Interview signs that you will be waitlisted/rejected

[pekq]

In my experiences, if an interviewer directly ask you if you have been accepted elsewhere out of the blues (no follow-up or precursor question) then it's a sign that he is thinking of having adcom waitlist/reject you. I think it's so that he/she won't feel bad having you rejected.

Another sign is if the interviewer gave a talk advising you on something related to your career path. My theory on this is that they will have you rejected/waitlisted and therefore do not expect to see you again. Thus they figure they should share their wisdom before you leave.

Finally, you know you are rejected for sure when the interviewer advises you to expand your horizon and go to a medical school located somewhere you have never lived at before. Then proceeds to list some examples of medical schools to look at. (This was from my undergrad school)

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[CalBeE]

Or simply saying, "You have a good application, however, our school also look for people who are blah blah blah and yadi yada"

That's just a diplomatic way of saying that you don't fit into the school's mission.

 

[TRUE]

As I've said before, I don't agree with waitlist = getting asked if where you've applied/gotten accepted. I was asked that question 2 times after my first acceptence and I got in to both places.

 

[crazy250]

if the interviewer asks "what will you do if you don't get in?", then you're screwed. I noticed that I've gotton rejected or waitlisted from all the places where they asked that question.

 

[CalBeE]

Originally posted by crazy250
if the interviewer asks "what will you do if you don't get in?", then you're screwed. I noticed that I've gotton rejected or waitlisted from all the places where they asked that question.

Actually I was asked that question at Jefferson, but my interviewer made it almost like a routine question he asked everyone. We had good impression of each other, and that was one of the last questions he asked.

So it'll depend on the tone of the interviewer.

 

[TRUE]

Originally posted by crazy250
if the interviewer asks "what will you do if you don't get in?", then you're screwed. I noticed that I've gotton rejected or waitlisted from all the places where they asked that question.

I think it's a little rash to make vague generalizations about your chances at a school based on whether or not one specific question was asked.

Often times, that question is asked to gauge your motivation for medicine and to see if you've thought about the possibility of doing other things, etc...

 

[absolutezero]

post deleted

 

[CalBeE]

Originally posted by absolutezero
As for being asked where else you applied or got into, I think it probably mostly reflects the interviewers personal curiosity. As for the "what will you do if you don't get in" question, I think the answer they're looking for is "reapply" or "I'll call the adcom and ask what I can improve for next year"-they want to see how motivated and tenacious you are.

Yea I agree; also sometimes finding out where you apply sorta shows a pattern of what you look for in selecting med school.

 

[Jalby]

Originally posted by absolutezero
As for being asked where else you applied or got into, I think it probably mostly reflects the interviewers personal curiosity. As for the "what will you do if you don't get in" question, I think the answer they're looking for is "reapply" or "I'll call the adcom and ask what I can improve for next year"-they want to see how motivated and tenacious you are.

When I ask this question, I want to know if the person is interesting at all outside of them wanting to be in medicine. A lot of pre-meds are only about being a doctor and don't think about the outside world.


As for the OP, if the interviewers eyes glaze over, you know you don't have a good chance. I know I've done this once. (The person wasn't the slightest bit interesting) And I think that person actually wrote an interview feedback here.

 

[nrosigh]

how 'bout this: interviewer says to me : "Well, I think you did the right thing."

And I get all excited, then he says...

"It's really good that you applied to many schools!"

ouch!

 

[nrosigh]

...I should add that I haven't heard back from that school.

But somewhere else I interviewed, the interviewer told me: "I think you'll be a really good fit for this school, it was great to talk to you!" --> waitlist : (

dammit mutherfocker

 

[mlw03]

anyone have any thoughts on the converse? ie, what signs imply the interviewer has a positive impression of you? short of them outright telling you of course.

stuff i can think of that MIGHT be a good sign (feel free to confirm or rebuke, based on experience or opinion):
1. telling you why you should go if accepted
2. offering you their business card
3. inviting you to contact them later if you have any questions
4. being "personal" during the interview (ie, mentioning stuff about their family)

 

[clowne]

Originally posted by mlw03
anyone have any thoughts on the converse? ie, what signs imply the interviewer has a positive impression of you? short of them outright telling you of course.

stuff i can think of that MIGHT be a good sign (feel free to confirm or rebuke, based on experience or opinion):
1. telling you why you should go if accepted
2. offering you their business card
3. inviting you to contact them later if you have any questions
4. being "personal" during the interview (ie, mentioning stuff about their family)

From my experience, there is little, if any correlation between what the interviewer tells you and whether you will be accepted/waitlisted/rejected.

