What was the strangest interview question you got?

[DBC03]

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My general chemistry professor used to brag about the horrible letters he wrote some students. I ran into him about a year after finishing his course, and he asked me why I didn't get a letter from him.

Same thing with my biochem professor. I did get a letter from him, but was a bit nervous about it!


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[MCATISEZ]

One professor I asked clearly told me what she could write about me. In my case, what she said was positive, honest, and would make for a good letter. I liked the way she went about it. She hated calling them “recommendations”, and suggested the term “evaluation”.

Instead of writing a bad letter why not just say no or say “I have been concerned about _____, and as such would have to note that on your letter to provide you with an objective reference”. Then student can decide for themselves.


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[MDPedigree]

I was talking about how I want to go to X school because I believe they do things for the right reasons. They have the right intentions as to why they wish to create doctors, and that I believe my values aligned with those. The interviewer then asked me how do I know you're doing your activities for the right reasons and not to just check boxes.

I blanked and so I cracked a joke to buy time "well you could put me on a lie detector". After I still couldn't think of a response so I said thats a tough question and I'm not really sure. I think I also mentioned that I was very passionate about my responses in my secondary and that I didn't think you could fake that passion. (this was one of those monster secondary schools with like 9 prompts. They made it clear that the secondary was very important in discerning who would get an interview). If I could go back I would tell him "isn't that what the interview is for? I guess that's your call to make".

Damn still bummed about this question.

 

[de Ribas]

well you could put me on a lie detector"

I loled. Thanks

 

[bunnyluvr]

Interviewer: "So you're a neuro guy. Tell me what an action potential is."
Me: "oh uh ok." *explains it*
Interviewer: "Nice. You have a fun way of explaining things! So now, tell me what you would do if a patient presented with tachycardia caused by a hyperactive nerve innervating the cardiac muscles."
Me: "uh I don't know anything about cardio............maybe use a defibrillator?"
Interviewer: *stares for 5 seconds* "eh you'll learn about it in med school"
Me: "uh ok so what's the answer"
Interviewer: "no idea i just wanted to see what you'd say"
Me: ".........ok"

 

[chemdoctor]

Interviewer: "So you're a neuro guy. Tell me what an action potential is."
Me: "oh uh ok." *explains it*
Interviewer: "Nice. You have a fun way of explaining things! So now, tell me what you would do if a patient presented with tachycardia caused by a hyperactive nerve innervating the cardiac muscles."
Me: "uh I don't know anything about cardio............maybe use a defibrillator?"
Interviewer: *stares for 5 seconds* "eh you'll learn about it in med school"
Me: "uh ok so what's the answer"
Interviewer: "no idea i just wanted to see what you'd say"
Me: ".........ok"

Oh crap. They ask you questions on your major?!??

Lol that's such a weird questin

 

[DameJulie]

A friend of mine got interviewed this cycle and was ask "why all of your research is basic science but no clinical research"? Although the interviewee worked in 3 different labs though.

 

[astock1122]

My interviewer asked what my favorite movie was, and I was caught so off guard I had no idea what to say, so I said the most random movie ever, one I didn't even like 😵

 

[RNthenDoc]

My interviewer asked what my favorite movie was, and I was caught so off guard I had no idea what to say, so I said the most random movie ever, one I didn't even like 😵

What movie?!

 

[astock1122]

What movie?!

We're the Millers

 

[amerepedestrian]

I'd just lost my fav songs and repeat the lyrics and how they impact me. Though the songs would have to be appropriate of course lmao.

That would be the hardest part for me! I listen to Starboy (The Weeknd), You Shook Me All Night Long (AC/DC), and Ice Princess (Azealia Banks) before every interview to prime confidence It would be tough to think of 3 appropriate songs on the spot. I would probably try to keep it classic, like The Boxer - Simon & Garfunkel and Landslide - Fleetwood Mac...Then they would think I'm depressed, though I could bring up a bunch of hipster stuff, like a jazzhop remix of Claire de Lune by Claude Debussy or Easy Now by Millionyoung, but that would sound really pretentious...What a tricky question!

 

[amerepedestrian]

These questions tell us how well you can think on your feet.

Having an auto segue into something health related is not alway a good thing either.

Interviews help us weed out those who can only think in black and white terms.

That's a very interesting tidbit! Thank you for sharing. I will make sure to just answer questions about ethics, character, personality, interests, etc. in their own terms without trying to relate everything to health. I think I've mostly done the former, but I'm sure I have employed some squirrely, roundabout logic in interviews to connect the subject to medicine before.

