Notes and Observations from the MD/PhD Interview Trail

Just wrapped up the bulk of interview season. I met many impressively dedicated program leaders, scientists worth looking up to, and fellow interviewees who I am excited to be colleagues with for the next half century. Looking back, there were some things I expected, and some things I didn’t expect. In case it’s helpful to those sizing up this process, I wrote some of those things down.

On resting.

The orientations, meetings with program admin, and interviews are mandatory. Everything else (tours, dinner with students, “life in X city” sessions) is great and helpful, but mostly optional. If you find yourself needing a breather or walk to clear your head, nobody will care. I wish I had realized this earlier in the application cycle. Take full advantage of the interview day programming, but know that the most important thing is for you to be on top of your game, and nobody will fault you for taking breaks as needed (esp. if jetlag is a factor).

Realizing you’re not a snowflake

There are lots of kids with computer science backgrounds who are inspired by the intersection of oncology and genomics and say the words “transcriptional landscape” many times very convincingly. There are many applicants who discovered neuroscience by way of psychology, want to “interrogate” brain circuits, and are somehow also philosophy majors somewhere in there. There are many kids who do EM, and are very good about talking about EM-related things that I don’t understand. The takeaway is, although your cocktail of interests may seem totally unique where you’re standing, odds are there are many others in roughly the same niche. Get this realization out of the way sooner than later (and rethink essays accordingly), and befriend those colleagues, because odds are you’re going to be seeing them here and there for a very long time.

Progressive applicant robotism

Between about May and the end of interview season, you will be semi-professionally producing crisp soundbytes about your experiences and why you are a great candidate. At first they will be awkward, then they will smooth out, then they will harden and become robotic. The latter is good but not great, and you’re gonna have to be great to nail this. Take my advice with a grain of salt because I’m just an applicant myself, but I found that the best interviews (esp. those that ended in acceptance) happened when I was engaged in the moment rather than dispensing canned blurbs. Find a way to use all of your practice and reflection to inform a natural conversation.

Staying in touch with yourself

While you’re working on secondaries and interviews, you may become a little distant from your own life, especially if you’re juggling a hectic work or school schedule. You may not see close friends for a while, become out of touch with school or work, or lose track of the lifestyle routines that ground you. There will be moments where you feel uncomfortably close to burning out, and by all accounts this is kid stuff compared to whats down the line in our career path. I started feeling like I was in a pretty bad rut towards the end of the process, and only started taking care of myself when a close friend noticed and urged me to. I suspect everybody will have their own way of dealing with these issues, but consider this a reminder to actively take care of yourself as you navigate the process.

The distribution and its tail (interviewers).

Most of your interviewers will be easygoing. Most of them won’t drill too hard into particulars of your academic records or research methods. However, as I learned by experience, you may find yourself with the one interviewer who demands specific explanations for a particular bad grade you got in undergrad. Or an interviewer who wants to discuss the minutiae of non-linear image registration for 45 minutes. Point being, in general you don’t have to worry about meetings like this, but they may happen once or twice, and that may be at DreamSOM, so be prepared. You may find yourself on the other end of the distribution as well, sitting across from a Nobel laureate who has thoroughly read your application and reaffirms your qualifications and goals. Those are very good moments.

The distribution and its tail (interviewees)

Your fellow interviewees are by far the best part of this process. For a niche career path like MD/PhD, it is a breath of fresh air to meet incredible peers who share interests and ambitions. But again, most of them will be like this. Perhaps, like me, you’ll meet one who starts rambling about how men and women “process information differently”, citing discredited mid-20th century psychology, as an explanation for gender disparity in MD/PhD programs. Perhaps you’ll meet Kid Who Gets Drunk At The Reception (TM), a true classic. Don’t let these curveballs throw you off!

On elite institutions and kids who ooze privilege.

If you go to a couple of MD/PhD interviews, odds are you will find yourself twiddling your thumbs while everyone around you is making light conversation about the Yale residential college system, or trading notes for the Stanford CS final they have the next week. Or, you may find yourself on a tour of Big Prestigious U when the guy next to you mentions that the group just walked by his dad’s lab (this actually happened). You will discover how many future physician-scientists have physician-scientist parents. Rest assured, these kids are for the most part sharp, driven, and lovely to be around. But, be aware that the interview process can feel like the impostor syndrome olympics.

If there is food, eat the food.

I know, you have an intense interview in 20 minutes and are in no mood for a bready continental breakfast or Italian sub lunch. Trust me, eat whenever you can. It’s all fun and games until you’re talking to a field leader at the reception and realize that the single glass of merlot has gone to your head after running around all day on an empty stomach.

-ramble over-