Preparing for Mock Interview

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pianola

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So my school offers mock interviews and I'm taking advantage of the opportunity on Monday. I should be able to answer "Why medicine?" and "Biggest problem in healthcare?"

What else should I prepare for? How did you guys prepare for your mock interviews (or did you prepare?)

Anything to watch out for?

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Tell me about yourself...

Are you supposed to give them an autobiography?
 
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So my school offers mock interviews and I'm taking advantage of the opportunity on Monday. I should be able to answer "Why medicine?" and "Biggest problem in healthcare?"

What else should I prepare for?

Definitely add to the list "Why are you applying to this school?"

How did you guys prepare for your mock interviews (or did you prepare?)

Anything to watch out for?

I didn't have the luxury of mock interviews so I practiced in front of a mirror. I worked on eye contact and posture and looked out for weird habits I might display under pressure.

Tell me about yourself...

Are you supposed to give them an autobiography?

Yep, that's a toughie. So open-ended. But at the same time it's a great question because you're free to bring out your best stuff. The highlight of my application was my job after graduation. So I talked about that.
 
Be prepared for weird hypotheticals like "Patient is 14 with a baby and wants an abortion, would you tell the parents against her will?".....yada yada yada

Also, "Where do you see yourself in x years" is a common question. "What was your favorite class. Least Favorite?" "Biggest asset, biggest flaw?"
 
The interview feedback has many school-specific questions. Just pick a school and answer all their questions.
 
Youtube has some pretty good videos about medical school interviews, try checking them out. Also, there's lots of good information on Google.
 
Youtube has some pretty good videos about medical school interviews, try checking them out. Also, there's lots of good information on Google.

Huh, interesting. I never would have thought of using YouTube but I'm pretty sure I'll do that now. :p

Thanks!

Thanks for the suggestions, all. I'm not sure if my 'interviewer' will ask about a specific 'school' because it IS a mock interview, but I suppose I should prepare for questions about my graduate institution at least (has a good med school and I'm applying to it).
 
To be honest, I think you're running the risk of preparing too much. I'd gear up for the "Big 3" and that's it. That is, be sure you can answer "Tell me about yourself," "Why here?" and "Why medicine?" other than those, just go and have a conversation with the interviewers. It won't kill you to know where you stand on things like what you think is the biggest issue in health care or abortion or euthanasia, but preparing answers for these questions is going to stress you out and weaken your focus during the interview.
 
To be honest, I think you're running the risk of preparing too much. I'd gear up for the "Big 3" and that's it. That is, be sure you can answer "Tell me about yourself," "Why here?" and "Why medicine?" other than those, just go and have a conversation with the interviewers. It won't kill you to know where you stand on things like what you think is the biggest issue in health care or abortion or euthanasia, but preparing answers for these questions is going to stress you out and weaken your focus during the interview.
I second that. Preparing too much will make you sound robotic. Not to mention you'll run the risk of drawing a blank because you get stuck halfway through a rehearsed answer. Figure out a general response so you can focus and act natural during the interview.

Besides, you may get a good interviewer (aka someone who talks during the interview) and you won't get a chance to finish your long thought-out answer before he/she interrupts to add a comment. Naturally you'll reply to that comment and he/she will do the same....so on and so forth. You get the point. And so it really becomes a conversation. In the end you just want to leave a good impression.
 
OK, sounds like a plan. I already know (unfortunately) that the person with whom I'm having the mock interview is somewhat antagonistic. I guess I'll just try to go in with a positive attitude and make an effort to speak as naturally as possible.
 
I would add a fourth for research-heavy schools if you applied to any; i.e., "tell me about your research." Be sure you can discuss it at several levels, from extremely in depth to a watered down version that is easily understandable by someone outside your field. It is very easy to come off as having no idea what you're talking about if you don't know the details, but also if you spew technobabble constantly and can't explain things in simple terms when prompted.
 
I would add a fourth for research-heavy schools if you applied to any; i.e., "tell me about your research." Be sure you can discuss it at several levels, from extremely in depth to a watered down version that is easily understandable by someone outside your field. It is very easy to come off as having no idea what you're talking about if you don't know the details, but also if you spew technobabble constantly and can't explain things in simple terms when prompted.

That's a good one. My comments on the AMCAS app were very brief re: my research experience.

I guess I should probably look over the AMCAS app before I go into the mock interview so I can be prepared. I've been avoiding the application (1) so that I can get some fresh ideas for secondaries and (2) because I really don't want to realize I made a typo way back in May that I can't do anything about.

But I guess it's time to bring back the primary.
 
because I really don't want to realize I made a typo way back in May that I can't do anything about.

DING DING DING. I totally did this (realized in October I had two minor typos in my personal statement) :eek:. Freaked out for a day or two, but it didn't seem to effect anything in the long run.
 
That's a good one. My comments on the AMCAS app were very brief re: my research experience.

I guess I should probably look over the AMCAS app before I go into the mock interview so I can be prepared. I've been avoiding the application (1) so that I can get some fresh ideas for secondaries and (2) because I really don't want to realize I made a typo way back in May that I can't do anything about.

But I guess it's time to bring back the primary.
You should be prepared to answer anything you touched on in your AMCAS application or a secondary app. If you mentioned research, be prepared to explain it in depth (same thing with a trip abroad, shadowing, etc). As others have said, don't over-prepare specific answers to questions. It's good to have questions in mind so you're not caught off guard, but don't rehearse answers. The more conversational an interview sounds the better.
 
they sometimes ask you about random hobbies. they want to know you are a person too
 
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