gut feelings after interviews

[secretasianman]

---

Members do not see this ad.

can anyone tell after an interview whether it went good or bad? i've had 2 so far and while they were both okay (just answered general questions about myself and activities for the most part), i couldn't get any indication of whether they were good or bad..

 

[billybama]

One of my gut feelings has been correct and one way off. I keep forgetting that acceptance doesn't depend *only* on how the interview goes.

so much depends on what you ate for lunch! 😀

 

[superdevil]

at one of my interviews, i knew i was in (wright state), and was accepted 10/15. at ohio state, i didn't think my interviewer was too impressed with me, but i got in there on the 15th, too.

the moral of the story? this:

Originally Posted by RunMimi
acceptance doesn't depend *only* on how the interview goes.

the interview isn't the biggest factor (the vast majority of the time, anyhow), your application is. don't stress it.

 

[milanrp]

I got that sense from 2 recent interviews (interview not as important as I thought at beginning of process).

One current student said "interview is evaluating you to a degree, but that person is there to sell you to adcom and sell school to you." One of interviewers at same school really went out of way to distance herself from admission decision "clearly you can do this, want to do this, great addition to class, blah....but I hand adcom my literally one page eval and then it's up to them". Almost exact same was said to me at another school.

Another example, I got invite to interview at U Miami. Last year they accepted 83 out of the 100 out of state candidates they interviewed. They chose the 100 candidates out of a pool of 1400 based on application alone.

I'm sure it varies from school to school...personally, I don't let myself think about it, just do best I can and let the chips fall. But again, thought interview was way more important than it seems to be at this point.

 

[constructor]

yeah, the bottom line is that your numbers mean more than who you are. it's a flaw in the system but that's just the way it is. the reason for this is that there is so much competition for grants, etc. these days that schools are desperately trying to move up in the us news rankings and numbers are the only way to do this since their reputation isn't going to change overnight. so they just want you if you will do good for them.

 

[secretasianman]

at one of my interviews, i knew i was in (wright state), and was accepted 10/15. at ohio state, i didn't think my interviewer was too impressed with me, but i got in there on the 15th, too.

the moral of the story? this:

the interview isn't the biggest factor (the vast majority of the time, anyhow), your application is. don't stress it.

it's hard to see where the extra factor comes in though, if the other ppl that interview are just as competitive in stats.

 

[superdevil]

it's hard to see where the extra factor comes in though, if the other ppl that interview are just as competitive in stats.

note that i said application and not "stats". what if you were published twice in Cell, or worked as a physician's asst. for 3 years? good personal statement? volunteering? etc.

the interview is just part of the deal.

 

[exmike]

there was a thread on this last year where we compared interview experiences and outcomes.. someone should so a search.

In the end, how well I did on an interview had absolutly no correlation with whether I got an immediate accept or not. I got into schools where I felt like I bombed the interview, and I got waitlisted at schools where I thought I aced the interview. All you can really do is try your best each time. remember, what may seem like a bad interview to you may actually be a good interview to them, and vice versa. id you keep trying to read into this stuff, it'll drive you insane.

 

[secretasianman]

note that i said application and not "stats". what if you were published twice in Cell, or worked as a physician's asst. for 3 years? good personal statement? volunteering? etc.

the interview is just part of the deal.

when i said stats i meant activities as well, because you can quantify the quality and quantity of activities to a degree. if you get an interview, obviously the school sees that you have done something they like.. they don't choose you base on gpa/mcat alone.

 

[billybama]

yeah, the bottom line is that your numbers mean more than who you are. it's a flaw in the system but that's just the way it is.

i sort of disagree with this. i think, in part, your numbers ARE who you are. i honestly hope that the interview alone is never the deciding factor. anyone can put on a front for 30 minutes and not come close to who that real person is. they should not be admitted based on what they present before one person in an interview. likewise, it would be so unfortunate if someone were to be denied admission based solely on an interview in which they perhaps were nervous, didn't feel good, or who knows what. it HAS to be more than just the "feel" an interviewer gets about a person in less than an hour.

my personal thoughts are that the interview is definitely important... but not as the deciding factor... i think it is partly a chance to be sure the candidate is getting a firsthand view of the school, and partly a chance to clear up any questions or issues that may exist. it also might be used to confirm that the candidate is who he/she claims to be or even to send up a red flag in rare instances.

let's hope our doctors have been evaluated on wayyyyy more than a short and somewhat "staged" conversation.