 

[amerepedestrian]

One of my interviewers asked me if I had a best friend. She then proceeded to ask me questions about my best friend for at least 10 minutes despite my attempts to redirect her. To this day, I have no idea what she was getting at. I was promptly rejected.

I wonder if the rejection had to do with your reaction rather than your answers. Do you think you behaved defensively because you didn't really want to delve into that subject in so much depth? Not criticizing you, just wondering if you feel your reaction had anything to do with the outcome! 🙂

 

[amerepedestrian]

One professor I asked clearly told me what she could write about me. In my case, what she said was positive, honest, and would make for a good letter. I liked the way she went about it. She hated calling them “recommendations”, and suggested the term “evaluation”.

Instead of writing a bad letter why not just say no or say “I have been concerned about _____, and as such would have to note that on your letter to provide you with an objective reference”. Then student can decide for themselves.


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I was always advised to ask potential evaluators if they would be able to write me a strong recommendation for medical school based on perceptions that I would make an excellent doctor. I didn't leave much room for negativity. They would have had to lie to my face to write me a negative letter.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I wonder if the rejection had to do with your reaction rather than your answers. Do you think you behaved defensively because you didn't really want to delve into that subject in so much depth? Not criticizing you, just wondering if you feel your reaction had anything to do with the outcome! 🙂

They were trying to redirect because the interview is your chance to sell yourself, not sell you best friend.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

We're the Millers

At least you didn’t say The Birth of a Nation.

 

[genevieves]

Someone asked what city the school furthest west I applied to was in.

 

[mcdocky]

They were trying to redirect because the interview is your chance to sell yourself, not sell you best friend.

In a sense, the way you talk about others / your friends is probably a decent window into the interviewee's soul. I'd just answer passionately and talk about how amazing my best friend is, what he has accomplished, etc.

 

[deleted853480]

The question was: what would you do if an old lady drove into a school filled with children and you are a teacher?

 

[Nathan17182]

At the very end of my interview, my interviewer asked me to explain global warming to him as if he had no idea what it is and what I think the most dangerous thing about it is. It caught me a little off guard at first so I rambled for a second about green house gases trapping light and the temperature increasing, then focused in on changing weather patterns and crazy hurricane season that we've had.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

In a sense, the way you talk about others / your friends is probably a decent window into the interviewee's soul. I'd just answer passionately and talk about how amazing my best friend is, what he has accomplished, etc.

And then at the end of the interview, when they haven’t learned anything about you, you can be assured that when they go to the committee meeting, they’ll be able to say all the nice things you said about your friend. Maybe they’ll admit them.

 

[mk059]

School A: "If you were very sick today and couldn't make it, who would you send in your place and why?" -not super strange, but I really liked that one
"If you could pick just one word for your tombstone, what would it be?"
"Why didn't you pick a better undergraduate institution?" **i went to this school for undergrad. lol.**

School B: "why would a *description of me* like you want to work with the underserved? That doesn't make sense to me"

I've had some very interesting interviews this cycle. Was accepted to both though.

Not mine but someone I interviewed with told me this one: "What's your selfish reason for pursuing medicine?"

 

[amerepedestrian]

They were trying to redirect because the interview is your chance to sell yourself, not sell you best friend.

I certainly understand why the interviewee would want to redirect the conversation to make it a more obvious self-endorsement, but the interviewer could have been testing the student's patience and ability to deal with a frustrating situation (essential traits for a doctor to have). The interview is not about the interviewee's wishes. The interviewer can ask whatever questions he/she wants to ask and hopefully determine in good faith the interviewee's character and suitability for the program. I think it's almost always a bad idea to fight the interviewer on how he/she wants to use the interview time. If it was a test, the interviewee may have failed.

 

[Goro]

I certainly understand why the interviewee would want to redirect the conversation to make it a more obvious self-endorsement, but the interviewer could have been testing the student's patience and ability to deal with a frustrating situation (essential traits for a doctor to have). The interview is not about the interviewee's wishes. The interviewer can ask whatever questions he/she wants to ask and hopefully determine in good faith the interviewee's character and suitability for the program. I think it's almost always a bad idea to fight the interviewer on how he/she wants to use the interview time. If it was a test, the interviewee may have failed.

I agree 100% here.

 

[jamesac]

My interviewer asked what my favorite movie was, and I was caught so off guard I had no idea what to say, so I said the most random movie ever, one I didn't even like 😵

Lol, my interviewer's first question as we're walking into his office: "If you were stuck on an island, what 3 movies, 3 books, and 3 music albums would you want to have with you?"

