Interview magic number??

[dd128]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hey guys, so this is not one of those "I have 30 interviews and want to complain about how my rental car didn't have leather seats during my last interview" threads. I've had a few interviews and am acutely aware that interviews are not acceptances, and was wondering what the odds are for people getting between 4 and 5 interviews. I am grateful that I have had them, as I know a lot of people are struggling right now, so I'm not complaining in anyway, but still nervous about acceptances as my mcat wasn't stellar. Thanks!

 

[etf]

i had 5 interviews last time, and none of them turned into acceptances. but then again, i'm a pretty crappy interviewee. you might not be, and might only get 1 interview to your dream school that turns into an acceptance. it's all relative.

 

[bmarms]

i heard somewhere that if you have four interviews and no acceptances, it's time to reasses your interviewing technique. so, assuming you're halfway decent at presenting yourself you should be fine. remember: everyone has good things and bad things in their applications. for some it's gpa, others its mcat and some have little clinical experience.

 

[Textuality]

Yeah, I think in theory, most of the schools will accept around 25% of their interviews on average (not necessarily right away, some probably off the waitlist. I'm ballparking that number based on some of my schools' MSAR numbers ). So statistically, if you have 5 interviews, chances are pretty decent you'll get into at least one assuming you don't have sub-par interviewing skills right?

Haha, that's what I'm hoping at least!

 

[Lshapley]

I'm hoping it is two! I have had one, which has turned into a waitlist. Perhaps the second will be an acceptance?

 

[hermit]

It's impossible to say. Some people are terrible interviewing and can't turn a single interview out of many into an acceptance.

There are also other things in play. Consider this scenario: One/two/small group of people are responsible for selecting interview candidates. When it comes time to accept/reject a candidate, a larger admissions committee reviews the applicant's entire file as well as input from the staff which interviewed the candidate. Given these circumstances, it's very possible that despite great input from interviewers, the candidate gets rejected.

 

[Phoenix.]

I think that once you get the interview, your interview skills and how you come across become much more important than your MCAT score. I wouldn't worry too much about that at this point. Just do your best to practice/mock interviews, whatever, if you think interviewing might be your weakness.

 

[Nasem]

keep in mind that being interviewed is a skill...
there is a good chance that your first 3 to 5 interviews you'll suck at them... but u'll eventually get the hang of it and become much better.

Its one of those skills, the more you do, the better you get at it.

 

[Phoenix.]

Also, if you've got good interview skills, average or better stats, and an interview at an accessible state school (i.e. not in CA), one may be the magic number.