Interviews

[NP545]

How important exactly are interviews for med school?
Suppose you have great stats and extracirriculars, will a decent but not great interview, ruin your chance of getting accepted?
Or are the interviews only important if you do badly and that's when it matters?

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[Tommyguns89]

Hard to say. Med School admissions weigh all factors and different schools apply different weights to each factor based on their preferences. I remember reading(I think it may have been by lizzy) that when you get to the interview stage you basically already have a rank(vs the other people being interviewed) the interview can move you up or down but it wont eliminate the other stuff that got you to that point.

 

[Catalystik]

A bad interview can redflag an otherwise perfect application. A superb interview can raise an otherwise average application from mediocrity. A "decent" interview won't help or hurt significantly (though each adcomm's definition of "decent" may not be the same as yours). Tommyguns89 is right, though, that an interview can be weighted differently by each med school, so the degree to which one is helped or harmed can vary by institution.

 

[WillburCobb]

Yes. WillburCobb is case and point - successful reapplicant with pretty much the exact same app. Interview sank my first cycle. But how much it can help/hurt you will vary by school, adcom members, and interviewers.

 

[Goro]

An interview will make or break your chances at a medical career. While it's actually hard to bomb an interview, it's definitely doable. We've rejected 4.0 applicants for things like being an emotionless robot, being a pompous, arrogant, entitled dingus, being "scary" (a colleague's term, not mine) or a babbling idiot, having IAs or felonies, or only marginal patient contact experience, or being completely clueless, among other reasons.

One can have a great interview and still be rejected if your packet is only marginal, or has something questionable, like, say, a weak MCAT score coupled with a high GPA.


How important exactly are interviews for med school?
Suppose you have great stats and extracirriculars, will a decent but not great interview, ruin your chance of getting accepted?
Or are the interviews only important if you do badly and that's when it matters?

 

[Tommyguns89]

An interview will make or break your chances at a medical career. While it's actually hard to bomb an interview, it's definitely doable. We've rejected 4.0 applicants for things like being an emotionless robot, being a pompous, arrogant, entitled dingus, being "scary" (a colleague's term, not mine) or a babbling idiot, having IAs or felonies, or only marginal patient contact experience, or being completely clueless, among other reasons.

One can have a great interview and still be rejected if your packet is only marginal, or has something questionable, like, say, a weak MCAT score coupled with a high GPA.


How important exactly are interviews for med school?
Suppose you have great stats and extracirriculars, will a decent but not great interview, ruin your chance of getting accepted?
Or are the interviews only important if you do badly and that's when it matters?

Now this is interesting. Do you know why your colleague found this person scary? Also what do you mean by babbling idiot? Somebody who talks too much or somebody who goes way off tangent of whatever question was asked?

 

[Goro]

Alas, I don't remember the 'scary" story.

Babbling idiots are those people who can't answer a question concisely. I've sure you've met people like this...why bother using one word when ten will do? I suspect that these people are thinking for an answer while they're speaking, so the mouth is going while the brain tries to come up with something. This group also includes the people who do something like this (I am NOT making this up!):

goro: So tell me about this thing you did in Honduras?
Interviewee: Well, we went there for a mission trip and...what was the question?
goro: (thinking: reject!)

Now this is interesting. Do you know why your colleague found this person scary? Also what do you mean by babbling idiot? Somebody who talks too much or somebody who goes way off tangent of whatever question was asked?

 

[woltej1]

When I interviewed in the University of Minnesota system, they explained it as you are given a score based on your application. Then you interview with 2 different faculty and they get their impression of you. There is then a meeting of the entire committee where they can push to have your score changed if they felt there was something unique about you. Then this absolute score is used to determine if you get accepted, rejected, or held for the waitlist.

 

[Tommyguns89]

Alas, I don't remember the 'scary" story.

Babbling idiots are those people who can't answer a question concisely. I've sure you've met people like this...why bother using one word when ten will do? I suspect that these people are thinking for an answer while they're speaking, so the mouth is going while the brain tries to come up with something. This group also includes the people who do something like this (I am NOT making this up!):

goro: So tell me about this thing you did in Honduras?
Interviewee: Well, we went there for a mission trip and...what was the question?
goro: (thinking: reject!)

Would you hold it against somebody if they took a few moments to think of an answer before speaking(to avoid that)?

 

[Keladry]

Would you hold it against somebody if they took a few moments to think of an answer before speaking(to avoid that)?

I'm obviously not an adcom member, but the general consensus I've heard is that pausing to think of an answer, rather than just starting to babble, is a GOOD thing. If it'll take you longer than a second or two, you can say, "Hm, let me think about that a moment," then continue. I was asked a question on euthanasia, paused to gather my thoughts, then spoke, and afterward my interviewer said, "Great answer." Especially for tough questions, I think it makes sense to gather your thoughts.

 

[Goro]

Tommy, don't take the MCAT until you improve your VR reading comprehension skills. Keladry got 100% of what I was saying. Gathering one's thoughts is very different from starting to answer a question and then blanking out in mid-sentence.

I'm obviously not an adcom member, but the general consensus I've heard is that pausing to think of an answer, rather than just starting to babble, is a GOOD thing. If it'll take you longer than a second or two, you can say, "Hm, let me think about that a moment," then continue. I was asked a question on euthanasia, paused to gather my thoughts, then spoke, and afterward my interviewer said, "Great answer." Especially for tough questions, I think it makes sense to gather your thoughts.

 

[LizzyM]

I'll comment on scary: they turn eye contact into a staring contest, infringe on the interviewer's personal space (pull chair close to the desk, put elbows or forearms on the desk), and look grim with no hit of friendliness.

