Worst/Funniest Interview Experiences

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at my first interview:

Student interviewer: what would you do if you didn't get into med school this cycle
Me: I don't think I would reapply (then i proceeded to elaborate on what i'd do instead)

...apparently you're not supposed to say that....waitlisted
 
phew... took a few days, but i read every single story in this thread. some really funny stuff here. keep it coming, and i know next year i'll be adding my own :laugh:
 
PeripateticMD said:
Here goes...

Interviewer: I had colleagues that worked in Haiti, and they asked me to come volunteer with them. I said, no, let them die, what do you say?

Me: *roll my eyes*

Interviewer: Did you just dismiss me?? Wow, I have been dismissed.

Me: It's an unfair question.

Interviewer: So now I'm an unfair interviewer?

Me: It's a loaded question. I think that if you were given the opportunity to help, and you could, that you are implicated in their deaths if you don't.

Interviewer: But then how do you balance the need for you at home with that need? Aren't you going to let people down?

Me: Don't you do the same thing when you go home from work here?

Interviewer: It's completely different. Would you go to Darfur if you had children.

Me: Well, maybe not to Darfur...

Interviewer: Oh! So suddenly the people in Darfur don't matter anymore.

... and on and on... it was a hilarious interview. i think we both came out laughing. but it got heated sometimes.
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omg this is awesome. congrats on holding your ground in such a theoretical ethics discussion. I would have melted into a puddle :laugh:
 
At one interview, all the applicants were given an article to read while waiting for the interviewers to get ready. It was something about how people who have lower-quality sleep during the night, and are fatigued during the day, have a higher incidence of strokes.

I make it through my interview, and it goes pretty well. At the end, one of the interviewers says, "I have to ask a question about the article you read. Can you tell me anything about it?"

Me: "Well... [thinking to self, this was a relaxed interview, I should try to be funny] If I fell asleep during this interview, it's probably because I had a stroke?"
Interviewers: "..." <staring back at me>
Me: <awkward laughter at own joke, profuse sweating>
Interviewers: "..." <one cracks a smile, thank god>
Me: "Actually, it explained how..."

Ever want to just suck the words back into your mouth? :smack:
 
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im from chicago and i had an interview in philadelphia right after the phillies had won the world series and the cubs had been swept in the playoffs

the first question i was asked by my faculty interviewer after the basic, tell me about yourself, was:
'so why do you want to go to ___'

me (trying to make a joke expecting at least a smile out of the interviewer): 'well your baseball team is a lot better, it would be nice to live in a city where a team could win the world series sometime in the last 1oo years'

interviewer (looking blankly at me like she had no idea what i was talking about): 'how about something besides a baseball team'

...that was the last joke i attempted to make throughout the interview
 
chad5871 said:
Interviewer: "What do you like to do for fun?"
Me: Usual answer about performing and spending time with friends/family...
Interviewer: "What else do you like to do for fun?"
Me: Well I also like watching TV and movies, I like to be lazy...

I was just like - I can't believe I told my interviewer I am LAZY! :laugh: It totally slipped out, and I'm really not lazy - but it's nice if I ever have free time to just lounge around the house and not do much of anything.
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Result: REJECTED! 🙁
 
scrplyr86 said:
im from chicago and i had an interview in philadelphia right after the phillies had won the world series and the cubs had been swept in the playoffs

the first question i was asked by my faculty interviewer after the basic, tell me about yourself, was:
'so why do you want to go to ___'

me (trying to make a joke expecting at least a smile out of the interviewer): 'well your baseball team is a lot better, it would be nice to live in a city where a team could win the world series sometime in the last 1oo years'

interviewer (looking blankly at me like she had no idea what i was talking about): 'how about something besides a baseball team'

...that was the last joke i attempted to make throughout the interview
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here's the sad thing imo - they might have given points to the cookie cutter BS MSAR answer. you put a little wit and personality into it and the interviewer didn't even play along, and maybe asked 'yeah haha... but how about something a little more serious', but rather a clueless response.
 
Mayo med school, at least when I applied, had the most ridiculous method of interviewing people (a ******ed phone interview, followed by an on-campus interview if you made the initial cut).

