most bizarre interview moment?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Members do not see this ad.
I've got two stories:

At one of my top choice schools, one of the presenters mentioned a funny story. There are student interviewers, and apparently in the past they hadn't made it clear that the students are part of the admissions committee. So, a few years ago some idiot asked out his student interviewer at the end of the interview. Fastest. Rejection. Ever.

So, after the first of 2 interviews, the other candidates and I were sitting around comparing notes since some of us were trading interviewers. I mentioned that I hit it off quite well with my student interviewer, and one of the others asked, "how well?" Jokingly, I said that we ended the interview with a fist bump instead of a handshake.

Surprisingly, the other candidates believed me! They were sooooo serious.


The other:
I interviewed at a school where the interviewers are supposed to fill out a form with questions on it afterwards. My interviewer was elderly and instead of interviewing me and taking notes for later, he proceeded to go question by question, asking them directly from the sheet, and writing what I said down word-for-word. Occasionally he'd ask me to stop or slow down or repeat so he could finish writing. Oh dear.

Surprisingly, I got in!
 
When I interviewed at Vandy and arrived at my interviewer's office, I read the name plate and it said... THE KING. The name plate on his desk said the same thing. I was mortified.

He ended up being a nice guy, but I was pretty mortified when I saw that.
 
one of my interviewers was really prying into where else I had applied. Since they specifically asked, I told them I was rejected by a particular school. "Now why would they reject you? You're a perfectly good candidate" they said, and got visibly upset about it for a good minute or two, and said they had some choice words to describe the admissions people there. AWKWARD. a good and surprising awkward, but what do you say to that? "Um, thanks?" (or: "maybe they didn't like my laughable GPA, which by the way is lower than average for your school?")

Now after that rant of theirs they BETTER GET ME ACCEPTED OR I'LL HAVE SOME CHOICE WORDS FOR THEM RAAAAWRRRR. :meanie:




TICK TOCK.
 
Last edited:
ColeOnTheRoll said:
When I interviewed at Vandy and arrived at my interviewer's office, I read the name plate and it said... THE KING. The name plate on his desk said the same thing. I was mortified.

He ended up being a nice guy, but I was pretty mortified when I saw that.
Click to expand...
Did he think he was Elvis or something?
 
ktl said:
Interviewer: What type of artistic endeavors are you interested in? Do you play an instrument?
Ktl: No, no instrument, but I do love to get creative in the kitchen.. baking, cooking, blah, blah, blah..
Interviewer: Oh I love to cook, as you can tell (he's a large guy and proceeds to rub his belly)
Ktl: Very cool (um)
Interviewer: Just the other day, my wife brought home a duck in a plastic bag that someone had shot. Have you ever cooked a duck before?
Ktl: No..
Interviewer: Well first you've got to pluck it and then get rid of the down.. You hold the duck by the neck and dip it into a bucket with hot water and paraffin. Then take it out and put it in a bucket of cold water, pull off the paraffin and the down comes with it.
Ktl: Oh, interesting.
Interviewer: Next you've got to get rid of the gaminess. You can stuff it with sauerkraut or apple or lemon....
Ktl: (wtf?)
He proceeded to go on and on about the different types of duck you can eat.. how the Chinese prepare duck...
It was extremely odd.
Click to expand...

These instructions are a bit lacking. You're not gonna have much luck just plucking a duck if you don't prep it first. You gotta loosen up the main feathers. The usual way to do this for poultry is by scalding with near-boiling water. The problem is that a duck has waterproof feathers, so the water won't penetrate to the follicles, but will just roll off of its back like, uh, water off of a duck's back.

So you need to scald the duck with water that has a little soap or detergent in it. This disrupts the hydrophobic oily residue on the duck's feathers, thereby defeating its waterproofness and letting you scald its feathers. Now you're ready to pluck it.

Also, his method for dealing with the down wastes a lot of perfectly good parafin. If you're in a hurry you can carefully singe off the down with a fire. If there's no hurry, just carefully remove them by tweezing between your thumb and the blade of the knife.
 
Mine isn't terribly bizarre, but I found it amusing.

