How to Deal with Rejection (Post interview)

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Aloe paleo

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Hey guys! I received my first post-interview rejection a couple of days ago and it is hitting me pretty hard and making me nervous, especially because I already interviewed at another DO school (still waiting to hear back) and I have one more ii. I almost feel guilty about the rejection...my parents lovingly paid for my flights/hotel and are in full support of me and want the best for me but I feel like a waste of money and time now. Can anyone share their rejection stories and acceptance stories and tips of having a better perspective on rejection because it hurts, especially since apparently the school has a 70% post interview acceptance rate so I feel like I must be really far off from the rest of the applicants?

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Rejection is definitely not easy, especially when you are already stressed out and anxious about the process anyway. What has helped me is making a rejection plan and focusing on what is in my power and actions that I can control/plan for/execute. Then I am reinforcing the philosophy that I have done/am doing everything in my power and leaving the rest to God (or another entity, fate, etc. depending on your belief system). Feel free to PM me if I can do anything else for you!
 
It's one of those things where you have to continue looking ahead because you have other opportunities. Do not waste too much time mulling over this situation and focus on whats ahead, however, I understand why you would be disappointed. Also, if there is something you feel you need to improve on during the interview, address it now and have more mock interviews. Keep your head up! @Alco_Palco
 
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Some schools will provide post-rejection feedback, although sometimes they will tell you to buzz off or wait until the end of the cycle. A handful are willing to give feedback shortly after their decision. Try reaching out to the school to see if you can make improvements before your next interview.
 
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Hey guys! I received my first post-interview rejection a couple of days ago and it is hitting me pretty hard and making me nervous, especially because I already interviewed at another DO school (still waiting to hear back) and I have one more ii. I almost feel guilty about the rejection...my parents lovingly paid for my flights/hotel and are in full support of me and want the best for me but I feel like a waste of money and time now. Can anyone share their rejection stories and acceptance stories and tips of having a better perspective on rejection because it hurts, especially since apparently the school has a 70% post interview acceptance rate so I feel like I must be really far off from the rest of the applicants?
Grow a thicker skin. Be aware that most applicants fail to get into med school.

Consider yourself rejected until you have that accept email in your Inbox.

This process is NOT a reflection of who you are as a person
 
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I would keep your chin up. As Goro said, you have to operate under the assumption you are rejected until you receive an acceptance. It took me a few cycles to get into school and the first round, I did not have this mindset. It definitely led to some serious heartbreak, and definitely led to a little soul searching to see if I wanted to try again or change direction. I am glad I didn't change paths looking back, but I also know it was a struggle. To think of it as rejected until accepted almost helped me grow and continue to improve myself and my application for future cycles.

I also had a sense of slight guilt (not really sure of a better word for that feeling) because my parents financially supported me to be able to attend interviews, and only a handful were within driving distance. It sucked to come home for Sunday dinner and report that I had not yet been accepted, but I was fortunate that they were still supportive and would sometimes help evaluate potential week points in my application. It also made it that much sweeter when I got my first acceptance. I actually started crying when I opened my email and again when I got off work and home to tell them.

The best advice I can give you is be yourself whenever you are at interviews, but also be critical about your application. Be able to look at your application with a critical, objective eye and say to yourself "what can I do to improve this?". It is harder to do this for your interview because everyone has a subjective and/or hypercritical view of their performance within the interview day. For these, practice interviews, practice answering questions you know you will likely have and practice answering questions/having conversations without sounding canned, forced or rehearsed. It feels uncomfortable to go through this, but it definitely helps. I had one person record me during the mock interview I did and I was able to watch myself back (much like athletes watching back games to see what went well and what can be improved on). That feels really awkward, but gave a lot of information.

Chin up. Use this opportunity to grow yourself. It may take multiple cycles, but if this is what you want, then you will find a way to make it happen. Be willing to make changes and grow. Be willing to get uncomfortable and make changes. And if your parents are willing to support you to get to your dream, then you have no reason to be guilty. They want to see you succeed. Every interview and every application is a risk that you will or won't be accepted, but you have to do the best you can. Be the best you and don't give up. The biggest thank you to them (or at least it was to my parents) was getting the acceptance email. And in a few years, it will be walking across the stage, graduating from medical school.
 
