What does this indicate?

[newborn11]

I attended about 13 interviews this year (12 traditional, 1 MMI). I was fortunate enough to be accepted at 8 schools with traditional interviews. However, I just received my first post-interview rejection this past week from a school with MMI. I was very concerned about the MMI format prior to the interview so I scheduled it to be held in November as my last interview. Since MMI focuses more on gauging the candidates' people skills, is this an indication that I need to sharpen my social skills prior to matriculation in med school? Please comment if you have similar experiences/insights regarding this matter so I can improve my people skills and prepare for clerkships/residency interviews. Thank you

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[Lya]

I attended about 13 interviews this year (12 traditional, 1 MMI). I was fortunate enough to be accepted at 8 schools with traditional interviews. However, I just received my first post-interview rejection this past week from a school with MMI. I was very concerned about the MMI format prior to the interview so I scheduled it to be held in November as my last interview. Since MMI focuses more on gauging the candidates' people skills, is this an indication that I need to sharpen my social skills prior to matriculation in med school? Please comment if you have similar experiences/insights regarding this matter so I can improve my people skills and prepare for clerkships/residency interviews. Thank you

You are fine. You are overthinking it too much.

You already showcased your great interview skills with 8 acceptances, so don't worry about one rejection in MMI.

 

[Ismet]

I only had one MMI interview, and I hated it. I know some people like that format, but I didn't like that we only got 8 minutes in each room, and most of that time was taken up by explaining our response to the prompt. I know about the "theories" behind why MMI is beneficial, but personally I don't think it tests people skills. Entering a room and speaking for 4 minutes doesn't constitute people skills. As a former student interviewer, I feel like I can tell more about a candidate's people skills with a 45 minute interview than anyone could do with 8 minutes.

You are over 2 years away from clerkships and 4 years away from residency interviews. This is not the time to worry about those things. You will have plenty of "doctoring" classes in medical school that will teach you how to talk to patients. You have 8 acceptances, which is an amazing feat, and obviously shows that you are very qualified to go to medical school and become a doctor. Put the MMI behind you.

 

[masaraksh]

I think this indicates that you clearly lack people skills and that the only specialty med schools will let you practice will be forensic pathology so that you only work with dead people.

 

[Reckoner]

I attended about 13 interviews this year (12 traditional, 1 MMI). I was fortunate enough to be accepted at 8 schools with traditional interviews. However, I just received my first post-interview rejection this past week from a school with MMI. I was very concerned about the MMI format prior to the interview so I scheduled it to be held in November as my last interview. Since MMI focuses more on gauging the candidates' people skills, is this an indication that I need to sharpen my social skills prior to matriculation in med school? Please comment if you have similar experiences/insights regarding this matter so I can improve my people skills and prepare for clerkships/residency interviews. Thank you

You're weighing the rejection way too heavily here. Consider the alternative viewpoint: you were accepted at 8 of 12 schools that required you to sit down and make conversation with interviewers. Sounds like someone with decent social skills to me.

 

[hubriz]

I attended about 13 interviews this year (12 traditional, 1 MMI). I was fortunate enough to be accepted at 8 schools with traditional interviews. However, I just received my first post-interview rejection this past week from a school with MMI. I was very concerned about the MMI format prior to the interview so I scheduled it to be held in November as my last interview. Since MMI focuses more on gauging the candidates' people skills, is this an indication that I need to sharpen my social skills prior to matriculation in med school? Please comment if you have similar experiences/insights regarding this matter so I can improve my people skills and prepare for clerkships/residency interviews. Thank you

1. It's OK to be rejected. It will always be painful, but you have to learn to cope in a healthy way. Bringing into question your identity in this scenario is a bit extreme.
2. The strength of your people skills is measured in social situations, not interviews.
3. Congratulations on your 8 acceptances.

 

[Stoptheclot]

Seriously, I felt that every interview of the MMI included significantly less social skills than a trad interview. At one of my MMI stations, the interviewer asked the question, which had very little to do with medicine, and after my 30 second answer, he laughed and shook his head and said, " honestly, i think this question is bull****. tell me a little about yourself."

Whattup, ocho?! Props on your 75% acceptance rate, sheesh!

 

[medicalhope]

You are fine dude... I got rejected or WL at 2/3 MMIs I attended and had much better luck in traditional interviews. I don't think it says anything about you.

 

[Oso]

Since MMI focuses more on gauging the candidates' people skills, is this an indication that I need to sharpen my social skills prior to matriculation in med school?

.. What could you really do to significantly improve your social skills between now and matriculation?

If you did well in the other interviews, then I'm sure your social skills are fine. When in doubt, log off SDN and hang out with real people. Good luck!

 

[aspirantmed]

I think you have a classic case of pre-med neuroticism. Some go on to experience Step 1 neuroticism, single bad evaluation neuroticism, and what career to pick/rank list neuroticism. The most common treatment is alcohol, for which the use is supported with large, multi-center, multi-year retrospective studies.

Good job getting 8 acceptances, next step is figuring out where you want to spend the next 4+ years of your life.

.. I heard this, and leeches, are pretty much cures for everything. True story.