My first interviewer of the day said she didn't have her morning coffee yet, so we headed across the way to the coffee shop. There weren't any empty tables inside, so we sat at a bench outside. The interview was going pretty well, but the day was overcast, and sure enough it started to rain. So we moved inside and setup shop in the library. We proceeded to finish the interview whispering at a small table by the references section😳...

Turned out pretty good though, a couple weeks later she called me herself to let me know I got in.👍
 
bagelbird said:
Student Interviewer: So what do you like to do for fun?

Me: Well, I like to run, it's a great stress reliever and it's great to get outside, blah blah blah

Student Interviewer: Yeah I like to run too but my knees always hurt when I run

Me: Yeah it's all about running on the balls of your feet, it really makes a difference

Student Interviewer: Oh really?

Me: Yeah I've never had knee problems because in cross country my coach taught me to run on my balls.

Student interviewer: ....

Me: 😱
Click to expand...

Haha. This sounds like something I'd say on purpose. Not sure if this is a good idea though. I think a nice sense of humor is vastly underrated along the interview trail, even if it is a bit juvenile.
 
funklab said:
Mine isn't terribly bizarre, but I found it amusing.

My first interviewer of the day said she didn't have her morning coffee yet, so we headed across the way to the coffee shop. There weren't any empty tables inside, so we sat at a bench outside. The interview was going pretty well, but the day was overcast, and sure enough it started to rain. So we moved inside and setup shop in the library. We proceeded to finish the interview whispering at a small table by the references section😳...

Turned out pretty good though, a couple weeks later she called me herself to let me know I got in.👍
Click to expand...

👍 That's actually a cool little story. Just goes to show be ready for anything and just roll with the punches.
 
Most bizarre moments: this thread is awesome. it pretty much made my day

Alright, here's how it goes for me...

U of R: sitting at the lunch where all of the students interviewing and a couple of medical students are AWKWARDLY chillin trying to ask the right questions and make small talk. I fail at this type of situation... being entirely uncouth. Moment of silence... me being the hero steps in

"How bout that ride in? ...." (pause for effect) "I guess thats why they call it sin city" :laugh:

**crickets**

(failure. This closely followed my Cornell interview botched attempt "how bout that airline food". I guess I'm just not funny)


Another School unnamed: interviewer: "alright kid, you're pretty much going to know if i like you or can't stand you after ten minutes of us talking. Anyone who tells you this isn't a total gut instinct thing is lying."

Another: "so what is your prized piece in your book collection?" "Well I have a first edition slaughterhouse five by Kurt Vonnegut" "You know, I was watching this episode of pawn stars last night.... (explains ENTIRE episode)


my first interview. early september. I'm nervous as hell.
Interviewer: "you know what, let me stop you right there. I've read Student Doctor." (wtf!?)

Interviewer: "what kind of music do you like?"
Me: "I'd like to think I have an eclectic taste"
Interviewer: "oh thats a big word... can you tell me what it means? Actually write it on this piece of paper."

true story.
 
Supernerd said:
Most bizarre moments: this thread is awesome. it pretty much made my day

Alright, here's how it goes for me...

U of R: sitting at the lunch where all of the students interviewing and a couple of medical students are AWKWARDLY chillin trying to ask the right questions and make small talk. I fail at this type of situation... being entirely uncouth. Moment of silence... me being the hero steps in

"How bout that ride in? ...." (pause for effect) "I guess thats why they call it sin city" :laugh:

**crickets**

(failure. This closely followed my Cornell interview botched attempt "how bout that airline food". I guess I'm just not funny)


Another School unnamed: interviewer: "alright kid, you're pretty much going to know if i like you or can't stand you after ten minutes of us talking. Anyone who tells you this isn't a total gut instinct thing is lying."

Another: "so what is your prized piece in your book collection?" "Well I have a first edition slaughterhouse five by Kurt Vonnegut" "You know, I was watching this episode of pawn stars last night.... (explains ENTIRE episode)


my first interview. early september. I'm nervous as hell.
Interviewer: "you know what, let me stop you right there. I've read Student Doctor." (wtf!?)

Interviewer: "what kind of music do you like?"
Me: "I'd like to think I have an eclectic taste"
Interviewer: "oh thats a big word... can you tell me what it means? Actually write it on this piece of paper."

true story.
Click to expand...

:wow: wow
 
Yay, I can finally contribute to this thread! 😀 I've been following it for years now.

