cleveland clinic interview feedback

[osar92]

Can those of you who have interviewed already at the clinic share your interview experiences. How much research experience do you have? How much emphasis did they place on your prior research during your interview? Any help would be really appreciated. Thanks.

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[autobot]

There were two interviews. One of them with a PhD (atleast for me). The PhD asked primarily about your research experience, and you need to explain your research to a certain extent. Questions will follow.....Other interview was with MD. Both interviews were heavily based on your application/essays

 

[osar92]

thanks autobot.
anybody else have anything they want to share?

 

[DannGee]

both of my interviewers were MD's.

be prepared to talk about yourself.. a LOT. I think probably 20-25% of the 2 hours i spent interviewing was spent discussing my research experience.. the rest was basically a conversation about the cleveland area, the specifics of the program, and my goals at CCLCM, etc. it seemed that both of the interviewers spent a significant amount of time going through my file- they asked some pretty specific things about what i'd written in the essays. one of the people i was there with had an ethical question, but i think that's the exception to the rule.

 

[SoulRFlare]

I had a very good interview experience at the Clinic. As someone else mentioned, I was interviewed by a PhD (who specialized in neuroscience), and an MD (a psychiatrist.) Both interviews were very comfortable, and it was a great way to cap off a wonderful day.
The interviews themselves were conversations, and I wouldn't say that we spent a great deal of time on my research (a few minutes in each case.) then again, I am an atypical student (philosophy major), so they wanted to know about my background.
Enjoy your day that the Clinic and try not to be too stressed out (easy enough to say.) I felt quite out of my league at first, but between the staff, the facilities, as well as the other interviewees, it turned out to be my favorite interview yet.

 

[juddson]

Hey soulRflare,

I'm a philosophy major too. I also elt way out of my league when I got there. The other people interviewing with me had interviews at all these top programs and I didn't even really apply much outside of Ohio.

Judd

 

[SoulRFlare]

interestingly enough, there was a guy in my interview group who was a philosophy/theology type as well...small world
what did you primarily focus on? i was mostly interested in Buddhist and Platonic thought

 

[juddson]

German phenomenology (Brentano, Huserl) and hermeneutics (Gadamer, etc.)

Judd

 

[autobot]

after reading the two previous posts, I feel way out of my league in this thread. Good luck to all who are waiting!!

 

[duka]

Also, they ask how you work in groups and what your study-style is. Be prepared to give a critical analysis of yourself within such a framework.

 

[Kashue]

Originally posted by duka
Also, they ask how you work in groups and what your study-style is. Be prepared to give a critical analysis of yourself within such a framework.

They didn't ask me that. They focused alot on my research and my essays. FUnny thing is that my Clinic interview was my best interview and I got a hold there. My second interviewer even told me that I'd get into medical school. <shrug>

 

[medstylee]

Dean Hutzler said they've been interviewing people who they consider to have a 'strong research bias." Here's how mine went:

both intereviewers were MD and both did research. both lasted one hour (my voice was shot!) one had made a list about many things noted in my application while the other didn't bring my application up at all and did not have my file with her. for both, I spent about 20% of the time discussing my research. both asked specifically about my ability to work in groups and my preferred learning style - this is really important to them. both were very interested in why i chose cclcm and how i would fit it there. i got asked about u.s. health care, the prospect of nationalized health care, and stuff like my biggest challenge, working with authority, etc. one had a long list and was marking things off while the other didn't write anything down.

it seems like the things they're most concerned with is understanding if you'll fit in at CCLCM and if you share their same ideals about group work/learning and translational medicine. since the class is so small, they're really looking to pick those who will fit the best. i think you'll find everyone to be real friendly. so, i'm sure you won't feel too initimidated even if you get difficult or strange questions. best of luck.

 

[exmike]

I wonder why CCLCM doesnt do a MD/MS thing a la the UCSF/UC Berkeley JMP. They appear to have similar goals, training physician scientists that will be practicing clinicans rather than MD/PhDs.

You're spending that extra year, why not throw in a MS? b

 

[autobot]

I believe you have an option of picking up a masters through cwru. Last time I checked they were still hammering out the details from each of the departments. Does anyone know if this is a sure thing now? If no one knows I can always call and ask....

 

[medstylee]

they told us that there would be ample time to pursue one of a number of masters at case during the 5 years. but, they didn't mention specifics either. that's what they've been telling the interviewees as of a few days ago, at least.

 

[juddson]

Yes, this is true. You can get a masters in any of the programs offered at Case. In fact, I was told specifically that I could do the masters in Bioethics at Case AND have that count as my research project for the Clinic program.

Every program, facility and lab at Case is available to you at CCLM. The sky is wide open.

