actually wanted us to go there. The students seem happy with where they are and most of the picked UTMB as #1 on their match. Interviews were conversational, nothing really hard or unexpected. One interviewer just kept staring at me though, like she wanted me to say something--but I have no idea what. They take you on a tour around campus (bout 1 hr). It was a beautiful day in Galveston though and no body broke a sweat! =)"
"I was amazed with how low stress the day was. This was my first interview and I was expecting more. The interviews were very conversational. The interviewers asked really vague/open-ended questions and did not really try to steer the conversation so I could pretty much talk about whatever I wanted. NOTE: The interviews were open file except that the interviewers couldn't see your grades or test scores."
"Good day. Organized. Helpful faculty & students. Students all insist that they are happy. "
"It was a really good interview. I was disappointed in the night before event, but overall impressed with the school, curriculum and faculty"
"The school is nice, easy interviews, so don't worry about it. Take it easy and you will do fine."
"Both interviewers were really laid-back. The interviews seemed 100% conversational and I was laughing and joking with both my interviewers by the end."
"Overall enjoyable experience"
"the school does a really good job on selling you the PBL curriculum. i'm not sure if it's for me, but they do a good job convincing you that it is effective and produces good physicians. "
"Fair"
"Loved the school, great experience with one interviewer and the other was lukewarm. It is closed file but I saw that one of my interviewers had my grades/mcat!!!!!!!"
"UTMB is a great school, with great students. They are there to become physicians, not there to impress anybody. The interviewers that I had just wanted to get to know me, not the me on paper. I found this really refreshing. They were mainly conversational...No tough questions. Overall, I really enjoyed it. Galveston is actually really pretty. "
"The interviews are spread out and not very organized. I had two interviews, but not one was with an MD which I thought was strange."
"Relaxed. The interviews were formulaic, and thankfully did not ask any ethical or current issues questions"
"I will rate UTMB as my top choice. They gave me an interview before they had my MCAT scores. Students are very positive and everyone seems to get along really well. My first interviewer was a physician. He took me on a tour around his unit and some other places. He even walked me to my second interview (very good first impression). My second interview was with an MD/PhD. He was just as approachable as the first and very easy to talk to. "
"Overall, the day went very smoothly. There was not a whole lot of downtime and the day ended relatively early. The island is great!"
"I think that this is a great school with a very relaxed atmosphere. "
"UTMB provides free parking in the parking garage. The opening presentation was short and sweet. Interviews were scheduled one after the other, but the interviews were only supposed to be 30 min long, and there was plenty of time to get to the next interview. My interviewers were both very nice and answered all my questions about Galveston and UTMB at length. The interviews were stress free and conversational instead of grilling. Lunch was delicious and they gave us candy because it was Halloween! Also, the campus tour was cool, it was a small group (there were 4 of us plus the student guide) so it was easy to ask questions. He took us to the gross anatomy lab and showed us a cadaver, and also to the "control room" where they watch you as you interact with a standardized patient (an actor). Overall, UTMB has very nice facilities, great students and faculty, and if you like a small city and island weather, Galveston is great."
"UTMB gets a bad rap due to its low board pass rates after it introduced its new curriculum. However, they have really worked out the kinks and they are now up to a 97% pass rate. I was really impressed by the whole experience."
"I was very exited even before I got to the school. I took the online tour and was amazed at how beautiful the school was. This was also a feeling shared by many of my fellow interviewees. I was interviewed my two doctors, one PHD and one MD. The PHD was interested in my research. The MD was concerned about my undergrad grades, seemed satisfied with my answer (I hope). There are things to do in Galveston. I was told that the waves do get big enough to surf(by my PHD) I was also told by my MD that the greens fee at the municipal golf course is only 10 dollars. "
"It was a decent interview experience. The night before event was not too helpful. The interviews weren't stressful at all, which I was weirdly disappointed by. Not that I like stress...but it almost seemed like they didn't really care. ? "
"The first interview went how everyone else reported their interviews went: great, no stress, just a nice conversation and a few questions. The second interviewer seemed like he was interested in finding mistakes in my application and confronting me with them. It was more stressful, and I felt like he didn't want me to succeed from the moment I walked in the door. He was not actually rude or anything (other than calling me OLD), but I felt like he was adversarial and like he was testing my reaction to stress. It saddened me that it wasn't as pleasant of an experience as the first interview."
"It was an overall good experience. Board scores are up at this program. Looks like UTMB is trying to get out of the cellar with its reputation compared to its sister programs."
