Lies the adcom WILL NOT see through

[jad2121]

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OK, so I know a lot of you have a strong sense of honor and respect for the process of getting into med school, and you may not like this thread. Personally I don't condone cheating on tests or plagiarizing. However, I have no problem at all lying to adcom's (about certain things).

For example, at one school, the interviewer asked me what my hobbies were. I am a premed, and I don't have that many hobbies (except if you count TV, hanging out with friends and studying). The adcom's love to hear that we are out fly fishing and playing the classical violin. Sorry, I don't see how that will make me a better doctor. So I lied. I made up a hobby. The interviewer smiled and said "OK, what else?" as if I needed something else. So I made up another hobby. And so it went. I made up like five hobbies, completely out of nowhere. When he followed up on them, I had one or two things to say, but nothing that anyone else wouldn't know.

I got into that school

Anyone else have a similar story or experience?

 

[armybound]

Can't say I do..

oh, and

 

[Auron]

 

[aaj117]

Haha well i've been going the opposite route; brutaly honest. At RWJ, when the interviewer asked why i chose to apply there, i admitted "well i don't really know too much about the school, but they give princeton students in-state tuition so i figured why not?" and got in. At another school, i actually cursed (it was part of a story he had asked me to recall, i did it in full detail quoting a patient) repeatedly and not only got in but might get money. I've had so much fun being too honest at interviews, that i think it would be less entertaining to lie.

 

[NewmansOwn]

Goddamnit, armybound! You're going to make me put a palm through my monitor at work with that damn avatar!

Oh and to the OP...why don't you have any hobbies? Everyone makes themselves sound a little better in an interview, but why on earth do you need to make up hobbies? You don't bike, hike, play cards...anything? Come on, dude; January is depressing enough. I think the AdComs want to see if you're a well-rounded person, because a one-dimensional science drone will not be able to engage patients very well. Most folks want their doctors to be people, not robots -- but maybe that's just me. Congrats on getting in to your school, though.

 

[xanthomondo]

Haha well i've been going the opposite route; brutaly honest. At RWJ, when the interviewer asked why i chose to apply there, i admitted "well i don't really know too much about the school, but they give princeton students in-state tuition so i figured why not?" and got in. At another school, i actually cursed (it was part of a story he had asked me to recall, i did it in full detail quoting a patient) repeatedly and not only got in but might get money. I've had so much fun being too honest at interviews, that i think it would be less entertaining to lie.

You're totally asking for it, you know.

 

[Lokhtar]

I think hubris would be the least of my concerns.

 

[87138]

When I was at an interview at a private school in my state, a kid from another state was there and explained something similar. To begin with, this kid had the social skills of a deaf/blind/mute that had been chained up in someone's basement all his life. The kid seemed deathly nervous talking to fellow interviewees at the little meet and greet and refreshments with the dean at the end of the day. We were all talking about previous interviews, and Mr. Personality pipes up with "I interviewed at [Big State School, his home state . . . he attended Big University just down the road from Big State School] the first day they did interviews, my stats are well above their averages, I have tons of research and a few publications, and I got REJECTED one week later."

A few of us standing around said something like "oh, that's too bad . . . " and he said, "I know! It was funny, the interviewer asked me about my hobbies, and I honestly don't have any. My friends and I spend friday and saturday nights studying in the library for science classes. I don't do anything else. He asked me about football games (Big State School and Big University are big football schools and semi-rivals), and I've never been to one so I tried to make things up about having been to them before. But yeah I have no idea why I didn't get in."

He walked away, and another guy I was talking to turned to me and said "God I hate premeds so much."


Apparently adcoms can see through some people's BS.

 

[jad2121]

When I was at an interview at a private school in my state, a kid from another state was there and explained something similar. To begin with, this kid had the social skills of a deaf/blind/mute that had been chained up in someone's basement all his life. The kid seemed deathly nervous talking to fellow interviewees at the little meet and greet and refreshments with the dean at the end of the day. We were all talking about previous interviews, and Mr. Personality pipes up with "I interviewed at [Big State School, his home state . . . he attended Big University just down the road from Big State School] the first day they did interviews, my stats are well above their averages, I have tons of research and a few publications, and I got REJECTED one week later."

