medical school interview question

[zurned]

Hi, I'm a pre-med goin thru the interview process now. I just bombed my first interview yesterday (nerves and unexpected hard questions). I mean totally bombed and it was my top choice school too. Just wondering how many of you had bad interviews that wound up in an acceptance? Or is it basically if u feel good after an interview, u should get in and vice versa??

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[Mike59]

That's a tough one....I had one HORRIBLE interview that I'll never forget (wasn't my fault either), the interviewer was a confrontational jackass. He didn't like anything I had to say, asked inappropriate questions and low and behold, the rejection letter showed up a few weeks later.

Truth is you can never know what people are thinking in this process. The trick is to have as good numbers as you can muster up, apply to a ton of schools, be yourself in the interview, and hope you get in somewhere.

Best of luck! 😉

 

[Doggie]

Hi, I'm a pre-med goin thru the interview process now. I just bombed my first interview yesterday (nerves and unexpected hard questions). I mean totally bombed and it was my top choice school too. Just wondering how many of you had bad interviews that wound up in an acceptance? Or is it basically if u feel good after an interview, u should get in and vice versa??

Hey, it;s not as grim as you would expect. At my #1 choice, I thought I bombed it too.......I mean I was completely off topic to what the interviewer was asking about.............guess where I am now.

 

[btlwhulka]

med school interview process is a fickle, fickle process. you never know what they are thinking. all you can do is be yourself and stick to your guns. Some people are confrontational to see how you react under pressure. some people are just a$$hol3s.

I had a bad interview experience and got in. I also had an awesome interview and was rejected outright. a fickle beast.

Remember, you can't talk your way into med school, but you can certainly talk your way out.

 

[yellowcat322]

I had a pretty bad interview at the school I'm attending right now. So much so, that I immediately wrote it off after the interview and was totally taken by surprise when I got in. THe most important thing to remember is not to let this experience affect your other interviews. SOme will suck and some will be amazing. Everyone goes through that. Just do a search on here for the funniest interview moment-- some of those posts are just insane-- it might make you feel better. Plus, I remember how super nervous I was for my first interview and trust me it won't be nearly as bad with the next ones. Keep your chin up and good luck getting in-- I'm sure you'll make it.

 

[Freakingzooming]

med school interview process is a fickle, fickle process. you never know what they are thinking. all you can do is be yourself and stick to your guns. Some people are confrontational to see how you react under pressure. some people are just a$$hol3s.

I had a bad interview experience and got in. I also had an awesome interview and was rejected outright. a fickle beast.

Remember, you can't talk your way into med school, but you can certainly talk your way out.

this is solid advice- let's not forget too that you're interviewing at the start of September- which means a) they really really like you b) this interview, if the school is rolling, is more a formality. Most people interviewing at the beginning of September/mid September stand a very very good chance of getting in.

I can't see you not getting in unless you said something racist or mean spirited about Spongebob squarepants. Keep us posted though. And remember, the first one is always hard, you gotta break into it, like anything.

 

[UCLAstudent]

I understand how you feel. I had an AWFUL interview at my top choice school, UCLA. It seriously was my worst nightmare. I'm now an MSI at UCLA. 🙂 While the interview is important, it is not the only thing that adcoms consider when they make a decision. I hope you get good news!

 

[bigbassinbob]

Hi, I'm a pre-med goin thru the interview process now. I just bombed my first interview yesterday (nerves and unexpected hard questions). I mean totally bombed and it was my top choice school too. Just wondering how many of you had bad interviews that wound up in an acceptance? Or is it basically if u feel good after an interview, u should get in and vice versa??

Interviewing is tough, and I think it takes a few times before you really get used to the types of questions they ask. There are a few "hard" questions (I say they're hard b/c if you're not prepared for them, you can really trip yourself up trying to come up with an answer on the spot) that most interviewers will ask that you should get used to. If you have come up with a reasonable thought process for answering them, you will do great at your interviews. Some of the questions that they love to ask are:

Tell me about yourself.

What do you think is wrong with the current state of healthcare?

What would you do to change it?

What can I tell the admissions committee to make them want to accept you?
OR
With so many qualified applicants, what sets you apart from the rest?

What is your opinion on stem cell research/abortion, etc.?

Do you think adequate healthcare is a right or a privilege?

What type of physician do you want to be? Why?

What are some of the problems that physicians face today?

Even with all these problems, why do you still want to be a doctor?

Why do you want to come to our school?

You should also have a few questions to ask your interviewer(s) just to show them that you're interested in their particular school. Also, try to be as relaxed as possible. I know it's tough, but try to smile and laugh a lot to loosen up the interview - show them that you're a real person. Most interviewers love to digress from their list of questions to talk with you about something interesting, and they love it when you let your real personality shine through.

Personally, I went on 16 interviews over the course of 2 years (14 MD and 2 DO), so if you have any specific questions or want some more detailed advice about the process, feel free to PM me. And also keep in mind that just because you think you did poorly doesn't mean you won't get accepted (and vise-versa). Good luck on your next one!

 

[OddNath]

I had a really bad MD-only interview at the school I'm at now. Oh man. The interviewer kept going on about my low science gpa would make me "not be able to handle the science of med school" (I'm passing as of now..), asked me what I thought the average science gpa would be at my undergrad school, asked why I studied engineering if it didn't help my GPA (I wanted to shake her by the neck and say "does learning something interesting mean nothing to you????").

Turns out that the MD-only interview wasn't really considered for combined program applicants, but yeah, that's the school I'm now attending.
To the OP: Don't fret, you never know how these things will work out.

 

[Simonster]

I had what felt like a REALLY hostile interview at one school. The interviewer told me she didn't like my research, my lack of volunteer experience (because I worked my way through college, which my interviewer didn't care about ) and basically, everything else about me and my application.

Yet somehow I was accepted.

At another school the two interviewers I had responded affirmatively and said "that's great!" like tony the tiger at every answer I gave them. Then I was promptly rejected.

What does this mean? I don't know, but since there seems to be no order in the universe on the admissions side, I'd just focus on figuring out if the school is right for YOU. Anyway it's much more relaxing to go in with this attitude.

Good luck!

 

[quideam]

Hey, don't worry about it; it's honestly hard to tell with interviews where you stand afterwards, even if you think it went really well or really badly. From personal experience: my best interview was at a school at which I got waitlisted; my absolute worst interview (the guy was a total jerk and asked very odd questions about my mother..!??!) was at the school that I now attend. So - you just never know.

Unless you cursed at the guy or fell asleep during the interview or something as extreme as that, I really wouldn't worry about it. They're just trying to make sure you're a nice, normal person; it's very hard to mess those up, and i'm sure you didn't do as badly as you think.

Q