What are some tricky, unexpected interview questions you've come across?

[mariposas905]

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[Pusheen]

Actually, I think the really cliche, boring ones are worse.

How do you handle conflict?
What if you caught your friend cheating?
What is your weakness?

 

[Lawpy]

What is your weakness?

This reminds me of the following

 

[Ryuichi]

Have you ever really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

 

[Pusheen]

Have you ever really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

I literally read this 5 times and got dizzy

 

[Gurby]

I'm still a bit salty about "describe a time when you acted unethically".

 

[aymar]

Tell me about the last time you cried.

 

[Astra]

Have you ever really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

Is this you?

 

[Pusheen]

Tell me about the last time you cried.

So emo

 

[Astra]

I'm still a bit salty about "describe a time when you acted unethically".

"So I lagswitched this scrub on CoD4..."

 

[born2run]

"What is the weakest part of your application?"


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[CoachBoat]

My trickiest was: "Why MD at [OOS school] and not DO [IS school] or [IS MD school]?". So a why not md/do combined with why OOS vs IS or a state school

 

[mariposas905]

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[Goro]

I have a whole bag of them. No, I'm not sharing. Many of them I stole outright from the Interview Feedback forum.

It seems I found better questions out of the DO schools...Many of the top MD schools simply ask the classics, like "Why us?" "Where do you see yourself in ten years?", and this one was very common at top schools: "Explain that C in Biochem."

What are some of the most tricky, challenging interview questions you've had? I don't mean for just medical school interviews but for interviews in general.

I'm preparing for a fellowship phone interview, and feel like I don't know what to expect! How many questions can they really ask you in 30 min? How do they expect us to tell our motivations and life story in such a short time?!

 

[popopopop]

"Imagine yourself in three instances: in the past as a pre-med, the present right now as a medical school student, and the future as a trained physician. Explain to me how you plan to be a good doctor (using your experiences/skills) in each of the instances."

^It was something like this, but it was sure the hardest one yet. I stumbled quite a bit.

 

[coffeeandcodeine]

My hardest questions were:

"Why would you choose our school over [my top choice school]?" -- It's almost as if they knew that school was my top choice and were trying to trip me up....
"What were you like as a little kid?" -- I was caught totally off guard and started rambling, pretty sure I sounded completely delusional as I talked about my imaginary friends and my insect collection

 

[nejikon]

one interviewer asked me to give THREE strengths AND THREE weaknesses all in one go lol.. I was like god damn, was no prepared for beyond 2

 

[Gurby]

one interviewer asked me to give THREE strengths AND THREE weaknesses all in one go lol.. I was like god damn, was no prepared for beyond 2

This happened to me! They asked for 5 weaknesses, I got stuck at 4.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

My trickiest was: "Why MD at [OOS school] and not DO [IS school] or [IS MD school]?". So a why not md/do combined with why OOS vs IS or a state school

Ew.

This happened to me! They asked for 5 weaknesses, I got stuck at 4.

Five? Jesus. Not sure I could pull out more than 2 or 3.

 

[Tenk]

I once got asked if I would eat human flesh to survive in a plane crash scenario (from the already deceased...).

 

[Afp0731]

Your area has an abnormally high prevalence of HPV and people appear unwilling to get vaccinated. How would you fix this from the position of an epidemiologist?

 

[lal4life]

What would you change about your mom?

No joke, 5+ years ago, at a DO school.

 

[Gryffindor20]

Have you ever really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

That was my favorite post to ever hit SDN.

 

[Toutie]

I once got asked if I would eat human flesh to survive in a plane crash scenario (from the already deceased...).

Hey @Goro , here's a new interview question to add to your list. 😛

 

[tarheelpenner]

I once got asked if I would eat human flesh to survive in a plane crash scenario (from the already deceased...).

What on earth did you say?

 

[Mednight]

That's dreadful

one interviewer asked me to give THREE strengths AND THREE weaknesses all in one go lol.. I was like god damn, was no prepared for beyond 2

 

[flip_08]

the question that caught me the most off guard "tell me an example of a time that you showed integrity"

 

[Mednight]

What did you say?

What would you change about your mom?

No joke, 5+ years ago, at a DO school.

 

[moggat]

I got asked for FIVE strengths and FIVE weaknesses. Overkill, seriously. I got to 4 and was like, "I cant think of anything else at the moment, but I'm sure they exist".

EDIT: lol didnt see all the same^^

 

[LizzyM]

I once got asked if I would eat human flesh to survive in a plane crash scenario (from the already deceased...).

Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors
By Piers Paul Read

Two of the survivors were medical students. Great read, btw.

 

[750335]

I really detested the "Why shouldn't we accept you" question, especially since I ended up rejected there.

and lol @ what goro said. Not gonna lie, my first thought when I saw adcoms on this forum was "they are just gonna take everything we share about our insecurities and use them against us during interviews" lol still love you though

 

[redsox93]

I really detested the "Why shouldn't we accept you" question, especially since I ended up rejected there.

and lol @ what goro said. Not gonna lie, my first thought when I saw adcoms on this forum was "they are just gonna take everything we share about our insecurities and use them against us during interviews" lol still love you though

you must've answered the question too well

 

[redsox93]

I had a "what was something that surprised you about the school when you arrived here?" question that I had no idea how to respond to. I rambled something along the lines of "the students seemed really collaborative and willing to work together. The interviewer responded with "Is this not how your undergrad was? Why were you surprised about this?". It was super awkward.

