Summary of Experience:
Last interview invite and last interview of the cycle - very happy about it! The MMI was the most challenging I had compared to UCSD or NYU, but I got a great vibe from the place. They seem to really place importance on the well-being of students, such as giving students the budget to go out and see a show or go to a nice restaurant. The curriculum seems tried and true, and the students are all happy about the educating they're getting.
One big negative: Steep, steep housing costs compared to UCSD.
Will update more once I get a final decision from here.
Summary of Experience:
I fell in love with Weill while (har har, pun!) writing my secondary - looking through their website and the opportunities that they offered was really exciting.
The interview day felt a little flat. Might have been the fact that I took a 5:30am flight from Chicago, or the fact that my suit jacket collar was popped when I first shuffled into the admissions office (both of which was admittedly my fault!), but I came away unimpressed. Weill did not attempt to sell itself, and I feel like I did not get to learn about the school. The students that I talked to, while enthusiastic, seemed overworked and stressed, and at the point of my interview, they were only about 4-weeks into their curriculum. Maybe they were simply adjusting to their new lifestyles.
The interviews were very laid back and conversation and I feel like I was able to connect with both interviewers. Both my interviewers, as well as Dean Bardess, both emphasized the importance of collegiality as an attribute of a potential Weill student. I appreciated that a lot and is one of the positives I came away with. Whether or not this is actually the case with the student body remains to be seen.
The facilities were certainly beautiful, and there will only be more new facilities. The new Belfer building, if I'm not mistaken, is slowly being inhabited, and will continue to attract researchers that are at their top of their fields. In terms of prestige, I think Weill will slowly emerge on top in the next few years.
Location wise, this is in an amazing location, around 69th and York in Manhattan. Unfortunately, this also means high housing costs. Most students live in Olin Hall. The university subsidizes some costs, but is, in my opinion, still in no way affordable.
To add to this, Weill is stingy about their financial aid. There is a certain amount that you MUST borrow, around 35k , before you qualify for a grant. No exceptions. Dean Bardess defended this by saying that this was the most fair way of distributing their financial aid; I, unfortunately, disagree.
All in all, Weill is a great school, but I would not seriously contemplating attending even if accepted.
Summary of Experience:
First CA interview invite - huge surprise, very happy, even happier that they accepted me (although I'm convinced that they had lower standards at the beginning of the cycle. Well too bad, UCSD. You're stuck with me!)
The school could not be in a better location in the country. Got to spend 3 days in San Diego to get a feel for the area. It's obviously a wealthy area, but there's no sense of snootiness.
The new MET building is beautiful and provides a lot of space for current students - only shame is that it closes at midnight. Students, like UCLA, all seem very happy with the education and raved about how supportive the administration is. Housing is ridiculously affordable for the options they provide, and in as beautiful of a location as La Jolla.
If possible, attend the free-clinic tour the evening before your interview. It really made UCSD stand out to me amongst the other schools that I interviewed at. While it doesn't hurt your candidacy if you can't make it, I feel like there's would be a significant part of UCSD that you don't get to learn about. Plus, you get to hang out with some of your fellow interviewees.
The MMI was challenging, and I did not feel nearly as I good coming out of it as I did at NYU. My cohort of interviewees all sounded extremely accomplished, and the few out-of-staters that were there had very interesting stories and paths that got them to where they were. If my interview day was any indication of my future classmates here, then I'm stoked.
Very likely matriculating here - they seem to have a good amount of aid to give out, and establishing residency appears to be fairly straightforward.
Summary of Experience:
My second II and first interview!
Simply put: I loved Case. Rich in history, reputable, world-class hospitals, yet humble and unassuming.
Case set up the expectation for me that every school would provide breakfast for its applicants. This, sadly, is not true. As we were waiting for the morning to start, current students would also stop by the admissions office, grab some coffee, and chat with the applicants. I swear there is something in the water here, but every student loves the school, loves Cleveland, and is positive. Dean Mehta and Mr. Essman ran the interview day fluidly and with such positive energy.
Had two interviews here, one with a faculty member and one with a current student. Both interviewers seemed to be rooting for me from the very beginning, and my faculty interviewer especially really took the time to read my application and formulate questions specific to my application. I really appreciated that, and it made for a very enlightening interview during which we discussed politics, healthcare policy, and exchanged suggested books to read.
I also liked the they allowed you to sit in on a PBL session (with the kind warning to be a respectful spectator and not participate - I really want to know which previous applicant caused them to explicitly state this to future interviewers). PBL is a huge part at Case, and Case is one of the first schools to implement it. Honestly, PBL sounds great on paper, but can fall apart in execution. Fortunately, Case does it right - they've had the experience and the Step 1 scores to back it up.
Another distinction Case has is its partnership with UH and CCF. It's an interesting dynamic that I know very little about (and there are certainly politics involved), but the end result is that students get world-class clinical training at Case.
Overall - loved the school. Cleveland not so much, but it appears that I would learn to love it if I were to attend. Waiting to hear back about merit scholarship decisions!
Summary of Experience:
My state school and first interview invite!
Getting to UIC should have been one of the easiest "trips" for me to take, since I live in Chicago, but, of course, I arrived 3 minutes late to the admissions office. Not a great start to the morning.
It gets worse - October is my allergy season. I had visible SNOT exit my nostril during two of my three interviews. The first time was with a season physician who went "oh my!" but was poised and understanding and handed me a couple of tissues. I used one, and the remaining ones in my pocket, and carried on. Maybe I was on an adrenaline rush, but I actually did not even feel embarrassed at the time. When I had the same unfortunate accident with my second interviewer, an MS2, I had my reserve of tissues already. Thank you, Dr. Koch - I will never forget you.
In all seriousness, I liked UIC for the emphasis they placed on service. A large population of each class is also non-traditional, giving UIC a very mature vibe overall. I got the sense that the students there were grateful to be there, and had to make sacrifices to pursue what they wanted to do. That, to me, was extremely attractive.
The curriculum seems to be a bit of a mess, despite being more traditional. There are frequent exams, and a lot more in-class time than other places I visited. The facilities are aged, with no intent of updating them or constructing new ones. These factors combined made me feel like UIC is a more conservative school that is perhaps more inflexible and unresponsive to students.
UIC is also known for its notoriously high cost, for out-of-staters of course, but even for in-staters. Their humanities course requirements were also more strict than any other place I applied to, and, upon my acceptance, made sure that I was planning to enroll in a few more courses. This, combined with a required deposit to hold a seat, meant that I had to withdraw my acceptance. I would have liked to hang onto it longer, but I was unwilling to take more classes just to satisfy the requirements for one school, when I had other acceptances at hand.