I'm not really good at these social events. I'm really introverted and kind of awkward in these situations. Should I make an effort to attend these social events anyways? Will it increase my chances?
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Optional social events during interview
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Nah, it won't help or hurt you to go to the optional social events. They're intended to be fun and help you get a feel for what the students in the program are like, but if it's going to be more stressful than anything else, then save yourself the trouble and hang out in the hotel or whatever.
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I think it depends on the school, but mostly it doesn't matter.
Still, I will say you need to get over your personality issues sooner rather than later. You will be thrown into awkward situations constantly in medical school and beyond and then evaluated primarily on your ability to deal with them on an interpersonal level. When you interview for residency, the social events matter a great deal--almost to the point of being mandatory. If you are shy/awkward at these events, you are sunk.
Still, I will say you need to get over your personality issues sooner rather than later. You will be thrown into awkward situations constantly in medical school and beyond and then evaluated primarily on your ability to deal with them on an interpersonal level. When you interview for residency, the social events matter a great deal--almost to the point of being mandatory. If you are shy/awkward at these events, you are sunk.
QofQuimica
Seriously, dude, I think you're overreacting....
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Yes, I think it's worth making the effort. Besides what Neuro said about needing to overcome your shyness, you're talking about spending the next 7+ years of your life working with these people. That's a long time to be miserable if the program isn't a good fit.
Here are my suggestions for making the experience less awkward.
If it's a mixer kind of thing, where people are standing around talking and they have hor d'oeuvres, get yourself a drink so that you have something in your hand. See if you can find a small group (one or two people) to join and talk to them. You don't have to be a brilliant conversationalist. Most people like to talk about themselves, so if it's a student, ask them about their experiences at the school, or what people do for fun in that city. If it's an applicant, make small talk about the interview day, ask them where they're from, the weather, football games, movies, whatever. But don't ask where else they're applying or interviewing; IMO talking about other programs at all during a school visit is kind of classless. But if you're going to do it, for sure don't badmouth anyone or anything. You could talk about research if you want, but I wouldn't get all into it in this context.
If there's a sit-down dinner, that's a lot easier because you're only going to be sitting with a few people and you can get to know them a little. Same topics as before.
Finally, don't go to the event expecting the worst. Yeah, it might be awkward, but you should go there with the mindset that you're going to meet some future classmates, get to know the people at that school, and have a little free food. Even if things don't click, it's only for a few hours, and it won't kill you.
Best of luck. 🙂
Agreed with this sentiment, although you could probably get a better feel of this during second look.
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One maybe. Don't get too loose and say things you shouldn't say or appear drunk.
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Not so fast, at some schools your student hosts sit on and may actually have a vote on the committee. If you see these folks headed to a local establishment or "optional" social event with the rest of your fellow applicants make an effort to go and interact, your hosts don't expect everyone to be the life of the party but they do want to make sure they aren't admitting complete head cases into their program. If you truly are so socially inept that you are afraid you will do something to ruin your chances (or more importantly you can't control what you say or do after a few drinks) then I suppose it would be appropriate to pack it up after dinner and head to your hotel, otherwise go out and see what life is like to be a student at the respective institution and get to know your fellow applicants. At the very least you'll probably see these folks at other interviews at the most you could be spending 8 years as classmates.
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Absolutely. I guess all I meant was that on the spectrum of things to stress about at an interview, these optional social events are pretty low on the list.
Let's be honest, nobody wants anti-social students in the program. If you are anti-social, it's best to open up now before it's too late. Put yourself out there, meet some new friends. You can't be awkward your whole life.
