How to respond to, "what other med schools did you apply to?"

[bonw1031]

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How specific should you be when asked, "What other med schools have you applied to?" Should I start listing or just generally say the states/areas I applied to. Also, what do you say when they ask what your number one pick is?

 

[Megalofyia]

I was only asked this at one interview. I just said that I had applied to schools that had this or that quality that I was looking for and that there was a big varriety all over.

 

[kgal16]

THEY MADE ME STATE IT ONE BY ONE!!!
actually the question was referring to which schools i had interviews at, not necessarily which ones i applied to

interviewer wouldnt let me weasel my way out of it!

 

[Amy B]

I was asked this at only 2 interviews. One of the guys wrote them all down and asked me why I had applied to some of them. I told him and we moved on. I didn't feel the need to hide anything. They know that unless you apply ED you have applied to more than their school.

 

[DannGee]

i was asked this at one interview. i was honest. i got accepted.

 

[JohnHolmes]

Originally posted by bonw1031
How specific should you be when asked, "What other med schools have you applied to?" Should I start listing or just generally say the states/areas I applied to. Also, what do you say when they ask what your number one pick is?

I think this is an inappropriate and irrelevant question for an interviewer to ask. Where else you are interested in is of no concern or importance to a school. The only thing they need to be concerned with is that you are interested in them (thats why you are interviewing there), and your suitability as a candidate for their particular medical school.

That being said, I would, of course, not tell this to my interviewer. I was asked this at two separate interviews. Both times I listed schools, this is, of course, what the interviewer is fishing for. Don't even hesitate, skip a beat, or sound offended. Just swallow it down and list em.

The first time this happened I was not offended because the question was benign and used to gauge what MD/JD programs I was considering, the second time I was offended because it was followed with a criticism of my choice for applying to too few schools and then a discussion of why another school was an inappropriate match for me. Obviously my interviewer knew where I would fit far better than I did...

Coops

 

[JulianCrane]

I totally agree with Coops. It is not only inappropriate but a violation of AAMC rules for a school to ask you where you applied. A certain school, after I canceled my interview with them, e-mailed me asking me 1) Where did I apply, 2) Why I applied there, and 3) they even said to e-mail them in May to tell them where I would be going. Hmm. . .I was just a little taken aback by that.

 

[mlw03]

same with me. better to tell the truth than to get caught later in a lie. i wasn't asked which was my #1 choice, but unless that school is #1, i'd say you haven't made up your mind yet.

Originally posted by DannGee
i was asked this at one interview. i was honest. i got accepted.

 

[Rendar5]

maybe it's just me but I don't see what the big deal is with this question?