University of New Mexico

don't apply unless you're a New Mexico resident or interested in primary care. Doesn't seem like they have great opportunities for other specialties beyond primary care

My first interviewer asked very biased questions. He also couldn't figure out zoom format and I could barely hear him. UNM seems very disorganized/unprofessional as an institution. This school feels like a last resort for many people. During the med student Q&A someone asked why they chose UNM and every single person said it was the only place they got into.

They matched me really well with one of my interviewers ie interested in her specialty, went to undergrad at the same place, seemed like they wanted me to interview with someone who would get along with me very well

re-read my primary and secondary, looked up health issues in NM

The interviews are basically conversations and they will ask you about your specific experiences and to elaborate on the answers you provide. If you put it in your app be prepared to explain it. Not only why you did something, but why you didn't, so look for what could be missing/ low in your application.

Hopefully they will stop using the second interviewer I had because she did not cast a good light on the school or on the application process, especially since she spoke badly about her students during the interview.

My second interviewer clearly did not care about the interview, took no notes, arrived 15 minutes late, and only spoke to me for about 15minutes. She asked me about my top choice and then left.

The interviewer wanted very specific answers. Told me it was going to be the hardest interview of the cycle. They made a point to interrupt me throughout the entire interview, cutting off my answer if they were not interested. Wished I would've seen it coming and not been as flustered.

The school did not seem to really care about the interview experience. Seems like they do a lot more for the 2nd look visit.

Cost of school, cadaver lab, new facilities, extensive clinical experience, generally happy and adventurous students,

Read a lot of books on health administration, looked over New Mexico's state public health plan

This is a really neat program! I think the culture is what makes UNM stand apart from other schools. I think UNM receives less credit than its due, and anyone would be fortunate to attend here!

That I would have 2 hours of free time between activities. I would have brought a book to read so I didn't look like I was sitting on my phone scrolling through Facebook.

The issues with safety and the lagging technology (UNM is very inexpensive, so they aren't at the forefront of medical school technology)

The students, faculty, and staff were all so friendly! I love the culture at the school.

Spoke with a current UNM student, read all about UNM, read An American Sickness by Elisabeth Rosenthal, prepared outlined answers to 200+ typical interview questions/questions listed on this website that are specific to UNM, found interview clothes that are comfortable and wore them in advance to ensure comfort, practiced my hairstyle in advance, did a mock interview in my interview outfit, practiced interview answers OUT LOUD (it makes a huge difference than just writing them down on paper or computer. Make sure to practice speaking!), etc.

See negative impressions.

Nothing really.

Most of the interview day. It started in a dinky little classroom where we were welcomed by someone who went over some of the highlights of the school. She did not have a presentation. She just sat at the same table as us and talked for a half hour. Next, we had lunch. Not that this matters, but it was by far the worst lunch I had at any interview. We got to ask med students questions at lunch, but they were MS-I's (even though their average age was probably almost 30) and I interviewed in early Sept., so they really didn't know a whole lot about the school. Next, we went on a tour of the school with the MS-I's who already were talking poorly of some of their experiences here after 5 weeks of starting school. They took us to two places for about 15 mins on the tour then decided they really didn't have to take us anywhere else because we would get to see everything if we went there. Then, we were supposed to have a curriculum overview but the person who normally did it couldn't be there so they just didn't have the curriculum overview. They told everyone to find a place to do nothing for an hour until the interviews would start since they weren't gonna even try the curriculum overview. So we did. We just waited for an hour by ourselves in a lobby we found. Oh, did I mention they are starting a new curriculum this year? And they didn't even tell us what it was. Then the interviews started. Both interviewers kept me for longer than they were supposed to. They were pretty nice interviews and not terribly stressful but don't expect it to be a walk in the park like most places. Then that was the end. Thoroughly unimpressed.

Not a whole lot other than the fact that the people I ran into were really nice.