Interviewer 1: (goes in for a two-handed handshake.)
Me: (Thinks she's going in for a hug. We awkwardly do both.)

Interviewer 2: Tell me about your hobbies.
Me: Well, I really enjoy sketching and painting. Usually, when I'm.... um... (long pause while I search for a word that encompasses both sketching and painting).... art-ing, I like to...

Yep. Went in for a hug and made up a word. Result: Accepted
 
Last edited:
At one of my interviews, one of the kids mentioned $$ as why he wants to be a doctor....not in the interview, but when we were sitting around.

Protip: check if the dean of admissions is not in the room.
 
IvyHopeful20 said:
At one of my interviews, one of the kids mentioned $$ as why he wants to be a doctor....not in the interview, but when we were sitting around.

Protip: check if the dean of admissions is not in the room.
Click to expand...

facepalm.jpg
 
Not really a bizarre interview moment, but a close call nonetheless.

I went in for one of my medical school interviews in a rather dry environment. Sometimes in the winter back up at school, I'd have problems with random nosebleeds because of the lower humidity, but I didn't think about that while I was packing for my interview. I joked with my student host that it'd just be my luck to get a terrible nosebleed in the middle of my interview.

So what happened? Well, I didn't get a nosebleed DURING my interview, but about 15 minutes after my last one, I blew my nose and a GIANT blood clot came out. No one saw or anything, but I kept thinking about how close that was... Haha.
 
I still remember my Vandy interview 3 years ago...some older guy spent the entire interview telling me about what creationism books I should buy. And asking about my opinions on the topic...I still have no idea if he was being serious or if it was some interview tactic to see how a Jewish kid from the north would react
 
I loved this thread, it was great to read through the entire thing.

I have a somewhat odd story to add, not hilarious though.

I was in a group of about 30 at a DO school. We were lead to the outside of an entry of a building and told we were going to wait for a shuttle bus to come and take us to the student center. Then, the two ladies who had been taking us everywhere left the 30 of us there without any further instructions. I was talking with another applicant and a shuttle bus pulls up at the entrance. Some of the 30 students get on. I start looking around for the ladies who had been with us to determine if that was the bus we were supposed to get on. I walk up to the bus and ask the driver if he is going to the student center, he replies that he is, so I figure I could get on with the other students who had gotten on. The bus waits a bit longer, then leaves to take us to the student center. We get off at the student center and we all begin talking and wondering where we were supposed to go from there. One of the ladies ends up finding us outside waiting and starts lecturing us on not listening to directions and how she could not find us etc (the student center is one building that is not very big).

I personally wanted to start lecturing back at her that she was the one who told us very little as to where we were supposed to go and that she should not have randomly left us alone outside a building. :laugh:

I was still accepted to the school but decided to go some place else. 👍
 
Interviewer: What would your friends say is your greatest strength

Me: Well, um, I think they would say I have an ability to recognize bad things before they happen.

Interviewer: (sarcastic) really? how do you do that?

Me: Oh, haha, not like I'm some kind of (draws blank) uh, foreteller, or something.

****ed up, then couldn't even think of the word "psychic"
 
Bump

Just finished reading this entire thread, awesome! Hopefully I'll have some stories once the next cycle starts towards the end of this year.
 
I interviewed at MSUCHM. In the middle of the interview, my interviewer's cell phone rings...he stops and answers the call from his daughter asking him if he wanted anything from somewhere....5 minutes later, hangs up and continues the interview. The result........I got rejected. HAHA, bunch of bull**** if you ask me.
 
I bet no one can beat this. 🙂

I did ONE medical school interview years ago (I had JUST turned 19) for an early admissions program (I won't name names...). I ultimately ended up going into a Ph.D. program instead, but I will share. I will also say that the interviewer knew me and I knew him PRIOR to the interview (I had done summer research there). Here's how it went...

