what is the proper response to an ADCOM who asks you how many schools youre applying at?

[mrh125]

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[DoctorWhoo]

This'd be during an interview. let's say you were applying to 40 schools, would you leave a bad impression if you said "I'm applying to 40 schools because i'm willing to put all I can into receiving the medical school education I need to make a difference in other's lives and I'll travel any distance to do so." If you could say it in a less eye-roll inducing way would it be looked at positively? I mean come on it shows determination and filling out a large number of secondaries is a one way ticket to 500mg Ibuprofen and potentially a consultation with the orthopedic surgeon for carpal tunnel syndrome. If it's bad to answer it that way, what would be a better answer? Being put in this situation is kind of like putting put in a situation when you're a girl and someone asks your number of sex partners it's so tempting to give an artificially low number just to make them feel special 😡 😛.

I would say "I am not comfortable answering that question as I have difficulty in seeing how it pertains to my admissions decision at this school. That said, I appreciate your interest in my well being throughout this process."

 

[listener23]

This'd be during an interview. let's say you were applying to 40 schools, would you leave a bad impression if you said "I'm applying to 40 schools because i'm willing to put all I can into receiving the medical school education I need to make a difference in other's lives and I'll travel any distance to do so." If you could say it in a less eye-roll inducing way would it be looked at positively? I mean come on it shows determination and filling out a large number of secondaries is a one way ticket to 500mg Ibuprofen and potentially a consultation with the orthopedic surgeon for carpal tunnel syndrome. If it's bad to answer it that way, what would be a better answer? Being put in this situation is kind of like putting put in a situation when you're a girl and someone asks your number of sex partners it's so tempting to give an artificially low number just to make them feel special 😡 😛.

Lie and say, " due to financial reasons i could only apply to 8"

 

[gettheleadout]

"Why do you ask?"

I actually would love to hear from some current/past med student interviewers (@Ismet @QofQuimica) in addition to our adcom members on here about common intentions behind this question and tactful approaches depending on the interviewer's tone, the topic at hand, etc. I may also be overthinking it.

Lie and say, " due to financial reasons i could only apply to 8"

But I do know I wouldn't recommend lying.

 

[dcc23]

ECU actually asks you to list all other schools you're applying to in their secondary. I was asked where I'd received interview invitations to during my interview there.

 

[aspirantmed]

I never "lied"; I always said something like, "Well, our pre-health advisor suggested that 15 schools is about the norm these days," and then rattled off a list of the characteristics that I was looking for in a school and how the school I was interviewing at met those criteria.

 

[Remy LeBeau]

For my second cycle, I applied to a large number of schools. When this question, or some variation on it, came up in an interview, I would say something like, "I applied to several schools this year, but what drew me to this school in particular was XYZ."

 

[Doctor Strange]

Ibuprofen doesn't come in 500 mg...

In any case, revealing that you're applying to forty schools with any variation of that spiel will more likely than not just make you look foolish. No one should be applying to forty schools.

 

[gettheleadout]

There's something I don't like about giving a roundabout response without actually answering the question... I feel like the issue of the number should be addressed, either by revealing it or clearly declining to or something.

 

[mrh125]

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[compstomper]

This'd be during an interview. let's say you were applying to 40 schools, would you leave a bad impression if you said "I'm applying to 40 schools because i'm willing to put all I can into receiving the medical school education I need to make a difference in other's lives and I'll travel any distance to do so." If you could say it in a less eye-roll inducing way would it be looked at positively? I mean come on it shows determination and filling out a large number of secondaries is a one way ticket to 500mg Ibuprofen and potentially a consultation with the orthopedic surgeon for carpal tunnel syndrome. If it's bad to answer it that way, what would be a better answer? Being put in this situation is kind of like putting put in a situation when you're a girl and someone asks your number of sex partners it's so tempting to give an artificially low number just to make them feel special 😡 😛.

AMCAS do not release any information to schools about how many schools you've applied to or interviewed at, so the ADCOM has no way of knowing. While this person may have a genuine interest in your application, I personally feel this is a borderline question as there are very good reasons why schools are PREVENTED from being able to obtain this information. You have relatively little to gain from revealing this information, but potentially a lot to lose. In this situation, you can outright lie or simply redirect the question as some of the other posters have suggested, in which case the adcom member should take the hint.

