How specific are questions asked at the interview about ECs

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Furballer

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For instance, if they see that a student is in a fraternity/sorority, could they ask specifically odd questions such as what is the coat of arms or where is the chapter's headquarters...to make sure you are informed of extracurriculars that you participate in?
 
For instance, if they see that a student is in a fraternity/sorority, could they ask specifically odd questions such as what is the coat of arms or where is the chapter's headquarters...to make sure you are informed of extracurriculars that you participate in?

Not THAT specific. Even if they did, it would be for something relevant to medicine... Usually they'll say 'so tell me about X activity,' 'so I see you did this, why?,' 'what experiences have you had with medicine?'
Your answers describing the activity will tell them all they need to know about how 'informed' you are of your own activities...
 
I only had one interview where I was asked about specific extracurriculars. The only way I can see your scenario occurring is if your interviewer happened to be a member of that frat/sorority in college too.
 
not like that. the point of the interview is not to trip you up or catch you in a lie or something, they might ask you to elaborate but they're not grilling you. or if you interview at GW it's blind, so you can say whatever the heck you want 🙂
 
For instance, if they see that a student is in a fraternity/sorority, could they ask specifically odd questions such as what is the coat of arms or where is the chapter's headquarters...to make sure you are informed of extracurriculars that you participate in?

They probably won't ask specifics, but anything you put on your AMCAS or secondary is fair game for the interview (unless of course it's blind or semi-blind). They can ask you about some small detail you forgot you even wrote about. Choose your activities and how you describe them carefully. If it's something you wouldn't want to talk about, don't put it on your application.
 
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not like that. the point of the interview is not to trip you up or catch you in a lie or something, they might ask you to elaborate but they're not grilling you.

isn't there a thread on here called "worst interview experience" or something? In general, interviewers aren't out to get you.... but they could be having a bad day or just like to see how you do under pressure.
 
Usually they're more generic 'tell me about experience x..' type of questions. However, I did have a teaching experience down on my AMCAS and one of my interviewers asked me to 'emulate' the experience by actually getting up in front of a whiteboard and teaching him something 😎.
 
Usually they're more generic 'tell me about experience x..' type of questions. However, I did have a teaching experience down on my AMCAS and one of my interviewers asked me to 'emulate' the experience by actually getting up in front of a whiteboard and teaching him something 😎.

Haha, what did you teach the interviewer? I hope it was SN1 and SN2 reactions.
 
Usually they're more generic 'tell me about experience x..' type of questions. However, I did have a teaching experience down on my AMCAS and one of my interviewers asked me to 'emulate' the experience by actually getting up in front of a whiteboard and teaching him something 😎.
I would literally **** my pants if that happened to me. What school was this?
 
Usually they're more generic 'tell me about experience x..' type of questions. However, I did have a teaching experience down on my AMCAS and one of my interviewers asked me to 'emulate' the experience by actually getting up in front of a whiteboard and teaching him something 😎.

Was this at Rochester? They asked me the same question. It was super awkward and I was totally unprepared.
 
Haha, what did you teach the interviewer? I hope it was SN1 and SN2 reactions.

Haha no, it was a non-science class.

Was this at Rochester? They asked me the same question. It was super awkward and I was totally unprepared.

Nope, it was at a different school. Maybe it's more common of a question than I had originally thought haha.
 
For instance, if they see that a student is in a fraternity/sorority, could they ask specifically odd questions such as what is the coat of arms or where is the chapter's headquarters...to make sure you are informed of extracurriculars that you participate in?

I highly doubt anyone will ask you anything like that, and even if they did, I doubt they would hold it against you if you did not know. I did explain my research in a lot of detail a few times, however. Those are the types of details they expect you to know. Also, you will want to be able to provide specific examples of clinical experiences, etc.
 
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