Trying not to restate personal statement during interview

[nboogie]

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Hi,

I have a couple of interviews coming up and I'm preparing by going over some common questions:

Why dentistry?
Why not medicine?
What makes you more suitable than someone else?
etc...

So, we have all discussed this to some extent in our personal statements. For those who have already interviewed, did you just restate the same points you included in your personal statement or did you use different points altogether?

Thank you!

 

[wizi]

I dont think your interviewers read your personal statement so just tell them what you think.

 

[UltimateHombre]

I think it is fine that you restate parts of your PS, just go into more depth. Tell them specific experiences as to why, what, etc.

Also, you have amazing stats!! Congrats on your interviews thus far and good luck!!!

 

[smthngintheway]

I'd be interested to hear an answer as well

(Not that I have any interviews lined up !@#$%, but maybe one day I will 🙂 )

 

[amalgamgrillz]

Hi,

I have a couple of interviews coming up and I'm preparing by going over some common questions:

Why dentistry?
Why not medicine?
What makes you more suitable than someone else?
etc...

So, we have all discussed this to some extent in our personal statements. For those who have already interviewed, did you just restate the same points you included in your personal statement or did you use different points altogether?

Thank you!

I dunno about you, but I never specifically addressed "why not med" or "what makes you more suitable than someone else" in my personal statement. I didn't think we were supposed to bash medicine and other candidates.

Anyways, even if they did read your personal statement, they don't memorize it. Tell them whatever sounds like a good answer.

 

[nboogie]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply!

Good luck to you all.

 

[DesertSonata]

There's nothing wrong with restating it. I've had several interviews already and was asked several times "why dentistry" even though I've stated it in my personal statement and in some cases in my secondary app. I really think on these interviews they just want to have a conversation and see how well you can speak. They want to see how well you can hold in a conversation and how well you can communicate. If you can communicate intelligently and keep a conversation going, then you'll have a perfect interview. Don't think of every little thing or else you'll get paranoid like that and become nervous when it comes down to interview time. Be yourself and have fun with it.

 

[YoHomey]

Some people have bad short term memories and some people like to skim and miss the nuances in your PS. Also some want to make sure you actually wrote the PS and some want to see consistency in your answers. Therefore, reiterate your PS for some of your answers.

 

[dantemac]

At my 7 interviews so far, no one has even mentioned my personal statement or even mentioned they saw it.

But, I wouldn't talk about it. Just answer their questions how you feel they should be answered. If that is something along the lines of what is in your personal statement, do it. As long as it's not a phony answer.

 

[KillaGorilla]

Repeating isn't terrible its consistent. I think the bigger problem might be getting nervous and ad libbing.

 

[toothexplore]

reiterate it, just don't over-rehearse it 🙂