(He was asking me why I wanted to become a doctor. I was answering. Finished in about 2 minutes). He follows up with...
Interviewer: "Why don't you just marry a doctor?"
Me: 😱....(2 second stare and pause)
Interviewer: "I mean, I'm not saying you're not very well qualified, but why not? It will be a lot easier on you." <--wtf does that mean?
Me: :idea: (My brain is racing to figure out how to deal with this d-bag) "When I do get married it will probably be to someone of a similar intelligence level, but not necessarily a physician (true words, I married a lawyer with a PhD). I'm an intelligent successful woman blah blah blah. I'm 100% dedicated to becoming a physician and am excited to put in the hard work necessary to be successful."
Interviewer: "Ok. So what else are you looking for in a spouse?"

😱

It went on and on and on. I felt like I was SPEED DATING a douche bag cardiologist (no offense to cardiologists out there. I dated one some years after this took place and he was VERY nice). But seriously?!
 
Supernerd said:
Interviewer: "what kind of music do you like?"
Me: "I'd like to think I have an eclectic taste"
Interviewer: "oh thats a big word... can you tell me what it means? Actually write it on this piece of paper."

true story.
Click to expand...

WTF? Did you actually write down a definition?
 
Great thread. Trying my hardest not to laugh out loud in class.
👍
 
Not that funny but random,

I walked into my first of three interviews for the day nervous owing to the fact I was at my first choice school. The interviewer asks me about my personal life and the conversation eventually leads to my girlfriend. Turned out the interviewer is a close friend of my gf's mom. They grew up together and spent large amounts of time together. Didn't know this going into the interview, but ended up spending the majority of the interview time talking about her childhood with my mom's gf. small world. Accepted!
 
jsh52 said:
I bet no one can beat this. 🙂

I did ONE medical school interview years ago (I had JUST turned 19) for an early admissions program (I won't name names...). I ultimately ended up going into a Ph.D. program instead, but I will share. I will also say that the interviewer knew me and I knew him PRIOR to the interview (I had done summer research there). Here's how it went...

(He was asking me why I wanted to become a doctor. I was answering. Finished in about 2 minutes). He follows up with...
Interviewer: "Why don't you just marry a doctor?"
Me: 😱....(2 second stare and pause)
Interviewer: "I mean, I'm not saying you're not very well qualified, but why not? It will be a lot easier on you." <--wtf does that mean?
Me: :idea: (My brain is racing to figure out how to deal with this d-bag) "When I do get married it will probably be to someone of a similar intelligence level, but not necessarily a physician (true words, I married a lawyer with a PhD). I'm an intelligent successful woman blah blah blah. I'm 100% dedicated to becoming a physician and am excited to put in the hard work necessary to be successful."
Interviewer: "Ok. So what else are you looking for in a spouse?"

😱

It went on and on and on. I felt like I was SPEED DATING a douche bag cardiologist (no offense to cardiologists out there. I dated one some years after this took place and he was VERY nice). But seriously?!
Click to expand...

😱 Whoa!! Really inappropriate and offensive!!! Did you report this guy??? Or say anything to admissions?
 
It went something like this.... lol

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tdy_Fjdox4w[/youtube]




welly said:
I've got two stories:

At one of my top choice schools, one of the presenters mentioned a funny story. There are student interviewers, and apparently in the past they hadn't made it clear that the students are part of the admissions committee. So, a few years ago some idiot asked out his student interviewer at the end of the interview. Fastest. Rejection. Ever.

So, after the first of 2 interviews, the other candidates and I were sitting around comparing notes since some of us were trading interviewers. I mentioned that I hit it off quite well with my student interviewer, and one of the others asked, "how well?" Jokingly, I said that we ended the interview with a fist bump instead of a handshake.

Surprisingly, the other candidates believed me! They were sooooo serious.
Click to expand...

reminded me of that episode 😀 ^^
 
.
 
Last edited:
Interviewer: So, you like sports a lot, I see?
Me: Yes. I used to play in high school, and I follow baseball and martial arts really closely.
Int: OK, so if you had eight guys how would you put them on a baseball field?
Me: Like you only have 8? The ninth guy didn't show?
Int: Yeah. Exactly.
Me: Well, I guess it depends if there's a right or left-handed batter *begin drawing on the back of a school info sheet....*
Int: Ha. That's pretty in-depth. I was just asking you random questions to f*** with you and see how you reacted. I like you. Hope you get in.
 
At one of my top choice schools, one of the presenters mentioned a funny story. There are student interviewers, and apparently in the past they hadn't made it clear that the students are part of the admissions committee. So, a few years ago some idiot asked out his student interviewer at the end of the interview. Fastest. Rejection. Ever.
Click to expand...