 

[Ismet]

This'd be during an interview. let's say you were applying to 40 schools, would you leave a bad impression if you said "I'm applying to 40 schools because i'm willing to put all I can into receiving the medical school education I need to make a difference in other's lives and I'll travel any distance to do so." If you could say it in a less eye-roll inducing way would it be looked at positively? I mean come on it shows determination and filling out a large number of secondaries is a one way ticket to 500mg Ibuprofen and potentially a consultation with the orthopedic surgeon for carpal tunnel syndrome. If it's bad to answer it that way, what would be a better answer? Being put in this situation is kind of like putting put in a situation when you're a girl and someone asks your number of sex partners it's so tempting to give an artificially low number just to make them feel special 😡 😛.

There is no need to give such a detailed response. I would probably internally roll my eyes if someone said that to me in an interview. I have never been asked this in an interview, nor would I ever ask this in an interview, but I know it has come up for people. You don't need to give an exact number. Or you can say "I'm applying to about 40 schools" and see where it goes from there. Honestly if they judge you for applying to so many schools, maybe that's not a place you want to attend anyway. There's nothing wrong with applying broadly, people in admissions know the odds of getting into medical school are sometimes not in the applicant's favor.

I would say "I am not comfortable answering that question as I have difficulty in seeing how it pertains to my admissions decision at this school. That said, I appreciate your interest in my well being throughout this process."

Don't say something like that either. That comes off as insulting the interviewer's methods. I agree that there's no point in asking the question, and again, I would never dream of asking an interviewee this question, but you also cannot insult your interviewer, no matter what they ask you. You can decline to answer the question, but not in that way.

Lie and say, " due to financial reasons i could only apply to 8"

Absolutely do not lie. Ever.

There's something I don't like about giving a roundabout response without actually answering the question... I feel like the issue of the number should be addressed, either by revealing it or clearly declining to or something.

Agreed. I hated it when I would ask a question and the interviewee would turn it around and answer something else entirely. I keep my interviews extremely conversational and relaxed, but it's still an interview. I'm asking certain questions because we have to look for certain things in a pretty limited amount of time. Answer the question you are asked. Don't answer the question you wish you were asked.

I never "lied"; I always said something like, "Well, our pre-health advisor suggested that 15 schools is about the norm these days," and then rattled off a list of the characteristics that I was looking for in a school and how the school I was interviewing at met those criteria.

This is an excellent response.

 

[mrh125]

There is no need to give such a detailed response. I would probably internally roll my eyes if someone said that to me in an interview. I have never been asked this in an interview, nor would I ever ask this in an interview, but I know it has come up for people. You don't need to give an exact number. Or you can say "I'm applying to about 40 schools" and see where it goes from there. Honestly if they judge you for applying to so many schools, maybe that's not a place you want to attend anyway. There's nothing wrong with applying broadly, people in admissions know the odds of getting into medical school are sometimes not in the applicant's favor.



Don't say something like that either. That comes off as insulting the interviewer's methods. I agree that there's no point in asking the question, and again, I would never dream of asking an interviewee this question, but you also cannot insult your interviewer, no matter what they ask you. You can decline to answer the question, but not in that way.



Absolutely do not lie. Ever.



Agreed. I hated it when I would ask a question and the interviewee would turn it around and answer something else entirely. I keep my interviews extremely conversational and relaxed, but it's still an interview. I'm asking certain questions because we have to look for certain things in a pretty limited amount of time. Answer the question you are asked. Don't answer the question you wish you were asked.



This is an excellent response.

So when you say listing characteristics of a school you're looking for, what would be good examples of characteristics and do they have to be unique? Say if I'm interested in primary care and working with the underserved. I could talk about early exposure to primary care the school provides, chances to volunteer at Free clinics the school provides (I used to think free clinics were pretty unique until I found out every school has them =/) , chances to work with the homeless and provide them care, as well as global health. I'd also list general things I'm interested in like the school's involvement to ensure students succeed, type of curriculum (PBL or other), learning style emphasized, such as small groups and pretty much anything else. Would that work? I worry about being too general because when I look at the mission statements to a lot of schools and the programs they have many have some similar opportunities and if I'm too general an easy next question or thought to have is "why didn't you just go to any medical school?"

