Illegal Questions? How to respond?

[soumdoc]

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Ok so I had an interview, and the interviewer asked me a bunch of illegal questions I think. He asked me what both my parents do for a living, what my Gpa and MCAT score is (closed file interview), how I was planning on balancing marriage with med school, where my husband was from, if my marriage was arranged, etc etc...... (I know, all in one thirty minute interview, it was crazy) So how do I respond in these situation? I knew some of these questions were illegal, but how do I get around answering them? Just curious

PS: I answred all the illegal questions, and then two weeks later got accepted to the school.

 

[jebus]

It's "illegal" to ask those questions? What law(s) did the interviewer break? Seriously, you've piqued my curiosity.

 

[Chopianista]

Are the questions regarding your parents' occupations, GPA, and MCAT illegal just because of the fact that the interview was closed file? I definitely have been asked these same questions at other interviews...

Are questions about marriage illegal as well?

 

[Uncle_Tbag]

I was respond with something along the lines of "thank you for letting me in, I'll see you next fall."

 

[Turkeyman]

I believe a medical school interview has different legal rules than say, a job interview. They can go that far --> plus you put most of that stuff on your AMCAS anyways. Now if this was a job interview, it would certainly be illegal. We ended up talking about this in my professional writing class, and my teacher happened to be a lawyer before he retired to teach english...so he knew his stuff.

 

[samenewme]

Ok so I had an interview, and the interviewer asked me a bunch of illegal questions I think. He asked me what both my parents do for a living, what my Gpa and MCAT score is (closed file interview), how I was planning on balancing marriage with med school, where my husband was from, if my marriage was arranged, etc etc...... (I know, all in one thirty minute interview, it was crazy) So how do I respond in these situation? I knew some of these questions were illegal, but how do I get around answering them? Just curious

PS: I answred all the illegal questions, and then two weeks later got accepted to the school.

I would answer as best I could, politely deflecting questions about my marriage by saying, oh, that's something I prefer to keep private. Then after the interview I would immediately ask to speak to the director of admissions and explain what happened in the interview, explain that it didn't seem right to me, and ask if those sorts of questions were the policy there. They need to know these things and it's very possible they'll set up an additional interview for you on the spot.

They can talk about your marriage if you bring up that you're married, but otherwise they're not supposed to if job interview rules apply. Whether they can ask about your GPA and MCAT score in a closed file interview is a matter of their own policy, and I don't know how that works.

 

[Doctor Bagel]

They can talk about your marriage if you bring up that you're married, but otherwise they're not supposed to if job interview rules apply. Whether they can ask about your GPA and MCAT score in a closed file interview is a matter of their own policy, and I don't know how that works.

You know, I'm sure the school would not want their interviewers to be asking people about their gpa and mcat because it undermines the whole point of having a closed file interview. This guy was essentially trying to turn the closed file interview into an open file interview, which is bad form. As for what your parents do, isn't that fair game? Asking about what the op's husband thinks and whether or not her marriage was arranged makes me think that there were cultural issues going on here that were verging on inappropriate. You wouldn't ask some white woman with a last name like Smith whether or not her marriage was arranged.

 

[LizzyM]

asking about age, race, sex, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, children, etc is illegal. If the student volunteers the information, that's okay but interviewers aren't suppose to bring it up, even if it is in the file.

I think you could say, "Wow, I wasn't expecting that question! Why do you ask?"

If you don't want to answer, you could add, "That's a very personal question and I don't feel comfortable answering it. " Of course, parents occupation is on the AMCAS and it isn't one of the protected areas so that might seem to be fair game.

 

[soumdoc]

Just to clarify..............I did mention I had a husband to the interviewer during the course of the interview (he asked me how i planned to pay back my loans for med school, and I told him that that being on a dual salary income made it a little bit easier)

 

[angietron3000]

Isn't there a rule that they're not supposed to ask where else you're applying? Several of my interviewers have asked me how many schools I applied to and where else I'm interviewing.

I'm not sure if it's because they're just curious, or so they can talk up their program compared to another school, or to see if I'm serious about applying there at all because they don't want to accept people who will end up going somewhere else. Either way it was pretty uncomfortable..

 

[angietron3000]

It's "illegal" to ask those questions? What law(s) did the interviewer break? Seriously, you've piqued my curiosity.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it's "illegal" so much as the AAMC has rules for the sort of questions interviewers are not supposed to ask..