My Mayo phone interview 3 years ago:

Woman on the phone, following ridiculous, prescribed list of questions requiring answers limited to 30 seconds: "Have you ever done anything to help a discouraged friend or associate who was about to just 'give up' on what they were pursuing?"

Me: "Well yea, actually, once I had a friend who was trying to... uh... it worked out that this guy I knew had already tried three times to...hmm...actually, yea, yea I've definitely done that. I've encouraged people."

I was outside of work on my awfully unreliable cell phone, since I didn't care enough about Mayo to skip work and stay at a land line. My cell phone HUNG UP 3 whole times during the "interview," and she called back all three times, each time reading through the ridiculous "terms of interview" and restarting the "recorder."

I got the rejection letter two weeks later. True story...
 
interviewer: "what was the hardest thing you had to do in college"
me: (without missing a beat) "my ex-girlfriend" (2 secs later) "um... breaking up with her"
interviewer: (relaxes again) "oh. are you two still friends blah blah"

(accepted)
 
My very first medical school interview this year:

Interviewer: To change gears a little, do you ever just sit on the edge of your bed and cry? Because that's what I did this morning.

Me: Umm. I guess I cry. I don't know if I sit on the edge of my bed when I do. Umm, I don't know.

He was a great guy, and very interesting interview to say the least!
 
1st question @ ivy league school:

interviewer: did you go to [crummy school] to take bio, instead of [super awesome Ivy school] because of financial reasons?

(of course the answer is yes, but i was way too proud to admit that...)

me: well, more because of "convenience"... and part of me wanted to see what [the crummy school] was like...

I doubt this answer hurt my application, but talk about a dumb, equivocal answer…
 
this thread is great! i went to target after reading it and found myself cracking up in the aisles... the person who said "i hate doctors" is by far my fave.
 
FatPigeon said:
Mayo med school, at least when I applied, had the most ridiculous method of interviewing people (a ******ed phone interview, followed by an on-campus interview if you made the initial cut).

My Mayo phone interview 3 years ago:

Woman on the phone, following ridiculous, prescribed list of questions requiring answers limited to 30 seconds: "Have you ever done anything to help a discouraged friend or associate who was about to just 'give up' on what they were pursuing?"

Me: "Well yea, actually, once I had a friend who was trying to... uh... it worked out that this guy I knew had already tried three times to...hmm...actually, yea, yea I've definitely done that. I've encouraged people."

I was outside of work on my awfully unreliable cell phone, since I didn't care enough about Mayo to skip work and stay at a land line. My cell phone HUNG UP 3 whole times during the "interview," and she called back all three times, each time reading through the ridiculous "terms of interview" and restarting the "recorder."

I got the rejection letter two weeks later. True story...
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:laugh::laugh: I suspect she had a biased against you for having to read that to you over and over again. Imagine her having to play back the recording to the committee....what if she didn't know you guys got disconnected and just kept on talking...LOL. classic.
 
GoSpursGo said:
Sorry... I should say that, in general, most males enjoy shooting the breeze about sports. However, a substantive number of females I know seem to have a physical aversion to talking about sports- to the point that any talk about them immediately turns them off to a conversation. Obviously, there are a lot of girls that like to talk sports too-and some guys who hate them-but the number of females who might be turned off is sufficiently high enough that I wouldn't risk bringing them up in a joke to a person who potentially held my med school fate in her hands unless she brought it up first.

Sorry to anyone who took offense or saw it as a sweeping statement that reflected ALL females... it clearly wasn't intended to be.
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lol i didn't take offense...even tho IM actually a girl!
and i agree lukkie, if i was an interviewer i would appreciate a funny (well what i thought was funny) answer, but i guess she wanted a cookie cutter answer that she would hear 7865 more times throughout the interview season...
 
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I've had a few bad interviews:
1st interview, with a neonatal surgeon.
Interviewer:In the US we have neonatal ICU, but in some countries they need clean water.(then just looks at me)
Me: Um, yes I agree that you need clean water and electricity 24hours a day to have an ICU. (Interviewer still not responding) Was that a question or a statement?
I: Just a thought.
 
FatPigeon said:
Mayo med school, at least when I applied, had the most ridiculous method of interviewing people (a ******ed phone interview, followed by an on-campus interview if you made the initial cut).

