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Medical
School Interview Feedback Forum: post and read feedback
from students interviewing at medical schools across the country.
For students completing their undergraduate degrees and applying
to medical school, one of the most stressful obstacles will be the
medical school interview. Interviews come near the end of the application
process, and they are a crucial factor in determining whether a
student is accepted or not. The information below can provide some
basic information about the medical school interview.
Your job in the interview
Once you're at the interview, your more than half-way home. It
usually means the competition has been whittled down, and your
job is to show why you're more than just an MCAT
score and GPA. This is the where show the person you are,
not the stats you have.
An interview is like any other interpersonal interaction - both
sides need to be interested and engaged. This is not a time for
you to sit back and avoid questions. This is a chance to engange
your interviewer.
Your job is to show why you are unique, and why you would be
a good physician. Not because you shadowed a physician, not because
you did a semester of research, and not because you have 38 MCAT.
Your job is to know yourself. If you can't explain why you should
be a doc to your roommate, you won't be able to explain it in
the interview.
Preparing for the medical school interview
Preparation is always important, but before a medical school
interview it is critical. Part of preparation is appearance. In
general, err on the side of dressing conservatively. A
professional appearance can only help in an interview. Be
neatly groomed, cover tattoos and remove visible body piercings,
but don't
pretend to be someone you are not.
Most often interviews are not about numbers or test scores, but
be ready to discuss any irregularities or unusual aspects of your
application. The closest thing to medical school interview is
theinterview you may have with your premed committee during the
application process.
Typical questions in medical school interviews
As with a job interview, a medical school interview is a two-way
street. Interviewers are there to find out about the applicants'
personality and goals, but they are also there to answer questions
the students have, and to recruit students to their school.
In fact, the biggest mistake a student can make is to not ask
questions. That demonstrates to the interviewer that the student
has not given a lot of thought to his or her choice of medical
schools or that the student is not passionate about the field.
Neither would be good for the student.
To get some idea about what to ask during a medical school interview,
students may want to read "31
Questions I Wish I Had Asked". The page includes a list of
questions that medical students wish they had asked during their
own medical school interviews.
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