Is interview really that important?

[longhorn09]

---

Members don't see this ad.

As title. I have some acceptances from schools which I had some so-so interview, and I have some rejection/wl from schools which I think I had some pretty good interviews. It seems to me that the interview really doesn't matter that much. Is it true or not?

 

[FlowLimited]

No, the interview is important. A more plausible theory would be that applicants just aren't that good at judging a "successful" interview.

 

[ThatQuestionGuy]

Not if you have a 4.0/40 😉

 

[BlueElmo]

I think it's very important. Also, your judgments about how your interview went is subjecive, so you may think you did bad, but it may actually have been good. If interviews weren't important, schools wouldn't request them.

 

[FlowLimited]

Not if you have a 4.0/40 😉

At competitive schools, great stats are a dime a dozen. The interview is often the factor that determines which applicant is accepted and which one is rejected. And yes, applicants with 4.0/40 can get rejected.

 

[ThaliaNox]

Applicants can have a really hard time judging their own interviews, and schools are looking for different things. Let's make an example: School X is really about serving inner city populations, School Y is big on international medicine. At school X you have a great conversation about your two trips to Africa, and really click with your interviewer, who also enjoys backpacking as much as you do. At school Y you get an interviewer who is a nontrad, and is about 15 years older than you. This interview is more formal, and while you think it went alright, you can't help but to compare it to your previous, more conversation-like interview.

Results: Your interviewer from School X decides that while he'd love to have you as a friend, you don't fit their mission. Your interviewer from School Y decides that you're a perfect fit for their school, which he decided from more direct, formal questions.

Interviews are very important, but so is fit. These are the two things which are judged separately and by different standards for each school. Your grades, and test scores remain the same.

 

[TDX]

No, the interview is important. A more plausible theory would be that applicants just aren't that good at judging a "successful" interview.

One factor that might cause a discrepancy between perceptions of the interviewers and those getting interviewed might be nervosity.

From what I've heard, interviewers generally see some degree of nervousness as a good thing rather than a bad thing.

Meanwhile, however, it seems likely that if you're the one getting interviewed, being really nervous might give you the impression that things are going badly.

 

[Infinitydrop]

Applicants can have a really hard time judging their own interviews, and schools are looking for different things. Let's make an example: School X is really about serving inner city populations, School Y is big on international medicine. At school X you have a great conversation about your two trips to Africa, and really click with your interviewer, who also enjoys backpacking as much as you do. At school Y you get an interviewer who is a nontrad, and is about 15 years older than you. This interview is more formal, and while you think it went alright, you can't help but to compare it to your previous, more conversation-like interview.

Results: Your interviewer from School X decides that while he'd love to have you as a friend, you don't fit their mission. Your interviewer from School Y decides that you're a perfect fit for their school, which he decided from more direct, formal questions.

Interviews are very important, but so is fit. These are the two things which are judged separately and by different standards for each school. Your grades, and test scores remain the same.

Not always true. People still tend to pick the person they like in most circumstances than the person that fits best

 

[akinetopsia]

4.0/40 does not mean much. Medicine is a service industry, communication skills and social awareness are important. Hence, the interview to determine fit, and oral communication ability. While higher stats generally indicate an applicant will be accepted somewhere (going off the gpa/mcat tables, I think the highest box in the upper right corner, GPA 3.95-4.00 and MCAT 42-45 was not 100% acceptance), it isn't a guarantee.

 

[Marcus Brody]

Depends on a lot of things that are kind of inter-related I would think. In my own case I am pretty sure I was just about accepted before certain interviews, and just about rejected at others. At the school I ended up matriculating at they set me up for my interview with a student from my hometown (srsly) and a doctor with whom I shared a LOT of common interests. But I know at other schools the interviewers are chosen seemingly at random. Some barely speak English. Some aren't even interested in getting to know you, they just ask you what you want to know about their school.

 

[MilkmanAl]

No, the interview is important. A more plausible theory would be that applicants just aren't that good at judging a "successful" interview.

