Interview Question Help - Why weren't you involved more in school?

[FootballFoot]

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My ECs are very very lacking. Thankfully I got one II and I'm preparing for it. I kind of didn't do much for no reason at all. Just wasn't proactive enough I suppose.

How would I answer this kind of question without sinking myself?

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

My ECs are very very lacking. Thankfully I got one II and I'm preparing for it. I kind of didn't do much for no reason at all. Just wasn't proactive enough I suppose.

How would I answer this kind of question without sinking myself?

Any family issues going on? Did you work? Anything that took up your time? I wasn't involved in my school at all, but I had good reasons and made up for it with non-school ECs. If you just BS something, they will know.

 

[FootballFoot]

Any family issues going on? Did you work? Anything that took up your time? I wasn't involved in my school at all, but I had good reasons and made up for it with non-school ECs. If you just BS something, they will know.

Honestly, no. I didn't do anything do to apathy or laziness. I really do regret it. But to say that would be a death sentence.

I didn't put any work or non-school ECs on my app, so I'm sure they know I'm lacking. But how could I diplomatically say this out loud?

 

[Frogger27]

How lacking are we talking.... I feel like you wouldnt have gotten an II if they were so severely lacking?

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Gonna defer to the adcoms on this one. If your GPA is stellar (4.0), I guess you could say you devoted your time to school, but that doesn't sound great either, honestly.

 

[FootballFoot]

How lacking are we talking.... I feel like you wouldnt have gotten an II if they were so severely lacking?

The only thing I have is intramural basketball, and a little hospital volunteering (where I didn't really do that much, tbh).

I've got strong stats though.. which I guess was what landed me an interview?

 

[Frogger27]

The questions I would be most worried about answering if I was you:

Why Medicine??
-Have you been around the field enough to know what you are committing yourself to for the next 40+ years?

 

[FootballFoot]

So far I am wondering why you got an II? Tell us more because I am unimpressed.

The ECs are important for two reasons. First to see what things you involved with as it says much about your character, motivations, commitments, etc
Second, medical schools want students with significant motivation and commitment; you certainly dont sound like an applicant who has any.

What did you do with your time in college? Just study? Play video games? Party? Have a significant other? Or did you spend most of it behind your books and computer screen by yourself? Do you have interpersonal or social skills? These are questions that arise in my head. So what did you do with your time?

The questions I would be most worried about answering if I was you:

Why Medicine??
-Have you been around the field enough to know what you are committing yourself to for the next 40+ years?

I have done 100+ hours of shadowing across various specialties, but I don't really consider that an EC. I've got anecdotes from shadowing to help me with "Why Medicine?"

I spent most of my time studying with my books, on Netflix, hanging out with friends. We went to movies and ate out a lot. I went to maybe 2 parties total since I'm more of an introvert.

I know I have these red flags already. True, I don't sound like someone with motivation and commitment. But I went through the process and got some luck... Is my only choice now to bomb the interview and lose out? Is there a way to tactfully respond to this question even with my previous shortcomings?

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I have done 100+ hours of shadowing across various specialties, but I don't really consider that an EC. I've got anecdotes from shadowing to help me with "Why Medicine?"

I spent most of my time studying with my books, on Netflix, hanging out with friends. We went to movies and ate out a lot. I went to maybe 2 parties total since I'm more of an introvert.

I know I have these red flags already. True, I don't sound like someone with motivation and commitment. But I went through the process and got some luck... Is my only choice now to bomb the interview and lose out? Is there a way to tactfully respond to this question even with my previous shortcomings?

Well, shadowing is an important EC. But you basically spent your time hanging out and studying. Not really a productive use of your time, unfortunately.

 

[Frogger27]

OP, I hope you are using your time in a much more productive way this year, in case you have to re-apply. If your grades are strong, a gap year to add some ECs should have been taken in your case. But regardless, all you can do is go into that interview and see what happens. Try to focus on your positive personality traits and what you DID do over what you DID NOT do.