Interview Tips
How to crush your Med School Interview:
I had a full day interview at the podiatric medical school I am currently attending. I was not only accepted, but received scholarship money from the school. With that said, take what I say with a grain of salt because every interview process is going to be different across schools and programs.
I thought I would first share a brief overview of how the day went to give you a glimpse of what to potentially expect when your time to interview comes…
My interview day started at 10 am at the school and ended around 2 pm. When I arrived we went through an introduction presentation about the school, which discussed student life and the curriculum. I was there with two other students. We were then taken to the Foot and Ankle clinic at the school to shadow third year students. This break before being interviewed was much appreciated because it allowed me to get some of the nerves out keeping my mind on other things. I was then interviewed by a current student who asked me questions like: What do you do for fun? Why podiatry? What do you do to destress? Following this discussion I was interviewed by 2 faculty from the school. This was more of a casual conversation where some of the questions they asked me were… How were you successful in undergrad? Tell me about yourself… How did you deal with challenges in undergrad and what were some of those challenges? Following the student and faculty interviews, I was provided lunch and was able to talk to other students at the school. We were then reconvened for a closing presentation that discussed housing, tuition and possible scholarships available.
Okay, so that is what my interview day was like. Now let’s dive into some tips so that you can crush your own interview day.
It is always important to be yourself, but with that said, it is as equally important to be professional. Honesty about your accomplishments as well as your failures is extremely important both in your application and during your interview. Lying, even a small white lie, is unprofessional and will make a school question your morals as well as your ability to become a trustworthy physician. Being professional also means that you should be conscious of the way that you talk and carry yourself throughout the day. Don’t throw around curse words and don’t talk about extremely controversial topics unless you are explicitly asked to. You don’t want one comment or opinion you have to be the biggest impression you leave on your interviewers. During your interview day, you will most likely meet with both faculty and students. Make sure that you are still professional with students because their opinion of you is important to the admissions committee. Professionalism means looking the part as well. Make sure that you dress appropriately in business causal attire. Wear neutral color clothing and make sure nothing is too revealing. Being well groomed is important and may seem obvious to some of you, but you would be surprised by the say some people show up to medical school interviews.
Preparedness is also key to success. This means that you should prepare both for the questions you will be asked by your interviewer as well as prepare questions you will ask them about the school/program. I would recommend searching online forums or asking current students that you may know for insight into questions that the specific school you’re interviewing at may ask. Definitely be prepared to discuss all of the extracurriculars you included on your application as well as specific grades you may have received. Review commonly asked questions and prepare a script or key points for these questions. This preparation will help provide some stress relief during your interview day when you. Practice Practice Practice! Whether it's just out loud with yourself, with your roommate, with your parents, or with an advisor. You want to be prepared and have an idea of how you will be answering these questions. With that said, don't sound like a robot in your interview. It's okay to plan out what you will say, but make sure it sounds like it's coming from a place of genuine interest!
I hope you found this helpful and please feel free to comment any tips that I may have missed that you personally found valuable for your own interview day!
Follow my instagram @podiatry.by.tre to stay up to date with my podiatry school journey!
XOXO,
TRE