 

[smpbound]

Absolutely do not lie. Ever.

e.

If you do lie, your interviewers will tear off your clothes and flog you.

 

[lobo.solo]

I would say; "way too many, I forgot" read the situation and if person is wanting an specific number, I would give an approximate answer. If person doesn't seem to care about a number, I would joke around how expensive it is to apply and more so to apply to a lot of medical schools. I don't think is a big deal if you lie here; is an inconsequential lie. But who knows.

 

[Ismet]

So when you say listing characteristics of a school you're looking for, what would be good examples of characteristics and do they have to be unique? Say if I'm interested in primary care and working with the underserved. I could talk about early exposure to primary care the school provides, chances to volunteer at Free clinics the school provides (I used to think free clinics were pretty unique until I found out every school has them =/) , chances to work with the homeless and provide them care, as well as global health. I'd also list general things I'm interested in like the school's involvement to ensure students succeed, type of curriculum (PBL or other), learning style emphasized, such as small groups and pretty much anything else. Would that work? I worry about being too general because when I look at the mission statements to a lot of schools and the programs they have many have some similar opportunities and if I'm too general an easy next question or thought to have is "why didn't you just go to any medical school?"

Yes that's fine

 

[Ismet]

I would say; "way too many, I forgot" read the situation and if person is wanting an specific number, I would give an approximate answer. If person doesn't seem to care about a number, I would joke around how expensive it is to apply and more so to apply to a lot of medical schools. I don't think is a big deal if you lie here; is an inconsequential lie. But who knows.

If you do lie, your interviewers will tear off your clothes and flog you.

Yeah, honestly the interviewer is not going to know if you're lying or not, so it's up to you. Lying is just not a good habit to get into in general.

 

[mrh125]

Yeah, honestly the interviewer is not going to know if you're lying or not, so it's up to you. Lying is just not a good habit to get into in general.

That brings me to another question, from reading around SDN about stuff like this I heard medical schools can see what schools students are on waitlists at and some other stuff about schools they applied to, does that play any part in the admission processes for other schools? Like ADCOM X would see that i'm the waitlist for 15 schools and be like "no thanks".

 

[QofQuimica]

"Why do you ask?"

I actually would love to hear from some current/past med student interviewers (@Ismet @QofQuimica) in addition to our adcom members on here about common intentions behind this question and tactful approaches depending on the interviewer's tone, the topic at hand, etc. I may also be overthinking it.

But I do know I wouldn't recommend lying.

I never, ever asked applicants this question when I was on the adcom, and I don't think it should be asked. As the OP suggested, the question may make the interviewee uncomfortable, and the answer has no bearing on their suitability for med school anyway. But when other people asked it of me, my answer was that I was applying to my state schools and several OOS schools that were research-oriented. I did have one interviewer who asked me to name names, and he sat there and wrote them all down. I gave him like half a dozen names, then stopped. (I had applied to 22 schools.) It was incredibly awkward and left a bad enough taste in my mouth that I'm still remembering it a decade later. :-/

 

[smpbound]

Lie, don't lie, who cares. It's common knowledge that people embellish, exaggerate, even lie (gasp) during interviews. It's up to you how to tread that line.

People are so petrified about lying during interviews (me included) that they reveal too much. Well, chances are that if your interviewer likes you, any perceived lies will be chalked up as an unintentional mistake. And if your interviewer doesn't like you, well, even if you did lie, you wouldn't have gotten accepted anyways.

 

[Ismet]

That brings me to another question, from reading around SDN about stuff like this I heard medical schools can see what schools students are on waitlists at and some other stuff about schools they applied to, does that play any part in the admission processes for other schools? Like ADCOM X would see that i'm the waitlist for 15 schools and be like "no thanks".

A school is not going to rescind your acceptance based on how many other waitlists you hold.

There are a multitude of reasons why someone is waitlisted, and it doesn't mean you're a horrible applicant. If a school really doesn't want you, you'll get rejected. Despite what pre-meds think, adcoms aren't playing mind games.

 

[smpbound]

Prior post was in the context of the # of schools question. Just lying for lying sake: that's abnormal behavior.