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I have received three interview calls: Stevens, BU, and VCU.

What should I expect? How can I/should I prepare? How should I dress (remember these are MEDICAL SCHOOL INTERVIEWERS)? PLEASE, PLEASE give me some insight into this interview process.

I have enough to talk about re: my volunteering, hobbies, social life, medical experiences, motivation etc. WHAT ELSE SHOULD I BE PREPARED TO TALK ABOUT?

THANK YOU!!!!

By Flgirl04 (Flgirl04) on Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 06:04 pm: Edit

Wear professional clothing. Nice pants, a CLEAN shirt. Bring a copy of your resume to give the interviewer a quick idea of your interests. Be prepared to answer why you want to go to school X, how many times you have visited, what contacts you had. Things of that sort. Speak clearly and intelligently. Do NOT say LIKE or YOU KNOW or UMM. Think about your answers before you respond and be ready to back up anything you say with evidence. Also, ask the interviewer about their experience with the school. Ask them about specific components of the med program that you may be intersted in. Do your research before going to the interview and have specific questions. Of course if you get interviewed by a Lit. major, they probably won't be extremely familiar with the med program. Ask the interviewer about the city. Be honest and try not to be too nervous. Normally, interviews will not make or break your application. Be polite and thank the interviewer. Get their email and send them a thank you. Good Luck!

By Krpatel (Krpatel) on Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 06:35 pm: Edit

Nealp, when did you find out that you were selected for an interview at BU and VCU. Id like to know because I applied to those programs and havent gotten a response.

By Nealp (Nealp) on Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 07:41 pm: Edit

bu = (2) weeks ago
vcu = today

my interviewer will BE both: med school adcom, honors program adcom, lunch with faculty from my wanted major.

should i wear a sports coat, etc?

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!

By Nealp (Nealp) on Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 07:43 pm: Edit

btw, its a SIX HOUR interview, and, of the 50 people interviewed, i think they accept some 30ish...so it kinda does make/break the processs...

By Coureur (Coureur) on Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 07:52 pm: Edit

You should be prepared to discuss why you want to be a doctor, and you should also have some examples in mind about what you've already done to demonstrate your devotion to medicine, e.g. you volunteer at a hospital, you worked in a medical research lab, you read the New England Journal of Medicine at the library every week, or whatever.

Just be sure you have something more than a shrug to offer when they ask those kinds of questions.

By Nealp (Nealp) on Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 08:35 pm: Edit

okay, i think i got that part down as in I have fodder for those types of answers.

I plan on reading up on HMO, insurance, malpractice, canadian drugs, R and D problems etc before my interviews (all the big things in the news). IS there anything special/unexpected that I should read up on?

Sports coat? or would black pants, lively striped clean shirt suffice? tie needed? i guess i'm worrked about being under/overdressed. (i'm always overdressed...i'm the type of person who says everybody should dress up to go to the movies and the airport).

again, THANK YOU THANK YOU

By Mike28 (Mike28) on Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 08:50 pm: Edit

6 hours....holy hell.

Bring some gatorade yo

By Krpatel (Krpatel) on Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 10:23 pm: Edit