Not if you have a 4.0/40 😉

I'd say it's a combination of these two things and the likelihood that most people with stats that high are probably going to be socially deficient, so while the interview is important, your competition in that arena is not as stiff.

 

[MDtobe31311]

Maybe it also depends on the other applicants getting interviewed with you that day. Maybe at the interviews you thought you did so-so on, you actually did amazing in comparison. And at the interviews you thought went really well, the other applicant that day saved a baby.

 

[Mackey]

I never understood why people are surprised by this. Maybe having just interviewed people before (not for school), its a bit more obvious. Most good interviewers will leave a majority of people feeling as though the interview went great. There is a reason for this and interviewing is itself a particularly deceitful skill set.

People don't often "open up" their true feelings unless they're talking with someone on "their team" so to speak. A good "friendly approach" interviewer (which most are) will try to appear to be on your team. If I like cars and you say you like cars, I'm going to go into detail about cars as obviously we're on the same team and I can speak more openly to you.

Likewise, if you say you are not interested in surgery, the interviewer may ask why and then agree with whatever viewpoint you provide, leading you to exposed another viewpoint which is also met with agreement. Further and further down the rabbit hole you go until you say that you think plastic surgeons are shallow. The interviewer might laugh and you walk out feeling like you had a good interviewer. The interviewer then walks back to the plastics lounge. Good luck with that school.

Interviews are a trap. If you keep the interview superficial while pleading your case, you had a good interview. If you laughed with the interviewer or feel like you could get a beer with them afterwards, you might want to go have a beer yourself. They played you.

 

[bannie22]

I agree with the above mentioned point that sometimes we dont judge our own interviews well.

An interview where we might have lots of fun might not necessarily be as good as one where the interview offers to shake your hand a few times after the conversation, even if you the conversation was entirely one way coming from the interviewer... (personal experience! hahaha!)

But I spotted it 😛

But I think whats most important to me is not whether I had a good interview (whatever that means), whats important to me is whether I had fun, showed the interviewers who I was, and really I want to leave the decision up to them.

Just like I am looking for that perfect fit school, I really want my interviewers to pick the students that would best fit their school vision. So I only want to be myself, and myself only.

And if I dont fit, I dont fret. I thank them for recognizing that I dont fit (no matter how sad it would be), and move on.

And to be able to move on, I have to believe that they know who I am... so thats just my job at the interview, to showcase who I am, nothing more, nothing less.

 

[bannie22]

I never understood why people are surprised by this. Maybe having just interviewed people before (not for school), its a bit more obvious. Most good interviewers will leave a majority of people feeling as though the interview went great. There is a reason for this and interviewing is itself a particularly deceitful skill set.

People don't often "open up" their true feelings unless they're talking with someone on "their team" so to speak. A good "friendly approach" interviewer (which most are) will try to appear to be on your team. If I like cars and you say you like cars, I'm going to go into detail about cars as obviously we're on the same team and I can speak more openly to you.

Likewise, if you say you are not interested in surgery, the interviewer may ask why and then agree with whatever viewpoint you provide, leading you to exposed another viewpoint which is also met with agreement. Further and further down the rabbit hole you go until you say that you think plastic surgeons are shallow. The interviewer might laugh and you walk out feeling like you had a good interviewer. The interviewer then walks back to the plastics lounge. Good luck with that school.

Interviews are a trap. If you keep the interview superficial while pleading your case, you had a good interview. If you laughed with the interviewer or feel like you could get a beer with them afterwards, you might want to go have a beer yourself. They played you.

Yes. I agree with you.

But at the same time, this isnt a game to me.
I just want to be myself and be accepted for who I am.

And if they know who I am (say I feel that plastic surgeons are shallow like you mentioned), and they dont like that, then fine, I want the best for the school just as much as it means that they want the best for me.

 

[longhorn09]

I never understood why people are surprised by this. Maybe having just interviewed people before (not for school), its a bit more obvious. Most good interviewers will leave a majority of people feeling as though the interview went great. There is a reason for this and interviewing is itself a particularly deceitful skill set.