 

[warwickdavis]

I'll comment on scary: they turn eye contact into a staring contest, infringe on the interviewer's personal space (pull chair close to the desk, put elbows or forearms on the desk), and look grim with no hit of friendliness.

What if the table is pretty big/wide across? There was still plenty of room between us and thought it would be ok...

 

[chenzt]

I'll comment on scary: they turn eye contact into a staring contest, infringe on the interviewer's personal space (pull chair close to the desk, put elbows or forearms on the desk), and look grim with no hit of friendliness.

What if the table is pretty big/wide across? There was still plenty of room between us and thought it would be ok...

Then it wouldn't be infringing on someone's space now, would it?

 

[LizzyM]

What if the table is pretty big/wide across? There was still plenty of room between us and thought it would be ok...

A desk and a table are different. The top of someone's desk is their personal space. If you are sitting together at a table, that's a different dynamic.

 

[DrBirdFriend]

Alas, I don't remember the 'scary" story.

Babbling idiots are those people who can't answer a question concisely. I've sure you've met people like this...why bother using one word when ten will do? I suspect that these people are thinking for an answer while they're speaking, so the mouth is going while the brain tries to come up with something. This group also includes the people who do something like this (I am NOT making this up!):

goro: So tell me about this thing you did in Honduras?
Interviewee: Well, we went there for a mission trip and...what was the question?
goro: (thinking: reject!)

Oh man this is so me ;( exactly true about the mouth running while the head is thinking. I would even have this "out of body" experience where I hear myself talk and think "stop talking stop talking why are you still talking!?!?" Every interview. I swear I'm not like that in normal life. I think it's a really bad nervous habit.

 

[Keladry]

Oh man this is so me ;( exactly true about the mouth running while the head is thinking. I would even have this "out of body" experience where I hear myself talk and think "stop talking stop talking why are you still talking!?!?" Every interview. I swear I'm not like that in normal life. I think it's a really bad nervous habit.

Just practice as much as you can! That's what I did. I did mock interviews with career services, friends, family members, people I vaguely knew and found intimidating...it really worked! My friends were WAY tougher on me and way scarier than any of my real interviews, and it definitely helped me prepare. You don't want to sound rehearsed, but practice really helps, especially for anxiety.

 

[Chillywilly]

Go to the career center center at your school. They should provide mock interviews (meant for job interviews), but if you tell them it's for medical school they'll gladly help. At my college they interview you (you have to give them a copy of your application so they know what to ask you)... Or give them a list of your ECs with your grades and Mcat scores. They then tape record the interview session and give it to you with feedback. Watching yourself do an interview can be a nightmare, and I remember thinking how much of an idiot I was rambling and stuttering. But it helped me for real interviews. Find out if your school has this.. It's usually under career services center at your school

 

[Goro]

I've interviewed several candidates who had an absolute flat affect, as of they were robots, Vulcan, or taking large doses of anti-psychotics. I've also seen people who came from very paternalistic, misogynist cultures who you could see bristle because they were being questioned by my female students or fellow faculty members. People who are so into doing procedures that they give the impression that they'd rather work ON people instead of WITH them are also unnerving.

I'll comment on scary: they turn eye contact into a staring contest, infringe on the interviewer's personal space (pull chair close to the desk, put elbows or forearms on the desk), and look grim with no hit of friendliness.

 

[DrBirdFriend]

Just practice as much as you can! That's what I did. I did mock interviews with career services, friends, family members, people I vaguely knew and found intimidating...it really worked! My friends were WAY tougher on me and way scarier than any of my real interviews, and it definitely helped me prepare. You don't want to sound rehearsed, but practice really helps, especially for anxiety.

I really should have! I did prepare for them in that I looked up common questions and thought out my responses plus read up on the ACA, things like that. What I should have done in addition is actually VOICE these answers to an audience so I could hear myself talk and/or sound like a fool. Anyway, I did get in to my third choice school out of 15 applied to so in the end it was all good but will DEFINITELY practice for residency interviews.

 

[Plecopotamus]

Now this is interesting. Do you know why your colleague found this person scary? Also what do you mean by babbling idiot? Somebody who talks too much or somebody who goes way off tangent of whatever question was asked?

In my life before medical school, I interviewed someone whose self-professed interest was serial killers. I figured there was something more intellectual to it, so I was waiting for him to explain how he was fascinated by the psychopathology or something . . . all I got was a weird grin and chuckle and "they're cool. I don't know, man. I just think they're cool. Heh." The remaining (shortened) interview was equally uncomfortable.

Needless to say he did not get the position he was interviewing for and I used the word "scary" in evaluating him, plus went out of my way to immediately call the place offering the position and tell them how I felt.

 

[frosted_flake]

I'll comment on scary: they turn eye contact into a staring contest, infringe on the interviewer's personal space (pull chair close to the desk, put elbows or forearms on the desk), and look grim with no hit of friendliness.

I tutored a kid in A&P and he did those exact same things... pretty scary.

 

[Keladry]

I really should have! I did prepare for them in that I looked up common questions and thought out my responses plus read up on the ACA, things like that. What I should have done in addition is actually VOICE these answers to an audience so I could hear myself talk and/or sound like a fool. Anyway, I did get in to my third choice school out of 15 applied to so in the end it was all good but will DEFINITELY practice for residency interviews.

Glad it worked out anyhow, congrats on the acceptance, and best of luck in the future!

 

[Tommyguns89]

Tommy, don't take the MCAT until you improve your VR reading comprehension skills. Keladry got 100% of what I was saying. Gathering one's thoughts is very different from starting to answer a question and then blanking out in mid-sentence.

Im going to be honest, I dont see how you can say my VR needs work from me asking a question. I suspected that was what you meant but I wanted to make sure, you never know with this process(hence the question, not an accusing statement).