AWFUL interview ---> acceptance?

[drmota]

i know other threads have been started on this but never bothered to read any of them cuz i hadn't interviewed yet. but i got whooped upside the head at my Drexel interview today. I had heard from all over the place that it would be very low stress and conversational but...no such luck. here's a sampling of some of the questions i got:

1) So you're working in a clinic just out of residency and the senior surgeon is continuing to do an operation that is way outdated and keeps the patient in the hospital for 2 weeks whereas there is a new operation that would only necessitate keeping him overnight, what do you do?--- i thought i gave a pretty good answer to this (that i would pull the doc aside and let him know the pros and cons of each and that i thought we should try out the new procedure, at which point the interviewer asked, what if he still says no? and i said that if i felt that this guy's clinic was archaic in its ways i might consider moving to a new one if the guy was very unrelenting and after some persistence. the guy basically told me that i was wrong and that he would tell me the "correct" answer at the end of the interview. I was thinking to myself "what the f*CK? who's to say there's a CORRECT answer... this really pissed me off but i completely kept my cool.

2) did you hear about the new law passed in oregon? (me: yes) oh really? what is it? (in a tone that insinuated i was bluffing).. me: it protects the rights of doctors to assist in patients carrying out suicides. him: well what do you think of that? would you do one? at this point i went on to say that suicide conflicts with my personal beliefs and if a patient came to me looking for it i would refer him/her to another doctor who was more comforable with it so that not only the patient but also the doctor would be more at ease with what was happening (after this answer, he agreed that i was right in a way that inferred that my answer was very obvious)

3) how much pressure did your parents put on you to be a doctor?
4) since both your parents are doctors, how did you feel being a latchkid child (honestly, this one pissed me off the most but i showed no sign of it... i just thought it was highly inappropriate)
5) what are your strengths
6) what are your weaknesses
7) so your grades slipped sophomore year...how can you prove to me that won't happen during med school?

and on and on and on...

basically the overall sense of it all was that this guy had a pre-conceived notion of what i was before i even sat down for my interview. i'm not saying that the questions i got were unfair but just that they were unfair in comparison with what other interviewers were asked (i.e. what is your favorite author?...honestly i heard nothing more difficult than that). this guy just grilled the **** out of me and i felt completely drained afterwards. then at the end he just said "where else have you interviewed?" and i told him tulane and minnesota and he said "well i think you'd like those schools. good luck". what a prick. anybody else have HORRENDOUS interviews? and by the way for any of you guys interviewing at drexel in the future beware of this guy, i forget his name...dr. chawlah? or something...he's a siekh so kinda hard to miss. i'm done ranting.
-dr. mota

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[45408]

That sucks, Mota. 🙁 But think of it this way - maybe your interviewer is brusque like this for everybody, and you held up under fire. Some people break down and sob, but you stuck to your guns.

I have no idea though. Maybe it was just a bad day.

 

[PurpleHaze]

Are you serious?! I'm sorry it went so bad for you Mota... but hopefully it wasn't as bad as you think! Good luck to you!

 

[Orthodoc40]

1) So you're working in a clinic just out of residency and the senior surgeon is continuing to do an operation that is way outdated and keeps the patient in the hospital for 2 weeks whereas there is a new operation that would only necessitate keeping him overnight, what do you do?--- i thought i gave a pretty good answer to this (that i would pull the doc aside and let him know the pros and cons of each and that i thought we should try out the new procedure, at which point the interviewer asked, what if he still says no? and i said that if i felt that this guy's clinic was archaic in its ways i might consider moving to a new one if the guy was very unrelenting and after some persistence. the guy basically told me that i was wrong and that he would tell me the "correct" answer at the end of the interview. I was thinking to myself "what the f*CK? who's to say there's a CORRECT answer... this really pissed me off but i completely kept my cool.
-dr. mota

Wow - this guy really gave you the treatment! Sounds like internship year...LOL! Well - did he 'give you the correct answer' at the end??

 

[DrKitty]

i know other threads have been started on this but never bothered to read any of them cuz i hadn't interviewed yet. but i got whooped upside the head at my Drexel interview today. I had heard from all over the place that it would be very low stress and conversational but...no such luck. here's a sampling of some of the questions i got:

1) So you're working in a clinic just out of residency and the senior surgeon is continuing to do an operation that is way outdated and keeps the patient in the hospital for 2 weeks whereas there is a new operation that would only necessitate keeping him overnight, what do you do?--- i thought i gave a pretty good answer to this (that i would pull the doc aside and let him know the pros and cons of each and that i thought we should try out the new procedure, at which point the interviewer asked, what if he still says no? and i said that if i felt that this guy's clinic was archaic in its ways i might consider moving to a new one if the guy was very unrelenting and after some persistence. the guy basically told me that i was wrong and that he would tell me the "correct" answer at the end of the interview. I was thinking to myself "what the f*CK? who's to say there's a CORRECT answer... this really pissed me off but i completely kept my cool.

