Do interviews really matter?

[MVP]

Interviews are incredibly important, as they help make schools make the final cut.

They are like dinner parties. everyone is always very nice at a dinner party to each other. but then you go home with your friend and immediately start talking smack about everyone there:

" that guy was so self-obsessed"
" that guy was so boring"
" that guy was bs-ing about his job"
" that guy was a little out of it"
" that guy was so shallow"
" that guy was really great. i hope to meet him again"

if you are that last guy, you can get a big boost when the admissions people meet the following week to review the latest batch of applicants. you can be sharp, humble, grounded, compassionate, and confident but these aspects don't necessarily show up on paper.

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[sliceofbread136]

Of course they will... I didnt say that they will be dismissed entirely, but I am sure that schools try to weed out the high stat awkward people that cant even hold a conversation or seem weird/unstable... High stats dont help in those scenarios

I'm sure that a lot of non-trads arent 'high-stats' who are accepted all the time due to their unique experience.

How many people with high stats do you think are actually like that? I'd say maybe 1% of them...

 

[ohioguy]

I really think that at some schools they already know they want you and the interview is just to confirm that you are who you say you are on your application. That said, of 15 interviews stretching back to last year, the two schools I was straight up rejected from post interview were the only interviews that I felt I bombed.

 

[GandalfTheWhite]

How many people with high stats do you think are actually like that? I'd say maybe 1% of them...

I wouldn't say its 1%. Maybe 10%.

thats a good 20 spots..

Realistically its also to make sure you didnt BS your experiences or embellish parts of your application.

 

[Freeinfinity]

You bet they matter! You're there to convince them that you really want to go to their school because you would fit in well with their environment.

 

[Kurosaki Ichigo]

They do matter. Some schools use it as a screening tool to remove certain types of applicants with personalities that don't mesh with the atmosphere they're trying to create. Since medical schools train clinicians, I think they want you to be both personable and knowledgeable, which is what you'd probably want from your ideal physician.

I would probably say that you shouldn't gauge your success at a school based on how you felt about the interview. I thought I totally nailed an interview at this one school and that I was surely going to get accepted, but instead was waitlisted. In one of my earlier interviews when I was less polished and more nervous, I thought it was one of my worse interview performances in hindsight and I'm actually accepted there.

If you had to simplify it, I'd say that being a sociable person + knowing ALL your stuff (school, your own app, relevant conversational topics) will probably put you in a safe spot. Use that bank of interview questions on SDN; it's a huge help.

 

[SilverCat]

I think interviews are like the personal statement--a really good one can help you, a really bad one can hurt you, and an average one will do nothing for you. Most people will do average, and it's up to their stats/ECs to put the whole package together into a pill that the adcom can swallow. It's not a level playing field at the interview stage; those with better apps don't have to do as well in the interview as those with average apps to get an acceptance.

Some things I realized about the interview process:

1.) Don't believe a word the interviewers tell you. If they say something like, 'I hope to see you here,' this does not necessarily translate into an acceptance. They may just say that to everyone to be polite. Likewise, if they tell you that they don't think you'll do well in med school, it may just be a stress interview, and they're trying to gauge your reaction. Interviewers make great actors.

2.) Don't believe them when they say they're not lookingfor a specific answer to an ethical situation. If they keep repeating a question, it means you're not giving them the answer they want.

3.) Don't be bluntly honest. At one of my firstinterviews I made the mistake of answering, 'Why should we pick you?' with, 'Well, I'm not the most stellar candidate you have, but I'm X, Y, and Z.'

 

[sliceofbread136]

I think interviews are like the personal statement--a really good one can help you, a really bad one can hurt you, and an average one will do nothing for you. Most people will do average, and it's up to their stats/ECs to put the whole package together into a pill that the adcom can swallow. It's not a level playing field at the interview stage; those with better apps don't have to do as well in the interview as those with average apps to get an acceptance.

Some things I realized about the interview process:

1.) Don't believe a word the interviewers tell you. If they say something like, 'I hope to see you here,' this does not necessarily translate into an acceptance. They may just say that to everyone to be polite. Likewise, if they tell you that they don't think you'll do well in med school, it may just be a stress interview, and they're trying to gauge your reaction. Interviewers make great actors.

2.) Don't believe them when they say they're not lookingfor a specific answer to an ethical situation. If they keep repeating a question, it means you're not giving them the answer they want.

3.) Don't be bluntly honest. At one of my firstinterviews I made the mistake of answering, 'Why should we pick you?' with, 'Well, I'm not the most stellar candidate you have, but I'm X, Y, and Z.'

I'd say interviewing is a much more continuous variable where as personal statement will be a more discrete one. Atleast in my experience

 

[911 Turbo]

I was recently interviewed at a school I am very interested in. My first interview was going great until he said this:

"I don't know how they choose between the applicants. You're the 19th person I've interviewed this cycle and everyone has been really nice."

After that, I spoke to the other applicants and everyone said they had a great interview.

Another school mentioned that they just had "conversations" and not "interviews".

If the interviews aren't to challenge you but rather to chat with you genially, how do they determine if you deserve to get an acceptance over the next person?

I guess my question is that I am really interested in two reach schools and I want to believe that my interview skills could get me an acceptance, but it seems like they don't really serve a greater purpose in the grand scheme of things. Does anyone else feel this way? Does anyone know just how much schools care about interviews? LizzyM, how is it at your institution?

"Interviews are by far the most important part of the process"

- My professor from HMS

 

[487806]

"Interviews are by far the most important part of the process"

- My professor from HMS

Fact, but I don't know whether OP will see it, considering she didn't log in since May.