"I was very impressed by UTMB. Their new curriculum is great for very motivated and organized individuals who like to learn independently. The faculty and students are friendly. The UTMB campus looks like a small town college campus."
"This was my first interview of the season and I had a great time. While I did not get too much out of the night before the interview program It did give me the chance to meet my fellow interviewees and to sort of share our axiety about the night before. I was able to get many of my questions answered and had new ones to ask at my interview the next day. Both of my interviewers were scientists not Physicians so I made it a point to ask them about their research. overall it was laid back and non threatening."
"Very positive. Great school, nice people!"
"Incredibly laid-back. UTMB seems to use the interviews to simply get to know who you are. They're not trying to stump/stress you. Both interviews felt like conversations rather than interviews. The day starts @ 8:30AM, ends around 2PM. Overall, I was impressed w/the campus, the students, and the faculty. "
"I had only heard bad things about Galveston, but the visit really improved my attitude. This is another fine medical school. Just don't forget your can of OFF."
"Both of my interviewers were really nice. Your interviewers see your application, except they do not know your MCAT score or your GPA. So they really want to get to know you as a person (aside from numbers), and see if you would be a good fit for the school. The students were helpful as well-- they answered a lot of my questions."
"In addition to tons of exposure to community medicine in the area... UTMB also serves Texas' prison community (lots of end stage pathology). Their curriculm is what really attracts me b/c my learning style fits with this type of instruction."
"I was impressed with how enthusiastic every one is about the curriculum, including the interviewers. There were tons of students available to talk to and they seem like a great bunch of people. Very relaxed and positive experience."
"Just wanted to clarify on the previous 2 posts. Austin: 3rd and 4th years can choose to either spend the whole year in Austin or do a couple of rotations there (Brackenridge, Children's). If you spend the whole year, you need to find your own housing for the year. I think there are 24 students there from the current 3rd year class doing the whole year. If you do a couple of rotations in Austin, housing is provided for you for free (4 students per 2 bedroom apts) because they don't want you paying rent for 2 places. Rotations that require a patient simulation to demonstrate your history and physical exam skills (internal med, family med, pedi) will require that you come back to Galveston to take the exam (travel costs are reimbursed but capped). For family med, you can request to go anywhere in Texas. Boards: It's hard to tell whether the curriculum has any affect on anything. The administrators will say "yes" if the results are good and "it's too early to tell" if the results are bad. We're not in class as long as other schools are, which is both good and bad. Students end up skipping class anyways if there're too many classes. Bottom line: Board studying is up to you, how motivated you are, and how much your friends motivate you. The class that had the reputation for the bad board scores/pass rate just graduated (or at least should have). Current 4th years improved on that class, but hovered around the UTMB average (~210, nat'l avg 215) because the people who did poorly did really poorly, dragging the average down. But a lot of people in the current 4th year class did really well because they freaked out over how the class before them did. We freaked out too. The current 3rd year class studied early and studied hard. And when everyone is studying for the Boards, it's hard to slack off. Anyhow, we've always had the 6 weeks of summer break after 2nd year. I don't know if the Dean said this during the info session, but what the Dean's office did was purchase a national prep course/board question bank for ALL OF US for free. We could extend our access to the bank at our own cost. We also had 3rd & 4th years tutor us for free or for a nominal fee. That probably made the difference. The 97% pass rate they're quoting you corresponds to a 225, when the nat'l avg is a 217 this year. At least 111 students scored above 221 (corresponds to a score of 90), and at least 24 students had scores that corresponded to a 99. Obviously, students and faculty are all very excited about this and they want to keep the upward trend going. Hope this helps. Best of luck with interviews!"
"This is a school that is selling itself. Instead of the feeling... prove to them why they should accept you, it is quite the opposite. The interview is basically them selling the school to you. This attitude spills out into everything else. This is a great school, and I sense with all the positives about it... applicants who appreciate the friendly atmosphere will be placing it as their top choice in the match."
"Galveston appears to be a wonderful place to live for those, like myself, who are attracted to a smaller, more intimate community. The clinical facilities seemed to offer a lot of opportunities, and the option to spend the vast majority of your third and fourth years at Breckenridge in Austin was very appealing. (Although, again, no one seemed to be very informed about this either.) The school has more of a campus feel than many other Texas schools. They have a nice gym, plenty of quiet study environments, and a decent student center. The curriculum allows for a ton of time off during your basic science years, which implies that a lot of the learing is done by you at home. Honestly, it was really hard to get a straight answer as to how this formula played out as far as future success in residency, but this is likely because the curriculum is only 5 years old. They are conscious of their reputation for turning out low board scores and strongly emphasized that there second year class this year had a 97% pass rate for Step Ones, and that their mean score was well above the national average. It's hard to know whether or not this speaks to the tweaking of the curriculum or to a unique class. I tend to lean toward the former. "
"Very stress-free. The interviewers were very laid back and just wanted to talk and get to know me better. I do appreciate that the school looks at the whole individual and not just stats and numbers."
