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Dr. Carson Schneck, Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology, instructs students in the Gross Anatomy course. One of the first of its kind, Gross Anatomy at Temple is unique because there are no large group lectures; all material is presented in the gross laboratory and small group conferences. Known for our culture diversity, collaboration and innovation, Temple University School of Medicine was Pennsylvania's first coeducational medical school (founded Sept. 16, 1901). Temple University University Children's Medical Center, constructed in 1998, serves Philadelphia and the surrounding region. It is an institution that focuses on developing outreach and educational programs to address public health issues critical to the communities we serve.

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Interviewing at Temple

Temple University School of Medicine receives around 10,000 applications each year and the Admissions Committee interviews less than 1,000 applicants. That statistic says a lot about Temple’s admissions philosophy: Yes, standards are high – many applicants will be screened out early because they don’t meet the minimum academic requirements for admission. But standards are not rigid, and what’s more, they’re not purely quantitative. An applicant’s performance during the interview may weigh just as heavily as test scores and grades, and grade progress in college (i.e. real improvement) could tip the scale in an applicant’s favor. In the end, many “nontraditional” students are admitted to Temple – older “second career” students, minorities, and, generally, people with a wide variety of social, ethnic, and scholastic backgrounds that have led to the school’s notable reputation for pluralism.

 

Interviews are held Tuesday through Thursday from September until April. Applicants will interview with a member of the faculty in the morning or the afternoon, depending on faculty availability. All applicants are together between 11 am and 2 pm. During this time, you will meet with representatives from the Office of Admissions and Student Financial Services. Members of the second year class will give a tour of the medical school and hospital as well as join you for lunch. Students are notified of the decision several weeks after the interview, but not before October 15 of the year before admission.

 

What does the Temple interviewer look for in an applicant? The Associate Dean for Admissions singles out these attributes (by no means an exhaustive list):

 

  • Strong interpersonal skills – poise, tact, appropriate sense of humor
  • Ability to listen and take another’s point of view
  • Self-confident
  • Articulate
  • Compassionate
  • Socially conscious

Temple does not conduct “stress” interviews; on the contrary, the interviewers will make every attempt to put you at your ease, on the sensible theory that at your ease you will reveal “the real you".

 

The Admissions Committee of the School of Medicine has a three-fold function:

  • It recommends admissions policy, subject to the approval of the Dean
  • It conducts all interviews
  • It makes admissions decisions

All faculty interviewers are members of the Admissions Committee, so you can be assured that the interviewer is fully versed in all aspects of the admissions process.