All your work in the four years of a pre-med career will start to pay off the moment you receive your call for a medical school interview. If you have just received one of these, congratulations!
Acceptance is just one step away. Most schools don't interview students they don't want to accept in the first place. But there is so much potential that they use this day to narrow it down. It's game time.
1) Go over your primary AAMC application: activities that you included, personal statement, etc. Also go over the secondary application you filled for that school. This is their main source of questions because it is where they get their knowledge of you. Everything you say has to be in accordance to what they already know about you. Discrepancies between your word and the application are signs of weaknesses or possible lies in your interviewers' eyes. Make sure you know your story.
2) Know your research, if you have any. Go over any abstracts or publications that you might have written, as well as the conferences that you presented at. Even though you should already know this, it doesn't hurt to refresh your memory. Review especially, technical terms related to your work and any news about other research done in the same field. Interviewers are selected purposefully for each interviewee. If you have done a lot of research in one field, chances are you will get paired with someone that is familiar with that field.
3) Research the school! Look for its strengths, weaknesses, special programs, specialties in certain fields, and anything else pertaining to its reputation. You should know as much about them, as they know about you. Having extra knowledge about the school demonstrates genuine interest as an applicant that other interviewees might not have. Researching is especially important if you receive more than one interviews. Do NOT confuse schools!
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4) Keep up with current affairs. Read or watch the news everyday, you don't want to look ignorant to your interviewer. News are also another source of questions, especially the ones related to health care such as the new universal health care law (formal name "The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act", in case they want to trick you). Educate yourself in issues in the medical world, ethical and otherwise. They love asking questions about "health care disparities"--what they are, what do you think their solution is, what are you willing to do about them etc, etc.
5) Have questions for THEM. At the end of the interview they will ask you if you have any questions. You should. Just like researching the school, having questions for your interviewer shows genuine interest. Knowing about the school is a way to draw questions, such as advantages and disadvantages the school provides. You can also ask the interviewer about their career, their specialty, their journey though all of it. Don't be shy, this is what they want you to do.
6) Practice, Practice, Practice. Round up a set of possible interview questions and have different people (separately) conduct a practice interview for you. This you receive multiple opinions about flaws in your answers, nervous ticks you might show, projected body language and tips for better answers. This also reduces your anxiety when it's time for the actual interview because you have done it before and you are prepared. I would not suggest memorizing answers for certain questions because you might sound overly rehearsed and fake. You want to project the most natural state of perfection.
Stay tuned for "Interview Day Part II: FAQs" where I will present a set of the most common questions in med school interviews and how to answer them appropriately.
Acceptance is just one step away. Most schools don't interview students they don't want to accept in the first place. But there is so much potential that they use this day to narrow it down. It's game time.
However, if you think you can walk into your interviewer's office with just your charm, zero prep and blow their minds away, you are sorely mistaken. This is nothing against your ego or yourself. The interview is one more test you need to pass; and like all tests, some studying has to be done to pass it.This foundation will give you confidence when hard questions are thrown your way, and will allow you to react appropriately to uncomfortable situations. Below are some suggestions as to what you should do to rock the MD admissions' world:
2) Know your research, if you have any. Go over any abstracts or publications that you might have written, as well as the conferences that you presented at. Even though you should already know this, it doesn't hurt to refresh your memory. Review especially, technical terms related to your work and any news about other research done in the same field. Interviewers are selected purposefully for each interviewee. If you have done a lot of research in one field, chances are you will get paired with someone that is familiar with that field.
3) Research the school! Look for its strengths, weaknesses, special programs, specialties in certain fields, and anything else pertaining to its reputation. You should know as much about them, as they know about you. Having extra knowledge about the school demonstrates genuine interest as an applicant that other interviewees might not have. Researching is especially important if you receive more than one interviews. Do NOT confuse schools!
5) Have questions for THEM. At the end of the interview they will ask you if you have any questions. You should. Just like researching the school, having questions for your interviewer shows genuine interest. Knowing about the school is a way to draw questions, such as advantages and disadvantages the school provides. You can also ask the interviewer about their career, their specialty, their journey though all of it. Don't be shy, this is what they want you to do.
6) Practice, Practice, Practice. Round up a set of possible interview questions and have different people (separately) conduct a practice interview for you. This you receive multiple opinions about flaws in your answers, nervous ticks you might show, projected body language and tips for better answers. This also reduces your anxiety when it's time for the actual interview because you have done it before and you are prepared. I would not suggest memorizing answers for certain questions because you might sound overly rehearsed and fake. You want to project the most natural state of perfection.
Stay tuned for "Interview Day Part II: FAQs" where I will present a set of the most common questions in med school interviews and how to answer them appropriately.
Awesome information. Very helpful
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