Worst/Funniest Interview Experiences

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jgberken said:
Us cali students are given hell for having great state schools! 🙄
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Isn't that the truth. Its not our fault that our state schools are so friggen awesome. Should we be punished that we have 4 schools that are in the top 15. Hey, if they were actually nice to us like TX schools, and if they had more spots, like the TX schools, many people would most likely apply to only CA schools... but considering how it is right now, applying only to CA schools is like med school suicide!
 
Lady Marid said:
Yes, I normally don't swallow gum because my mom told me I would get appendicitis if I did that when I was a kid. 😉 But I wasn't about to take it out right in front of my interviewer, so I swallowed that sucker, lol!
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I also remember my mom telling me how dangerous it is to swallow gum and that I should never ever do it in my life 🙂 and i never did... I often find myself with a gum while talking to someone important, so I usually just stick it to the side of my mouth, and it doesn't bother me there... but i never tried swallowing it, never even crossed my mind 🙂
 
Haha...I have a story from last year that I was way too embarrassed to post at the time.

So, I was interviewing at the school that I considered to be my safety, and of course the "why do you want to go here?" question came up. It went something like this...

Interviewer: So, out of all of the schools you could have applied to, why ours? What do you like about us?

Me: Well...to be honest it really wasn't the school's reputation, or board scores, or research...to be honest, those really aren't too impressive 🙂smack🙂. The thing I like best about your school is how friendly the students are...

Interviewer: Dies laughing

Me: Dies inside

I was actually accepted to this school...I would say that was one hell of a shock.
 
jgberken said:
Well...I always tell them I applied to the UC schools (a californian not applying to their own state schools is just ridiculous 😛) And then, pick and choose a couple schools that are similar to the schools you're interviewing at. If it really comes down to it...tell them the truth. Just avoid it for as long as you can.

I really don't like that question because I don't want the interviewer making assumptions about what I think about their school. For example, I was interviewing at a school in the midwest, and they asked me that question. I give them my typical answer, and then they say: "Well, you'd probably want to go to a UC school over our school" And, I hate it when they say that, because that's generally not the case...so I think it's important to emphasize that you like their school a lot when telling them the other schools you applied to.
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Ugh I hate that too. My interviewer kept insisting that I'd pick a UC over the school, and when I told him that I didn't have any real ties to CA besides my residency so it'd come down to where I'm happiest, he started giving me anecdotes of people who'd picked a UC the second they got off one of their waitlists. I am not one of those people!!
 
violet7 said:
I agree, you have to let them know that you are interested in their school...but it gets harder if you are actually not that interested but have to come up with something...hope I won't find myself in this situation, so far I'm kind of interested in all schools I'll be interviewing at.
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Well see what bugs me about it is that a lot of the time I WILL be interested in the school but it'll be because of the intangibles: a comfortable feeling, nice students, supportive administration, stuff like that. And I always feel weird saying "well, this place FEELS fine" if that's all you've really got, especially if the school doesn't have the kind of reputation or curriculum you'd usually look for.
 
chad5871 said:
Unless you swallow a huge piece of gum or a LOT of small pieces, it's completely harmless. Your stomach can't digest gum anyway so it just gets pushed through your digestive tract and ends up in the toilet eventually.

http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/yucky/swallowed_gum.html
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haha, thanks for the explanation and link, chad 🙂 I assumed that swallowing gum is not that dangerous, but it's one of those things that you keep doing and believing because your mom told you like a 100 times when you were little...almost like a reflex.
 
ButImLETired said:
Well see what bugs me about it is that a lot of the time I WILL be interested in the school but it'll be because of the intangibles: a comfortable feeling, nice students, supportive administration, stuff like that. And I always feel weird saying "well, this place FEELS fine" if that's all you've really got, especially if the school doesn't have the kind of reputation or curriculum you'd usually look for.
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I don't see anything wrong with telling your interviewer nice things about comfortable feeling, students, administration, etc. And then maybe add a few words about other things that are attractive to you in general. Seriosly, it's better to be honest and sincere about small things that matter than come up with a bunch of lies and sound fake...I think the majority of interviewers are good psychologists, so they can read you more or less easily...
 
URHere said:
Haha...I have a story from last year that I was way too embarrassed to post at the time.

So, I was interviewing at the school that I considered to be my safety, and of course the "why do you want to go here?" question came up. It went something like this...

Interviewer: So, out of all of the schools you could have applied to, why ours? What do you like about us?