A few of us standing around said something like "oh, that's too bad . . . " and he said, "I know! It was funny, the interviewer asked me about my hobbies, and I honestly don't have any. My friends and I spend friday and saturday nights studying in the library for science classes. I don't do anything else. He asked me about football games (Big State School and Big University are big football schools and semi-rivals), and I've never been to one so I tried to make things up about having been to them before. But yeah I have no idea why I didn't get in."

He walked away, and another guy I was talking to turned to me and said "God I hate premeds so much."


Apparently adcoms can see through some people's BS.

well the trick is to lie AND get away with it.

 

[Maxprime]

Little white lies about how much you do some BS activity are fine . . . until your interviewer is crazy about one of them. I think they're told by people who don't understand what interviewers are looking for. They've seen a thousand whiny, suck-up pre-meds that have done everything perfect since birth including every hobby known to mankind . . . and they don't care if you are good at squash or not.

Interviews are to see if they will be able to stand having to work with you. If you have nothing interesting going on outside of textbooks, you're not going to be fun to hang out with at 3am on Christmas Eve while cleaning up a drunken Santa Claus covered in vomit.

 

[jad2121]

Little white lies about how much you do some BS activity are fine . . . until your interviewer is crazy about one of them. I think they're told by people who don't understand what interviewers are looking for. They've seen a thousand whiny, suck-up pre-meds that have done everything perfect since birth including every hobby known to mankind . . . and they don't care if you are good at squash or not.

Interviews are to see if they will be able to stand having to work with you. If you have nothing interesting going on outside of textbooks, you're not going to be fun to hang out with at 3am.

Isn't that like saying that guys who lie on dates don't really understand what girls are really looking for? Lets see who gets the second date

 

[87138]

Isn't that like saying that guys who lie on dates don't really understand what girls are really looking for? Lets see who gets the second date

You're assuming women and med schools are at the same level of whorishness. One is moreso than the other. I'll let you try to figure out which one.

 

[Maxprime]

Isn't that like saying that guys who lie on dates don't really understand what girls are really looking for? Lets see who gets the second date

I would hope the female in question is dating a guy that doesn't have to lie to be interesting. But everyone buffs their resume - "post-consumer product engineer" is the new garbage man.

 

[decafplease]

You're assuming women and med schools are at the same level of whorishness. One is moreso than the other. I'll let you try to figure out which one.

 

[dogfacewhizza]

To the OP, I've got to chime in, making stuff up is just plain out of line. Taking credit for things (five separate things!?) you haven't done and will never do is straight up lying. If you got an acceptance at that school, then clearly it wasn't just those 5 made up hobbies that got you in, but still. What if you had listed those things on your AMCAS app? That, I believe, would be a fairly serious offense.

Not saying that stretching the truth isn't sometimes valid. Like lets say you spent a year volunteering in an ER changing linen and wiping up blood and you want to call it an invaluable opportunity to interact with physicians and patients, then have at it, you actually did the work, you were there, and I'm sure you at least met eyes with an ER doc once.

Do you not have time for hobbies? Try turning off your television. Or, if watching tv is what you are really passionate about, run with it. Tell that interviewer that watching television is the most fulfilling way you have found to spend your free time and couldn't imagine life without it. To go back to your date analogy, maybe you would get a second shot with that lady, but just wait to see what happens when she finds out that you have never base jumped off the Eiffel tower and that you aren't best buds with the Coen brothers and will never be in one of their films. You'll get dropped.

 

[VoiceofReason]

Well it's not laudable but it's not in any way ethically questionable either. If all extracurriculars were equally well regarded, people wouldn't feel compelled to lie about what they do with their free time.

Goddamnit, armybound! You're going to make me put a palm through my monitor at work with that damn avatar!

Oh and to the OP...why don't you have any hobbies? Everyone makes themselves sound a little better in an interview, but why on earth do you need to make up hobbies? You don't bike, hike, play cards...anything? Come on, dude; January is depressing enough. I think the AdComs want to see if you're a well-rounded person, because a one-dimensional science drone will not be able to engage patients very well. Most folks want their doctors to be people, not robots -- but maybe that's just me. Congrats on getting in to your school, though.

Everyone does something with their free time.. some people get drunk and do backflips in the kitchen and others just watch TV until they pass out. And what if a person is actually "one-dimensional" and uses their free time to read and practice even more science? You'd hold that against them? "One-dimensional" used in this context has a pretty clear negative connotation, which is undeserved if you actually think about it. You're judging people to be less worthy of practicing medicine when all they're guilty of is doing something perfectly legal and moral with their free time.

