MED SCHOOL INTERVIEW TIPS FROM MAYO MEDICAL STUDENTS

Question Two — Anything you wish you could change about how you interviewed?

Lauren

“I don’t really know if there is anything I would change about how I interviewed, but I would say I was really grateful that someone advised me to practice my elevator pitch for ‘why medicine’ so that I could use that initial question to guide the rest of the conversation towards topics I thought were important to highlight about my experiences.”

Donald

“Hmm this is a tougher question. I would definitely stress less about the interview day (I realize I’m saying this after a successful interview season, so it holds little weight). Aside from that, I would just suggest that you come to the interview with a convincing and unique, ‘Why [insert med school here]?’ I didn’t always have the best answer for that question. While I wouldn’t necessarily consider my answers bad, I think there was room for improvement. In my opinion, that question holds slightly more weight in a standard style interview (not including MMI). So do everything you can to properly address this question.”

Ben

“I wish I had been more prepared to answer the more difficult questions about my resume. For example, I had participated in an ROTC-based faith group in undergrad but was unprepared to answer questions related to this activity regarding my faith and how it would influence my career as a physician.”

Valeria

“This only happened once, but I had an interview experience where I felt the interviewer was making assumptions about me, finishing my sentences, and trying to fit my life story into a typical mold. I wish I would have stood up for myself and politely informed the interviewer of the way I was feeling.”

Blade

“I wouldn’t change anything about how I interviewed, but what I would have done differently is learn a bit more about the city the school was in. I spent quite a bit of time learning about the different programs, but when I got to different places to interview it became apparent that choosing the right program was only one part of the puzzle. The other part was choosing a place I’d like to live for the next four years.”

Tyler

“I wish I could have been more comfortable and less nervous during my interviews. It’s really hard to be calm going into an interview, and that’s something that I struggled with. When I get nervous I tend to speak very rapidly, and I wish I could have been more conversational and laid back during my interviews.”