When I interviewed at Vandy and arrived at my interviewer's office, I read the name plate and it said... THE KING. The name plate on his desk said the same thing. I was mortified.
Click to expand...
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Darwinism said:
I interviewed at MSUCHM. In the middle of the interview, my interviewer's cell phone rings...he stops and answers the call from his daughter asking him if he wanted anything from somewhere....5 minutes later, hangs up and continues the interview. The result........I got rejected. HAHA, bunch of bull**** if you ask me.
Click to expand...
I interviewed a school last year (won't name it). The interviewer answered his phone 3 times. I got rejected, too = /
 
Last edited:
benevolentdoc said:
I walked into my first of three interviews for the day nervous owing to the fact I was at my first choice school. The interviewer asks me about my personal life and the conversation eventually leads to my girlfriend. Turned out the interviewer is a close friend of my gf's mom. They grew up together and spent large amounts of time together. Didn't know this going into the interview, but ended up spending the majority of the interview time talking about her childhood with my mom's gf. small world. Accepted!
Click to expand...
You mean your gf's mom 😀
This is how connections can help :meanie:

At one of my interviews, one of the kids mentioned $$ as why he wants to be a doctor....not in the interview, but when we were sitting around.
Protip: check if the dean of admissions is not in the room.
Click to expand...
I don't see anything wrong 😀 That's honesty :meanie:
 
Last edited:
All of my med school interviews were back in 1993, but after reading all the previous posts I'm thinking that some things never change. One interview experience stands out from the rest. It was at UT Houston. The interview was going really well until he (approx 40 year old MD) asked me about my family. I told him that my sister owned a motorcycle shop. He quit smiling, glared at me, and said "oh, so you and your sister are women's libbers types". I was stunned, but calmly said, "not necessarily, she just owns her own business and I want to go to medical school". He abruptly ended the interview early a couple of minutes later and escorted me to the door. I walked through first, then turned around to tell him that I enjoyed my interview (I'm not above lying, lol), and caught him checking out my butt. When he realized that I saw him, he had that caught in the headlights expression, then whirled around and returned to his office. I got the rejection letter a couple of weeks later.
 
*At my top-five school interview, I walk into the interviewer's office and sit down and her first question is, "So, you went to a public high school?" I was all 😱 ..."yes?" The rest of the interview went great until I spilled water all over myself when she went to shake hands at the end. Still got in, somehow.

*At my interview for the school where'd I've already been for 2 degrees, the Dean of Admissions was going around the group of students and asking why they had applied there. After all the "this school is so awesome!" answers, I just went ahead with, "Force of habit, I guess. I've already applied here 2 times, figured I might do it again." Got a good laugh, but still got rejected 😛
 
lisi326 said:
*At my top-five school interview, I walk into the interviewer's office and sit down and her first question is, "So, you went to a public high school?" I was all 😱 ..."yes?" The rest of the interview went great until I spilled water all over myself when she went to shake hands at the end. Still got in, somehow.

*At my interview for the school where'd I've already been for 2 degrees, the Dean of Admissions was going around the group of students and asking why they had applied there. After all the "this school is so awesome!" answers, I just went ahead with, "Force of habit, I guess. I've already applied here 2 times, figured I might do it again." Got a good laugh, but still got rejected 😛
Click to expand...

Ouch, you think your comment had something to do with it? 😕
 
HAV000 said:
Ouch, you think your comment had something to do with it? 😕
Click to expand...

haha, maybe, maybe not. If I had really wanted to go there, I probably wouldn't have said that. I really needed to go to a different school for my 3rd degree, so I was actually quite happy with the rejection - there was absolutely no way to psych myself out and end up doing what I really didn't want to do.
 
I think I've probably posted most of these "adventures" in other threads, but they would fit here too. Note, these were from when I applied in 08.

School A:

-My interview itinerary had more than a few typos on it. Two of the room numbers were off, and I ended up showing up to interview at a computer lab and a cold room. By the time the admissions office cleared things up, I was about 20 minutes late to both interviews.