Examples:

"You're just the kind of applicant we're looking for and I'd be happy to see you go here" --waitlist

"You did well in the interview" --acceptance

"Contact me if you have any questions" --still no word 4 months after interview

 

[meanderson]

At one interview I was told "We hope you decide to come here". Got in two weeks later.


At another interview I was asked the "So what are you going to do next year, assuming you don't get in?" It wasn't the general idea of this question that bothered me....it was the phrasing and tone that bothered me. Almost like it was his conclusion that I probably wouldn't get in anywhere, so I needed to start making plans. And sure enough, I haven't heard from they yet.

So I'd say that sometimes we can learn something from such phrases.

 

[pekq]

Originally posted by mlw03

1. telling you why you should go if accepted
2. offering you their business card
3. inviting you to contact them later if you have any questions
4. being "personal" during the interview (ie, mentioning stuff about their family)

It's hard to tell if you will get in just because the interviewer thinks positive of you. I believe most people get positive write-ups. A negative write-up, will almost certainly preclude you from acceptance. Here's my thoughts though:
1) That can be a good sign
2) standard procedure at some places
3) Very standard procedure
4) It only happened to me at one interview and I was accepted there.

To clarify, being asked where you applied/ are accepted is not bad. It's when they ask you if you are accepted somewhere (no interest as to where) then that it becomes a bad sign.

 

[DrBodacious]

One interviewer told me: "You have a really great application, (went on to tell me how impressive my LORs were) you should have a lot of options when the application process is over." -- Waitlisted

 

[DD214_DOC]

Your interviewer is just one vote that determines your admission. If he sells you the committee and they like your stats, you're in. If not, you're not in.

 

[Adapt]

In my experience, when I had a bad or an ok interview I was accepted. When I had a great interview I was either waitlisted or rejected. The lesson here is to try to do your worst when interviewing and you will see good results.

 

[pekq]

Originally posted by Slickness
In my experience, when I had a bad or an ok interview I was accepted. When I had a great interview I was either waitlisted or rejected. The lesson here is to try to do your worst when interviewing and you will see good results.

Interviewer: How are you doing today Pekq?
Me: *Beep* you mother******
Int: What do you think of the uninsured?
Me: Yes they deserve to die!! and i hope they rot in hell!!

So that'll get me in for sure?? eh?

 

[quideam]

Interviewer: so, why do you like our school?
Quideam: **** you.

Interviewer: can you tell me a little about your research?
Quideam: **** you.

Interviewer: what other schools have you applied to?
Quideam: **** you.

Interviewer: well, I hope that you decide to come here.
Quideam: **** you.

EXCELLENT!!!!

 

[Willie B]

Don't forget to trip your interviewer and walk on him/her as they are walking you back from the interview.

 

[docmemi]

Originally posted by JKDMed
Your interviewer is just one vote that determines your admission. If he sells you the committee and they like your stats, you're in. If not, you're not in.

i dont understand. how come schools interview people if they think their stats are bad. its messed up. waste of time. i think this happens a lot.

 

[mosoriire]

I dont understand. how come schools interview people if they think their stats are bad. its messed up. waste of time. i think this happens a lot

I think that when they do that, they hope that there will be something stellar about you that will blow them away during the interview: like floodlights illuminating a faint halo round your head, the ceiling vanishing, a white dove flying in and perching on your kneee, while a voice from above says: "this is my annointed one to go out into the world and heal the sick and the dying in the uttermost places of the earth".
Sometimes, a person does come in and absolutely nail the interview, and there is just that nagging feeling that life hasnt been fair, and that this may be a star in the making, and they should capitalize on the opportunity this person presents.
But again, I think this is VERY rare.

 

[LP1CW]

I'm waiting to hear back from a school that I thought went well. My interviewer said as I was leaving, "YOu'll be a find doctor someday." I sort of thought that was a good sign, but I haven't heard from that school yet. So, I don't know.

I had another interviewer tell me, in not so many words, that I was in. He said, "When you're here you can take advantage of...."

 

[IrishOarsman]

I knew after my most fun interview that I was a lock: at a school that has 3 separate interviewers, one of mine was a PhD/lecturer and didn't ask me a single thing about myself or ask me anything about my file. He just came right at me with complicated philosophical questions about money and medicine... I love to argue in philosophy so much that by the end of the 30 min he was literally chuckling at how fired up I got.

