"So, tell me about yourself."

[inhiding]

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"Well, I'm currently a graduate student in X at the University of Y and I graduated from Z University with a double major in A and B. I'm very interested in epidemiology and public health (I always like to learn more about these subjects) and friends tend to describe me as open and approachable -- I'm very genuine. I suppose I've taken a bit longer than some to apply to medical school, but, at this point in my life, after a lot of careful thought and exploration, I'm certain that I want to pursue a career in medicine and I'm very pleased to be here."

What does yours sound like?

 

[whoisthedrizzle]

"Well, I'm currently a graduate student in X at the University of Y and I graduated from Z University with a double major in A and B. I'm very interested in epidemiology and public health (I always like to learn more about these subjects) and friends tend to describe me as open and approachable -- I'm very genuine. I suppose I've taken a bit longer than some to apply to medical school, but, at this point in my life, after a lot of careful thought and exploration, I'm certain that I want to pursue a career in medicine and I'm very pleased to be here."

What does yours sound like?

not as rehearsed...

 

[Maxwell Edison]

"Well, I'm currently a graduate student in X at the University of Y and I graduated from Z University with a double major in A and B. I'm very interested in epidemiology and public health (I always like to learn more about these subjects) and friends tend to describe me as open and approachable -- I'm very genuine. I suppose I've taken a bit longer than some to apply to medical school, but, at this point in my life, after a lot of careful thought and exploration, I'm certain that I want to pursue a career in medicine and I'm very pleased to be here."

What does yours sound like?

It would never include the phrase in bold. Telling someone you're genuine is like saying that "I'm the most modest person I've ever met, hands down...but of course I don't like to say it."

Broadly speaking, I'm not interested in giving the kind of information that sounds like the first few lines of a medical history (23 year old male, graduated with a case of English and biology, endorsing two year volunteerism in lab settings...) to someone who has that information in front of them.

I would probably try to open up on topics illustrative of my personality, perhaps providing an easy bait for an obvious followup question that your standard, lazy interviewer would likely take. Examples:

M.E.: ...and I've spent the last few months really indulging some of my personal interests.
Int: Like what?

M.E.: ...and I am definitely excited by a variety of things in my future.
Int: Like what?

Etc., etc.

 

[flaahless]

"Well, I'm currently a graduate student in X at the University of Y and I graduated from Z University with a double major in A and B. I'm very interested in epidemiology and public health (I always like to learn more about these subjects) and friends tend to describe me as open and approachable -- I'm very genuine. I suppose I've taken a bit longer than some to apply to medical school, but, at this point in my life, after a lot of careful thought and exploration, I'm certain that I want to pursue a career in medicine and I'm very pleased to be here."

What does yours sound like?

Naah G. Don't start it like that. Start off with your personal qualities. Are you social, talkative, outgoing? Do you bowl, hopscotch or curl on ice? Something else besides your academics. Academics don't show personality, flare, or most importantly the "IT" factor that schools are looking for. It's like picking up women, never start with academics, EVER. Start friendly and then slowly drop it in the convo, in bits and pieces.

 

[paradocs we are]

That's an extremely hard question because it's so open-ended. I agree with maxwell that you need to attract their attention. Flaahless put it nicely as well.

I'm just going to add that the less rehearsed you are, the less nervous you'll sound and the better off you'll be at showing them who you are. If you talk about one of your passions, such as mine for community medicine, then you're going to naturally be excited about talking about it and you won't have to worry about sounding boring, etc.

 

[mterp45]

"so tell me about yourself"............ I'm Rick James biatch.

 

[JLC]

"so tell me about yourself"............ I'm Rick James biatch.

LMAO


oh man, you just made me day (or night actually)

 

[inhiding]

"Well, uh, geez...****. I'm a real sweet gal. I like things I can put my hands on, see? What I mean is, I'm really passionate about cello performance. Actually, man, I'm Rick James biatch."

not as rehearsed...

easy bait for an obvious followup question

Start off with your personal qualities.

If you talk about one of your passions, such as mine for community medicine, then you're going to naturally be excited about talking about it and you won't have to worry about sounding boring, etc.

"so tell me about yourself"............ I'm Rick James biatch.

Better now?

 

[flaahless]

"Well, uh, geez...****. I'm a real sweet gal. I like things I can put my hands on, see? What I mean is, I'm really passionate about cello performance. Actually, man, I'm Rick James biatch."













Better now?

Definitely more entertaining.

