2012-2013 Panic Thread

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physiologist said:
Going to bars alone is awkward as a girl, and you need social skills for people to want to take you to the bar with them.

All joking aside, I did go out all the time in college (part of the reason for my GPA) but the informal bar scene is really not like an interview. There's nothing at stake. I still haven't figured out the art of the interview. That intricate balance between talking about and selling yourself and coming on too arrogant/not listening.
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I guess the bar scene is different for guys and girls. As a guy, you definitely have to learn to sell yourself and not come on too strong to a girl. Maybe you can try to get some numbers from dudes at a bar? :laugh:

I'm full of awful advice that involve alcohol.
 
physiologist said:
Going to bars alone is awkward as a girl, and you need social skills for people to want to take you to the bar with them.

All joking aside, I did go out all the time in college (part of the reason for my GPA) but the informal bar scene is really not like an interview. There's nothing at stake. I still haven't figured out the art of the interview. That intricate balance between talking about and selling yourself and coming on too arrogant/not listening.
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I'm a total introvert at heart and only broke out of my shell when i started working a sales job where actually keeping my job depended on...sales! This meant approaching strange people on a sales floor and proactively (not necessarily aggressively) convincing them to purchase s*** they didn't really need. It definitely enhanced my interpersonal skills in multiple dimensions.

Suggestion: part time sales job?
 
physiologist said:
Going to bars alone is awkward as a girl, and you need social skills for people to want to take you to the bar with them.

All joking aside, I did go out all the time in college (part of the reason for my GPA) but the informal bar scene is really not like an interview. There's nothing at stake. I still haven't figured out the art of the interview. That intricate balance between talking about and selling yourself and coming on too arrogant/not listening.
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I agree with the poster above me - a job working with the general public could really help you out. Anything like serving, bartending, sales, etc. might help you develop and improve upon some of those skills. You're correct, it's not the same as interviewing, but if you can be comfortable in many of the awkward and sometimes stressful situations you'll encounter in these jobs, an interview will no longer seem as daunting.

Plus side - serving is generally good $$. 🙂
 
physiologist said:
Just got rejected. One still pending, 3 post interview rejections. Fortunately the dean gave me feedback. Said there were serious concerns about my interpersonal skills because I was "too often aggressive in your approach to the conversation at the expense of listening". Meanwhile I was given the advice before the interview (from SDN...arg!) to take charge of the conversation. I also suck at novel social situations, have had no experience prior to this cycle interviewing, and my coach focused too much on formulating answers and not enough on how the dynamics of the interview work. I am genuinely worried that this gap in my social skills will haunt me forever, but hopefully at my SMP, I would have a chance to do mock interviews and directly target this weakness when practicing now that I am aware of it.


TL;DR I don't have the ability to pick up social cues well enough to ever become a doctor so I might as well just give up. The end.
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What exactly does "too often aggressive in your approach to the conversation at the expense of listening" mean? Did you interrupt your interviewer? Did you fail to answer the questions asked by the interviewer? Was your demeanor too serious?

EDIT: waitlisted at my top choice today. nooooooo
 
Member 331305 said:
What exactly does "too often aggressive in your approach to the conversation at the expense of listening" mean? Did you interrupt your interviewer? Did you fail to answer the questions asked by the interviewer? Was your demeanor too serious?

EDIT: waitlisted at my top choice today. nooooooo
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My interview coach was all like "y you no sell yourself?" So I tied everything to why I want to go into medicine.

Aggressive? Don't know. I'd need someone to mock interview me and pinpoint exactly what that means because I've not a clue. I guess I had trouble picking up the dynamics of the interview/cues/etc. I guess I want medicine more than anything else so I might have been focusing on answering questions while disregarding the conversational aspect of the interview? I guess I don't understand how an interview is SUPPOSED to look like? I'm bad at adapting to novel social settings, so this could be why as well... I treated interviewing as a Q and A instead of a conversation? Focused too much on talking about myself without any reciprocity? I mean, my feeling was, it's an interview, I'm supposed to talk about myself, that's the point, how does one expect to be reciprocal in an interview?

I guess the whole concept of interviewing confuses the crap out of me. My only hope is that I could have a mock interview with a med faculty at my SMP and get brutally honest advice where my aggressiveness/poor listening are pinpointed and explained.

Also I do work with people a lot through my volunteering and have been fine. I don't think I struggle with putting myself out there. I likely have the opposite problem if anything.
 
physiologist said:
My interview coach was all like "y you no sell yourself?" So I tied everything to why I want to go into medicine.

