The Roundup: Trial & Error
Two more interviews = two more skylines. I've officially completed 5 of the 11 interviews that I currently have scheduled this Fall. I would like to say that they've all been 300% excellent and that I've hit a homerun every single time, but the truth is that they weren't and I find it hard to believe that anybody's interview is really perfect. To be honest I probably overanalyze everything, but in any case here are my rules to interview success:
Know Your Application Every single class, experience, and anecdote that you've relayed in your AMCAS or your school-specific secondary should be locked into your memory. You should be able to explain the experience, detail your contribution to said experience, and be able to reflect on how the experience makes you better suited for medical school. No experience is too small or too peripheral to be brought up again during the interview, so you better know exactly what you wrote in the event they ask you to elaborate on it!
Don't Get Flustered When you have an antagonistic interviewer that's trying to trick you, DON'T FLINCH! They're trying to stress test you and the best way to handle this situation is with a calm demeanor and some class. Explain yourself/your actions succinctly. Do not leave any room for them to misinterpret or twist your words. Even if you know the interviewer is stress testing you, it's important to not seem "on the defense" or offended by the analyses of your character that they may offer.
Commit to the Thing When asked what you would do if you did not gain acceptance to any school during the current interview round, always clarify the terms of the question. Can you reapply to medical schools? If no, can you do anything within the healthcare field? If no, can you do anything related to science and/or healthcare? Once clarifying these terms, offer your best answer.
Swinging in Left Field If an interviewer asks a very inappropriate question (i.e., What other schools are you applying to/interviewing at? Do you consider yourself disadvantaged?) answer firmly and succinctly. Tell the interviewer that this is your first and lone interview scheduled at the moment. Tell the interviewer that you do not consider yourself socioeconomically disadvantaged, but that you can draw important lessons about determination, work ethic, resilience, and adaptability through life experience x, y, and z. Tell them that every person is fighting a hard battle and that this is the beauty of attending a school with a diverse array of students who come from all different walks of life and experiences.
I'm not sure how medical schools populate their admissions committees, but it seems that there are quite a few interviewers with a superiority complex and/or a narcissistic personality. How these people were given positions of power baffles me, but I think in general if you get a good feeling from the other administrators and students at the school that those rogue interviewers may be the outliers. In any case I've heard of plenty students who end up being admitted to palces where they claimed they had their "worst interviews." So onward and forward to the next 6!