Me: Well...to be honest it really wasn't the school's reputation, or board scores, or research...to be honest, those really aren't too impressive 🙂smack🙂. The thing I like best about your school is how friendly the students are...

Interviewer: Dies laughing

Me: Dies inside

I was actually accepted to this school...I would say that was one hell of a shock.
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haha that is a great answer!
 
this was at my first interview... i thought the interview would be more natural if i didn't prepare, so i just winged it and this is what happened:

Interviewer: since you're from california... do you think you can live in ____ (it was a school near the east coast).

Me: (without really pausing to think) yes! ... um ... i really like ... um ... snow ... i mean it never snows where i live in california, and i think the change in environment would be exciting and new for me. :smack:

another time, we were in the waiting room for interviews (at the end of the day, so when you finish, you just go home). one of the guys finished his interview and was leaving going to the elevator. then the faculty interviewer yelled out like "wait, you forgot your leather binder". and the guy rushed out of the elevator... but right when he stepped out, the elevator door closed and he got the leg of his pants stuck between the elevator doors.

and next thing you hear, he screams the F word really loud.

i wonder if he will get in :/
 
qmcat said:
this was at my first interview... i thought the interview would be more natural if i didn't prepare, so i just winged it and this is what happened:

Interviewer: since you're from california... do you think you can live in ____ (it was a school near the east coast).

Me: (without really pausing to think) yes! ... um ... i really like ... um ... snow ... i mean it never snows where i live in california, and i think the change in environment would be exciting and new for me. :smack:

another time, we were in the waiting room for interviews (at the end of the day, so when you finish, you just go home). one of the guys finished his interview and was leaving going to the elevator. then the faculty interviewer yelled out like "wait, you forgot your leather binder". and the guy rushed out of the elevator... but right when he stepped out, the elevator door closed and he got the leg of his pants stuck between the elevator doors.

and next thing you hear, he screams the F word really loud.

i wonder if he will get in :/
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lol, i love this thread. i'm wasting my whole sunday reading these stories. :laugh: :laugh:
 
Some time ago I interviewed an applicant who had worked as an assistant in another health-care profession one summer.

Me: Did you consider [other profession] at some point?

Applicant: Have you ever smelled ______? OMG, I smelled that and I knew I could never be a [other profession].



Obviously, she'd just flunked the "why medicine" question.
 
LizzyM said:
Some time ago I interviewed an applicant who had worked as an assistant in another health-care profession one summer.

Me: Did you consider [other profession] at some point?

Applicant: Have you ever smelled ______? OMG, I smelled that and I knew I could never be a [other profession].



Obviously, she'd just flunked the "why medicine" question.
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haha! Ohh wow...that's the kind of mistake that you don't notice until way after.
 
LizzyM said:
Some time ago I interviewed an applicant who had worked as an assistant in another health-care profession one summer.

Me: Did you consider [other profession] at some point?

Applicant: Have you ever smelled ______? OMG, I smelled that and I knew I could never be a [other profession].



Obviously, she'd just flunked the "why medicine" question.
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In my mind this works out to be a pretty funny MadLib. :laugh:

Is it "nurse" and "colostomy"? "Pharmacist" and "Keflex"? "Prison P.A." and "vasoline"?
 
Heh, I bet LizzyM could fill up this thread pretty fast with crazy things she's heard.

I'm sure many of us make bloopers that we don't even realize because we're so nervous. But I bet the ADCOMs notice...

LossForWords said:
In my mind this works out to be a pretty funny MadLib. :laugh:

Is it "nurse" and "colostomy"? "Pharmacist" and "Keflex"? "Prison P.A." and "vasoline"?
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I'm going with "nursing assistant" and "diabetic feet".
 
Did any of you utilize interview workshops offered by your pre-health advising office? My old school if offering one, but since I've had tons of interview experience in the real world since I'm a non-trad, I wasn't sure if it would be helpful. If you did participate in one, did you find it helpful?
 
4Health said:
Did any of you utilize interview workshops offered by your pre-health advising office? My old school if offering one, but since I've had tons of interview experience in the real world since I'm a non-trad, I wasn't sure if it would be helpful. If you did participate in one, did you find it helpful?
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I did. I'm non-trad, too (sort of).

I found it somewhat helpful -- my pre-med advisor was pretty well aware of what types of in-state questions to expect. So, he helped me think of some questions I hadn't thought of before. It's also helpful to practice thinking on your feet. I was honestly more nervous interviewing with my pre-health advisor than I was at the schools I visited.