 

[medhacker]

The question about the origin of your husband is definitely illegal, most the other questions were unethical. If you are offered a closed-file interview you expect them to adhere to their promise.

I would have appealed to the 5th ammendment of the constitution and kind of made a joke of it and divert the conversation in another direction.

 

[jebus]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it's "illegal" so much as the AAMC has rules for the sort of questions interviewers are not supposed to ask..

Ah, thanks. I mean, I thought most of those questions certainly fell on the side of "poor taste" but weren't illegal.
But, to play devil's advocate for a moment, I think most people - in my experience, doctors in particular - are interested in other cultures and in cultural diversity. Most of those questions seemed to display a genuine interest in her background, rather than "hey, what's up with your app? You aren't gay, are you? Because we don't like them kind 'round here!" How she "plans to balance med school with marriage" might have been a question about prevailing cultural mores and intended to clear up his misconceptions about her customs, how they manifest themselves in healthcare, and the role of women, which seems likely given the other questions about arranged marriage and if her husband was from the same place.
I mean, you have every right and prerogative to be offended but sometimes people are just curious.

 

[Karim]

Oh snap! Who's going to jail?

 

[MattD]

I really don't understand all this talk about 'illegal' questions in interviews. While discrimination in hiring or acceptance to school based on certain factors is illegal, how can merely asking a question be against the law? An interview is an opportunity to get to know you as a person, and as such, it is to be expected that some questions may be personal. As a matter of fact, at my interviews I don't recall being asked more than maybe one question that WASN'T personal in some way or another. What kind of questions are you expecting? Questions about how you're going to finance school are legitimate, not so much to weed people out based on their plans as to find out if they HAVE a plan or know what they're getting into. If you mentioned your husband in the interview, of course the interviewer will ask about him. The question about arranged marriages was almost certainly simple curiosity, and even if it displayed an ignorance about your culture (or the culture he assumed was yours), that doesn't make it illegal, or unethical, it was just a question. The fact that you were accepted shows that there must not have been any discrimination. I think that if an interviewer is being openly antagonistic toward you personally, making disparaging comments etc. causing you to believe you will be discriminated against, by all means say something about it. But my goodness, if they're just trying to get to know you don't try to read something else into it!

 

[CTSballer11]

Who cares, answer the question move on. You got accepted forget about it.

 

[SailCrazy]

I was respond with something along the lines of "thank you for letting me in, I'll see you next fall."

That was my first thought! 😀

 

[SailCrazy]

The question about the origin of your husband is definitely illegal

Not at all - especially if she brought him up earlier in the interview.

 

[SailCrazy]

Isn't there a rule that they're not supposed to ask where else you're applying? Several of my interviewers have asked me how many schools I applied to and where else I'm interviewing.

I'm not sure if it's because they're just curious, or so they can talk up their program compared to another school, or to see if I'm serious about applying there at all because they don't want to accept people who will end up going somewhere else. Either way it was pretty uncomfortable..

I've also had this question. There isn't a rule against it, as far as I know. I applied to 20 upper and middle tier schools. Disclosing that information didn't hurt my chance (I still got in) at that school. I also felt uncomfortable, but it turned out okay.

I did ask my premed advisor about the "where have you applied" question as well as the SAT/ACT question. He followed up for me:

"I just talked with XYZ at ABC med school. The application/interview question is one that is commonly asked. They consider it to indicate the choice-maiking process in students. Are they being realistic? Are they using a scatter gun approach hoping for anything that might come along? Have they researched appropriately and applied to schools that fit them and their credentials, etc.? The question and your answer has no bearing on consideration for admission.

The ACT/SAT score question is one of standardized tests as an indicator. Does the student have trouble with standardized tests or not? Might a low ACT/SAT and higher MCAT indicate maturation, finding one's self
and hitting an academic 'stride', etc. Again, it is not used in admissions considerations."

 

[SailCrazy]

asking about age, race, sex, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, children, etc is illegal. If the student volunteers the information, that's okay but interviewers aren't suppose to bring it up, even if it is in the file.

They are? Some of those may be illegal in employment interviews, but I have never actually seen (or heard of) documentation that those same rules apply to graduate school interviews. If you have, I would be very curious to see it.

