Interview....What's to Keep People From Just Lying Their Arses Off?

[Chevy Chase Fan]

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For the interview, if you talk about your experiences and all that, what's to keep you from just lying? Maybe you took a week long trip to China with your parents when you were in highschool and you exaggerate that into a month long trip where you worked with starving children and decided you wanted to be a doctor. Or maybe when talking about your clinical volunteering experience, which entailed little more than cleaning things, you make up responsibilities you never had. How's anyone gonna know better?

What's to keep me from telling the admissions committee that I lived in Kenya for a year after college?

Do you think people lie all the time in these things?

 

[orthomyxo]

Well I think the consequences that would be involved if the school found out you lied are enough to stop people from doing it. I wouldn't want to risk everything I've done for 4 years over anything like that.

 

[apumic]

For the interview, if you talk about your experiences and all that, what's to keep you from just lying? Maybe you took a week long trip to China with your parents when you were in highschool and you exaggerate that into a month long trip where you worked with starving children and decided you wanted to be a doctor. Or maybe when talking about your clinical volunteering experience, which entailed little more than cleaning things, you make up responsibilities you never had. How's anyone gonna know better?

What's to keep me from telling the admissions committee that I lived in Kenya for a year after college?

Do you think people lie all the time in these things?

Perhaps because....some of us have integrity.

Seriously, why?! I mean, sure, you could lie (and you might get found out) but, honestly, my integrity is worth far more than any medical school acceptance.

So sure, I'm sure some lie and many who lie are probably never caught, but that doesn't make it okay and personally I'd prefer to retain my own integrity over getting into med school. I'd want to know I got in on my own merit and not by cheating.

 

[Chevy Chase Fan]

well, it would be a lot of work to follow up on every story you hear from a person in an interview. I don't think an adcomm would have the time or energy to do it. Seems pretty easy to get away with.

Not something I'd want to do of course.

 

[anfleisch]

Fear. Not to say some people don't embellish. The thing that bothers me is that you can make an activity sound a lot better than it was in a paragraph. But if you have a good recommendation from that work I guess that is the equalizer.

 

[csmittyB]

well, it would be a lot of work to follow up on every story you hear from a person in an interview. I don't think an adcomm would have the time or energy to do it. Seems pretty easy to get away with.

Not something I'd want to do of course.

They may wonder why you didn't include the "experience" in your personal statement/primary app/secondary app. If you did include the "experience" they will probably ask you about it and if you get tripped up they will likely smell the BS.

 

[45408]

Just be aware that if you knowingly misrepresent yourself in your application or interview, they can expel you at any point in your med school career and keep all your tuition.

 

[DoctaFuture]

eh honestly I think it's b/c people just wanna play "the game" so they just do it. I've come to the conclusion I'm just "meh" on it. Whether or not people wanna do it, I don't really care. I've learned from a doc that people just need to worry about themselves. If people BS they just need to make sure they're on top of it I guess.

 

[Chemdude]

Only a small percentage of people are good liars. It is usually easy to tell when someone is lying. especially if you are an adcom who has interviewed hundreds of people and looked at thousands of files.

 

[BBender716]

Just be aware that if you knowingly misrepresent yourself in your application or interview, they can expel you at any point in your med school career and keep all your tuition.

Besides the whole "ethics factor", this. Don't want to be looking over your shoulder that whole time. 👍

 

[ahowardmd]

It's just bad policy to go around spreading lies. Also, people who 'get away' with something usually like to brag about it, after the fact, so then everybody knows who is spineless.

If you have to make up stories to get into medical school, maybe you spent too much time studying in college and not enough time living.

 

[Dianyla]

Only a small percentage of people are good liars. It is usually easy to tell when someone is lying. especially if you are an adcom who has interviewed hundreds of people and looked at thousands of files.

This. I'm sure the AdComs have a very finely tuned BS meter.

I'm a lot more worried about being excessively honest during an interview.

 

[duress]

I agree with the 'meh'. the whole process encourages lying. if it didn't, then I'd imagine at least a quarter of the personal statements would read: "I'm going into medicine for the job security and promise of a decent salary."

 

[Holy Frans]

I feel like many will exaggerate and tell white lies to spice up their experiences, but i doubt many tell blatant lies. Some will do whatever it takes to get into medical school, but knowing that your a solid individual who didn't have to resort to lying would be a great feeling. I think getting caught in a lie would be far too embarrassing.

 

[Narmerguy]

Fear. Not to say some people don't embellish. The thing that bothers me is that you can make an activity sound a lot better than it was in a paragraph. But if you have a good recommendation from that work I guess that is the equalizer.

This. Everyone makes the most basic things sound like it's an all-star mission. It's kind of sickening to see all the embellishment that people make, but everyone feels (not without reason) that to sell themselves they must exaggerate everything.

 

[Venereal]

Honestly, I didn't want my admission to medical school to be based on anything other than the real work and time I've put in to get here. How much of a fraud would you feel like if you gained admission under false pretenses?

I would feel a tremendous amount of guilt and the feeling of achievement would be greatly diminished if I had lied about anything.