PREPARING FOR MEDICAL SCHOOL INTERVIEWS
Written by Stuart Booth, Covenant College, Class of 2005

You’ve made it to the interview which means they believe that you are capable of handling the rigorous academics of medical school. Now they want to see if you have the passion and people-skills to make a good physician. It is not a time to ramble about your academic achievements. It’s a time to demonstrate your interest in medicine through your healthcare related experiences and your attitude.

This guide focuses on the actual interview day. I highly recommend going through the materials Dr. Morris will provide you as well as going through books available in the Biology Commons. I also highly recommend that you make a word document with a list of questions for you to work on. This will get your brain organized so that you’ll be able to respond effectively to questions when they’re asked. Just don’t mindlessly spout you’re your pre-recorded answers when you hear a familiar question asked. The interview is not a Cell Bio exam. They are looking at your people-skills, not just your answer. Morris will provide some very good questions for you to get started, but I also recommend that you go online and google “med school interview.” You’ll find a site that has good feedback on interviews of most medical schools in the U.S.

Before talking about the actual interview day, there is something optional that you can do that may help. Many schools have social events the night before with first and second year medical students. It is a great time to get the inside scoop from people that know the answers but who don’t have a part in the admitting process. Basically, this is a time to get the “cheat sheet” for the interviews. Get them to tell you about why they picked this medical school and what the school is proud of and known for. It will help give you an understanding of what kinds of things you should emphasize the next day. Also, and this is very important, use this time to get ideas about questions to ask the interviewers.

Give yourself plenty of time in the morning to make yourself professional looking and be there early so that people are approaching you rather than you finding yourself entering a room of people already deep in conversations. APPROACH PEOPLE. This is not a time to stand in the background. It’s a time to be brave and take risks. Step out of your comfort zone and mingle. I know this may be hard for some people, but don’t worry about embarrassing yourself. Laugh and have fun.

            Get to know your fellow interviewees. There’s a chance they may be your future classmates. Mingling with them also helps relieve the stress of the impending interview. Be bolder than you may normally be. Some interviewees shy away from interaction and they stand out like a sore thumb. Getting to know everyone makes the process more fun and relaxing, and it helps build up your confidence for the interview.

            About 90% of all conversations between interviewees start with the following formula: (1) “Hi, I’m What’s His Face.” [with the implied “What’s Your Name?”] (2) “Where are you from?” (3) “What school do you go to?” [which is a funny question because your school is usually printed on your name tag but people don’t want to go around a room squinting at stranger’s chests]. Let things flow where they may, but remember it is way uncool to start talking about each other’s credentials. Get insight from each other, compare notes, and find a fun topic to talk about. THINK TEAMMATE NOT COMPETITOR.

            Fourth-year medical students typically play a role in the day’s activities, like being your tour guides or lunch buddies. Treat your interaction with them like a quasi-interview, because chances are they may have a position on the admissions committee. Be bold and friendly with them. You want to leave them with a good impression. Some fourth-years may actually be conducting interviews, though this is not typically.

            Coming from Covenant College, you will undoubtedly be asked for more details about your school because most people haven’t heard of it. I recommend keeping your monologue on Covenant fairly short. The interviewees most likely aren’t actually interested in learning about your school, they just used the question to keep things going. Shift topics if you want to actually make a friend of them.

            Talking about Covenant with the interviewers is a totally different story. Be proud and enthusiastic about Covenant—telling them about the great class sizes and curriculum and how you really get to connect with your professors. But—try to sense when the interviewer has heard enough. Some may cut you off without warning, but don’t let that bug you. I think it’s important that they understand the qualities that you’re looking for in a medical school.

You are trying to sell yourself. You want to show the interviewer that you are passionate about medicine and have good people-skills. You are Tommy Boy trying to sell his father’s brake pads. Just don’t set things on fire and don’t false advertise. DO NOT TRY TO BS THEM! I cannot overemphasize this. These interviewers have been well trained and can smell BS a mile away. The most common piece of advice med students will tell you is to BE YOURSELF. This is good advice. The interviewers want to get to know you as yourself—not someone trying to be what they want.

            Having said that, let me say this. Be your best self—not your normal self. Push yourself to be more open and talkative with everyone, even though you may not know anyone there. Make the conscious effort to GET AROUND and talk with people. Make an impression so that when you leave people will remember your name. Many interviewees feel safer staying in a small group of interviewees that they met early on in the day. It may be easier to do this, but I really recommend making an effort to move on. They will remember you and they will still like you when you bump into them later.

It’s the simple things that leave a good impression—things that we commonly neglect during a normal day. The following may seem silly but they really make a difference. First, EYE CONTACT is crucial. Look at the interviewer when you are talking to him or he to you. Don’t stare him down, but you really do want to be looking into his eyes about 90% of the time. Remember to SMILE AND LAUGH. Don’t force it at inappropriate times, but smiling and laughing are important impressions to leave your interviewer. Some interviewers may deliberately say things or ask things to make you uncomfortable, but STAY COOL. Take a breath and answer in a mature way, and remember that they’re really looking for how you respond—not necessarily if you have the “right” answer. Lastly, to top it all off, remember to do what your dad told you: Have a GOOD HANDSHAKE. The small things make a difference. They really do.

Lastly—Don’t be nervous, HAVE FUN!