 

[750335]

you must've answered the question too well

still extremely bitter about it.

 

[redsox93]

This happened to me! They asked for 5 weaknesses, I got stuck at 4.

"My biggest weakness is not having 5 weaknesses"

 

[goneriding]

Interviewer: Describe a time in the last month when you showed empathy?

Interviewer: You've done a lot of research. Explain to me how you aren't using medicine as a future means to fund a lab/research?

Interviewer: Describe an ethical dilemna you have faced?
Me: Presented ethical dilemma I faced
Interviewer: Okay, that's great-- tell me about another ethical dilemma you have faced?

 

[motu]

Interviewing at FIU:

"You don't seem like the doctor type to me. I don't think you have enough compassion. Prove to me that you're compassionate."

 

[Gurby]

Interviewing at FIU:

"You don't seem like the doctor type to me. I don't think you have enough compassion. Prove to me that you're compassionate."

I was starting to forget how much I hated the interview process. Thanks for reminding me.

 

[redsox93]

Interviewing at FIU:

"You don't seem like the doctor type to me. I don't think you have enough compassion. Prove to me that you're compassionate."

Holy crap... That's insane

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

Interviewing at FIU:

"You don't seem like the doctor type to me. I don't think you have enough compassion. Prove to me that you're compassionate."

You should have kicked him in the nuts and then gotten him some ice.

 

[LizzyM]

Interviewing at FIU:

"You don't seem like the doctor type to me. I don't think you have enough compassion. Prove to me that you're compassionate."

"I can see that conducting interviews makes you uncomfortable. Would you like to talk about it? I'm listening."

 

[YoungDoc25]

Interviewing at FIU:

"You don't seem like the doctor type to me. I don't think you have enough compassion. Prove to me that you're compassionate."

"You're still alive after that comment. That should be enough."


I got asked by my interviewer this:
So you're on a boat and you have to throw someone off. Who do you throw off?
Me: Who's in the boat?
Them: That's for you to decide.

 

[CAFFEINE!]

Interviewing at FIU:

"You don't seem like the doctor type to me. I don't think you have enough compassion. Prove to me that you're compassionate."

I have been sitting here for 20 minutes trying to figure out how I would respond to that, and I can't come up with anything.

 

[motu]

I was starting to forget how much I hated the interview process. Thanks for reminding me.

Holy crap... That's insane

You should have kicked him in the nuts and then gotten him some ice.

"I can see that conducting interviews makes you uncomfortable. Would you like to talk about it? I'm listening."

"You're still alive after that comment. That should be enough."


I got asked by my interviewer this:
So you're on a boat and you have to throw someone off. Who do you throw off?
Me: Who's in the boat?
Them: That's for you to decide.
View attachment 216686

I have been sitting here for 20 minutes trying to figure out how I would respond to that, and I can't come up with anything.

I tried explaining my volunteer work as a pianist in a hospital and interacting with patients there. Then I talked about a service trip to Costa Rica. He seemed to like that answer. But what most puzzled me was at the end of my interview, he said "You're very bright and I know you're going to go far. I still don't think you should be a doctor. Of course, if admitted, we would love to have you here." I thought I was getting a straight rejection, but a month later I was accepted.

 

[YoungDoc25]

I tried explaining my volunteer work as a pianist in a hospital and interacting with patients there. Then I talked about a service trip to Costa Rica. He seemed to like that answer. But what most puzzled me was at the end of my interview, he said "You're very bright and I know you're going to go far. I still don't think you should be a doctor. Of course, if admitted, we would love to have you here." I thought I was getting a straight rejection, but a month later I was accepted.

I would find him on the first day of school and give him the bird

 

[Tenk]

What on earth did you say?

I said, well if I were dead and some people needed to eat me to live I really wouldn't mind, in fact I would feel honored that in death I was able to help, so yeah I probably would.

 

[Tenk]

was this at the Donner College of Medicine?
Of course it would have been really funny if this question was asked at the University of Colorado at Boulder where the campus resturant is named after the only American ever found guilty in court of cannibalism
Alferd Packer Restaurant & Grill

Na it was for residency somewhere. I forgot the exact school. Us EM people are weird.

 

[Toutie]

like premeds, he prefers his fresh

Ohhh... @Goro is Hannibal Lecter? Who knew? It explains a lot when he states his students would eat an interviewee alive. 😛

 

[Gryffindor20]

That's dreadful

I got this one, too. Ugh.

 

[Astra]

I said, well if I were dead and some people needed to eat me to live I really wouldn't mind, in fact I would feel honored that in death I was able to help, so yeah I probably would.

Lmao, that reminded me of this meme.