Can a bad interview BREAK you??

[UCLA Bruinz]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I had a very bad interview experience in January and received the rejection letter this Saturday. Here is my story...

It's interview day and my interviewer calls me over and I introduce myself. He hesitates a little, but finally shakes my hand. Kinda awkward, but whatever. So we get to the office and he asks me some q's about my ec's, which seems to go fairly well. Then as I am speaking, I see him looking past me and at the window (which looks out into the hallway). I pause and look to see what the hell he's looking at. Turns out some other interviewer and their app. were trying to come into our room. Ok, so we move on from that interruption and I proceed to answer another q. Cell phone rings!! I pause as he checks to see who the call is from (a 2nd year). He tells me to go on and about 10 min later the cell phone rings again! He tells me the 2nd year really wants to talk to him about an exam or something. Not once did he apologize for the cell interruptions. I'm not trying to be anal, I just think it's rude that you can't have your phone on vibrate for 40 min.

Alright, so here's where everything went to hell...

Him: what do you consider to be a big problem in healthcare?
Me: the number of uninsured people in this country.
Him (in a snappy tone cutting me off): so you think insurance is wasted on these people?
Me (thinking where the hell did that come from?): No, I think we need to find a solution, etc.

So then he moves on and grills me about an ethical situation for about 25 min. He hates every answer I give. It seems like nothing I say is right. He responds to me with sarcastic remarks and at points it seems like he's snickering at me. I'm pretty uncomfortable, but manage to keep my cool until the nightmare is over. I know that he was probably testing me, but I got the distinct feeling that he didn't like me (I guess it's my woman's intuition kicking in).


Sorry, this is so long, I just wanted to give as much detail as possible to give you an idea of what happened. Here are my other stats:

GPA: 3.72
MCAT: 36
EC's: student gov, 2 years clincal research experience, summer at NIH, volunteer at hospital, article published, good LOR's

Do you think the interview was the breaking factor? I just want to get other people's thoughts on this because I've been feeling incredibly down thinking that I blew it with my interview. No flames, just feedback, please!

 

[Bonds756]

While your numbers and ECs look great, you didn't say what school you had this problem at. While great, they might not have been great enough at some schools regardless of the interview.
As for the cell phone ringing and other distractions, that is unfortunate and a bit rude. However, I am sure that this did not lower his opinion of you or hurt your chances. As far as your opinions of him and your concentration, medicine is working through distractions. And while schools more and more are trying to make students have easy, comfortable interviews, this is not guarenteed and interuptions and grilling you with hard questions do occur. I have had interviewers not seem to like the answers I gave but I still got in, so you can't always go by facial expression.
If you had thought that is went so badly, you should have let them know that the day of the interview and they would have given you another interview. Now that you have the rejection letter, there is, unfortunately, very little you can do.
Hopefully you have good news from other schools and can move on from one bad experience.

 

[filmdoc26]

I remember interviewing at Tufts, and the dean of admissions told us a story about an interviewee who came from a great school, had great numbers, and great ECs. However, the dean said that the interviewee was pretentious and claimed to know how to get into Tufts.
Now I know that the above scenario isn't exactlly what happened with you, but it seems that the interview can break you regardless of what your background and numbers are. Best of luck at other schools. I'm sure you'll find yourself a place to go that you'll be happy at.

 

[Moneyless]

I actually think my interview at Albany screwed me... it was for one of the combined BA-MD programs... and yeah yeah they're hard to get into and all...

but apparently the only reason I got an interview was cuz of my research experience and stuff... and during the interview, the guy asked why I didn't do a different BA-MD program that focuses on research (still MD from Albany)... and I said I wanted to be a clinician b4 a scientist... and he kept drilling that home... cuz apparently they wanted me to be their lil scientist puppy crawling to Albany...

annoying since I do want to do research, just not full time... I'd rather practice than research, but if given the opportunity, I'd do some research

 

[UCLA Bruinz]

The school was UCSF and it was actually my first interview so I was pretty nervous. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I felt that I stayed calm and composed despite the negativity. My friends were telling me that once you get to the interview stage, you are academically qualified and that numbers don't matter as much. Basically telling me that everyone was on a clean slate so I was very disappointed to think that I shot myself in the @ss with the interview. Thanks for all the opinions! Definitely gives me something to think about.

