Do interviewers ask about other schools?

[KMFDM]

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Hey folks.

I'm currently preparing for an interview, and I was wondering, do interviewers ever ask about the other school to which you've applied or maybe where else you've interviewed at?

 

[DrYoda]

I got asked that at a couple places.

 

[KMFDM]

I got asked that at a couple places.

They asked you where else you had been invited to interview?

 

[DrYoda]

They asked you where else you had been invited to interview?

Yes.

 

[student113]

Answer honestly?

 

[DrYoda]

Answer honestly?

I did. I don't see any harm in it.

 

[w8ting2exhale]

I wonder what the point is for questions like this-- to size themselves up against other schools that are interested in you?? 🙄

 

[armybound]

yep, I've been asked as well. I think technically they're not allowed to, but it does happen.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Duke asked me what schools that I interviewed at and where they ranked.

 

[AlbaMD]

I got asked this at the school that I am attending now. The interviewer actually wrote down the names of all the schools where I had interviews.

Last year, when I was a student interviewer for my school, I actually asked a few students I interviewed where else they have been accepted or had interviews. I made sure I let them know that it was just my personal curiosity and that it would have no impact whatsoever on my recommendation (which it really did not). Sometimes when you are interviewing someone who seems like a great candidate you are just curious to see how their cycle had been going so far.

 

[brooklynblunder]

my interviewer was curious if I really wanted go to the Souf since i be an east coast person

 

[Optimalsauce]

It's the easiest way for them to know your market value. If you have other interviews/offers, use it to your advantage (if they ask)

When I applied to jobs out of college, some recruiters only recruited people that had "exploding offers" so they didn't have to sift through people who did not have as much value.

If med school is anything like the business world, med schools want the best, and if you're wanted at other med schools they consider around equal, they'll want you too.

 

[KMFDM]

It's the easiest way for them to know your market value. If you have other interviews/offers, use it to your advantage (if they ask)

When I applied to jobs out of college, some recruiters only recruited people that had "exploding offers" so they didn't have to sift through people who did not have as much value.

If med school is anything like the business world, med schools want the best, and if you're wanted at other med schools they consider around equal, they'll want you too.

I wonder though, if you tell your local state school that you have interviews at Harvard, Yale, and Penn (hypothetical situation), they'll think you're less interested in attending their lower-ranked school?

This is all just for the sake of discussion. I realize this is a fairly anal question.

 

[cher25]

I wonder though, if you tell your local state school that you have interviews at Harvard, Yale, and Penn (hypothetical situation), they'll think you're less interested in attending their lower-ranked school?

This is all just for the sake of discussion. I realize this is a fairly anal question.

I think that it'll make them want you more. I had a friend who was accepted to Duke Med and at a state school which she really wanted to attend because she's married with a child and didn't want to relocate her family. In any event, after she was accepted to Duke, she attempted to withdraw her acceptance from the state school. The state school offered her a full scholarship to keep her. I think that they like the prospect of having a student good enough for the Ivys.

Also, I've had a few interviews so far this season and all of them asked me what other schools I interviewed at and how many more I had lined up. Schools know that you're applying elsewhere so I highly doubt that it would count against you to tell them that you have other invites. The only thing about it that makes me uneasy is answering 'where'.

 

[riceman04]

Hey folks.

I'm currently preparing for an interview, and I was wondering, do interviewers ever ask about the other school to which you've applied or maybe where else you've interviewed at?

yep...all the time...and then most interviewers proceeded to tell me why I should consider attending their school more so than the other...ummmm even though I had not yet received an official acceptance letter yet

 

[KMFDM]

Thanks for the responses everyone.

I've had ridiculous luck so far this cycle with a lot of interviews, some at top schools, and I didn't want to come across as an arrogant d-bag to adcoms but I also didn't want to lie.

I'll just be straight with them.

 

[njbmd]

Thanks for the responses everyone.

I've had ridiculous luck so far this cycle with a lot of interviews, some at top schools, and I didn't want to come across as an arrogant d-bag to adcoms but I also didn't want to lie.

I'll just be straight with them.

Congrats on the interviews but brag when you have an acceptance. There are a fair amount of people who have tons of interviews and wind up with no acceptance. The ranking of the place that rejects you is meaningless in your career advancement.

If you are asked where you have interviewed/applied, you can mention region as opposed to specific schools. "I applied to East coast schools". or "I applied in the Mid-Atlantic region". "I applied to a mix of public and private across the nation".

 

[QofQuimica]

I'm currently preparing for an interview, and I was wondering, do interviewers ever ask about the other school to which you've applied or maybe where else you've interviewed at?

That question got asked more frequently than I would have liked when I applied. My gut reaction was that it was none of the interviewer's darn business, but of course you can't say that out loud. Telling them regions of the country is also not always possible, because sometimes they insist on hearing you name names. (As someone else already mentioned, I even had an interviewer who wrote down the names of each school I mentioned.)

Lying is never a good idea, but there is a big difference between lies of omission and lies of commission. For those of us who applied/interviewed at a lot of schools, naming all of them is probably not advisable or even necessary. When I was interviewing, I would name about half a dozen schools. The list included my state schools as well as a few others that I viewed as being "similar" to the school at which I was currently interviewing. Of course, similarity is entirely subjective, but to me, it meant things like geographically nearby, similar mission statements, etc.

 

[Longshanks]

FWIW, though its a DO school on that Nova Southeastern video someone posted up this week concerning interviewing, in part two they mention they do ask where else you have applied/interviewed. According to them its to see 'how serious you are' about applying to their school. *shrug*

 

[LiveUninhibited]

Perhaps it would be a good idea to also emphasize what you think is uniquely good about their program, so they don't think you'll just go somewhere else?

 

[bobdogsam43]

Yeah it happened. It seemed like they were trying to size up their competition. IF you have some good names it can be a good leveraging tool.