So go ahead and do it. I certainly won't hurt.
 
at the start of my interview my interviewer asked me why i wanted to go to this particular state school as opposed to the other public schools in the state. when i told him that this school has the best match results, he gave me weird look as if to say how do you know. jokingly i told him, "i checked all the match lists, haha, bcs im neurotic"

basically, he just looked at me, didnt even crack a smile. and asked me another question.

after that, i wanted to curl on the floor and cry.

but hey! i got in! i guess he just realized i was an adorable ditz by the end, and that nothing i say can be taken seriously.
 
Has anyone said "I dont know" or "im not sure"...i seem to do that quite often, like atleast once an interview.
 
One interviewer asked me how we can go about being sure a new drug is safe for a pregnant woman and the fetus.

I said something to the effect of "well, we can't know until we give it to them."
 
ChubbyChaser said:
Has anyone said "I dont know" or "im not sure"...i seem to do that quite often, like atleast once an interview.
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when i got those "WTF?!!" type questions, i would be like "that's a really good question." then, say hmm and smile while trying to quickly come up with something.

i don't think you can be faulted for your answer as long as you have some sort of reasoning behind it.
 
Jolie South said:
when i got those "WTF?!!" type questions, i would be like "that's a really good question." then, say hmm and smile while trying to quickly come up with something.

i don't think you can be faulted for your answer as long as you have some sort of reasoning behind it.
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Great way to divert for a few seconds. Did it all the time, especially on health care related questions.
 
Bacchus said:
Great way to divert for a few seconds. Did it all the time, especially on health care related questions.
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Not really a worst-answer, but definitely something I want to throw out there. At all 3 interviews I've been asked, "What do you see yourself doing in X years?" I've always mentioned I'd want to live in suburbia/rural area, but close enough to a big city so that I can also have fun. I've also gone into no, no land and have said I want a family, kids, the works. Now I know this is illegal if the interviewer asked me specifically, but I feel all the interviewers really liked that I had thought it out and also that I will have some outside distractions from the world of medicine. It sucks that for a sect of the population (women) they tend to get more grilled on family issues than us (men).
 
Bacchus said:
Great way to divert for a few seconds. Did it all the time, especially on health care related questions.
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I had a health care related question where she asked for 3! examples. I come up with 2 relatively easily...but the third. Gah it was a killer. I spent about a minute thinking about it and apologizing!
 
Lady Marid said:
At one of my recent interviews:

Interviewer: So what was your major?
Me: English and Biology.
Interviewer: Oh, English! What books have you read recently?
Me: Uhhhhh....*takes 10+ seconds to remember and answer*

😉 I felt pretty dumb. One of my interviews at this school went GREAT, so I hope that makes up for my awkward interview.
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ugh yeah. at my first interview i got:

interviewer: do you like to read?
me: yeah, i love to read!
interviewer: whats the last book you read?
me: (blanks, can't think of what on earth i read last) uhhhh well i read part of a healthcare book...
interviewer: to prepare for interviews, or bc you were interested?
me: uhhhhhhh both? ummmm (still trying to think of the last book i read. Btw, I used to read books before I went to bed, but now i do crosswords) "uhhhhh well.... ummmmmm ive been doing crosswords" (WTF?!) " and uhhhhhhhhhh......... i read anna karenina awhile ago........." then i FINALLY remembered after about 2 min of stammering that it was man in the high castle.

sigh, waitlist
 
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About 2 month ago, I'd mentioned to someone that I rarely have time to read anymore, and that the last book I read was "Complications." They happened to have a copy of "Better" and lent it to me. I happened to finish it soon before I left for my interviews.

Lo and behold, at UCSD, I was asked "Have you read any good books lately?"

"Yes! I just finished "Better" by Atul Gawande! It was really interesting how....." and we proceed to talk about it.

I was ultimately accepted.

:luck: *thank my lucky stars*:luck:
 
shemarty said:
About 2 month ago, I'd mentioned to someone that I rarely have time to read anymore, and that the last book I read was "Complications." They happened to have a copy of "Better" and lent it to me. I happened to finish it soon before I left for my interviews.

Lo and behold, at UCSD, I was asked "Have you read any good books lately?"

"Yes! I just finished "Better" by Atul Gawande! It was really interesting how....." and we proceed to talk about it.

I was ultimately accepted.

:luck: *thank my lucky stars*:luck:
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Lol... figures shemarty's "worst interview answer" is actually still an excellent answer :laugh:
 
shemarty said:
About 2 month ago, I'd mentioned to someone that I rarely have time to read anymore, and that the last book I read was "Complications." They happened to have a copy of "Better" and lent it to me. I happened to finish it soon before I left for my interviews.

