Medical Asked How Many DO/MD schools I applied to - was answering honestly a mistake?

[Question]

During one of my DO interviews last week, the first question my interviewer asked was how many MD and DO schools I applied to. I was honest and told her that I applied to over 35 DO schools and over 10 MD schools. I was taken aback by the question, and I was wondering if my answer could be a possible detriment to me in any way. I would attend this DO school for sure, but I’m afraid of what the school will think now since I applied to so many schools. Any help?

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[TheBoneDoctah]

Would not think to much into this. Bad question.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

If it is asked, I would answer diplomatically but no numbers. I applied to as many schools where I thought the school's mission matched yours.

I always compare this question to, "how much toilet paper do you use when you go to the bathroom?"

 

[Dral]

Yep, I don't think this is violating any sort of line of questioning, but it's a bad question imo.

At the least, it's a closed ended type question that doesn't exactly flow into follow up conversation. At worst, they are asking everyone this to collect free data (doubt if it's the latter though).

 

[Dral]

Since I gave a specific # of schools I applied to (which was quite a few DO schools), could this be seen as a detriment when it comes time to making a decision on whether or not to accept/reject me?
I can't see how it would be. They maybe were just genuinely interested to know, especially if you were having a conservation that let to that question.

I really don't think it's an issue and wouldn't worry about it. If asked in the future, I like Mr.Smile12's idea of how to handle it though. Like I don't think someone at an allo school is going to say "John Doe told me they applied to a junk ton of DO schools. I wonder if they are qualified to come to our school".

Once you land an interview, if you showcased yourself and your app well, that is what matters, not how many schools to which you applied.

 

[GoSpursGo]

What an odd question. But I don't think it should hurt you.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

I do like the way it was answered above…”applied to schools that missions resonated with me” etc

 

[Ryxndek]

I've also been asked in interviews how many schools I applied to, and also how many I received interviews with. I knew it was a possibility but frankly, I didn't think it would happen to me.

But it happens and I probably didn't answer it as well as I could have, but I was honest with them and gave them an answer. To help myself feel like I didn't hurt my chances I still made sure to also reiterate my interest in the school and why I applied and felt I would be a good fit.

I do agree with Mr.Smile12's response and had I seen that before then I would have gone with something broader than exact numbers.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I've also been asked in interviews how many schools I applied to, and also how many I received interviews with. I knew it was a possibility but frankly, I didn't think it would happen to me.

But it happens and I probably didn't answer it as well as I could have, but I was honest with them and gave them an answer. To help myself feel like I didn't hurt my chances I still made sure to also reiterate my interest in the school and why I applied and felt I would be a good fit.

I do agree with Mr.Smile12's response and had I seen that before then I would have gone with something broader than exact numbers.

Oh, I know many interviewers who ask where else an applicant has interviews. Usually it is a way for the interviewer to figure out how competitive you are and if competing schools might be in play. However that also brings up the possibility of illegal collusion (why we don't get schools names of others who also extended offers). If they ask for numbers, it's a weird measure of validation of how competitive your application is.

The problem of course is that not everyone sends out II's at the same time, and thousands will receive II's later in the cycle, so it's not an accurate measure. Nevertheless, chances are if you are interviewing early, you probably have more than one school interested in you, so I would always tell interviewers to assume everyone they are talking to will have the opportunity to choose later on ("SO DON'T ASK THEM THAT!" 🙂 ).

Again, how many sheets of toilet paper...? 🙂