Just about every other interview I've had, good or bad, I've felt a little ambiguous about afterwards. I'm probably one of the only people who actually want their interviewer to get on their case (I'd much rather respond to challenge/criticism than try to balance the I'm awesome-but-humble thing every time)

 

[AverageMan]

Originally posted by DrBodacious
One interviewer told me: "You have a really great application, (went on to tell me how impressive my LORs were) you should have a lot of options when the application process is over." -- Waitlisted

Indeed. The exact thing happened to me at Rochester. Grrrrr

 

[kito]

When they butter you up at the interview, just smile and politely nod your head but keep in mind that none of it means anything.

 

[AverageMan]

Originally posted by trojan2004
i dont understand. how come schools interview people if they think their stats are bad. its messed up. waste of time. i think this happens a lot.

This happened to me too at UVA. My stats were comparable to their averages, but nothing special, but both my parents were alumni there (school of engineering, not medicine). So I'm guessing I got the token legacy interview there and two weeks later I got a straight up rejection. It was a big trip for me, since I had to come from NY just to get rejected so quickly. I would have rather had it where I earned an interview on my own merits and if afterwards they didn't like me I got a token legacy waitlist, that would have at least let me feel that something was/might have been accomplished.

 

[Super Rob]

The interview is at most schools one piece of the application. You may receive a score or perhaps your interviewer will write up an evaluation and present your file to the committee. Rochester is an example of a school where sometimes faculty who are not on the admissions committee will meet with you and then write a subjective letter of support to add to your file.

At most schools, the only time an interview will dramatically change the fate of your application is if you leave your interviewer with a bad impression (like, if you tell them you hate people, ask them how much they make, or have this nasty habit of spitting while you talk). If someone on the committee wants to sink your ship, I bet it will be done.

So, when an interviewer says "You belong here and this school kicks major butt and all of our students are happy and bla bla bla..." what they are doing is SELLING YOU THE SCHOOL. The easiest way to sell an applicant like yourself is to convince you that YOU ARE WANTED, cuz if your interview day left you feeling cold about the kind of people at the school, then you probably would not want to go there. So, the interviewer says all of these wonderful things about how GREAT a doctor you will become (I have noticed that a lot of rejection letters say this also) and about how EVERY student at her school is ______, _______, and especially _______, just like you, she is MAKING SURE that if you happen to somehow manage to get an acceptance, then you will CHOOSE their offer over the others.

It's sort of like telling your interviewers how much you like their program and how easily you can see yourself as one of their students. You might really mean this, or you might really mean this provided you first don't get into Harvard, Sinai, Case, or Drexel.

In this process, everybody wants what's best for them and in the end, no hard feelings. Just remember, interviews don't decide your fate... big and small first class envelopes do!

 

[ixitixl]

I had an interesting experience at Tulane:
My interviewer kept telling me that I was exactly what they're school needed and that not interviewed anyone with my particular combination of language ability. After a talk about our past, we both came from the same 1200 person village in Alaska, he told me he'd kick my @ss if I didn't show up in August.

One week later, I got waitlisted.

 

[getcloned]

Actually, one of my interviewers at University of Kentucky asked me where else I had applied/been accpeted. He also asked me if I had considered a DO program. Followed by a question concerning what I would do if I were not accepted, I was kinda worried about my chances.

6 days later, I got a call saying that I was in... maybe they just want to see if you will be honest with them?

 

[clowne]

Originally posted by IrishOarsman
I'm probably one of the only people who actually want their interviewer to get on their case (I'd much rather respond to challenge/criticism than try to balance the I'm awesome-but-humble thing every time)

I feel the same way. Only about 1/3 of my interviewers made me respond to criticism. It didn't happen to me, but I always thought it would be cool to have a "stress interview" where the interviewer is very harsh and hurls a bunch of personal attacks at you.

 

[Adapt]

Originally posted by pekq
Interviewer: How are you doing today Pekq?
Me: *Beep* you mother******
Int: What do you think of the uninsured?
Me: Yes they deserve to die!! and i hope they rot in hell!!

So that'll get me in for sure?? eh?

Exactly. They might even throw in a scholarship.

 

[MErc44]

At one school the first interviewer told me there would be no problems with me attending the school. The second said that he wanted me to attend and that he was going to strongly reccomend the admissions committe to let me in. The student interview went great. Waitlisted. You can't tell at all I don;t think

 

[Adapt]

Originally posted by MErc44
At one school the first interviewer told me there would be no problems with me attending the school. The second said that he wanted me to attend and that he was going to strongly reccomend the admissions committe to let me in. The student interview went great. Waitlisted. You can't tell at all I don;t think

Yet another example that lends proof to my theory.

Good interviews=Waitlist, rejection
Bad/ok interviews=Acceptance.

