What do they want from us?

[BilliamBobert]

These are my stats:
OVR GPA: 3.42
Sci GPA: 3.43
MCAT: 514/89th percentile

EC:
~2000 healthcare hours (from working as scribe, pharm tech, and volunteering/shadowing)
~60 non-clinical volunteer hours
Biomedical engineering research (no pubs)
Tutoring (college level sciences)

I am a re-applicant.

I am fortunate to have been invited to seven interviews, all DO schools. So far I have been waitlisted by three of them. Still waiting for the decisions of three of them (not expecting an A from one of them because their interview format was similar to the casper snapshot, which I am not really comfortable with, so it ended up being kind of awkward), and I have one more interview this Wednesday. Anyway, one of the schools actually called me to tell me that they waitlisted me, so I took that opportunity to ask why they chose to waitlist instead of accepting. Well, they said the people they accepted had like 3.8 GPAs. If that’s the case, why even interview those of us with subpar GPAs? To give us hope, just to ultimately take it away?

Anyway, what prompted me to make this post is because I just got waitlisted from another school in which I thought the interview went really really well. I would also consider them a low tier DO school, so I was expecting an A from them. Since I have an interview on Wednesday, I am trying to focus on this and do what I can to ace that interview, which is why I'm making this post asking for advice. I thought my previous interviews were pretty good because the interviewers seemed to enjoy conversing with me and were highly engaged throughout the interview. However, there is always room to improve. I would say I could have articulated myself better. Also, I basically memorized responses to specific questions (Tell me about yourself, why doctor, why DO, etc.), so they could have sounded rehearsed/unnatural. But perhaps the biggest thing is maybe I do not speak as "professionally" as they want us to. But people always say to be yourself during interviews, and I feel like if I change how I talk, then that’s not me.

I am curious what advice would you guys give for my next interview.

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[shotgunlagoon]

Keep in mind that if they're mostly sending A's to people with 3.8 GPAs, they're likely to lose a lot of them to higher ranked institutions. It's too early to be worrying about not having enough A's. You have had lots of interviews, plus your stats and ECs don't look too bad to me. I'd say you've definitely got a couple A's coming in the next few months.

I'm not sure what you mean by speaking not speaking "professionally," are you using a lot of slang or a very informal speaking style? Being yourself doesn't mean not adapting yourself to different situations. I'm myself when I'm making dumb sex jokes with my college friends, but I'm also myself when I'm talking to my parents about how their vacation is going. If you speak exactly the same way whether you're 5 shots in at a frat party or at an interview, that's not gonna go great for you. Humans are complex and multi-faceted. Speaking differently in different contexts isn't being fake, it's the norm.

 

[TragicalDrFaust]

These are my stats:
OVR GPA: 3.42
Sci GPA: 3.43
MCAT: 514/89th percentile

EC:
~2000 healthcare hours (from working as scribe, pharm tech, and volunteering/shadowing)
~60 non-clinical volunteer hours
Biomedical engineering research (no pubs)
Tutoring (college level sciences)

I am a re-applicant.

I am fortunate to have been invited to seven interviews, all DO schools. So far I have been waitlisted by three of them. Still waiting for the decisions of three of them (not expecting an A from one of them because their interview format was similar to the casper snapshot, which I am not really comfortable with, so it ended up being kind of awkward), and I have one more interview this Wednesday. Anyway, one of the schools actually called me to tell me that they waitlisted me, so I took that opportunity to ask why they chose to waitlist instead of accepting. Well, they said the people they accepted had like 3.8 GPAs. If that’s the case, why even interview those of us with subpar GPAs? To give us hope, just to ultimately take it away?