 

[lola]

i definitely think a bad interview can break you. i've been rejected post-interview by 2 schools. one was a bad interview. the other, in hindsight, was not a very good interview. maybe my interviews didn't completely break me, but i'm sure they played a role in the rejections.
that's unfortunate that it was ucsf 🙁, but try not to worry about it. these things are sometimes out of your control! it's not your fault the guy was disinterested and sarcastic. try not to take the rejections too personally. i know it feels like they didn't like you as a person and that is rather insulting/humiliating. but hey, i bet you didn't like him as a person either! he sounds like a jerk, or maybe just someone who was very preoccupied/moody that day.
one last thing: it may not have even been your interview that got you that rejection! i tend not to believe that everyone is on a clean slate once you get the interviews. it may work that way at some schools, but i doubt it works that way at others. in fact, doesn't ucsf numerically score applications with the interview being only one component? even though your numbers are very good, maybe you didn't have as much work experience as some of the other applicants or weren't as disadvantaged 😉. geesh, who knows!

 

[Street Philosopher]

A bad interview CAN break you, but from what you described, it doesn't seem like it went too badly. A school like UCSF will end up rejecting a lot of highly qualified people. I wouldn't put too much thought into it.

 

[DrInW8ing]

UCLA Bruinz,

It sounds as though you got a bad break with your interviewer. If all is true and accurate of your report, then it appears as though the intreviewer had his mind made up about you before you started.

Don't take this too hard.

Do you really want to attend a school that has interviewers that disrespect you as a student??? From your stats and experiences, you should be confident in the interviews you attend. Remember, you are also interviewing the school. Make the school want you!

 

[crazyA]

From my experiences at the schools I interviewed at, once you hit the interview stage you're bound to at keast be waitlisted by the school. I had one horrific interview (at WashU) but I ended up on the waitlist same as tons of other people.

But I can totally see how a bad interview at schools that actually bother to reject people post-interview can break you.

Tough break OP, but I hope you've gotten in elsewhere, seems you have a great application.

 

[vladtaltos]

my Harvard interview was my first and my worst, and I didn't get in either.

 

[cbpremed]

Well, I had a bad interview at Cornell, even though I loved the school. My 1st interviewer greated me, and didn't crack a smile. He proceeded to bombard me with questions about my grades saying that everyone comes in here with high GPA and MCAT scores, so what would you say if someone said your scores are mediocre? I proceeded to explain how I had to work to support myself through school etc., and how I sought academic support, and that he would notice that my transcript improves drastically when I worked less etc. Then, he proceeded to ask me what makes me special. I named a couple of things, and then he said, what else? I answered again, and he asked again, and again. Finally, I ran out of responses and said, "Look, it's obvious I can't convince you, I've given the best answers I can." I pretty much knew then that my chances to attend Cornell were slim. It was my only post interview rejection. Actually, I'm glad that I didn't get in....I wouldn't want to go there if that type of person might end up being my preceptor or teacher... Don't feel bad, it happens to alot of people

 

[Slinkie]

I totally blew an interview once. I somehow managed to catch the flu two days previously, so I was feverish and coughing and blowing my nose, and looking generally gross. I had to wake up at 5am to make it to my interview. By the time I got to my interviewer, I was feverish, sleepy, and all around ill. The first half of the interview went alright, but then he asked me why I wanted to go to that specific school. I looked at him rather blankly with my blood-shot eyes for a period of time that was far too long, I think, sneezed, and the best I could come up with was "I like this area." The interview was ridiculously short too. I felt like I had ok numbers to get into that school, or at least be put on a waitlist, but I think the interview really ended it for me.