 

[svalenzuela02p]

I have noticed some things have consistently led to three acceptances, my rejections were when I chose an alternative route:

1) when I walk out of the interview and I am really smiling, genuine.

2) the interviewer is excited
3) you walk out of the interview really enthused, you had a good conversation and everything went well

4) It is when you are uptight, UNCONFIDENT and serious that you come across fake and boring blah blah just like everyone else

5) I believe they key is to be yourself and have a good conversation like you would with one of your friends. SELF-ASSURANCE and CONFIDENCE! (WOW! I won myself over already! J.K)

 

[MErc44]

slickness, I find holes in your theory. At EVMS i felt ****ty after my interview. I felt like a fool, at one point I was trying to explain a surgery to a surgeon D'oh. I don't know how the hell it came to that but it did. I got waitlisted.

 

[Adapt]

Originally posted by Chrisobean
what about this - right after your interview, you feel great, and then a few days and some nightmares later, you think you totally F**KED IT UP!? you think how you forgot to mention so much stuff, and you just sounded like an idiot?

i will let you know the outcome of this story.

That's how I have felt after some of my interviews. I thought it went well and then I started thinking about it more, and I realized I sounded so dumb and thought that I should have said other things. All you can do is wait and hope for good news. You just never know.

Merc, it was more of a joke. It just has been in my experience that the worse I thought my interview went, the better chance I was going to be accepted.

 

[MErc44]

i was joking around too. Do you really think I talk that way

----I found holes in your theory----

haha

 

[Paws]

Originally posted by ankitovich
When they butter you up at the interview, just smile and politely nod your head but keep in mind that none of it means anything.

I just came from an interview where I was relaxed and just chillin' with the other students and thinking: awesome school!

My first interviewer seemed polite, friendly, easy going, "please, have a seat ..."

Then the fire started! I felt like I was raked over the coals and made to explain almost every embarassing thing on my application. Gaps in employment, why I left a job for another one, everything. I was not prepared for this and did my best to defend myself but I felt like I had been run over by a steam roller. She didn't seem too impressed with me. Ugh.

In the end she made vague statements about well, it's really hard to chose students and so many get rejected ...

Ok, second interviewer seemed more casualy and informal, like talking with someone's dad. Easy right? Well, at one point he builds up to 'you've spent all this money, worked so hard and what if you don't get in anywhere - what would you do , etc.'

When I told him I was already accepted somewhere, he started grilling me on what school and wouldn't stop. I politely declined and said I didn't feel comfortable saying which one.

Honestly, who knows what this all means. I loved the school but I feel like I have about a snail's chance in a rainstorm now.

 

[Kashue]

Originally posted by Paws
I just came from an interview where I was relaxed and just chillin' with the other students and thinking: awesome school!

My first interviewer seemed polite, friendly, easy going, "please, have a seat ..."

Then the fire started! I felt like I was raked over the coals and made to explain almost every embarassing thing on my application. Gaps in employment, why I left a job for another one, everything. I was not prepared for this and did my best to defend myself but I felt like I had been run over by a steam roller. She didn't seem too impressed with me. Ugh.

In the end she made vague statements about well, it's really hard to chose students and so many get rejected ...

Ok, second interviewer seemed more casualy and informal, like talking with someone's dad. Easy right? Well, at one point he builds up to 'you've spent all this money, worked so hard and what if you don't get in anywhere - what would you do , etc.'

When I told him I was already accepted somewhere, he started grilling me on what school and wouldn't stop. I politely declined and said I didn't feel comfortable saying which one.

Honestly, who knows what this all means. I loved the school but I feel like I have about a snail's chance in a rainstorm now.

Was this albany? heh, coz it sounds like the interviews I had there.

 

[doctorcynical]

The Doctor falls asleep in mid sentence. It happened at UMich.

 

[FoxyDoc]

You're Doctorcynical and you are interviewing at Stanford!!!

 

[MNgrrl]

Originally posted by clowne
I always thought it would be cool to have a "stress interview" where the interviewer is very harsh and hurls a bunch of personal attacks at you.

Yikes, I couldn't disagree with you more - I had one interviewer tell me I was "1 million percent wrong" and then continued with "in fact, it's been quite some time since I've interviewed someone who has answered that question as wrong as you."

Funny, I didn't think it was possible to get to 1 million percent...trust me - this kind of interview WON'T make you feel like you want to go to that school!

 

[pekq]

Originally posted by Paws


In the end she made vague statements about well, it's really hard to chose students and so many get rejected ...

I have noticed that female interviewers tends to be harsher. They will grill everything out of you. The best interviewer to have are elderly males. They will overlook your shortcomings and support you in front of adcom.