Aggressive? Don't know. I'd need someone to mock interview me and pinpoint exactly what that means because I've not a clue. I guess I had trouble picking up the dynamics of the interview/cues/etc. I guess I want medicine more than anything else so I might have been focusing on answering questions while disregarding the conversational aspect of the interview? I guess I don't understand how an interview is SUPPOSED to look like? I'm bad at adapting to novel social settings, so this could be why as well... I treated interviewing as a Q and A instead of a conversation? Focused too much on talking about myself without any reciprocity? I mean, my feeling was, it's an interview, I'm supposed to talk about myself, that's the point, how does one expect to be reciprocal in an interview?

I guess the whole concept of interviewing confuses the crap out of me. My only hope is that I could have a mock interview with a med faculty at my SMP and get brutally honest advice where my aggressiveness/poor listening are pinpointed and explained.

Also I do work with people a lot through my volunteering and have been fine. I don't think I struggle with putting myself out there. I likely have the opposite problem if anything.
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Sounds like you know what you did wrong.

For me, the interviews were all conversations. In one interview that was scheduled for thirty minutes I ended up talking for about an hour and fifteen. The first half hour I talked about hiking, waterfalls and my hometown; nothing related to medicine at all. The reason for this was that the interviewer asked me about Washington and that he went there once. We had a few laughs and then started the interview.

Also, when I am asked yes or no questions, I answer with a yes or no followed by a reason. I like to give a reason with every answer or a personal story. I feel like this gives a better picture of me.

You should also make sure you answer their questions. This sounds silly, but many people get so nervous that they forget the question and answer something unrelated.

Finally, I never try to steer the interview. If the interviewer goes on a tangent, I just follow them on the tangent.

The reason why I do all of this is that the interviewer is going to base their recommendation on their feelings about you. I always try to make a good first impression, remain friendly throughout the interview and end it with a smile on both our faces. When they ask me what quality I have, I say that I am easy to talk to and I strive for that so I can have an open relationship with my patients. If I do well in the interview, hopefully this becomes more believable and their decision is based on this.
 
physiologist said:
My interview coach was all like "y you no sell yourself?" So I tied everything to why I want to go into medicine.

Aggressive? Don't know. I'd need someone to mock interview me and pinpoint exactly what that means because I've not a clue. I guess I had trouble picking up the dynamics of the interview/cues/etc. I guess I want medicine more than anything else so I might have been focusing on answering questions while disregarding the conversational aspect of the interview? I guess I don't understand how an interview is SUPPOSED to look like? I'm bad at adapting to novel social settings, so this could be why as well... I treated interviewing as a Q and A instead of a conversation? Focused too much on talking about myself without any reciprocity? I mean, my feeling was, it's an interview, I'm supposed to talk about myself, that's the point, how does one expect to be reciprocal in an interview?

I guess the whole concept of interviewing confuses the crap out of me. My only hope is that I could have a mock interview with a med faculty at my SMP and get brutally honest advice where my aggressiveness/poor listening are pinpointed and explained.

Also I do work with people a lot through my volunteering and have been fine. I don't think I struggle with putting myself out there. I likely have the opposite problem if anything.
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One problem with interview coaching is that you're not going into a mock interview with the same level of nerves as a real interview, so you might not even be presenting the same person in each scenario. As a few others have stated, I'd try to work on your skills in situations where the stakes are a little higher than just a mock interview, as well as just in [awkward] social situations where you can work on truly conversating.

Either way, it sounds like a big part of the problem is the listening piece that helps in a more conversational interview. Before you go in, take a deep breathe, try to relax & try to listen very carefully to what they're saying. Pick up on their cues. As much as you want to sell yourself, a huge part of that is listening to your interviewer & picking up on what they're into about you & also what they're not into about you. If you don't listen carefully (and this means listening with your ears & your eyes - picking up tone & body language in addition to what they're saying), you may miss a cue for something they don't like and keep talking about it.

Good luck to you! It's great news that you have a SMP to work on things this year!:xf:
 
Whelp. I just got into medical school. Looks like I'm going to be a doctor after all!!!!!!
 
FutureDocsWife said:
WOW! Congratulations! You can now just forget everything we all said & what the other schools said! :highfive:

Where will you be heading?
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Duke-NUS. It's not your typical IMG - it has a 1% acceptance rate and everyone at my interview was at Harvard/Wharton/MIT/Dartmouth/etc. doing PhDs and Masters.... the fact that I'm an artist and had a career as a professional actor really turned them on because Asia needs creativity. I was sure I was going to get rejected because I thought the interview went horribly but apparently I was wrong. They sent me a nice letter about why the want me. They use Duke's exact curriculum and I loved it the most of any curriculum. Basically they run it like a game show - everyone is in houses, kind of like Harry Potter, and after the mini-lecture they have like a game show. The team with the most points at the end of the year gets...idk. But it sounds awesome!

