The time has come—it’s interview season!!! The pressure is on because the interview can literally make or break your acceptance to a medical school. Although it was extremely nerve-wracking for me, my interviews were the most fun I've had during the entire application process! Here is some advice I have to offer regarding interviewing for Medical School!
GOOD LUCK!
Carefully review the entirety of your AMCAS and supplemental applications the night before your interviews. This is especially true if your interviews happen a few months after you submitted your applications. A few of my interviewers pulled something extremely specific out of my applications and it definitely caught me off guard for a few seconds like, “how did they know that about me?!” because I forgot that I even mentioned it.
Be yourself and answer questions honestly. They can tell when you are being genuine and when you are not!
If you have never been to the school before and are able to arrive the night before, drive to the location of the interview and find the building/room you are supposed to be in. This will greatly reduce your stress the morning of the actual interview because you will already know where you are going.
Be kind to your fellow interviewees! Don’t see the interview as a competition, but as an opportunity to meet possible future classmates of yours. If you are in the presence of anyone related to the admissions office, you are likely being observed so make sure all of their observations of you are positive.
Read the entirety of the schools' websites before your interview! At the end of your interviews, there will be a time for you to ask them questions. Please make sure you do not waste their time by asking something that you could have answered with a little research! However, do prepare questions to ask. Here were some of my favorites: What is your favorite and least favorite thing about this school? What changes do you expect to be made over the next four years? What is your favorite spot in this city? Find something interesting on their website and ask for more information about it.
Be aware of the weaknesses in your application and be prepared to address them. This does not mean coming up with excuses, but it would be a good opportunity to tell them what you learned and how you plan to change in the future.
For MMI interviews, there is really no way you can truly prepare for the exact questions you will be asked! However, I did look up some practice MMI scenarios prior to my interview and timed myself answering them. While none of my practice scenarios ended up being actual questions, practicing answering abstract questions can help you quickly and thoughtfully come up with a good answer on the actual day. What is an MMI? It is a series of multiple mini interviews! You will go around in different rooms, usually one-on-one, and have to respond to different scenarios. They may ask you to talk about something personal (like a difficult decision you had to make in life) or social issues (like how education is related to healthcare) or other completely random things. Check out the AAMC description of MMIs here and an awesome resource for practice questions here.
