What are some things that will get you automatically rejected if you say them during an interview?

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I have another one that is kind of bothering me and could go either way. I just interviewed at a school in a big city and one of their questions for me was my support system and how I would deal with the change. I told them that I had a serious girlfriend and that she was from the same city currently getting her PhD and some good friends through her and her family. I know a lot of people say not to mention a s/o as it may reflect poor judgement or priorities outside of medicine, but when they specifically asked me about support within that city, I immediately thought of her and said it is a good support and that I will continue to make new friends around me and keep in touch with my family back home etc etc.

Any thoughts? think they would take that answer seriously and see that it was genuine and rational and not just some 25 y/o kid who hopes he and his gf can stay together through medical school?
 
B_52 said:
I have another one that is kind of bothering me and could go either way. I just interviewed at a school in a big city and one of their questions for me was my support system and how I would deal with the change. I told them that I had a serious girlfriend and that she was from the same city currently getting her PhD and some good friends through her and her family. I know a lot of people say not to mention a s/o as it may reflect poor judgement or priorities outside of medicine, but when they specifically asked me about support within that city, I immediately thought of her and said it is a good support and that I will continue to make new friends around me and keep in touch with my family back home etc etc.

Any thoughts? think they would take that answer seriously and see that it was genuine and rational and not just some 25 y/o kid who hopes he and his gf can stay together through medical school?
Click to expand...

This is only a problem if you are a female... Which is the most sexist part of medical training.
 
Wasn't rejected but...
Interviewer: your application can get you into most MD schools, why DO?
Me: I like that DO is...wait for it...holistic
Interviewer: So you are saying MD schools and allopathic medicine aren't holistic?
Me: no, just less so. Just doesn't seem to be a big part of their mission
Interviewer: so you think MD doctors don't care about their patients as a whole?
Me: *internal scream* actually no, I meant I think MD admissions are more numbers based, unless it is a mission based school
Interviewer: Actually, I think this school may be more numbers based than xyz MD schools
Me: Exactly. I was able to find the best of both worlds with DO schools; schools that need high stats and those that are more holistic
Interviewer: I'd not have cared what you said, just that you are articulate and calm under pressure. Good job.

Rest of interview was us talking about Project Runway's last season, and went great from there.

TL;DR don't bash MD at all even if you don't mean to and don't get flustered.
 
axiomofchoice said:
This is only a problem if you are a female... Which is the most sexist part of medical training.
Click to expand...
reallly? i've never heard of that? what in gods name could even be the difference? like theyd be worried that a girl might just decide to have a kid instead and drop out?
 
B_52 said:
reallly? i've never heard of that? what in gods name could even be the difference? like theyd be worried that a girl might just decide to have a kid instead and drop out?
Click to expand...

Exactly. Less of a problem for medical school. Much bigger problem for residency.....
 
axiomofchoice said:
Exactly. Less of a problem for medical school. Much bigger problem for residency.....
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sounds like B.S. to me considering any right minded woman who wants to get into medicine would certainly be aware and educated enough on contraceptives to avoid that problem...
 
sammiesings said:
Or, you know, able to be both a mother and a physician.
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right, I agree with that of course and didn't mean to allude otherwise, but I could see someone being concerned about a mother who is pregnant during medical school, especially if its in the clinical years. This would almost certainly require finishing a year later as I don't think you can take a maternity leave as a medical student and still get all your clinicals in. Again, definitely not something that should even be concerning, its not that damning of a statistic to have a few students finish a year late for personal reasons. If I were to speculate though, I would think someone who is concerned with that sort of thing would follow that kind of logic. But again, I don't personally agree with that line of thought.
 
You gave the correct answer, and anyone who told you that mentioning an SO is 100% ignorant about this process.

Having a support group is vital for a med student. My school once had a student withdraw because she was homesick!


