Multiple mini interviews (MMI)-- how do they work?

[obgyny]

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So I'm interviewing at UC Davis next month and in the invite email, it says that they will send me information later about MMI (multiple mini interviews). Apparently, UC Davis is now adopting the MMI format?

Does anyone have any experience with MMI? Any advice on how to prepare? Do they ever ask questions besides ethical dilemmas? If so, what other kinds of questions do they ask?

I've been preparing as if it's a normal interview (why medicine? why this school? explain your strengths/weaknesses, etc), but it seems like all the questions are ethical dilemmas from what I've researched on google. I'd really appreciate any advice about MMI!!!

For those of you who've never heard of MMI (which I've never heard of until recently):
Basically it's like speed dating, where there are multiple "stations" with different interviewers. All the applicants rotate between the stations. At each station, you have something like 8min to answer a question (they seem to ask you what would you do in certain scenarios). At least this is what I understand about MMI from my google research.

 

[Diallelus]

See also: https://comdo-wcnlb.uc.edu/MedOneStop/Admissions/InterviewInfo.aspx

 

[DaisyBuchanan]

Sounds like a set of verbal case studies. For written case studies, you briefly summarize the facts given to you (redundant, I know), talk about the pros and cons of option one, then ditto for option two, and finally state which option you choose due to the most benefit/least harm caused.

 

[DancinSarah]

Maybe we can make a list of MMI schools.

UC Davis
Cincinnati
Virginia Tech Carilion
UA-Phoenix

 

[corbis11]

I did it at Cincinnati couple years ago.

there were like 7 rooms all with weird prompts that you read and then discussed for like 5 minutes (?) with a physician/med student/adcom.
One was the why do you want to be a physician?
Also, your friend has a gambling habit and ask for money, what do you do? What do you think of building casinos in Ohio?
How do you help a student in your class whose parent just died and wants to drop out?
Something about drug reps wanting to take your out on a dinner
Another dealt with how do you react to someone with a weird religion and their refusal to receive treatment

some of them were really annoying...they kept asking why? why? why? to each answer and made me want to punch them in the face.

 

[obgyny]

Maybe we can make a list of MMI schools.

UC Davis
Cincinnati
Virginia Tech Carilion
UA-Phoenix

I have heard that UCLA does MMI too from someone who interviewed last year, but I could be mistaken, don't quote me on it.

 

[obgyny]

I did it at Cincinnati couple years ago.

there were like 7 rooms all with weird prompts that you read and then discussed for like 5 minutes (?) with a physician/med student/adcom.
One was the why do you want to be a physician?
Also, your friend has a gambling habit and ask for money, what do you do? What do you think of building casinos in Ohio?
How do you help a student in your class whose parent just died and wants to drop out?
Something about drug reps wanting to take your out on a dinner
Another dealt with how do you react to someone with a weird religion and their refusal to receive treatment

some of them were really annoying...they kept asking why? why? why? to each answer and made me want to punch them in the face.

Wow... I think I would prefer the traditional interview setup. So it seems they do ask you the classic questions, "Why medicine?" Do you ever get a chance to talk about your life experiences or extracurricular activities?? I feel like those are my strong points. If I'm just answering weird ethical dilemmas I'm afraid I won't get the chance to discuss my experiences. 🙁

Also, since you have something like 5-8min to answer the question, do they expect you to ramble on for 5min? 😕 I've heard that you should try to keep you interview responses to 30sec or so (so that you don't lose the attention of your interviewer), but does that rule not apply to this situation? Or do you answer, and they just ask you follow up questions to whatever you say?

Thanks so much for sharing your experience!! Any tips on how to prepare for MMI?

 

[MeRLin443]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience!! Any tips on how to prepare for MMI?

http://www.amazon.com/Doing-Right-P...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282937021&sr=8-1

You can thank me later.

 

[corbis11]

Wow... I think I would prefer the traditional interview setup. So it seems they do ask you the classic questions, "Why medicine?" Do you ever get a chance to talk about your life experiences or extracurricular activities?? I feel like those are my strong points. If I'm just answering weird ethical dilemmas I'm afraid I won't get the chance to discuss my experiences. 🙁

Also, since you have something like 5-8min to answer the question, do they expect you to ramble on for 5min? 😕 I've heard that you should try to keep you interview responses to 30sec or so (so that you don't lose the attention of your interviewer), but does that rule not apply to this situation? Or do you answer, and they just ask you follow up questions to whatever you say?

Thanks so much for sharing your experience!! Any tips on how to prepare for MMI?

for the why medicine tell your interviewee about your life experiences and EC's and how you'll contribute to the school/medicine. For the other questions you'll explain your stance and they will have an opposing viewpoint question already setup...plus they will ask you some other questions about the scenario. They just want to see how you think/rationalize your viewpoint.

One of the interviews I ended up finishing about a minute early and they asked do you have anything else to say...and I was like not really. then we just BS'ed about the school until it was time to move on.

 

[Mithril]

.

 

[Isoprop]

I'm glad I withdrew from Cinci before doing the MMIs. I've heard about them, and they sound annoying.

 

[ModerateMouse]

and they sound annoying.

I agree - they definitely sound annoying.

However, I think that the idea behind MMI's is very solid.

I mean, when does anyone ever publish the results from an experiment that has 1-3 data points (e.g., one-on-one interviews or an interview with a prof and then another with a student).

It is statistically ludicrous to place so much weight on a decision that is so heavily influenced by chance (i.e., on traditional interviews).