2) did you hear about the new law passed in oregon? (me: yes) oh really? what is it? (in a tone that insinuated i was bluffing).. me: it protects the rights of doctors to assist in patients carrying out suicides. him: well what do you think of that? would you do one? at this point i went on to say that suicide conflicts with my personal beliefs and if a patient came to me looking for it i would refer him/her to another doctor who was more comforable with it so that not only the patient but also the doctor would be more at ease with what was happening (after this answer, he agreed that i was right in a way that inferred that my answer was very obvious)

3) how much pressure did your parents put on you to be a doctor?
4) since both your parents are doctors, how did you feel being a latchkid child (honestly, this one pissed me off the most but i showed no sign of it... i just thought it was highly inappropriate)
5) what are your strengths
6) what are your weaknesses
7) so your grades slipped sophomore year...how can you prove to me that won't happen during med school?

and on and on and on...

basically the overall sense of it all was that this guy had a pre-conceived notion of what i was before i even sat down for my interview. i'm not saying that the questions i got were unfair but just that they were unfair in comparison with what other interviewers were asked (i.e. what is your favorite author?...honestly i heard nothing more difficult than that). this guy just grilled the **** out of me and i felt completely drained afterwards. then at the end he just said "where else have you interviewed?" and i told him tulane and minnesota and he said "well i think you'd like those schools. good luck". what a prick. anybody else have HORRENDOUS interviews? and by the way for any of you guys interviewing at drexel in the future beware of this guy, i forget his name...dr. chawlah? or something...he's a siekh so kinda hard to miss. i'm done ranting.
-dr. mota

Holy crap, I am sorry to hear that, DaMota. I totally understand how you feel, as I had a very similar, tough interview at SUNY Upstate while other interviewees got questions like "What do you like to do in your free time?" Your post scares me as well, since my interview at Drexel is this Saturday...and from what I read on SDN interview feedback, Drexel interviews sounded very laid-back. I wish you luck, and, if it makes you feel any better, I heard so many times that people got accepted after what they felt was an awful interview experience...and the other way around. So, maybe everything will turn out in your favor

 

[drmota]

Wow - this guy really gave you the treatment! Sounds like internship year...LOL! Well - did he 'give you the correct answer' at the end??

ya his "correct" answer was to tell the doctor that you are going to perform the surgery on a patient and you want him to be there and observe and hope that that changes my mind. but i could have easily retorted "well, what if he STILL says no" just like he did to my answer.
-dr. mota

 

[drmota]

Holy crap, I am sorry to hear that, DaMota. I totally understand how you feel, as I had a very similar, tough interview at SUNY Upstate while other interviewees got questions like "What do you like to do in your free time?" Your post scares me as well, since my interview at Drexel is this Saturday...and from what I read on SDN interview feedback, Drexel interviews sounded very laid-back. I wish you luck, and, if it makes you feel any better, I heard so many times that people got accepted after what they felt was an awful interview experience...and the other way around. So, maybe everything will turn out in your favor

they told us about the saturday interview. just so you know you're interviewing with 49 other people. you may already know that i just don't want you to be surprised.
-dr. mota

 

[C.P. Jones]

if it makes you feel any better mota, my penn state interview was so terrible that i couldn't even come up w/ answers for some questions....and i was put on hold there.....and that was also one of those that everyone says is stress free. don't you love the part where everyone says how easy their's was? and you're just sitting there mumbling something like "yea, my interview was ok"

and i thought my drexel was the best ever, and same result.......so i wouldn't put everything on this interview....especially if you were able to answer the questions well. sometimes interviewers are hard, but will grade you well for doing a good job for him

but you're already set, so don't worry!

 

[jebus]

Fock him. One guy was being a prick. Let it go. You'll do great at Penn State. The Happy Valley loves you.