EDIT: How about telling me how/why you are a sweet gal, or why you've taken so long to apply?

 

[redbull928]

To your speech, I'd like to ask... then why not just continue in graduate school? Why medical school?

"Well, I'm currently a graduate student in X at the University of Y and I graduated from Z University with a double major in A and B. I'm very interested in epidemiology and public health (I always like to learn more about these subjects) and friends tend to describe me as open and approachable -- I'm very genuine. I suppose I've taken a bit longer than some to apply to medical school, but, at this point in my life, after a lot of careful thought and exploration, I'm certain that I want to pursue a career in medicine and I'm very pleased to be here."

What does yours sound like?

 

[flaahless]

Mine...

"Well, I'm pretty social person. I really value my friendships and I like to talk to people and see what's going on in their lives... I mean, ever since I was young I would talk to the bus drivers and crossing guards and I just really enjoyed connecting and bonding with a variety people. That's a major reason why i'm here..." (I left it vague so the interviewer could reply with..."Where?") "Well, here, at this school, trying to be doctor."

 

[RollTideChem]

I usually start chronologically and give a brief history of where I came from and how I got to be where I am.

This question is great because it allows you to really take up a lot of time that could otherwise be used for curveballs.

 

[inhiding]

Mine...

"Well, I'm pretty social person. I really value my friendships and I like to talk to people and see what's going on in their lives... I mean, ever since I was young I would talk to the bus drivers and crossing guards and I just really enjoyed connecting and bonding with a variety people. That's a major reason why i'm here..." (I left it vague so the interviewer could reply with..."Where?") "Well, here, at this school, trying to be doctor."

Now THAT's what I was looking for! Nice. You sound a bit like me. I like talking to random strangers, actually...part of what makes me the 'real sweet gal' 😉 (for lack of a better expression)

Perhaps I should have clarified in the first post -- my undergraduate majors are both in the humanities and my graduate major is in a hard science --> so it's a bit more interesting than it sounds.

 

[flaahless]

I usually start chronologically and give a brief history of where I came from and how I got to be where I am.

This question is great because it allows you to really take up a lot of time that could otherwise be used for curveballs.

Ehh, I think you should engage them as quickly as possible to make the interview conversational. Once it's conversational, you can take it anywhere so long as you keep their attention. And as long as you have their attention, they won't think about curve balls.

 

[paradocs we are]

"Well, uh, geez...****. I'm a real sweet gal. I like things I can put my hands on, see? What I mean is, I'm really passionate about cello performance. Actually, man, I'm Rick James biatch."






Better now?

You have a lot of time on your hands, but I definitely like the colour co-ordination. 😎

 

[Bradstein]

Damn flaahless, I am thoroughly impressed.

 

[Bacchus]

See this: http://studentdoctor.net/blog/2008/02/09/trick-question/#more-475

 

[SarsMO]

In my interview experiences, you start that answer and within the first one or two sentences your interviewer interrupts to ask you about something you've said. It's much more conversational than a monologue. Don't rehearse it because then if your interviewer breaks in with a question you might completely forget what else you wanted to talk about (I actually had that happen mid-sentence. I just stopped and said, "Aaannnnd I just completely forgot where I was going with that." Luckily I had an interviewer with a sense of humor who said "that happens all of the time" and laughed). Just have some points you want to touch on, and make sure you get them in. I had one "interview" where I talked about 5 minutes and my interviewer talked about 45min...so get the good stuff out there when you can!

 

[riceman04]

WHAT DID THE FIVE FINGERS SAY TO THE FACE??????????????????????


A: you provide the answer



I'm rich BIATCH!!!!!!....Cocaine is a hell of a drug

 

[flaahless]

Now THAT's what I was looking for! Nice. You sound a bit like me. I like talking to random strangers, actually...part of what makes me the 'real sweet gal' 😉 (for lack of a better expression)

Perhaps I should have clarified in the first post -- my undergraduate majors are both in the humanities and my graduate major is in a hard science --> so it's a bit more interesting than it sounds.

Yeah but they will ask you that sometime during the interview. They will ask you how was your college experience, why humanities etc. You can count on it. So there is no need to start off your spiel with your academics if it is going to get covered anyway.

However, they won't necessarily ask you to describe your personality. So you've gotta be a bit more proactive with that.

 

[iA-MD2013]

Yeah but they will ask you that sometime during the interview. They will ask you how was your college experience, why humanities etc. You can count on it. So there is no need to start off your spiel with your academics if it is going to get covered anyway.

