Can we repeat our personal statement when answer "why medicine" during the interview?

[medDaisuki]

Basically I gave specific examples and went into details in my personal statement to explain why medicine. I was wondering if asked "why medicine" during the interview, can I repeat what I said in the personal statement or should I talk about something else? I feel like it may be inappropriate to repeat the personal statement because the interviewers will read it before the interview, but if not I will need to come up with additional ideas. Can I instead talk about why medicine is rewarding?

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[Goro]

Yes, it's OK.

Me personally, I never ask the question because I know I'll get a canned answer. Or rather, I only ask it is if the PS is so badly written, or the app screams "RESEARCH ONLY!!!" that I still can't get a sense of "Why Medicine??"

But it's one of those standard questions you need to be prepared to answer. Oh, BTW, according to the wise @gyngyn, plenty of people buy their PS's, and thus fall off when trying to explain an idea that was written down by someone else.

 

[deleted1005514]

Look up “elevator pitch”. You should be able to take your PS and concisely explain it in a couple of minutes.

Also, the “why medicine” question is like asking for opening remarks...it’s an intro that’s supposed to invite the interviewers to ask more questions about your story. So give some info, but leave something there for them to ask about...if you learn how to answer questions properly, you can actually steer the interview the way you would like for it to go, and make sure you are showing the interviewers what you would like for them to see about you.

 

[Watermelon7]

Realistically speaking, when your asked why medicine - you should answer that question! Just because you've already answered in one place doesn't mean you answer should change in another. I think one thing you can do is try to bring some new elements into it. The core of your answer can be the same, but maybe there'll be a detail or two that you add or emphasize that wasn't presented the same way in your PS.

 

[PapaGuava]

As long as you don't sound like a robot, I don't see why you couldn't use aspects of PS during the conversation especially if it was a significant part of your journey to gain a medical school interview.

 

[Med Ed]

Basically I gave specific examples and went into details in my personal statement to explain why medicine. I was wondering if asked "why medicine" during the interview, can I repeat what I said in the personal statement or should I talk about something else? I feel like it may be inappropriate to repeat the personal statement because the interviewers will read it before the interview, but if not I will need to come up with additional ideas. Can I instead talk about why medicine is rewarding?

It would be rather strange if the written and oral answers were inconsistent, don't you think?

Also, just answer the questions that are asked. Doing otherwise isn't exactly endearing.