People don't often "open up" their true feelings unless they're talking with someone on "their team" so to speak. A good "friendly approach" interviewer (which most are) will try to appear to be on your team. If I like cars and you say you like cars, I'm going to go into detail about cars as obviously we're on the same team and I can speak more openly to you.

Likewise, if you say you are not interested in surgery, the interviewer may ask why and then agree with whatever viewpoint you provide, leading you to exposed another viewpoint which is also met with agreement. Further and further down the rabbit hole you go until you say that you think plastic surgeons are shallow. The interviewer might laugh and you walk out feeling like you had a good interviewer. The interviewer then walks back to the plastics lounge. Good luck with that school.

Interviews are a trap. If you keep the interview superficial while pleading your case, you had a good interview. If you laughed with the interviewer or feel like you could get a beer with them afterwards, you might want to go have a beer yourself. They played you.

Umm.... it sounds interesting. And it makes a lot of sense too. So the point is, we just need to be frank, and don't worry too much after the interview is done...

 

[bannie22]

Umm.... it sounds interesting. And it makes a lot of sense too. So the point is, we just need to be frank, and don't worry too much after the interview is done...

YES.👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍


Be yourself, and once you are yourself in the interview, you cant really regret it. Unless you are going to hate on your own personality and ideals.

 

[longhorn09]

I agree with the above mentioned point that sometimes we dont judge our own interviews well.

An interview where we might have lots of fun might not necessarily be as good as one where the interview offers to shake your hand a few times after the conversation, even if you the conversation was entirely one way coming from the interviewer... (personal experience! hahaha!)

But I spotted it 😛

But I think whats most important to me is not whether I had a good interview (whatever that means), whats important to me is whether I had fun, showed the interviewers who I was, and really I want to leave the decision up to them.

Just like I am looking for that perfect fit school, I really want my interviewers to pick the students that would best fit their school vision. So I only want to be myself, and myself only.

And if I dont fit, I dont fret. I thank them for recognizing that I dont fit (no matter how sad it would be), and move on.

And to be able to move on, I have to believe that they know who I am... so thats just my job at the interview, to showcase who I am, nothing more, nothing less.

I wonder if "fit" or "not-fit" is detrmined by the interviewer or by adcoms? If the former is the case, then our chance of getting accepted is partially luck...

 

[bannie22]

I wonder if "fit" or "not-fit" is detrmined by the interviewer or by adcoms? If the former is the case, then our chance of getting accepted is partially luck...

I would guess that the interviewer has a great input on this section, but adcoms can probably also infer it from your activities and PS.

Just like I am determining fit at a school, I am sure they have their own ideals.

 

[bannie22]

I never understood why people are surprised by this. Maybe having just interviewed people before (not for school), its a bit more obvious. Most good interviewers will leave a majority of people feeling as though the interview went great. There is a reason for this and interviewing is itself a particularly deceitful skill set.

People don't often "open up" their true feelings unless they're talking with someone on "their team" so to speak. A good "friendly approach" interviewer (which most are) will try to appear to be on your team. If I like cars and you say you like cars, I'm going to go into detail about cars as obviously we're on the same team and I can speak more openly to you.

Likewise, if you say you are not interested in surgery, the interviewer may ask why and then agree with whatever viewpoint you provide, leading you to exposed another viewpoint which is also met with agreement. Further and further down the rabbit hole you go until you say that you think plastic surgeons are shallow. The interviewer might laugh and you walk out feeling like you had a good interviewer. The interviewer then walks back to the plastics lounge. Good luck with that school.

Interviews are a trap. If you keep the interview superficial while pleading your case, you had a good interview. If you laughed with the interviewer or feel like you could get a beer with them afterwards, you might want to go have a beer yourself. They played you.