I'm also tacitly implying that whether or not you can discuss with your patient specific hikes along the appalachian trail is irrelevant to the quality of the medical care you can provide.

 

[Insulinshock]

How can a person not have hobbies? I mean seriously? Do they just sit there in their free time and stare at the wall? I don't get it...

 

[da8s0859q]

On the bright side, this thread hasn't been filled with the voices of a thousand overly idealistic premeds crying about how bad and terrible and kills-kittens-every-time it is to lie at interviews.

I personally wouldn't do it and think it's a little sleazy, honestly, but I'm not gonna sit here and criticize.

 

[jad2121]

Well it's not laudable but it's not in any way ethically questionable either. If all extracurriculars were equally well regarded, people wouldn't feel compelled to lie about what they do with their free time.



Everyone does something with their free time.. some people get drunk and do backflips in the kitchen and others just watch TV until they pass out. And what if a person is actually "one-dimensional" and uses their free time to read and practice even more science? You'd hold that against them? "One-dimensional" used in this context has a pretty clear negative connotation, which is undeserved if you actually think about it. You're judging people to be less worthy of practicing medicine when all they're guilty of is doing something perfectly legal and moral with their free time.

I'm also tacitly implying that whether or not you can discuss with your patient specific hikes along the appalachian trail is irrelevant to the quality of the medical care you can provide.

Thank you very much voiceofreason, I (obviously) agree.

And another thing. I have met many people who have a billion hobbies, and you know what, many of them are very boring. Do you know why? Because all they do all day is activities. They never just hang out with friends and relax. Just think about all of those kids in every "club" in college. Did the African poetry club at any of your universities get alot of girls?

I am not one dimensional. I am just a normal kid who decides to spend his free time hanging out with friends, drinking, going to movies, dating girls and studying to get into med school. The fact that saying this will not get me into med school is sad. So instead I lie. I am unapologetic.

 

[prettymonkey]

drinking, reading gossip magazines, watching tv, and shopping are not things i would discuss with an interviewer. minimize these. maximize other things that i have some interest in. 😉

 

[sivadrd]

OP just curious, what did you say your hobbies were?

 

[jad2121]

OP just curious, what did you say your hobbies were?

jazz music, opera, Baseball, Tennis, reading

These were all good lie choices for me because I have basic (or in some cases more than basic) knowledge of all of these. For example, I was an English major, so even though I don't read all that much anymore, I have a lot to talk about.

 

[VoiceofReason]

jazz music, opera, Baseball, Tennis, reading

These were all good lie choices for me because I have basic (or in some cases more than basic) knowledge of all of these. For example, I was an English major, so even though I don't read all that much anymore, I have a lot to talk about.

Well played.

 

[derArzt]

So basically we are all in a competition, and you're the one 'cheating'.

How do you feel about that?

 

[jad2121]

So basically we are all in a competition, and you're the one 'cheating'.

How do you feel about that?

good...i'm winning

 

[NewmansOwn]

Well it's not laudable but it's not in any way ethically questionable either. If all extracurriculars were equally well regarded, people wouldn't feel compelled to lie about what they do with their free time.



Everyone does something with their free time.. some people get drunk and do backflips in the kitchen and others just watch TV until they pass out. And what if a person is actually "one-dimensional" and uses their free time to read and practice even more science? You'd hold that against them? "One-dimensional" used in this context has a pretty clear negative connotation, which is undeserved if you actually think about it. You're judging people to be less worthy of practicing medicine when all they're guilty of is doing something perfectly legal and moral with their free time.

I'm also tacitly implying that whether or not you can discuss with your patient specific hikes along the appalachian trail is irrelevant to the quality of the medical care you can provide.

And if you kept up to date with current trends, you'd know that the quality of medical care you provide has nothing to do with whether or not your patients like you -- which DOES matter. In what can best be described as a mixture of arrogance and your haste to condemn me, it seems to me you're missing a few facts. First of all, I am not questioning the OP's right to practice medicine -- anyone who read my post thoroughly would see that. I believe, far from being negative, I was supportive of the guy; I just think it's silly to claim you have no hobbies. And if, in fact, that is true, then such an individual would be one-dimensional. In this case, the one dimension is medicine. Let me give you an example of why that's a problem: studies, which I'm sure many of you have read about, show that the overwhelming majority of patients sue doctors whom they do not like, NOT those who provide the best care. In fact, quality of medical care has been shown to have almost no correlation with the choice to litigate. Thus, it is in the OP's (and our) best interest to have hobbies that make us more appealing and approachable to our patients.

