advice on how to answer an open ended “tell me about yourself”?

[premedbarista]

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i have a closed file interview on wednesday!!! trying to practice ahead of time, so am i supposed to run through my ECs in college for this question? it feels a little weird because most of it is stuff that i did in college but i’m taking a gap year right now and just working. I had a lot of really impactful volunteering and research in college that i’d love to mention, but i don’t want it to sound like i’m bragging abt accomplishments or just listing off a resume. does anyone have advice on how to structure this answer/what info they would be looking for?

I was thinking something like name, where I’m from, what I did in college, what I’m doing now (working full time nights so not much energy for ECs rip), maybe my motivations for medicine and goals. am i missing something or is there anything that i shouldn’t mention? I don’t have any interesting hobbies so I’m going to try to avoid talking about that lol. thanks 🙂

 

[polymerization]

I'm really curious about the responses you will get to this question from the professionals.

I have a hunch that, actually, it's not necessarily to your advantage to word-vomit your CV to a closed-file interviewer because it's unlikely you'll be able to discuss 15 activities in a single 90 second response with any poise or depth.

But maybe more curiously, I recognize if interviews are essentially graded on a rubric, it's unlikely that a criterion is going to be whether or not your interviewer can reverse-engineer your entire application verbatim from what you told them on the interview.

So, for me, I talk about my partner and pets and how we feed strays on our back porch every few days.

You'll have time to talk about activities once you are asked the "why medicine" and "tell me about a time when" questions.

(PS: You're going to do great! See you in LA!)

 

[olofmeister]

i have a closed file interview on wednesday!!! trying to practice ahead of time, so am i supposed to run through my ECs in college for this question? it feels a little weird because most of it is stuff that i did in college but i’m taking a gap year right now and just working. I had a lot of really impactful volunteering and research in college that i’d love to mention, but i don’t want it to sound like i’m bragging abt accomplishments or just listing off a resume. does anyone have advice on how to structure this answer/what info they would be looking for?

I was thinking something like name, where I’m from, what I did in college, what I’m doing now (working full time nights so not much energy for ECs rip), maybe my motivations for medicine and goals. am i missing something or is there anything that i shouldn’t mention? I don’t have any interesting hobbies so I’m going to try to avoid talking about that lol. thanks 🙂

last cycle I focused on career stuff for this question and I got cut off both times, this time I'm just saying some interesting stuff I do for fun + 1 sentence about my job... people seem to like it

Just try to make yourself memorable

 

[Mr.Smile12]

 

[Goro]

i have a closed file interview on wednesday!!! trying to practice ahead of time, so am i supposed to run through my ECs in college for this question? it feels a little weird because most of it is stuff that i did in college but i’m taking a gap year right now and just working. I had a lot of really impactful volunteering and research in college that i’d love to mention, but i don’t want it to sound like i’m bragging abt accomplishments or just listing off a resume. does anyone have advice on how to structure this answer/what info they would be looking for?

I was thinking something like name, where I’m from, what I did in college, what I’m doing now (working full time nights so not much energy for ECs rip), maybe my motivations for medicine and goals. am i missing something or is there anything that i shouldn’t mention? I don’t have any interesting hobbies so I’m going to try to avoid talking about that lol. thanks 🙂

rule number one, don't say anything about you wanting to go to medical school other than you want to go to Medical school. Tell the person about you.

Imagine long lost Auntie Kim comes to visit you from Korea. She asks you so, pre-med barista my darling, tell me about yourself.

What would you say?

 

[J_doc1]

i have a closed file interview on wednesday!!! trying to practice ahead of time, so am i supposed to run through my ECs in college for this question? it feels a little weird because most of it is stuff that i did in college but i’m taking a gap year right now and just working. I had a lot of really impactful volunteering and research in college that i’d love to mention, but i don’t want it to sound like i’m bragging abt accomplishments or just listing off a resume. does anyone have advice on how to structure this answer/what info they would be looking for?

I was thinking something like name, where I’m from, what I did in college, what I’m doing now (working full time nights so not much energy for ECs rip), maybe my motivations for medicine and goals. am i missing something or is there anything that i shouldn’t mention? I don’t have any interesting hobbies so I’m going to try to avoid talking about that lol. thanks 🙂

Hello. First of all, always assume that "closed file" means open file. You should be down to discuss anything that is in your app. I wouldn't re-iterate anything that you have listed on paper already; just be prepared to embellish/describe it thoughtfully and what it means to you.

Read about the school's mission (on their website) and if you are truly interested, try to tailor your responses to that. DON'T make the mistake of tailoring every interview to each school's mission--cuz it's a small world and people talk.

Try to be effervescent and enthusiastic. Enthusiasm is always a must for interviews. People want people who are motivated to be productive workers, and those who will work well with their potential co-workers.

Be prepared for a lunch/interview w/current med students. This is to gauge if you fit in or not.

Good luck! 🙂