Edit: Just remembered the first movie I said was Cast Away.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

I certainly understand why the interviewee would want to redirect the conversation to make it a more obvious self-endorsement, but the interviewer could have been testing the student's patience and ability to deal with a frustrating situation (essential traits for a doctor to have). The interview is not about the interviewee's wishes. The interviewer can ask whatever questions he/she wants to ask and hopefully determine in good faith the interviewee's character and suitability for the program. I think it's almost always a bad idea to fight the interviewer on how he/she wants to use the interview time. If it was a test, the interviewee may have failed.

I didn't say that it's about the interviewee's wishes. Personally, if I were testing someone's patience and ability to deal with a frustrating situation, I would be looking for them to calmly and gently redirect the conversation back to them. I'm not sure what an interviewer would have to gain by learning about your friends, so I have to assume the interviewer was either bad or testing the applicant. In the latter case, I'd assume that gentle redirection is what they'd want to see, not acquiescing to showing off their friend.

 

[catlady87]

Not a strange question, but perhaps an unusual one:

"What's the riskiest thing you've ever done?" (not "what's the biggest risk you've ever taken", which to me is a completely different question).

 

[SpoiledMilk]

My 2nd medschool interviewer ever, asked my view on using animals in medical research.

I gingerly walked that minefield by first giving the POV of animal rights activists, then the POV of scientists. And ultimately sided with the humane use of animals in the name of advancing medicine for the betterment of humans, blah blah blah.

The interviewer was a PhD and the initial look on their face when I gave the POV of the activists clued in me in their own POV.

Thank goodness for visual cues...

 

[rabbott1971]

They would have said so. But who has to make a phone call during interviews?????

Student: [phone ringing during interview] "Excuse me, I don't recognize this number, I better answer."
Interviewer: [in shocked silence]
Student: "Hey I'm being offered an exclusive opportunity to consolidate my credit card debt and lower my interest rate, did you get everything you needed?"
Interviewer: "Yeah we're good."

You mean Michael Phelps who has multiple DUIs and smokes weed? Kobe Bryant who settled out of court after being accused of sexual assault (and admitted at least to cheating on his wife and strangling the partner because that's his "thing")?

I'm not saying I think it's fair to do so, but it would be way too easy for an interviewer to give an uninformed applicant a hard time if they just pick someone they've heard in the news. I'm in the same situation as @calivianya - yes I can name some sports people and maybe what sport they play, but I know literally nothing else about them. But with the exception of really significant things like OJ, Michael Vick, and Aaron whoever the baseball player is that just died, I would have no clue if I was choosing someone who had a history of violent crime or horrible racism/sexism/whatever. And any attempt on my part to pick someone and give a reason I admire them would be complete BS, which I don't love doing in an important interview. So for me at least, I'd probably say "I really don't know enough about any athletes to meaningfully comment on what I admire about them, but generally I admire people who X, Y, Z."

"Jackie Robinson. He courageously broke the color barrier in professional sports, overcoming violent resistance and institutional hostility with raw talent and unbelievable tenacity."

I didn't get anything overtly strange...the ones that stick in my mind today are "teach me something," and "if God told you that you could never be a doctor, what would you do," which I interpreted as a more finite version of the classic "If not medicine, then what?" phrased in such a way that you can't wriggle out of it by saying that you'll keep applying to medical school.

"Well having been spoken to by God, individually, directly, I would expect my life to change in many profound ways. I would probably become a very religious person. I think I would share my experience with others, and seek out other people who have also spoken with God. I think it would be incredibly exciting to know that there really is a supernatural being, defying the known laws of science. I would try to understand how that could be, and what it means."

 

[TelemarketingEnigma]

Lol, my interviewer's first question as we're walking into his office: "If you were stuck on an island, what 3 movies, 3 books, and 3 music albums would you want to have with you?"

Edit: Just remembered the first movie I said was Cast Away.

I got a similar question recently! But just what 3 items would you bring. Apparently my answer of a "fully charged satellite phone so I can call someone to get me off the island" is cheating

 

[@Hazel-rah]

I have had so many boring interview questions compared to these. Some of the MMI scenarios were fun though.

With regards to a question about a current events topic, like sports figure or news topic---I think that it's could be a good idea to read the entire newspaper once a week or so and to be able to converse with different people on many different topics. Knowing even the tiny bit about sports that I do (vicariously through my spouse) has helped me connect with patients on many occasions.

