Weirdest/most Intimidating Interview Questions/comments Ever

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Kfire326

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I just wanted to see what kind of weird, intimidating, out-of-nowhere-questions people were asked. I'd like to stick to the 2007 entering class, to be most helpful to applicants for 08. Here are some of mine:

-What is your favorite animal?
-Tell me a funny story from your childhood. Don't worry, it won't count against you.

I'll remember more later... I know I have more than that.
 
"Have you ever been shot at?" (the interviewer went on to explain that inner city people with "diverse" backgrounds would make better doctors because they understand how to treat urban patients)

"Why do so many doctors of your religion refuse to treat people who are not of your religion." (I about fell out of my chair at that one)
 
"Start asking me questions. When you're finished, the interview is over."

That's what I got a few months ago at a residency interview. It was disalarming and it took a fast mental adjustment on my part. I asked questions for 45 minutes and that was it.
 
VALSALVA said:
"Start asking me questions. When you're finished, the interview is over."

That's what I got a few months ago at a residency interview. It was disalarming and it took a fast mental adjustment on my part. I asked questions for 45 minutes and that was it.
Click to expand...

i've heard that used a few times now. you can really tell a lot about a person by the questions they ask.
 
Oh, I've also been asked: "If I called you up and told you I wanted to kill myself, what would you tell me?" How could I forget that one...
 
Asked at a P/F school: "I see that you've worked very hard to get where you are in life. If I was someone like you, I could imagine I might want to just coast through medical school after already exuding so much effort to get here. Do you think this is true for you?"

Uh, wtf? Made me want to tort back "Well clearly, becoming a doctor instead of some more time consuming/life demanding career was just an attempt to lessen the effort I have to make to get a paycheck. Duh."
 
VALSALVA said:
"Start asking me questions. When you're finished, the interview is over."

That's what I got a few months ago at a residency interview. It was disalarming and it took a fast mental adjustment on my part. I asked questions for 45 minutes and that was it.
Click to expand...

This is basically how my Temple interview went. Definitely caught me off guard, but apparently I recovered ok...
 
Kfire326 said:
I just wanted to see what kind of weird, intimidating, out-of-nowhere-questions people were asked. I'd like to stick to the 2007 entering class, to be most helpful to applicants for 08. Here are some of mine:

-What is your favorite animal?
-Tell me a funny story from your childhood. Don't worry, it won't count against you.

I'll remember more later... I know I have more than that.
Click to expand...

"So what brings you into my office today?"
 
can we get this thread moved to pre-allo? i dont know why i put it here...?
 
And yet, "tell me about yourself" seems to be the one that trips the most people up... I'm asking about you, not your research !@*&-it!
 
In my last interview I was called "fluffy", and was told "people like you are what's ruining medicine". After that, the interviewer told me that all my answers to his questions were "crap", and that I had no business being there. After that he looked at his watch, and asked how long the interview had been going on. I said about 30 minutes. He said "Well, I guess that's long enough so that you can't say I gypped you." Interview over. The whole time I was thinking "These words can't really be coming out of his mouth, can they?" I think I had the deer-in-the-headlights look when I got back to the admissions office, because they made me re-interview with someone else.

I did get accepted at this school, and got a nice letter from the first guy which said that he was "glad the committee had followed his recommendation for my acceptance". Now I wonder...form letter, or complete psycho? 🙄 You be the judge!
 
Why do you want to become a doctor and dont tell me you want to help people of their sufferings, I heard that already 🙄
 
I never got asked any interesting questions.

Tell me about your research.

Tell me about yourself.

Tell me about (extra curricular).
 
What will you bring to this class that no other applicant possesses?

Why are three reasons I should NOT recommend you for admission?

What's the most complicated recipe you've ever prepared from scratch?
 
I didn't actually get asked this, but another kid in my group did (group interview).

"You just woke up from the best dream of your life. Tell me about it."
 
illinaisa said:
I didn't actually get asked this, but another kid in my group did (group interview).

"You just woke up from the best dream of your life. Tell me about it."
Click to expand...

Um, I'd have to take the 5th on that one...
 
How do you answer "tell me about yourself"? I've always hated that question. It's so vague you might as well not be asking anything at all. I guess the point is to see what you think is most important/significant about you.
 
Teach me something in 2 minutes.

I see you have been working on site-directed mutagenesis. Describe that in laymen's terms please.
 
"How did your PhD thesis work relate to biology?"
My thesis work involved building lasers and shooting them at things.
"Uh, you could burn people with it?"
 
