What Do You Hope to Gain From Medical School
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Session 233
Today, I'chiliad sharing with you 5 common medical school interview questions and how y'all tin can answer them to help you lot prepare for the unabridged interview process.
Here are the five medical schoolhouse interview questions I'll be covering in detail:
- Tell me nigh yourself.
- Why do y'all want to be a doctor?
- What is your greatest strength?
- Why should we accept yous?
- Why this school?
For each question, I'll encompass common mistakes every bit well as the all-time type of answer and the best way to prepare your ain answer for each of them.
Mind to this podcast episode with the player higher up, or go along reading for the highlights and takeaway points.
[03:58] Why It's So Of import to Practice Answering These Medical Schoolhouse Interview Questions
I volition shortly be interviewing a student who went through the medical school interview process last year and had 5-7 interviews. She is a groovy student manifestly, equally she got several interviews. She had a great story but she didn't tell her story properly during the interviews. As a result, she didn't get accepted anywhere.
So she worked with me and we did four mock interviews together. She reapplied and didn't really alter anything else in her application—she got v-6 acceptances to great MD schools. She really turned it around because she prepared for the interview.
Being prepared to answer these five common medical school interview questions will help y'all get started in the right management with your interview prep.
5 Mutual Medical School Interview Questions and How to Answer Them
[05:25] Question one: Tell Me About Yourself
99.9% of the time, I start my interviews with "tell me most yourself." When I'm interviewing a student, I nigh always start with that. It's actually more of a statement than a question, merely why is it such an important reply for you lot to give?
The whole goal of this interview procedure is to not have information technology exist an interview. You want it to exist a conversation. Click To Tweet
This is basically your opportunity to take accuse of the conversation. The whole goal of this interview procedure is to non have it be an interview. You want it to be a conversation between you and that interviewer. Pretend similar you're sitting down in a coffee shop with your future or current colleague, and just have a chat.
The most common fault students brand is that they recite their resume and give information the interviewer doesn't really care virtually or that can be read on your application. This is your time to accept the reins and straight the conversation wherever you desire to get. Not many medical school interview questions permit you lot to choose the direction of the conversation as much as this 1.
This is your fourth dimension to take the reigns and direct the conversation wherever yous want to go. Click To Tweet
This is essentially your opportunity to discuss some interesting things about yous. If y'all recollect you're non interesting, so you're wrong. You are unique. Respond "tell me nearly yourself" by diving into fun things about you, such every bit where you grew up, your family unit, and the fun adventures you've been on with them.
Finding What'due south Unique About You and Your Story
So dive into things a bit deeper. The goal here is to give enough details that, as yous're having this conversation, you lot're fleshing yourself out as an bodily man being. And those are the kinds of people they're going to want for the medical school grade—people who are going to be able to communicate and be interesting.
Instead of talking about where y'all graduated, what you majored in, and how you want to assistance people as a medico, which they've already heard a thousand times, talk about things like your spaghetti recipe or milking cows at four o'clock in the morning time. Talk almost some of the most interesting things you've done. That's going to be fun and different.
One of the students I worked with got accepted into ten medical schools. She was a sometime actress, and nosotros prepared her story all around being an actress. The feedback she gave me after 11 interviews (she got ten acceptances) was that all they wanted to do was talk about her acting. Of grade, because it's unlike!
Don't underestimate your unique story, no thing what it is, fifty-fifty if you're a traditional student and y'all've gone to loftier school and college, and you've e'er wanted to be premed. There's something in in that location, a fun story, a hobby, something you can talk about.
Don't underestimate what's different almost your story, no matter what it is, even if you're a traditional educatee. Click To Tweet
[Related post: Tricky Medical School Interview Questions.]
[eleven:54] Question 2: Why Do You Desire to Be a Doctor?
This is where a lot of students fall flat on the face. Liking scientific discipline and wanting to assist people are non adequate reasons to explain during the medical schoolhouse interview why you lot want to be a doctor.
First, hash out your initial motivations such as family unit illnesses, personal illness, or the dr. who inspired you. Whatever it is, talk about experiences you've had that have motivated you lot to become a doctor. These experiences are typically best conveyed in stories of straight patient interactions.
For example, talk about working with Mrs. Smith or Mr. Jones and existence there past their side as they're going through a procedure. Those stories you lot can tell forth with the connections, emotions, and the impact that you can discuss that you had or they had on yous or you had on them, those are the stories that the interviewer wants to hear.
Share what your initial motivations were for entering medicine, followed by experiences that accept reaffirmed your pick forth the way so far. Click To Tweet
"I Love Science and I Want to Help People" Is Non Enough
Wanting to help people is non express to existence a md. I one time took an Uber and asked the driver how he was doing, and he said he'due south having a bully fourth dimension helping people. This is the perfect example of somebody that is loving their job helping people. And so don't tell me that y'all desire to exist a physician because you want to assist people. In that location are a billion and ane jobs out there, including existence an Uber driver, where you can assist people.