 

[DrKitty]

they told us about the saturday interview. just so you know you're interviewing with 49 other people. you may already know that i just don't want you to be surprised.
-dr. mota

No, I did not know that 😱 Holy s%&t, why so many

 

[drmota]

Fock him. One guy was being a prick. Let it go. You'll do great at Penn State. The Happy Valley loves you.

truth has been spatted.
-dr. mota

 

[drmota]

No, I did not know that 😱 Holy s%&t, why so many

they say one day a month they interview 50 people on a saturday. i guess that's how they manage to interview ~1300 people. but they also said that their class isn't full and they're still sending acceptances.
-dr. mota

 

[DrKitty]

if it makes you feel any better mota, my penn state interview was so terrible that i couldn't even come up w/ answers for some questions....and i was put on hold there.....and that was also one of those that everyone says is stress free. don't you love the part where everyone says how easy their's was? and you're just sitting there mumbling something like "yea, my interview was ok"

and i thought my drexel was the best ever, and same result.......so i wouldn't put everything on this interview....especially if you were able to answer the questions well. sometimes interviewers are hard, but will grade you well for doing a good job for him

but you're already set, so don't worry!

Hey, C.P. Jones, did you by any chance have Dr. Muller at your Penn State interview? I felt mine were OK (not band but not too great) and I was waitlisted too. It is hard to tell the outcome by your interview
🙄

 

[Blankyblank]

I interviewed at Drexel 2 years ago...while the interview wasn't as laid-back as some others that I'd previously had, I didn't get a grilling like that!
That name and description of him sounds familiar - might have been my more difficult interviewer. He didn't happen to be a cardiologist, did he?
I ended up on the wait list there, which eventually rolled into a decline. I wasn't too disappointed about it, though. The school and city didn't impress me much, so it didn't wind up on my reapplication list. No loss as far as I'm concerned, but I'm sorry that you had such a hellacious time!

 

[drmota]

difficult interviewer. He didn't happen to be a cardiologist, did he?

neonatal pediatrician or something silly like that. i actually was pretty impressed with drexel. the classrooms seemed new and all their classes are broadcast online. but their match list is mediocre at best (do NOT flame me for this, it is the pure and simple truth) so whatever.
-dr. mota

 

[JSK44]

What a jerk. 😡

In my opinion, though, you conveyed maturity and thoughtfulness with your responses -- which I believe is what some interviewers are looking for in stress interviews. So don't worry 😳 If it were up to me, I'd let you in!

P.S. I'm one of the 49 interviewing at Drexel this weekend too!

 

[C.P. Jones]

Hey, C.P. Jones, did you by any chance have Dr. Muller at your Penn State interview? I felt mine were OK (not band but not too great) and I was waitlisted too. It is hard to tell the outcome by your interview
🙄

I actually think that may have been the name of my first interviewer....but i'm really really not sure...he wasn't the bad one though my first one just went through my amcas

either that was the name of mine, or i heard it from other ppl that day...i do think mine though

 

[LT2]

Mota, that sucks but remember, you ARE holding an acceptance right now so no matter what happens, you're gonna be a DOCTOR!!!!!!!!!!! good luck in hershey, maybe you'll have a better time there...

 

[big_smiles]

I had a really bad interview day two weeks ago.
Here's a sampling of some of those questions:
1. I see you have taken improv theatre, why don't you show me what you got?
2. You are not the "nerd" type. Prove to me you have an academic mind.
3. What is the neurochemical basis for anorexia?
4. Tell me about a time you were very angry and lost your temper.
5. Tell me why I am meeting with you.
6. What do you know about me?
7. Explain the MCAT scores. No, what does the test tell you?
8. 3rd year students are required to do a psychiatric rotation for 12 weeks. What does it feel like to be a psych patient? Do you think they are crazy?
9. You applied here as an undergrad and weren't accepted, what makes you better now?

I had a lot of awkward silence and it was bad. At least you thought of good answers and were on the ball.
But I was accepted, so don't stress it now. Wait and see what happens.
Good luck! Hope you made it!

 

[ClockworkDoc]

Hey Mota,

I had a very similar experience at Drexel. The Doc was an angioplastic sergion, I think his name was Dr. Weingardener. Was that your guy? This doc kept on saying, "Really?", after everything I said. I would not let me feel like I did anything right.

 

[Conqueror]

Wow DaMota, bummer of an interview! If I felt that strongly about my interviewer I would speak with the dean of admissions.

CQ

 

[BoogieGnome]

I thought my first interview was a disaster. It was a panel interview and one of my top choices so I was a total nervous wreck! The low point was when they literly had to stop me middle of one my answers because I was losing my train of thought (those darn nerves).

I was pretty upset about the whole thing because I did NOT want that school to be my first interview (they sent the invite super fast, and wern't flexible on dates). I'm sure it would have gone better had I gotten to cut my teeth at another school. I was certain I was destined for the waitlist or eventual rejection...

But then they accepted me about a month ago. 😀

Who knows that they are looking for in interview. I certainly haven't a clue!

