“I was a reapplicant to medical school, so I had done MMIs a few times before seeking out Apply Point when I reapplied. During my first round of MMIs, it felt as if the schools stuck me in a gigantic body of water and gave me a paddle and I could kind of go anywhere. A lot of the questions seemed like 'yes' or 'no' responses, and when I answered in brief, it prompted follow-up questions, and there was a tedious few minutes of back and-forth. Working with Mary Pat, I learned to take a different approach. All my answers involved stories—examples of how I’d used my ethics and reasoning in the past. It worked really well; after a while, it felt like a game. I’d cultivated the ability to think on my feet and use real-life scenarios effectively. If you’re interviewing at medical schools, you have enough [experiences to share]. These real-life stories are significantly more interesting to interviewers [than your hypothetical actions alone], and they help you avoid rambling. Later, I used this same strategy when I interviewed for residencies.
For me, the hardest portion of the MMI was the writing station. I found it difficult to express myself meaningfully in such a limited time—and in pen! At any interview, the first station is awkward—and it’s awkward when you feel like you didn’t do well at a station. But this is like speed dating. You gotta move on. I was under the mindset of 'I'll open the door to leave a station, and when the door closes behind me, it's done. Time for the next door.'
None of the schools I interviewed at used the exact same questions, but similar things came up: Someone cheating on a test(which I’d really seen when sitting in a class graded on a curve—and I reported it and trusted the proper measures would betaken). Someone stealing something. And some version of ‘Tellus about yourself.’ That will come up. I'd practiced my elevator pitch aloud on walks with my dog. It didn’t sound like a canned speech; I just knew which experiences I wanted to include. But when I did the interviews, I noticed that I barely deviated from my wording at each school because I knew what I wanted to say.
I was accepted to every school I interviewed at—and when they called me, they all mentioned my ‘very strong interview.’”
Interested in scheduling interview prep for yourself? Contact us here!
For me, the hardest portion of the MMI was the writing station. I found it difficult to express myself meaningfully in such a limited time—and in pen! At any interview, the first station is awkward—and it’s awkward when you feel like you didn’t do well at a station. But this is like speed dating. You gotta move on. I was under the mindset of 'I'll open the door to leave a station, and when the door closes behind me, it's done. Time for the next door.'
None of the schools I interviewed at used the exact same questions, but similar things came up: Someone cheating on a test(which I’d really seen when sitting in a class graded on a curve—and I reported it and trusted the proper measures would betaken). Someone stealing something. And some version of ‘Tellus about yourself.’ That will come up. I'd practiced my elevator pitch aloud on walks with my dog. It didn’t sound like a canned speech; I just knew which experiences I wanted to include. But when I did the interviews, I noticed that I barely deviated from my wording at each school because I knew what I wanted to say.
I was accepted to every school I interviewed at—and when they called me, they all mentioned my ‘very strong interview.’”
Interested in scheduling interview prep for yourself? Contact us here!
