Did I blow chances of an acceptance?

[theproffer]

I recently attended an interview at one of my top schools. Overall I think the interviews went very well, BUT I'm worried that one answer I gave may land me in the reject pile.....

Interviewer: Describe the criteria you used to select which schools to apply too?
Me: looked at fit for both MD education (talked about curriculum, location, others) and research (projects going and how it relates to what I'm doing now, I'm applying MD/PhD).
Interviewer: It sounds like overall this school fits your career goals in medicine very well....
Me: Yes, school A & school B seem to fit me on both the MD and PhD fronts very well and thus are at the top of my list. I then mentioned why I thought I fit in the other school (different from my fit at school A).

I basically said why both schools I thought were a fit for me and hence were my top choices. Do you think I'm sunk for mentioning school B even though I used different reasoning to describe why I fit?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[TLAD123]

You aren't applying for a job, you're trying to decide your future - knowing that you have two options that optimally fit your career goals, both in complimentary yet different ways, can't hurt you... If you made it sound like you are not confident that school A will help you best and made it sound like school B is better, then I would say it would hurt you. Otherwise, I'd say your fine - but I see why you are worried.

 

[sinombre]

Yeah... expressing equal interest in another school is probably not going to help you.

 

[pietachok]

I recently attended an interview at one of my top schools. Overall I think the interviews went very well, BUT I'm worried that one answer I gave may land me in the reject pile.....

Interviewer: Describe the criteria you used to select which schools to apply too?
Me: looked at fit for both MD education (talked about curriculum, location, others) and research (projects going and how it relates to what I'm doing now, I'm applying MD/PhD).
Interviewer: It sounds like overall this school fits your career goals in medicine very well....
Me: Yes, school A & school B seem to fit me on both the MD and PhD fronts very well and thus are at the top of my list. I then mentioned why I thought I fit in the other school (different from my fit at school A).

I basically said why both schools I thought were a fit for me and hence were my top choices. Do you think I'm sunk for mentioning school B even though I used different reasoning to describe why I fit?

Depending on how you phrased it, it really just sounds to me like you conveyed they were equal but different and that you've given your future/motivations thoughtful consideration and are confident about why you have applied where you did. Nobody is silly enough to believe you're going to attend their school or none at all, and being genuine wins points with many interviewers. You can always write a thank you letter to your interviewer with a brief positive comment (the program felt like an even better fit than you expected, or something like that).

 

[inycepoo]

Chill out and go chill. Maybe you died, maybe you're worse than dead, maybe you're alive. Da hell would any of us know.

Don't be dumb next time. Lesson learned. Chill out.

 

[pyrrion89]

If I were an interviewer I'd appreciate an honest candidate. I know many people have more than 1 top choice. Why should those candidates be coerced into lying that they only have one top choice (i.e., the school at which they are currently interviewing)? Then again, not everyone is like me, so, yes, your interviewer may have disliked that you like another school just as much. But you cannot possibly know what the interviewer is thinking. It's best not to think about something over which you've no control.

Edit: Actually, yeah, you do have control. I agree with everyone else and say to send an LOI at some point, or a thank-you note that briefly states why you like the school.

 

[darkjedi]

As an interviewer I'll be honest and say it will be off putting to hear an interviewee talk about another school's virtues during your interview. As much as people appreciate honesty, an interview is kind of like a date. It really isn't in your best interest to be talking about how awesome your other dates are is while on a date, even if it is widely known that is the name of the game.

It likely won't sink your application, but what pietachok mentioned might actually be a very good idea. It would be worth reiterating your interest in the school in order to try to downplay the