I wasn't asked this, but people I met on my interview day were.

"Sing your theme song" 😱
 
Punkn said:
I wasn't asked this, but people I met on my interview day were.

"Sing your theme song" 😱
Click to expand...

Would it be bad if I sang "Welcome to my Life" by Simple Plan?

That's how I feel during a regular final exams period, and to a lesser extent all semester long.
 
Interviewer: "What are some of your best attributes."

Me: "I am X, Y, Z, confident..."

Interviewer: "Would you say arrogant?"

Me: "No, I would say confident..." 😕

Interviewer: Look of disdain
 
i walk into the interviewer's room and sit down. he says, "what now?" with a blank expression.
 
During my first interview:

Interviewer: Tell me what you think is the greatest defect in yourself.

Me: Well, I'm very shy.

Interviewer: So how do you overcome that?

Me: To start with, I try to get involved in activities in which I am comfortable and that I like, and that allows me to interact with people in a much better way, and it helps me get over my shyness.

Interviewer: What kind of activities?

Me: Well, I joined a choral poetry group once, and we performed in front of audiences.

Interviewer: I thought you said you were shy! **suspicious look**

Me: I am!! That was one of the ways in which I overcame some of it, by making myself do something completely different.

Interviewer: But you performed in front of people..and you said you were shy!!

Me: Yes, and I am!! Performing helped my confidence.


At that point I was getting frustrated because I think she believed that I was lying and nothing I said could make it better. I said I was SHY, not ASOCIAL. 🙄
 
how many gas stations do you think are in the US?
 
At the University of Buffalo, got by far the wierdest interview questions yet, such as:

Tell me about a time when you could have helped someone but you couldn't.
Tell me a funny story about your childhood.
How would you measure someone's body fat without using a scale?
...+ other wierd ones i can't think of ...

These questions all came from a constipated-looking, stone-faced interviewer who wasn't even making eye contact with me, which made the experience oh-so pleasurable.
 
Interviewer: Please have a seat. You can pick any chair, but if you pick the wrong one, you won't get in.

Me: Um...I guess I'll sit here.

Interviewer: Sorry, that's the wrong chair.

(Interview followed. Sure enough, I got waitlisted)
 
Great student interviewer questions:

If you could be any vegetable, what vegetable would you be and why?
If you had your purse stolen (with your ID and plane ticket inside) how would you get home?
 
gotmeds? said:
Interviewer: Please have a seat. You can pick any chair, but if you pick the wrong one, you won't get in.

Me: Um...I guess I'll sit here.

Interviewer: Sorry, that's the wrong chair.

(Interview followed. Sure enough, I got waitlisted)
Click to expand...

LOLOL!!! That is by far the wierdest thing I've heard! How in the world did you deal with that...that would of just killed my spirit🙁
 
Interviewer: I've interviewed the 2nd chair of the blank orchestra, a girl who made it to the olympics, and someone who's has published 2 books. And what have you done? What can you bring to *devil voice* this school?

🙁
 
Interviewer - Have you ever suffered from compassion fatigue?
Me - No. I've never really dealt with dead people.
(How stupid was that? Arghhhhh!)
 
doctorbettyrock said:
Interviewer - Have you ever suffered from compassion fatigue?
Me - No. I've never really dealt with dead people.
(How stupid was that? Arghhhhh!)
Click to expand...

lol - what does that response even mean?
 
shivasHeroLike said:
i've heard that used a few times now. you can really tell a lot about a person by the questions they ask.
Click to expand...

That or the interviewer is really lazy and unprepared. I think it's in the same vein as when a pastor is giving a talk, or a speaker is deilivering a speech, and they tell an anecdote such as "I was walking here today..." and I usually think "boy, they sure cut it close."

As far as odd questions, at UPenn my faculty interviewer was from my Undergrad (like 40 years ago) and he asked about the Circle of Friends House, different parking lots and construction on campus. Then we had an engaging discussion about the ideologies of Boston versus Philadelphia, and how the different theologies of the settling people may have had an influence.

As far as comments, I was told by one school "You won't get a gun and knife club here. If you want to work with poor people you probably should apply to schools in Detroit or Chicago." At a different school a friend of mine with a super high MCAT score, who grew up in a less than ritzy area, was told "we don't see a lot of people with your background doing this well on the MCAT."

