I liked this idea from last year, so I'm bringing it back.2011 Interview Season Awards:Biggest surprise: the program that had it all together and beat all your expectationsBiggest disappointment: great reputation, but it turned out to be undeservedBest food: they pulled out all the stops to show you a good time, and it showedWorst food: it can be a fancy restaurant or take-out, but the food suckedBest organized: comfortable schedule, low pressure, fun to be thereWorst organized: Who’s in charge of this place, anyway?Best interview: after 20 minutes, you felt like you had a chance to shineWorst interview: you just couldn’t get out of that room fast enoughBest (or Worst) Overall Interview Season Moment:Notable Applicant Stories (anonymous, of course):
Biggest Surprise: Emory-- solid program (if they had a website maybe there would be less surprises)Best Food: FloridaWorst Food: NYUBest Organized: UCLA, Penn State tied for different reasonsWorst Organized: Einstein/MontefioreBest interview: UCLA
Suprise: UTSW- awesome program and faculty, CWRU - great peopleBest Food: Cornell (by far--Dos Caminos open bar)Best Organized: Lahey
Biggest surprise: Beth Israel in NYC Biggest disappointment: MGHBest food: a few notables... any place that had a hot breakfast (excellent touch), northwestern's constant stream of good food/snacks, USC's lobster lunch, Hopkins dinner was excellent Worst food: beth israel nycBest organized: most days went smoothly Worst organized: a few snafus, nothing major that I encounteredWorst interview: any interview that started with "so, do you have any questions for me?" Best (or Worst) Overall Interview Season Moment: meeting all of you Notable Applicant Stories (anonymous, of course): wish i had some
Biggest surprise: Iowa Biggest disappointment: NYU Best food: Tulane Worst food: Memphis (Come on, you're in a city of BBQ. Instead we got hospital cafeteria-like food) Best organized: Northwestern Worst organized: programs that didn't tell us who was going to interview us beforehand Best interview: Worst interview: behavioral questions at a couple of schools ("what is something no one else knows about you?") Best (or Worst) Overall Interview Season Moment: Notable Applicant Stories (anonymous, of course): none sadly
Biggest surprise: U Wisconsin Biggest disappointment: Long Island Jewish Best food: U of Rochester (fancy dinner) vs. UCLA (fancy lunch) Worst food: Beth Israel and SUNY Downstate- no dinner whatsoever Best organized: Mayo-Scottsdale Worst organized: SUNY Downstate Best interview: UTSW Worst interview: Long Island Jewish
Biggest surprise: William BeaumontBiggest disappointment: Long Island JewishBest food: University Illinois Chicago, USC LunchWorst food: Long Island Jewish, MontefioreBest organized: William Beaumont, UCI, University of ChicagoWorst organized: Lenox Hill
Biggest surprise: Utah Biggest disappointment: maybe NYU personally?Best food: UCLA fancy lunch Worst food: ? Best organized: Colorado; great program coordinator Worst organized: Kaiser, no breakfast, no pre/post-interview dinner/drinks Best interview: Lahey Worst interview: Colorado, a bit of a strange vibe w/ a few staff members Best Overall Interview Season Moment: Meeting all of you, and finally shoving my carryon deep in the closet Notable Applicant Stories (anonymous, of course): ...
2011 Interview Season Awards:Biggest surprise: University of VermontBest food: Henry Ford...four course meal with lamb chops as the main dishWorst food: NYMC...no food at allBest organized: GWU/OSU...fit in a lot of interviews and still had us out within a half dayWorst organized: University of Louisville...morning group sat for 3 hours in the afternoon doing nothing. Best interview: University of Vermont... all staff knew your application and the program director memorized our names before we arrived. Nice touch. Worst interview: All interviews where I did not get asked any questions beyond the, "what questions can I answer for you?"Best (or Worst) Overall Interview Season Moment: Best: Nights out after the interviews...birthday pub crawl in burlington and beer pong tourney in Minneapolis come to mind. Worst: Paying the credit card bill after booking all the hotels and flights.
Biggest Surprise: Rochester, NYBest Food: FloridaHappiest Residents: Stony BrookBest Organised: AlbanyWorst Organised: KentuckyMost Awkward Question: "Wait, you mean you aren't Jewish?"Best Interview: Faculty at Rochester wondering if they should waterboard meWorst Interview: Penn StateBest Local Beer: Bourbon Barrel, Lexington, KY
Biggest surprise: UNC - Not the biggest name, but great program and great peopleBiggest disappointment: I got a very strange vibe at EmoryBest food: CCF dinner was amazingWorst food: The several places that had "dinners" consisting of nachos and hummous. Give me a meal!Best organized: Baylor. Colleen has her s*it together! Sending out an email with all of the interviewers' emails was so simple, but a nice touch.Worst organized: Any place that kept you from 7 am to 5 pm. Those extra five hours don't add much.Best interview: Lahey people seemed to really know my application and the interviews were the right lengthWorst interview: Emory's 17 interviews + cowbell = not super awesomeBest (or Worst) Overall Interview Season Moment: Finally starting the process and finishing the first interview day was a huge reliefNotable Applicant Stories (anonymous, of course): Not here to disparage anyone