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- Feb 17, 2002
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I'm feeling generous this evening, so I thought that I would begin a thread for matriculating MD/PhD students to pass down some MD/PhD interview advice. I'm sure that once med school begins many of us will be too busy to visit here often... 
Here's some helpful hints that I can think of...
1. BE PREPARED TO EXPLAIN WHY YOU WANT THE DUAL DEGREE!!
You will be asked this question so many times that it will
begin to haunt you in your sleep. Think of different ways
to answer it so that you don't begin to sound like a robot.
The key to this question is that THE COMBINED DEGREE
IS GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS
If you have a stronger research background, be prepared
to address the question, "Soo, it looks like you're mostly
interested in research; why do you want an MD?"
A good answer is "I think that an MD will give me an
insight into clinically-relevant research that I wouldn't
get if I pursued the PhD alone"
If you have a stronger clinical background, be prepared to
answer the opposite question. They may also ask you
why you don't just do a research fellowship after med
school.
A good thing to point out if asked this question is the
greater depth of research experience/savvy you will
gain by also doing the PhD.
2. KNOW YOUR RESEARCH!!
Understand what you have done. Interviewers will range
from not wanting to know a single thing about your
research to asking you to go up to the board and diagram
it out in painstaking detail. Be prepared for everything. I
was a total nerd and brought along some laminated visuals
from a poster I had done; a lot of interviewers liked that.
Be familiar with the literature. Some (though most likely
few) interviewers may ask questions to see how current
you are with the literature that surrounds your project.
Still, a grasp of the literature demonstrates an enthusiam
towards your research and suggests that you played a
role in the development and direction of the research,
rather than having just been told what to do.
Know what the next step is. Many interviewers will
ask this question to get a feel for your problem-solving
skills as well as how well you understand the
experimental techniques that relate to your project.
3. KNOW WHO YOU ARE INTERVIEWING WITH!!
Be familiar with your interview schedule, and note
whether you will always be with the MD/PhD applicants
or will be thrown into the MD-only pool as well. Make
sure to have a watch, a map and a game-plan for how
you will get to point A, B, C.....
The most important people to impress are those who sit
on the MD/PhD selection committee! These will
probably be your toughest interviews, particularly
because it's very hard to know what to expect. ALL will
ask you why you want the combined degree, you can
count on that. Some may pick over your
application/essays, so be prepared for that too. Some may
want to talk about your research, and others will want to
talk about theirs. In short, be prepared for anything, be
on-time, and be awake (you will soon learn how difficult
this is).
Know whether this is someone who interviews MD
students only. If it is, be prepared to answer the more
typical interview questions (and to have your application
scrutinized as well). Some may know that you are
applying to MD/PhD, others won't (i.e. U-Mich). My
advice, don't mention this up-front as it can sound
snotty. If you mention research when asked what your
interests are, most will then mention the MD/PhD or at
least the research opportunities available for doctors.
Then you can say, "Actually, I AM applying for that!".
Don't ask me why, but it really seems to work this way.
If the person is a researcher only, be laid-back and
lab-like. The full "ON" med-school interview
personality often creeps these people out. These will
probably be your easiest interviews, so cherish them.
This is a time to relax (relatively speaking) and maybe
even enjoy yourself. Let them dictate the interview.
The biggest way you can go wrong here is to force
too much about you and your research into the
conversation when they really just want to talk about
theirs. You don't have to go nuts studying up on their
research beforehand, but a general idea and a knowledge
of the background never hurts. This is particularly true if
this is someone that you requested to meet with. Be
prepared to describe why you wanted to meet with
them, and be prepared to answer THE question!
4. PREPARE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR PROGRAM
Believe it or not, some schools think of interviews as
a "recruitment" event rather than the nerve-wrecking
experiences they actually are. As a result, most
interviewers will be interested in selling their program
to you and will want to answer any questions you might
have. Have some, even if you already know the answers.
5. CONTEMPLATE YOUR FUTURE
This is a no-brainer. Try to have an idea about what fields
of medicine and research you might be interested in, and
how you could merge them. DO NOT make it sound like
you already have everything figured out!! Apparently
many MD/PhD students' interests change. Most
interviewers don't mind getting the response, "I'm not
exactly sure, but right now I'm interested in..."; in fact,
many interviewers prefer this answer.
Alright kids, that's all that I can think off for right now, and my brain is beginning to shut down just like it did when I was on the interview circuit!!
I certainly hope that this helps. I would be more than happy to answer any questions that you have until, oh say, the beginning of August.
I hope that some of the other beginning students add to this list and even let you know if they disagree with any of it.