The possibility of bias affecting the results is significantly reduced when 6-8 different people judge the same interviewee.

So, even though I think that MMI are annoying, I whole-heartedly support the reason for creating them. 👍

 

[rHinO1]

Unfortunately UCD makes you sign a waiver that you will not discuss their MMI interviews. Therefore, you will not get a lot of info from anyone.

 

[E11]

Unfortunately UCD makes you sign a waiver that you will not discuss their MMI interviews. Therefore, you will not get a lot of info from anyone.

Yep, the cliché joke runs true. The first rule of MMI is that you do not talk about MMI. The second rule of MMI is that you do not talk about MMI.

Honestly though, I liked the interview more than a traditional one. Felt that it allowed them to assess more about what makes me tick.

 

[glow worm]

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[Doctorella]

The dean at Cincinnati made a really compelling argument for why the MMI was a more objective assessment than the traditional interview. I think in general we premeds like to be in control of things, so it's really hard to go into an interview situation that's impossible to prepare for. People kept saying it was going to be "fun" and while I don't necessarily agree, there were definitely some good discussions among the interviews and it wasn't as terrifying as I had expected (this was also my first interview at a medical school).
I decided that since I couldn't prepare for the interview itself, I would make sure I had the highest level of confidence I could muster. That meant looking my best, getting my nails done for the occasion, and reading some medical ethics discussions. They weren't necessarily helpful, but they did make me feel like I had done all I could to prepare.

 

[Longshanks]

The dean at Cincinnati made a really compelling argument for why the MMI was a more objective assessment than the traditional interview. I think in general we premeds like to be in control of things, so it's really hard to go into an interview situation that's impossible to prepare for. People kept saying it was going to be "fun" and while I don't necessarily agree, there were definitely some good discussions among the interviews and it wasn't as terrifying as I had expected (this was also my first interview at a medical school).
I decided that since I couldn't prepare for the interview itself, I would make sure I had the highest level of confidence I could muster. That meant looking my best, getting my nails done for the occasion, and reading some medical ethics discussions. They weren't necessarily helpful, but they did make me feel like I had done all I could to prepare.

😀

 

[Doctorella]

😀

Yep, that's me, fancy! 😉 It's such an unusual event for me that I felt the need to mention it!

 

[Mithril]

.

 

[MasonPrehealth]

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4Ud3CEtlmk[/YOUTUBE]

Preparing for the MMI... humorously...

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETrQvZ_fHT4[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF1mqUK_moA[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeJqxlAhqjE[/YOUTUBE]

 

[RTP424]

I just attended a MMI, and I honestly have mixed feelings about it. Here's what I think:

PROS:
1) multiple interviewers means if you botch or screw up on a task, then there are 6 or 7 more to redeem yourself.
2) Makes you think quick on your feet, and for the most part, many of the tasks have no right or wrong answer, its more about your thought process and how you present yourself.
3) More information for self-evaluation and self-reflection after the interview. This interview style gave me ALOT to think about.


CONS:
1) My biggest problem is that is MUCH harder for your interviewer to get to know you as a person. you only have 10 minutes or less to show your sincerity and passion for medicine. I felt as though I ended some stations without the interviewer truly getting to know me.
2) Hectic. The fast pace screws with your mind a little bit. The timing makes you want to try and fit in as much as you can because of the time constraint, and personally I think I ended up talking a little too fast during my interviews, and actually ended some stations a little early.
3) It's more about getting to know how you think than WHO you are. When it comes interacting with patients, I feel that the personal connection is alot more important than how you approach the case. In the patients eyes, I think I would rather my doctor get to know me and connect with me than spend most of his time talking about the technical jargon and his exact strategies. The lack of a chance to provide a personal connection in the interview I feel is biggest con.

It was definitely a unique experience and gave me alot to think about. I also think I stressed out WAYYY more than I needed to when preparing. True its somethign that requires critical and FAST thinking. But either way, you wont know the question until the minute of 2 before you start talking, so I would recommend focusing on your presentation, confidence, and your decision making skills.

Hope this helps 🙂

 

[LitaBrown21]

The dean at Cincinnati made a really compelling argument for why the MMI was a more objective assessment than the traditional interview. I think in general we premeds like to be in control of things, so it's really hard to go into an interview situation that's impossible to prepare for. People kept saying it was going to be "fun" and while I don't necessarily agree, there were definitely some good discussions among the interviews and it wasn't as terrifying as I had expected (this was also my first interview at a medical school).
I decided that since I couldn't prepare for the interview itself, I would make sure I had the highest level of confidence I could muster. That meant looking my best, getting my nails done for the occasion, and reading some medical ethics discussions. They weren't necessarily helpful, but they did make me feel like I had done all I could to prepare.

I had the MMI at UC a couple weeks ago, one of only 2 interviews I've had so far, and I really liked the format. Now, beforehand, everyone was freaking out. I agree...premeds do NOT like not knowing how to prepare! It was frustrating. But when the day before the interview came I accepted that no one knew what was going on, and no one would know. I was there for a 2-day program so I took advantage of the day and relaxed. The dean gave a great presentation on the format, and everyone asks so many questions that nothing will be unclear by the time you head to your interview. The actual scenarios can't be discussed, but just know you can't really prepare. If you must you could read over some medical ethics situations that you're uncertain of...it won't help though. I really think the format shows your potential to be a great med student over the traditional one, which have so many factors that play in (mean interviewer, over the top questions, pointing out bad aspects of your app).
MMI > traditional