Walking out of an interview

[Adcadet]

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has anybody walked out of an interview? After the tour and presentation just decided that the school was not for them? I assume this would only happen if you had an acceptance somewhere else. If so, I'd like to hear about it.

I know my PI decided that his interviewer at Hopkins was a jerk and just left in the middle of it.

 

[Medical123]

I may get flamed for this, but why did this person even go to the interview if he wasn't interested in the school? The only thing that he did was cost someone else, who may have really wanted to go there, an interview spot. I feel that this was just absolutely rude. Even though he was not impressed with the school, he could have at least gone through the motions politely.

 

[Adcadet]

Originally posted by Medical123
I may get flamed for this, but why did this person even go to the interview if he wasn't interested in the school? The only thing that he did was cost someone else, who may have really wanted to go there, an interview spot. I feel that this was just absolutely rude. Even though he was not impressed with the school, he could have at least gone through the motions politely.

Well, I think it's better to walk out than to pretend to be interested. But this happened over 25 years ago.

 

[tBw]

In answer to Medical123 regarding "why did this person even go to the interview if he wasn't interested in the school"

To be honest sometimes you don't know till you get there! The interview is for them to get a better look at you but also for you to see if the school really does live up to that glossy brochure they sent you and your own expectations of it. I have had this experience on a couple of interviews where midway through the day I knew I would rather go to a school I had already been accepted to, even though prior to the interview I had thought that *this* school might be "the one".

However, I have never walked out in the middle of the interview process, nor would I. I think if you go on an interview you ought to give that school a fair shot and let it show you everything it has to offer - which for me means staying for the whole thing. Also by the time I am at the interview I have already flown half way across the country, worn my suit etc - why not see. At the very least I might learn something new about med school, get a different approach to it, learn for sure what I do and do not want.

 

[gower]

The real jerk is your PI. I can just imagine the overbearing self-important physician he will become. He did Hopkins a favor.

 

[pathdr2b]

Originally posted by gower
The real jerk is your PI. I can just imagine the overbearing self-important physician he will become. He did Hopkins a favor.

😕 😕

I've probably had 2 interviews in my life (ironically one at Hopkins for the MPH program a few years back) where I was sitting there thinking the person I'm interviewing with is a complete AS$ and I should just walk out! I didn't walk out although I should have in retrospect because I ended up withdrawing my application.

I think your PI did the right thing. Given some of my experiences with the folks at Hopkins, he was probably justified.

 

[Desdemona]

Originally posted by the boy wonder
In answer to Medical123 regarding "why did this person even go to the interview if he wasn't interested in the school"

To be honest sometimes you don't know till you get there! The interview is for them to get a better look at you but also for you to see if the school really does live up to that glossy brochure they sent you and your own expectations of it. I have had this experience on a couple of interviews where midway through the day I knew I would rather go to a school I had already been accepted to, even though prior to the interview I had thought that *this* school might be "the one".

However, I have never walked out in the middle of the interview process, nor would I. I think if you go on an interview you ought to give that school a fair shot and let it show you everything it has to offer - which for me means staying for the whole thing. Also by the time I am at the interview I have already flown half way across the country, worn my suit etc - why not see. At the very least I might learn something new about med school, get a different approach to it, learn for sure what I do and do not want.

I completely agree! I thought I definitely wanted to go to Columbia, but then when I interviewed there, I hated it. (Not to offend those of you who attend/want to attend Columbia--it's a great school, but it's not right for me!) I was so glad I spent my time and money there interviewing, because if we didn't have to interview to be accepted, I would have had no idea that I didn't like it. But I stayed for the interview, which was one of the best I've had yet. I think it's polite to see everything that the school has to offer and go to your interview. To leave and not interview would be wasting the time of a busy MD or PhD or administrator who has taken the time out of their schedule to interview you. The school gave you a chance by reviewing your completed application and inviting you to interview, so you should at least show them respect in return.

 

[bw07]

I would have sat for the remaining half hour and just bore it. Just because the interviewer is a jerk doesn't give you an excuse to be rude back.

 

[JJNY]

Don't walk out of an interview! You don't want to leave bad vibes because, who knows, you may be applying there for residencies later on.... and they might remember you. 😱

 

[Sweetest Thing]

Just because your interviewer is a jerk doesn't mean that the school is crappy or that everyone else there are jerks as well.

 

[Adcadet]

Originally posted by gower
The real jerk is your PI. I can just imagine the overbearing self-important physician he will become. He did Hopkins a favor.

Uh, my PI's interview was probably 25 years ago. He's been practicing medicine for the past 20 years or so. He's a great guy. I don't know more about the story, as I've only heard it second hand from my co-PI. I'll have to ask my PI about it some day.


I was thinking about situations where the interview comes last, and people have already realized that the school is not for them. If that happened to me, I would just explain to my interviewer the situation, thank them for their time, notify the admissions office, and leave.

 

[BrainDrain]

A similar thing happened to a doc that I work with. After getting into his 1st choice, he interviewed at a school that had rejected him in previous years to tell them that their school sucked.

 

[Iron Horse]

You'll reap what you sow. It's a small world.