interview: demonstrating interest

[lacrossegirl420]

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so i'm interviewing at a school in around 2 weeks where my GPA/MCAT are more than 0.2, 8 points higher than the medians, but for personal reasons its one of my top choices (even over some much higher-ranked schools i interviewed at). what should i do during the interview to ensure they know i'm interested / not get WL yield-protected? thanks!

 

[EpilepticRat]

Yield protection comes into play when deciding who to interview, because the limited resource is the time the committee has to be interviewing applicants. You demonstrated your interest by applying, writing essays, and paying the secondary fee. Now just show your best self during your interview(s). Genuine interest is easy to spot.

 

[Banco]

Genuine interest can be shown by really researching and knowing the pros of the program (be it research, clinical experience, patient population, teaching curriculum etc.) and your reasons for wanting to be there. You should also mention tactfully if it's a personal/location based reason, but this should probably come as secondary - adcoms know you are human and we all have personal motivations in our lives. Otherwise just interview well as you would, no need to overdo it.

You could also mention in your thank you letters that you can see yourself being there and you really loved X about the program.

If you get waitlisted then you can always send a letter of intent later on.

With regards to yield protection, I think you would have probably been protected out at the interview stage. If they've invited you, they see you as a potential matriculant and are not wasting their time interviewing you.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Just because your grades and MCAT are above the median doesn't mean you are a candidate they should think about yield protection. There are more determinants to being an outstanding candidate than just those two. Enjoy every interview and sell yourself to them. It's a buyers market for med schools. Good luck and best wishes!

 

[LizzyM]

You can signal to your interviewers to indicate your interest.

Be genuine.
Don't be rehearsed.
Know something about the school and express this when asked if you have any questions. Ask the interviewer's perspective or opinion about something the school offers that interests you. For example, the school is very proud of it's xyz. You say, "I'm very excited about [school name's] focus on xyz. From your perspective, what else makes [school name] special?" or you could ask if they have had any first had experience with xyz and how it fits into the overall curriculum. Something like that... show that you know something about the school (show's interest) and then be interested in learning more.

 

[Goro]

You can signal to your interviewers to indicate your interest.

Be genuine.
Don't be rehearsed.
Know something about the school and express this when asked if you have any questions. Ask the interviewer's perspective or opinion about something the school offers that interests you. For example, the school is very proud of it's xyz. You say, "I'm very excited about [school name's] focus on xyz. From your perspective, what else makes [school name] special?" or you could ask if they have had any first had experience with xyz and how it fits into the overall curriculum. Something like that... show that you know something about the school (show's interest) and then be interested in learning more.

To follow up my wise colleague's words, know more about the school than just what you read on the school's first webpage. Dive deep into thier pages, and learn things about what the school does. I also get impressed when I interview people who have done their homework, as opposed to those who merely parrot our mission statement.

 

[Talldoctor96]

The reason I killed the interview at my school today is because I had genuine reasons for wanting to go there. My room mate from college who was an M1 at the time was able to immerse me in what it mean to be a student there. When the interview day came, I could genuinely speak to my interview and show how not only was the school a good fit for me, but that I was someone who could contribute to their community as well. As someone who has spoken to a few applicants this year to help prep them for interviews at my school, it is amazing how much someone who can really speak about my school stands out. I have only been here 6 months, but I can tell when someones giving me an answer that is cookie cutter, based on reading the website. When someone can truly speak to why its great to be a med student here, that REALLY stands out.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

To follow up my wise colleague's words, know more about the school than just what you read on the school's first webpage. Dive deep into thier pages, and learn things about what the school does. I also get impressed when I interview people who have done their homework, as opposed to those who merely parrot our mission statement.

Absolutely, and the corollary is true. I am less than impressed when a student couldn't be bothered to look at the Pillars of Osteopathic Medicine on Wikipedia prior to their interview. It says a lot about their interest in becoming a DO and attending my school.

 

[Goro]

Absolutely, and the corollary is true. I am less than impressed when a student couldn't be bothered to look at the Pillars of Osteopathic Medicine on Wikipedia prior to their interview. It says a lot about their interest in becoming a DO and attending my school.

Those types of people just repeat "whole person" and holistic" ad nauseum.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

So NOT even school like Case Western play yield games by putting some strong candidates in WL? I have seen them doing it for UG, they put candidates on WL but at the same time offer merit scholarship!

 

[theendisnigh]

When I received an invite from the school I got into, they sent all interviewers a list of med students open to talking with prospective students. I set up meetings with 2-3 students and asked them a lot of questions about the curriculum, faculty, city, etc., so that by interview day I had a lot of insider knowledge on great things about the school. I think that REALLY helped because I ended up getting into a great school with lower stats.