Obviously, you lot need to have a combination of wanting to help people and loving science to desire to exist a doctor because yous accept to survive prereqs with your scientific discipline courses and do clinical experiences and exist around patients.
Simply the focus should come up down to those interactions you've had with patients and the impacts you lot've seen physicians brand on patients. This will illustrate that yous want to be a medico for the right reasons. Usually, this is as well the way to write your personal statement: Share what your initial motivations were for entering medicine, followed past experiences that have reaffirmed your option along the style then far.
Demand more help answering this medical school interview question? Here'due south an unabridged episode about answering "Why do you want to be a doctor?"
[xv:50] Question 3: What is Your Greatest Force?
This is one question that a lot of students trip over. My top tip is to answer the question the interviewer gives you. When they ask for 1 matter, requite them one matter, not three or five or ten things. Trying to squeeze stuff in considering you recall information technology'due south going to make y'all look improve may only exercise the opposite.
So how do you answer this? Well, you have to be able to honestly respond it. It can be as elementary equally beingness highly organized or having leadership skills, listening skills, or good time management. Whatever your greatest force is, be able to tell a story that supports your claim.
Unfortunately, a lot of students say what they think the interviewer wants to hear, merely they don't really believe in what they're saying. So brand sure yous're able to back information technology up with a story. Prove them what that looks like and the impact your strength has.
The more you lot tin can answer questions with stories from your life, the better your interview is going to go. Click To Tweet
The aforementioned goes for your greatest weakness. Talk about what your weakness looks like. The more yous can answer questions with stories from your life, the improve your interview is going to go. Stories are more memorable than abstractions. They're conversational and they're impactful. Anyone can say "I'chiliad dedicated," just not everyone can tell your stories virtually it.
[19:38] Question 4: Why Should We Accept You?
This is a hard question, isn't information technology? You might want to tell them that y'all're motivated and determined and you love medicine, then y'all're going to make a dandy doctor. Of class, you love medicine. Hopefully, all of the applicants beloved medicine. Knowing that you want to be a doctor is non a reason to take you lot. And being self-motivated or determined or passionate in itself is not going to be a good reason either.
So this is your opportunity to sell yourself and sell your skills. Again, use stories to sell yourself. Be able to say that y'all're a leader because of xyz. Y'all're passionate, as illustrated by xyz. You take groovy time-management skills based on xyz. Yous are a dandy team role player considering of your experiences with this organization.
Assistance the interviewer picture you as function of the incoming medical school class. Pigment a movie of the contributions you will make to that class. Click To Tweet
Use stories to illustrate the skills and traits y'all take that will make you a great classmate. How are you lot going to have your skills and experiences, and bring them to the grade? Help the interviewer picture y'all equally part of the grade. They're edifice a community of students with who they accept. Pigment a picture of the contributions you lot could make to that course.
[23:03] Question 5: Why This Schoolhouse?
When asked why they want to get to this medical school, a lot of students talk about how they take friends that go to that school and they love it. But this is not the manner to answer this question.
Find out specific details of the school and specific programs you're interested in, be it related to diversity, research, or customs outreach. Whatever that may be, find out the specifics about the school. Wait upward their mission and vision statements, and detect out if anything resonates with you. Look for the infinitesimal details in each of these areas to be able to explicate why you're applying to each of the schools. In fact, you should already know this because you applied for this school to begin with.
Don't just talk virtually the ability to help the underserved, as almost urban academic medical centers are going to help an underserved population, and this is non unique. Try not to cite anything generic that you could say about whatever other schoolhouse. Then be very specific such as the curriculum, class size, location, and your back up structure in that surface area.
[25:35] Practicing with Medical School Interview Questions
If you think about how y'all are going to answer each of these five questions, set some stories that illustrate what you want to convey, and and then do doing some mock interviews, this will be a solid start to your medical school interview preparation.
If y'all'd like more assist from me in preparing for your medical school interviews, check out the post-obit resources:
- My book all well-nigh the medical school interview,The Premed Playbook: Guide to the Medical Schoolhouse Interview.
- My 13-video course about the Medical School Interview.
- 1-on-ane mock interviews with me.
- Our Someday Mock-Interview Platform.
- Free: Medical Schoolhouse Interview Question Generator.
Links and Other Resources
- Check out my book nearly the medical school interview: The Premed Playbook: Guide to the Medical School Interview.
- Related episode: The MMI: Everything You Demand to Know Nearly the Med School Interview.
- Related episode: Medical Ethics Questions You Tin can Expect in Your Interview.
- Need MCAT Prep? Save on tutoring, classes, and full-length practice tests past using promo code "MSHQ" at Blueprint MCAT (formerly Next Step Test Prep)!
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