 

[erica31]

Ew... that was a shi$$y response. I think why I don't approve of your lying, is because I wouldn't approve of the situation if it were opposite.

Let me put it this way: when you go to interview a medical school, you want the adcom and interview team to be honest. Not lie. What if they told "little white lies" about their programs, rotation availability, new grants they expected to receive for research, new buildings, etc.

When I interviewed I was straight up with the interviewers and I hope they were with me... and not "making up" things their school had to offer. I would be absolutely FURIOUS if I chose a school and found out their "promises" weren't real.

FYI: "congrats" on your "winning" (albeit slightly fake). I'm sure you feel mighty smug about that accomplishment.

good...i'm winning

 

[[pj]]

good...i'm winning

Man, you're a jerk. But, I'll admit that I'd rather be winning than not.

One of the big things about your case, though, is that it was a fairly blatant act to make things up. But then again, I realize that this kind of thing happens quite a bit, albeit more subtly. For example, my state school emphasizes primary/rural care like none other. In order to get in, everyone goes for the "I want to do primary care, rural care, family med" reasons even if that's not necessarily in their plans.

So why do I bring this up? Simply because lying happens so frequently, but some cases have become so common that it's just "the way it is."

Of course, that's not an excuse to keep look other way. But, it's always good to know the context of things.

I kinda lost my train of thought in the middle of that.

 

[student12x]

studies, which I'm sure many of you have read about, show that the overwhelming majority of patients sue doctors whom they do not like, NOT those who provide the best care. In fact, quality of medical care has been shown to have almost no correlation with the choice to litigate. Thus, it is in the OP's (and our) best interest to have hobbies that make us more appealing and approachable to our patients.

You mean that the overwheming majority of people who actually sue their doctor do so against doctors in which they do not like. But I get your point.
This sounds like a poor excuse for for medschools to shun out those that are "one dimensional" or those that are lacking a prolific amounts activities. They should attack the main problem in the first place. i.e medical errors. If doctors don't make mistakes, then the patients won't have anything to complain about them in the first place regardless of the whether the patients like them of not. And if you happen to be one of those people that are prone to making little errors, then(when you're a doc) be on good terms with the patient. Make stuff up(not medically related of course) to them if thats what it takes to break the ice.

 

[jad2121]

Ew... that was a shi$$y response. I think why I don't approve of your lying, is because I wouldn't approve of the situation if it were opposite.

Let me put it this way: when you go to interview a medical school, you want the adcom and interview team to be honest. Not lie. What if they told "little white lies" about their programs, rotation availability, new grants they expected to receive for research, new buildings, etc.

When I interviewed I was straight up with the interviewers and I hope they were with me... and not "making up" things their school had to offer. I would be absolutely FURIOUS if I chose a school and found out their "promises" weren't real.

FYI: "congrats" on your "winning" (albeit slightly fake). I'm sure you feel mighty smug about that accomplishment.

They DO tell white lies about their school. Let me ask you this, how many tour guides have told you about how the kids in the school are not so competitive and they aren't that stressed out.

At one of my schools (the same school that I lied at btw) the tour was given by this gorgeous girl, who was flirting with all the guys on the tour (which was pretty great btw). In between discussions about the fantastic scholastics, she would tell us how much fun she was having there. She mentioned that she was on the dodge ball team and the kickball team. While we were walking, we ran into this insanely cool layed back guy, who mentioned that he was just cutting class and wanted to join our tour. He ended up taking over the whole tour as if this wasn't planned. Btw this is a really good school here. Does this seem like med school to you?

There is no way that this was really how it was to be a student there. They were obviously putting on a little play to get us to go to that school.

I'm sorry if my comment seemed obnoxious, but the one that prompted it was SO much worse. There is so much pretentious idealistic BS among premeds that I can't stand it. If I hear about how this and that will make somebody a bad doctor, or this and that is unethical I am going to explode.

