Anyone had a HORRIBLE interview, sure you blew it but then was accepted?

[thisismyyear]

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Hi I recently had an interview where I felt that I tanked badly. I was just wondering if there is anyone out there who has felt that they had an awful interview but then was accepted? Just trying to keep up the hope. Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences

 

[copperfrog09]

Yep! My very first interview went terribly, I babbled and fumbled and my interviewer yelled at me. I was accepted last week. I was also put on hold last week at a school where I left the interview and told my mom, "I rocked that interview. It was the interview of a lifetime." You can't base the outcome on how you felt, kind of like the MCAT 😉 .Good luck!

 

[MrAgreeable]

Yep! My very first interview went terribly, I babbled and fumbled and my interviewer yelled at me. I was accepted last week. I was also put on hold last week at a school where I left the interview and told my mom, "I rocked that interview. It was the interview of a lifetime." You can't base the outcome on how you felt, kind of like the MCAT 😉 .Good luck!

That is the greatest advice ever! Both concerning the interview and the MCAT

 

[serendipity12]

totally thought i bombed my interview. was told by interviewer, "i think it would fare well if you got some more research experience, etc... for your other interviews." (she had asked me where else i was interviewing)

as if i could randomly gather some research experience in the next couple weeks? i was confused. but anyways...

got accepted. 🙂

 

[spilledmilk]

i was an hour and a half late to an interview & got accepted ... not quite the same - but equally bad, or so i thought

 

[SN2ed]

I've read a myriad of posts on here of people thinking they had a "horrible" interview that got accepted.

 

[tianac2]

Recommended Reading: The Worst Interview Answers Thread--Its hilarious, and there are lots where people ended up getting in!

 

[Jonnymed]

I lost the game of ping pong that my student interviewer and I were having (11-13, I choked with the serve on the last series), and still got accepted, but I'm not sure if that's the same thing as having a bad interview. More like having poor control of the volley.

 

[tianac2]

I lost the game of ping pong that my student interviewer and I were having (11-13, I choked with the serve on the last series), and still got accepted, but I'm not sure if that's the same thing as having a bad interview. More like having poor control of the volley.

LOL.

BTW--Your avatar is hilarious!

 

[Fibroblastman]

I lost the game of ping pong that my student interviewer and I were having (11-13, I choked with the serve on the last series), and still got accepted, but I'm not sure if that's the same thing as having a bad interview. More like having poor control of the volley.

After my student interview, I challenged my student interviewer to two games of ping pong... I beat him both times. Another med student challenged me and I came up from 10 points behind to beat him as well for an "honorary acceptance." =)

Too bad I didn't get it on paper. =(

 

[azuldelcielo]

Yep! My very first interview went terribly, I babbled and fumbled and my interviewer yelled at me. I was accepted last week. I was also put on hold last week at a school where I left the interview and told my mom, "I rocked that interview. It was the interview of a lifetime." You can't base the outcome on how you felt, kind of like the MCAT 😉 .Good luck!

same thing happened to me.

earlier this week, i was waitlisted at the school that i thought i did well at. (interviews were very relaxed and comfortable)

at the other school, i was 99% sure that one of my interviewers did not like me at all - there were a lot of awkward silences throughout the interview and i felt like we weren't connecting with each other. with the second interviewer there, i rambled a lot because i was really tired and sick. i left not really knowing if i had been able to get my points across in coherent sentences. (a LOT of questions were asked - not very conversational) in comparision to my other interviews, i believed that i performed the poorest here. (i really liked the school though)
-result: accepted today --- my first 😀

 

[TheElement]

I wonder if yall's stats had anything to do with it? Even though each interview may seem like a do or die affair, I hear it's not that heavily weighted at some schools.

 

[p30doc]

I was waitlisted when I thought the interview was the best I have had so far, they told me I had a very strong application, we went way over time chatting about stuff. In the end no matter what we thought of the interview and what happens during it, a lot of behind the scenes discussions and stuff happens that we aren't privy to too. Unfortunately this 'stuff' ultimately determines our fate.

 

[majestic red]

During my first interview, I was freaking out so much that my teeth where clattering. I outright told my interviewer that I was really nervous and then proceeded to give not-so-intelligible answers to her questions. I got accepted.

At my second interview, my student interviewer flat-out told me that she thought I was going to get in. Today, I found out that I got wait-listed.

 

[TheElement]

Man does anyone else get the feeling after reading this thread that a horrible interview is the key to acceptance?

