Interview Process Overview

- Laura Pugh

The interview is considered by many applicants to be the most terrifying part of the medical school application cycle. Sitting face to face with someone who might decide your fate is scary enough, never mind the insanity of an MMI, right?! While it’s totally normal to have the jitters for a school you’re excited about, let me tell you the secret of what interviews really mean: You’ve made it. By the time you’re sitting face to face with that potentially-imposing faculty member, you’ve made it through multiple rounds of screening. This person looked at your personal statement, your entire extracurricular history, your recommendations, your grades, your MCAT, and all of those tedious secondary essays. And after ALL of that, she or he said ‘I’d love to talk to this person.’ All of that to say: don’t let interview season get you down. If you are lucky enough to score a medical school interview, go in with your head held high and know that the admissions committee is impressed with you and excited to learn more. Now let’s get into the details.

WHEN WILL I HAVE INTERVIEWS?

The interview season typically starts in early fall (September-October), however, it extends for months, which can feel like forever. I was convinced after November that my interview season was done, and ended up not having my last interview until February. This can depend somewhat on when you get all of your primary and secondary materials completed; however, plenty of people who completed their application in June still end up with a January interview, and plenty of January or February interviewers are accepted. If time is ticking along (December-January) and you haven’t gotten an interview invite at a school you’re particularly connected to, you can reach out and let them know that you are still interested in them. Schools who are looking to increase yield may preference students who seem likely to attend.

HOW MUCH CONTROL DO I HAVE OVER DATES?

Most schools allow you to pick from a selection of dates. It will help to respond immediately, as they send out the offer to many students at once and choice times get snapped up. Other schools will offer you a specific date and time. If you truly can’t make the available date, it is acceptable to contact the admissions office to reschedule. If you applied to many schools in one region, it is also acceptable to contact schools where you haven’t been offered an interview to let them know you’ll be in the area. I regretted not doing this after being offered two interviews in the same city that took place a month apart. Plus, it can serve as a reminder to the school that you are still interested and thinking about them.

HOW DO I PREPARE FOR MY INTERVIEW?

My biggest piece of advice for the whole interview process is prepare, but don’t over prepare. As I mentioned at the start, the admissions committee already knows that you are a qualified applicant. They don’t need to hear your memorized talking points or regurgitated personal statement. What they want to know is what kind of person you are, and therefore what kind of doctor you will become. They want to know whether you’re personable, passionate, and collaborative. This won’t come across if you are too rehearsed. That said, some questions are inevitable and there’s benefit to having your ideas in mind. Look up a list of common interview questions (classics like what challenges you’ve faced, what experiences you’d had working on a team, or when you learned from failure). Then think of a story you have that illustrates the answer, and write out bullet points of that story you’d like to include in your answer. That way, it’ll come more quickly to your mind, but the specific words will be organic in the moment.

WHAT QUESTIONS DO YOU HAVE FOR ME?

Always, always have question for your interviewer. Your questions are part of the interview, and can be another way of demonstrating what you want to get out of medical school. For example, ask about opportunities for the research you’d like to do, what the culture of the school is like, or about a student organization you saw on their website. If possible, avoid questions than can easily be found online, like basic curriculum information. You can also demonstrate your knowledge of the school as you frame the question. For example, “I saw information online about the summer research stipend. Could you describe some examples of how students use those, and whether I could use it to follow this interest I have? You can use portion of the interview to your advantage as a version of the ‘why this school’ essay—knowing what excites you about a school will allow you to ask better, more specific questions.

WHAT SHOULD I WEAR TO MY INTERVIEW?

First things first: get comfy. I can’t emphasize this enough—if your feet are bleeding after an interview, you’ve made a mistake along the way. Your brain has enough work to do without worrying about pain signals from too-tight pants or pinching shoes. Not to mention your interviewer is much more likely to notice whether you’re mincing your steps than whether your shoes are on-trend. Second, make sure it fits. Be able to walk, sit, and shift around without anything riding up or down and without having to constantly mess with it. Wear it around for a few hours at home rather than just trying it on at the store. If your suit fits and is comfortable, you are 95% of the way there—everything else is secondary. You can pick any neutral color suit you’d like. Many students’ suits are black so grey or navy can be a nice change of pace, but no need to go out and buy a new one for that reason. Having a non-white shirt underneath, or simple jewelry, can be another way of adding something more ‘fun’ without straying too far from the norm.

INTERVIEW DAY TIPS

Take your time. If you need time to think of an answer to a question instead of babbling while trying to think at the same time, ask for it. Simply say ‘let me think about that for a moment’ and take a deep breath to recall your answer.

Eat the lunch. Your nerves might curb your appetite a bit, but make sure you get some food in. There’s no shame in bringing some stomach-friendly snacks if you’re worried the lunch will be too rich. On the other hand, if you are hungry, don’t let peer pressure get to you. I had one interview where everyone around me was picking at their food, but I was starving and felt awkward eating more than the people around me. That’s a silly reason to go into an interview with brain fog from hunger.

Get to know your fellow interviewees. What?! They’re your competition! No, they’re just students nervously jiggling in their chairs, same as you. That interview lounge full of students in creepily similar suits is an opportunity to meet some future classmates. I met students at accepted weekends later who remembered me from the interview—I almost ended up with a roommate that way! Not to mention that it’s a great way to get re-invigorated about the process. Once the nervous shells come off, these people probably have very similar interests and dreams as you, and might even want to achieve them in the same location. By engaging with other applicants, I came away from interview days re-invigorated about the process and excited to be in a cohort full of these peers.

Take a moment to yourself. In the last few minutes before I was going to be called away for an interview, I always snuck into the bathroom for a moment or two. Shake out your arms and legs, take a deep breath, and remind yourself how great you are. Force your muscles to smile until you feel at least a smidge happier. Then, step out ready to take this on.

YOUR TIME TO SHINE

An admissions dean once told me at an interview: “By the time we’ve cut the pool down enough to interview, we know that 100% of you would do well at this school and could thrive academically. That makes our job really hard, but should make you take a deep breath.” At many schools, as many as 50% of interviewed students ultimately get in (about 1/3 after the interview, plus some off the wait list). Compare that to the 2-5% that most schools accept out of the original applicant pool. The interview is simply a chance to talk about what you care about, and show the school that there’s a real person behind that amazing application. You’ve got this!