But yeah. I hope thats not the case with my interviewers. that would be soooo sad 🙁 He even brought me on a hospital tour... I guess its all over. DAMN! 🙁\


owned 🙁

probably laughing and saying.. u'll never come back you little kid!!! 🙁
oh gosh. now u made me so sad...

did he say all those things to just gain my trust... =(

*devastated*


inhumane!!!!!!! loolll 🙁

 

[longhorn09]

But yeah. I hope thats not the case with my interviewers. that would be soooo sad 🙁 He even brought me on a hospital tour... I guess its all over. DAMN! 🙁\


owned 🙁

probably laughing and saying.. u'll never come back you little kid!!! 🙁
oh gosh. now u made me so sad...

did he say all those things to just gain my trust... =(

*devastated*


inhumane!!!!!!! loolll 🙁

Relax bro. I think if he spent time tour you around, he really think you will spend the next 4 years there.👍 He obviously has better alternative use of his time.

 

[bannie22]

Relax bro. I think if he spent time tour you around, he really think you will spend the next 4 years there.👍 He obviously has better alternative use of his time.

Thanks bro.
Truly devastated if thats not the case =(

Where are you gonna end up? I see some realllly sexy schools on your list 😉

Yale? Duke? JHU?

 

[imnastywitit]

I never understood why people are surprised by this. Maybe having just interviewed people before (not for school), its a bit more obvious. Most good interviewers will leave a majority of people feeling as though the interview went great. There is a reason for this and interviewing is itself a particularly deceitful skill set.

People don't often "open up" their true feelings unless they're talking with someone on "their team" so to speak. A good "friendly approach" interviewer (which most are) will try to appear to be on your team. If I like cars and you say you like cars, I'm going to go into detail about cars as obviously we're on the same team and I can speak more openly to you.

Likewise, if you say you are not interested in surgery, the interviewer may ask why and then agree with whatever viewpoint you provide, leading you to exposed another viewpoint which is also met with agreement. Further and further down the rabbit hole you go until you say that you think plastic surgeons are shallow. The interviewer might laugh and you walk out feeling like you had a good interviewer. The interviewer then walks back to the plastics lounge. Good luck with that school.

Interviews are a trap. If you keep the interview superficial while pleading your case, you had a good interview. If you laughed with the interviewer or feel like you could get a beer with them afterwards, you might want to go have a beer yourself. They played you.

bravo. thank you for the insight... this really makes sense out of the process for me.

if you keep it superficial, then you avoid saying anything that could crucify you. if you go real in depth, start talking real honest, and off the cuff... well you are talking honestly about what they were looking for, and they might have been 'looking for' or baiting u into a red flag... to see if you do it... and then boom. u are rejected.

for example, one interviewer of mine was a psychiatrist, and new that i was interested in psychology. she was super nice, and was like ohh, let's talk about your life, let's analyze your past, i'm sure you love this self analysis based on what you study... then we just went down that path, and 10 minutes later i'm talking about how i was in a total psychological rut freshman year of college, and then other things im confused about in life...

yea, needless to say i was rejected.

i am so effing disgusted right now. its great to hear that people in completely honest and just want to get to know you.

either way dude, thx for the insight.


..... that 'keep talking', encouraging smile didn't leave her face once....

 

[Tutmos]

Mackey nailed it. You have to be a little careful about how you execute. If you're not good about it they'll think you're being defensive and hiding something, which might be the biggest red flag of all. Don't insult any group or job or talk down the same. Respect that everyone has a place and understand that nothing in the system works without all the parts working. You should also appreciate that a lot of people doing what many might consider mundane jobs are just as smart as you but only lacked the inner drive to push themselves or didn't realize it was even possible. In general just be respectful of everyone.

 

[Zona Pellucida]

From what I've heard, interviewers generally see some degree of nervousness as a good thing rather than a bad thing.

If this is true, no wonder all I have received are Waitlists.

Sorry I am very comfortable socially and fine talking with strangers?

 

[MiniMoo]

If this is true, no wonder all I have received are Waitlists.

Sorry I am very comfortable socially and fine talking with strangers?

I don't think this is necessarily true. You don't want to be too comfortable and slouching in the chair or putting your feet up on the interviewer's desk, obviously, but I've gotten acceptances at schools where I felt pretty prepared and wasn't nervous in the least. I think it's good to show them that you're socially adept and confident without being cocky.

