Interview Question

[SB25]

So, I was thinking about this the other day and was wondering what you all think. It's pretty standard in interviews to get the question, "What will you do if you don't get into medical school?" How would you answer this if you already got into another medical school? I would kind of like to say, "Well, if I don't get into this school that I'm interviewing at (which is my first choice, of course), I would attend this other school that I got into. I really don't think I would be as happy as if I went to this school that I'm interviewing at, but I would be a doctor by the end of it, which is my ultimate goal." As long as you reiterate that the school your interviewing at is someplace you would rather attend, do you think it's OK to mention the acceptance? Or would you continue with the standard answers of "I'm going to work here, volunteer here, retake my MCAT, etc..." Just curious what you all thought. I really don't want to offend any place I'm interviewing at. Thanks in advance!

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[thanecyan]

I am under the impression that the standard response is to first begin with 'I will strengthen my application in so-so areas' and then follow up with 'however, if medical school doesn't work out then I am also very interested in XYZ career.'

 

[Dissected]

There's a thread about this in the pre-allo forum that has a ton of responses if you want some other people's input.

I told 3 schools that 'I already had acceptances and didn't have to worry about it anymore'...looking back I might have come off as a little bit conceited, but I still got accepted to all of those places..must not have been that big of an issue

my theory is that if they wanted you in the first place telling them something like that can't hurt you, if anything it tells them that other schools thought you were qualified enough for admission. I didn't see any reason to answer that question if it was no longer applicable, i guess thats just how I think. I dunno, a lot of people disagree (especially in pre-allo) but Im definitely speaking from experience with this one.

 

[NPEMTIV]

So, I was thinking about this the other day and was wondering what you all think. It's pretty standard in interviews to get the question, "What will you do if you don't get into medical school?" How would you answer this if you already got into another medical school? I would kind of like to say, "Well, if I don't get into this school that I'm interviewing at (which is my first choice, of course), I would attend this other school that I got into. I really don't think I would be as happy as if I went to this school that I'm interviewing at, but I would be a doctor by the end of it, which is my ultimate goal." As long as you reiterate that the school your interviewing at is someplace you would rather attend, do you think it's OK to mention the acceptance? Or would you continue with the standard answers of "I'm going to work here, volunteer here, retake my MCAT, etc..." Just curious what you all thought. I really don't want to offend any place I'm interviewing at. Thanks in advance!

Be honest about it. I think its good to say that you were accepted to a few schools already, but that you were still hoping to get into their school. Basically what you said.

 

[rajaholick]

usually the question is "what if you dont get into med school"
not "what if you dont get into our med school"
so saying "well i've been accepted to blah blah university" shows that you missunderstood the question
so i guess first make sure what question they are asking you
if it is what if you dont get into our school, then feel free to say you woudl consider your other options (other schools you've been accepted to)
but if it is indeed what if you dont get into med school, then dont start with "well i've been accepted"
talk about what you would improve, everyone EVERYONG feels like they could've done something better to get into the med school at the center of their universe
so think about those things, whatever it maybe
more research, better ECs, better grades etc etc etc

 

[NPEMTIV]

usually the question is "what if you dont get into med school"
not "what if you dont get into our med school"
so saying "well i've been accepted to blah blah university" shows that you missunderstood the question
so i guess first make sure what question they are asking you
if it is what if you dont get into our school, then feel free to say you woudl consider your other options (other schools you've been accepted to)
but if it is indeed what if you dont get into med school, then dont start with "well i've been accepted"
talk about what you would improve, everyone EVERYONG feels like they could've done something better to get into the med school at the center of their universe
so think about those things, whatever it maybe
more research, better ECs, better grades etc etc etc

Without disrespect I'd have to disagree here. It doesn't make sense to answer a question about not getting in when you are actually in...somewhere. I don't believe answering it differently implies you misunderstood. Instead I think its the interviewee trying to answer a question tactfully that isn't pertinent to them anymore. I could potentially see someone stating that, had they not been accepted, they would work on their gpa, etc...but thankfully they had already received an acceptance. Then attempting to stress that even with the acceptance they would still prefer school X over Y. In the same regard this would be like asking President-Elect Obama tomorrow if he'd run again if not elected. Anyhow, everyone will have their opinion and no matter what I think the key is to handle the situation respectfully.

 

[SB25]

Thanks for all the helpful responses! I was really interested in what everyone thought about this. I'll definitely check out the pre-allo thread, too. Thanks for pointing it out DoktorB!

 

[ShyRem]

Do NOT lie. Tell them honestly that you are fortunate enough to have a few acceptances in hand already but are really hoping to get into X school as that's your first choice. However, if your first choice school doesn't work out, you will still be a doctor.