what should you say if they ask you "why this school?" in an interview?

[xmsr3]

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I was wondering what is the reply to the question, " why this school?" in an interview at any schools other than your #1 choice and state school.

In my secondary I just cut and paste the secondary from my #1 school and edited the name of the school.

But in an interview you can't get away with skirting the issue, so what do you say if they press you?

Nice students and campus environment? What if they say lots of schools have that.

You share my values of caring about people, "don't all med schools share that?"

Since almost all schools are the same what can you say when the school you're interviewing was one of over a dozen you applied to and the only reason you applied is that you were competative there?

Can you get away with "your school has a certain je ne sais quoi"?

 

[JJMrK]

Be honest, tell them what you like about their program and why you'd like to attend.

 

[lstone13]

Well, here is my plan of attack for this question, pending an interview of course...

1. Before the interview, research the school, specific programs there, the location, the student life, etc. Pinpoint what you find particularly interesting.

2. Then, figure out what you like and why. And by why, I mean, compare it to something about yourself. For instance, X University has Y Free Clinic where students can volunteer. Let's say you did a lot of volunteer work with free clinics or with homeless shelters or whatever. Bingo. You have a commonality.

3. In the interview, the question comes up. Exploit that commonality. This commonality does several things at once... It demonstrates why you find the school appealing and allows you to relate to the school and it's mission or programs or whatever. It also shows that you have experience and that you have a desire to expand that experience at their school.

Does this make sense?

 

[Beta Cell]

Well, here is my plan of attack for this question, pending an interview of course...

1. Before the interview, research the school, specific programs there, the location, the student life, etc. Pinpoint what you find particularly interesting.

2. Then, figure out what you like and why. And by why, I mean, compare it to something about yourself. For instance, X University has Y Free Clinic where students can volunteer. Let's say you did a lot of volunteer work with free clinics or with homeless shelters or whatever. Bingo. You have a commonality.

3. In the interview, the question comes up. Exploit that commonality. This commonality does several things at once... It demonstrates why you find the school appealing and allows you to relate to the school and it's mission or programs or whatever. It also shows that you have experience and that you have a desire to expand that experience at their school.

Does this make sense?

Great advice 🙂

 

[Desaad]

Agreed. That is what I did for my secondaries -- look at the programs in which they are particularly strong, or that are unique to that school, and try to find one that relates to something you had done in the past (One school might be strong AIDs research, you had worked in a virus lab, boom).

Personalizes it a bit.

 

[BlueElmo]

Do some research on the school beforehand, take some notes, and tell them honestly.

 

[LizzyM]

Some other ideas:

If the school emphasizes a particular teaching style and you have had experience & success with that teaching style, mention it.

If the city where the school if located has a large population of people from another culture and you are familiar with that language/culture (as an immigrant, or based on family background or life experience), play that up.

If you have worked with or shadowed someone who graduated from the school, or you've heard good things from current studets who encouraged you to apply, mention it

If you have extended family in the area, or another support group, consider adding that to your other reasons.

If you are from the area, mention that as one of the reasons.... if you would be new to the region and really want to live in an urban/suburban/rural setting, that could go into your reason.

If the school was a good match based on your LizzyM score, say, "I believed that this is a place where I would be challenged academically and given the opportunity to learn from and with an amazing cohort of fellow students."

 

[Food]

I forgot to say a lot of the stuff I wanted to say in response to this question during my interview. Sigh

 

[xmsr3]

I just thought of something that should work well. During my interviews for my #1 school 10 min before the first interview I was struck with inspiration and came up with a narrative that fused my main 2 motivations in life together with my biggest failure which I overcame to turn into my biggest triumph and that shows my dedication to military medicine.

If I take that same narrative and basically use the military medicine angle to fire myself up, passion wise, and then explain how I am doing HPSP and had to choose a civilian school to be the spring board to my future military medical career then I have the perfect answer to this question and as a way to make myself stand out.

Thanks everyone this thread has been really helpful. I am now prepared for every other interview I have.

 

[jd23]

I was struck with inspiration and came up with a narrative that fused my main 2 motivations in life together with my biggest failure which I overcame to turn into my biggest triumph and that shows my dedication to military medicine.

If I take that same narrative and basically use the military medicine angle to fire myself up, passion wise, and then explain how I am doing HPSP and had to choose a civilian school to be the spring board to my future military medical career then I have the perfect answer to this question and as a way to make myself stand out.

Hm. I'm planning on doing HPSP and really need to work on my interview approach/strategy. Could you elaborate on your motivations and how military medicine relates to pursuing a civilian school?

 

[xmsr3]

How does HPSP apply to civilian schools? Well you'd go to a civilian school, but I am counting on the fact that the interviewer will be clueless about military medicine.

Thus I can expound my passion and dedication by explaining how military medicine is so important to me and why and make the majority of my interview about that or so is my hope.

If they ask, what about USUHS then I will have to admit I applied there and they will figure that its my first choice, thus sinking me.

The idea is how to differentiate yourself from the swarms of applicants that are essentially identical to you in stats and ECs and only applying to that school because it is one of 20 they applied to.

Since military medicine has become my passion and ultimate goal in life I am going with it and hoping that carries me through my 3 upcoming interviews.