Also I do agree with Mackey's assessment, but don't believe that all interviewers are necessarily trying to trap unwary interviewees on purpose. It's just important to remember that while you should try to be yourself, this is still a professional interview. You want to keep everything positive and be honest, but not TOO honest. 😛

 

[Zona Pellucida]

I don't think this is necessarily true. You don't want to be too comfortable and slouching in the chair or putting your feet up on the interviewer's desk, obviously, but I've gotten acceptances at schools where I felt pretty prepared and wasn't nervous in the least. I think it's good to show them that you're socially adept and confident without being cocky.

Also I do agree with Mackey's assessment, but don't believe that all interviewers are necessarily trying to trap unwary interviewees on purpose. It's just important to remember that while you should try to be yourself, this is still a professional interview. You want to keep everything positive and be honest, but not TOO honest. 😛

Well I definitely wasn't doing that. I tried to be professional and speak well without getting myself all nervous for nothing, and that's what I did. Who knows. It's too hard to dissect this entire process. So frustrating.

 

[DrHiner]

At the school I ended up matriculating at they set me up for my interview with a student from my hometown (srsly) and a doctor with whom I shared a LOT of common interests.

This happened to me too actually, though whether or not it was intentional is hard to tell. I got matched with a Peds guy (want to specialize in something for kids; not sure what) and a Psychiatrist (one of my degrees is in Psych). I had loads to talk to them both about and actually sounded competent too because I was more familiar with those fields than like, surgery. And I got accepted there yesterday!

From what I've heard, interviewers generally see some degree of nervousness as a good thing rather than a bad thing.

If this is true, it helped me. I'm always a bit nervous/adrenaline-y in new situations... the kind where you blush a bit or you forget to breath enough or occasionally sound a bit squeaky/hoarse... but nothing debilitating. Just let your personality and passion shine through and a few nerves won't matter. After all, at least in my case, being nervous about something important just says how important I think it is. I recognize though that this is not the case for everyone.

Interviews are a trap. If you keep the interview superficial while pleading your case, you had a good interview.

I agree with this for the most part, but opening up yourself a bit is also a good thing... as long as you let it be interviewer directed. Like, if your interviewer opens up a bit, you open up a bit... And then stop and bring it back up to more superficial again. Doing this shows that you do have some depth, that you aren't just trying to be a cookie-cutter perfect applicant (read: you have opinions that you stand by, even if it costs you an acceptance) and that you are a bit courageous.

we just need to be frank

QFT 👍

 

[Hifey]

All my interviews that resulted in acceptances, I was just myself. The interviewers didn't try to make me feel comfortable and it definitely wasn't conversational. All my more conversational/laid back interviews resulted in WL. I really appreciate the fit part. I don't take it personally when a school rejects me, just because I know that if I didn't seem like a good fit for them then I probably wouldn't be.

lots of post interview questions could mean either a lot of bad fits, or just really bad interviewing in my opinion.

 

[dokein]

As usual, the answer is that each school is different. UCSF weighs it much less than average, UPenn weighs it much more.

 

[Question123]

As usual, the answer is that each school is different. UCSF weighs it much less than average, UPenn weighs it much more.

How do you know this? I don't remember them saying how much the interview matters during the day...

 

[Infinitydrop]

it still seems so wrong for a complete stranger to pass casual judgement on you after a 30-60 min conversation when you are not only sleep deprived but also nervous. That a simple mispoken sentence could invalidate all the years of effort that took to get an interview at a school.

i am NEVER going to become an interviewer. Having gone through it, i could never do that to someone else.

 

[skiddoc]

it still seems so wrong for a complete stranger to pass casual judgement on you after a 30-60 min conversation when you are not only sleep deprived but also nervous. That a simple mispoken sentence could invalidate all the years of effort that took to get an interview at a school.

i am NEVER going to become an interviewer. Having gone through it, i could never do that to someone else.

On the other hand, you might be a very good interviewer, because you would strive to make the interviewee at ease.