However, they won't necessarily ask you to describe your personality. So you've gotta be a bit more proactive with that.

That's great advice!

 

[whoisthedrizzle]

Naah G. Don't start it like that. Start off with your personal qualities. Are you social, talkative, outgoing? Do you bowl, hopscotch or curl on ice? Something else besides your academics. Academics don't show personality, flare, or most importantly the "IT" factor that schools are looking for. It's like picking up women, never start with academics, EVER. Start friendly and then slowly drop it in the convo, in bits and pieces.

that's actually really good advice.

 

[paradocs we are]

that's actually really good advice.

It's flaahless. He always gives flawless advice. 😍

 

[ONYX4000GT]

I cant wait until I get asked that question!! NUTSHELL VERSION... Adpoted at birth in San Jose, Costa Rica, flown to Florida, became a US Citizen through naturalization at 4 yrs, enlisted for service in the Marine Corp at 17, served 4 yrs 2 months, 11 decorations, 3 combat tours, reccomendations, achievements, got out began college, more reccomendations, achievements, volunteering, about to be commisioned as a Marine Corp Officer, Chemical Engineering... and only God knows whats next.. NASA maybe...

Oh and I dont think people are supposed to memorize what they are supposed to say in an interview. It should just "flow."

 

[KnuxNole]

I made flash cards with the interview questions just so I can have a feel of what to say before I actually head out there. It made me a lot less nervous in the real thing.

 

[brianmartin]

"I think most people are idiots that don't deserve the shoes they walk in. You see, modern society breeds a certain kind of laziness into the population, and people come to expect "free" healthcare. Well, I don't believe in that. Those patients can take a hike. I want to set up my own "pay per visit" clinic where only normal, productive members of society can pay cash for high-quality medical services and the rest of society can stew in their own mediocrity!"

 

[ONYX4000GT]

"I think most people are idiots that don't deserve the shoes they walk in. You see, modern society breeds a certain kind of laziness into the population, and people come to expect "free" healthcare. Well, I don't believe in that. Those patients can take a hike. I want to set up my own "pay per visit" clinic where only normal, productive members of society can pay cash for high-quality medical services and the rest of society can stew in their own mediocrity!"

Do you concur? I concur.

 

[inhiding]

Do you concur? I concur.

[He should have concurred ]

Reason I'm asking about the "tell me about yourself" line is because I started in on answering it at an interview, and my pre-health advisor basically said I had to talk about things that weren't on my application.

It's kind of hard for me. I mean, I know what I'm like and I know what I'm interested in, but it's a bit difficult for me to find a way to share this kind of information with a person I met 3 minutes earlier...I have a tendancy to dislike baring my soul to random people who wish to evaluate My Existence.

 

[deleted74029]

Personally, I wouldn't say anything about medicine or science. Theres more of a chance of saying what someone else has already said when you talk about that, and the mere fact that you are sitting in that chair is proof enough that you're interested in medicine.

Just a general life history and some interesting anecdotes would be much more awe-inspiring.

 

[iduwanna]

"Very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink, he would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Some times he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy, the sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical, summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds, pretty standard really. At the age of 12 I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen, a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum, it's breathtaking, I suggest you try it."

 

[MilkmanAl]

I did a mini life story and tied it in with my interest in science. That seemed to be a pretty good answer.

 

[Retsage]

"Very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink, he would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Some times he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy, the sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical, summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds, pretty standard really. At the age of 12 I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen, a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum, it's breathtaking, I suggest you try it."

Aww, I was about to post that too.

 

[alwaysaangel]

When I prepped for interviews I wrote the gist of everything I wanted to say down so I would remember main points, and I practiced so not to be nervous. But you have to be careful to not end up sounding rehearsed that way.

Personally, I think "tell me about yourself" is the most awesome question ever. They're basically giving you an open invitation to run the interview if you play it right and are open and conversational.

Here is what I wrote down for myself, keep in mind I NEVER got through the whole thing - I never expected to. It was major points I knew I wanted to mention at some point. For me it worked out great. Certain things I would say would catch their attention and they would ask about it - and we would talk about that for a while. Then I would bring up another activity or interest and we'd talk about that. I never got a hard or real typical "interview" question at interviews because I basically covered it all on my own. Which I think is a great way to do it because if you're in control of what you're saying you're more relaxed. All my interviews were very conversational which was great.

