"Well, good luck"

[QuinnTheEskimo]

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Like many of you, I'm waiting on a bunch of decisions and going through the interviews in my head. When interviewers ended with "well, good luck", I sort of got a sinking feeling.

Is this code word for, "you suck?"

Thoughts appreciated

 

[SnakeOilForSale]

No. It's a standard closing for highly-tensed and competitive situations. It doesn't mean anything but expected politeness and closing a conversation.

 

[QuinnTheEskimo]

No. It's a standard closing for highly-tensed and competitive situations. It doesn't mean anything but expected politeness and closing a conversation.

I feel like if the interviewer really liked you, he'd say something along the lines of "I hope you come here."

Then again, my most gushing interviewer resulted in a waitlist within 7 days.

 

[WTFRichard]

No, it's your cue for standing up, extending your hand for a shake, and saying "Thank you, I truly appreciate it" before walking out the door.

 

[SunsFun]

You're overthinking it. Interviewers usually do not make the final decision anyway.

 

[trino]

Like many of you, I'm waiting on a bunch of decisions and going through the interviews in my head. When interviewers ended with "well, good luck", I sort of got a sinking feeling.

Is this code word for, "you suck?"

Thoughts appreciated

Don't look into little things like this. You have no idea what's going through the interviewers head. I had two experiences that I thought were obvious. The first interviewer told me that he thought "I would be a great fit for the school and to keep them in mind." The second interviewer (different school) wrote in response to my thank you note that he thought I would be an excellent physician and that he hoped I would start my training at his school.

Both results: waitlist

Not only do you not know what they're thinking, but they are only one piece of the puzzle. Even though I thought these interviewers gave me positive reviews, it could have not accounted for any negative seen on my app/interview. Try not to think about it (I know its hard, especially for your first acceptance). I have been accepted to more schools where I thought my interview went horribly, than schools where I thought I crushed the interview.

 

[SnakeOilForSale]

I feel like if the interviewer really liked you, he'd say something along the lines of "I hope you come here."

Then again, my most gushing interviewer resulted in a waitlist within 7 days.

I think they're just trying to be polite while neutral. Interviewers don't ultimately decide if you attend or not, so if the person was overly excited and said something like that it might give you a false impression that you'd be accepted there for sure.

 

[QuinnTheEskimo]

No, it's your cue for standing up, extending your hand for a shake, and saying "Thank you, I truly appreciate it" before walking out the door.

In one of my interviews, the guy said "good luck" like 3 times while shaking my hand.

What I heard: "Good luck...maybe you will get in...somewhere else."

 

[Finches]

In one of my interviews, the guy said "good luck" like 3 times while shaking my hand.

What I heard: "Good luck...maybe you will get in...somewhere else."

Hm, 3 times? Maybe you're right.

 

[CyberMaxx]

I had a similar experience @QuinnTheEskimo. I interviewed with someone pretty high up on the admissions committee and their response to my thank you letter was something along the lines of "Keep working hard and you'll get what your looking for. Best of luck!" 😕

 

[Doctor Strange]

I have a visceral reaction to the neuroticism of your posts. You are over-thinking this way too much.

 

[Ismet]

You are over-thinking this way too much.

/thread.

I said "good luck" to everyone I interviewed no matter if I loved them or if I was indifferent or if I hated them. It's a polite thing to say to someone who is going through the process and will be waiting on future interview offers or admissions decisions. Stop reading into every little thing the interviewer says, you're just going to drive yourself nuts over something that 1) you can't control and 2) doesn't mean anything anyway.

Honestly from an interviewer standpoint, it feels more awkward to me to tell someone "I hope you come here!"

 

[Reckoner]

"Well, good luck" is widely understood as code for "begin eating the poop hotdog or gtfo." Isn't this in one of the stickies?

 

[NuttyEngDude]

Yeah I would have to agree, I think you might be over analyzing this one.

Anyways....

Well, good luck.

 

[pyrrion89]

The farewells mean nothing. Here's my n=1 experience on some parting words I've received and the outcome:

• "I really enjoyed talking with you and think you're an excellent applicant. I'll do my best to advocate for you at the committee." Result: Waitlisted.
• "Good luck in all your future endeavors..." Result: Accepted
• "I hope you come here." Result: Waitlisted
• "It was nice meeting you!" Result: Accepted

 

[Finches]

The farewells mean nothing. Here's my n=1 experience on some parting words I've received and the outcome:

• "I really enjoyed talking with you and think you're an excellent applicant. I'll do my best to advocate for you at the committee." Result: Waitlisted.
• "Good luck in all your future endeavors..." Result: Accepted
• "I hope you come here." Result: Waitlisted
• "It was nice meeting you!" Result: Accepted

I am quite impressed by your ability to recall the closing statements of your interviews!

 

[ninjaman22]

Well thank you and good luck to you too

 

[darkjedi]

I also usually tell my interviewees something generic like "good luck" or "it was great the meet you" out of politeness.

I would never say "I really hope you come here" because I don't have final say in decisions and I wouldn't want to give a false impression that they sealed the deal. When we first start interviews, the adcom actually tells us to try to temper what we say to our interviewees. I imagine that it is for exactly this reason OP started this thread, and that is that super neurotic premeds will overanalyze every syllable, haha.

 

[sazerac]

You're overthinking it. Interviewers usually do not make the final decision anyway.

While an interviewer can't make the final decision to let you in, they can usually make a unilateral decision to keep you out.

As an interviewer myself, I've said "well good luck" to interviewees before. I am generally enthusiastic during the interview and a little neutral at the end.

Then I go home and either write a gushing review (75% of the time) and sincerely hope they attend here, or I write a scathing review (25%) with justifications and examples to ensure we will never hear from them again.