Probably a silly question

[VTBuc]

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So, I am in the process of filling out secondaries when all-of-a-sudden I remembered that I am, in fact, a country bumpkin. I talk with an accent, I say all sorts of horrendous Southern phrases like "ya'll" and "daggone". This got me thinking...do I need to train myself OUT of my hillbilly speech before I start showing up to interviews?

If an admissions committee asks, "Why do you want to come to our school?" and the first words out of my mouth are, "Ya'll have a great program"...will that be FROWNED upon?

Might I have to start watching Frazier and taking notes on how to speak like a gentleman?

Input appreciated!

 

[MaryLennox]

No way . . . maybe it'll make you endearing, diverse, and memorable. As long as your grammar is correct, the accent is DIVERSITY!

. . . so apply to schools that are far enough away where they would find it quaint. 😀

 

[adeline]

"y'all" is acceptable, as are drawls.

Go a little more Southern and a little less hick. 😎

 

[scattun]

Whether people realize it or not, in the US, accents carry a lot of weight in people's perception of you. Although, there is nothing inherently better or worse about different dialects, across the country Southern and New York accents are negatively viewed. I'm not saying this will happen in an interview, but I'd want everything possible to be on my side.

 

[MaryLennox]

The chief resident of neurosurg where I shadow has a southern accent. I promise, it's adorable. and it clearly didn't hold him back any. i really don't think anyone will perceive it as bad, especially if they think their stats were good enough to invite you for an interview . . .

 

[Generic Student]

Whether people realize it or not, in the US, accents carry a lot of weight in people's perception of you. Although, there is nothing inherently better or worse about different dialects, across the country Southern and New York accents are negatively viewed. I'm not saying this will happen in an interview, but I'd want everything possible to be on my side.

I agree with this. Mostly unawares, people associate stupidity with a southern accent. I've been working on training any accent I may have out of my speech, just in case. I'm not saying this assumption is correct, but likely to be made. I'm working on it because I'll need all the help I can get.

 

[red10]

don't wear overalls and do have eloquent answers and you should be fine. Leave out ya'll if you can (its hard for me too) mostly just because its more informal.

I have to say though a southern accent is pretty handy in the medical field. My mom and her side of the family all have accents so I can turn the southern accent on and off almost at will. When I worked in the hospital, the quickest way to get an aggitated patient to calm down a little and be nicer was to turn on that southern accent. Maybe they thought I was stupid and so they calmed down or maybe they thought I was a nice southerner and relaxed a little. Either way, the accent made people slow down a little and listen. And you better believed I milked it for all it was worth with some of those mean patients and nurses

 

[call me x]

I apparently have a New York accent (I don't realize it because my parents' accents are waaay worse than mine but I went to school in Boston and up there they are quick to let you know haha). Last year I went on 1 interview in the midwest where I tried my best to tone it down, but apparently I wasn't successful since my interviewer actually noted it. Regardless, it was not brought up in a negative way and actually jump-started our conversation. I did not get in but trust me it wasn't my accent's fault haha.

You can try to tone it down but there's a good chance you can't (I couldn't).....so I say embrace it and don't dwell on it.....but that's just me 🙂