I personally disagree with all this "fit" nonsense. Interviewing is very subjective, and while you may not seem like a good fit to one interviewer, another interviewer may see you in a positive light. Some people just don't click.

No one really knows for sure. The key to interviewing is a better kept secret than what happens after you die.

 

[imnastywitit]

it still seems so wrong for a complete stranger to pass casual judgement on you after a 30-60 min conversation when you are not only sleep deprived but also nervous. That a simple mispoken sentence could invalidate all the years of effort that took to get an interview at a school.

i am NEVER going to become an interviewer. Having gone through it, i could never do that to someone else.

its an absolute joke. any phd in psychology would laugh this process out of the room. you can't judge someones total personality structure based on a 30 minute conversation. you can infer things from what they say, but you probably won't be right.

but as my pre-med advisor told me 'doctors are extremely confident in their ability to judge you correctly in seconds'. so it's their game.

 

[apumic]

it still seems so wrong for a complete stranger to pass casual judgement on you after a 30-60 min conversation when you are not only sleep deprived but also nervous. That a simple mispoken sentence could invalidate all the years of effort that took to get an interview at a school.

i am NEVER going to become an interviewer. Having gone through it, i could never do that to someone else.

Interviewing is a weird thing.... And actually IIRC, research has generally shown very little support for its accuracy in predicting future success of an applicant. Unfortunately...it's the best we have.
I think, though, that it's crucial that the people interviewing are experienced. I've seen inexperienced interviewers make all kinds of inaccurate or outright incorrect judgments based on their observations. (I personally had one interviewer label me as "passive" after speaking w/ me and observing me work in a group on a task b/c I like to allow others to lead as well and encouraged/supported others instead of taking the reigns the whole time myself. In reality, I tend to be a fairly dominant person who takes charge very quickly and effectively when things begin to head toward loss of control or I perceive assistance is needed but have learned to bring others alongside me and prefer to play a supportive and creative leadership role whenever possible.) I've also made my share of flubs in interviews as well (as an interviewer as well as as an interviewee). Oftentimes, I've been unsure exactly why one candidate is better than another (or isn't). It's usually not so cut and dry, unfortunately.
The thing is... it's all we've got in many cases. And, honestly, as a physician, you will likely have to interview others at some point -- whether to consider employing for your practice (MAs, nurses, techs, other MD/DOs, etc.) or for hiring or promoting in a hospital setting. Interviewing is pretty much impossible to entirely avoid in high-level professional settings.

 

[Mackey]

As far as what to say.. you don't have to lock-up and not reveal anything at all. Just don't tell the entire truth and ensure it doesn't seem as though you have a negative opinion. If you don't want to go into surgery because you think they're egotistical, money-grubbing, walking god-complexes, thats fine. Just say from the few you've met, you don't feel like your personality fits well, but you're always open to changing that viewpoint.

Theres ways around the truth without lying. Its a skill that will serve you well way beyond your med school interviews. Furthermore, for any event (such as these interviews) where you're asked to dress like a politician, speak like a politician.

Think of it as a date. If you're on one of your first dates with another person, and they ask what happened to your last relationship, you don't launch into the nitty-gritty, perspective skewed details. You say your paths diverged or some other sugarcoated nonsense. Her path might have been travelled in your car with your dog, but it is a divergent path nonetheless and nobody cares about that except you, and maybe the dog.

Also, if you gave you a personal tour, thats probably a good thing. I'm speaking generally. I hope it is indeed the case that the interviewer took a liking to you.

 

[LawNonTrad]

If this is true, no wonder all I have received are Waitlists.

Sorry I am very comfortable socially and fine talking with strangers?

The fact that you haven't gotten any acceptances yet is downright shocking, and also a bit distressing to me (as a future SUNY applicant living Upstate). Your stats are above the medians of a lot of the schools you applied to and you have good extracurriculars, so you really should be in somewhere.

P.S.- call it intuition or something, but I really feel that you'll get an interview invite from Buffalo soon and end up getting in there.