Anyway, what prompted me to make this post is because I just got waitlisted from another school in which I thought the interview went really really well. I would also consider them a low tier DO school, so I was expecting an A from them. Since I have an interview on Wednesday, I am trying to focus on this and do what I can to ace that interview, which is why I'm making this post asking for advice. I thought my previous interviews were pretty good because the interviewers seemed to enjoy conversing with me and were highly engaged throughout the interview. However, there is always room to improve. I would say I could have articulated myself better. Also, I basically memorized responses to specific questions (Tell me about yourself, why doctor, why DO, etc.), so they could have sounded rehearsed/unnatural. But perhaps the biggest thing is maybe I do not speak as "professionally" as they want us to. But people always say to be yourself during interviews, and I feel like if I change how I talk, then that’s not me.

I am curious what advice would you guys give for my next interview.

You got a a ton of interviews. I suspect the problem is interview skills if none of them had turned to an acceptance. Moving forward I would avoid memorizing answers. People can tell when your answer is canned and it’s not going to give them a good sense of who you are. You’ll still be an unknown quantity to them.

As far as sounding professional, the above poster nailed it. But it might be helpful if you could explain a little bit more about that. Did you use informal slang and expressions? Were you overly intimate? Did you address them as peers instead of superiors? Was your volume inappropriate? Were you overly animated and casual, like catching up with old friends at a bar? Did you try to crack jokes that didn’t go over? Unprofessional is broad and some types are “worse” than others.

 

[Obnoxious Dad]

These are my stats:
OVR GPA: 3.42
Sci GPA: 3.43
MCAT: 514/89th percentile

EC:
~2000 healthcare hours (from working as scribe, pharm tech, and volunteering/shadowing)
~60 non-clinical volunteer hours
Biomedical engineering research (no pubs)
Tutoring (college level sciences)

I am a re-applicant.

I am fortunate to have been invited to seven interviews, all DO schools. So far I have been waitlisted by three of them. Still waiting for the decisions of three of them (not expecting an A from one of them because their interview format was similar to the casper snapshot, which I am not really comfortable with, so it ended up being kind of awkward), and I have one more interview this Wednesday. Anyway, one of the schools actually called me to tell me that they waitlisted me, so I took that opportunity to ask why they chose to waitlist instead of accepting. Well, they said the people they accepted had like 3.8 GPAs. If that’s the case, why even interview those of us with subpar GPAs? To give us hope, just to ultimately take it away?

Anyway, what prompted me to make this post is because I just got waitlisted from another school in which I thought the interview went really really well. I would also consider them a low tier DO school, so I was expecting an A from them. Since I have an interview on Wednesday, I am trying to focus on this and do what I can to ace that interview, which is why I'm making this post asking for advice. I thought my previous interviews were pretty good because the interviewers seemed to enjoy conversing with me and were highly engaged throughout the interview. However, there is always room to improve. I would say I could have articulated myself better. Also, I basically memorized responses to specific questions (Tell me about yourself, why doctor, why DO, etc.), so they could have sounded rehearsed/unnatural. But perhaps the biggest thing is maybe I do not speak as "professionally" as they want us to. But people always say to be yourself during interviews, and I feel like if I change how I talk, then that’s not me.

I am curious what advice would you guys give for my next interview.

Hang in there. It's still very early in this process. Your numbers are much higher than the usual crop of students who attend DO schools. You'll get off a couple of waitlists.

 

[BilliamBobert]

But it might be helpful if you could explain a little bit more about that.

One of the schools that waitlisted me put a ton of emphasis during the interview on how much their school values professionalism, so that was what got me a bit self-conscious about how I talk. I think the way I speak is quite informal. I'm not saying anything inappropriate, but I will catch myself saying things like "wanna" or "gonna" sometimes, which I try not to do. Also, this might sound silly and I might be over-analyzing myself, but I think my voice sounds a bit like a stereotypical frat bro lol. I don't know if that's how others perceive my voice, but I can see how some people may get turned off by that.

