Current Student-Led Interviews

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I've heard that once you're invited in, some of the interviews you get at med schools are with current students.

For anyone who has gone through this, what kinds of questions did you get? What were the students' demeanors?
Also, does anyone know if these students are restricted in what they can ask? Are they kept on a tighter leash than other interviewers?

Thanks

http://studentdoctor.net/schools/?view=medical

I had a few student interviews. They really aren't anything to worry about. The students doing the interviews generally want to be doing them so they are generally friendly and interested in you and what you have to say.

Ypu get some standard questions which you don't have to answer as formally was you do with staff. They generally are looking for an likable person in there they could picture themselves being friends with I feel like. Have some prepared questions for them that you would only ask a student though.

Originally Posted by tantacles

http://studentdoctor.net/schools/?view=medical

Thanks. I didn't know this existed.

My student interviewers asked basic questions like why medicine, why do you want to go to this school, etc. It depends on what kind of student interviews you in my opinion. I've had student interviewers that went really in depth into my application and I felt like they were trying very hard to analyze my application completely. Others were just very friendly and conversational.

This is going to vary widely between schools. At Pritzker, we're given complete latitude to talk about and ask whatever we want. We do a brief info session about what the committee is looking for in our reports, but other than that they don't coach us. As a result, an experience with one student will likely be very different than an interview with another student. Just as you can't generalize faculty interviewers, you can't generalize student interviewers.

I have no idea how other schools do it, though.

I interviewed at two schools employing student interviewers and at both places the student interviews were extremely laid back. Obviously you still want to give thoughtful answers, but I found them both to be much more conversational than faculty interviews. They generally asked me more questions about what I expected med school to be like, how I relax, what I'm looking for in a med school/city, etc, than about my application. I really enjoyed them; the students were always super nice.

1/4 interviews was with a student. She had prepared her own written questions (unique), and was very friendly and not intimidating. Also, from my home state and that was fun. She was the only one to complement me on my academic upward trend and personal achievement. Do not worry about any interviews, either the questions are all mandated - so the interview is like a "checklist". Or, the interviewer will have complete freedom over the discussion, and therefore the interview reflects their personality - everyone is an individual...

Originally Posted by alexrgross

1/4 interviews was with a student. She had prepared her own written questions (unique), and was very friendly and not intimidating. Also, from my home state and that was fun. She was the only one to complement me on my academic upward trend and personal achievement. Do not worry about any interviews, either the questions are all mandated - so the interview is like a "checklist". Or, the interviewer will have complete freedom over the discussion, and therefore the interview reflects their personality - everyone is an individual...

This is reassuring. I had heard that med students tend to be the toughest interviewers because they really have high standards for the people they could share their school with. Guess it's just a premed rumor.

Originally Posted by NickNaylor

This is going to vary widely between schools. At Pritzker, we're given complete latitude to talk about and ask whatever we want. We do a brief info session about what the committee is looking for in our reports, but other than that they don't coach us. As a result, an experience with one student will likely be very different than an interview with another student. Just as you can't generalize faculty interviewers, you can't generalize student interviewers.

I have no idea how other schools do it, though.

Pritzker is without question my #1 choice so I'm glad to have your input.

Originally Posted by wolfie77

I've heard that once you're invited in, some of the interviews you get at med schools are with current students.

For anyone who has gone through this, what kinds of questions did you get? What were the students' demeanors?
Also, does anyone know if these students are restricted in what they can ask? Are they kept on a tighter leash than other interviewers?

Thanks

I interviewed applicants as an MS4. We had the same voting rights as faculty interviewers. There were no restrictions or "leashes." We had to apply for the position, and typically, students with significant experience in recruitment throughout MS1-3 were selected. We could ask whatever questions we chose. I would venture that most of us stuck with "typical" interview questions.

One of my student interviewers actually hit on me during the interview. As much as I wanted to ignore him/her, I flirted back. The remainder of the interview was professional; eventually I got accepted.

Originally Posted by naomisky

One of my student interviewers actually hit on me during the interview. As much as I wanted to ignore him/her, I flirted back. The remainder of the interview was professional; eventually I got accepted.

Cool story bro.

Originally Posted by flodhi1

Cool story bro.

True story brother.