Every premed e
nters the medical school interview with hope, and sometimes, a whole lot of anxiety! All your hard work leads to this moment: all the college classes, all the studying for the MCAT, and all the applications have prepared you to show medical schools that you’re ready to take a seat as a student in their program.
Medical school interview questions can be challenging, but a little preparation will pay off — big time. Follow these medical school interview tips and you’re sure to impress.
Medical School Interview Tips
Present the most confident you — Medical schools want students that will interact with peers, patients and coworkers with poise. Maintain eye contact with whomever you are speaking, keep good posture and speak clearly. But don’t get cocky — many younger premeds confuse boastful self-promotion and “swagger” with mature confidence.
Draw from your past interviews — The medical school interview isn’t too different from other important interviews you’ve experienced in the past, so draw from your previous interview experiences. Try to remember what worked in those interviews, and what didn’t. Think back to the way interviewers in the past reacted to you, and focus on the techniques that caused a positive reaction.
Don’t repeat your application word-for-word — You will definitely want to discuss and expand upon the accomplishments and personal stories you discussed in your applications, but don’t memorize and regurgitate what you have already said. Be prepared to say more about those experiences.
Practice Aloud — Practicing your interview aloud will help you to polish your conversational abilities and pinpoint which details you should include, and which areas need improvement. Ask a practice partner to tell you if you sound confident, cocky, scatter-brained or well put together. After several rounds of practice with a few different partners, you’ll have a really slick presentation.
School-specific preparation — Pay close attention to the school-specific primary and secondary application questions that you may have answered. Chances are, those questions will show up again at the interview.
There’s no doubt that the medical school interview is a scary task, but you’ve aced interviews in the past and you’re sure to ace this one too — if you take the time to prepare. All it takes is knowledge of the questions you’re most likely to be asked, and a basic understanding of the etiquette and preparation tips you’ll need to polish your performance.
Additional help
For a comprehensive guide to the medical school interview, check out our online course The Medical School Interview Video Course. It’s a start-to-finish guide to the med school interview that will help you make your interview the best it can be.
Crush Your Interviews!
- Learn the best answers to all of the common medical school interview questions
- Develop better interviewing techniques
- Impress medical schools and earn acceptances
What should one keep in mind for doing group medical school interviews?
Hi Catherine – Great question. The group medical school interview process is a newer and innovative approach. The MMI or “Multiple Mini Interview” was created to reduce interviewer bias. Essentially you are given a scenario (often pasted on the door of the interview room) and you have 10 minutes or so to respond. The scenarios vary widely and often there’s no clear answer. So, what do you do? Here’s some things to keep in mind:
– Be enthusiastic: Because you’re competing for a spot in med school, remember that people like people who are enthusiastic, engaging and seem to be really enjoying what they are doing. It’s likely the other students going through the interview will show up as nervous; if you can show up as enthusiastic and engaged, you’ll look better. If the scenario you’re given makes it inappropriate for you to be enthusiastic, then you want to show compassion and empathy.
– Have a clear position or point of view: The last thing you want to be when faced with a difficult question is a bowl of jelly. If you’re asked a tough question (e.g., an ethical dilemma) then it’s best to have a point of view / clear position and stick to it, otherwise, you’re likely to get caught up in a nasty debate over when something is OK and when it’s not.
Take euthanasia as an example. It’s better to have a clear position and stick to it; if you don’t, then you will quickly be asked how you’re able to condone euthanasia in some circumstances, when you don’t condone it in others. Yikes – you’d need a PhD in ethics to figure that one out. Better to stay absolute. If euthanasia is wrong, it’s always wrong. If it’s OK, then it’s always OK.
Hope that helps! I go into a lot of detail about the Multiple Mini Interview process, and share some great resources for sample scenarios, in my new “Medical School Interview” video course.
Thanks! I was worried about seeming over-eager in such an interview and having my ready-responses appear rehearsed. Now I know that I shouldn’t hide my preparedness.