MD/PhD interviews

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Nuel

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Hello guys,
I am just curious about this process considering I will embark on it a not too distant time. So here we go: are the MD/PhD interviews just science grills and research talk, or they are more of the MD type where you talk about life issues, personal experiences and the like?
What do y'all think?
 
Nuel,
The interviews are mostly science talks. Be sure you know a lot about your research project and be ready for some tough questions. You should have a standard "spiel" ready, since most interviewers will start with "so, tell me about yoru research." In 5 minutes you should be able to summarize what you did, why you did it, and point out where you are going in the future. After this the interviewers will begin asking you questions, and the conversation can go anywhere from there. Some programs (UCSF, Harvard, Duke, Columbia, WashU, and others) have you talk with both MD and MD/PhD admissions people, so you will get both types of interviews. Other programs (Stanford, UPenn, etc.) just have you talk with the MD/PhD admissions committee members. For some programs you have to be accepted to both MD and MD/PhD (UCSF is a good example), in other programs the MD/PhD committee makes the decision and the med school follows along(I believe). In addition, you will always talk with 2-4 researchers who you indicate you are interested in. These people don't have a big role in your admissions decision, but they do send "a brief paragraph" to the admissions committee. Hope this helps!

- ptiger
 
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