Interview Day III: What Happens On The Big Day

     When you finally have an interview scheduled the first thing you should do is ask around people who have also been interviewed at that schools or try to find out from the students themselves. While all interviews have a similar outline, few things vary her and there, and knowing ahead of time can help you. Usually the interview will take a whole day; not because they are questioning you for eight hours but because they take advantage that you are there to give you a tour of their school, educate you on their curriculum and give you a chance to talk to med school students attending that school.You will be e-mailed all the necessary information from parking arrangements to places you can stay for the night before the big day.  BE ON TIME! If you are driving in, you should scan the place the day before to avoid getting lost , know where you need to park etc. In some schools med students host candidates overnight. They can guide you through the school, give you tips for the interview and their insight of their experience in that school. 
      Dress code: Suit up! 

Guys this means get a haircut, shave, remove piercings, hide tattoos, nice shoes, belt, tie, jacket. Aim to look like Bruce Wayne, or your favorite wealthy superhero. Girls: no cleavage, skirts (if you decide on a skirt suit) at or below the knee, hide tattoos and crazy piercings as well, no funky nail or hair colors. This is not the time to wear heels you can't walk in either. Your make-up should be enough to look fresh and radiant but not too much that you look like you are going to the club. I would not suggest wearing eye shadow or lipstick, but if you have to, stick to neutral colors. You clothes should be tight enough to know you are a woman but loose enough to know you are a lady. The body language you project throughout the day should match your appropriate dress code. No slouching, yawning, crossing arms or looking bored. Avoid sarcastic comments and stereotypical jokes, if you can.
      NO CELLPHONES. They will tell you this also in the scheduling e-mail. It is rude and disrespectful to have a cellphone ring on such an important day. If you can avoid taking it with you at all, do it, otherwise, turn it off. This is not the time to text or shoot pictures of your day to post on Facebook. From the moment you walk into the building you should treat the whole day like a test. It doesn't matter if it's the janitor leading you to were you are supposed to be; it doesn't matter if that school is your back-up plan; you should be nice to everyone and show impeccable behavior. Treat everyone like they are your interviewer, socialize with other interviewees as well. The interview may only be part of the day but you will be watched the entire time and every little thing can count toward or against you. You will be given a schedule of the entire day, as well as brief information of your interviewers as soon as you arrive. This allows you to prepare questions for them ahead of time.
      The most important thing you should remember in your interview day is to not let yourself be intimidated by anything. As you meet other interviewees you will find out most of them are older than you (or maybe younger, it depends), more experienced in the academics, or graduated from Ivy league schools or they work in hospitals already; they may already have a family, or a masters or a doctorate, or publications in research or a number of other things that you may not. Whatever the admissions committee saw in them, they saw it in you as well and you are in line for the cut, so root for yourself! You should not let the tour of the school or the curriculum outline or you even your interviewer intimidate you either. It's all a challenge you have to pass. The minute you lose hold of your confidence, the nerves kick in and threaten everything you have worked for. The way it works is, your interviewers (you may be interviewed by a max of 2 people individually depending on the school) will become your advocates once the admissions committee meets to decide which students to accept. Your job is to impress your interviewer enough so that that person will vouch for you in front of twenty others later on. 
       There are three types of med school interviews: question-oriented, conversation-oriented, and group interviews. With question based interviews the interviewer has already prepared a set of questions he/she wants to ask you. Usually they will make notes while you talk. Be confident and don't let yourself be intimidated by the notes. Part of the interview is measuring how you behave in a uncomfortable situations. In conversation based interviews the interviewer simply gets to know you in a social and approachable way. No pre-written questions but he/she will probably have your AMCAS printed out in hand. While question-oriented and conversation-oriented interviews are one-on-one between you and the interviewer, group interviews are made in a conference room with everyone else in it.Group interviews are question-oriented too, the downside to this is that there is always that one person that makes everyone else look like an idiot. So you have to make sure that you ARE that one person if you are in a group interview.
       The school will let you know the result in four to six weeks. At this point most schools will either call you for an acceptance or e-mail you that you have been wait-listed. Being wait-listed is not quite a ejection, but not exactly an acceptance either. You become their back-up plan.The deadline for students to decide on which  school to attend is May 15th. After that, the school will evaluate how many missing spots they have and start calling the people they wait-listed. Some wait-lists are ranked and some are random. Your best chance to get promoted from it is to call the school frequently to inquire about your status. It shows interest and increases your chances of acceptance. Some applicants that get wait-listed never hear from the schools again, unless they keep in touch with the school. However, if you have multiple acceptances go for a school that already wants you and start running that paper work. You don't want to risk an a school that wants you for one that has you as their plan B.
       Don't forget to prepare for you interview! Check out my previews blog posts for more tips. Hope it goes well :)