 

[splotchy3754]

I hate to sound like I'm hijacking this thread, but I too am feeling major blues after a week and a half of interviews.

I thought I nailed the UIC interview, but based on the responses in the UIC secondary thread, it sounds like I got rejected?

Then I had 3 interviews this week, one of which was my top choices, and I tried really really hard not to fall head-over-heels in love with it when I visited the day before yesterday, but I couldn't help myself. The terrible thing is that I think I only did mediocre on the interviews, because I was tired, stressing, and my interviewer asked me no questions. She would just sit and stare at me.* She would only make an occasional comment about what I said, and I assumed I was supposed to try and go from there, but there were so many awkward pauses and moments that it was deafening.

Other interviewers were either too well read on my file that I felt I couldn't elaborate anymore on my listed events on the AMCAS primary or so closed file and poor conversationalist by nature combination that left lots of awkward pauses. I would always finish explaining in as succinct a way as possible, yet trying to do myself some justice, leaving room for a leading question kind of thing, but the interviewer would always just pause...and move on to a different subject.

Sigh. Please someone tell me I'm just a ******ed, anxious pre-med who isn't looking to face all these rejections in the months to come.


*Note: I don't know about anyone else, but I have so much trouble keeping eye-contact with people. I don't know if this can be a blanket statement, but based on the cultural traditions and values in some Asian cultures, we (or I in this case) are taught that we can't look at people of higher social ranking or age in the eye. I have to consciously adjust my thinking and remind myself at all my interviews to try and focus on facing my interviewer, but I do feel my eyes wander sometimes when I'm responding or realize that I'm looking down rather than up. I don't want this to come off as a "shyness" or "nervousness" factor in terms of them measuring my presence in the room. Maybe I'm just overanalyzing, and the interviewers do think about cultural differences......

 

[JoltOfFuel]

I hate to sound like I'm hijacking this thread, but I too am feeling major blues after a week and a half of interviews.

I thought I nailed the UIC interview, but based on the responses in the UIC secondary thread, it sounds like I got rejected?

Then I had 3 interviews this week, one of which was my top choices, and I tried really really hard not to fall head-over-heels in love with it when I visited the day before yesterday, but I couldn't help myself. The terrible thing is that I think I only did mediocre on the interviews, because I was tired, stressing, and my interviewer asked me no questions. She would just sit and stare at me.* She would only make an occasional comment about what I said, and I assumed I was supposed to try and go from there, but there were so many awkward pauses and moments that it was deafening.

Other interviewers were either too well read on my file that I felt I couldn't elaborate anymore on my listed events on the AMCAS primary or so closed file and poor conversationalist by nature combination that left lots of awkward pauses. I would always finish explaining in as succinct a way as possible, yet trying to do myself some justice, leaving room for a leading question kind of thing, but the interviewer would always just pause...and move on to a different subject.

Sigh. Please someone tell me I'm just a ******ed, anxious pre-med who isn't looking to face all these rejections in the months to come.


*Note: I don't know about anyone else, but I have so much trouble keeping eye-contact with people. I don't know if this can be a blanket statement, but based on the cultural traditions and values in some Asian cultures, we (or I in this case) are taught that we can't look at people of higher social ranking or age in the eye. I have to consciously adjust my thinking and remind myself at all my interviews to try and focus on facing my interviewer, but I do feel my eyes wander sometimes when I'm responding or realize that I'm looking down rather than up. I don't want this to come off as a "shyness" or "nervousness" factor in terms of them measuring my presence in the room. Maybe I'm just overanalyzing, and the interviewers do think about cultural differences......

Unfortunately, they are going to interview 2 million other asian people, a chunk of which have no problems looking them in the eye. It's probably just one of those things you should work on before your interviews in the future - more mock interviews until you can handle eye contact and smoothly transitioning to cover awkward silences.

That interview schedule sounds brutal, sorry to hear it 🙁

 

[ayushman80]

Man does anyone else get the feeling after reading this thread that a horrible interview is the key to acceptance?

This is not true at all. I would say that a majority of the time a bad interview will do just the opposite. The interview is a big portion of your application, however, it isn't the only portion. Some of these folks could have had outstanding LORs and/or ECs and scores that outweighted a poor performance of a 0.5 hr period. I think that the committees look at the whole application befoer they make a decision. If your application is great and you turn out to be a total @$$ during the interview you chances are shot. But if your application is great and you stumble and can't catch yourself, its probably just a one time event that you can recover from.

Both my first two interviews went great and I was accepted to both schools. Again, its the whole application not just one individual thing that will sail or sink you.