B_52 said:
I have another one that is kind of bothering me and could go either way. I just interviewed at a school in a big city and one of their questions for me was my support system and how I would deal with the change. I told them that I had a serious girlfriend and that she was from the same city currently getting her PhD and some good friends through her and her family. I know a lot of people say not to mention a s/o as it may reflect poor judgement or priorities outside of medicine, but when they specifically asked me about support within that city, I immediately thought of her and said it is a good support and that I will continue to make new friends around me and keep in touch with my family back home etc etc.

Any thoughts? think they would take that answer seriously and see that it was genuine and rational and not just some 25 y/o kid who hopes he and his gf can stay together through medical school?
Click to expand...
 
My students who become moms simply take a LOA and graduate a year later. When I was in grad school, I knew a med student who had two kids! She later went into Path because she hated touching patients.


B_52 said:
right, I agree with that of course and didn't mean to allude otherwise, but I could see someone being concerned about a mother who is pregnant during medical school, especially if its in the clinical years. This would almost certainly require finishing a year later as I don't think you can take a maternity leave as a medical student and still get all your clinicals in. Again, definitely not something that should even be concerning, its not that damning of a statistic to have a few students finish a year late for personal reasons. If I were to speculate though, I would think someone who is concerned with that sort of thing would follow that kind of logic. But again, I don't personally agree with that line of thought.
Click to expand...
 
"I'm really just here because I don't know what to do with a B.S. in Biology, and the prospect of grad school is beneath me".
 
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Goro said:
You gave the correct answer, and anyone who told you that mentioning an SO is 100% ignorant about this process.

Having a support group is vital for a med student. My school once had a student withdraw because she was homesick!
Click to expand...

Thank you! one more thing I won't obsess over in the wee hours of the night 😀

Goro said:
My students who become moms simply take a LOA and graduate a year later. When I was in grad school, I knew a med student who had two kids! She later went into Path because she hated touching patients.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's what I figured would be the case for a situation like that, as I mentioned in the next sentence of that post
 
Flirt said:
Wasn't rejected but...
Interviewer: your application can get you into most MD schools, why DO?
Me: I like that DO is...wait for it...holistic
Interviewer: So you are saying MD schools and allopathic medicine aren't holistic?
Me: no, just less so. Just doesn't seem to be a big part of their mission
Interviewer: so you think MD doctors don't care about their patients as a whole?
Me: *internal scream* actually no, I meant I think MD admissions are more numbers based, unless it is a mission based school
Interviewer: Actually, I think this school may be more numbers based than xyz MD schools
Me: Exactly. I was able to find the best of both worlds with DO schools; schools that need high stats and those that are more holistic
Interviewer: I'd not have cared what you said, just that you are articulate and calm under pressure. Good job.

Rest of interview was us talking about Project Runway's last season, and went great from there.

TL;DR don't bash MD at all even if you don't mean to and don't get flustered.
Click to expand...

Play the comparison and contrast game with MD schools, and you will lose everytime (unless you get one of those old school DOs, whose anti-MD). DO schools are just as number hungry as MD schools. The word holistic is nothing more than a buzzword, and they should be blaming the DO leadership for propagating it to pre-meds.
 
B_52 said:
right, I agree with that of course and didn't mean to allude otherwise, but I could see someone being concerned about a mother who is pregnant during medical school, especially if its in the clinical years. This would almost certainly require finishing a year later as I don't think you can take a maternity leave as a medical student and still get all your clinicals in. Again, definitely not something that should even be concerning, its not that damning of a statistic to have a few students finish a year late for personal reasons. If I were to speculate though, I would think someone who is concerned with that sort of thing would follow that kind of logic. But again, I don't personally agree with that line of thought.
Click to expand...
Funny story. I had a baby and took 4 weeks (one short rotation) off at the beginning of M3, I will graduate at the end of the year, on time with my class. There is always a way.
 
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orthogenes said:
Funny story. I had a baby and took 4 weeks (one short rotation) off, I will graduate at the end of the year, on time with my class. There is always a way.
Click to expand...

The end 1st year and 4th year are probably the easiest times to have children. Most of the people I know of had children around those times.
 
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