 

[Messerschmitts]

3) how much pressure did your parents put on you to be a doctor?
-dr. mota

HA HA HA ROTFL OH MY GOD this guy is seriously mean!! Don't worry about it though man, Tulane is a way better school than Drexel anyway. My UCSD interview was horrendous too, my own fault though. The interviewer sniffed through some semi-BS and "called me on it". I felt like Han Solo coming out of the torture chamber on Bespin in The Empire Strikes Back, viz, "I feel terrible".

Well, I don't know if how often people get into a school despite a traumatic interview, but here's to us both.

 

[anon-y-mouse]

Since you have the awesomeness of a Tulane acceptance, why don't you call or email the dean of Drexel and be like "why'd you let this piece of crap interviewer interview me?" and tell him or her everything that happened, and the name of the guy that did this... ring the alarm bells and shake things up!! you have nothing to lose.

 

[jebus]

Or... You could email the interviewer. Tell him how much you enjoyed your conversation. Why you liked the school. That his ghetto booty was banging and even though you don't swing that way you could be tempted with some romantic music and a candle-lit dinner. After that you would stay up and cuddle because you are that kind of guy, you would be there for breakfast, maybe even for a stroll around the park -- and that you would call.

 

[MoosePilot]

I'm sorry, man, that does sound like a prick.

I never had anything that bad. The worst I had was at one of my top choices, I had one poker faced doc who had a career path much like mine, so I expected him to be friendly, but he was just Mr. Stone Face. My other interviewer wasn't really interested in the interview and refused to give me his card or email address, because he didn't want me pestering him about admissions info, which he wouldn't be privvy to, anyway. I got in soonest and the poker faced doc was very happy for me.

 

[RayhanS1282]

Mota that sucks. You got a buttload of other interviews and an acceptance to cheer up. But you still handled yourself well. My backup for this type of grilling, is raising my hands in the air, and running out of the room crying like a little girl while screaming "why don't you like me?". Has anyone feigned a nervous breakdown and gotten accepted?

I thought Drexel was laid-back...deceptive SOBs. ****, I have soiled me britches. I hope I get someone easy to work with.

 

[HC05nmd]

Hey Mota,

I had a very similar experience at Drexel. The Doc was an angioplastic sergion, I think his name was Dr. Weingardener. Was that your guy? This doc kept on saying, "Really?", after everything I said. I would not let me feel like I did anything right.

hey i interviewed with him too! only half of my interview was done in the OR because he had a patient that wouldn't let him leave. and I still haven't heard anything from drexel since i interviewed on 10/7! my favorite part of the interview was when i was asked what kind of medicine i was interested in. i replied "pediatrics" and his response was "oh so you want to work with sick kids?" um yeah.

 

[drmota]

nah, it wasn't weingarten. it was some indian guy... penn state was awesome though. probably the hottest interviewees i've seen, good facilities, loads of chocolate, the people are in a constant bubbly state of post-chocolate ecstacy (i'm kind of being serious) etc. my interviews went really well there and penn state kind of kicks drexel's puny little behind. but on my way from harrisburg to new york i met this cutie pie and we got to talking and i gave her my number and as she was walking to get out at the philly exit she turns to me and introduces herself: "i'm katrina, by the way"... i think its destiny. we all know where i'm going in the fall.
-dr. mota

 

[happydays]

I had a really bad interview day two weeks ago.
Here's a sampling of some of those questions:
1. I see you have taken improv theatre, why don't you show me what you got?
2. You are not the "nerd" type. Prove to me you have an academic mind.
3. What is the neurochemical basis for anorexia?
4. Tell me about a time you were very angry and lost your temper.
5. Tell me why I am meeting with you.
6. What do you know about me?
7. Explain the MCAT scores. No, what does the test tell you?
8. 3rd year students are required to do a psychiatric rotation for 12 weeks. What does it feel like to be a psych patient? Do you think they are crazy?
9. You applied here as an undergrad and weren't accepted, what makes you better now?

I had a lot of awkward silence and it was bad. At least you thought of good answers and were on the ball.
But I was accepted, so don't stress it now. Wait and see what happens.
Good luck! Hope you made it!

Ans:

1. How much time we've got?
2. Well, are you into mind-reading?
3. No food signals to the brain.
4. Right now.
5. It's your job, right?
6. Your uncle molested you when you were 12, then you killed him. It turned out he was your father, so it got complicated when you were on trial.
7. I did better than 90% of the people taking it.
8. Please tell me about your own experience. Were any of your patients crazy?
9. I'm older.

Hahaha! these questions are great!

