How nervous were you for your first interview? And how did it go?

[Pigglyjuff]

Was your experience on your first interview perhaps correlated with your level of nervousness before going in? What was your biggest fear of the day and how did you prevail?

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[FrkyBgStok]

i was crazy nervous that i was going to bomb it because it was my number one choice. i would highly recommend that you don't do your number one choice first because my second interview was more intense, but i was much more relaxed.

 

[FutureInternist]

i was crazy nervous that i was going to bomb it because it was my number one choice. i would highly recommend that you don't do your number one choice first because my second interview was more intense, but i was much more relaxed.

👍
First 1-2 interviews should be at safety schools, middle ones should be the ones where you want to go & more importantly where you actually have a shot at getting in. Last couple should be reaches, so even if you run out of money by then or are just too tired, you don't lose too much
Good Luck

 

[MedPR]

Was your experience on your first interview perhaps correlated with your level of nervousness before going in? What was your biggest fear of the day and how did you prevail?

Not nervous at all. Accepted.

 

[CaptainHook]

was super nervous my first interview. the best thing to do is to have someone sit down and ask you questions like you were at a real interview. and it didn't help that i missed the mock interview my undergrad school did to prepare us for the interviews.

 

[ModernAlchemist]

I cycled between nervous and excited. I couldn't tell if I did well at all, but I was accepted!

I definitely suggest putting your top choice at number 2 or 3.

 

[angldrps]

When I get nervous, I start talking really fast. In the middle of me answering a question this way during the interview, I remember thinking to myself "crap!!!!! this is not going well". Accepted.

 

[HalfListic]

I was definitely nervous, probably did the worst there (not too bad though), but it was a great experience and I also agree wholly that you should use your first interview as a safety or lower ranked (on your list) school.


But, if you dont have the choice of scheduling multiple interview, be SURE to do a few mock interviews with anyone who will do it. Especially faculty or a physician. The less personally you know the person, the better, but anyone will do.

 

[ValentineLissar]

Gosh, I was sooooo nervous. My first interview was at DMU, and I felt that I was a hot mess. It was an awesome school, but I felt pretty intimidated by the other applicants because they were all welcoming, interesting people, and I thought they all had higher stats than me. Thus when I went into my interview, I swear I could feel my face twitching! Also, I felt that in answering some questions, I would just say the first thing that popped into my head , and I would wince internally. To make matters worse, I had no concept of time while interviewing so I thought that my thirty-five minute interview was ten minutes. When my interviewers started to say, "I think we'll wrap this up..." I started to panic internally because I thought they already decided they didn't want me and were going to cut the interview short so that they could leave early! In fact, when they were answering my questions that I had about the program, I could hardly focus on what the interviewers were saying. Needless to say, I kept my cool even though I was screaming internally. Luckily, I think DMU liked me enough to accept me. 😀

So my advice is to NEVER let your inner turmoil cause you to backtrack verbally. I discovered after that interview that what I was feeling inside didn't affect my outward presence. Also understand that time goes a lot faster while you are interviewing, and everyone's given a pass for some weak answers. Lastly, never underestimate your own merits, and don't get discouraged by how awesome some of the other applicants appear to be. Having been through all that, I felt that my later interviews went a lot smoother for me- or at least, I didn't feel dejected and miserable afterward.

 

[MedPR]

Not nervous at all. Accepted.

Interview 1: Not nervous, accepted.
Interview 2: Not nervous, accepted.
Interview 3: Nervous, wait listed.
Interview 4: Nervous, wait listed.
Interview 5: Nervous, wait listed.
Interview 6: Not nervous, pending.
Interview 7: Not nervous, pending.

 

[chiddler]

#1 - nervous. waitlisted
#2 - very confident. waitlisted.
#3 - EXTREMELY NERVOUS. How was I waitlisted despite my confidence!?! I must be horrible!! And everybody was socializing while I was sweating in my seat, making me feel like an outcast which made me feel more nervous....waitlisted
#4 - Safety school. Confident. Withdrew.
#5 - top choice. Mostly confident. Accepted.

My biggest fear on #1 was just being intimidated by the other interviewers. It felt like they were better competition than I was so I was scared. I prevailed by just getting used to the interview stress. I'm very glad #5 was not #1.

