BCN Flights

Archive for the ‘Reference’ Category

For applicants with good grades and MCAT scores, the interview is often just a formality. But for most students, it is a critical part of the admissions process.

The purpose of the interview is to obtain information independent of and supplementary to the data you supplied on the application. An interviewer may assess a candidate’s academic potential, maturity, motivation, leadership, interests, knowledge of medicine, attitude, ability to relate to others, and other subjective criteria, A strong interview can increase your chance of admission tremendously, and a bad one can destroy even the class valedictonan. Therefore, it’s essential that you understand the ingredientsof a good interview. We believe interviewing is a skill you can learn. But, of course, it’s impossible for us toteach you through a book. Improvement requires personal interaction. For example, if you think you may come across as shy, arrogant, or whatever, ask a friend or your premedical advisor to conduct mock interviews with you. It’s an excellent way to improve your interviewing skills. Better yet, use a video camera and VCR to study yourself as you answer questions. The tape will give you a realistic picture of how others perceive you. There are even courses designed to teach interviewing skills, but don’t bother taking them unless you have a major problem  to overcome.

Your interviewers will usually be two faculty members or one faculty member and one medical student. In the latter case, the faculty member will carry more weight, but don’t underestimate the input from the student. Acting like he/she is a peon in the admissions process will guarantee your rejection. The faculty interview may help you get in, while the medical student interview can weed you out.
Again, either or both may be on the admissions committee, so it’s not a good idea to say anything too bizarre. Instead, the interview is your chance to expand on information that may not be clear to the committee. Applications do not have enough room for detail, and they force the applicant to abbreviate and oversimplify. Just remember to be yourself, since it’s usually easy for an experienced interviewer to tell if someone is lying or exaggerating.
Some schools turn the interview into a contest. At Northwestern and Emory (or so the rumor mills report), a few students are lined up and interrogated as a group by a panel of admissions officers. Although this can be an intimidating and somewhat impersonal situation, you can benefit by using the time when other applicants are talking to formulate a better response of your own.
Many people tell horror stories of how a “friend of a friend” had some doctor give a him a really hard time in an interview, Of course, it’s possible you’ll encounter a jerk, but most interviewers want to make the experience as stress-free as possible. Don’t forget—the interviewer has been through the same thing and will be aware of (and usually sympathetic to) your nervousness.
One of our classmates did have a real hard time in one interview. At the end, the doctor said, “Sorry I was so hard on you, but it’s only because I really want to recommend you. I wanted to be sure you had the right stuff. If I don’t want somebody, I usually just give him a real easy interview.”
So don’t try to judge what somebody thinks of you by the way they treat you in the interview. Sometimes, they just want to see how you react to a stressful situation.
For example, there’s an interviewer at a Texas school who shakes your hand, smiles, and asks, “So, how many times a week do you masturbate?” A friend of ours answered, without missing a beat, “Not as much as I deserve.” Another friend was asked, “So, when are you going to get married?” To which she replied, “Is this a proposal?” Yet another female friend was asked, “Once you get married, how will your husband feel about your palpating another man’s scrotum?” Her reply was calm and professional.
Interviewers ask such questions only to see how you react to very personal or taboo subjects. Reacting with humor or maturity is far wiser than getting angry or upset. Remember, a physician must handle complex moral and ethical issues— and all types of patients—in a dignified, tactful manner.
Then there are interviewers who just like to hear themselves talk. They want to impress you with how much they think they know. All you have to do is be a good listener, seem interested, and be patient. It’ll be over soon.
Finally, if you don’t know an answer to a question, just say, “I don’t know.” Nothing sounds worse than someone fumbling to make up an answer.

After the orientation, you’ll tour the medical school. The tour, which will cover the clinical and instructional facilities, is when you’ll get the big sales pitch. Many applicants get so anxious about their interview that they forget that the school is really the one under scrutiny. Contrary to popular opinion, one medical school is not like the next. Each has a unique personality, which you may or may not like.
A medical student who has no bearing whatsoever on admissions decisions usually gives the tour, so feel free to ask any questions. It’s essential that you take time in the tour to get a feel for the school, in case you must decide between two or more schools.
For this reason, unless lack of funds totally prohibits travel, never accept the option to be interviewed in your area rather than at the school. Many schools send a representative to, say, California to interview applicants who can’t afford (or just don’t want) to fly east.
If you can, spend the night before the interview with a medical student. He/she will usually offer good insight about what things are really like at the school.

In general,

the interview process is divided into three parts:
the orientation, the tour, and the actual interview.
Not every school offers an orientation, but most do. Its purpose is not to evaluate applicants, but to inform them about what the day will entail.
All the other applicants to be interviewed will be with you at the orientation. Some may try to give you the impression that they are totally superior or that they were Albert Einstein in a past life or something. Don’t pay any attention to them. They’re just playing mind games with you and trying to mess with their competition. Just remain pleasant and smile a lot. Your display of maturity will probably bug them more than anything else you could do.
Use the orientation as a time to relax and gather your thoughts. Remember, if you are asked for an interview, it means they want you as much as you want them. Their goal for that day will be to sell you on their school and convince you to attend it over other schools that might accept you.