Of course, my plan A is to hold out until Oct 16, focus all my attention of physical training, (I need to lose 15 lbs to meet the weight standards) and hope to god that USUHS calls me and lets me know I am in.

Then I can be done with all this stress and bull**** associated with the application process and go to Hawaii for 25 days and proceed to spend all day climbing mountains and biking.

 

[LizzyM]

How does HPSP apply to civilian schools? Well you'd go to a civilian school, but I am counting on the fact that the interviewer will be clueless about military medicine.

Thus I can expound my passion and dedication by explaining how military medicine is so important to me and why and make the majority of my interview about that or so is my hope.

Some interviewers I know would follow-up by asking if you have served in the military or lived on military bases (as a dependent) and how you have tested your interest in military service, as well as how you have tested your interest in medicine.

We never assume that an applicant will get into a first choice school. Why did you make the school that's interviewing you today a back-up? What attracts you to that school? What would you contribute to that academic community?

 

[jd23]

If they ask, what about USUHS then I will have to admit I applied there and they will figure that its my first choice, thus sinking me.

The idea is how to differentiate yourself from the swarms of applicants that are essentially identical to you in stats and ECs and only applying to that school because it is one of 20 they applied to.

Really? Do you think Ad Coms really play this sort of political/narcissistic game to the point that no pre-med has a chance unless they've given their heart and soul to the ONE school they are currently interviewing at? I'd like to think that schools use other things to sort through the swarms of identical applicants--like personality traits, specific experiences, long-term goals, or even really superficial and random things like a good conversation during the interview or something in common with the interviewer. ANYTHING would be better than what you're suggesting!

 

[dingyibvs]

Be honest, tell them what you like about their program and why you'd like to attend.

Because they award MD degrees?

 

[Perrotfish]

If they ask, what about USUHS then I will have to admit I applied there and they will figure that its my first choice, thus sinking me.

Um, I hate to ask, but why is USUHS your first choice? I mean it's a good school, but you're accepting an obligation that's almost twice as long as HPSP for a pretty negligable advantage in pay vs HPSP. Keep in mind that even if you decide to stay in for 20 years you're giving up a huge amount of pay, since you get the big skill retention bonuses for signing a new contract. HPSP at a civilian school is a much better deal.

 

[LizzyM]

Really? Do you think Ad Coms really play this sort of political/narcissistic game to the point that no pre-med has a chance unless they've given their heart and soul to the ONE school they are currently interviewing at? I'd like to think that schools use other things to sort through the swarms of identical applicants--like personality traits, specific experiences, long-term goals, or even really superficial and random things like a good conversation during the interview or something in common with the interviewer. ANYTHING would be better than what you're suggesting!

You can have good reasons for choosing a school and articulate them well. That's all the adcom is looking for. What went into your decision-making process? Why do you think that this school will be a good fit?

Think about it this way: if this were the only school that made you an offer of admission, what would make you glad that you were attending that school?

 

[brooklynblunder]

i dont really memorize this when im talking but i usually at least follow a structure

1. the school itself - clinical/research opportunities
-> stemming from the clinical would be the type of patient population/volume that i would be exposed to, or if theres a special track or something with a little bit of personal reference
2. the curriculum and how that would fit/challenge me (ie if theres a scholarly project, tell them i have done xyz research, if theres a condensed curriculum tell them how i am exposed to that situation

i find this to be one of the first question asked so i think its important that you throw the interviewer a couple of activities they could go onto (that you would also wanna bring up as well)

 

[mmcnamara]

I was wondering what is the reply to the question, " why this school?" in an interview at any schools other than your #1 choice and state school.

In my secondary I just cut and paste the secondary from my #1 school and edited the name of the school.

But in an interview you can't get away with skirting the issue, so what do you say if they press you?

Nice students and campus environment? What if they say lots of schools have that.

You share my values of caring about people, "don't all med schools share that?"

Since almost all schools are the same what can you say when the school you're interviewing was one of over a dozen you applied to and the only reason you applied is that you were competative there?

Can you get away with "your school has a certain je ne sais quoi"?

Lets face it...every medical school wants to have the illusion that they are your first choice. And you have to give them reasons to believe it. Do your research and find out what is unique about each school and tell them truthfully what characteristics appeal to you. Do not BS them. Having been on the med school admissions committee at my institution, I will tell you that we know that there is usually some amount of BS in every answer, but what we really look for is that you show genuine interest in the school, even if it is not your first choice. They want to know that if they offer you a position that there is a good chance that you will accept it. They also are aware that, if you have half a brain, you have applied to a couple dozen other places as well. Rehearse what you will say to a variety of questions, such as:
what made you apply to this school
did you do any research, what was it about
did you volunteer anywhere, why
what do you do for extracurricular activities, why
etc
Make sure that your answers are articulate. Rehearse enough so that you don't stumble over words, but not so much that you seem fake. Your scores will only get you so far. In reality, the scores and gpa are what get you in the door, but it is the interview that will get you the acceptance. You want to be relatable, friendly but not overly familiar, intelligent but not stiff. We have rejected candidates with mcat scores >35 just because they were asses during the interview. What we would call all brains but no personality.

Hope this helps. Good luck