 

[MiniMoo]

The fact that you haven't gotten any acceptances yet is downright shocking, and also a bit distressing to me (as a future SUNY applicant living Upstate). Your stats are above the medians of a lot of the schools you applied to and you have good extracurriculars, so you really should be in somewhere.

P.S.- call it intuition or something, but I really feel that you'll get an interview invite from Buffalo soon and end up getting in there.

Yeah I'm surprised by ZP's waitlists as well. I'm rooting for him though. I really think he'll get in this year. He's definitely qualified. 👍

 

[bamtuba]

The interview is only important if you want to attend medical school.

 

[TDX]

If this is true, no wonder all I have received are Waitlists.

Sorry I am very comfortable socially and fine talking with strangers?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHH1Uh_sB1k

 

[Zona Pellucida]

The fact that you haven't gotten any acceptances yet is downright shocking, and also a bit distressing to me (as a future SUNY applicant living Upstate). Your stats are above the medians of a lot of the schools you applied to and you have good extracurriculars, so you really should be in somewhere.

P.S.- call it intuition or something, but I really feel that you'll get an interview invite from Buffalo soon and end up getting in there.

I've been secretly hoping for an invitation there and talked to Mr. Rosso last week. My app hasn't been looked at as of yet. (Complete in August )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHH1Uh_sB1k

Will definitely watch this and comment back with how my own interviews went in terms of the advice given here in a bit... (need to leave the house now so I don't have to time to watch right now)

Yeah I'm surprised by ZP's waitlists as well. I'm rooting for him though. I really think he'll get in this year. He's definitely qualified. 👍

Thanks MiniMoo. Appreciate the support and hopefully things work out.

 

[longhorn09]

I've been secretly hoping for an invitation there and talked to Mr. Rosso last week. My app hasn't been looked at as of yet. (Complete in August )



Will definitely watch this and comment back with how my own interviews went in terms of the advice given here in a bit... (need to leave the house now so I don't have to time to watch right now)



Thanks MiniMoo. Appreciate the support and hopefully things work out.

I don't know you, but Good Luck ZOnA!

 

[Zona Pellucida]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHH1Uh_sB1k

Great video..

Comments:

1. I was not casual. It wasn't like I was shootin' the **** with the interviewer or anything. I just did not project any nervousness and spoke loudly and confident while clearly defining my motivation and experiences, so maybe the interviewers could perceive that as casual?

2. Obviously I am nervous internally. I thought it was positive to project confidence (not in a bad way). I hate bragging and never put myself on a pedestal. If anything, I am self-deprecating (not in the interview, of course). As a physician, I would be in constant contact with new individuals/strangers and they would expect me to know what I am doing and not be shy/nervous about my work. Medicine is a very social profession (healthcare team/patients/etc) Why would they want me to be shy and nervous during an interview?

3. I did ask questions. Woops? I heard it was horrible to not ask questions as it could come across as disinterest.


Obviously I have a skewed perception on my interview skills because...I am me so it's hard to see it from the other perspective.


Edit: Also...obviously my approach isn't the best considering my results but I just don't understand why I should portray nervousness.

 

[Morsetlis]

At the end, I asked, "so does it snow here a lot?"

"Only in the winter."

:X

 

[imnastywitit]

if you need any proof that the interview is important.... im at 3.9/36s, a lot of clinical exp, the whole 9 yards... and i've been rejected by 3 suny's and waitlisted by 1. So yea. there are some do not do's of the interview, that they will reject you over, regardless of who you are.

and it really wasn't that i spoke incoherently, said something absurd, or said 'legalize pot'. it was really subtleties on my part that got me, and just me being awkward and anxious/antsy. so its my opinion that there red flags, and if you hit them, you simply will not be accepted, regardless of what else you do or say.

 

[TDX]

Great video..

Comments:

1. I was not casual. It wasn't like I was shootin' the **** with the interviewer or anything. I just did not project any nervousness and spoke loudly and confident while clearly defining my motivation and experiences, so maybe the interviewers could perceive that as casual?