 

[TragicalDrFaust]

One of the schools that waitlisted me put a ton of emphasis during the interview on how much their school values professionalism, so that was what got me a bit self-conscious about how I talk. I think the way I speak is quite informal. I'm not saying anything inappropriate, but I will catch myself saying things like "wanna" or "gonna" sometimes, which I try not to do. Also, this might sound silly and I might be over-analyzing myself, but I think my voice sounds a bit like a stereotypical frat bro lol. I don't know if that's how others perceive my voice, but I can see how some people may get turned off by that.

I’m sympathetic. I have the unfortunate combo of vocal fry and RBF - an old boss made fun of me for sounding like a kardashian. Socially people respond fine to it as long as I go out of my way to be friendly. But professionally I use a higher, clearer voice and a politely interested smile. It’s part of the interview/business outfit.

Slang or informal phrases probably won’t get you in trouble but it may benefit you to be conscious of when you’re using it because it can influence people’s perception of your education level. A classically educated person is well read and has mastery of a rich vocabulary. I don’t agree with classical education being equated with professionalism or social class. But it’s a metric that may be used by “old school” adcoms whether consciously or not to assess culture fit.

 

[shotgunlagoon]

One of the schools that waitlisted me put a ton of emphasis during the interview on how much their school values professionalism, so that was what got me a bit self-conscious about how I talk. I think the way I speak is quite informal. I'm not saying anything inappropriate, but I will catch myself saying things like "wanna" or "gonna" sometimes, which I try not to do. Also, this might sound silly and I might be over-analyzing myself, but I think my voice sounds a bit like a stereotypical frat bro lol. I don't know if that's how others perceive my voice, but I can see how some people may get turned off by that.

Yeah, you need to adapt your speaking style to different social situations. As a physician, your patients may not find you very reassuring if you seem overly casual or unprofessional. It doesn't mean you aren't a competent physician, but the impression you give off is an important part of the patient-physician interaction, and it's understandable that medical schools want to consider that when selecting students. Would you feel confident if your new doctor came into the exam room in a hoodie and board shorts? You would probably feel a little uncomfortable. Speaking style is part of that appearance to an extent.

I'd say practice speaking more formally so that any future interviews aren't sabotaged by adcoms seeing your informal talking style as a lack of professionalism.

 

[jhmmd]

These are my stats:
OVR GPA: 3.42
Sci GPA: 3.43
MCAT: 514/89th percentile

EC:
~2000 healthcare hours (from working as scribe, pharm tech, and volunteering/shadowing)
~60 non-clinical volunteer hours
Biomedical engineering research (no pubs)
Tutoring (college level sciences)

I am a re-applicant.

I am fortunate to have been invited to seven interviews, all DO schools. So far I have been waitlisted by three of them. Still waiting for the decisions of three of them (not expecting an A from one of them because their interview format was similar to the casper snapshot, which I am not really comfortable with, so it ended up being kind of awkward), and I have one more interview this Wednesday. Anyway, one of the schools actually called me to tell me that they waitlisted me, so I took that opportunity to ask why they chose to waitlist instead of accepting. Well, they said the people they accepted had like 3.8 GPAs. If that’s the case, why even interview those of us with subpar GPAs? To give us hope, just to ultimately take it away?

Anyway, what prompted me to make this post is because I just got waitlisted from another school in which I thought the interview went really really well. I would also consider them a low tier DO school, so I was expecting an A from them. Since I have an interview on Wednesday, I am trying to focus on this and do what I can to ace that interview, which is why I'm making this post asking for advice. I thought my previous interviews were pretty good because the interviewers seemed to enjoy conversing with me and were highly engaged throughout the interview. However, there is always room to improve. I would say I could have articulated myself better. Also, I basically memorized responses to specific questions (Tell me about yourself, why doctor, why DO, etc.), so they could have sounded rehearsed/unnatural. But perhaps the biggest thing is maybe I do not speak as "professionally" as they want us to. But people always say to be yourself during interviews, and I feel like if I change how I talk, then that’s not me.

I am curious what advice would you guys give for my next interview.