My Mayo phone interview 3 years ago:

Woman on the phone, following ridiculous, prescribed list of questions requiring answers limited to 30 seconds: "Have you ever done anything to help a discouraged friend or associate who was about to just 'give up' on what they were pursuing?"

Me: "Well yea, actually, once I had a friend who was trying to... uh... it worked out that this guy I knew had already tried three times to...hmm...actually, yea, yea I've definitely done that. I've encouraged people."

I was outside of work on my awfully unreliable cell phone, since I didn't care enough about Mayo to skip work and stay at a land line. My cell phone HUNG UP 3 whole times during the "interview," and she called back all three times, each time reading through the ridiculous "terms of interview" and restarting the "recorder."

I got the rejection letter two weeks later. True story...
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Somebody a while back posted a link to the comic strip he drew for his school newspaper (mostly about applying to med schools) and one was about a Mayo interview. In it, the character gets asked "What is the meaning of life?" and when he pauses, the interviewer said "Remember, you have only 30 seconds."

This just made me think of that. :laugh:


My own story:
Me: "So, what kinds of student organizations are here at school X? I looked online but the website didn't have very much information."

Interviewer #1: "Ah, well, we're a newer school and our website isn't very good."

Me: (trying to make a joke) "Well, I've seen older schools with worse websites, so I won't hold it against you!" :::laughs:::

Interviewer #2: (gives me a horrified look, wide eyes and all, then frantically scribbles down some notes...she glares at me the rest of the time I'm in the room)


Oops! Maybe I shouldn't have said that. Got accepted anyways!
 
Haha, I know where the Haiti interview took place! :laugh::laugh:
 
Interviewer: why this school
Me: Dr. Gina told me about it, and she is a nice lady. She wrote my LOR and I had met her only one time!!!!!
Interviewer: anything about the school
Me: you know I got accepted at another school but my husband doesn't like it there, you know redneck.... It would be better for us to live here

never heard of them since
 
tatstyl said:
Interviewer: why this school
Me: Dr. Gina told me about it, and she is a nice lady. She wrote my LOR and I had met her only one time!!!!!
Interviewer: anything about the school
Me: you know I got accepted at another school but my husband doesn't like it there, you know redneck.... It would be better for us to live here

never heard of them since
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Wow.😱
 
Hera182 said:
Foot in the mouth moment:

Interviewer: What do you like to do in your spare time?
Me: (without missing a beat) Sleep.

At another interview, this one caught me completely off guard...

Interviewer: So, your mom raised all of you on her own. She must be a spectacular woman.
Me: I guess so. I never really thought about it. (meaning that it was normal for me to grow up in a one-parent household--I saved myself by explaining that answer)

And finally:
Interviewer: do you have any questions for us?
Me: Where's the restroom? :laugh:
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I just couldn't stop laughing at this one. read and read it
:laugh::meanie::laugh:
 
At Tulane, we had interviews with students over lunch.

Carlin takes a large bite of her fried fish (delicious, btw!)
Interviewer: So what would you bring to the class that is unique?
Carlin: Mouth full of food... Swallows... Stares blankly at interviewer I... Um... I...

I don't even remember what I ended up saying, but it was awful. I could not formulate a coherent answer for the life of me, which was absurd, because I successfully answered that question at a bunch of other interviews!

But it ended up okay, because I was accepted! 😀
 
chad5871 said:
Worst idea ever. Food + interviews = bad.
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I agree. UC Davis has the same lunch with student interviewer deal, and it becomes especially awkward when that interviewer has already eaten. I ended up skipping lunch (my lunch sitting right in front of me the entire interview, untouched) rather than risk looking completely uncultured eating and talking while my interviewer was staring at me 😳
 
interviewer: so you're already in at Penn State and some other schools what are you doing still interviewing [at rochester]

me: well rochester is ranked higher... (pause as i realized what i just said) and has a much better reputation in research and a much more interactive and involved curriculum bla, bla, bla

we'll see how that one went over lol, at least my second interview went really well, and that one seamed to end really well
 
Interviewer: What do you think is your greatest strength?

Me: Well I think my greatest strength is my compassion for others. I think I get that from my dad.

Interviewer: Oh yeah? and where does he get it from?