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At your next interview try to consider your response before answering. Try to project warmth and provide a genuine response. This is more important than the actual answer Imo. @gonnif frequently says that the majority of students only receive 1 acceptance. So....Hang in there and crush your next interview. Good luck and best wishes!
 
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Lets correct this for MD
100% apply
60% get rejected
20% get a single acceptance
20% get more than a single acceptance

therefore 1/2 of the people who get in, have a Single acceptance

dayum
 
A couple of things:

How did you think the interview went? How did you think you did in the social situations (during school tour, hanging out with your co-applicants there to interview, etc?). All that stuff is judged too.

Reflect on your answers to questions. Were any awkward or difficult to answer? Was there any time when the interviewer gave you a weird look?

After answering the above questions, if you still don't know why you were rejected, I would move on and just assume it was a poor fit. The reflection is important though so you can correct any errors on your part prior to your next interview.
 
A couple of things:

How did you think the interview went? How did you think you did in the social situations (during school tour, hanging out with your co-applicants there to interview, etc?). All that stuff is judged too.

Reflect on your answers to questions. Were any awkward or difficult to answer? Was there any time when the interviewer gave you a weird look?

After answering the above questions, if you still don't know why you were rejected, I would move on and just assume it was a poor fit. The reflection is important though so you can correct any errors on your part prior to your next interview.
I get where this person is coming from but I thoroughly disagree with the advice. Not only are we terrible judges of our own performance but knowing the outcome of the interview is going to Make you obsess over insignificant occurrences and in the end won’t yield much in terms of useful things to improve upon

Instead of trying to critique yourself, do a mock interview with someone you trust and is knowledgeable about interviews. It doesn’t have to be a physician, anyone involved in the corporate world will work. Have them provide input on your answers, mannerisms etc
 
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Take this with a grain of salt as I haven't had a post-interview rejection yet (but I still haven't heard back from my first interview in September either so it's not like I've had people banging down my door either). You go into this process, one in which less than 50% of applicants are accepted, knowing that the odds are against you. You cannot put all your eggs in this basket, by default, even if your stats are amazing, you are not assured acceptance. The guy who taught my MCAT class (so was in the 90th percentile or better in all categories) was getting his PhD from an Ivy League school and he was outright rejected by 17 of the 23 schools he applied to by last January! So what do you do? You make back-up plans. If this is what you truly want/believe you should do, then you can't give up too easily. Think this is hard? Imagine what it's like to actually be a student doctor! You're going to have to pick yourself up and keep going at several junctions from here on forward. What's your back-up plan? How about a master's program: there are lots of pre-med masters options out there! Work a couple of years and get more clinical experience while taking another crack at that MCAT. How have I gotten through the stress of waiting to hear: back up plans! I took on a lot of personal risk to walk this path, and I gave up a whole previous life to do so. No way I was going to let even a whole cycle of rejections derail me. If you let this throw you off course, you probably weren't ready for it anyway. Time for a self-pep-talk and some careful planning for when you'll try again if you don't get in this cycle!
 
I know rejection is hard, stay strong and keep your head up! Your interview was not a waste of time or money, it's a learning experience and all learning experiences are good. Think about it, med school is so so competitive and acceptance rates are so low. The fact that you have even come this far speaks well to your application! Three II's, that's great!

You can maybe even be thankful that this rejection came before your next interview, so you know you have to do better in your next one. Now all you can do is move forward, look ahead to your next II, and do the very best you can to ace it. As others have suggested, do mock interviews for sure, and try to do some professional mock interviews with someone who can objectively assess your performance, so they can point out what your weaknesses are and how you can improve

Best of luck Alco! You can do this!!
 
Have you taken appropriate pre-med classes?
Did you have a GPA within the range of accepted students?
Was your MCAT within the range of accepted students?
Did you do volunteering/ECs?

Then it isn't a waste of time.
 
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rejections are normal.

interviews are just another stat added to ur composite "Score" among ur gpa / mcat etc. a post interview rejection isn't something personal. u may have aced the interview, and the interviewer may even liked u better than most, but perhaps u were rejected because ur composite score wasn't high enough.

look around these forums, even the best applicants are probably getting rejected to >50% of the schools they apply to.
a post interview rejection is no different than any other rejection, at least they thought u were good enough to get invited in the first place
 
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