I had an interview that asked me to discuss the racial implications of the Flint water crisis and several scenario-based questions related to hot topics in science or medical news. I was glad that I occasionally sit down and peruse the entire NYT...

In general in my current healthcare job, I try to know at least a little bit about things like local events, guns and hunting seasons (about which I would otherwise be oblivious), local high school shenanigans, and the exam schedule and such at the local university. It helps me to be able to relate to patients and contextualize what they may be going through... Before interviews, I would take a gander at the local paper in the town where I would be interviewing as well as the main news page of the university (not just the med school).

 

[RaspberrySlushy]

Lol, my interviewer's first question as we're walking into his office: "If you were stuck on an island, what 3 movies, 3 books, and 3 music albums would you want to have with you?"

Edit: Just remembered the first movie I said was Cast Away.

I love questions like this and hope I get them. I would answer honestly. This is partly in response to the person who listens to AC/DC and wanted to replace that with something else. Adcoms are people too, they probably listen to some of the same music. Plus in general, I think it’s better to come off as authentic and human than overthinking a question about what pop culture you like. Unless the actual song/movie title is highly inappropriate, I’d go for realness (and I like some embarrassing stuff).

I partly say that as someone who conducts interviews at my workplace. We ask some similar questions b/c we want our applicants to get out of the headspace of their qualifications and gpa and do an “are you a relatable human?” check. The worst answer is something obviously insincere or like they are too good to answer such a question.

 

[RaspberrySlushy]

As for the best friend thing, I wouldn’t assume the interviewer wants the interviewee to redirect. Maybe it’s their way of gauging how you relate to people. Is your connection with your best friend one that is competitive or supportive, long-lasting or fickle, how much do you really understand that person vs. are your descriptions of them superficial? Etc, etc.

This can say a lot about how the interviewee relates to people, what they value, how they interact and even simply are they willing to take the spotlight off themselves for a bit. I just wouldn’t assume interviewers’ intentions because they probably have their reasons and those reasons and what they are trying to get at may be important to them even if they’ not obvious to us during or after an interview.

 

[DokterMom]

Biscotti. Just a little nutty and I don't break easily under pressure.

Panera Bread kitchen sink cookie. All sorts of odds and ends in there - chocolate chips, nuts, peanut butter, caramel, sprinkling of salt on top. Somehow it all really ends up working well together but also not quite what you'd expect.

 

[onyxbell]

Biscotti. Just a little nutty and I don't break easily under pressure.

And given the right condition (soaking in coffee and a little amaretto, other booze possible), it transforms into a kickass tiramisu.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

As for the best friend thing, I wouldn’t assume the interviewer wants the interviewee to redirect. Maybe it’s their way of gauging how you relate to people. Is your connection with your best friend one that is competitive or supportive, long-lasting or fickle, how much do you really understand that person vs. are your descriptions of them superficial? Etc, etc.

This can say a lot about how the interviewee relates to people, what they value, how they interact and even simply are they willing to take the spotlight off themselves for a bit. I just wouldn’t assume interviewers’ intentions because they probably have their reasons and those reasons and what they are trying to get at may be important to them even if they’ not obvious to us during or after an interview.

There are also terrible interviewers. I find it strange that people assume that "gently redirecting" precludes talking about your friend at all. It's not like you should immediately try to shut down the line of questioning. It's called tact and conversing like a normal person. This isn't hard. My issue is just that if your interviewer wants to talk about your friend the entire interview, what are they learning about you? They need to talk about your friend for 45 minutes to see if you related to people and can take the spotlight off yourself? That seems very inefficient.

 

[rabbott1971]

UTMB asked me why I'm not married and why its been so long between my undergrad and my postbac. Classy stuff.

 

[LizzyM]

I wonder if talking about a friend is meant to get st "birds of a feather".

 

[Albanian24]

One school gave us 15 wooden sticks about 3 ft each and told us to "build a bridge." So bizarre.

 

[DJ Khaled's Pet Tiger]

UTMB asked me why I'm not married and why its been so long between my undergrad and my postbac. Classy stuff.

UTMB asked me some horribly dickish questions too.

 

[rabbott1971]

I got a similar question recently! But just what 3 items would you bring. Apparently my answer of a "fully charged satellite phone so I can call someone to get me off the island" is cheating

I had a similar thought about this question. My three books would be:
"How to make potable water with stuff you have laying around on a deserted island."
"How to make a raft out of stuff you have laying around on a deserted island."
"How to start a fire with stuff you have laying around on a deserted island."

 

[BombsAway]

UTMB asked me some horribly dickish questions too.

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