 

[superdevil]

i sort of disagree with this. i think, in part, your numbers ARE who you are. i honestly hope that the interview alone is never the deciding factor. anyone can put on a front for 30 minutes and not come close to who that real person is. they should not be admitted based on what they present before one person in an interview. likewise, it would be so unfortunate if someone were to be denied admission based solely on an interview in which they perhaps were nervous, didn't feel good, or who knows what. it HAS to be more than just the "feel" an interviewer gets about a person in less than an hour.

its not just the numbers. most schools' adcoms evaluate an applicant's LORs to obtain the kind of info most people think is being obtained in an interview. of course 95% of applicants can be polite and affable for 30 minutes; that's why a testamonial from someone who has known them 1-3 years means so much. i think a lot of people underestimate/forget the role LORs play in the admissions process because they see obtaining them as just another obstacle in the pre-med path, like taking the MCAT or something.

just my $0.02, though
sd

 

[constructor]

i sort of disagree with this. i think, in part, your numbers ARE who you are. i honestly hope that the interview alone is never the deciding factor. anyone can put on a front for 30 minutes and not come close to who that real person is. they should not be admitted based on what they present before one person in an interview. likewise, it would be so unfortunate if someone were to be denied admission based solely on an interview in which they perhaps were nervous, didn't feel good, or who knows what. it HAS to be more than just the "feel" an interviewer gets about a person in less than an hour.

my personal thoughts are that the interview is definitely important... but not as the deciding factor... i think it is partly a chance to be sure the candidate is getting a firsthand view of the school, and partly a chance to clear up any questions or issues that may exist. it also might be used to confirm that the candidate is who he/she claims to be or even to send up a red flag in rare instances.

let's hope our doctors have been evaluated on wayyyyy more than a short and somewhat "staged" conversation.

then again, the interviewers are themselves physicians or phd's and they are generally very reasonable, at least in my experience. they have extensive experience interviewing patients in their daily work and they know whether or not a person will have serious problems doing the work of a physician based on an hour long interaction (which by the way is a long time to talk with someone you don't even know). they wouldn't simply discount a person because they answered one question poorly, so the interview is generally pretty valuable and accurate in assessing a candidate's potential. of course, bad interviewers are an exception to this rule. i think when so many applicants have similar numbers and are invited to an interview, it should be only the interview that counts after this point. but that's not how it works. a 42 on the mcat will work in an applicant's favor over someone else with a 36 even if the person with a 36 had a far superior interview because numbers (and rankings) mean everything in this competitive world of academia where people are fighting for grant money and prestige. and that's the flaw i was pointing out.

 

[constructor]

its not just the numbers. most schools' adcoms evaluate an applicant's LORs to obtain the kind of info most people think is being obtained in an interview. of course 95% of applicants can be polite and affable for 30 minutes; that's why a testamonial from someone who has known them 1-3 years means so much. i think a lot of people underestimate/forget the role LORs play in the admissions process because they see obtaining them as just another obstacle in the pre-med path, like taking the MCAT or something.

just my $0.02, though
sd

at the same time, you get to pick and choose your LOR's, which is not a very fair sampling of what most people think of you. not saying this is better or worse than the interview, but i think they both have their good points as well as drawbacks. we're all adults and if i were the dean of a school, i would put more emphasis on the interview as long as the interviewer is not a jackass.

 

[OnMyWayThere]

You know at times they put you under stress to see how you are under those situations... and you feel like you completely screwed up because you were not your calm self. That's what I went through and was very sure that it went poorly and the outcome would be bad... I emailed a thank you one of the interviewers and he responded that I am very impressive and I was accepted to that school. So, don't take anything to heart or be too bummed out until you get the results.

 

[superdevil]

at the same time, you get to pick and choose your LOR's, which is not a very fair sampling of what most people think of you. not saying this is better or worse than the interview, but i think they both have their good points as well as drawbacks. we're all adults and if i were the dean of a school, i would put more emphasis on the interview as long as the interviewer is not a jackass.

i agree with you up until the point about putting more emphasis on the interview vs. the LORs. the LORs have a built-in contextual element that isn't as well served in an interview. an interviewer can only truely assess your capability in the setting of a brief Q&A session during which you *know* you're being judged. not very useful. a LOR, conversely, can assess your capability in a patient-care setting, in a research setting, in a classroom setting, in a community service setting--all more relevant to evaluate one's suitabiliy for medical school.

as you said, you can have a sort of 'gatekeeper' effect on who you choose to write your letters, but if you waive your right to see them, they can be just as candid and representative (if not moreso) than a brief encounter with a total stranger.

i think that brings the total up to $0.04 😀

 

[TravellinDoc]

so i was at my tulane interview and my med student host told me the adcomm people there told him that once you have been invited for an interview, it means they think your numbers and experiences are exceptional and that you're a good candidate for med school. after that point, numbers are much less important and you're on a relatively equal footing with other interviewees. the interview is meant to be used to see if you will fit in, work well with their mission/attitude/administration and if you will be happy there. this is what I was told happens at tulane. i would imagine the emphasis on numbers becomes stronger or weaker depending on the school.

 

[UDbiochem]

So far I've been right. NJMS went well and I got in. 🙂 RWJ was a nightmare, interviewer never showed and the assistant dean interviewed me an hour later, not a nice lady either.... and I got waitlisted. Wouldn't have gone there if you paid me anyway, was treated so badly on my interview day.