 

[Mutt]

I had a really bad interview day two weeks ago.
Here's a sampling of some of those questions:
1. I see you have taken improv theatre, why don't you show me what you got?
2. You are not the "nerd" type. Prove to me you have an academic mind.
3. What is the neurochemical basis for anorexia?
4. Tell me about a time you were very angry and lost your temper.
5. Tell me why I am meeting with you.
6. What do you know about me?
7. Explain the MCAT scores. No, what does the test tell you?
8. 3rd year students are required to do a psychiatric rotation for 12 weeks. What does it feel like to be a psych patient? Do you think they are crazy?
9. You applied here as an undergrad and weren't accepted, what makes you better now?

I had a lot of awkward silence and it was bad. At least you thought of good answers and were on the ball.
But I was accepted, so don't stress it now. Wait and see what happens.
Good luck! Hope you made it!

Where was this at?!

 

[Scoot]

My first interview was extremely similar to the one you described--It felt like I walked into an ambush as soon as I opened my mouth. I kept my composure though, although I'm not sure it even matters-I interviewed there on Sept 30 and have not heard a peep from that school since. But, the reason I post here now is that I've come to the conclusion that there are two possible causes for this type of behavior:

1: He read your file before you got there and did not like it. It is the luck of the draw after all. In this case there was probably nothing you could have done to change his mind and it was over before it began. At least you didnt break down and give him more ammunition to use against you in the adcom meetings.

2: He was giving you the stress treatment. Everybody's heard of it and all the schools deny that they or any of their interviewers use it. Seems hard to believe considering how many of our interviewers tend to be old school docs. If this was the case then it sounds like you passed his childish test and are on better footing than you think.

 

[-Goose-]

Or... You could email the interviewer. Tell him how much you enjoyed your conversation. Why you liked the school. That his ghetto booty was banging and even though you don't swing that way you could be tempted with some romantic music and a candle-lit dinner. After that you would stay up and cuddle because you are that kind of guy, you would be there for breakfast, maybe even for a stroll around the park -- and that you would call.

 

[kaffy]

I had a terrible interview, as well. Afterwards I walked out of the room thinking, "I can't believe that just happened." The whole way home I kept replaying it in my head and thinking about what a loser I am.

 

[-Goose-]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience... I also had a bad (although not as rough as your interview sounded) interview at one of my state school interviews... the family doctor that interviewed me (a 8-month pregnant woman that was post-call) was very literally falling asleep during our interview. I thought for sure that I was doomed for a waitlist or a rejection... but I was ultimately accepted.

I say to hell with 'em, anyways... you sound like you held your ground and stood tall... what else can you do?

 

[big_smiles]

SUNY Buffalo....MSTP interview. I like HappyDays responses!

 

[dashbddrumr]

I had a terrible interview, as well. Afterwards I walked out of the room thinking, "I can't believe that just happened." The whole way home I kept replaying it in my head and thinking about what a loser I am.

Same thing happened to me. It was my top choice, and my first interview. The first interviewer was actually grilling me about diction in my personal statement "buy why did you use that particular word? Then he tried to get me to guess what issue in medicine he was thinking of. He says, "tell me about some current issues in medicine." So I started my lines about current events and he kept saying, "no, name another." We went back and forth like this until finally he goes "Well, I'm a transplant surgeon so one of our issues is limited resources, we like students to be aware of that but I guess you just don't get it." That was the end of my first interview.

My second interviewer starting doing things like flipping through my file and grimmacing. Then (my own fault because he asked a really stupid question) politics came up. And, he trapped me. We obviously had completely different political viewpoints and he was on a mission to prove me wrong. So he never gave me the opportunity to answer so it was another 20 minutes under fire.

To make everything better, the interviews were first so I had to spend the rest of the day touring their facilities and seeing what I would be missing. If I hadn't have flown to the interview and had a car there, I really would have just left it was that miserable. Then I also had the opportunity to replay everything in my head on the flight back home and the 2 hour drive back to my house.


THEN.......got a call this weekend, I'm in. Don't worry about terrible interviews, they can be awful and you can still get in. Mine was 40 minutes of personal attack and interrogation but everything worked out in the end. Good luck everyone.

 

[p00psicleSTICK]

Same thing happened to me. It was my top choice, and my first interview. The first interviewer was actually grilling me about diction in my personal statement "buy why did you use that particular word? Then he tried to get me to guess what issue in medicine he was thinking of. He says, "tell me about some current issues in medicine." So I started my lines about current events and he kept saying, "no, name another." We went back and forth like this until finally he goes "Well, I'm a transplant surgeon so one of our issues is limited resources, we like students to be aware of that but I guess you just don't get it." That was the end of my first interview.