I think you could say, "Wow, I wasn't expecting that question! Why do you ask?"

If you don't want to answer, you could add, "That's a very personal question and I don't feel comfortable answering it. " Of course, parents occupation is on the AMCAS and it isn't one of the protected areas so that might seem to be fair game.

I think that many of these questions (or some of those high-stress interviews) are primarily included to see how you respond, not for the content of your answer. Are you hypersensitive about your religion/gender/age/insert-any-other-easy-to-deduce-charactersitic-here/etc. Certainly if your interviewer can look at you and notice those things, your classmates can too. I don't think they care what you say, as long as you don't get indignant and storm out of the interview.

Just my $0.02

 

[studentstudent]

The question about arranged marriages was almost certainly simple curiosity, and even if it displayed an ignorance about your culture (or the culture he assumed was yours), that doesn't make it illegal, or unethical, it was just a question. The fact that you were accepted shows that there must not have been any discrimination. I think that if an interviewer is being openly antagonistic toward you personally, making disparaging comments etc. causing you to believe you will be discriminated against, by all means say something about it. But my goodness, if they're just trying to get to know you don't try to read something else into it!

When you look a certain way, the question of arranged marriages comes up, and even in a liberal/multicultural area, from a young age. It's easy to get over, but that "simple curiosity" just reminds you that you look different, and you're not being treated like any other applicant, whether or not you get in.

It would be like if you were a blonde woman and relocated to another country. You interviewed for a job, and the interviewer assumed you have had and will continue to have relations with many men, even if you currently have a boyfriend, and that you are open about your body (bikini, etc in public). Questions related to that would offend you and make you uncomfortable, even if they came up in context with the conversation.

I know that seems ludicrous, but that's at least how many Indians view American and European women (considering recent cases in the news, like a European woman that went skinny dipping in a holy lake and then walked naked back to her hotel room (and is now being sued for contaminating the lake...), and the way any white woman by herself on the street is treated in Benares.)

 

[hardy]

They are? Some of those may be illegal in employment interviews, but I have never actually seen (or heard of) documentation that those same rules apply to graduate school interviews. If you have, I would be very curious to see it

They are not. They can ask whatever they want even for employment interviews. HOWEVER, they cannot discriminate against you based on those factors. And since it is difficulty to prove why they rejected you it has become standard not to ask these questions (see another post in a different thread).
So no, the questions are not illegal despite being referred to as "illegal questions " by many. Also, for graduate/medical school it is much easier to prove that they rejected you based on factors other than the answers you gave to such questions.

 

[LadyWolverine]

I was asked, point-blank, if I was married. That made me more than a little uncomfortable. I was also asked if I planned to have children. I found these questions to be innappropriate, but I answered them anyway.

In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't that much of an invasion of my personal life. I just tried to be honest. Now, if there had been inappropriate gestures or suggestions, I would have had something to say. But I don't think there's much harm in these kinds of questions (aside from the initial discomfort in being asked). It's not a job interview.

 

[LizzyM]

I was asked, point-blank, if I was married. That made me more than a little uncomfortable. I was also asked if I planned to have children. I found these questions to be innappropriate, but I answered them anyway.

In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't that much of an invasion of my personal life. I just tried to be honest. Now, if there had been inappropriate gestures or suggestions, I would have had something to say. But I don't think there's much harm in these kinds of questions (aside from the initial discomfort in being asked). It's not a job interview.

If you were to get rejected from every school to which you applied and the reason written in your file was, "married, wants to have children (plural), not a good fit here, unlikely to practice medicine given the demands of a family" wouldn't you be furious! 😡 I would be. Those of us who interview are told, "don't even go there -- then it can't come back to bite you" . I said earlier that certain questions are "illegal". Strictly speaking they may not be illegal but they are prohibited and go against the statement that the University does not discriminate on the basis of .... all that stuff. So if you are trying to distinguish between applicants who should get admitted and those who should not, why even ask about things that shouldn't play into the decision.

Sure, arranged marriage is a custom in some cultures. So is circumcision. Can you imagine anyone asking about that in an interview? 😱

 

[Law2Doc]

If you were to get rejected from every school to which you applied and the reason written in your file was, "married, wants to have children (plural), not a good fit here, unlikely to practice medicine given the demands of a family" wouldn't you be furious! 😡 I would be. Those of us who interview are told, "don't even go there -- then it can't come back to bite you" . I said earlier that certain questions are "illegal". Strictly speaking they may not be illegal but they are prohibited and go against the statement that the University does not discriminate on the basis of .... all that stuff. So if you are trying to distinguish between applicants who should get admitted and those who should not, why even ask about things that shouldn't play into the decision.