Here was my general start - usuallly we veered off at activities and talked about things more in depth:


I’m 22 years old, I graduated in May from UC Berkeley with a degree in Molecular and Cell Biology and an emphasis in Immunology. I am currently working full-time with the Fire Prevention Division at the office on campus where I worked my Junior and Senior year. I worked there as an office assistant for two years and when I graduated the Fire Marshal asked if I would like to stay on to complete a project for them. When Fire fighters respond to buildings they often have maps of the building to know what buildings nearby are threatened and where all the fire suppression equipment in the building is. So I spent 3 months learning AutoCAD for them and am now redoing all 200 buildings on campus. I am also currently teaching an MCAT Biology course for Princeton review – which I like a lot because it keeps the material fresh in my mind while letting me work on how I go about explaining complex material to someone who doesn’t understand it.
I also took up a quarter-time Americorps position at the clinic where I have volunteered for 3 years. I have been a medical assistant in the free clinic since my sophomore year and recently started doing follow-up, outreach, and preparation during the daytime as well as my usual job of being a medical assistant in the evening.
I worked part-time all four years of college, and paid my own way through. I worked as a cashier in a café my freshman year which was fun because I got to meet a lot of new people and got a lot of practice in Spanish since so many employees were Hispanic and didn’t speak English.
My sophomore year I worked as a tutor and mentor with a bunch of middle school students. That was a lot of fun. They were really cute and a good challenge to work with.

 

[Geekchick921]

I agree with everyone that's said to make it about stuff not otherwise mentioned in your application. They already know about your schools, your grades, your other stats, etc.

I'm applying to school next year and due with our first baby in December, so if that question comes up at any interviews I am sure that will be large part of what I talk about, since our baby will be almost 1 at that point.

 

[MilkmanAl]

Whoa, starting med school with a 1-year-old...You're a stronger person than I.

 

[Geekchick921]

Whoa, starting med school with a 1-year-old...You're a stronger person than I.

Well, I'd be starting medical school with a 20 month old... but our reasoning was that it would be better to have our first before I started medical school as opposed to during medical school or during residency. We don't want to wait another 10 years to start, so it was basically the least of several evils.

 

[alwaysaangel]

I agree with everyone that's said to make it about stuff not otherwise mentioned in your application. They already know about your schools, your grades, your other stats, etc.

I'm applying to school next year and due with our first baby in December, so if that question comes up at any interviews I am sure that will be large part of what I talk about, since our baby will be almost 1 at that point.

This is true and not. I believe that most people should have an underlying passion or thread that is obvious in primary, secondary, activities, and interviews. Something like that should definitely pop up in tell me about yourself.

The other issue to check into before you go off on a tangent thats not in your application is that there are quite a few "closed interviews" around. Where they haven't read anything but your name before hand. You definitely wouldn't want to start with something not in your application in those cases.

 

[Narmerguy]

You definitely wouldn't want to start with something not in your application in those cases.

Actually I still believe you would. I think it would be best to craft some basic parts of your application into whatever it is you selectively reveal about yourself and allow them to prod further if that is their desire.

If they really want to know more about you academics they can and probably will ask.

 

[alwaysaangel]

Actually I still believe you would. I think it would be best to craft some basic parts of your application into whatever it is you selectively reveal about yourself and allow them to prod further if that is their desire.

If they really want to know more about you academics they can and probably will ask.

It depends on the person. I can see someone doing that but at the same time I can see that being kind of aggravating for the interviewer getting on little thing thats not academic or activity related (or for that matter not even 'why i want to be a doctor') because they're avoiding everything thats on their application. For someone who is older or hasn't seen your app they could raise an eyebrow.

Ultimately its personal choice - I mean its a broad question for a reason. And I strongly believe that if you can guide the interview and cover all their possible questions on your own - you are far less likely to be backed into a corner by an uncomfortable question. Which is why I sort of advocate covering all the basics on your own.

 

[unsung]

"Very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a fifteen year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink, he would make outrageous claims like he invented the question mark. Some times he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy, the sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical, summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds, pretty standard really. At the age of 12 I received my first scribe. At the age of fourteen, a Zoroastrian named Vilma ritualistically shaved my testicles. There really is nothing like a shorn scrotum, it's breathtaking, I suggest you try it."

Wow, that's impressive. (And I mean that: you're a genius writer lol lol) I especially like the opening "Very well, where do I begin? My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium..." I need to work boulangerie owner into an interview some day.