 

[NewmansOwn]

You mean that the overwheming majority of people who actually sue their doctor do so against doctors in which they do not like. But I get your point.
This sounds like a poor excuse for for medschools to shun out those that are "one dimensional" or those that are lacking a prolific amounts activities. They should attack the main problem in the first place. i.e medical errors. If doctors don't make mistakes, then the patients won't have anything to complain about them in the first place regardless of the whether the patients like them of not. And if you happen to be one of those people that are prone to making little errors, then(when you're a doc) be on good terms with the patient. Make stuff up(not medically related of course) to them if thats what it takes to break the ice.

Yes. 'Not making mistakes' is indeed a practical defense against possible litigation. Ridiculous. Look man, I think it's fine to embellish a few things to break the ice. But you're advocating ignoring the tense (sometimes hostile) relationship between well-educated doctors who have to deal with laypeople and patients who think they're being condescended to. Also, I'm not saying anyone should be 'shunned' by med schools for being one-dimensional. Obviously, grades/scores/academic achievements should be of paramount importance. But if choosing between someone who's never taken his/her nose out of a book and someone who's got an interesting and vibrant life outside of studies, I'm going with the latter -- and Ad Coms obviously agree. I think supporting a system where doctors don't care if their patients hate them is sophomoric, short-sighted and irresponsible.

 

[LaMusicienne]

For example, at one school, the interviewer asked me what my hobbies were. I am a premed, and I don't have that many hobbies (except if you count TV, hanging out with friends and studying). The adcom's love to hear that we are out fly fishing and playing the classical violin. Sorry, I don't see how that will make me a better doctor. So I lied. I made up a hobby. The interviewer smiled and said "OK, what else?" as if I needed something else. So I made up another hobby. And so it went. I made up like five hobbies, completely out of nowhere. When he followed up on them, I had one or two things to say, but nothing that anyone else wouldn't know.

Hmmm... fly fishing and classical violin may or may not have to do with being a good physician, but I think integrity does...

 

[student12x]

But if choosing between someone who's never taken his/her nose out of a book and someone who's got an interesting and vibrant life outside of studies, I'm going with the latter -- and Ad Coms obviously agree.

I don't think that adcoms should put their noses into peoples personal lives.

But you're advocating ignoring the tense (sometimes hostile) relationship between well-educated doctors who have to deal with laypeople and patients who think they're being condescended to.

Well, thats why I said to embellish things in order to break the ice. Is that too hard to do? Its called acting. I don't think it would be a problem for someone as smart as a doctor to make up a few things to befriend patients. Just don't be a jackass and you're good to go. Those docs that are are obviously being over worked.

 

[BrokenGlass]

They DO tell white lies about their school. Let me ask you this, how many tour guides have told you about how the kids in the school are not so competitive and they aren't that stressed out.

At one of my schools (the same school that I lied at btw) the tour was given by this gorgeous girl, who was flirting with all the guys on the tour (which was pretty great btw). In between discussions about the fantastic scholastics, she would tell us how much fun she was having there. She mentioned that she was on the dodge ball team and the kickball team. While we were walking, we ran into this insanely cool layed back guy, who mentioned that he was just cutting class and wanted to join our tour. He ended up taking over the whole tour as if this wasn't planned. Btw this is a really good school here. Does this seem like med school to you?

There is no way that this was really how it was to be a student there. They were obviously putting on a little play to get us to go to that school.

I'm sorry if my comment seemed obnoxious, but the one that prompted it was SO much worse. There is so much pretentious idealistic BS among premeds that I can't stand it. If I hear about how this and that will make somebody a bad doctor, or this and that is unethical I am going to explode.

Was she even a student there or just a hired gun? Maybe she was paid to give you a tour?

 

[NewmansOwn]

I don't think that adcoms should put their noses into peoples personal lives.



Well, thats why I said to embellish things in order to break the ice. Is that too hard to do? Its called acting. I don't think it would be a problem for someone as smart as a doctor to make up a few things to befriend patients. Just don't be a jackass and you're good to go. Those docs that are are obviously being over worked.

What do we mean by personal lives? If you mean should they ask if you're gay, or if you like to dress in drag, no, of course not -- that's none of their business. But they have a right to see the whole applicant, not just some scores. They want to train people who won't be boring to work with after they graduate, let alone all-out douchebags. And if you're all about the doctor focusing strictly on medicine, then why should (s)he have to learn how to act?