Good luck to you all!!
Congrats to my fellow matriculating students who never have to worry about this stuff again!!
Here's some helpful hints that I can think of...
1. BE PREPARED TO EXPLAIN WHY YOU WANT THE DUAL DEGREE!!
You will be asked this question so many times that it will
begin to haunt you in your sleep. Think of different ways
to answer it so that you don't begin to sound like a robot.
The key to this question is that THE COMBINED DEGREE
IS GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS
If you have a stronger research background, be prepared
to address the question, "Soo, it looks like you're mostly
interested in research; why do you want an MD?"
A good answer is "I think that an MD will give me an
insight into clinically-relevant research that I wouldn't
get if I pursued the PhD alone"
If you have a stronger clinical background, be prepared to
answer the opposite question. They may also ask you
why you don't just do a research fellowship after med
school.
A good thing to point out if asked this question is the
greater depth of research experience/savvy you will
gain by also doing the PhD.
2. KNOW YOUR RESEARCH!!
Understand what you have done. Interviewers will range
from not wanting to know a single thing about your
research to asking you to go up to the board and diagram
it out in painstaking detail. Be prepared for everything. I
was a total nerd and brought along some laminated visuals
from a poster I had done; a lot of interviewers liked that.
Be familiar with the literature. Some (though most likely
few) interviewers may ask questions to see how current
you are with the literature that surrounds your project.
Still, a grasp of the literature demonstrates an enthusiam
towards your research and suggests that you played a
role in the development and direction of the research,
rather than having just been told what to do.
Know what the next step is. Many interviewers will
ask this question to get a feel for your problem-solving
skills as well as how well you understand the
experimental techniques that relate to your project.
3. KNOW WHO YOU ARE INTERVIEWING WITH!!
Be familiar with your interview schedule, and note
whether you will always be with the MD/PhD applicants
or will be thrown into the MD-only pool as well. Make
sure to have a watch, a map and a game-plan for how
you will get to point A, B, C.....
The most important people to impress are those who sit
on the MD/PhD selection committee! These will
probably be your toughest interviews, particularly
because it's very hard to know what to expect. ALL will
ask you why you want the combined degree, you can
count on that. Some may pick over your
application/essays, so be prepared for that too. Some may
want to talk about your research, and others will want to
talk about theirs. In short, be prepared for anything, be
on-time, and be awake (you will soon learn how difficult
this is).
Know whether this is someone who interviews MD
students only. If it is, be prepared to answer the more
typical interview questions (and to have your application
scrutinized as well). Some may know that you are
applying to MD/PhD, others won't (i.e. U-Mich). My
advice, don't mention this up-front as it can sound
snotty. If you mention research when asked what your
interests are, most will then mention the MD/PhD or at
least the research opportunities available for doctors.
Then you can say, "Actually, I AM applying for that!".
Don't ask me why, but it really seems to work this way.
If the person is a researcher only, be laid-back and
lab-like. The full "ON" med-school interview
personality often creeps these people out. These will
probably be your easiest interviews, so cherish them.
This is a time to relax (relatively speaking) and maybe
even enjoy yourself. Let them dictate the interview.
The biggest way you can go wrong here is to force
too much about you and your research into the
conversation when they really just want to talk about
theirs. You don't have to go nuts studying up on their
research beforehand, but a general idea and a knowledge
of the background never hurts. This is particularly true if
this is someone that you requested to meet with. Be
prepared to describe why you wanted to meet with
them, and be prepared to answer THE question!
4. PREPARE SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR PROGRAM
Believe it or not, some schools think of interviews as
a "recruitment" event rather than the nerve-wrecking
experiences they actually are. As a result, most
interviewers will be interested in selling their program
to you and will want to answer any questions you might
have. Have some, even if you already know the answers.
5. CONTEMPLATE YOUR FUTURE
This is a no-brainer. Try to have an idea about what fields
of medicine and research you might be interested in, and
how you could merge them. DO NOT make it sound like
you already have everything figured out!! Apparently
many MD/PhD students' interests change. Most
interviewers don't mind getting the response, "I'm not
exactly sure, but right now I'm interested in..."; in fact,
many interviewers prefer this answer.
Alright kids, that's all that I can think off for right now, and my brain is beginning to shut down just like it did when I was on the interview circuit!!
I certainly hope that this helps. I would be more than happy to answer any questions that you have until, oh say, the beginning of August.
I hope that some of the other beginning students add to this list and even let you know if they disagree with any of it.
Good luck to you all!!
Congrats to my fellow matriculating students who never have to worry about this stuff again!!
