What do you do when the interviewer asks you . .

[ironey]

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My last interview was at OHSU last week.

One of my interviewers asked me flat-out if I'd already been accepted at other schools.

I gave the truthful answer: that I've been accepted elsewhere already. We then spent about 10 minutes talking about the schools that I've been accepted at and the schools from which I'm still wating to hear. The problem is that OHSU is my first choice.

Has anyone else had this situation occur? If so, how did you handle it? I'm thinking to write a letter of intent to the ad com to let them know that OHSU is my first choice.

Thanks.

 

[moeman]

Showing up, shows that you are interested still.

 

[fava]

this happened to me at 7 out of 9 interviews. and every time, it made me uncomfortable. always, after i'd say where i was accepted, the interviewer would make me compare their school with that one, citing all the reasons why i preferred the present school. it totally sucks, and is unfair, i think (bc i always felt as if this was being held against me, as if the interviewer didn't believe i actually liked their school), but there's nothing you can do but be honest about it. (i was also asked where else i'd interviewed just as many times...)

 

[ready]

I actually don't mind this question that much. First, it lets the interviewer know that they aren't the only school that is crazy enough to consider me a good candidate. Second, I think it shows interest. I mean if I were really sold on the schools I've been accepted to, then why would I bother going to another interview?

 

[HouseHead]

I was never asked for a comparison between schools, but I was often asked what I was looking for. I just said that a big part of it was how the school "clicked" with me, particularly as a non-trad- and pointed out that required a visit, and my visit had been a good one thus far. My interviewers always seemed very pleased with that. Oh yeah, and for state schools, I made sure to mention the cost factor.

 

[md_student10021]

ironey:

in this situation, you MUST tell the interviewer (and he MUST believe) that OHSU is your 1st choice school. Medical schools have many more qualified applicants than spaces. This means that if there is any reason to believe the applicant would choose to go elsewhere, the applicant will be waitlisted, or even denied.

Just showing up to the interview is NOT enough. People go on interviews for all sorts of reasons - practice for interviews at preferred schools, to visit new cities, to say hi to friends living in the same city as the med school, or even to rack up acceptances. The last is of the greatest concern for medical schools.

Now if your numbers are far better than the average at a given school (e.g. you're a 39/3.9 applying to Albany), and especially if you've been accepted at a "better" school (e.g. Duke), you'll have to convince the school that you are really interested (write letters - e.g. "I really really want to go to Albany!") Otherwise you'll be rejected. This is not because schools want to improve their yield for the USNews rankings; rather it is to achieve the best "match" between students and schools, to minimize the movement of waitlists, especially all that last-minute movement that drives everyone crazy.

Bottom line: show interest. Repeat as necessary.

 

[ironey]

Thanks for all the input. 🙂

I'll get started on a letter to the appropriate people letting them know that OHSU is my top choice.

 

[DarkChild]

i actually like getting this question a lot. it really gives you a chance to let the schools know how you feel about them.
so when i was interviewing at my first choice and got asked this question, i said, i've been accepted to school x but I really like your school for reasons A, B and C. Thats why your school is my first choice.
result - acceptance 😉
and even if the school that asks you this isnt your first choice, its still a great opportunity to say why you're interested in the school that you're interviewing at...
"while i've been accepted to school x, i was still really excited to get an interview from you guys because i'm really attracted to your schools A, B and C."