Structure: Free stay in nice hotel. Pre-interview dinner the night before. Overview in the morning, then some interviews, tour of inpatient facility including a sneak peak at rounds, noon conference, then I think a tour of the outpatient facility, then met as a group with the chair of peds who answered questions.
Faculty: Leaders in their respective specialties, very very nice and soft-spoken.
Housestaff: Very friendly, nice. Also soft-spoken (but I am coming from a noisier city). Most of the residents were married, and many had kids (usually during residency).
Program: Tons of formal didactics, relatively light work-load.
Facilities: Outpatient building is very glitzy, like a hotel. Inpatient is plenty nice. Not free-standing.
Misc: Mayo includes a snow scraper in their gift bag for applicants. I thought that was a very nice touch.
In sum:
Pros:
--100% board pass rate for several years, residents do great on inservice exams, tons and tons of teaching on rounds
--Family friendly
--Plenty of zebras, and apparently a fair amount of primary care for the region (the only game in town for a while)
--Nice mix of residents doing fellowship vs being the only pediatrician in a 100 mile radius after residency....
--Really nice faculty
--Residents all hang out, tight-knit
--plenty of opportunities for research
--Cheap city, no traffic, can buy nice house with yard very close to the hospital
--Amazing gym (cheap and costs less the more frequently you go) with free personal training, classes, etc.
Cons:
--The topography is a little bit flat, and it is cold.
--Twin cities are 60-90 min away
--Not super high volume
--Not as diverse as...say, NYC.
--Residents wear a suit everyday (some women didn't) and overall the atmosphere is a little on the reserved side....BUT, people are very warm and collaborative. It's just different from what I'm used to, but not necessarily bad.