Medical school interviewers have to listen to a lot of the same when talking to premeds. Some of these premeds just aren’t prepared, or think they they can get away with cookie-cutter responses. Not only will this not work, but it will hurt your chances. You need to prepared, but you also need to articulate your thoughts genuinely.
Interviewers go through many different candidates. How do you stand out?
#1 — Premeds Who Don’t Know Their Own Application
This might sound ridiculous — after all, how could you not know your application? However, you’d be surprised how often premeds are asked questions by their interviewers about their app and they get a very general response. This is about you and you need to be specific. This means knowing yourself well. And if you can’t remember the dates or specific details, feel free to bring something with you to remind yourself.
You should be able to talk about your application at length without memorizing.
As a bonus tip, you really shouldn’t check your phone during the interview as tempting as it might be.
#2 — How You Apparently Have No Real Weaknesses
Some premeds think that overselling themselves is a sure way to get into medical school. This is just completely wrong. Your interviewer will know you’re BS’ing. In order to humanize yourself, you need to make yourself relatable… so talk about your flaws! Be open about your limitations and how you are improving them.
Medical school interviewers don’t expect you to be a perfect candidate. However, they do want to see you as a competent, well-rounded person. And being honest about your weaknesses is actually a strength! It tells the admissions committee that you’re serious.
#3 — Assuming the Interviewer Knows Your Passions
Sometimes premeds forgot the whole reason they’re talking to an interviewer — to someday become a doctor! You need to make it clear you’re passionate about medicine. Don’t assume they know this already. The entire interview is dependent on you demonstrating that you’re actually passionate about the medical field and that you know what you’re getting yourself into.
If you don’t make this clear, then the interviewer will assume you’re not as interested and that’s always a serious setback to your chances of getting in.
If you’re looking for more help on how you can ace your medical school interview, I suggest you take a look at my Medical School Interview Video Course. It contains 19 videos, a PDF workbooks, and plenty of possible interview scenarios. I think you’ll find it useful.
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
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