BEST Questions to ASK your interviewers. . .

[The Fly]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Almost without fail, at the end of the interview, each person is asked what questions they have about the school. Ostensibly, this is the time to ask really excellent questions and in doing so, impress your interviewers. What are some of the great questions you've all conjured up??

 

[Trek]

why did YOU choose this city to live in? For me, that's the most important thing (i figure a cadaver looks the same everywhere). Other than that, i sometimes beg off questions where there's been extensive tours and/or panels, see baylor, etc. --Trek

 

[DrSuga]

i say turn it around and ask them what their program's strengths/weaknesses are. also, what makes their program unique/stand out from other schools? if it's a student interviewer, ask them why they chose the school and if they're truly satisfied there. if it's a clinical faculty member, and you really have nothing else to ask, ask them why they chose medicine and what path they took to get to their present status. these may sound dumb, but at least youll have something to say at the end!

 

[MorningLight2100]

To be perfectly honest...why are you interested in the school? If you have definite reasons, or if there are features of the place that pique your curiosity, I think it would be perfectly fine to just inquire more about them! Unless the only reason you're applying to a school is that it's right next to a really cool water park (or something along those lines 🙂 ), observations that you make throughout your day there, and even beforehand as you read through their materials/ website, should help you in formulating questions. What is important to you in choosing a med school (besides getting in 😀 )? Is it community service opportunities? Curriculum? Research? Quality of faculty? Clinical exposure? Diversity?

I hope that this makes sense...I'm running on very little sleep, so I feel as if I'm rambling. 🙁

 

[Resident Alien]

my classic...."How do you like me?!"

 

[jordews]

I tend to agree with morning light. I always try to come up with one or two specific questions about certain aspects of the school that I want to ask the interviewer. A good one is "tell me more about such and such class that exposes first year students to clinical experience", or "can you tell me a little more about blah, it looks really interesting and id like to get a personal account of it" This way it makes it look like you know some about the school, and you just want to know more specifically about things that you already know. It seems to me if you ask questions like "strengths/wekanesses of the school", then it appears like you don't know a whole lot about the school, and you come across as one of those applicants that really doesn't know why you applied to a particular school, you just added it because it sounded cool or something. I also really like it when they give you biographies of your interviewers. This way you can ask specific questions about their field of interest, or their department or whatever. I just think it makes you look a lot more knowledgeable and interested as opposed to asking generic questions.

 

[The Fly]

One that I decided was contemporarily appropriate is: "does your curriculum have flexibility. . . i.e., could a more lengthy study of Anthrax be worked into this year's curriculum?"

Anyway, hopefully you get what I mean!

 

[USeF]

Good questions thus far. I sorta cut to the chase by asking "What reasons should I NOT select this school for?"

Also, "Have the med students done well in the intramurals lately" loaded question:
depending on the answer, you can find out - are they involved in intramurals at all, how active, athletic are they, are the students cohesive and have good teamwork, and do they even do ANYTHING outside of the classroom. 😀

 

[bebe]

BUMP
🙂

 

[The Fly]

USeF--
I would have NEVER thought of that question. Very interesting. . .

 

[Street Philosopher]

"When should I check my mail for the acceptance letter?" 😎