I have one more school pending. This one is in the US. If I get into that one I will go, but meanwhile I'M GONNA BE A DOCTOR Y'ALLS!!!!
 
physiologist said:
Duke-NUS. It's not your typical IMG - it has a 1% acceptance rate and everyone at my interview was at Harvard/Wharton/MIT/Dartmouth/etc. doing PhDs and Masters.... the fact that I'm an artist and had a career as a professional actor really turned them on because Asia needs creativity. I was sure I was going to get rejected because I thought the interview went horribly but apparently I was wrong. They sent me a nice letter about why the want me. They use Duke's exact curriculum and I loved it the most of any curriculum. Basically they run it like a game show - everyone is in houses, kind of like Harry Potter, and after the mini-lecture they have like a game show. The team with the most points at the end of the year gets...idk. But it sounds awesome!

I have one more school pending. This one is in the US. If I get into that one I will go, but meanwhile I'M GONNA BE A DOCTOR Y'ALLS!!!!
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Congrats! Awesome news
 
physiologist said:
Whelp. I just got into medical school. Looks like I'm going to be a doctor after all!!!!!!
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Singapore is a nice,very diverse and small area. Hopefully you're open to a bit of culture shock (but only if you've never been out of the states), because Singapore is a crazy (awesome) mix.
 
askamsky51 said:
Singapore is a nice,very diverse and small area. Hopefully you're open to a bit of culture shock (but only if you've never been out of the states), because Singapore is a crazy (awesome) mix.
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I've been, and I love it. i studied abroad there at NUS for 6 months. My in-laws live there, and I have a lot of Singaporean friends I made while there. I'm going to be fine 🙂
 
From the website it looks like you need to complete an intern year and 5 year residency in Singapore though as your service commitment before you can come back to America...
 
giants25 said:
From the website it looks like you need to complete an intern year and 5 year residency in Singapore though as your service commitment before you can come back to America...
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Are you sure? OP said that 4th years got matched into some good US programs. And seeing as how they had their 1st graduating class in 2011, something is going on here! :eyebrow:
 
prado said:
Are you sure? OP said that 4th years got matched into some good US programs. And seeing as how they had their 1st graduating class in 2011, something is going on here! :eyebrow:
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You can do US residencies, but you have to do 4 years in Singapore at some point in your career because they pay half your tuition and you have to pay them back.

Duke-NUS has US-style residencies, so I want to just be able to come back and stay back after I'm done. But since my SO's family is in Singapore, we won't mind moving over there. His father is older and his health is failing so he needs to be there to take care of him anyway.
 
physiologist said:
Duke-NUS. It's not your typical IMG - it has a 1% acceptance rate and everyone at my interview was at Harvard/Wharton/MIT/Dartmouth/etc. doing PhDs and Masters.... the fact that I'm an artist and had a career as a professional actor really turned them on because Asia needs creativity. I was sure I was going to get rejected because I thought the interview went horribly but apparently I was wrong. They sent me a nice letter about why the want me. They use Duke's exact curriculum and I loved it the most of any curriculum. Basically they run it like a game show - everyone is in houses, kind of like Harry Potter, and after the mini-lecture they have like a game show. The team with the most points at the end of the year gets...idk. But it sounds awesome!

I have one more school pending. This one is in the US. If I get into that one I will go, but meanwhile I'M GONNA BE A DOCTOR Y'ALLS!!!!
Click to expand...

👍👍👍

Congrats! Glad everything worked out!
 
physiologist said:
You can do US residencies, but you have to do 4 years in Singapore at some point in your career because they pay half your tuition and you have to pay them back.

Duke-NUS has US-style residencies, so I want to just be able to come back and stay back after I'm done. But since my SO's family is in Singapore, we won't mind moving over there. His father is older and his health is failing so he needs to be there to take care of him anyway.
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Just a heads up. I've got friends who were considering duke nus and decided to turn it down because it will be challenging to come back and practice. Medical students told them that only under extenuating circumstances will they allow you to do residency in the US. So before practicing in the US, you have to serve your 5 year bond and then do residency in the US. However, you will be treated as an IMG even though they use the duke curriculum so you will only be considered after the US MD and DO graduates.

Regardless, congrats on the achievement. It's hard being an international.
 
