What is the point of the interview anyway?

[armybound]

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I understand that that's what it takes to be a successful interviewee, but I just don't get it. do they want to see who YOU are or who you can make yourself be for the sake of admission?

Needless to say, I've been approaching interviews with the wrong attitude; that is, one where I'm expected to just be myself and let them see what I'm about. I tell the truth and act how I normally act when I should be more outgoing and confident than normal.. you have to try to sell yourself, and you may have to be ingenuine to do that.

it's also hard to be yourself when you're not used to being asked random off-the-wall questions like what kind of superhero abilities you'd like to have or something. people don't normally have those conversations with each other, especially not with people whose opinion of you may determine the rest of your life.

 

[Jolie South]

I understand that that's what it takes to be a successful interviewee, but I just don't get it. do they want to see who YOU are or who you can make yourself be for the sake of admission?

Needless to say, I've been approaching interviews with the wrong attitude; that is, one where I'm expected to just be myself and let them see what I'm about. I tell the truth and act how I normally act when I should be more outgoing and confident than normal.. you have to try to sell yourself, and you may have to be ingenuine to do that.

I don't consider it a lie because that's how I figure I will approach patient care too. I will be who I normally am in private life and then take on this more extroverted quality on the wards.

I'm good at compartmentalizing. 🙂

 

[Ashers]

it's also hard to be yourself when you're not used to being asked random off-the-wall questions like what kind of superhero abilities you'd like to have or something. people don't normally have those conversations with each other, especially not with people whose opinion of you may determine the rest of your life.

You and your friends must have boring conversations then. 😉 My friends and I will get into conversations about superhero abilities, which of the Brewers' racing sausage's we want to be, which country we'd be dictator of, and which cartoon character would be our vice dictator.

I enjoyed the off the wall questions in interviews. It let me see that the interviewer had a sense of humor, and lightened the situation for me.

 

[letitgo]

I'm also a very quiet person by nature. In college, it took me two and a half years to say anything in any class! And I was an English major! I would sit in seminars and small groups and shudder in fear at the thought of being called on. Suffice to say, I have no letters of recommendation from the early years of my undergraduate career...

But now, a few years later, I really feel like talking to people in a professional setting is a real strength of mine. I think my age and work experience has helped me tremendously in that regard. I enjoyed the interview process, and definitely improved with each one. When I interviewed at Northwestern, the other two applicants in my panel complimented me on my interview skills, and several faculty interviewers did the same. I mean, I can see how people might think they're okay at interviewing, but really aren't so great.

For example, at one Top 5 school, the Dean asked me, "What scares you about medicine?" I answered truthfully, and he said, "You wouldn't believe how many people I interview say 'nothing.'" Another interviewer told me it was very refreshing how I spoke about all my experiences in a very positive light. Another one said I was a "breath of fresh air," and seemed "realy sincere" (maybe implying that most people seem like a bunch of fakes...?).

The truth is, I'm as humble as they come, and I always rattled off my laundry list of weaknesses, faults, and fears. Maybe that made me unique, I don't know. I always knew when an interview went well, and when it went less well. So far, I think I've been able to read my performance pretty well.

I'd like to interview people in med school, just to see what it's like to be on the other side. I really believe an interview should be a huge (if not the largest) factor in a school's decision, because it's the best way to see what a person is like.

 

[armybound]

You and your friends must have boring conversations then. 😉 My friends and I will get into conversations about superhero abilities, which of the Brewers' racing sausage's we want to be, which country we'd be dictator of, and which cartoon character would be our vice dictator.

I enjoyed the off the wall questions in interviews. It let me see that the interviewer had a sense of humor, and lightened the situation for me.

when we're drunk, sure. I would probably be a lot more fun at my interview if I were drunk. I dunno though.. at church today I talked to several people about different things from how our week was to wanting to go on a cruise in Alaska and how this guy got his very weird nickname, but never once did anyone break out with "So who are the 3 people who have influenced your decision to be a physician the most?" or something like that.

 

[nevercold]

I'm going to say something that will make many of you think I am completely crazy:

Do not be nervous on an interview.

I don't mean that because it will be held against you--it won't. What I mean is that you shouldn't have to be nervous on the interview day. All you can do is to be yourself and express your interests. You've been yourself for somewhere between 20 and 30 years (some a couple more than that). You've answered all these "Why medicine?" and "What will challenge you?" questions a thousand times in writing your application and thinking about it and going through interviews or interview practice or just talking with family and friends. You can't pick the questions you'll be asked. You can't decide how the other person will interpret your answers. All you can do is say what you want to say. So stop being nervous and speak your mind.

Some interview questions are admittedly weird. But there is a key to this. Stop and think about your answer. As an interviewer, I don't mind waiting for you to think of a good answer if that answer is good. Those weird questions are key though. All the other questions often receive scripted rehearsed answers. The weird questions are ones which we know you didn't prepare for. We ask them because we want to see if you can think on the fly. We know you are nervous, but you'll be nervous when you start on the wards or when you take your board exams or when you make your first incision. You need to be able to surmount that to some reasonable degree!

To armybound specifically, it sounds like you were doing the right thing in being yourself. That being said, remember the two most key points: Med schools want people that are enthusiastic about their school and about medicine. You need to make sure that enthusiasm comes across. Some people do this with a peppy attitude, others do it with well thought out statements or carefully chosen, powerful words. But it has to come across somehow.

 

[Geekchick921]

You and your friends must have boring conversations then. 😉 My friends and I will get into conversations about superhero abilities, which of the Brewers' racing sausage's we want to be, which country we'd be dictator of, and which cartoon character would be our vice dictator.

I enjoyed the off the wall questions in interviews. It let me see that the interviewer had a sense of humor, and lightened the situation for me.

We would totally get along. 😀

 

[metalmd06]

One of my interviewers at Stony Brook told me, at the conclusion of our discussion, quote, "Well, I think you're going to make a great doctor, you're very intelligent and personable." I knew that he meant it, but, it felt like there were unspoken words at the end of his sentence... "and personable, (you're just not coming to our school)"

 

[hermit]

What is the point of the interview?

To allow people like me with an average MCAT to leapfrog the masses of pre-med social ******s.

 

[BigMDT]

i think most people are forgetting the obvious: the interview is just ONE factor in your entire application. like your gpa, mcat, letters, essays, statement, IS vs OOS etc etc.....you get some points for your interview, they add with everything else and then tadah...you are summarily accepted, rejected, waitlisted, or deferred decision.

the importance of the interview can be debated, and how much they weight it can be speculated, but just keep in mind that a great interview may OR may not put you over the top among other applicants. its just an additional, though very important, part of your application.