A Medical School Interview

This is a guest post from a colleague and future surgeon who recently discovered the importance of social networking during his med school interview. 

The med school interview is something of a paradox.  After you run through hoop after endless hoop to take the MCAT, write a personal statement, submit your applications and write even more essays, you wait.  And you wait.  And you wait.  All you want is an invitation to interview.  But once you receive one you begin to go through another period of anxiety, hoping that you don’t screw it up. 

The standard interview preparation is what you would expect, although it is helped greatly by a website known as studentdoctor.net.  Here, previous interviewees post the questions they were asked and rate the overall experience.  But, in general you want to know why you picked the specific school and why “this is where I want to go the most.”  Which can actually be true, despite the cliche’.

I was greatly assisted in my interview by a familiarity with the school and my parents’ integration into the community.  Medicine is a small world, so to speak.  None of my interviewers knew my parents personally, but they were both familiar with my last name.  More-so, I think they respected that I knew what I was getting into, that I could relate and that I had ties to the area beyond most applicants.  And lastly, by some small chance, I interviewed with a physician who knew my girlfriend’s mom.  The greatest benefit here was less the political connection but more the personal connection.  I think it brought myself closer to the interviewer than I otherwise could have been.

It’s frequently said that med school interviews are mostly to make sure that “we’re normal.”  So, to that end, my advice is to talk about yourself, not just your accomplishments.  Talk about what you like, what you don’t like, and how you spend your time outside of your profession.  If only to try and find a common thread with your interviewer.

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