Snegopady said:
Just a heads up. I've got friends who were considering duke nus and decided to turn it down because it will be challenging to come back and practice. Medical students told them that only under extenuating circumstances will they allow you to do residency in the US. So before practicing in the US, you have to serve your 5 year bond and then do residency in the US. However, you will be treated as an IMG even though they use the duke curriculum so you will only be considered after the US MD and DO graduates.

Regardless, congrats on the achievement. It's hard being an international.
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My in-laws live there so my fiancé and I don't mind moving and me doing residency there. He'll just do his MSc, PhD and post-doc there and by the time he's done we'll be moving back.
 
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physiologist said:
My in-laws live there so my fiancé and I don't mind moving and me doing residency there. He'll just do his PhD and post-doc there and by the time he's done we'll be moving back.
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Then that shouldn't be a problem. Enjoy the tropical climate for the next 10 years!
 
Yeah, I immediately started looking into this program when he mentioned it. It sounds awesome, but the "it's 50k through the kindness of Singapore to pay your full tuition" makes me go, "WTF?" At 50k, you might as well slap on the full price instead of 5 years of servitude. But, if Singapore is one of the happiest cities (Happiness Index), and there's no trouble practicing in the US, it's no big deal.

The Weill Qatar program does not sound quite as fun, but both of these are hella competitive...
 
type12 said:
Yeah, I immediately started looking into this program when he mentioned it. It sounds awesome, but the "it's 50k through the kindness of Singapore to pay your full tuition" makes me go, "WTF?" At 50k, you might as well slap on the full price instead of 5 years of servitude. But, if Singapore is one of the happiest cities (Happiness Index), and there's no trouble practicing in the US, it's no big deal.

The Weill Qatar program does not sound quite as fun, but both of these are hella competitive...
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Everyone at my interview was like Wharton, Harvard, Dartmouth, MIT PhD, Stanford, etc. I have a feeling these international schools, without their country restrictions, are in fact the hardest to get into. Duke-NUS only interviews like 250 out of 5000 apps, and accepts about 56 people.
 
4 Interviews


4 Waitlists


So many swear words going through my head right now
 
Sigh, the last school that I'm waiting on changed my status to "correspondence sent via postal mail" and there was nothing in my mailbox today and there's no email telling me what's happening. Postal correspondence without email is pretty irregular of the school. It's gonna be a long weekend. I've been sitting on pins and needles all day. 🙁

Oh, and congrats physiologist! That's a huge turn around in your cycle.
 
Thanks everyone!!! I'm so excited to move to Singapore - I fell in love with it during my time there and can't wait to finally make my lifelong dream of becoming an MD a reality!

This is after a dean called me socially inept (well, in nicer words, of course). So yes, huge turnaround, lol.

Thank you all for your support during this difficult cycle. You've been an amazing resource for stress-relief, making me feel a lot less alone here. Your honesty has been refreshing. I wish all of you the very best, bearintraining, jlescher, permavirgin, type12, and all the rest I forgot to mention - and if I forgot to mention you I'm sorry).

Panicking is done. Peace, everyone!!! I'll let you know what happens with the last school I'm waiting to hear from. And of course, I'll be checking for updates from my favorite thread!
 
alisvolatpropri said:
I agree with this. I think you should reconsider if you have the opportunity. You are basically signing your life over to Singapore. Bc it'll be impossible to come back as an attending and impossible for your husband to find faculty unless he double post docs in the us. These singapore programs are a scam to bring Americans over to stay permanently in Singapore and prevent a brain drain of their country.
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interesting
 
I turned down DukeNUS without any other acceptances (3 wait lists), because of the service and difficulties with practicing in the States. Also, the students that I talked to at the interview recommended waiting a year and reapplying rather than studying there. It's a very good (and difficult) program, but it commits you to Singapore for a significant portion of your life. Also, unless the whole international residency certification thing changes drastically in the next couple of years, practicing in the U.S. would be difficult.

Granted, I had a hard time turning them down, and could really see myself living in SIngapore for the rest of my life. I turned it down because I want to be closer to my family. If you're fine or excited about living in Singapore, I'd say go for it.
 
I think some of you missed the fact that she is Canadian and has family in Singapore. Both those facts make a difference.

I know nothing about the rules for practicing in Canada but that seems like a bigger factor in the decision.
 
i dunno... i hate to rain on the parade (not that i'm the first) but the singapore thing seems like a bad option. wouldn't it be worth re-applying next year instead of signing over 9 years of your life just to have a shot at coming back to get a residency then, without even knowing what an IMG's chances will be? It just seems like you're a little too happy to settle for this.
 
Rejected from GWU post interview, my last decision. I just can't understand. I pour my heart out in that application, that school was perfect for me. I really don't understand. I'm just done. I'm done, I can't do this anymore.
 