Me: Well, I don't know where he gets it from, but he's a CPA and he's done taxes for free for people who don't have much money. I remember he did a tax return for someone and I asked him "did you charge him?" and he said "how could I, he doesn't have a pot to piss in." and I imagine being like that myself as a doctor.

I didn't think too much of this answer at the time b/c the interviewer actually said "what the F" (he didn't say the actual F-word though) during the interview. But I told some other interviewees and one guy joked, "yeah I like to start off with a racial slur to ease the tension." Needless to say, I felt silly saying "a pot to piss in."

But I was accepted!
 
drbeck said:
Interviewer: What do you think is your greatest strength?

Me: Well I think my greatest strength is my compassion for others. I think I get that from my dad.

Interviewer: Oh yeah? and where does he get it from?

Me: Well, I don't know where he gets it from, but he's a CPA and he's done taxes for free for people who don't have much money. I remember he did a tax return for someone and I asked him "did you charge him?" and he said "how could I, he doesn't have a pot to piss in." and I imagine being like that myself as a doctor.

I didn't think too much of this answer at the time b/c the interviewer actually said "what the F" (he didn't say the actual F-word though) during the interview. But I told some other interviewees and one guy joked, "yeah I like to start off with a racial slur to ease the tension." Needless to say, I felt silly saying "a pot to piss in."

But I was accepted!
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LOL -- now you're talking about me behind my back?! wow...the things we say in passing to one another...I didn't think you'd remember that! :laugh:

but that brings an important point to the forefront--perhaps I should change my strategery for the rest of my interviews!
 
chad5871 said:
Worst idea ever. Food + interviews = bad.
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I totally agree. At one of my interviews, I met with a student over lunch - except that she didn't buy or eat anything 😱. It was really difficult for me to time my eating with answering questions and not looking like an idiot for talking with my mouth full. Of course I had to eat because then I would look terrible for not eating the school food, plus I had another interview after that I needed strength for.
 
So at my 5th interview, I'm feeling real good... do the standard chatting up with the other interviewee's, then have my first interview with a Ph.D and that goes super well cause we just end up talking about research....

then the day goes on and I meet my second interviewer

she appears to look like a nice old lady, i assume she is a retire M.D. doing this interviewing thing for fun. But no, let me just say to NEVER ASSUME what your interviewer is like based on appearance. She takes me behind the admissions office, in a little room and sits me down.

She starts out asking nice easy questions, "tell me about yourself, oh you like sports, what did you do studying abroad... blah blah blah.."

then she hits me with "Ok now that we have that over with.... we will start the REAL interview"

meanwhile i was just thinking, come on... how hard can this be, I am a pro at interviewing now...

she asks me "You are the governor of the state, and I want you to draw up a detailed plan for a health care system, please keep things realistic... start now"

so i said "well... i endorse the idea of a universal health care system..."

"NO! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? BREAK IT DOWN FOR ME"

(a little shocked by her tone... and facial expressions...)

"ok, well I guess you would start with implementing a policy where everyone can get screened by health professionals.."

"NO THAT IS NOT RIGHT"

(awkward pause)

(sweat drips down armpit)

(thinking about the rejection coming now...)

(omg... this day was going so well too... guess i won't be coming here)

(ok ok ok ,just keep it together...)

"well, I think it is necessary to emphasize preventative medicine in order to cut down on costs...

(interrupts) "NO THAT IS NOT RIGHT EITHER. I WANT YOU TO BREAK IT DOWNNNN FOR ME"

So basically it goes on like that for 40 minutes of her interrupting me and preaching the ideas of healthcare she has. I have to admit she was right about everything, but HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW HOW TO CREATE A HEALTHCARE SYSTEM FOR AMERICA!?? I AM ONLY PRE-MED!! WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM ME!???

She even goes to say, I bet you assume I was a nice old lady eh!? I was shocked and appalled. This was probably the 2nd worst interview experience I had (the first I talked about in a previous post), and I left having a headache...

waitlisted... thank god. hope the other interviewees don't get her.
 
magikdoc said:
So at my 5th interview, I'm feeling real good... do the standard chatting up with the other interviewee's, then have my first interview with a Ph.D and that goes super well cause we just end up talking about research....

then the day goes on and I meet my second interviewer

she appears to look like a nice old lady, i assume she is a retire M.D. doing this interviewing thing for fun. But no, let me just say to NEVER ASSUME what your interviewer is like based on appearance. She takes me behind the admissions office, in a little room and sits me down.