My second interviewer starting doing things like flipping through my file and grimmacing. Then (my own fault because he asked a really stupid question) politics came up. And, he trapped me. We obviously had completely different political viewpoints and he was on a mission to prove me wrong. So he never gave me the opportunity to answer so it was another 20 minutes under fire.

To make everything better, the interviews were first so I had to spend the rest of the day touring their facilities and seeing what I would be missing. If I hadn't have flown to the interview and had a car there, I really would have just left it was that miserable. Then I also had the opportunity to replay everything in my head on the flight back home and the 2 hour drive back to my house.


THEN.......got a call this weekend, I'm in. Don't worry about terrible interviews, they can be awful and you can still get in. Mine was 40 minutes of personal attack and interrogation but everything worked out in the end. Good luck everyone.

Hehe way to go. I guess you were able to keep your cool and show that you got your own opinions. 😉

 

[GA Girl]

Same thing happened to me. It was my top choice, and my first interview. The first interviewer was actually grilling me about diction in my personal statement "buy why did you use that particular word? Then he tried to get me to guess what issue in medicine he was thinking of. He says, "tell me about some current issues in medicine." So I started my lines about current events and he kept saying, "no, name another." We went back and forth like this until finally he goes "Well, I'm a transplant surgeon so one of our issues is limited resources, we like students to be aware of that but I guess you just don't get it." That was the end of my first interview.

My second interviewer starting doing things like flipping through my file and grimmacing. Then (my own fault because he asked a really stupid question) politics came up. And, he trapped me. We obviously had completely different political viewpoints and he was on a mission to prove me wrong. So he never gave me the opportunity to answer so it was another 20 minutes under fire.

To make everything better, the interviews were first so I had to spend the rest of the day touring their facilities and seeing what I would be missing. If I hadn't have flown to the interview and had a car there, I really would have just left it was that miserable. Then I also had the opportunity to replay everything in my head on the flight back home and the 2 hour drive back to my house.


THEN.......got a call this weekend, I'm in. Don't worry about terrible interviews, they can be awful and you can still get in. Mine was 40 minutes of personal attack and interrogation but everything worked out in the end. Good luck everyone.

Congratulations!

 

[RayhanS1282]

My combined time at Drexel was a little shy of 30 min. The faculty interviewer seemed so indifferent. It was basic questions about my background and I somehow think I managed to blow that as well. See, when I am nervous my vocal cords clench up so that I sound like a pre-pubescent boy. I don't know it the perceived disinterest was because they knew I was out of the game or the interviewer is generally nice or something. The student interview was longer and again, I don't know what to think from that. However, she did answer my questions very comprehensively and was very helpful. Ugh...this is gonna be a painful 6-8 weeks.

P.S. Anyone notice how this 6-8 weeks sounds like buying stuff from an infomercial?

 

[drmota]

My combined time at Drexel was a little shy of 30 min. The faculty interviewer seemed so indifferent. It was basic questions about my background and I somehow think I managed to blow that as well. See, when I am nervous my vocal cords clench up so that I sound like a pre-pubescent boy. I don't know it the perceived disinterest was because they knew I was out of the game or the interviewer is generally nice or something. The student interview was longer and again, I don't know what to think from that. However, she did answer my questions very comprehensively and was very helpful. Ugh...this is gonna be a painful 6-8 weeks.

P.S. Anyone notice how this 6-8 weeks sounds like buying stuff from an infomercial?

damn ray. i hope you get in. hopefully it went better than you think. good luck bro
-mota

 

[kaffy]

Same thing happened to me. It was my top choice, and my first interview. The first interviewer was actually grilling me about diction in my personal statement "buy why did you use that particular word? Then he tried to get me to guess what issue in medicine he was thinking of. He says, "tell me about some current issues in medicine." So I started my lines about current events and he kept saying, "no, name another." We went back and forth like this until finally he goes "Well, I'm a transplant surgeon so one of our issues is limited resources, we like students to be aware of that but I guess you just don't get it." That was the end of my first interview.

My second interviewer starting doing things like flipping through my file and grimmacing. Then (my own fault because he asked a really stupid question) politics came up. And, he trapped me. We obviously had completely different political viewpoints and he was on a mission to prove me wrong. So he never gave me the opportunity to answer so it was another 20 minutes under fire.

To make everything better, the interviews were first so I had to spend the rest of the day touring their facilities and seeing what I would be missing. If I hadn't have flown to the interview and had a car there, I really would have just left it was that miserable. Then I also had the opportunity to replay everything in my head on the flight back home and the 2 hour drive back to my house.


THEN.......got a call this weekend, I'm in. Don't worry about terrible interviews, they can be awful and you can still get in. Mine was 40 minutes of personal attack and interrogation but everything worked out in the end. Good luck everyone.