Furthermore, the New York Times just published an article arguing that athletic patients are much more satisfied when they go to see physically active doctors. The article goes even further to say that these patients are not only treated more effectively, but are also often spared needless procedures and treatment, saving everyone time and money.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/03/health/nutrition/03Best.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

The facts are there. It doesn't pay to be one-dimensional.

 

[TouchOfGrey]

I feel like we're missing something here.

Why adcoms want to see hobbies, extracurricular BS, etc., is because doctoring is hard effing work. If you don't have a release valve, a way to express yourself, a way to HAVE FUN, you are going to burn out hard and fast. That means that the long years of training will have been wasted, and there's a good chance you could hurt someone in the process of your flaming out.

So it makes sense. BUT, the whole race for most/best/most diverse hobbies or extracurriculars is ridiculous and defeats the purpose. It applies to high school students these days so much too: many kids out there do so much soccer/band/model congress/etc/etc/etc have no time to just chill, which is pretty impt. too. I'm just saying, if it becomes a race to see how many and who's got the best it's missing the point.

Lying a little bit, I think, is not gonna kill anyone. Just be aware of the above stated reasons for having a hobby. If chilling with your friends, tube, and weed will do it for you, that's cool with me. But, something to consider: as you get older, those things become less satisfying (experience speaking here). So, it's good to have something that will grow with you (ie, music, art, etc).

Oh yeah, and if you don't think schools lie to you about how great it is to go there, and all the stuff they have that others don't, you are a Sucker.

 

[Na1a]

How can a person not have hobbies? I mean seriously? Do they just sit there in their free time and stare at the wall? I don't get it...

Exactly, we all do something in our free time.

I myself was very honest at interviews. Just like the OP, I have no "interesting" hobbies to speak of. I don't play classical piano or build model airplanes or translate biblical passages from the original Hebrew.

I simply said the truth: I read, I watch TV, I go out with friends once in a while.

What's wrong with any of those things? I can talk for hours about books I've read, about TV shows I like, and about my friends. That is so much better than making up a hobby just because I think that the interviewer wants to hear something more unusual.

PS. I got into 3 of the 4 schools that I interviewed at last year.

 

[VoiceofReason]

And if you kept up to date with current trends, you'd know that the quality of medical care you provide has nothing to do with whether or not your patients like you -- which DOES matter. In what can best be described as a mixture of arrogance and your haste to condemn me, it seems to me you're missing a few facts. First of all, I am not questioning the OP's right to practice medicine -- anyone who read my post thoroughly would see that. I believe, far from being negative, I was supportive of the guy; I just think it's silly to claim you have no hobbies. And if, in fact, that is true, then such an individual would be one-dimensional. In this case, the one dimension is medicine. Let me give you an example of why that's a problem: studies, which I'm sure many of you have read about, show that the overwhelming majority of patients sue doctors whom they do not like, NOT those who provide the best care. In fact, quality of medical care has been shown to have almost no correlation with the choice to litigate. Thus, it is in the OP's (and our) best interest to have hobbies that make us more appealing and approachable to our patients.

The language of your first post in this thread belies your true opinion of those that are "one-dimensional" -- it is pretty clearly a negative evaluation of the relative fitness of these people for the practice of medicine in at least one way.

Technically speaking you could call anything a hobby, so you're right it's goofy for anyone to say that they have no hobbies. I think what we're really talking about here are activities that adcoms like to hear about. Adcoms ask about hobbies, and you start to think about things that you do other than drink beer and watch football, even though this is a fine use of free time. Everyone does things with their free time -- even if they're just staring at a wall, they're still doing something. The point is: you can't judge any use of free time unbecoming of a future physician unless its illegal (and that's still debatable) or immoral.

Now, patients will like doctors for various reasons, not only because they can identify with them. In fact I would say it's more reasonable to assume that doctors will be liked for their friendliness and their physical appearance, rather than for shared interests. So again, not having any "hobbies" is immaterial in reality but unfortunately that's not how you play the game of med school admissions.

 

[Maxprime]

If your conscience is really that strong, just try out 10 new hobbies the week before you interview.

 

[erica31]

I didn't say you'd be a bad doctor, nor did I mention the word "unethical." What I think you did was dumb and unncessary. Like Nala said, you could have just expanded upon what you DO do, and describe experiences with your friends or discuss TV... most male docs like discussing football 😉

And if what you did was completely normal, and just fine.. then why create a thread about it? And why be so super defensive with people's comments?