TheShaker said:
Rejected from GWU post interview, my last decision. I just can't understand. I pour my heart out in that application, that school was perfect for me. I really don't understand. I'm just done. I'm done, I can't do this anymore.
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Keep your head up buddy! you're waitlisted at some pretty good schools who take a good portion of their students from the waitlist..

I'm rooting for you man!:xf:
 
TheShaker said:
Rejected from GWU post interview, my last decision. I just can't understand. I pour my heart out in that application, that school was perfect for me. I really don't understand. I'm just done. I'm done, I can't do this anymore.
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I really am sorry to hear that. I too am on 4 waitlists after 4 interviews. For the past few weeks, I have been vacillating between depression thinking I have just wasted 2 years of my life (I'm a reapplicant) and optimism that I am capable enough to find another job just as worthwhile.

Keep your head up. Lots of applicants don't get in the first round. Heed the lessons from this cycle and kick butt the next time you apply. For me, I'm out. Not only am I international but a lot of schools look unfavorably upon a third application. I regret not having worked harder as an undergrad but some things just can't be undone. So don't make the same mistake I did and jump in immediately if things don't work out.
 
TheShaker said:
Rejected from GWU post interview, my last decision. I just can't understand. I pour my heart out in that application, that school was perfect for me. I really don't understand. I'm just done. I'm done, I can't do this anymore.
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Man, I was really hoping GWU would be the one for you. You and I are basically in the same boat-- just remember you're on the wait list at two schools that traditionally have a lot of wait list movement--NYMC and EVMS.

Don't quit, even if things don't work out this year. You were verified pretty late, and still managed to get quite a few interviews, and although it's frustrating not to be accepted, the schools considered you a good enough candidate for their medical schools by placing you on the wait list.
 
TheShaker said:
Rejected from GWU post interview, my last decision. I just can't understand. I pour my heart out in that application, that school was perfect for me. I really don't understand. I'm just done. I'm done, I can't do this anymore.
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Don't let it get you down man
You're one of the people on SDN I've been paying close attention to the past few months because we're both so similar :naughty:
Remember 55% of people every year don't get an acceptance
Just try again man
 
TheShaker said:
Rejected from GWU post interview, my last decision. I just can't understand. I pour my heart out in that application, that school was perfect for me. I really don't understand. I'm just done. I'm done, I can't do this anymore.
Click to expand...

🙁 Sorry about GWU. The cycle's not over yet, so :xf: for good news in the next few months!
 
Don't throw in the towel yet, guys. For some encouragement, my roommate who applied last year had 5 interviews, wait listed at all, and ended up accepted at two schools ( late April and late May)
 
Just wanted to drop in and give you guys some encouragement. For silvercat, permavirgin, theshaker, and many of those on a number of waitlists, remember that the cycle is really far from being over. In fact, May is almost around the corner and I'm very confident you all will get some great news soon. Just be persistent with your interests in the schools where you're holding waitlist spots. Enduring the wait really sucks but just keep your head up and don't let it ruin your summer. :luck:
 
cest la vie said:
Just wanted to drop in and give you guys some encouragement. For silvercat, permavirgin, theshaker, and many of those on a number of waitlists, remember that the cycle is really far from being over. In fact, May is almost around the corner and I'm very confident you all will get some great news soon. Just be persistent with your interests in the schools where you're holding waitlist spots. Enduring the wait really sucks but just keep your head up and don't let it ruin your summer. :luck:
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Thanks for the encouragement!
 
TheShaker said:
Rejected from GWU post interview, my last decision. I just can't understand. I pour my heart out in that application, that school was perfect for me. I really don't understand. I'm just done. I'm done, I can't do this anymore.
Click to expand...

I think you'll get in off the waitlist. Send update letters, try and get new LOR (I hear this really helps)

do everything you can and you'll be fine!

I have 2 Post-Int decisions as my last hope.

I'll find out next wednesday about Jefferson and 6-8 weeks for Einstein :/
 
Wow, so just got an II for Albany for Wednesday 4/17- which is there last Interview date. I had sent a in the area pretty late and told them I'd be in tow for this week, but decided to head back when they said they did not have a decision.

I pretty much have to buy a next day flight to NY from CALI after getting back 3 days ago lol.

The things I do for medical school :/
 
nabilesmail said:
Wow, so just got an II for Albany for Wednesday 4/17- which is there last Interview date. I had sent a in the area pretty late and told them I'd be in tow for this week, but decided to head back when they said they did not have a decision.

I pretty much have to buy a next day flight to NY from CALI after getting back 3 days ago lol.

The things I do for medical school :/
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good luck!!
 
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