 

[Iheartnachos]

I'm always a little nervous before an interview, but usually once I can size up the people who I'm talking to I calm down. I've found that the best way to feel calm is to have a few "canned" answers, situations, anecdotes, etc that I can use for a variety of different questions. They never fit perfectly for every questions, but they're a good start.

 

[NekoBeats]

Interviews + pre/post impressions so far, in order:

LECOM-B (WL)- This was my first interview for this cycle so I prepped a lot. It was a group interview and knowing more than half the people in my group really helped with nerves. I thought it went okayyy, but it was hard to gauge how the interviewers perceived me compared to the other applicants in my group. I also did a 1 on 1 interview with a DO later in the day. That one lasted about 5 minutes because he was in a rush to teach a class. I was definitely not too confident about that one.

AZCOM (accepted)- I was the most nervous about this one going in because I heard about how "out there" the questions could be. Unfortunately, I didn't do any additional prep after my LECOM-B interview because of how close I had scheduled the two. What helped the most with this interview were the 2+ hours I spent talking and hanging out with the other applicants until they finally called me. By the time I entered the room, I was super relaxed and the interview itself was really conversational. The student interviewer commented and teased me about something I had put on my application and the other two on the panel joined in on it. They made references to it throughout the interview which made me even less nervous, and since I wasn't a nervous wreck, I was able to answer all the questions relatively easily.

WesternU (rejected)- I didn't feel as nervous about this one, but the interview itself didn't go as well as I would have wanted to. The people on my panel were basically just reading off question after question, and I doubt that they got to know who the real NekoBeats is by doing so. There were some parts of the interview that became conversational..but not as good as AZCOM's interview. I felt really uncertain about the final decision post-interview.

 

[Cinclus]

I think the most nerve-wracking thing about the first interview was just not knowing what to expect. That being said, I actually wasn't that nervous when it came time to interview at the end of the day, as I'd already had a fantastic, rather laid-back day of presentations, touring, and lunch with awesome fellow interviewees. I was genuinely enthusiastic about the school, and had no doubt I'd be able to convey my enthusiasm during the interview. Both my faculty and student interviewer were really cool, friendly, totally normal people who I really hit it off with, and both of my interviews were great and really relaxed. I got my first acceptance from this particular school. 🙂

To conquer interviews most effectively, I would say to just stay relaxed, be yourself, and let your passions and enthusiasm shine through.

 

[coolingglasses]

Knew in advance what the interview format was like. Not necessarily nervous because I had combed over my application and secondary. I did feel like I bombed one question, though that wasn't tied to my application.

But ultimately I was accepted.

Second interview was a breeze. Asked me about my grades, my ECs, and then I asked a bunch of questions about the school. Our interview group was REALLY small (3 interviewees) so talking to them before we started interviews really smoothed me out. Accepted.

 

[WildEMDoc]

1st: AZCOM (Accepted) - Super nervous. I don't even remember most of the interview because I think I'm trying to block so much of the stupid stuff, that came out of my mouth, out of my mind.

2nd: Western-Pomona (Accepted) - Really nervous as I was waiting in the student center prior to the MMI. The second the MMI began I suddenly felt all my nervousness melt away and my panel interview was very relaxed as I felt I had no nerves left after sweating the MMI.

3rd: UNE-COM (Accepted) - I was probably the most relaxed in this interview out of all of mine. I had just gotten my AZCOM acceptance the day before I left to this interview and I just felt no pressure. I really clicked with the school and the environment and I think that showed in the interview.

4th: DMU-COM (Waitlisted) - I was a bit too relaxed in this interview. I knew I didn't want to attend DMU after the whole day of touring etc... I just knew it wasn't the place for me and I think that showed in the interview leading to the WL.

5th: KCOM (Accepted, and attending as of now): I was relatively calm in the interviews, it was the day after DMU so I was already in the interviewing mindset. I was still kind of nervous due to the back-to-back-to-back one-on-one interviews. That was an hour and half of interviewing! I also didn't have the same problem I did at DMU about "feeling" right at the school.

6th: University of New Mexico (still pending ): I was pretty nervous as this is my top choice out of every school I applied to. But my interviewers were very cool and I think they went well. I think it definitely helped having all the practice at others before this one, but I don't know if some of my answers came off as rehearsed. Not because they were, but I had just answered many of the same questions multiple times before.