Also, the situation that you encountered with your tour is uncommon, but not impossible. There are very pretty female doctors and athletic easy-going male docs out in the world, why can't they also be in medical school? I got a couple of California beauty queen titles when I was in high school... should I not be going to med school?

They DO tell white lies about their school. Let me ask you this, how many tour guides have told you about how the kids in the school are not so competitive and they aren't that stressed out.

At one of my schools (the same school that I lied at btw) the tour was given by this gorgeous girl, who was flirting with all the guys on the tour (which was pretty great btw). In between discussions about the fantastic scholastics, she would tell us how much fun she was having there. She mentioned that she was on the dodge ball team and the kickball team. While we were walking, we ran into this insanely cool layed back guy, who mentioned that he was just cutting class and wanted to join our tour. He ended up taking over the whole tour as if this wasn't planned. Btw this is a really good school here. Does this seem like med school to you?

There is no way that this was really how it was to be a student there. They were obviously putting on a little play to get us to go to that school.

I'm sorry if my comment seemed obnoxious, but the one that prompted it was SO much worse. There is so much pretentious idealistic BS among premeds that I can't stand it. If I hear about how this and that will make somebody a bad doctor, or this and that is unethical I am going to explode.

 

[NewmansOwn]

The language of your first post in this thread belies your true opinion of those that are "one-dimensional" -- it is pretty clearly a negative evaluation of the relative fitness of these people for the practice of medicine in at least one way.

Technically speaking you could call anything a hobby, so you're right it's goofy for anyone to say that they have no hobbies. I think what we're really talking about here are activities that adcoms like to hear about. Adcoms ask about hobbies, and you start to think about things that you do other than drink beer and watch football, even though this is a fine use of free time. Everyone does things with their free time -- even if they're just staring at a wall, they're still doing something. The point is: you can't judge any use of free time unbecoming of a future physician unless its illegal (and that's still debatable) or immoral.

Now, patients will like doctors for various reasons, not only because they can identify with them. In fact I would say it's more reasonable to assume that doctors will be liked for their friendliness and their physical appearance, rather than for shared interests. So again, not having any "hobbies" is immaterial in reality but unfortunately that's not how you play the game of med school admissions.

Agree that patients will like docs who are well-kempt and friendly, but please reference my second post and the following link contained therewithin as to why I disagree with the second part of that statement. With regards to your closing remark, it's not how I play the game -- it's how the architects (med schools) play the game.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/03/health/nutrition/03Best.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

 

[gujuDoc]

OK, so I know a lot of you have a strong sense of honor and respect for the process of getting into med school, and you may not like this thread. Personally I don't condone cheating on tests or plagiarizing. However, I have no problem at all lying to adcom's (about certain things).

For example, at one school, the interviewer asked me what my hobbies were. I am a premed, and I don't have that many hobbies (except if you count TV, hanging out with friends and studying). The adcom's love to hear that we are out fly fishing and playing the classical violin. Sorry, I don't see how that will make me a better doctor. So I lied. I made up a hobby. The interviewer smiled and said "OK, what else?" as if I needed something else. So I made up another hobby. And so it went. I made up like five hobbies, completely out of nowhere. When he followed up on them, I had one or two things to say, but nothing that anyone else wouldn't know.

I got into that school

Anyone else have a similar story or experience?

Why are you admitting this? Even if you do it, admitting about lying on a website where sometimes adcom members post is one of the dumbest things to do especially if you get found out regardless of how small the lie is.

Some people are good at coming up with answers regardless of whether they are the full extent of what they feel. That's the art of interviewing. But out right lying in a bad way is not a good thing.

BTW, even if you did say that you like watching tv and sports channels, hanging out with friends, etc. as a hobby I don't think adcoms would care.

I think the point of an interview is to get to know who you are not to try to paint yourself as someone you are not. If you got in, I don't think it had anything to do with what you said your hobbies were but because you had the credentials already and were composed at your interview.

I don't think telling the truthful answer of what your real hobbies were would have been hurtful unless it was saying something vulgar and down right inappropriate.

 

[gujuDoc]

Little white lies about how much you do some BS activity are fine . . . until your interviewer is crazy about one of them. I think they're told by people who don't understand what interviewers are looking for. They've seen a thousand whiny, suck-up pre-meds that have done everything perfect since birth including every hobby known to mankind . . . and they don't care if you are good at squash or not.

