Your Medical School Interview Guide

It is critical that you prepare for your medical school interview. Failure to do so will jeopardize your chances of becoming a doctor.

First, prepare. Then perform

Like studying for the MCAT, preparing in this way is very important. Don't try to wing the interview. Keep in mind the two P's: prepare and perform.

Preparation

1. Sit down and reflect why you wanted to become a doctor. It is important that you know how to communicate why you want to be a doctor. An applicant who knows how to verbalize themselvesshows that they thought a lot about why they want to be a doctor.

2. Answer the following question to get a better idea of what to present in a medical school interview:

• List all the reasons for being a doctor


• List all characteristics and traits you possess that will make you a good doctor


• List every work experience including volunteer work and community service work


• List what you learned from your experiences in letter C


• List your teaching experiences


• List awards


• List challenging times and events in your life


• List your weaknesses and strengths


• List the top problems that need to be fixed in US health care


• List your goals (ie what do you see yourself doing 5, 10 years from now)


• What do you do for fun/hobbies?

3. Practice answering typical interview questions
Click here for typical questions

4. Stand in front of a mirror and practice answering questions. Look at yourself and try to catch any gestures you may inadvertently do (ie sniffing your nose, playing with your chin, saying "um" and "like", etc.). Try to catch yourself every time you do and keep repeating until you stop. Presentation is everything. You want interviewers to think,"I can see this person treating my loved ones as a doctor".

5. If you have time, record yourself on tape. Review tapes, otherwise do mock-interviews with a friend. Start off easy and then have them grill you to the point you are uncomfortable. At certain schools, interviewers will grill you to see how well you handle pressure. Doctors will be under a lot of stress and pressure so interviewers want to see how you handle stress.

Practice is key. Keep practicing until you are comfortable with talking about yourself and medicine. With practice, you'll become more comfortable.

Up to here is your key to preparation. Now it's time to perform well on your medical school interviews!

Performance

The key to doing well on the interview is show your heart and passion. You can talk about your experiences perfectly without stuttering and making mistakes, but if the interviewer doesn't feel the enthusiasm and energy flowing from you, then they won't recommend accepting you into their medical school. Why should they? There are so many other applicants who would make great doctors. Being able to show energy and enthusiasm comes from deep reflection and knowing why you want to be a doctor. That's why I had you prepare first. So, on the day of the interview, look your interviewer in the eye and mean every word you say. Don't just show it with your words, show it with your heart.

Finally, no matter how much you prepare, there will be questions that you didn't prepare for. It's okay, just don't panic. Interviewers will do this to see how you react to stress. Just keep your cool and answer honestly. If you don't know the answer, just admit it. It's better to admit not knowing than pretending you know something and making answers up. Interviewers will see right through you!

Good luck and I wish you all the best on your medical school interviews!

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