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BU Medical Sciences
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fa21212 said:
If in an interview I am asked the question Why Medicine and I offer some of the same examples in my primary statement essay is this bad? Is it more effective to answer using different examples? My primary statement was essentially a long statement on why I want to do medicine so I’m wondering if I can use what I wrote there or if I should come up with something else.
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Coming up with significantly different answers would call your sincerity into question. Be honest in your PS and interviews, even if that means repeating yourself.
 
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On the other hand, if you just repeat your PS, it can come off as a memorized speech that is not genuine or that your depth of experience is very shallow. You can use the same theme but have differenat examples that, perhaps, you did not have room to fit into your essay or that you have experienced since writing your essay.
 
You mean "when" you get asked. And you will. A lot. I'm pretty sure I asked every candidate I interviewed this question. As counterintuitive as this may seem, you should practice your answers to this question with someone you know will give you good feedback or just video yourself. This is not to say that you should be disingenuous. It's just that in an interview situation, no matter how sincere you may be, nerves may get in the way and you may come off sounding robotic. The more you practice, the more fluid your answers will be.

To expand on what LizzyM said, it's even ok to explicitly say that you wrote in your PS the reasons why you want to go into medicine and now you'll talk about them with more examples. You can even explicitly state that you have other reasons than the ones you wrote of in your PS because you just didn't have room. In either situation the interviewer will know that you're well-prepared and that you've given a good amount of thought regarding your future career.

A word of caution: do NOT disparage other professions when talking about why you want to go into medicine.
 
On this same line, my parents are both physicians. Is it bad to mention that seeing their examples has been the primary reason for my interest in medicine? I don't want to come across as trying to ride their white coat tails, but I want to be honest.
 
XRayW said:
On this same line, my parents are both physicians. Is it bad to mention that seeing their examples has been the primary reason for my interest in medicine? I don't want to come across as trying to ride their white coat tails, but I want to be honest.
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That answer could also make them worry that you're just following their example/being pushed into medicine, and that it isn't actually why you want it. Be honest, but the way I plan to phrase it is how this was my first look into medicine, but then follow up with some examples where I play a more active role. I would say it's not enough of an answer.
 
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