How to answer interview question: "how many interviews so far?"

[Tropicana100]

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So how do you guys answer questions from interviewers trying to get info on how many interviews/acceptances you have so far and at which schools? Do you answer honestly, or withhold details by saying "a couple schools in the east coast and one in the midwest?" In my Davis interview last year, they asked me where I interviewed at and then asked an uncomfortable questions like, "which school would you go to if you got accepted to all of them?" How would you guys deal with these kinds of questions?

 

[silverlining1]

In my Davis interview last year, they asked me where I interviewed at and then asked an uncomfortable questions like, "which school would you go to if you got accepted to all of them?"

Wow. That seems really unfair. I think I could answer the first honestly; I've only applied to schools in California (death wish, I know) because I want to be close to my family and boyfriend. I think I would be open about where I've received interviews because I have a clear reason for every school I've applied to.

The second question though... if I were at my dream school, I would answer honestly and tell them I would go there! For any other school, though... I seriously have no idea. I'm still thinking about it.

 

[Tropicana100]

Wow. That seems really unfair. I think I could answer the first honestly; I've only applied to schools in California (death wish, I know) because I want to be close to my family and boyfriend. I think I would be open about where I've received interviews because I have a clear reason for every school I've applied to.

The second question though... if I were at my dream school, I would answer honestly and tell them I would go there! For any other school, though... I seriously have no idea. I'm still thinking about it.

You're in really good shape to get into a Cali School, esp. coming from Stanford. Wish you the best of luck!

 

[silverlining1]

You're in really good shape to get into a Cali School, esp. coming from Stanford. Wish you the best of luck!

Thank you so much!

 

[gotmeds?]

So how do you guys answer questions from interviewers trying to get info on how many interviews/acceptances you have so far and at which schools? Do you answer honestly, or withhold details by saying "a couple schools in the east coast and one in the midwest?" In my Davis interview last year, they asked me where I interviewed at and then asked an uncomfortable questions like, "which school would you go to if you got accepted to all of them?" How would you guys deal with these kinds of questions?

I had the same question at an interview. I answered it honestly. I even told my interviewer that they were my third choice and told him which two schools were my first and second (this was in direct response to a question like the one you had). I got accepted. I also got accepted to one of the other two schools I mentioned, so I'm going there instead.

I figure that interviewers have excellent BS detectors. The only thing worse than giving a bad answer is getting caught in a lie.

 

[Tropicana100]

I had the same question at an interview. I answered it honestly. I even told my interviewer that they were my third choice and told him which two schools were my first and second (this was in direct response to a question like the one you had). I got accepted. I also got accepted to one of the other two schools I mentioned, so I'm going there instead.

I figure that interviewers have excellent BS detectors. The only thing worse than giving a bad answer is getting caught in a lie.

Yeah, you have a good point. Anything besides a direct answer will sound like BS. I guess if they ask that question, then they're REALLY asking for it.

 

[silverlining1]

I had the same question at an interview. I answered it honestly. I even told my interviewer that they were my third choice and told him which two schools were my first and second (this was in direct response to a question like the one you had). I got accepted. I also got accepted to one of the other two schools I mentioned, so I'm going there instead.

I figure that interviewers have excellent BS detectors. The only thing worse than giving a bad answer is getting caught in a lie.

Thanks for this story. Makes me feel more comfortable about being truthful 👍

 

[MassTransport]

I can answer where honestly. You can be pretty evasive and get away without answering the second question.

 

[Writer1985]

I had the same question at an interview. I answered it honestly. I even told my interviewer that they were my third choice and told him which two schools were my first and second (this was in direct response to a question like the one you had). I got accepted. I also got accepted to one of the other two schools I mentioned, so I'm going there instead.

I figure that interviewers have excellent BS detectors. The only thing worse than giving a bad answer is getting caught in a lie.

I had a similar experience (interviewer asked me to rank that school compared to the others I had interviewed at), told his the truth, and was accepted.

Answering evasively could be seen as a negative. The question is sort of unfair, but I found that pretty much anything goes in a one-on-one interview.

 

[mave]

"I've heard from x schools. Thank you for asking. I really haven't thought that far in advance, because it's a big decision and not one to be taken lightly."

 

[postbacker]

Wow. That seems really unfair. I think I could answer the first honestly; I've only applied to schools in California (death wish, I know) because I want to be close to my family and boyfriend. I think I would be open about where I've received interviews because I have a clear reason for every school I've applied to.

The second question though... if I were at my dream school, I would answer honestly and tell them I would go there! For any other school, though... I seriously have no idea. I'm still thinking about it.