 

[geromine]

People think that interviewees have similar chance to get in and that interview itself is the most important part of whether or not you get in postinterview, but this is not true. You go into the interview with a predetermined "score", If they rank you near the top of the interviewees, then they assign you to the better interviewers and instruct the interviewers that this person is someone that we're actually trying to recruit so read up on the application, be enthusiastic etc. If, however, you are at the borderline or below, you chances of getting a good interview score is quiet random. If your particular interviewer loves or hates your PS, or your ECs that's pretty much going to determine how well your interview is gonna go before it even begins.

So this is where people say that admission process is random. And unfortunately there is no quick fix for this issue. Thankfully there's a lot schools out there and everybody's bound to get "lucky" somewhere and if not...there's always next year😀

 

[lola]

is that true, geromine? where are you getting that info from? do all schools do this? in all honesty, i find it a little hard to believe.

 

[aquaboy]

Originally posted by geromine
People think that interviewees have similar chance to get in and that interview itself is the most important part of whether or not you get in postinterview, but this is not true. You go into the interview with a predetermined "score", If they rank you near the top of the interviewees, then they assign you to the better interviewers and instruct the interviewers that this person is someone that we're actually trying to recruit so read up on the application, be enthusiastic etc. If, however, you are at the borderline or below, you chances of getting a good interview score is quiet random. If your particular interviewer loves or hates your PS, or your ECs that's pretty much going to determine how well your interview is gonna go before it even begins.

So this is where people say that admission process is random. And unfortunately there is no quick fix for this issue. Thankfully there's a lot schools out there and everybody's bound to get "lucky" somewhere and if not...there's always next year😀

Where did you het this info. It sounds sort of biased to me but I bet that some schools do this but I don't believe it is the majority of schools because schools in reality don't have to do a great deal of recruiting because demand is certainly greater than supply when it comes to applicants and med school!!!!!

 

[XENON-RAMZ]

going back to the first interview, the one at UCSF: the phone, the whole deal is part of the interview. some of these ppl try to be creative at the interview.

my dartmouth interview was a stress interview where the interviewer stared at you for prolonged periods of time without saying a word.

 

[e-spin]

Well here's my 2cents: I do think that a bad interview can break you...my general idea is that interviews are to weed out the psychopaths. OP you dont sound like a psychopath, so I dont think your "bad" interview played a large role in their decision. This process is random a lot of the times, as if we havent discussed that already, and there were interviews that I thought went really well and I only have a WL to show for it!!
Like the previous posters have said, don't sweat it...it is their loss anyway!! 🙂

Spin😀

 

[geromine]

Originally posted by lola
is that true, geromine? where are you getting that info from? do all schools do this? in all honesty, i find it a little hard to believe.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply that they do this everywhere. This was simply what my experience leads me to believe. Based on the OPs story, it seemed to me that it would also apply to his case. And no I don't have any hard evidence, but I would guarantee that this is certainy the case in more than just a few schools. If any of you know people from inside adcoms personally you should ask them this question (not that they'd easily admit to it.) Just think about your own experiences and I'm sure you'll find cicumstantial evidence supporting my theory.

 

[Bonds756]

geromine,
I am sure that if they think you are a very strong applicant, they will tell the faculty interviewer as such and expect that the applicant will be treated well. However, if the interviewer meets you and decides you are not the right kind of student for that school, the interview score will be low regardless of how good you looked going into the interview and schools take that into strong consideration. But I know for a fact that not all schools (and I would be surprised if any) rank their interviewers as you indicate, so that the good ones meet with the good applicants. This simply does not happen.

 

[vladtaltos]

well NU was by far my best performance, and I got in. so go figure....

 

[UCLA2000]

Originally posted by UCLA Bruinz
The school was UCSF and it was actually my first interview so I was pretty nervous. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I felt that I stayed calm and composed despite the negativity. My friends were telling me that once you get to the interview stage, you are academically qualified and that numbers don't matter as much. Basically telling me that everyone was on a clean slate so I was very disappointed to think that I shot myself in the @ss with the interview. Thanks for all the opinions! Definitely gives me something to think about.

A bad interview will DEFINATELY sink your application.