Medical Admissions Interview Tips
From current medical students
We asked students in the top medical programs to give us their best interview tips for future applicants. Here's a small sample of the comments we collected for Zoom customers:
"The most important part to this process is to understand that an interview is supposed to be a conversation. Don’t provide fixed scripts of what you want to say. It’s critical to keep an interview as a dialog. Think about the interview as a dance. Feel your partner and maneuver a conversation smoothly. Creating a rapport is just as important as the specifics in your answers.
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"It is completely normal to pause for a second before you start to speak. When needed, you should feel comfortable thinking about your answer for a moment. Carry the same mentality as you would if you were formulating an answer carefully in normal conversation with friends or colleagues. When you do speak, be certain; don't backtrack on your answers. Often times there is no single right answer. Therefore, be confident with your perspectives and share them proudly.
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"At the end of interview ask for the interviewer's email or business card. Send a handwritten thank you note as a sign of recognition and continued interest in the school.
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"Be able to compare and contrast schools when appropriate. If you are asked what additional schools you are looking at, list them honestly. Emphasize the commonalities of these schools and be sure to also highlight something specific to the school you are currently interviewing at. The more you can show both awareness and identification with your school, the better are your chances of selling yourself as a good fit.
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"It critical that you have an overall strategy for determining what you want to say about yourself. Remember the "thesis statement" from your introductory writing course in 4th grade? Use that teaching method. What is your personal thesis statement about yourself? Put yourself in the place of an admission's officer and think about what qualities you would consider as the most critical for your student body. Search for those qualities in yourself, think of personal examples, and then emphasize it throughout the interview.
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"Interviewing mistake: not having enough worthy questions to ask at the end of the interview. This is the one piece to your interview which you should have memorized. When you ask the questions, it's okay to sound "rehearsed" because it shows that you've spent a considerable amount of time thinking about it-- and you have!
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"Never ask an interviewer how well you did in the interview. Similarly, never ask what your chances are of being accepted. Do ask for a business card to keep contact information.
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"When you are asked about how you will contribute to school, the admission officer is not only testing if you are a giver or taker but also how well you researched the specific schools and if you are are aware about clubs, activities and opportunities available.
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"Listen carefully to what the interviewer is asking you. Feel free to ask for clarification if you need it. Don't jump on a prepared answer just because you are eager to share it. Lack of listening skills is a kiss of death in the interview.
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"Try to communicate in an interesting way. Try to maintain about 75% eye contact (too little is not good and blank staring isn't either). Pay attention to interviewer communication manners and try to match your style to that of interviewer. Be self aware, modest, and confident and demonstrate emotional intelligence.
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"Demonstrate that your goals are clear and fit well with what the school can offer. Speak about the program enthusiastically and provide specific reasons and details supporting your passion. Show that you did your homework by aligning yourself with the institution. A good place to start looking is at the school's mission statement.
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"Think critically about specific questions you want to ask at the end of the interview. Vague and generic questions for the interviewer shows a lack of interest in the school and suggests insufficient self-motivated research. Asking too many questions may create an impression that the candidate is just trying to impress the interviewer. Have a list of three meaningful questions that show you too are looking for the right fit with the right institution. This will show that you know a program well. It's fine to ask questions to address your concerns about a school's attributes. You risk sounding like a salesman, so try not to use your questions to sum up your own strengths. Instead, use your questions to reinforce your goals and interests which resonate with the program. And never ask questions about the admissions process itself-- it screams insecurity.
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"It's important to understand what the school values, in what student groups an applicant has an interest, and what an applicant brings to the table that she believes is unique which will enable others around the applicant to grow.
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"Interviewing mistake: Spending too much time on each bullet point in the resume without emphasizing what you learned from this experience. How did you grow as a person? When talking about your resume, think quality not quantity. No one is impressed with endless lists of activities that clearly hold little impact on your character.
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"The questions you ask at the end of the interview should show that you did thorough research about the school. Ask research-based questions. You should use the school's website as a source for questions, but avoid asking questions where the answers are already displayed in the school website.
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