Interviews are to see if they will be able to stand having to work with you. If you have nothing interesting going on outside of textbooks, you're not going to be fun to hang out with at 3am on Christmas Eve while cleaning up a drunken Santa Claus covered in vomit.

I agree with most of your post except the portion about seeing if they can stand having to work with you as some of those interviewers are 4th year med students who will not be around to work with you when you start.

A better way to reword that sentence would be to say that they are there to see if you fit the personality of their school and the school's mission.

I don't really have too many overly interesting hobbies, but I think I could strike up a conversation with an interviewer because I do learn a type of indian classical dance and though I hate sitting through and watching sports, I love to keep up with Bucs football scores after the game is over and sometimes UF football scores cuz I like them better then my own ******ed school's team. LOL.

Speaking of football,

Dear Armybound,

OSU sucks!!! SEC and LSU ROCK THE WORLD!! OSU lost twice to the SEC. Last year to the ever awesome UF and this year to LSU!!! Hahahahahahahaha

Just thought I'd throw that in there.

 

[Cestmoi]

I would hope the female in question is dating a guy that doesn't have to lie to be interesting. But everyone buffs their resume - "post-consumer product engineer" is the new garbage man.

LMAO😀

 

[seraph524]

You're assuming women and med schools are at the same level of whorishness. One is moreso than the other. I'll let you try to figure out which one.

lmao

 

[paranoid_eyes]

i love that smiley

 

[paranoid_eyes]

If your conscience is really that strong, just try out 10 new hobbies the week before you interview.

im almost 100% positive that most premeds don't do much other than study, sleep, eat, and clinical/research EC's.

this said, i don't think it is unfair to assume that 90% of what comes out of ppl's mouths at interviews is complete bull****. I was interviewing a couple weeks ago for an EC position, and I hear this girl saying the most ridiculous crap like "i love homeless people so much" "i plan on opening a free clinic in africa when i become a doctor" ...."blah blah blah" that is such CRAP.

turns out, she got the position and I didn't.

moral of the story, everybody is lying. everybody is exaggerating their love for their fellow human being. I find the saddest part about all this, is that the damn admissions airheads ACTUALLY BUY THE CRAP.

so, from now on out, I also play the same, false, sappy, game of professing my ebullient love for mankind and how I want to save the world. There's nothing wrong about it. THe ends don't really have to justify the means, so long as the ends are met.

 

[da8s0859q]

im almost 100% positive that most premeds don't do much other than study, sleep, eat, and clinical/research EC's.

Maybe so, but regardless, there's plenty of us who are fairly well-adjusted kiddies.

this said, i don't think it is unfair to assume that 90% of what comes out of ppl's mouths at interviews is complete bull****.

A slightly exaggerated statistic, methinks.

I was interviewing a couple weeks ago for an EC position, and I hear this girl saying the most ridiculous crap like "i love homeless people so much" "i plan on opening a free clinic in africa when i become a doctor" ...."blah blah blah" that is such CRAP.

turns out, she got the position and I didn't.

moral of the story, everybody is lying.

Hasty conclusion, isn't it? One stereotypical save-the-world-mmkay premed doesn't make the rest of them equally stereotypical.

everybody is exaggerating their love for their fellow human being. I find the saddest part about all this, is that the damn admissions airheads ACTUALLY BUY THE CRAP.

Not always!

so, from now on out, I also play the same, false, sappy, game of professing my ebullient love for mankind and how I want to save the world. There's nothing wrong about it. THe ends don't really have to justify the means, so long as the ends are met.

Your means are your means, so whatever.

But then there's the whole thing about Gandhi telling us that we ought to be the change we want to see in the world. "If you can't beat them, join them" is one of the biggest personality sellouts on this planet.

^^

 

[Dendrite]

How can a person not have hobbies? I mean seriously? Do they just sit there in their free time and stare at the wall? I don't get it...

Those people who were raised along with the "Game-Boy Generation" lose their personality and become drones that cannot keep up a conversation.

 

[kami333]

If you have nothing interesting going on outside of textbooks, you're not going to be fun to hang out with at 3am on Christmas Eve while cleaning up a drunken Santa Claus covered in vomit.

lol, is that the medical version of the sand box test?