She starts out asking nice easy questions, "tell me about yourself, oh you like sports, what did you do studying abroad... blah blah blah.."

then she hits me with "Ok now that we have that over with.... we will start the REAL interview"

meanwhile i was just thinking, come on... how hard can this be, I am a pro at interviewing now...

she asks me "You are the governor of the state, and I want you to draw up a detailed plan for a health care system, please keep things realistic... start now"

so i said "well... i endorse the idea of a universal health care system..."

"NO! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? BREAK IT DOWN FOR ME"

(a little shocked by her tone... and facial expressions...)

"ok, well I guess you would start with implementing a policy where everyone can get screened by health professionals.."

"NO THAT IS NOT RIGHT"

(awkward pause)

(sweat drips down armpit)

(thinking about the rejection coming now...)

(omg... this day was going so well too... guess i won't be coming here)

(ok ok ok ,just keep it together...)

"well, I think it is necessary to emphasize preventative medicine in order to cut down on costs...

(interrupts) "NO THAT IS NOT RIGHT EITHER. I WANT YOU TO BREAK IT DOWNNNN FOR ME"

So basically it goes on like that for 40 minutes of her interrupting me and preaching the ideas of healthcare she has. I have to admit she was right about everything, but HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW HOW TO CREATE A HEALTHCARE SYSTEM FOR AMERICA!?? I AM ONLY PRE-MED!! WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM ME!???

She even goes to say, I bet you assume I was a nice old lady eh!? I was shocked and appalled. This was probably the 2nd worst interview experience I had (the first I talked about in a previous post), and I left having a headache...

waitlisted... thank god. hope the other interviewees don't get her.
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I had almost the same experience with an Indian interviewer during one of my interviews.
 
So at my very first interview, I was really self conscious because my eyes were really bloodshot due to a weird reaction to my contacts. Like blood red. 😡 <--- imagine that ball right there is my eyeball, and you get the picture. But what can you do, you know? Anyway, so this is how my first interview went:

Interviewer: So I see you went to such and such school..
Me: Yes, I have really enjoyed it.
Him: Well my son goes there and he hates it.
Me: Oh...well that's too bad...um.. what is he studying?
Him: Biology. He wants to go to medical school but I told him that if you want to get in to med school, then that's not the place to go.
Me: Um... ha... well I disagree..? :scared:
Him: Why is your eye so red?
Me: (Thinking he did NOT just ask me that!!!) Ha well its just allergies...I have some drops now so it should clear up.
Him: It's not because you were out drinking last night?
Me: Haha, no...
Him: Are you sure?
Me: yes 🙁

Later on...

Him: so do you have any questions for me?
Me: Sure, can you tell me a little more about such and such research program?
Him: I've never heard of it.
Me: well they talked ab out it during the orientation...
Him: Oh well I really don't know anything about most of the medical school programs for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and most of the 4th year. I don't really care about these bullsh**t programs they keep coming up with.
Me: Oh well ok (thinking WHY ARE YOU AN INTERVIEWER THEN??)

I almost cried afterwards. It was pretty brutal.

2 weeks later I was accepted. :laugh:
 
trifry said:
So at my very first interview, I was really self conscious because my eyes were really bloodshot due to a weird reaction to my contacts. Like blood red. 😡 <--- imagine that ball right there is my eyeball, and you get the picture. But what can you do, you know? Anyway, so this is how my first interview went:

Interviewer: So I see you went to such and such school..
Me: Yes, I have really enjoyed it.
Him: Well my son goes there and he hates it.
Me: Oh...well that's too bad...um.. what is he studying?
Him: Biology. He wants to go to medical school but I told him that if you want to get in to med school, then that's not the place to go.
Me: Um... ha... well I disagree..? :scared:
Him: Why is your eye so red?
Me: (Thinking he did NOT just ask me that!!!) Ha well its just allergies...I have some drops now so it should clear up.
Him: It's not because you were out drinking last night?
Me: Haha, no...
Him: Are you sure?
Me: yes 🙁

Later on...