OK, thanks for the info, Congrats, btw, I just found out that I was selected for a VCU interview. Now about the interviews. I had one just the other day (MONDAY JANUARY 12). There isn't much to it. The officers just want to know how dedicated you are, why you are motivated to pursue a career in medicine, if you know anything about medicine, but most of all they want to see that you are well-rounded and have a good personality. They definitely don't want book worms. Be prepared to anwer questions about medicine today, especially ethical questions about controversial topics such as euthanasia, genetic engineering, research on animals, etc... It helps to keep up to date with some medical news and know about the school so that when they ask you why you want to go to a specific school, you have an idea of what makes that school unique (every school has something special or different). Sometimes the officers will try to see if you are very rash and quick with you're decision making. For example, I was asked if I would want to specialize in any field of medicine. Well, I can't say that I have seen open heart surgery or been in a radiologists office, so I am not prepared to make a definitive decision at this moment of my life. They want to see that you are open minded and don't make hasty judgments. Most importantly, be yourself. If you are not the type of person who wears a jacket, don't wear one. It will go better if you are comfortable. It will be easier to show them your personality if you are yourself. Also as important, be sure to back up everything you say. If you can't back up an opinion, you shouldn't express it. Additionally, sometimes, the interviewers will ask about your personal life or you culture (especially the case of a minority or non US citizen). Oh yeah, and it's never a good idea to flip the finger or give any death threats, no matter how bad it's going. Trust me, you may be nervous just before the interview, but just remember, you have nothing to be nervous about. Its a piece of cake, all you have to do is be yourself and the answers will come. You know that you are the person they are looking for, just make sure that they know it too. Hope that helps. PS, I know that there are somethings that show up at every interview, just try to make it look unrehearsed and natural.

By Nealp (Nealp) on Tuesday, January 13, 2004 - 10:39 pm: Edit

you are AWESOME, thanks a bunch!

i have BU tuesday,
stevens wednesday
and vcu sometime in the next few weeks

its finally all falling into place. been working my ass off for 3.5 years now, filling out applications, etc. boy does it feel good to see the real results! before anybody knows it, myself included, i'll be in and out of med school and out of academics until i return to teach. sure does feel nice

By Nealp (Nealp) on Wednesday, January 14, 2004 - 02:51 pm: Edit

anybody else?

By Krpatel (Krpatel) on Wednesday, January 14, 2004 - 03:15 pm: Edit

Oh by the way, I just want to add another piece of information about what you wear. You don't want anything to be too loud. Chances are, that the admissions committee will be turned off if you wear flamboyant clothing, avoid this at any cost. So try not to wear the striped shirt, and in my opinion, a tie is a must, but it shouldn't be a brightly colored tie.

By Vadad (Vadad) on Wednesday, January 14, 2004 - 03:27 pm: Edit

I would wear a tie and jacket. I think one of the aspects of the process you're going through is to determine your level of maturity, i.e., does the kid really know enough about what he's getting into to make the med school decision now, or does he need more seasoning. I think for some people, a jacket and tie reflects maturity. Try to avoid the Bugs Bunny and Jerry Garcia ties, unless your thing to try to pull a "Patch Adams." I would also emphasize trolling web sites and local newspaper articles to be up on current issues and plans at the particular medical center for which you are interviewing--new programs, new buildings, controversies over funding, cutting edge research, etc. Make them think that this is the only place you've wanted to go in the last 3.5 years.

And congratulations!! It's tough to get invited to these interviews, and you've got more than one. Good luck!

By Entrophie (Entrophie) on Wednesday, January 14, 2004 - 03:57 pm: Edit

tell us how the BU went.

By Nealp (Nealp) on Wednesday, January 14, 2004 - 05:24 pm: Edit

thanks for all the advice...i will post when I return from my bu interview next thursday.

By Nealp (Nealp) on Saturday, January 24, 2004 - 11:48 pm: Edit

ooh ok. interviews are done (bu and stevens) i think they went well. all three (2 at bu) (1 at stevens) were short, 40, 35, 40 minutes respectively. then again, i speak quickly. interviewers didn't have much to ask, it seemed. i think they went well.

three upcoming interviews:
med col of VA (w/ VA commonwealth U)
albany med col (w/ rpi)
thomas jeff med col (w/ pennstate)

agh all this is becoming tiresome, but awfully pleasing. getting interviews is great. hopefully they result in even better and leave me with the oppurtunity to make a good decision as to where to attend (with good scholarship money!).

if you have any specific questions about my interviews...ie you're nervous as i was before my first..., then feel free to e-mail me (see my username profile)

thanks all of you you helped out before!!!

By Krpatel (Krpatel) on Friday, January 30, 2004 - 12:46 pm: Edit

when are your VCU and PSU/Jefferson interviews?