Congratulations! That is encouraging. My interview was sort of similar...I really felt like both my interviewers hated me afterwards...Also, my nose started running in the middle of the inteview and I didn't know what to do about it.

 

[BerkeleyMD]

You'll be fine. My friend had the same guy (now he is waitlisted). That siek guy is just a hard-ass.

 

[RayhanS1282]

damn ray. i hope you get in. hopefully it went better than you think. good luck bro
-mota

Thanks Mota. I hope you get some good news if not from Drexel, then from Jefferson and Penn. At least you got a girl's number from the Drexel invite...all I got was a folder and a stained shirt (warning: do not eat from Taco Bell in a moving or stopped vehicle).

 

[Doctorsoontobe]

I don't know what is worse, having asked alot of questions or almost none (my case). Last week, I interviewed at Vandy and the guy basically asked me one question, not even why doctor or about research experience and that was it. I tried to ask him some questions to lengthen the interviews but it lasted 25 mins max.... I don't know what to make of it

 

[theunderdog]

i know other threads have been started on this but never bothered to read any of them cuz i hadn't interviewed yet. but i got whooped upside the head at my Drexel interview today. I had heard from all over the place that it would be very low stress and conversational but...no such luck. here's a sampling of some of the questions i got:

1) So you're working in a clinic just out of residency and the senior surgeon is continuing to do an operation that is way outdated and keeps the patient in the hospital for 2 weeks whereas there is a new operation that would only necessitate keeping him overnight, what do you do?--- i thought i gave a pretty good answer to this (that i would pull the doc aside and let him know the pros and cons of each and that i thought we should try out the new procedure, at which point the interviewer asked, what if he still says no? and i said that if i felt that this guy's clinic was archaic in its ways i might consider moving to a new one if the guy was very unrelenting and after some persistence. the guy basically told me that i was wrong and that he would tell me the "correct" answer at the end of the interview. I was thinking to myself "what the f*CK? who's to say there's a CORRECT answer... this really pissed me off but i completely kept my cool.

2) did you hear about the new law passed in oregon? (me: yes) oh really? what is it? (in a tone that insinuated i was bluffing).. me: it protects the rights of doctors to assist in patients carrying out suicides. him: well what do you think of that? would you do one? at this point i went on to say that suicide conflicts with my personal beliefs and if a patient came to me looking for it i would refer him/her to another doctor who was more comforable with it so that not only the patient but also the doctor would be more at ease with what was happening (after this answer, he agreed that i was right in a way that inferred that my answer was very obvious)

3) how much pressure did your parents put on you to be a doctor?
4) since both your parents are doctors, how did you feel being a latchkid child (honestly, this one pissed me off the most but i showed no sign of it... i just thought it was highly inappropriate)
5) what are your strengths
6) what are your weaknesses
7) so your grades slipped sophomore year...how can you prove to me that won't happen during med school?

and on and on and on...

basically the overall sense of it all was that this guy had a pre-conceived notion of what i was before i even sat down for my interview. i'm not saying that the questions i got were unfair but just that they were unfair in comparison with what other interviewers were asked (i.e. what is your favorite author?...honestly i heard nothing more difficult than that). this guy just grilled the **** out of me and i felt completely drained afterwards. then at the end he just said "where else have you interviewed?" and i told him tulane and minnesota and he said "well i think you'd like those schools. good luck". what a prick. anybody else have HORRENDOUS interviews? and by the way for any of you guys interviewing at drexel in the future beware of this guy, i forget his name...dr. chawlah? or something...he's a siekh so kinda hard to miss. i'm done ranting.
-dr. mota

da mota,

i got WAY WORSE questions than you man. but my sympathy goes out to you.

i got waitlisted at my school when i got interview-raped at.

the underdog

 

[BOBODR]

I don't know what is worse, having asked alot of questions or almost none (my case). Last week, I interviewed at Vandy and the guy basically asked me one question, not even why doctor or about research experience and that was it. I tried to ask him some questions to lengthen the interviews but it lasted 25 mins max.... I don't know what to make of it

Same thing happened to me at UNC. My interviewer who is supposed to be my adcom representative just went through the motions, asked me three basic questions and not even why medicine. It was miserable because she didnt care I now have no chance of getting into that school. The fact that she had 4 people on here last year and none of them got in, and the fact three people this year have had her and none have gotten in...says it all. What a classless act. Why be on the committe if you dont give a crap?

