How did the interview impress you?

Positively

What was the stress level of the interview?

1 out of 10

How you think you did?

10 out of 10

How long was the interview?

30 minutes

Where did the interview take place?

At the school

How many people interviewed you?

3

What was the style of the interview?

One-on-one

What type of interview was it?

Open file

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

"Interview 1: Tell me "your story." Where do you see yourself in ten years? Do you have any concerns about VCOM? If you are accepted here and several other schools, what would keep you from choosing VCOM? " Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

"Interview 2: What is compassion? What positive experiences did have when you were shadowing physicians? What negative experiences did you have? What are the traits of a good physician? Do you think you are well prepared for medical school?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

"Interview 3: Mostly conversational with no real questions. Discussed the professors background, his interest in VCOM, status of D.O. hospitals, international D.O. schools versus U.S. schools, realities and practicalities use of O.M.M. in practices, trends in D.O. medicine, etc..." Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most interesting question?

"Do you think that you will remain compassionate as a physician?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most difficult question?

"I can't say that anything was difficult. Maybe, would you consider "oncology?" I would and in fact it had already crossed my mind." Report Response | I was asked this question too

How did you prepare for the interview?

"SDN, VCOM's website" Report Response

What impressed you positively?

"All most everything seemed positive. The students seemed genuinely happy. The professors seemed to be so excited about the school. There seemed to be a real vision full of grandiose expectations for the future of this school. I was very interested in the medical missions program, the incredible technology the school has built in, and the atmosphere they are creating there. " Report Response

What impressed you negatively?

"Very little. I had no real doubts about their clinical aspects but they did seem like they were trying to avoid the topic. Every time someone brought it up, it seemed as though the answers were "we don't know yet" or "we will know better next year when the current 2nd year class moves into clinicals" or "the Dean is working on that." Here are my reservations. While I am certain that the excellence of the school will continue through clinicals, there is no concrete evidence of this as of yet. Words are words. You can choose to believe them but there is no evidence. This is in no way the fault of the school. They are new and will soon have a reputation and I'm certain it will be tremendous but they just do not have one as of yet. As I make a decision on whether or not to attend this school, I feel I may be taking a slight gamble on the clinicals. I feel the first two years are excellent and of course with the faculty being together, excellence can be monitored and enhanced. The clinicals sites will be new. There will be some "kinks" to be worked out and this may be more difficult given that the hospitals and sites are not in the same building as the Dean. Will all 160 students be placed locally or will some have to travel to Ohio or Florida or somewhere else in order to do a surgery rotation or whatever else? These are questions I will need to have settled before I decide on going here." Report Response

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

"The medical missions program is so incredible. During your third and fourth years, you will be allowed to select an overseas rotation (4-8 weeks) in Guatemala, Inida, or Siberia (others may be added later). If you then select to complete a Family Medicine residency through VCOM, you can also complete portions of your residency in one of their international sites. Upon completion of your residency, you will then have an opportunity to spend one full year practicing in one of their international sites and be reimbursed plus have 100K of your loans paid off by VCOM. Pretty cool!" Report Response

What are your general comments?

"There is so much to love, it seems to overshadow my concerns. The family friendly environment. The professors frequently have potlucks for the student where the profs bring the food. They have movie nights in the auditoriums with kids in one room and adults in the other. Everyone is full of vision and hope. A great sign. Professors are there because they want to be. Many of them have designed the program and have a great deal of pride in it. It is very obvious that this school has great things in store." Report Response

Who was the tour given by?

Admissions staff

On what date did the interview take place?

09/20/2004