BTW, Case just added a $110 million research building. 320,000 square feet of research space. I think it opened up in the last few weeks and would be the 5th building dedicated to research at CWRU med. Here's a link and a pic.

http://www.cwru.edu/pubaff/univcomm/2003/10-03/wolsteinbldg.htm

Judd

 

[premed1218]

For those of you that interview at clinic, did you guys interview at case as well? Is there anyone that didn't? Does anyone know the stats for applicants/interview/acceptance for the clinic only?

 

[Kashue]

Originally posted by premed1218
For those of you that interview at clinic, did you guys interview at case as well? Is there anyone that didn't? Does anyone know the stats for applicants/interview/acceptance for the clinic only?

I interviewed at Case. There were some that only applied to CLinic and not to Case.

No one knows the stats. I asked Dean hutzler and was told that information is confidential at the moment.

 

[medstylee]

i only applied to clinic. the sample size on mdapplicants is too small to mean anything. i think someone mentioned something about what they were looking for in terms of gpa/mcat at my interview but dean hutzler didn't comment on it.

 

[theprizefighter]

Hi, All

I'm interviewing at the Clinic late this month. Can anyone tell me what they've been saying about their curriculum? I read the brochure and I understand that it's heavy into PBL, but that was a little general, especially for their info about the 3rd-5th yrs, for me and I wanted to see what they've been telling people who've been interviewing there.

Thank you,

theprizefighter

 

[medstylee]

prizefighter - what exactly do you want to know about the pbl stuff? PM me if you want certain specifics.

As for 3-5 years, it's pretty much how it seems - really free. you can spread your research out or you can devote an entire year to it. basically whatever you want. you'll do rotations like other medical school students do at other schools. but, i got the impression you can do them at any time and in any order. it also sounded like you had the opportunity to pursue them at any hospital (although, you have two really awesome hospitals locally) - even abroad if you wanted. i feel like they want to give you a lot of freedom with those years so you can create some sort of a logical program that works best for your research and clinical interests. Say you decide you want to save the bulk of your research for the last year and your project has something to do with clinical anesthesiology. You could choose to do your other rotations, go abroad, etc first and then, during your last year, finally do your anesth. rotation right before or maybe even in conjuncture with your thesis work. i know it sounds like it might afford the student a dangerous amount of freedom. but, remember, you'll have a research and clinical adviser with whom you'll be working really closely to plan all this stuff out.

 

[duka]

I was told that during your first two years, about half your class time will be spent doing pbl and the other half will be small group lectures and other work. Also, there will be quizzes online that are board-style questions to figure out what you need to focus on.
What medstylee said about 3-5 is the same as what I was told- it's very flexible, but you will have lots of guidance and advice from faculty. In terms of picking a research project, you can rotate through labs and learn about what they do during the summers before your first and second year.

 

[theprizefighter]

medstylee, duka

Thanks from the both of you for your input. This really sounds exciting!!! I especially like the flexibility afforded to students in their 3rd-5th yrs. It sounds like the Clinic is very proactive in allowing students to participate in the formation and execution of their own education.

For anyone else who inteviewed at the Clinic, did you sense that they were mainly looking for people interested in doing clinical research (not the bench work that many PhDs and MD/PhDs do)?

Another question: Despite its reputation, doesn anyone still feel uncomfortable about going to the Clinic just because this is the very first medical school class their starting up and that it therefore might have some bugs that aren't yet worked out?

Thank you,

theprizefighter

 

[medstylee]

i don't anymore. before the interview, i felt really uncertain about how it would work out. i think, once you've been there and heard all their spiels, you realize how meticulously they've worked on the curriculum. i know the brochure they sent out seems pretty empty, but the admissions people i met all pretty much had their answers set to the questions that i asked. they're real well prepared - they know they're going to get bombarded with questions. i think you'll be wowed when you go there. it's a really excellent (although long) interview day.

best of luck.

 

[duka]

to add to medstylees comments: the resident with whom I had lunch made a very good comment: The cleveland clinic doesn't fail. they have the money, the resources, the facilities, the faculty and the drive-- they've never failed at anything, and they wont now.
also, keep in mind they've had ohio state students there for years 2-4, so they do know how to deal with students and rotations and such.

 

[osar92]

I had my clinic interview earlier this week... and like the other people in this thread posted, it was very conversational. I talked a lot about my research, but the interviewers seemed to have spent a lot of time looking over my application and were interested in a bunch of other stuff besides the research. I think they are just happy with seeing that kids have some research experience, but are just as heavily weighing all other things - other ECs, personal growth, etc. Anywas, the clinic has a very impressive program - i cant imagine anybody walking away from the interview day NOT wanting to go there... its awesome. good luck to people with upcoming interviews.

