Question Five — Any final words of advice?
Lauren
“It is obviously a stressful day since there is a lot riding on an interview, but the school most likely already believes you could be successful at the school and now want to understand if you are the right fit for the school. Let your personality show throughout the day and let your excitement about the school be known.”
Donald
“Go kill it. I’m sure if you’re reading this you are on the right path, but it also could mean you’re erring towards neuroticism. Go out and enjoy life if you’re in your gap year or last year of school! It’s not going to get easier, so enjoy the down time and don’t spend all of your time on the internet preparing.”
Ben
“Enjoy any extra time you might have in the area you are interviewing at! You’ll be in school for the next four years but ultimately you will also live in that community so make sure you explore with the time you have.”
Valeria
“Self-reflection throughout this entire process is key. Medical school will be challenging no matter where you go. So it is important to search for a school where you can see yourself not only succeeding academically but being happy as well. What that means and looks like is different for everyone. It takes self-reflection and honesty with yourself. I knew that being relatively close to home would be important for my happiness, as well as being at a school where I had the opportunity to know all of my classmates and faculty members on a more personal level.
One more thing! I recently was speaking with a physician who is involved in the admissions committee here at Mayo and he reminded a group of us that we aren’t here because of our MCAT scores or our GPAs. There were so many other applicants with similar numbers. According to him, we were chosen because of our social skills. Reflect on yours and how you can highlight them in relation to medicine!”
Blade
“I really liked traveling to areas of the US I had never been and interact with so many different people. I stayed some extra time in San Diego and New York when I had interviews there. With all the things that are pulling you this way and that, remember, you are a person first and a doctor second (you will be anyways). Rock your interviews, but enjoy the area too. This is an exciting time for you and your future. Don’t let it slip past trying to hustle to the next thing. Be present and you will not regret it.
Also, I reached out to a couple schools I had been invited to interview at because there were some scheduling conflicts or things that were going to make coming to the interview difficult (aka wife having a baby). They were more than willing to accommodate me and give me different days to interview on. Don’t be afraid to reach out to the schools if something comes up. I think you’ll be surprised how willing they are to help!”
Tyler
“Most interviewers are very kind people who simply want to have a conversation with you! In general, interviewers will try to make the experience enjoyable and stress-free. I never had an interviewer who was aggressive or intimidating in any way.”
For more med school interview tips, check out AAMC’s Medical School Interviews
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These aren’t interview tips though
I guess it depends on what your definition of a tip is then. If you read through all the responses I think you’ll find some very helpful tips in how to approaching a medical school interview. What kind of tips were you looking for?