One of the schools that waitlisted me put a ton of emphasis during the interview on how much their school values professionalism, so that was what got me a bit self-conscious about how I talk. I think the way I speak is quite informal. I'm not saying anything inappropriate, but I will catch myself saying things like "wanna" or "gonna" sometimes, which I try not to do. Also, this might sound silly and I might be over-analyzing myself, but I think my voice sounds a bit like a stereotypical frat bro lol. I don't know if that's how others perceive my voice, but I can see how some people may get turned off by that.

What the school meant by "professionalism" (just some things that came to mind; don't take this as gospel)
-Swearing
-Stuff like the sentence that I bolded
-Certain slang
-It may not have been what you said, but how you said it e.g. tone of voice, gestures, body language
-Talking **** about people you know
-Negativity

Hope that helps. Good luck.

 

[Goro]

These are my stats:
OVR GPA: 3.42
Sci GPA: 3.43
MCAT: 514/89th percentile

EC:
~2000 healthcare hours (from working as scribe, pharm tech, and volunteering/shadowing)
~60 non-clinical volunteer hours
Biomedical engineering research (no pubs)
Tutoring (college level sciences)

I am a re-applicant.

I am fortunate to have been invited to seven interviews, all DO schools. So far I have been waitlisted by three of them. Still waiting for the decisions of three of them (not expecting an A from one of them because their interview format was similar to the casper snapshot, which I am not really comfortable with, so it ended up being kind of awkward), and I have one more interview this Wednesday. Anyway, one of the schools actually called me to tell me that they waitlisted me, so I took that opportunity to ask why they chose to waitlist instead of accepting. Well, they said the people they accepted had like 3.8 GPAs. If that’s the case, why even interview those of us with subpar GPAs? To give us hope, just to ultimately take it away?

Anyway, what prompted me to make this post is because I just got waitlisted from another school in which I thought the interview went really really well. I would also consider them a low tier DO school, so I was expecting an A from them. Since I have an interview on Wednesday, I am trying to focus on this and do what I can to ace that interview, which is why I'm making this post asking for advice. I thought my previous interviews were pretty good because the interviewers seemed to enjoy conversing with me and were highly engaged throughout the interview. However, there is always room to improve. I would say I could have articulated myself better. Also, I basically memorized responses to specific questions (Tell me about yourself, why doctor, why DO, etc.), so they could have sounded rehearsed/unnatural. But perhaps the biggest thing is maybe I do not speak as "professionally" as they want us to. But people always say to be yourself during interviews, and I feel like if I change how I talk, then that’s not me.

I am curious what advice would you guys give for my next interview.

Your interview skills are clearly killing you. Memorizing answers to common questions may have delivering canned, scripted answers, which interviewers dislike intensely.

And people also are very poor judges of their own interview performances.

Look up my post on guide to interviews.

And talk to your school's career counseling center for help with this as well.

 

[deleted966837]

I had similar stats and was universally waitlisted as well. My first acceptance did not come until January. Your chances are good. Like others have said, work on your interview skills. Get someone to give you candid feedback.

 

[BilliamBobert]

Memorizing answers to common questions may have delivering canned, scripted answers, which interviewers dislike intensely.

How would you suggest preparing for those common questions without memorizing the answers? I don't know if it's just me, but after practicing them so much, my mind pretty much memorized those responses on its own.

 

[jhmmd]

How would you suggest preparing for those common questions without memorizing the answers? I don't know if it's just me, but after practicing them so much, my mind pretty much memorized those responses on its own.

Try memorizing an outline and ad lib the rest

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Your interview skills are probably an issue, but you haven't been denied after interview yet. Your GPA may not be enough to get you an immediate offer, but be patient. It is a long process, and you probably will get off someone's alternate list.

 

[deleted314957]

Having interviewed a number of physicians for private practice in my former group, I can tell you that memorizing canned answers is transparent as hell. I was looking for a “natural” conversation much more than specific answers to specific questions. I pretty much knew all that from your CV and references.