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So I read one of my old posts and thought this advice might be helpful to the people interviewing soon. I've been meaning to type something more in depth but I've been fairly busy. Hope this helps!
My goal: be likable and try to have a fun "conversation" while still conveying why I think I would be addition to the school and medical community.
Preparation:
Step 1: Get material to incorporate into my answers. I had 3 categories: traits I have that will make me a good doctor, why I want to be a doctor, and my views on healthcare policy (this category was slightly different than the other 2). I wrote down many couple word phrases in each one of these categories. I then thought of stories from my apps extracurriculars that substantiated these traits. I would then use these stories in my interview answers. This allows you to "prove" you have these traits, and to keep the interview interesting.
Step 2: Practice working the material+examples into answers. I typed out my answers to a couple of big questions like "why do you want to be a doctor" and "why do you think you'll make a good doctor". Next I printed out a big list of questions and had my girlfriend "quiz" me with them. She would ask me a question and I would answer it by incorporating my material from step 1. After a good amount of practice I got really good at it.
Step 3: Mock interviews. This is where I practiced the other stuff like trying to maintain eye contact, acting natural, being positive, energetic, and enthusiastic. These things, while little on their own, make a huge difference all in all.
Step 4: The actual interviews. I tried to make my lower tier school interviews first so I could use them as more practice. I also just tried to stay calm. I also spent the beginning of the day trying to figure out what the school wanted in a student. At Baylor it seemed they want people who did alot of different things, so I emphasized how varied my interests were. At Pitt the med students at the lunch literally told me that the dean said to look for "creative" students, so I emphasized my different aspects of creativity. These little things can also give you a huge boost. I also found it helpful to print out what I typed up in step 1 and read in those moments before an interview where you are sitting there doing nothing.
My goal: be likable and try to have a fun "conversation" while still conveying why I think I would be addition to the school and medical community.
Preparation:
Step 1: Get material to incorporate into my answers. I had 3 categories: traits I have that will make me a good doctor, why I want to be a doctor, and my views on healthcare policy (this category was slightly different than the other 2). I wrote down many couple word phrases in each one of these categories. I then thought of stories from my apps extracurriculars that substantiated these traits. I would then use these stories in my interview answers. This allows you to "prove" you have these traits, and to keep the interview interesting.
Step 2: Practice working the material+examples into answers. I typed out my answers to a couple of big questions like "why do you want to be a doctor" and "why do you think you'll make a good doctor". Next I printed out a big list of questions and had my girlfriend "quiz" me with them. She would ask me a question and I would answer it by incorporating my material from step 1. After a good amount of practice I got really good at it.
Step 3: Mock interviews. This is where I practiced the other stuff like trying to maintain eye contact, acting natural, being positive, energetic, and enthusiastic. These things, while little on their own, make a huge difference all in all.
Step 4: The actual interviews. I tried to make my lower tier school interviews first so I could use them as more practice. I also just tried to stay calm. I also spent the beginning of the day trying to figure out what the school wanted in a student. At Baylor it seemed they want people who did alot of different things, so I emphasized how varied my interests were. At Pitt the med students at the lunch literally told me that the dean said to look for "creative" students, so I emphasized my different aspects of creativity. These little things can also give you a huge boost. I also found it helpful to print out what I typed up in step 1 and read in those moments before an interview where you are sitting there doing nothing.