And for those strugging with the "tell me about yourself" question, make sure you have an answer - as practically every interview ever (jobs too) will start with it. I talk a bit about my family, where I grew up, spend a tiny time talking about my journey through college and decision on a major, and then spend more time talking about my hobbies (more so than "extra-curriculars", goals in life, and personality). This is the time to show them that you are unique and not just a pre-med robot filled with clinical experience and research.
 
gotmeds? said:
Interviewer: Please have a seat. You can pick any chair, but if you pick the wrong one, you won't get in.

Me: Um...I guess I'll sit here.

Interviewer: Sorry, that's the wrong chair.

(Interview followed. Sure enough, I got waitlisted)
Click to expand...
Lol if i was you, i would've asked the interviewer to stand up.
 
I just walk into the room haven't even sat down yet and he says,

"So I see you went to Yale, tell me why I should care?"

It went downhill from there, he never looked at me, stared at the ceiling, and clicked his pen as he shot down every answer I gave.

Waitlisted.
 
"So you play the violin?"

Yes, blah, orchestras, blah

"Have you ever played the electric violin?"

Actually I have...blah blah

"And your from NJ, I saw a girl play the electric violin in a little cafe in NJ, was it you?"

No, sorry.

"So, I was reading this article on how to look good in pictures, blah blah (descirbing article and how she doesn't like pictures of herself). how do you look good in pictures?"

umm, excuse me?

"what do you do to make yourself look good in pictures?"

Sit up straight?

"well obviously, what else? do you have a good side?"

ummm maybe my left?

"what's your favorite color?"

green

"uggh, green would look horrible on you, i see you as more of a red/orange person"

well green is just my favorite color in general, I like to stick to earth tones for clothes...

"good, because your not a green person, I think you should change your favorite color"

umm ok, maybe, but...

"well I have another person to see now, it was great talking with you!"

Waitlisted
 
About five minutes after speaking in detail about my father's severe illness and death (in response to what brought me to medicine), and after we had moved on to a totally different topic, my interviewer suddenly asks:

"So, how's your dad doing these days?"

Um...still deceased?
 
Not a question but still unnerving...

I have a pretty diverse set of interests so I have ECs that reflect that - not to mention I've had lots of majors, etc.

At the end of one interview the interviewer looked at me and said, "Well I'm glad you finally tied all that stuff together." 😱 (Her mannerism told me she was convinced I was pretty flaky) And guess what? A waitlist 🙄
 
tch001 said:
"So you play the violin?"

Yes, blah, orchestras, blah

"Have you ever played the electric violin?"

Actually I have...blah blah

"And your from NJ, I saw a girl play the electric violin in a little cafe in NJ, was it you?"

No, sorry.

"So, I was reading this article on how to look good in pictures, blah blah (descirbing article and how she doesn't like pictures of herself). how do you look good in pictures?"

umm, excuse me?

"what do you do to make yourself look good in pictures?"

Sit up straight?

"well obviously, what else? do you have a good side?"

ummm maybe my left?

"what's your favorite color?"

green

"uggh, green would look horrible on you, i see you as more of a red/orange person"

well green is just my favorite color in general, I like to stick to earth tones for clothes...

"good, because your not a green person, I think you should change your favorite color"

umm ok, maybe, but...

"well I have another person to see now, it was great talking with you!"

Waitlisted
Click to expand...

uhhh.. that's definitely pretty awkward... 🙁
 
What do you want written on your tombstone?

I was tempted to respond, "pepperoni and olives!"
 
illinaisa said:
I didn't actually get asked this, but another kid in my group did (group interview).

"You just woke up from the best dream of your life. Tell me about it."
Click to expand...

As I think it was intimated by a previous poster, how do I not mention graphic sex and still be honest?
 
First question, after interviewer introduced herself to me: So, I don't know how to ask you this <long pause>, but why do so many students at MIT kill themselves?

Me: Uh...

Her: I am really quite interested to hear why that is.

Completely freaked me out. That definitely wasn't on the list of questions I used to prepare...
 
ltrain said:
First question, after interviewer introduced herself to me: So, I don't know how to ask you this <long pause>, but why do so many students at MIT kill themselves?

Me: Uh...

Her: I am really quite interested to hear why that is.

Completely freaked me out. That definitely wasn't on the list of questions I used to prepare...
Click to expand...

LOL. wow...
 
I am interviewing a prospective student tomorrow, and I am certainly going to enjoy it. I especially like the "choose a chair, but choose wisely" scenario. Thanks for the ideas.
 
Punkn said:
I wasn't asked this, but people I met on my interview day were.

"Sing your theme song" 😱
Click to expand...

I could totally see me breaking out into the "Gilligan's Island" theme... :laugh: What a great question!
 
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