-One of my interviewers ended up being on shift at the ER during my interview time. She left a note telling me to go to the ER and complete my interview there. She grilled me about my research while stitching up a patient's leg. The patient was laughing the entire time.

-The admissions people left for the day before my interviews were over and my coat was locked in their office overnight. It was snowing.

-I was the only female applicant on my interview day which apparently prompted the dean to make jokes about "picking up and dealing with chicks in medical school" for a prolonged period of time.

Result: Accepted, but did not attend
School B:

-I had an interview on the third floor of a brand new building, and decided to take the stairs rather than the elevator. Apparently, this building had all of the stairways and labs protected by card-readers, and I got my special-self locked in a stairwell. I had to call the admissions office to come and let me out.

Result: Currently attending. My ID card now lets me use this building without fear.

School C:
-The dean of admissions asked me how I felt about the legalization of marijuana. I told him that I didn't see how it warranted different treatment than substances like cigarettes and alcohol, and that if the latter two were legal, marijuana should be legalized too. Granted, any fallout from this question was my fault, but I didn't see the point in lying about my views.

Result: Waitlisted
 
An interviewer picked his nose while I was talking to him. At least he seemed comfortable!
 
From a physician's whose first language wasn't english:

I - I see you got an M on the writing section, isn't english your first language?

M(100% white and whitest name possible) - Well I stared at her for a moment beause that was very prejudical. I had millions of things that I wanted to say that wouldn't have been smart to say. I told her, "It's my weakest academic field and have been working on it recently." After the interview, I almost said something to the admissions office since I was so pissed.
 
Bungie said:
From a physician's whose first language wasn't english:

I - I see you got an M on the writing section, isn't english your first language?

M(100% white and whitest name possible) - Well I stared at her for a moment beause that was very prejudical. I had millions of things that I wanted to say that wouldn't have been smart to say. I told her, "It's my weakest academic field and have been working on it recently." After the interview, I almost said something to the admissions office since I was so pissed.
Click to expand...

Meh, maybe it's just me but I don't think her comment was that out of line. An "M" is pretty low (sorry) and if English is your first language then it definitely stands out and warrants a question. It's like a physics major scoring a 6-7 on the Physical Sciences section, makes you wonder what the problem was. Though asking, "Isn't English your first language [based on your name]?" instead of, "Is English your first language? Why did you get an M?" is probably less appropriate, I suppose.
 
That's like saying, you're a woman, why did you get a B in Home Ec? Or you're a human, why did you get a C in calc (seeing as how math in a 'universal language')? Just because I know how to write doesn't mean I can do it well.
 
Bungie said:
From a physician's whose first language wasn't english:

I - I see you got an M on the writing section, isn't english your first language?

M(100% white and whitest name possible) - Well I stared at her for a moment beause that was very prejudical. I had millions of things that I wanted to say that wouldn't have been smart to say. I told her, "It's my weakest academic field and have been working on it recently." After the interview, I almost said something to the admissions office since I was so pissed.
Click to expand...

I liked your response. 👍 It's the best you could have given under the circumstances. The way that the interviewer asked the question was probably not appropriate, but a weakness is a weakness, and interviewers have the right to address every shortcoming listed in your app.
 
Interviewer: On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your reading comprehension skills?
Me: I'd say about a 7.
Interviewer: A 7 huh? Why so high?
Me: ????
 
main.php


Good stuff guys... just read through the entire thing
 
Boy do I have some stories this year though reading this thread I don't think they'll compare.
 
URHere said:
Apparently, this building had all of the stairways and labs protected by card-readers, and I got my special-self locked in a stairwell. I had to call the admissions office to come and let me out.
Click to expand...

It seems like this would violate a fire code or something.
 
One of my interviewers asked me to draw a cube on a piece of paper so I drew one of those "3d" cubes.

Rejected.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Most Meaningful Experiences
Replies
2
Views
726
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
pinkbowbunny
Are most secondaries good?
Replies
20
Views
3K
Pallas
Pallas
F
  • Question Question
Changing Research to Most-Meaningful?!
Replies
1
Views
487
cooper_m
C
FutureDOCTORR123456789
Do most people take gap years?
Replies
11
Views
2K
eigen
eigen
FutureDOCTORR123456789
are most accepted students just cookie cutter applicants
Replies
3
Views
5K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
Top