How did the interview impress you?

Positively

What was the stress level of the interview?

1 out of 10

How you think you did?

7 out of 10

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

8 out of 10

How long was the interview?

45 minutes

Where did the interview take place?

At the school

How many people interviewed you?

1

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)?

"What are you doing now? (now = this year, now that i'm not taking science classes)" Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

"So, what do you want to do in medicine?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

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

"Do you still [practice/play] music?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most interesting question?

"Where did Sudoku originate? (or something like that)" Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most difficult question?

"So, what do you want to do in medicine? (Caught me off-guard because we were having such a nice conversation about non-medical things)" Report Response | I was asked this question too

How did you prepare for the interview?

"This was my first interview, so I went a bit overboard with the prep: Read SDN interview feedback. Re-read all my essays (including those for other med schools). Re-read AMCAS and Columbia app. Reviewed resume/CV. Looked over sample questions from internet and books. Reminded myself anything important that I would want to bring up in the interview, if not explicitly asked." Report Response

What impressed you positively?

"Students were really relaxed and happy. Contrary to popular myth, they are very non-competitive, and extremely cooperative when it comes to study and social life, and everything else. I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that the Med students are allowed one free class per semester at the 168th street campus or the undergrad (Mornindside) campus." Report Response

What are your general comments?

"I interviewed in the morning with Dr. Franz, the Director of Admissions. Despite what some people may have you believe, interviewing in the morning does not equate to interviewing with Dean Franz. There were at least 3 other interviewers interviewing at the same time. I just got lucky. The interview with Dean Franz was very stress-free, and very conversational. He seems to enjoy doing most of the talking. Without meaning to, I started talking while he was still in mid-sentence, and he just kept going, so I stopped and let him finish. The conversation started out with my diverse background and experience (I'm a postbac), then went to music (Bach), computers, and logic puzzles. Looking back on it now, it really felt like I was just chatting and catching up with an old friend. As a side note: When I looked over the SDN reviews, and saw the really really low stress-ratings, I was a bit incredulous. However the people at Columbia clearly want to see who you actually are as a person. They (at least Dean Franz) are not out to grill you and stress you to your breaking point. So relax; remember who you are. Remind yourself of the things you do outside of science/academics/medicine that make you unique or interesting. That's what they want to know. (At least, that's what it seems like.) That said, all those high self-ratings are a bit disconcerting. It makes you wonder which part of the awesome interview are the parts that they will remember..." Report Response

How do you rank the facilities?

9 out of 10

What is your in-state status?

In state

What was your total time spent traveling?

0-1 hour

What was your primary mode of travel?

Train or subway

On what date did the interview take place?

10/24/2006

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

10 out of 10

What is your ranking of this school's location?

8 out of 10

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

9 out of 10