Is it possible to get accepted to medical school with a really bad interview?

[drizzt3117]

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yep, go figure...

LOL
And these words came from the guy with "~4.0/40 with great ECs who applied EDP"?



+1 👍

...

 

[farrago]

"I don't know why anyone would be interested in primary care, only people who can't get into another specialty go into it." (to the fam med attending)

"what's my greatest weakness? I have a lot of difficulty dealing with people who aren't as smart as I am."

"my greatest strength is probably charisma..."

It was like a caricature, really, the staff read like 8-10 quotes word for word from the interview.

Maybe he was sitting on an acceptance and was just trolling?

 

[boydn]

ultimatly I think you dont have to be a great speaker, just get the basic right and concentrate on getting accoross your desire to study medicine and thats all they are looking for

 

[SFGuy2011]

"I don't know why anyone would be interested in primary care, only people who can't get into another specialty go into it." (to the fam med attending)

"what's my greatest weakness? I have a lot of difficulty dealing with people who aren't as smart as I am."

"my greatest strength is probably charisma..."

It was like a caricature, really, the staff read like 8-10 quotes word for word from the interview.

This is AWESOME!! It never ceases to amaze me as to how great some people think they are, or that they're oblivious to the fact that they come off as a complete tool.

 

[NoMatterWhat]

I want to appear confident (such as I'm confident I can succeed), but not come across as pompous. Where's the balance between the two?

 

[jsh52]

Haha. Crazy questions like why do you want to be a doctor, what has influenced your life, and where do you see yourself in ten years? Get a grip and welcome to the real world.

He's right. Maybe you didn't get weird questions, but I got "Circle or square? Why? Oh and take your time and think about it, if you need to." <--WTF? lol Same guy also asked me if I would marry a doctor or someone less educated than me. 🙄 He was a total pig, for lack of a better word. I knew him prior to the interview as well because I had done summer research there the summer before. I didn't call him out and just responded calmly and maturely. I took his questions just as seriously as if he asked me why I wanted to be a doctor.

Needless to say, I was interviewing for doctoral programs at the same time and was shocked at the difference in interviewing styles. There was much less BS involved for the doctoral interviews. They were very "to the point."

But yes, I do think the interviewing portion can make or break you.

 

[Sammich117]

I want to appear confident (such as I'm confident I can succeed), but not come across as pompous. Where's the balance between the two?

It's about sincerity. It's usually pretty easy to tell the difference as long as the person is being genuine.

 

[EpicBearMan]

Pre interview I went 10 for 10

Post interview I went 1 for 7 (I declined three interviews after getting the acceptance)

The interview is a HUGE part of the application. If you know it's a problem now, get help with it. I'm definitely planning on getting help with this before residency apps. It's a shame for 4 years of hard work to get erased in half an hour.

That doesn't even necessarily mean that the interview was what held you back. Many schools don't even do a full review before inviting for an interview.

I've had low yield after interviews as well (consistent waitlists), so I did some calling and the general consensus seemed to be that my EC's were thin. I even had one school say that I had a good score on my interview.

I also hear stories all the time of people getting accepted after bombing their interview. How much the interview counts surely varies a lot from school to school, and it's hard for us non-adcoms to even estimate.

 

[drizzt3117]

maybe he was sitting on an acceptance and was just trolling?

edp...

 

[SFGuy2011]

He's right. Maybe you didn't get weird questions, but I got "Circle or square? Why? Oh and take your time and think about it, if you need to." <--WTF? lol Same guy also asked me if I would marry a doctor or someone less educated than me. 🙄 He was a total pig, for lack of a better word. I knew him prior to the interview as well because I had done summer research there the summer before. I didn't call him out and just responded calmly and maturely. I took his questions just as seriously as if he asked me why I wanted to be a doctor.

Needless to say, I was interviewing for doctoral programs at the same time and was shocked at the difference in interviewing styles. There was much less BS involved for the doctoral interviews. They were very "to the point."

But yes, I do think the interviewing portion can make or break you.

I'm sure you've heard this before, but the point of the question isn't your answer per say. I was given a situation in one of my interviews where he told me to imagine he was my best friend and had just disclosed that he had a terminal illness. They want you to get away from scripted answers and see what you're really made of. You can't BS your way through questions like that as easily as the traditional questions, without them seeing you for who you are. Anyway, that's what I make of it.

 

[LegendaryPunk]

I'm sure you've heard this before, but the point of the question isn't your answer per say. I was given a situation in one of my interviews where he told me to imagine he was my best friend and had just disclosed that he had a terminal illness. They want you to get away from scripted answers and see what you're really made of. You can't BS your way through questions like that as easily as the traditional questions, without them seeing you for who you are. Anyway, that's what I make of it.

Agreed. Goes back to the saying, "It's not what you say, it's how you say it."

 

[NoMatterWhat]

So when asked: "What's your weakness," can I say: "interview"? 😀
I'm serious.

 

[premed2013]

I think it matters what you say as well as how you say things. If they ask what your weakness is and you make yourself look like an idiot, it will not leave a good impression.

 

[drizzt3117]

I think it matters what you say as well as how you say things. If they ask what your weakness is and you make yourself look like an idiot, it will not leave a good impression.

People do that though... you'd be surprised... it's pretty funny.

"What do you feel is your biggest weakness?"

"I guess I just don't think I'm that smart."

"Oh, you're probably just being modest, you've gotten this far, right?"

"No really, I'm pretty dumb."

"Ok then."

 

[JackWebb999]

My brother was wait listed even after he told his interviewer he wanted to become a doctor only for the money! Obviously he was trying to bomb the interview but who would have thought he would not be rejected outright?

 

[HAV000]

My brother was wait listed even after he told his interviewer he wanted to become a doctor only for the money! Obviously he was trying to bomb the interview but who would have thought he would not be rejected outright?

Was this some sort of experiment? Under what circumstances would someone take the time to attend an interview just to intentionally bomb it? I would be interested to know what other answers your brother gave