Him: so do you have any questions for me?
Me: Sure, can you tell me a little more about such and such research program?
Him: I've never heard of it.
Me: well they talked ab out it during the orientation...
Him: Oh well I really don't know anything about most of the medical school programs for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and most of the 4th year. I don't really care about these bullsh**t programs they keep coming up with.
Me: Oh well ok (thinking WHY ARE YOU AN INTERVIEWER THEN??)

I almost cried afterwards. It was pretty brutal.

2 weeks later I was accepted. :laugh:
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wow.. brutal is definitely the word.. and to the one above too! magikdoc, congrats to surviving lol
 
Me at a recent interview in december:

Student interviewer: So if you could have 8 million dollars to do anything you wanted what would you do?

Me: " oh well, you know I would buy a big house for two million dollars, you know I cant deny that I want fancy things," wait did I actually say that? " and also invest in a research lab..."

Student interviewer: If you could be any flavor of ice cream what would you be and why?

Me: Oh I would like to be strawberry ice cream because its red

Honestly, I cant believe I answered like that-my nerves definitley got the best of me.

Rejected one month later, nevertheless, i didnt like the school and I think we all agreed it wasnt for me 🙂
 
Okay, I'll post my most recent foot-in-the-mouth moment... Let this be a lesson: don't get complacent and DO YOUR HOMEWORK before your interviews!!!

(Closed file interview)

Interviewer: So, what's your learning style?

Me: Oh, well, I'm an independent learner (bla bla bla)...

Interviewer: I mean, what type of curriculum suits you best?

Me: (Realizing, oh crap, I forget what this school's format is!) Oh well, you know, some lecture, some PBL, a mix is good... (Thinking phew, I dodged a bullet here...)

Interviewer: Well, how do you know that you'll be able to learn what you need to in medical school? Are you really sure that our format will work for you?

Me: (Feeling backed in a corner, and with no specific ideas about the curriculum, my mind goes blank and out comes) ... Well, to be honest, I think that the material covered in the pre-clinical curriculum at most med schools is basically the same, it's just how it's packaged. The boards are the boards and you just have to learn a certain body of material. So it doesn't really matter to me how it's delivered, because I'll learn what I need to learn and repackage it into a format that will work for me ... (thinking, oh crap, did I really just say that I think all the curriculum is the SAME?! :scared:)

😱 Jury is still out, but I'm not expecting good news 😱
 
JuliaGulia2789 said:
Okay, I'll post my most recent foot-in-the-mouth moment... Let this be a lesson: don't get complacent and DO YOUR HOMEWORK before your interviews!!!

(Closed file interview)

Interviewer: So, what's your learning style?

Me: Oh, well, I'm an independent learner (bla bla bla)...

Interviewer: I mean, what type of curriculum suits you best?

Me: (Realizing, oh crap, I forget what this school's format is!) Oh well, you know, some lecture, some PBL, a mix is good... (Thinking phew, I dodged a bullet here...)

Interviewer: Well, how do you know that you'll be able to learn what you need to in medical school? Are you really sure that our format will work for you?

Me: (Feeling backed in a corner, and with no specific ideas about the curriculum, my mind goes blank and out comes) ... Well, to be honest, I think that the material covered in the pre-clinical curriculum at most med schools is basically the same, it's just how it's packaged. The boards are the boards and you just have to learn a certain body of material. So it doesn't really matter to me how it's delivered, because I'll learn what I need to learn and repackage it into a format that will work for me ... (thinking, oh crap, did I really just say that I think all the curriculum is the SAME?! :scared:)

😱 Jury is still out, but I'm not expecting good news 😱
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:laugh: julia...that wasn't so bad!
 
jgberken said:
:laugh: julia...that wasn't so bad!
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Aww thanks berken... it was just that, as I later learned, the school had just gone through a whole curriculum reform. And here I was saying it didn't matter! 😳
 
Carlin said:
Was this at Pitt? My student interviewer there asked me the same thing! (I said, rainbow sherbet, haha)
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Haha no, this was at MUSC, and needless to say, there are moments when you know you are not getting in and i knew lol
 
JuliaGulia2789 said:
Okay, I'll post my most recent foot-in-the-mouth moment... Let this be a lesson: don't get complacent and DO YOUR HOMEWORK before your interviews!!!

