FAQ #9: I've Been Invited to Interview! Any Tips?

First of all, congrats! Word is that fewer people are getting invited this year versus last, so you should be very proud. I'm not sure what kind of info you're wanting specifically, but here are some thoughts about making the trip to Cleveland, as well as for the interview itself.

Traveling to Cleveland:
If you fly, you have a few options to get to campus from the airport. You can rent a car (I don't recommend this, because you'll pay an arm and a leg for parking), take a shuttle from the airport (I think it costs about $35 one way), or take the RTA train to University Circle and then a bus. Depending on how much stuff you have with you and how savvy you are about navigating public transportation in a new city, it might be worth your while to take the shuttle. That's what I did when I interviewed.

Where to Stay:
The cheapest option is to stay with a student. Our admissions office has a list of M1s and M2s who are willing to host interviewees. They probably sent it to you with your interview packet, but if not, you can get it from them. You will have to contact students from the list and ask them to host you. One thing to note if you're also interviewing for the UP: you should not expect your student host to necessarily let you stay with them for both nights. They might be nice and offer to do it, but you should only expect them to host you for one night. You might consider either staying with a UP student for the other night (not a bad idea anyway so that you can talk to them about their program) or staying at the Intercontinental Suites Hotel, which is right on campus. If you do stay at the hotel, make sure to tell them the code word "Lerner" when you make your reservation. Otherwise, you will get charged even more. Last year they charged us $79 per night. The hotel is within walking distance of the Lerner Institute, and they also have a free shuttle you can take if the weather is bad. Don't buy food at the hotel. There is a plaza with a drug store on campus a couple of blocks away from the hotel off 93rd Street and Euclid, plus some reasonably priced restaurants in there. If you like Mediterranean food, I highly recommend Cedarland.

What to Wear:
It's already starting to get cold in Cleveland, so I'd recommend that you be prepared for that. Check the Cleveland weather at www.weather.com before you leave. If you're a girl, you might want to wear slacks instead of a skirt. If you're a guy, a suit and tie is probably fine for now. CCF is a fairly conservative place since it's a hospital and not a medical school, so you should all definitely should wear a suit when you come to interview here. You will do a lot of walking because they give you a lab tour as well as a medical tour, so try to wear comfortable shoes. I think they tell you that in the interview packet.

How to Prepare:
As of 2008, there are now three interviews: two with faculty and the third with a student. One faculty interviewer will be a clinician, and the other will be a PhD or MD scientist. You will definitely get asked about your research experience, so be prepared to talk about it. Also, make sure to read your app over, because the faculty interviewers will have seen it. The student interviewer will not have read your app before interviewing you, but some of the student interviewers are adcomms and will read your app later. Don't forget to read the CCLCM website at http://www.clevelandclinic.org/cclcm/ so that you know the basics about our curriculum and you can discuss that with your interviewers too. Finally, I'd recommend that you read the CCLCM interview feedback on SDN at http://www.studentdoctor.net/interview/interview_read.asp so that you can get an idea about other people's interview days. Some of them even post questions they got asked during the interview, so it's a great resource.

Good luck to everyone interviewing and waiting to hear, and I hope I will get to meet some of you when you come to Cleveland.