2. Obviously I am nervous internally. I thought it was positive to project confidence (not in a bad way). I hate bragging and never put myself on a pedestal. If anything, I am self-deprecating (not in the interview, of course). As a physician, I would be in constant contact with new individuals/strangers and they would expect me to know what I am doing and not be shy/nervous about my work. Medicine is a very social profession (healthcare team/patients/etc) Why would they want me to be shy and nervous during an interview?

3. I did ask questions. Woops? I heard it was horrible to not ask questions as it could come across as disinterest.


Obviously I have a skewed perception on my interview skills because...I am me so it's hard to see it from the other perspective.


Edit: Also...obviously my approach isn't the best considering my results but I just don't understand why I should portray nervousness.

Why a hint of nervousness is useful shouldn't be that hard to understand.

It's a hugely important day, and what happens may determine what the rest of your life will look like.

Most people who come to the interview won't be able to fully hide that they are just a bit (or more than a bit) nervous about that.

If you are don't show at least a hint of nervousness, the interviewers will wonder what the reason for that is. The most charitable interpretation is that you're just able to hide it well - which has the unfortunate side-effect of also making you look somewhat insincere.

Less charitable interpretations, on the other hand, include things like not understanding how important it is, not taking the process seriously enough, being overconfident or simply having a sense of entitlement.

I'm not saying that any of those things are true for you, just that not showing the least bit of nervousness could make interviewers think that. In the worst case, a mean-spirited interviewer might simply see someone who seems confident as a good candidate for being taken down a notch.

Also, keep in mind that you're being interviewed about becoming a doctor, not being one - years of training and experience are part of what makes doctors comfortable even in the most awkward of situations. ("Oh, you have a commemorative statuette of the Eiffel Tower stuck up your rectum? Hmm, well, what we're going to do is the following...") You're not expected to have that skillset just yet.

 

[kmd34]

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

As title. I have some acceptances from schools which I had some so-so interview, and I have some rejection/wl from schools which I think I had some pretty good interviews. It seems to me that the interview really doesn't matter that much. Is it true or not?

 

[Zona Pellucida]

Why a hint of nervousness is useful shouldn't be that hard to understand.

It's a hugely important day, and what happens may determine what the rest of your life will look like.

Most people who come to the interview won't be able to fully hide that they are just a bit (or more than a bit) nervous about that.

If you are don't show at least a hint of nervousness, the interviewers will wonder what the reason for that is. The most charitable interpretation is that you're just able to hide it well - which has the unfortunate side-effect of also making you look somewhat insincere.

Less charitable interpretations, on the other hand, include things like not understanding how important it is, not taking the process seriously enough, being overconfident or simply having a sense of entitlement.

I'm not saying that any of those things are true for you, just that not showing the least bit of nervousness could make interviewers think that. In the worst case, a mean-spirited interviewer might simply see someone who seems confident as a good candidate for being taken down a notch.

Also, keep in mind that you're being interviewed about becoming a doctor, not being one - years of training and experience are part of what makes doctors comfortable even in the most awkward of situations. ("Oh, you have a commemorative statuette of the Eiffel Tower stuck up your rectum? Hmm, well, what we're going to do is the following...") You're not expected to have that skillset just yet.

Thanks for the response. 👍 I understand nervousness can show how important the day is to you. But for me, I have always been good at controlling my emotions and staying calm. Obviously I understand the importance of the day if I spent thousands and thousands of dollars for undergrad for 4 years/applying fees/travel fees/MCAT fees and months of studying/research/volunteering/etc.

If I have to reapply next year I don't really think I could "make myself" act all nervous during the interview. That's just not how I interact with other people. I guess I understand your point though, I just can't really 'correct' that and make myself become a nervous wreck during an interview.

Argh. This is annoying.

 

[startswithb]

Nervousness is good? Great, because the "tell me about yourself" first question led to a verbal explosion of everything I ever wanted to say in my interview. Yeah..

 

[imnastywitit]

Nervousness is good? Great, because the "tell me about yourself" first question led to a verbal explosion of everything I ever wanted to say in my interview. Yeah..

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.