It will be very interesting to track your success...it takes guts to apply to so few schools, especially in CA, but I have a feeling you will be just fine...good luck, keep us posted.

 

[djzabr]

At an interview for one of my state schools I was asked what I'd do if I were accepted at all of them. I told the guy that I'd celebrate the acceptances with my friends...probably not what he was looking for but it IS the truth.

 

[Ziggy08]

At an interview for one of my state schools I was asked what I'd do if I were accepted at all of them. I told the guy that I'd celebrate the acceptances with my friends...probably not what he was looking for but it IS the truth.

Nice answer!

 

[Tropicana100]

When I was interviewing at Duke, my interviewer asked the question very appropriately. He asked, "Where in the application process are you?" It was broad enough for me to evade the question if I wanted to. I told him it was my second interview. Then he said, "You will get many more." I was waitlisted/not accepted at duke and got only 2 more interviews the rest of the year. However, I have 3 interviews thus far as a reapplicant. Prophetic or what?

 

[baylormed]

So how do you guys answer questions from interviewers trying to get info on how many interviews/acceptances you have so far and at which schools? Do you answer honestly, or withhold details by saying "a couple schools in the east coast and one in the midwest?" In my Davis interview last year, they asked me where I interviewed at and then asked an uncomfortable questions like, "which school would you go to if you got accepted to all of them?" How would you guys deal with these kinds of questions?

I got this question in most of my interviews, and I didn't see what the big deal was. I just answered honestly, but without giving more than they were asking for. If the question was "How many interviews have you had?", I would say "3 so far" for example. If I was then asked to list them, I would list the schools. If I was asked where I was going, I just mentioned that I was waiting until after all my interviews to wage them better, since it's hard to judge a school without ever being there. Most interviewers won't hold it against you, they know applicants usually get more than 1 interview.

 

[armybound]

Why do people always look for ways to skirt the issue around here? Why is being honest not the natural answer?

 

[Bartelby]

Why do people always look for ways to skirt the issue around here? Why is being honest not the natural answer?

Because if the honest answer is "I have interviewed at four other schools, and of all of the schools I have seen your school is my #5 choice" they might understandably think that you will get accepted and go to one of the other schools, so they are more likely to reject you in favor of another student who seems more likely to attend. You might end up not getting the acceptance because of such an answer, and that could cause problems if you don't end up in any of the other schools you like more. At least that's what worries me about this question.

 

[armybound]

Because if the honest answer is "I have interviewed at four other schools, and of all of the schools I have seen your school is my #5 choice" they might understandably think that you will get accepted and go to one of the other schools, so they are more likely to reject you in favor of another student who seems more likely to attend. You might end up not getting the acceptance because of such an answer, and that could cause problems if you don't end up in any of the other schools you like more. At least that's what worries me about this question.

If schools really cared that much, they'd reject you for even applying to more schools than just theirs. It's competitive, they know this, and people will apply to and interview at several schools to increase their chances. The schools are obviously very aware of this.

I'd have a hard time ranking a school as last when you've only been there for a couple of hours. If you feel like that's going to get you rejected, tell them you haven't had a chance to really consider how you rank the schools. If you do have a good idea of how the school is after a couple of hours and really don't like it, do you really care if they accept you?

 

[Tropicana100]

If schools really cared that much, they'd reject you for even applying to more schools than just theirs. It's competitive, they know this, and people will apply to and interview at several schools to increase their chances. The schools are obviously very aware of this.

I'd have a hard time ranking a school as last when you've only been there for a couple of hours. If you feel like that's going to get you rejected, tell them you haven't had a chance to really consider how you rank the schools. If you do have a good idea of how the school is after a couple of hours and really don't like it, do you really care if they accept you?

Not really, your answer can very well get you rejected. I learned this from experience. Early on in the cycle, your answer doesn't really matter b/c you have many other places to go to. However, if you get the question at the end of the interview cycle you need to be very careful. Schools have very few slots left and are looking for people who really want to go to their school. Suppose you get interviews at 6 top-10 schools and were waitlisted at all of them. Then you interview a back-up school in April and try to fill one of the last 10 remaining spots. That school will, no doubt, judge you on how much you like them more than anything, so how can you honestly say you rank them 7th??!!! You really do need to try to get into your back-up school at that point.

 

[dmcR600]

One way to skirt the question is saying that it really depends on the financial aid package at X, Y, Z schools that you've interviewed at. It's an honest answer, and I don't think they'll hold it against you for choosing a school that would grant your MD with say $50,000 less in student debt. Then you can mention some common threads that link the schools, including advantages you see at the current interviewing school 🙂