 

[MDCali]

i know other threads have been started on this but never bothered to read any of them cuz i hadn't interviewed yet. but i got whooped upside the head at my Drexel interview today. I had heard from all over the place that it would be very low stress and conversational but...no such luck. here's a sampling of some of the questions i got:

1) So you're working in a clinic just out of residency and the senior surgeon is continuing to do an operation that is way outdated and keeps the patient in the hospital for 2 weeks whereas there is a new operation that would only necessitate keeping him overnight, what do you do?--- i thought i gave a pretty good answer to this (that i would pull the doc aside and let him know the pros and cons of each and that i thought we should try out the new procedure, at which point the interviewer asked, what if he still says no? and i said that if i felt that this guy's clinic was archaic in its ways i might consider moving to a new one if the guy was very unrelenting and after some persistence. the guy basically told me that i was wrong and that he would tell me the "correct" answer at the end of the interview. I was thinking to myself "what the f*CK? who's to say there's a CORRECT answer... this really pissed me off but i completely kept my cool.

2) did you hear about the new law passed in oregon? (me: yes) oh really? what is it? (in a tone that insinuated i was bluffing).. me: it protects the rights of doctors to assist in patients carrying out suicides. him: well what do you think of that? would you do one? at this point i went on to say that suicide conflicts with my personal beliefs and if a patient came to me looking for it i would refer him/her to another doctor who was more comforable with it so that not only the patient but also the doctor would be more at ease with what was happening (after this answer, he agreed that i was right in a way that inferred that my answer was very obvious)

3) how much pressure did your parents put on you to be a doctor?
4) since both your parents are doctors, how did you feel being a latchkid child (honestly, this one pissed me off the most but i showed no sign of it... i just thought it was highly inappropriate)
5) what are your strengths
6) what are your weaknesses
7) so your grades slipped sophomore year...how can you prove to me that won't happen during med school?

and on and on and on...

basically the overall sense of it all was that this guy had a pre-conceived notion of what i was before i even sat down for my interview. i'm not saying that the questions i got were unfair but just that they were unfair in comparison with what other interviewers were asked (i.e. what is your favorite author?...honestly i heard nothing more difficult than that). this guy just grilled the **** out of me and i felt completely drained afterwards. then at the end he just said "where else have you interviewed?" and i told him tulane and minnesota and he said "well i think you'd like those schools. good luck". what a prick. anybody else have HORRENDOUS interviews? and by the way for any of you guys interviewing at drexel in the future beware of this guy, i forget his name...dr. chawlah? or something...he's a siekh so kinda hard to miss. i'm done ranting.
-dr. mota

DUDE, I HAD THE SAME EXACT INTERVIEWER!!!!!!!!! I TOO FELT LIKE HE HAD A PRECONCEIVED NOTION OF ME. He asked me pretty much the same questions with a little variation, except my parents aren't doctors so he didn't ask me about being pressured or anything. I thought I did horribly at this interview, but i ended up being waitlisted. After thinking about some of the questions he asked me, I can see why he would ask them. It's nice to know i'm not the only one who got grilled by this guy.

 

[crazy_cavalier]

Originally Posted by big_smiles
I had a really bad interview day two weeks ago.
Here's a sampling of some of those questions:
1. I see you have taken improv theatre, why don't you show me what you got?
2. You are not the "nerd" type. Prove to me you have an academic mind.
3. What is the neurochemical basis for anorexia?
4. Tell me about a time you were very angry and lost your temper.
5. Tell me why I am meeting with you.
6. What do you know about me?
7. Explain the MCAT scores. No, what does the test tell you?
8. 3rd year students are required to do a psychiatric rotation for 12 weeks. What does it feel like to be a psych patient? Do you think they are crazy?
9. You applied here as an undergrad and weren't accepted, what makes you better now?

---------------------------

Ans:

1. How much time we've got?
2. Well, are you into mind-reading?
3. No food signals to the brain.
4. Right now.
5. It's your job, right?
6. Your uncle molested you when you were 12, then you killed him. It turned out he was your father, so it got complicated when you were on trial.
7. I did better than 90% of the people taking it.
8. Please tell me about your own experience. Were any of your patients crazy?
9. I'm older.

Hahaha! these questions are great!

👍

The bolded answers are great. It's sooooo smart-alecky and plainly obnoxious, very much suiting the questions - I love it!

 

[jpwinsmcgee]

i am so sorry drmota. what an ass. but if it makes you feel any better, i had an AWFUL interview at njms (they told me they don't like kids from ivy schools, they like older candidates--i'm still a senior--and they GRILLED me on insurance like you've never seen; the guy told me his daughter didn't even get into the school and that it showed what a pull he had). it was bad to the point that i was contemplating calling and asking for another interview. moral of the story... i got in. but apparently that's how they do it. so don't cross off drexel yet and do not judge the school by this dingus's performance. good luck!