You just received your first medical school interview invite. Congrats! Now what? After scheduling your interview and booking your plane ticket, it’s important to step back and prepare. To help you get started, learn from those who have gone before you. Here are a few Med School Interview Tips from Medical Students at the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine.

Generally, medical school interviews begin in August and can go into the early spring.

The format of the interview varies based on the school. You could have anything from a group interview to a one-on-one interview with a physician. Some schools even have an upper-level medical student conduct the interview. It’s also important to note that some interviewers will have read your entire application, while others only know your name. Either way it’s important to come prepared.

Here are the five questions that Mayo medical students responded to in this post.

1. If you were to give one piece of advice to med school interviewees when it comes to interview day, what would it be?
2. Anything you wish you could change about how you interviewed?
3. What was the most common type of question asked in your interviews?
4. What questions did you ask at your interview?
5. Any final words of advice?

*All thoughts and comments are strictly opinions of the students themselves. 

Looking for more interview tips? Check out the continuation of this Q&A – Dos and Don’ts for a Medical School Interview.

Meet the Mayo Med Students

Lauren is from Washington. She finished her undergrad at Davidson College and post-bac undergrad basic science courses at University of Washington. Lauren is addicted to any type of fruit and before starting medical school, she drove across the country passing through over 25 states on the road trip.

Donald is from Maryland and graduated from Brigham Young University. He enjoys composing piano music to relieve stress and worked as an overhead lineman for a power company.

Ben grew up in an American military community in Germany. He finished his undergrad at University of North Dakota. Ben has an identical twin and has skied in the Swiss Alps.

Valeria is from Illinois and attended Augustana College, a small liberal arts school. Valeria ran track in college, competing in the 400 and 800 meters. She is also a plant connoisseur.

Blade is from Arkansas and finished his undergrad at Brigham Young University. He loves to work on his Jeep, lift weights, and play baseball. He is also a Type 1 diabetic.

Tyler was born and raised in Minnesota and graduated from St. Olaf College. He majored in political science and loves listening to podcasts about the Supreme Court.

Med School Interview Tips

Question One — If you were to give one piece of advice to med school interviewees when it comes to interview day, what would it be?

Lauren

“Take a breath and try to relax. You will likely show your best attributes and true excitement when you are relaxed and able to talk about yourself normally.”

Donald

“I would stress how important it is to be yourself. If you go into an interview trying to be someone you’re not and feel like you’re constantly searching for the ‘right’ answers, I can assure you it will go poorly. Trust yourself and play to your strengths. Shoot from the hip and have confidence in your responses. Interviewers know that we need a varying array of personalities in the medical profession. There is no ‘right’ way to act. The only thing you must do is to remain respectful at all times. As long as you can do that, show them who you really are and I’m positive they’ll love you for it; I mean, they invited you there in the first place, didn’t they?”

Ben

“Make sure you have done research for the school you are interviewing at. Nothing will help you more than demonstrating genuine interest and curiosity for the schools you are applying to (and doing school-specific research will obviously ensure you make a well informed decision when prioritizing your acceptances).”

Valeria

“Take a deep breath and be yourself. The interview isn’t supposed to be the hard part. You’ve done all the hard work already! The interview is supposed to be to get to know you better and see if your personality and goals would be a good fit for the program. If a medical school has invited you for an interview, that means they think you have what it takes to attend their school and now it’s about the fit.”

Blade

“I think my med school interview tips would be don’t try to act impressive and just be yourself. If the school is interviewing you and taking time to meet you face-to-face, you have already impressed them through your application, personal statement, etc. It’s easy to get caught in the game of “how do they want me to answer this”, but again, they like what they’ve seen enough to have you fly out to interview them. So, just answer the questions as if a friend or relative was asking you, with respect of course.”

Tyler

“Be prepared to answer the basic, predictable questions like, ‘Why do you want to be a doctor?’ and ‘Why do you want to attend X medical school?’. I found that most interviewers stick to a relatively small universe of questions, and it’s a much better use of your time to prepare for the basic questions than to prepare for esoteric questions on ethics or health policy.”