"I think UTMB has lost a lot of quality in recent years. I hope that the school will be able to get back some of it's former glory."
"I had a very positive interview. I learned a lot about the school and its curriculum. The students are awesome!"
"I really liked this school and it is now number 2 on my list mostly because of the curriculm and the history behind it. My interviewers were great too and gave me alot of useful info about living there. Some of the students didnt seem to be happy there though but they seemed to be the type that would complain about anywhere there were."
"Great school with really friendly faculty and students, although the emphasis on PBL may not be to every applicant's liking. Interviews are very relaxed, so no need to be nervous."
"Great interviews!! They were totally interested in me as a contemplative individual rather than as a pre-med. Very innovative curriculum; in several years will no doubt be the top school in the state. "
"Horrible! :("
"The interviews at UTMB were pleasant. I enjoyed seeing the school but left with a very neutral impression."
"the interviews were really laid back and everyone was friendly. galveston is not my first choice but the experience was okay."
"The interviews were very laid back. They seemed mostly to want to see if you fit in with the atmosphere - friendly and cooperative. This was the best organized & friendliest interview I've had."
"It was a good experience, except for the 30 bug bites i got! although both my interviewers ended up talking way more than I did, so I felt like it was almost a waste of my plane ticket and time for me to even be sitting there. But they were fairly nice, so that was good. "
"the first one was a bit odd, but friendly all the same. the second was much better. the interviewers are not writing anything down when they talk to you. i guess they're just there to see what your personality is like. no need to plug your C.V. here, just be very personable."
"it was a really nice, laid-back day. no rough questions. one of my interviewers ended up chatting with me for an hour and a half and then told me he'd give me his highest recommendation (wow). i was told that they instruct interviewers to keep the sessions laid back and easy. And they really were."
"Faculty is arrogant (with an 82% pass rate!) Students say they have few postive experiences with the faculty and say they are treated like an "experiment" with the new PBL based curriculum. students said that the USMLE step one pass rates have declined there every year since the school adopted the self directed learning curriculum."
"UTMB was really great. The students seem to really love it. Our tour guide was extremely friendly and helpful. The interviews are semi-open file. They have your application, but not your grades or MCAT scores."
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Student | 188 |
| Faculty member | 0 |
| Admissions staff | 2 |
| Other | 3 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Enthusiastic | 98 |
| Neutral | 20 |
| Discouraging | 2 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.29 | 119 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| In state | 111 |
| Out of state | 11 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 0-1 hour | 36 |
| 2-3 hours | 25 |
| 4-6 hours | 39 |
| 7+ hours | 17 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Airplane | 24 |
| Automobile | 87 |
| Train or subway | 2 |
| Other | 6 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| < $100 | 55 |
| $101-$200 | 22 |
| $201-$300 | 10 |
| $301-$400 | 5 |
| $401-$500 | 3 |
| $501+ | 8 |
Houston-Hobby
N/A
BWI to AUS
HOU- Houston/Hobby
dfw
Hobby
Hob
HOU
IAH
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At school facility | 1 |
| With students at the school | 24 |
| Friends or family | 12 |
| Hotel | 51 |
| Home | 6 |
| Other | 1 |
Yes
Yes
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.21 | 126 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 5.94 | 128 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 6.20 | 128 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.16 | 64 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.66 | 65 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.02 | 59 |
"Please create a pdf brochure to send out to interviewees like other schools do"
"none"
"Awesome day and awesome school!"
"Perhaps make sure that the interviewers are able to fully understand the interviewees."
"Find more appropriate faculty to conduct interviews"
"Be sure the interviewers know they are supposed to be interviewing! Other than that, it was a great day!"
"n/a"
"None. Almost everyone there was super helpful, nice, and funny!"
"More substantial vegetarian options for lunch!"
"Great Job!!! Everyone was very nice and helpful!!"
"Get enthusiastic tour guides; don't tour when it's hot; show us the SIM center; we don't need to see the rare book room; get someone to do the welcome who won't sound like they're quashing our reasons to go into medical school...."
"Tours could be better - our guide wasnt quite sure where to take us, and ended up in a lot of hurric"
"None. Great job!!!"
We help students become doctors. TM
What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 1)?