Lo and behold, at UCSD, I was asked "Have you read any good books lately?"

"Yes! I just finished "Better" by Atul Gawande! It was really interesting how....." and we proceed to talk about it.

I was ultimately accepted.

:luck: *thank my lucky stars*:luck:
Click to expand...

I got the same question at UCSD...and I talked about "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel.

Interviewer: "I haven't heard of that before"
Me: "I think it was a New York Times Bestseller a few years ago"
Interviewer: "Oh. *pause* Do you have another interview today? I should let you go before you're late."
Me: "Uh...ok"

We still had 50 minutes before my next interview. I was not accepted 🙂
 
Anatidae said:
I got the same question at UCSD...and I talked about "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel.

Interviewer: "I haven't heard of that before"
Me: "I think it was a New York Times Bestseller a few years ago"
Interviewer: "Oh. *pause* Do you have another interview today? I should let you go before you're late."
Me: "Uh...ok"

We still had 50 minutes before my next interview. I was not accepted 🙂
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Btw, the question actually came from the same interviewer. Anatidae had her during the 1st time slot, and I had her during the 2nd.

I'm not sure why your interview was so short...😕
 
Dulcina said:
ugh yeah. at my first interview i got:

interviewer: do you like to read?
me: yeah, i love to read!
interviewer: whats the last book you read?
me: (blanks, can't think of what on earth i read last) uhhhh well i read part of a healthcare book...
interviewer: to prepare for interviews, or bc you were interested?
me: uhhhhhhh both? ummmm (still trying to think of the last book i read. Btw, I used to read books before I went to bed, but now i do crosswords) "uhhhhh well.... ummmmmm ive been doing crosswords" (WTF?!) " and uhhhhhhhhhh......... i read anna karenina awhile ago........." then i FINALLY remembered after about 2 min of stammering that it was man in the high castle.

sigh, waitlist
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I blanked on that question too! 😵 The funny thing is, I HAVE read books lately, but for some reason I got nervous and forgot the titles of them!
 
violet7 said:
I assumed that swallowing gum is not that dangerous, but it's one of those things that you keep doing and believing because your mom told you like a 100 times when you were little...almost like a reflex.
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I still spit out watermelon seeds because my older brother used to tell me that if I swallowed them, watermelons would grow in my stomach and I would explode. We have a much better relationship these days. 😛
 
A friend of mine was a student interviewer at UCSF. He interviewed a girl who had a really high GPA and MCAT scores.

Him: So, I see you volunteer in an emergency room. What's the craziest thing you have ever seen there?
Her: I walked into a patient's room and saw his big, fat butt!!

Um... why would this girl want to go into medicine?!?!?
 
My interviewer was interested in my trip to Australia and asked me what kinds of animals I saw.

Me: I saw this nearly extinct bird called the Cassowary
Him: Oh yeah? How big is it?
Me: I think it's about the size of a camel
Him: What?! Camel? Are you sure?
Me: Yes, positive
Him: *in disbelief* Is it a flightless bird, like an ostrich?
Me: OH! Ostrich. That's what I meant to say. I don't know why I said camel just now.

Later in the same interview

Him: So I see you have done some research on the metabolic syndrome. It's been a while since I learned about it medical school. Why don't you teach me? What are the five central features of the syndrome?
Me: .....Uh...metabolic dysfunction?
 
URHere said:
Me: Well...to be honest it really wasn't the school's reputation, or board scores, or research...to be honest, those really aren't too impressive 🙂smack🙂. The thing I like best about your school is how friendly the students are...

Interviewer: Dies laughing

Me: Dies inside
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As long as they laugh hard you're ok.

Lady Marid said:
I blanked on that question too! 😵 The funny thing is, I HAVE read books lately, but for some reason I got nervous and forgot the titles of them!
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That ALWAYS happens to me, and it makes you sound like such an idiot. Sigh.

Anatidae said:
Interviewer: "I haven't heard of that before"
Me: "I think it was a New York Times Bestseller a few years ago"
Interviewer: "Oh. *pause* Do you have another interview today? I should let you go before you're late."
Me: "Uh...ok"
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That is so harsh. Almost makes you wonder if the person had any intention of meaningfully interviewing you in the first place.

As for my worst answer....ugh...I've been smacking myself on the forehead every day since.

At the end of the interview day I was very relaxed (it had been a fabulous, positive day), and was talking with the Dean of Admissions about interview techniques. He told me the story of one of his students who was asked during a residency interview what kind of bc she was on. She told the interviewer off and stormed out. Understandable, but suboptimal obviously. So the dean says, what would have been a better response?

