I think it's very difficult for us to judge how well our interviews actually "went," even if we feel that all progressed smoothly, because although we might be given signals that an interviewer likes/dislikes us, that interviewer's weight and role as pertains to the rest of the admissions committee is beyond our control! From my own experience. . . my interviews varied enormously, yet there seemed to be no correlation b/t interview & acceptance. I don't necessarily think it means that the interview has little effect, either, because in my case, my composite MCAT was below the average for a good portion of the schools at which I interviewed, and so I'm inclined to believe that the interview held more importance than it may have for someone with really stellar stats.
Just to give an idea, here's the run-down. . . all of these interviews ultimately ended in acceptances.
School 1: Student interviewer was very positive and friendly, we got along quite well!
Faculty interview went okay. . . it was difficult to ascertain what she thought.
School 2: Both interviews, one with a faculty member and another with a dean who sat on the committee, were lukewarm at best. The faculty member, in particular, seemed bored and distinterested.
School 3: Wonderful interview with dean of admissions. We wound up talking about all the things about which I'm passionate, and laughed a lot.
School 4: Interview went HORRIBLY. It was with a faculty member, I have no clue if he was on the committee because he never really introduced himself. He was very cynical about everything I'd done and made a point of picking out the sore spots in my application. He exuded a negative attitude from the start. . . almost as if I was completely wasting his time. I left the interview convinced that I would be rejected, and was SHOCKED when the opposite occurred!
School 5: By far my best interview; we talked for an hour & 1/2, about anything that came to mind. She introduced me to other students and a few doctors in the ER, and gave me tips about med school in general.
After all this. . . I really can't detect a pattern! But as I said, I don't think that the interviews "didn't really count," b/c if that was the case I think I would have been rejected based on my MCAT (which isn't bad, but is mediocre compared to some of the stellar scores that appear at some of these schools!). So I dunno!
I hope this has been some help, perhaps to demonstrate, if nothing else, that the process can be variable!
😕