(Closed file interview)

Interviewer: So, what's your learning style?

Me: Oh, well, I'm an independent learner (bla bla bla)...

Interviewer: I mean, what type of curriculum suits you best?

Me: (Realizing, oh crap, I forget what this school's format is!) Oh well, you know, some lecture, some PBL, a mix is good... (Thinking phew, I dodged a bullet here...)

Interviewer: Well, how do you know that you'll be able to learn what you need to in medical school? Are you really sure that our format will work for you?

Me: (Feeling backed in a corner, and with no specific ideas about the curriculum, my mind goes blank and out comes) ... Well, to be honest, I think that the material covered in the pre-clinical curriculum at most med schools is basically the same, it's just how it's packaged. The boards are the boards and you just have to learn a certain body of material. So it doesn't really matter to me how it's delivered, because I'll learn what I need to learn and repackage it into a format that will work for me ... (thinking, oh crap, did I really just say that I think all the curriculum is the SAME?! :scared:)

😱 Jury is still out, but I'm not expecting good news 😱
Click to expand...

I flat out said their curricula is no different from that of others. He asked me why I liked the school....So I was like

"I really like the student body, I like the city, I went to a lecture and liked that too, we didn't see a tour of the facilities so I can't say anything about that. As for the curricula, I looked through it and to be honest I have not seen anything unique in particular, all schools teach the same material"

and he was like

"Sure, Chemistry is Chemistry everywhere"

Still waiting on this (but interviewed two weeks ago, so too early to tell)
 
so these aren't terrible, but since i only had 2 interviews, there weren't that many interviews i could screw up..

My first interview, at my top choice school, i get asked "where do you see yourself in 10 years"

Me: "well, i see myself working in an urban hospital.. as a physician.. yeah.. so.. yeah.. wait, can i start over? i just like, TOTALLY lost my train of thought." (said in what i remember as a valleygirl like speech)

i kind of laughed it off. then later, during that same interview, i was talking to my interviewer about his specialty which happened to be geriatrics.

me: "yeah, geriatrics seems like it would be a really interesting field, especially with the baby boomers and all.."
interviewer: "oh really? would you be interested in it?"
me: "yeah definitely ! i mean, i haven't really had a ton of experience with the elderly population, but i have spent a lot of time with my grandma and my great aunts."

uhhh, are you kidding me? i have spent a lot of time with my GRANDMA is now clinical experience??

needless to say i got accepted. WOOOOOOOOOOT
 
The irony of your statement is that memorable/meaningful time spent with your grandma would probably contribute more to your ability as a geriatrician than any patient-interaction ever could.

nellia said:
so these aren't terrible, but since i only had 2 interviews, there weren't that many interviews i could screw up..

My first interview, at my top choice school, i get asked "where do you see yourself in 10 years"

Me: "well, i see myself working in an urban hospital.. as a physician.. yeah.. so.. yeah.. wait, can i start over? i just like, TOTALLY lost my train of thought." (said in what i remember as a valleygirl like speech)

i kind of laughed it off. then later, during that same interview, i was talking to my interviewer about his specialty which happened to be geriatrics.

me: "yeah, geriatrics seems like it would be a really interesting field, especially with the baby boomers and all.."
interviewer: "oh really? would you be interested in it?"
me: "yeah definitely ! i mean, i haven't really had a ton of experience with the elderly population, but i have spent a lot of time with my grandma and my great aunts."

uhhh, are you kidding me? i have spent a lot of time with my GRANDMA is now clinical experience??

needless to say i got accepted. WOOOOOOOOOOT
Click to expand...
 
lildoc said:
I was interviewing at Loyola in Chicago and my interviewer asked what school was the farthest west I had applied to. I answered Georgetown 🙁
Click to expand...

😱 But hey, you are getting your MD not a PhD in Geography:laugh:
 
Interviewer- What would you bring if you came to UC Davis?
Me- My basketball shoes and my snowboard.
Interviewer- (Gives me a weird look)
Me- O shoot, you meant intangibles huh? :laugh:
 
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