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Individual Response

  • A.T. Still University Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Osteopathic Medical School
  • Kirksville, MO
Overall Experience

How did the interview impress you?

Positively

What was the stress level of the interview?

4 out of 10

How you think you did?

10 out of 10

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

8 out of 10

Questions

How long was the interview?

60+ 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)?

"Why did you complete an MPH?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

"Same as mentioned above: "You say you are interested in researching chemoprevention. By definition, this is taking something chemical and injecting it into an otherwise healthy human being. Why is this a good idea?"" Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

"Same as mentioned above: "Given the current crisis in American healthcare, what is the solution?"" Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most interesting question?

""You say you are interested in researching chemoprevention. By definition, this is taking something chemical and injecting it into an otherwise healthy human being. Why is this a good idea?"" Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most difficult question?

""Given the current crisis in American healthcare, what is the solution?"" Report Response | I was asked this question too

How did you prepare for the interview?

"Read SDN, KCOM website, AACOM website. Got advice from friends who are current medical students. Read through potential questions, everything I've written for all of my applications, and especially everything I've submitted to KCOM." Report Response

What impressed you positively?

"The students were all very nice, interested in the applicants, and willing to talk about the school. They seemed happy with their choice to be there and emphasized that living in Kirksville is not bad, despite how it may appear on the surface. In that regard, Kirksville itself was nicer than I expected - everything was well kept, it is just an underdeveloped community." Report Response

What impressed you negatively?

"The near-complete lack of any research being conducted there. It seems to be part of their long-range plans for the school, but currently isn't much of a priority at all. The campus fitness center was considerably smaller than it was described, but adequate nonetheless. Throughout the day there were several mentions of how many students were married with families and made you wonder if single students would fit in - turns out only 30% are married, so it's not as exclusionary as it seemed. Also, I could have done without an hour-long financial aid presentation. While helpful, it is not something I'm very interested in unless I am accepted. If accepted, you only have 2 weeks to decide if you will attend and make a $1000 NON-refundable deposit. Obviously, you could forfeit the $1000 later to go somewhere else though." Report Response

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

"The school's website focuses so heavily on the differences between the osteopathic philosophy and the allopathic that it starts to sounds almost naturopathic/homeopathic, which is an obvious turn-off. I was impressed and relieved during my visit to leave feeling like they would train me to be a good doctor, plain and simple, and that the osteopathic "differences" are not so pronounced in your education there." Report Response

What are your general comments?

"The day started with an introduction to KCOM that essentially answered all of the questions I was prepared to ask in my interviews. There were 3 interviews: 2 faculty and one admissions counselor. The first interview was with a PhD basic science professor who, I thought, was surprisingly tough. His questions got progressively more difficult throughout the hour and I left feeling unsure of how it had gone. I saw him later as we toured a clinical lab and he asked about the rest of my day, which laid some of my fears to rest - not to mention that some of the students told me that he had a reputation for being tough. In retrospect, I feel like he was trying to challenge me with his questions and that I had done as well as I could have expected to do. The second interviewer was a DO in private practice in Kirksville. He had mostly typical questions - some ethical scenarios, grades/MCAT - and we talked about primary care. He was insistant that I ask some questions about the school and offered answers to questions he felt I should have asked him. At the end, he told me that I'd be getting a "thumb's up" and that he thought I would fit in well at the school. His interview seemed much more interested in knowing me as a person than the first. Compared with the first interview, it seemed very "good cop/bad cop." The last interview was with a very nice admissions counselor. Our conversation was shorter (about 20 minutes) and I felt like I was talking with one of my friends. Mostly he just informed me about the process post-interview, filled in any question gaps I still had, and asked me some survey questions (did I speak a foreign language and what I did for fun). I was told that the Committee meets on Wednesday's and that we were encouraged to call on Thursday to inquire about a decision (which could take 3-4 weeks because they are back-logged). Overall, I left with a very positive impression of the school, the people, and even the opportunities afforded by the various regional sites for the 3rd and 4th years." Report Response

Tour and Travel

Who was the tour given by?

Student

How did the tourguide seem?

Enthusiastic

How do you rank the facilities?

8 out of 10

What is your in-state status?

Out of state

What was your total time spent traveling?

7+ hours

What was your primary mode of travel?

Airplane

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

$301-$400

What airport did you use?

IRK

Where did you stay?

Hotel

How would you rate the hotel?

9 out of 10

What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?

Comfort Inn

Would you recommend the hotel?

yes

General Info

On what date did the interview take place?

01/27/2006

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

7 out of 10

What is your ranking of this school's location?

3 out of 10

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

3 out of 10

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