Anyone care to share stories where they felt they interviewed rather poorly, but were accepted?

[Geomamaearth]

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I had my first medical school interview a few days ago, and felt devastated about my interview. I do not think I prepared enough, and really dropped the ball about sharing my experiences in a deep and meaningful way, but I did hit some of the highlights. I just felt my interview was mediocre at best, rather than great. It did not flow well, and I felt interrogated.

I think I look fantastic on paper, 2+ years clinical experience, 3.6-3.7 GPA, 509 MCAT, strong LOR, and a compelling personal statement (IMO). But I was so nervous that I blanked out a bit in front of my interviewer.

EDIT: Got my acceptance from this particular school today!

 

[Laddertomed]

Nah don’t worry I literally sounded so monotone and stumbled so many times and kept avoiding direct questions but still got in which was a surprise!

 

[Goro]

I had my first medical school interview a few days ago, and felt devastated about my interview. I do not think I prepared enough, and really dropped the ball about sharing my experiences in a deep and meaningful way, but I did hit some of the highlights. I just felt my interview was mediocre at best, rather than great. It did not flow well, and I felt interrogated.

I think I look fantastic on paper, 2+ years clinical experience, 3.6-3.7 GPA, 509 MCAT, strong LOR, and a compelling personal statement (IMO). But I was so nervous that I blanked out a bit in front of my interviewer.

@georgia_boy1

 

[deleted600623]

@Geomamaearth As one wise person on SDN once told me: Most people are terrible judges of how they interview. And they were absolutely right. I thought my first interview was mediocre at best as well and got in the next week. Don’t dwell on this interview. If you feel like some of your answers are shaky, then shore those up and just prepare for the next one. My guess is you did just fine!

 

[doc1994]

One of my interviewers literally told me: "You can relax, we don't bite" after I literally froze for 30 seconds mid interview. I thought I absolutely bombed it. Three days later I got the phone call that I had been accepted lol. My best advice is to relax, be yourself, and don't overthink things (obviously easier said than done though). The rest will take care of itself

 

[sinigang14]

1) One of my interviewers literally told me they did not like my personal statement after they read the first few sentences.

2) The other interviewer told me I said some provocative things and started interrogating me.

3) At one point, one of the interviewers wanted clarification on something I said, so I started to talk but then he stopped me and said “you can stop, I get it”

4) I also felt interrogated while everyone else I talked too said they had relaxed interviews

In conclusion, I was ready for that rejection email before I even left the building. The next week, I was accepted on the first round of acceptances.

 

[Magus5454]

1) One of my interviewers literally told me they did not like my personal statement after they read the first few sentences.

2) The other interviewer told me I said some provocative things and started interrogating me.

3) At one point, one of the interviewers wanted clarification on something I said, so I started to talk but then he stopped me and said “you can stop, I get it”

4) I also felt interrogated while everyone else I talked too said they had relaxed interviews

In conclusion, I was ready for that rejection email before I even left the building. The next week, I was accepted on the first round of acceptances.

That's an interview style. They are seeing how you deal with stress and interruptions

 

[RNtoMD87]

I hope mine's like that. Sounds like the promotion and soldier of the month boards I'm accustomed to.

 

[animalluver101]

When I applied to medical school the first time around, I thought that I'd interviewed pretty well (great posture, kept my hands very firmly in my lap so that I wasn't flailing), and then I was waitlisted to death by both schools. The second time around, I went off on a tangent about why I love the angstiest Harry Potter book and was making imaginary maps with my hands, and I was accepted into the first school that interviewed me. I didn't think that I did that well, really, but I think there's something in the "be yourself" mantra because it sets you apart from the people who are trying to be someone else. I hope everything goes well for you!

 

[mdh2]

Some people will intentionally makes things awkward to see how you respond. Others might be aggressive or rude to see how you will respond to such patients (just wait till continuity clinic as a resident to understand why...)

There is also the chance that you may have misread the whole interaction and they actually loved you (or hated you)



Best of Luck!

 

[carpe noctem]

I was just accepted to a school where I thought I had done mediocre on an interview. I also felt like I was being interrogated and one of the interviewers even interrupted me mid-way to move onto another question. It wasn’t conversational and I thought my chances were over. But it all worked out in the end! I’m sure you will be fine. It’s hard not to dwell on the interview but try to find other things to occupy your mind.

 

[Ibbyibtaballs]

I had my first medical school interview a few days ago, and felt devastated about my interview. I do not think I prepared enough, and really dropped the ball about sharing my experiences in a deep and meaningful way, but I did hit some of the highlights. I just felt my interview was mediocre at best, rather than great. It did not flow well, and I felt interrogated.

I think I look fantastic on paper, 2+ years clinical experience, 3.6-3.7 GPA, 509 MCAT, strong LOR, and a compelling personal statement (IMO). But I was so nervous that I blanked out a bit in front of my interviewer.

Hey man sometimes we do a lot better than we think we did. I had a 30 MCAT and 3.7-3.8. I interviewed at CCOM at wrote it off. I felt I did so bad on the interview. Even then I got waitlisted and even accepted even though I don’t go there.

 

[Magus5454]

I was just accepted to a school where I thought I had done mediocre on an interview. I also felt like I was being interrogated and one of the interviewers even interrupted me mid-way to move onto another question. It wasn’t conversational and I thought my chances were over. But it all worked out in the end! I’m sure you will be fine. It’s hard not to dwell on the interview but try to find other things to occupy your mind.

That is a interview tactic used to see how you handle stressful situations

 

[Les93]

Yeah I botched my AZCOM interview and was accepted. Don't sweat it and move on to the next one- it is really hard to evaluate how you yourself perform in an interview. It probably went better than you think!

 

[Geomamaearth]

Just an update, I got the acceptance in my email today!