Post interview feelings

[orangeman25]

How are people's post interview feelings? Accurate in predicting success?

I've had a couple where I have felt 'alright'. Nothing great, but nothing bad. Is this okay?

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[chizledfrmstone]

Last year I crossed a school off my list after the interview because I thought I had totally ruined my chances of going there. They turned out to be my first acceptance.

I have walked out of an interview thinking I did quite well only to find out I was waitlisted.

The only way to know for sure is to know what's going on behind the scenes.

 

[jqueb29]

It's totally a crapshoot. I had interviews I felt I aced where I didn't get in, some I thought I bombed where I got accepted quickly after, some I felt I bombed and was soon waitlisted or rejected, and some I thought I dominated and was soon accepted. There's literally no way of knowing

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I thought I did amazingly and got a WL.
I thought I did alright with a few mess ups and hickups and got an acceptance.

Crap is a total crapshoot.

 

[67552931811]

I thought I did amazingly and got a WL.
I thought I did alright with a few mess ups and hickups and got an acceptance.

Crap is a total crapshoot.

Indubitably.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

So far I have felt like a did crappy on two...rejected and wait listed.

The two I thought I aced, I was accepted.

 

[Chubbs Peterson]

I bombed one and got accepted; dominated the next one and got waitlisted. Who the hell knows what they are looking for.

 

[RavenclawMed]

I thought I did crappy on 2/3 interviews for one school and maybe sucked a little less on the other. I got accepted to the first and am waiting for the decision for the next one, so who knows what goes on?

 

[avivace]

I'm not sure it's possible to tell how well an interview went, since we rarely know exactly what a school is looking for. It's a bit like online dating, where what people say they want may have a lot more to do with how they want to be perceived than what they actually want. I was accepted to a school after I thought I'd completely bombed the interview, so you just can't tell until they let you know.

 

[yanks26dmb]

thought I did good on one, thought I did great on another; two waitlists.

got another monday and hoping to buck that trend.

 

[Goro]

I have learned from viewing > two years worth of posts here that people are very poor at gauging how well they do at interviews, and assessing interviewer's opinions.

My advice to all of you is that interviews should be treated like exams. Fix any deficits, but once they're done, forget them, and prepare for the next one.

How are people's post interview feelings? Accurate in predicting success?

I've had a couple where I have felt 'alright'. Nothing great, but nothing bad. Is this okay?

 

[Tirian]

I thought that I did pretty well in one, and did *okay* in the other two.

Three for three on acceptances. Quite pleased.

In previous experience, I've left interviews thinking I nailed it and never heard another word from them *ever.*

Bottom line: you never know. Reflect, refine, grow, and move forward.

 

[Derivations]

Last year when I interviewed:

6 interviews,

Felt absolutely horrible about 3 of them (2 of them being group interviews, I cannot stand those) - rejected from all 3
Felt okay about 2 - accepted to 1, rejected from 1
Felt pretty good about 1 - rejected

Rejected from 5/6

Moral of the story: it only takes one.

 

[tellmemore2020]

Last year had 6. Terrible - accepted. Terrible - rejected. Great - rejected. Great - accepted. Okay - rejected. Okay - accepted. Zero pattern. For my acceptance off the waitlist at an MD school, I had to step out and get a drink of water because I had a coughing fit.

 

[AribaGirl]

I was accepted at my top choice after having an "average" interview. At least that's how I felt about it. They were three interviews back-to-back. My first interviewer was unfriendly, had a stern face, and spent the majority of the interview trying to highlight all the deficits in my app. At one point I got so nervous I froze up and blurted out "Sorry, I'm just REALLY nervous right now." Womp wommmp. The second interview went okay, but when she asked me if I had any more questions, I froze and couldn't remember the list of questions I had prepared to ask. The interview was also very short--only 20 minutes instead of the allotted 30 minutes. In my third interview, the interviewer asked me specific questions about some research I did a few years ago and I fumbled and didn't answer the questions well. He also asked me this weird theoretical question and I gave him the complete wrong answer to it (I checked after the interview.)

That being said, I think that when we go over the interviews in our head we focus on our hiccups, and not on all the things that we answered well. A lot of times they're looking to see if you are personable, articulate, and a good fit for the school. If you are all three of these things but have a few slip-ups that may not make or break you depending on the school and what they're looking for.

 

[nontrad78]

I have learned from viewing > two years worth of posts here that people are very poor at gauging how well they do at interviews, and assessing interviewer's opinions.

My advice to all of you is that interviews should be treated like exams. Fix any deficits, but once they're done, forget them, and prepare for the next one.

I think this is a pretty fair assessment. My first answer to an interview question of the cycle felt like a rambling mess of a repeat of my personal statement, jumbled up with my history. I glanced down, after finally shutting up, only to see the interviewer had written, "good communication".

 

[baxt1412]

ITT everyone repeating the same thing over and over basically.

 

[chizledfrmstone]

ITT everyone repeating the same thing over and over basically.

Was your interviewing experience different?

 

[osteohack10]

I've felt good about all of my interviews so far except KCUMB. The guy I interviewed with stonewalled me for the first 30 minutes until he finally cracked a smile in the last 10 minutes.

 

[nontrad78]

Had one yesterday where I felt like I got knocked around pretty good. The tougher of the pair was jovial and charismatic, but called me to task on just about every answer. Had me rattled enough that my initial responses became milquetoast, which caused her to really come at me. I rolled with it, and eventually got out some responses that were reflective of my experiences and thoughts. Maybe she was pulling me to those answers, maybe she was testing my ability to handle stress, or maybe she didn't feel like I was a good candidate to begin with. Tough to tell. Taking a few things away from the situation, not going to spend much time worrying about it though.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I've felt good about all of my interviews so far except KCUMB. The guy I interviewed with stonewalled me for the first 30 minutes until he finally cracked a smile in the last 10 minutes.

You probably did fine then.

 

[ananasmed]

I've felt good about all of my interviews so far except KCUMB. The guy I interviewed with stonewalled me for the first 30 minutes until he finally cracked a smile in the last 10 minutes.

Pretty sure I had the same guy

Edit: Then he gave me restaurant recs at the end!