how much power do interviewers have over your acceptance to the school you got interviewed at

[mrh125]

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I mean if you get an interviewer with a completely different and incompatible outlook on life than yours or personality that could definitely negatively affect the interview (ideally you'd be able to control and find some balance/intermediate ground with intelligent reasoning), so i'm wondering how much power interviewers have over whether or not you get accepted to the school you're interviewed at. Also, based off of the "weirdest questions interviewers ask" thread it seems like interviews may ask out of bounds questions and that can seriously impact the quality of your interview.

how much power do interviewers have over your acceptance to the school you got interviewed at? and is there any way to make interviews more "fair"?

I'm also wondering if it matters if you answer questions wrong, but still provide an intelligent response. An example I would use is if I was asked a question about the affordable healthcare act. I would talk about the controversy about it and trying to find out what it really means, but not really being able to understand it fully. I would talk about how it has enabled me to get insurance, what doctors have said to me (mostly negative) and the implications of what they said. I would then tie it into the fact that no matter what changes are done to healthcare system, doctors should be actively involved in the process and that changes such as this in law solidify the idea that if a person really wants to be a doctor they should be in it for more than money and have genuine reasons to pursue medicine and passion. I could use that to tie into my experiences as an undergrad, and why I am interested in medicine.

Would that be an appropriate answer? I would want to show that I dont have all the answers, and that I don't claim to, but no matter what I give things I'm asked serious thought and think on the spot because that's a very important quality i've developed.

 

[WillburCobb]

It varies from school to school and how their admissions process is set up.

 

[Chipster.]

I mean if you get an interviewer with a completely different and incompatible outlook on life than yours or personality that could definitely negatively affect the interview (ideally you'd be able to control and find some balance/intermediate ground with intelligent reasoning), so i'm wondering how much power interviewers have over whether or not you get accepted to the school you're interviewed at. Also, based off of the "weirdest questions interviewers ask" thread it seems like interviews may ask out of bounds questions and that can seriously impact the quality of your interview.

how much power do interviewers have over your acceptance to the school you got interviewed at? and is there any way to make interviews more "fair"?

I'm also wondering if it matters if you answer questions wrong, but still provide an intelligent response. An example I would use is if I was asked a question about the affordable healthcare act. I would talk about the controversy about it and trying to find out what it really means, but not really being able to understand it fully. I would talk about how it has enabled me to get insurance, what doctors have said to me (mostly negative) and the implications of what they said. I would then tie it into the fact that no matter what changes are done to healthcare system, doctors should be actively involved in the process and that changes such as this in law solidify the idea that if a person really wants to be a doctor they should be in it for more than money and have genuine reasons to pursue medicine and passion. I could use that to tie into my experiences as an undergrad, and why I am interested in medicine.

Would that be an appropriate answer? I would want to show that I dont have all the answers, and that I don't claim to, but no matter what I give things I'm asked serious thought and think on the spot because that's a very important quality i've developed.

Already worrying about interviews, huh? I take it you were happy with your MCAT score today?

 

[mrh125]

Already worrying about interviews, huh? I take it you were happy with your MCAT score today?

I'm on the fence about my mcat score. 9/11/9 (29), but it's always good to prepare for interviews.

 

[darkjedi]

The interview is only one part of your total application, which is evaluated holistically. It's possible for any one part of your application to make or break it and the interview is no different.

 

[NuttyEngDude]

too much 😉

 

[SolarMed]

For me - it was a big weight. I honestly don't see any other reason to have admitted me. When I was called, the admission person actually said "Both of your interviewers strongly recommended you and suggested I call you immediately to offer you acceptance".

I'm a very average person :/

 

[sliceofbread136]

They hold alot of power, but if you get an interviewer who you feel is unnecessarily hard on you then you can usually request a make-up interview that will override the harder interview

 

[NickNaylor]

Every school is going to have its own variations on the theme. The short and most realistic answer is "it depends." There's no way to really say with any sort of certainty.

 

[sliceofbread136]

Every school is going to have its own variations on the theme. The short and most realistic answer is "it depends." There's no way to really say with any sort of certainty.

How did step go Nick?