quest. to ask at interviews

[berrytart]

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Hello! I'm having trouble thinking of generic questions we're suppose to ask abt the school at interviews. Can anyone give me some sample ones? Greatly appreciate it! =)

 

[mdsh00]

My favorite is to ask what they like about the school. I usually get a very long answer in response. 👍

Another thing to do is to get a feel for the school's philosophy. When I was at EVMS, I saw that they emphazised a lot of community based medicine. So I asked them what other community service opportunities there were.

 

[eralza]

There is a really good list at
http://www.aamc.org/students/applying/about/31questions.htm

I think some of the questions are pretty cheesy, but that's just my opinion.

Unless you get in really tight with your interviewer, questions such as "Are you and your spouse currently having maritial difficulties?" are probably best avoided; however, you might develop a special bond in the limited time you spend together.

 

[acidhouse303]

i wouldnt ask anything that is easily displayed on the school's website, cuz like they want u to have some preparation and awareness yanno? but asking about community service involvement and stuff is always nice. it also depends if this is a faculty or student interview, cuz w. the faculty id discuss broad picture stuff while w/ student more specifics on the curriculum and student life. anyway, there should be some questions you have anyway that will be unique im sure you will come up with something while they give u the presentation of the schools history n whatnot

 

[Hersey]

If you're married, engaged, or a parent, and the interviewer mentions in passing that he/she has a family, a good "standard" question is to ask for the interviewer's thoughts on balancing work and family life. This applies to both medical school, residency, and practice.

Ask what the interviewer thinks has changed most since he/she went to school. This can be particularly interesting if your interviewer attended the school to which you're applying.

In general, I think questions that pertain to the interviewer's individual perspective/experience are more interesting and engaging than general "Tell me about ___ at this school."

 

[dnelsen]

I think the OP hit the nail on the head when they said "generic" questions. That is the key! Try your hardest NOT to ask generic questions, but come up with some well-crafted questions before your interview. Granted you may also come up with some on the fly based on the content of the interview, but you should have a few prepared as well.

It is always nice if you find out the name of your interviewer(s) ahead of time. Then you can go investigate what they specialize in or what their interests are. Heck, you can even "Google" them to try and get more information.

 

[bigdan]

I'll share my list for what it's worth. All due credit is given to the SDNers that have refined/provided/hinted at what to ask.
1) Any big brother/sister programs?
2) What is the interviewer's take on the financial aid programs/scholarship opportunities?
3) What would the interviewer say is important that cannot be found in the school's website info?
4) How are students prepped for this new national standardized patient exam that we'll have to take?
5) Who exactly grades the 3rd and 4th year students?
6) Are students expected to handle a lot of scut?
7) Is administration receptive to student c/o inappropriate resident and attending behavior?
8) School's dropout/failure rate? What is "failure policy"? Support programs?
9) Will PDA be mandatory for first years?

...or some version thereof...

Best of luck in your interviews!

dc

 

[abraxas20]

I asked both of my interviewers why they chose the specialization that they chose. Also, since both of them were older (75+) we talked some about how medicine has changed since they were in med school. They were both really jazzed about this line of questioning.

 

[TripleDegree]

I asked both of my interviewers why they chose the specialization that they chose. Also, since both of them were older (75+) we talked some about how medicine has changed since they were in med school. They were both really jazzed about this line of questioning.

75 plus ????????

You have got to be kidding

 

[abraxas20]

75 plus ????????

You have got to be kidding

I kid not. One has been at UKCOM since its inception in 1960 (and by the way I pulled that fact out in my interview, interviewer thought that was cool). They were super nice. The female interviewer was harder on me, but I think she has very strong feelings about women in medicine (she also has a syndrome named after her, but thank god I didn't know that until after my interview...when someone said, OMG she is powerful....ugh)

 

[adamj61]

75 plus ????????

You have got to be kidding

One of my interviewers at Tulane was 85 or so...all he did was tell stories, it was basically a sales pitch with stories.

 

[fun8stuff]

One of my interviewers at Tulane was 85 or so...all he did was tell stories, it was basically a sales pitch with stories.

I bet my interviewer at the last school I was at was pushing 75 and he was the same way... spent most of the time selling the school to me with stories.

 

[Bright Star]

At one of my interviews, one of the 4th years said to always ask the students what they do for fun cause it's important to know what your options are when you have some downtime.