 

[Kashue]

I met a Clinic acceptee at my NU interview. He got accepted to Clinic, but oddly got placed on hold at Case. He seemed like a very competitive candidate - got interviews at Harvard, Penn, Duke, NU, etc. He took 2 years off to do research in Italy (wish I could)! Dean Hutzler called him in Italy in the middle of the night to tell him of his acceptance (time differences). I thought that was pretty cool.

 

[askew01]

Hey guys and gals,
I would like to get your input on the Clinic. With my limited exposure, I am having a hard time placing a rank for the Clinic. I believe that the experience it will provide will very much suit my desires, but where would you guys place it in the rankings (general range) in terms of research and primary care?

Some considerations:
1. Cleveland Clinic is the Top 5th hospital in the Nation.
2. This coming year is the first class, so they will take extra care of us.
3. The 20,000 automatic grants/year.
4. Free laptop, free palm pilot.
5. Small class size, PBL curriculum.
6. Excellent research (How does it compare to USC, UCLA, UCSF, Einstein?)
7. Low Cost living in Cleveland

Your input is very much appreciated.

 

[theprizefighter]

aske01,

I'd say the Clinic is top 20 easily, if not top 10.


tpf

 

[juddson]

Not so fast on the automatic 20k grants a year. They are need based. If your parents make a lot of money, you are out of luck.

Judd

 

[Kashue]

Originally posted by theprizefighter
aske01,

I'd say the Clinic is top 20 easily, if not top 10.


tpf

I believe the Clinic ranking will be the same as Case's. I don't see why it should be different.

 

[juddson]

Kashue is right. It is not a seperate medical school (at the moment) and so will be tied to Case.

Judd

 

[medstylee]

I think we should take advantage of the fact that CCLCM is not yet characterized by a rank. I think a number rank, at the moment, would provide an unfair view of the program. It's so different from any other school out there at the moment - it's difficult to compare it to any of them. You made a great list of noteables about the school. Instead of comparing speculated ranks, why don't you make that list for those other schools as well and compare them that way? The ranks are sort of rolling all those factors up into one ball and, in my opinion, you can't evaluate the school that way. That's just what I think though.

Here's something you might find useful. My father is an administrator at an upstate NY teaching hospital and he recently spoke with the director of residency about the cclcm program. This guy said, in his opinion, in just a few short years cclcm will be considered right along with harvards and the WashUs as one of the top medical schools. I valued this comment because it shows me that there really is a lot of confidence that this school will succeed (my main worry). Hopefully it can give you some sort of a gauge on how it might rank. Good luck.

 

[Kashue]

Originally posted by medstylee
I think we should take advantage of the fact that CCLCM is not yet characterized by a rank. I think a number rank, at the moment, would provide an unfair view of the program. It's so different from any other school out there at the moment - it's difficult to compare it to any of them. You made a great list of noteables about the school. Instead of comparing speculated ranks, why don't you make that list for those other schools as well and compare them that way? The ranks are sort of rolling all those factors up into one ball and, in my opinion, you can't evaluate the school that way. That's just what I think though.

Here's something you might find useful. My father is an administrator at an upstate NY teaching hospital and he recently spoke with the director of residency about the cclcm program. This guy said, in his opinion, in just a few short years cclcm will be considered right along with harvards and the WashUs as one of the top medical schools. I valued this comment because it shows me that there really is a lot of confidence that this school will succeed (my main worry). Hopefully it can give you some sort of a gauge on how it might rank. Good luck.

I have no doubt that the medical school will succeed. Duka said something along the lines that the Clinic has never failed anything because it has the $$$, the faculty, and the drive.

As to becoming a heavy hitter like Hopkins and Harvard, maybe, but then so would Case. It makes me wonder how the dynamics are going to play out between Case students and Clinic students.

Adding: If Case & Clinic ranking was different, I believe that would have a detrimental affect to their relationship, which from what I can tell, they don't want. It's an amazing cooperation given the last 15 years or so, the University Hospitals were in competition with the Cleveland Clinic.

 

[theprizefighter]

Hi, All

If anything, Case's rank may move up from it's current spot at 24 to something like 15 because of it's new tie in with CCLM.

tpf

 

[theprizefighter]

Hi, All

If anything, Case's rank may move up from it's current spot at 24 to something like 15 because of it's new tie in with CCLM.

tpf

 

[askew01]

Thanks so much for the input guys. How hard is it to get a residency in, say cardiology, at Cleveland Clinic (they are ranked 1) if one were a outside med student applying versus one from the inside (from CCLM)? I think a very good way of gauging the program is how many doors it will open for me to my specialty when the time comes for residency application.

Thanks again.

 

[theprizefighter]

askew01,

Given it's nationwide reputation for both clinical and research excellence, getting your MD from CCLM should give you a first pick on residency anywere, including the Clinic. That's just my 0.02.

tpf