nymc red flags question

[bullishMD]

NYMC seems to ask "are there any red flags on your application" (blind interview) what are you supposed to say for this... i mean it seems like a weird question to me like you are shooting yourself in the leg or something

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[prettymonkey]

simply say "i'm sorry i dont have any." my academic record is perfect. just kidding. you ever get a bad grade or do poorly on a section of the mcat or have a W or an I? it is not a bad thing. we are human. when is your interview?

 

[scowdeva]

One of the current NYMC students answered this one a few weeks back, and explained it as an opportunity to defend any weakness in your application. As in, the interviewer is going to be your advocate when the adcom meets, so if you had the flu when you took the MCAT and that contributed to your less than perfect performance, that is the time to tell them.

 

[alwaysaangel]

NYMC seems to ask "are there any red flags on your application" (blind interview) what are you supposed to say for this... i mean it seems like a weird question to me like you are shooting yourself in the leg or something

No, its more a chance to explain yourself. I think its a great opportunity to explain the weakest part of your application to your interviewer so they can take that back to the committee and defend you.

When I interviewed there I said my two red flags were: lack of research (I don't like bench work and hadn't had the opportunity to work in clinical research but would like to in the future) and the drop in my grades my sophomore and junior year (money was an issue and I was working more than I should have. The stress of worrying about money and lack of time caused the drop).

These were things I brought up in every interview I went to just because I wanted to be sure if the committee raised an eyebrow at them - they had been explained.

Look at it as a blessing and if you really have a red flag you can explain I think you should probably bring it up at all your interviews. Never dwell on it, but admit its there and justify it. That way theres not a big glaring unexplained problem on your file when it comes time to review it.

Don't saying "nothing" - right before we went to interview when I went there last year they told us we would be asked that and the dean of admissions said we should definitely "come up with something."

 

[167649]

I agree with the concensus that it is actually a good thing they ask you this. I have been thinking this one through since I also have an interview there soon, and from what I have gathered it is more important to think of it as an opportunity, not something you can shoot yourself in the leg with. Think of it this way - they will already know your "red flags" so it is not like you will be pointing anything out new to them. Take the weakest part of your application, and your human so it isnt completely perfect (although this is SDN) and explain how it could be better or what you have done to correct it (upward trend, retook mcat, more volunteering etc etc etc).

 

[maestro1625]

 

[UCDavisISokay]

I wouldnt mention it, unless you have MCAT scores less than 10 on the Sciences and 8 on Verbal; also, if you have more than one C

 

[blargh]

so uh.. i ended up not getting this question. the kid who interviewed with the same guy after me did. maybe he isn't going to recommend me for admission so he decided it wasn't worth the trouble.

 

[bullishMD]

so uh.. i ended up not getting this question. the kid who interviewed with the same guy after me did. maybe he isn't going to recommend me for admission so he decided it wasn't worth the trouble.

nymc is blind right?

how was the interview? was there a lot of ethical questions?

 

[Robizzle]

nymc is blind right?

how was the interview? was there a lot of ethical questions?

It's semi blind. They'll get a list of your old activities but no description. It isn't known to have any ethical questions, but it can always come up. My roommate actually got "how many firehydrants are there in the U.S." and I've heard of a kid getting "how many stitches are there on a baseball" (both from the same crazy interviewer - who's now my faculty mentor fwiw). Obviously they don't expect you to know this but they want to know how you're gonna react to a "wtf?" situation and maybe try to reason your way thru an answer. Same thing with ethics, there's no right or wrong but you gotta come up with an intelligent answer.

 

[blargh]

It's semi blind. They'll get a list of your old activities but no description. It isn't known to have any ethical questions, but it can always come up. My roommate actually got "how many firehydrants are there in the U.S." and I've heard of a kid getting "how many stitches are there on a baseball" (both from the same crazy interviewer - who's now my faculty mentor fwiw). Obviously they don't expect you to know this but they want to know how you're gonna react to a "wtf?" situation and maybe try to reason your way thru an answer. Same thing with ethics, there's no right or wrong but you gotta come up with an intelligent answer.

was that dr. thompson? i thought he was a really cool guy. he asked the typical "what is the biggest problem facing health care" question. i THINK he tried to jostle me with an argument, but i didn't really respond and we somehow went on to another topic. oops.

 

[Robizzle]

was that dr. thompson? i thought he was a really cool guy. he asked the typical "what is the biggest problem facing health care" question. i THINK he tried to jostle me with an argument, but i didn't really respond and we somehow went on to another topic. oops.

Yup, good ol Dr. Carl Thompson.