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Do interviewers ask about your research?
Started by manohman
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If you put it in your primary app, make sure you're ready to talk about whatever role you had in your research lab, what the research is actually about, and what you learned from the experience. Usually, a pretty general overview of your research work would suffice, but if you get lucky and the person that's interviewing you does the same research, don't be surprised if you get asked more in depth questions about it.
okay cool that makes sense. Ill read over the background papers again. I know my role for sure (oh so many hours haha), but a healthy refresher never hurt.
It's fair game to ask about.
Some schools will match an interviewee with a researcher in the same field. I've had mentees grilled for much of their interview time on their techniques and how they solved various problems. [Seems to me there were more important items that needed to be covered, too.] So just in case this happens to you, best to know your project inside and out, regardless of the time that has passed.
if it's on your app, chances are somebody will bring it up at some point. I've been asked about even the smallest commitments I listed at one point or another.
Yes, they ask. I got rejected from a school (spoke to an admissions official post-rejection) for not being articulate enough about the nature of my research questions and experiments, even though it was a short summer project that I didn't list as a meaningful experience. I honestly never took much of an active role (didn't enjoy lab research on mice) and forgot a lot of what I had done.
I ask every applicant about any prior research.
I got questions about it at almost every med school interview, though I was finishing a research degree at my time of application, so not too surprising. I actually got asked about my graduate degree research at least once during residency interviews, too, as well as the more-expected questions about research I did while in med school. Glad I reviewed the gist of what I did in grad school before the residency interviews. Four years of med school can really make you forget anything irrelevant.
We have a hard-science PhD faculty member who likes to ask interviewees to explain their research so his grandmother would understand it. Only about half do it right (so this is a good area to practice ahead of time, too). Only then does he zone in on the minutia of the actual project.
I was asked, verbatim: “So...tell me about your research.”
Asking for an explanation of your research in lay terms is a good way of assessing your ability to someday describe scientific concepts and medical information to patients. It is good to practice that prior to interviews.
So had my interview today and one of my interviewers was a straight PhD faculty. lol. glad i briefly reviewed/took an active role. otherwise that could have been so awkward. That moment when they ask you about how you dealt with variables on projects dating back 6 years.
Thanks guys!
Thanks guys!
