unexpected questions during interviews?

[ac47]

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for those that have interviewed, what were some questions that were totally unexpected or just seem to come out of right field?

ac

 

[Bevo]

everything pretty much matched up to the feedback from the interview feedback portion of SDN.

Nothing I didn't expect. I messed up answering a question because I didn't expect it, but it wasn't a left field kind of answer. It was something I read but didn't mentally prepare for.

 

[Rev. Horace]

If you could talk to a famous deceased person, who would it be and why?

After blanking and stumbling over my words for a few seconds I blurted out Einstein b/c it was the first name that came into my head. 😱

 

[ramsestiger]

Have you ever seen a person overdose on drugs?

Ummm...

 

[ac47]

Originally posted by ramsestiger
Have you ever seen a person overdose on drugs?

Ummm...

wow, where did that conversation lead? 🙄

 

[Fenrezz]

Originally posted by ramsestiger
Have you ever seen a person overdose on drugs?

I guess an example of a bad reply would be "umm... yeah, me. But after the third time I learned what my tolerance was, and I'm much smarter for it!"

 

[ramsestiger]

ac47: wow, where did that conversation lead?

Well, it was an awkward question at a really unexpected time - I guess my extensive volunteer experience in the ER at UNC (about 200 hours) might have prompted it. I kind of squirmed for a couple of seconds and tried to give an example of something I had seen (an overweight individual who showed symptoms similar to an overdose), but I then quickly said that, "I guess the simple answer is: No, I have not."

Then, I proceeded to make a little joke by mentioning that I had seen 1 or 2 people pass out after having a little too much alcohol in college - some kids, lol . Luckily, he started laughing at that a little bit, too, because I thought I had just entered some dangerous territory. I scrutinized this exchange for about a week until I heard that KCOM had accepted me! Overall, it was a 1 hour interview that went very well (except maybe that 1 awkward question that I kind of started to botch).

Honestly, don't sweat the interviews. If they like your application, you won't be able to say anything wrong. If they don't like your application, you won't be able to say anything right. Overall, they're looking for your MCAT score, your GPA, your commitment to medicine, and factors that involve much more than a casual coversation. As long as you relax and act like somewhat of a professional, you'll be fine.