Sure, arranged marriage is a custom in some cultures. So is circumcision. Can you imagine anyone asking about that in an interview? 😱

Agreed -- while simply asking the questions may not be "illegal" in the criminally enforceable meaning of the word, there is information that schools, employers etc absolutely may not use in their decision making. If you are asked one of these questions and then not offered a job or acceptance, the employer/school is just really opening themselves up to litigation. Thus I believe the EEOC has guidelines suggesting that these questions ought not be asked, and most (probably all) med schools and many employers have strict policies forbidding the asking of those questions in an interview, and so in this sense it is an "illegal" question.
As to how to handle the questions, if you are not uncomfortable answering the questions you probably should -- as in most cases they were asked ignorantly. If you are troubled by the question, you might be able to lightly steer the interviewer back to acceptable questions without answering. If that proves impossible, you certainly are free to send a letter to the Dean after the fact. (But I doubt this last option will lead to a comfortable acceptance).
As for open versus closed interviews, I don't think that is even close to on the same level as the potentially federally discriminatory stuff -- if schools/interviewers want to ask you about the MCAT or GPA, they are free to do so, so just answer it.

 

[medhacker]

Not at all - especially if she brought him up earlier in the interview.

Asking the question of country of origin of her husband could bring about a conflict of interest with Title VIII's protection against discrimination due to country of origin.
As law2doc explained, the question itself is not illegal out of the realm of the medical institution. Although, if the institution itself has guidelines which follow The department of justice's Division's Educational Opportunities Section guidelines then asking the questions would be illegal.
The same protection given by title VIII for employment purposes applies to education.

 

[SailCrazy]

...Although, if the institution itself has guidelines which follow The department of justice's Division's Educational Opportunities Section guidelines then asking the questions would be illegal.
...

I'm confused. The guidlines implemented by an individual institution determine whether or not the question is legal? That seems odd. Either it is illegal or it is not, right? It seems to me that institutional guidlines would be irrelevant. What am I missing?

 

[medhacker]

I'm confused. The guidlines implemented by an individual institution determine whether or not the question is legal? That seems odd. Either it is illegal or it is not, right? It seems to me that institutional guidlines would be irrelevant. What am I missing?

When you enter medical school, you will be provided a student handbook (well...most likely). In it you will find, among other things, the principles and rules of conduct of your medical school. Educational institutions have the long-time tradition of having their own rules apart from the legal system. In this sense, something which may be legal outside the institution, may very well be illegal in it, and vice versa of course. This peculiarity involves not only separate rules from our legal system but also individual judgments and procedures. There is only one successful and recent case, where this tradition was challenged in our legal system, interestingly it was a case of a medical student against a medical school Sharick v. Nova .

 

[docmorgan]

Unless you were truly offended by any of the questions, move on. Seems like the interviewer was just having a conversation with you. I don't see the problem with that.

 

[medhacker]

Unless you were truly offended by any of the questions, move on. Seems like the interviewer was just having a conversation with you. I don't see the problem with that.

True!


.

 

[SailCrazy]

When you enter medical school, you will be provided a student handbook (well...most likely). In it you will find, among other things, the principles and rules of conduct of your medical school. Educational institutions have the long-time tradition of having their own rules apart from the legal system. In this sense, something which may be legal outside the institution, may very well be illegal in it, and vice versa of course. This peculiarity involves not only separate rules from our legal system but also individual judgments and procedures. There is only one successful and recent case, where this tradition was challenged in our legal system, interestingly it was a case of a medical student against a medical school Sharick v. Nova .

Got it. I think I misunderstood your use of legal. What you mean by potentially "illegal" within the University, I would just call "against the rules" or something like that. When I think illegal, I'm thinking of something that has a governmental law against it.

In Sharick v. Nova, Sharick doesn't seem to be challenging a university rule (or law, if that's what we'd like to call them 🙂 ) he seems to be arguing a contractual issue with the university. Either way, it is an interesting case! Thanks for pointing it out. 👍