What to bring to interviews

[MedicineForLife 777]

I know we should bring a copy of our personal statement and application just in case. Is there anything else I should bring?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[kevster2001]

I brought materials regarding my research as well. Other than that, you dont need anything but it's good to have:

mints
tissues
pen
notepad
umbrella
feminine ... essentials

 

[TMP-SMX]

I know we should bring a copy of our personal statement and application just in case. Is there anything else I should bring?

A little note sheet of questions to ask the interviewer perhaps? Make up the notes to help you remember the main points.

Oh yeah... And bring your lungs so you can breathe. Just relax!

 

[GuzzyRon]

Passport pictures (just in case the one in your file is missing).

 

[Jiantkwazi]

I never brought anything.

 

[juiceman311]

i brought my car keys, and a pen...which i have never used in my 3 interviews to date

 

[jvencius]

.

 

[rahuldave]

always bring lots of questions ...

... everyone will ask you if you have any Qs ... come wiht a smart, preprepared list.

good luck. and remember to have lots of fun ... (seriously! when else are you gonna get a chance to tour the country)

Rahul

 

[cgscribe]

Don't come with pre-prepared questions. They come off making you sound incredibly fake. If you are generally interested in something a student/faculty/office-worker says, then by all means, ask follow-up. But, otherwise, don't have formulated ones at hand. Believe me, at your interview day(s), you'll be able to pick out the one(s) who thought of questions beforehand just to make it look like they researched the school.

I always brought a little portfolio to hold any loose paper, just in case the school didn't provide a folder. Besides that, you should be fine. Good luck, have fun.

 

[kevster2001]

Don't come with pre-prepared questions. They come off making you sound incredibly fake. If you are generally interested in something a student/faculty/office-worker says, then by all means, ask follow-up. But, otherwise, don't have formulated ones at hand. Believe me, at your interview day(s), you'll be able to pick out the one(s) who thought of questions beforehand just to make it look like they researched the school.

I always brought a little portfolio to hold any loose paper, just in case the school didn't provide a folder. Besides that, you should be fine. Good luck, have fun.

I dont think that's true. I personally researched the schools and asked very specific questions that weren't clear on the websites/brochures. Interviewing is stressful as it is, i want to be able to take in everythign the interviewers say but not stress out on trying to think up questions for them on the spot. And I'm not sure why showing you researched the school before hand is somehow a bad thing.

 

[cgscribe]

I'm not saying that in select examples it's a bad thing. I'm guessing your interest was genuine. I'm just warning that if you're asking questions simply to ask, people know, and it makes you look bad. Like I said, if there's something you're really interested in, by all means ask.

 

[kevster2001]

I'm not saying that in select examples it's a bad thing. I'm guessing your interest was genuine. I'm just warning that if you're asking questions simply to ask, people know, and it makes you look bad. Like I said, if there's something you're really interested in, by all means ask.

I think its better to have some kind of canned question rather than just say "no, no questions"

 

[cgscribe]

I agree 100%. I never said, "Nope, I'm all out." If I really didn't have anything, I would ask the professor's/student's opinion about the schools strengths/weaknesses and what they like about it personally. If, after that, I had nothing else, I would tell them that my questions had already been answered by students/others earlier in the day, which is true. You have so many people asking you if you have questions, you can't help but get them answered by afternoon interviews.

 

[snobored18]

Buy a nice leather portfolio (works for guys and gals) and in it carry the following...

1. Copy of PS for each interviewer
2. A Copy of your entire AMCAS for your review during dead time
3. Listerine pocket packs to combat that nasty breath resulting from the garlic laden lasagna that seems to pop up on the interview trail
4. A couple of decent pens
5. A legal pad to jot down notes during financial aid, admissions, etc. presentations...at the very least it will keep you awake and the butterflies out of your stomach whatever the case may be during these awful moments before your interview (s).
6. Stash all the crap they give you in said leather portfolio and zip it up to avoid embarassing moments when the wind, revolving doors, or rushed M3/M4s charge through your tour group causing the contents you've collected in that flimsy admissions folder all day to go sailing all over the place (I didn't attend a single interview where someone didn't dump the contents of one of those folders all over the place...and at least one occasion I was the one frantically picking up crap as my tour guide discussed the ventilation in the anatomy lab while laughing in his/her head).
7. Umbrella, makes you look like a genius next to people like me when it decides to pour and you have run inbetween buildings.
8. A nice professional outer coat with leather gloves, again makes you look like a genius next to people like me when you are interviewing up north.