Well, I'm a smartass, and I'm not always able to control it. Usually it wins friends for me, but sometimes it gets me into trouble.

So I said....
"Condoms, because I sleep around a lot." And then I started saying "I'm kidding!" over and over.

He definitely laughed, but not as hard as I would of liked - I would have preferred to see him dying of laughter.

But really, I mean, how can you resist the urge to fight shocking, inappropriate questions with shocking, inappropriate answers? 😛 The Dean had a much better suggested response of course.

Sigh. *smacks forehead"
 
ohmedschool said:
my interviewer was interested in my trip to australia and asked me what kinds of animals i saw.

Me: I saw this nearly extinct bird called the cassowary
him: Oh yeah? How big is it?
Me: i think it's about the size of a camel
him: What?! Camel? Are you sure?
Me: Yes, positive
him: *in disbelief* is it a flightless bird, like an ostrich?
Me: Oh! Ostrich. That's what i meant to say. I don't know why i said camel just now.

Later in the same interview

him: So i see you have done some research on the metabolic syndrome. It's been a while since i learned about it medical school. Why don't you teach me? What are the five central features of the syndrome?
Me: .....uh...metabolic dysfunction?
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ftw!
 
So I said....
"Condoms, because I sleep around a lot." And then I started saying "I'm kidding!" over and over.

He definitely laughed, but not as hard as I would of liked - I would have preferred to see him dying of laughter.

But really, I mean, how can you resist the urge to fight shocking, inappropriate questions with shocking, inappropriate answers? 😛 The Dean had a much better suggested response of course.

Sigh. *smacks forehead"[/quote]

Haha, i like ur sense of humor. i would have probably said the same thing, although in my head
 
ohmedschool said:
Haha, i like ur sense of humor. i would have probably said the same thing, although in my head
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Yeah, brain->mouth filter malfunction. Normally it's not really a problem in professional situations, but I was soooooooooo damn relaxed. *smacks forehead*
 
shemarty said:
Hahaha, no I was just replying to Dulcina's post about reading books.
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Lady Marid said:
I blanked on that question too! 😵 The funny thing is, I HAVE read books lately, but for some reason I got nervous and forgot the titles of them!
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lol yeah, I only read the book a month ago, but when my interviewer asked, I could not think of a SINGLE book I read in the last year! lol, damn brain blanking right when I need it.
 
shemarty said:
About 2 month ago, I'd mentioned to someone that I rarely have time to read anymore, and that the last book I read was "Complications." They happened to have a copy of "Better" and lent it to me. I happened to finish it soon before I left for my interviews.

Lo and behold, at UCSD, I was asked "Have you read any good books lately?"

"Yes! I just finished "Better" by Atul Gawande! It was really interesting how....." and we proceed to talk about it.

I was ultimately accepted.

:luck: *thank my lucky stars*:luck:
Click to expand...

I've actually talked about Better/Complications in at least 3 interviews so far. They were the best books I've ever read. =)
 
Sadly, the last book I read was choke... the one that's a movie now... that I saw. And I read it like 2 or 3 years ago... So, I remember more about the movie than the book... They're gonna think I'm lying thanks to that stupid movie when I answer the question with "Choke, it's a movie now, ya know!"!!
 
im finishing up complications right now 😉
next on my list is better.

and i just finished the spirit catches you and you fall down by anne fadiman.

and ... from the sounds of it, I will forget all of these books as soon as I am asked about them in the interview, lol! 😳
 
Abaroth said:
Sadly, the last book I read was choke... the one that's a movie now... that I saw. And I read it like 2 or 3 years ago... So, I remember more about the movie than the book... They're gonna think I'm lying thanks to that stupid movie when I answer the question with "Choke, it's a movie now, ya know!"!!
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Read a new book? Even if you did remember the book perfectly, they would wonder why you didn't read anything in the last 2-3 years.
 
I don't enjoy reading (novels), which is why I only have read 1 book in the past 3 years or so. But, I'm going to start Lullaby tonight so I have something to talk about in the interview. I hate this process.
GoSpursGo said:
Read a new book? Even if you did remember the book perfectly, they would wonder why you didn't read anything in the last 2-3 years.
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Also, I don't understand why they will "wonder why didn't read anything in the last 2-3 years." I'm not going to medical school to be a literature major.. And I wonder how many pre-meds actually read novels on a regular basis (as a percentage of all pre-meds). Who has the time? Maybe I relax in a different way...
 
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