Is interview really that important?

[MiniMoo]

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Members don't see this ad.

Yes, interview is very important for selecting the candidate. Look at the following report. It is wonderful report.

http://www.aamc.org/members/gsa/meetings/holisticreview.pdf

Page 10 indicates important ratings: Invitation of interview
Page 11 indicates Important ratings : Offer of acceptance

Interview recommendation has highest ratings 4.5 out of 5

The variables rated as
most important for offer of acceptance (mean
≥ 3.5) were:
Interview
recommendations
Letters of
recommendation
Undergraduate GPAs
Community service medical/ clinical experience

Hmm that link was pretty interesting. So to get an interview, the GPA and MCAT look to be very important, but to clinch an acceptance, the interview and LORs play a big role?

Zona, maybe it's your LORs? I have pharmacy resident friends who have been interviewing residency candidates and they tell me that many LORs will be mostly positive but then there will be a single line like "but this student can be shy which may present an obstacle to interacting effectively with patients" which leads to the candidate getting rejected. 🙄

 

[TDX]

Nervousness is not good. It decreases your decision making quality. It puts you into fight or flight mode. Sounds like you fought on that question 😉.

The poster above said nervousness is important... but really no whats most important is to not seem nonchalant. You want to look like you are taking it seriously. You want to look like you care. But you can show those things through things other than nervousness. In fact i think the ideal would be to be: very confident (but NOT cocky, and still humble), very composed, very relaxed (without being nonchalant), and just polite.

right now, i really think that admissions people are placing a very high emphasis on relaxedness and calmness. though being nonchalant or looking like you don't give a crap is only going to hurt. i think that right now, anxiety is stigmatized by our culture, so any signs of anxiety will inevitably make you look worse. It is possible to show that you care without looking anxious. You are much better off showing that you care through looking 'concerned', 'concientious', or 'focused'. but anxious/nervous can only hurt you.

If you take a look at the video I posted in this thread, you'll see that it's actually a surgeon who's been on adcoms for quite a few years saying that a bit of nervousness is good. (note: a bit)

 

[startswithb]

I really don't think "anxious/nervous can only hurt." Anxious like a panic attack, no, but nerves meaning "I'm excited to be here!" is not going to hurt. In fact, on my interview day the admissions director asked if we were nervous and he said that was probably a good thing. It just shows you really want it. Nerves come naturally from wanting to excel. Not a bad thing.

So if you have an excited, butterflies in the stomach, exuberant vibe, don't assume you're failing. For many people this is the biggest day of their life from 4+ years of hardwork.

I would therefore not recommend stifling back your emotions, unless you really don't have them on that day, which I just can't imagine.

 

[Zona Pellucida]

If you take a look at the video I posted in this thread, you'll see that it's actually a surgeon who's been on adcoms for quite a few years saying that a bit of nervousness is good. (note: a bit)

You also need to remember that this is the opinion of ONE member of an adcom and that what one interviewer may perceive as positive, another may perceive as negative.

 

[Zona Pellucida]

Zona, maybe it's your LORs? I have pharmacy resident friends who have been interviewing residency candidates and they tell me that many LORs will be mostly positive but then there will be a single line like "but this student can be shy which may present an obstacle to interacting effectively with patients" which leads to the candidate getting rejected. 🙄

Once I received my 4th waitlist decision, I contacted the head of the pre-med committee at my college who wrote my committee letter (combining my 4 LORs). She assured me that no part of the letter would be holding me back in any way shape or form.

It's tough trying to pinpoint what is going wrong.

LizzyM had this to say about my situation:

'Hi,
Your situtationis a common one. You are an "average" candidate. LizzyM score of 70, nice guy, a little young.... What you are up against are the 3.88/38+ crowd. Until they decline the offers of admission that they are collecting by the box load, no school wants to make you an offer (they need to fill the class without going over). Now we know that people with 2-7 offers of admission are going to wind up declining all but one offer. At some point, schools will have a slot and you'll be in.
Good luck
LizzyM'

I hope she is right.

 

[kmd34]

I think, LizzyM view make sense. Look at this recent post.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=697649

180 accepted people participated and they are holding 406 spots

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/poll.php?do=showresults&pollid=7665

23.03% candidates decided where they are going and holding # 1 school only
50.91% holding multiple acceptance and waiting for #1 choice school
26.06% accepted by their #1 choice school but also holding other school.

Picture will get better after March.

Once I received my 4th waitlist decision, I contacted the head of the pre-med committee at my college who wrote my committee letter (combining my 4 LORs). She assured me that no part of the letter would be holding me back in any way shape or form.

It's tough trying to pinpoint what is going wrong.

LizzyM had this to say about my situation:

'Hi,
Your situtationis a common one. You are an "average" candidate. LizzyM score of 70, nice guy, a little young.... What you are up against are the 3.88/38+ crowd. Until they decline the offers of admission that they are collecting by the box load, no school wants to make you an offer (they need to fill the class without going over). Now we know that people with 2-7 offers of admission are going to wind up declining all but one offer. At some point, schools will have a slot and you'll be in.
Good luck
LizzyM'

I hope she is right.

 

[longhorn09]

I think, LizzyM view make sense. Look at this recent post.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=697649

180 accepted people participated and they are holding 406 spots

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/poll.php?do=showresults&pollid=7665

23.03% candidates decided where they are going and holding # 1 school only
50.91% holding multiple acceptance and waiting for #1 choice school
26.06% accepted by their #1 choice school but also holding other school.

Picture will get better after March.

I promise I will not act like those 26.06% people; I will be more considerate.😉