One down ??? to go!

I had my first interview on Tuesday 9/16 at George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington DC, so here is my first interview report.

When I arrived into DC, my first impression with the school was good. The campus is right downtown (actually about 4 blocks from the white house!) and I was able to take the Metro from the airport. The medical school and the University Hospital were good looking buildings, and during the interview we found out that the hospital is only 5 years old and the 6th floor is entirely dedicated to multiple simulation labs. The security on campus seemed really good, I saw security walking around everywhere. I tried to get into the library to use the computers before I met my host, but they wouldn't let me in without an escort which is another testament to the security of the campus.

I met my host at about 5:15 after he was done with Gross lab, and he took me back to his apartment to drop off my stuff. He lived about 3 blocks from the school. Then he showed me around campus. We went to the athletic facilities, which were nice except for the pool, which was a 3 lane 25 yard dungeon in the basement of the facility. He did tell me, however that there is another facility at the other campus with an olympic sized pool...it just requires a 15 min shuttle ride to get there. Then we walked into Georgetown and had some dinner at a Thai restaurant which was good food and reasonably priced. I felt safe the entire time walking around, and there were only a few panhandlers out on the streets.

The next day I went to the school with my host at about 8:00, but my interview day didn't start until 9:30, so I got my guest pass to the medical school then I walked over to the hospital and got some breakfast at Starbucks in the cafeteria and read the undergraduate student newspaper. The interview day started with a welcome talk from the Dean of the Medical School, who was very laid back and proud of his school. He did a good job of selling the highlights of the program. Then we took a tour of the facilities. The med school itself is nice, with a fairly new lecture hall dedicated to the pathology course, which is entirely computerized. The simulators in the hospital were set up to look like a mock OR, and it seemed that the students really liked having this resource as part of the curriculum. The financial aid presentation was very shallow, and she didn't even mention the actual cost of tuition, only the average indebtedness of the recent class. Both of my interviews were very laid back and conversational, just as promised. They seemed to be there to find out about your personality and drive for medicine.

The schools curriculum is interesting as well. They have a work-like schedule of class from 8am to 5 pm nearly every day which is something I don't think I would like. On the other hand, they have a unique "track" program where you can choose an are of interest such as policy of medicine, global medicine, medicine in humanities, etc. which is integrated into the curriculum to force you to participate in your interests throughout the four years.

Overall, I really liked this school. The location and track program would provide me with the opportunity to pursue my interest in medical policy, and the student body seems cohesive and noncompetitive against each other in class. The biggest drawback is obviously the cost, both of living and tuition.

My next interview is 9/30 at UNECOM in Maine. In other news, I also finally received word from the UW. I will be interviewing there on 10/3, which will give me a really busy two weeks coming up, but I am really looking forwarded to it as well.