encountered this disgusting ahh qn during interview prep and i'm like BITCH WDYM TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF? what do you want to know? my family background? MY STAR SIGN? MY ADDRESS? what colour socks i like to wear? my hospice volunteering? the time i poured maple syrup onto a chip and tried to eat it? MY SUBWAY ORDER? (it's always veggie delight, no tomatoes, honey mustard sauce and chilli)
TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT MYSELF goddamit it's not THAT hard ADJFIO;AEJGHIAORHGIERQHGPQIEROGH
Hi, ate. Ano-ano usually ang itinatatanong sa medschool interview? Thank you po!!
Hello! I don’t speak what I’d guess is either Filipino, Tagalog or Malay, but I’m hoping Google will help. Otherwise I might have to bribe one of my nurses with sweets to find out what this says XD
That’s not so bad. There might be differences i interview questions based on where you are, because different systems might put an emphasis on different things. But I’ll do my best to think of some general questions. To be fair, there are a LOT of potential questions.
Common questions for med school interviews:
Why medicine?
What made you choose our medical school?
Why not nursing?
Why not research?
Share an experience from school where you demonstrated team work?
Tell us about your work experience.
Medicine is stressful, how do you think you’ll cope?
You are in med school. One of your friends starts exhibiting the symptomsof depression/anxiety. What do you do?
Talk about an experience in which you showed leadership?
How have your extracurricular interests prepared you for med school?
You mentioned this book in your personal statement, what did you like about it?
Interview season is quickly approaching, and I know many of you are embarking on planes around the country to try to convince medical schools, law schools, residencies, and fellowships that you are the person for the job. I can’t tell you what they’ll ask you and I cant tell you how to answer, but I can give you my girls guide to packing for interview season:
Clothes:
Suit: During interview season you want to stand out for your thoughts, not your looks, go with a classic grey, navy, or black suit. Both pants and skirts are appropriate, I chose to have both for some variety. If you choose a skirt make sure your skirt hits below the knees and you bring a couple pairs of pantyhose incase one gets runs. Spend the money to get it tailored.
My biggest fashion pet peeve is when women don’t cut off the basting stitching to hold open pleats together, that little X of thread is only meant for the store, cut it please!
I’m on the smaller side and finding a cute petite suit cn be a challenge, I bought both my med school and residency suits from Ann Taylor’s petite section
2 Blouses: I suggest bringing 2 neutral blouses for under your suit jacket, make sure they are cut so that they show absolutely no cleavage, its a mans world out there, and while it might not be fair, you want to make sure your interviewers are concentrated on your thoughts not your looks.
Interview dinner attire: this one varies based on where you’re interviewing, and what you’re interviewing for. Its never a bad thing to ask what level of formality is appropriate if there is a pre or post interview dinner and you’re unsure, always err on the side of more formal, and even if the dress code is casual never show up in sweats
Comfy plane clothes: guys just because you have to look nice for the interview doesn’t mean you cant wear your comfiest clothes on the plane. Not gonna lie my go to is the following
leggings or stretchy jeans
a tshirt (that covers your butt iff you go the leggings route)
a blanket scarf ***this can double as a blanket on the plane for when the guy next to you decides to blast the AC, and makes you look like maybe you tried a little its a win-win. Im loving this one
a sweater because who knows what temperature its gonna ab on the airplane, and if nothing else it doubles as a pillow
Accessories:
Large tote: This is perfect to bring with you on interview day to load up with the little thing you need I have this one which is amazing because its reversible so you can change it up day to day.
Small handbag: I always stick a second little purse in my suitcase for sightseeing etc.
Heels: keep them neutral and modest.
Never, and I mean NEVER, wear shoes you cant walk in, its okay to do flats if your not good at walking in heels.
Flats: I always keep some neutral flats in my bag just in case theres a long tour and my feet start to hurt!
Modest make up: lets be real less is more.
Folio: Im loving this one
Umbrella: no matter where you go, if you don’t bring this its gonna rain
Okay so there you have it! My must haves for all your interviewing travels!
Hi, I'm in year 13 and I have applied for Medicine. I was just wondering what universities you applied and whether you had any advice or tips for interviews. Also, do you have any books or courses to recommend?
Hello!
I won’t publish on here which universities I applied to, but I attended 3 interviews: an MMI, and two traditional interviews.
I didn’t do well in the MMI, I don’t think they suited me because I was having to make an impression in a very short space of time and nerves got in the way as it was my first interview. My main tip would be don’t dwell on the other stations, focus on the one you’re in. the topics can be quite varied, be prepared for things like ethics, why you want to do medicine, they want to see how you communicate in the short space of time and build rapport. I’m sure if I did it again I’d do better but it was my first ever proper interview and I was terrified!
For ethical questions, there isn’t a right answer often, for example I got given a list of people eligible for a liver transplant and was asked to choose who to give the liver to. I was asked to explain and defend my choice, they want to see your application of principles rather than picking the right person. Have a look at the four principles of medical ethics to see what is considered when making ethical decisions like that.
Other examples can be a bit like the SJT part of the UKCAT, I got asked one question about what I would do if I knew one of my course mates turned up to placement drunk.
On the day, be organised and get there with plenty of time, it’s better to sit around waiting than be stressed that you’re not going to make it. There will probably be current students around, ask questions about the course and things, to make sure you feel like you would like to study there.
I didn’t do any that required a group discussion with other candidates, however I asked my friend who did and she said be friendly, don’t try and speak over everyone and communicate with them as if you were classmates. It’s easy to think that you need to look better than everyone else, but actually interviewers are looking for how well you interact with people that you will be working with.
I didn’t use any books, I went on the MedLink course at Nottingham university during my lower sixth year, which had a little bit of information about interviews but other than that I didn’t go on specific courses. My school were pretty good at organising interviews if you wanted one. If you can, practice with a teacher that you don’t know well, because then it feels more like an actual interviewer.
If anyone has any books or courses that they used/recommend then add them to this post!
i hope this helps, sorry the reply took a while I’ve been super busy! Any other questions just drop me a message :)
A year ago today, I found out that I was waitlisted at two of the med schools I interviewed at...and two days later, I found out that I was rejected from a third school post-interview.
And thus began four more months of waitlists and rejections and fear and disappointment and anxiety. Some of the toughest months of my life.
Never would I have imagined then that exactly a year later, I would be struggling...through my first midterm week, at one of the best schools in the country.
There are still so many moments when I think about how I can’t believe I actually made it. That no matter how hard or sad or lonely it might get...I am lucky beyond belief to be here, now and forever.
There were 18 interviewees, everyone was super nice. They don't do stress interviews and it's closed-file, so all the faculty interviewer gets is your PS, experiences, and secondary and all the student interviewer gets is your secondary.
The questions were all pretty standard, luckily I shared a common interest with my faculty member so we had a good conversation there. I did hear from one of the other interviewees though that her faculty member grilled her on her personal statement, but I think she was in the minority.
In all the day lasted from 9:00 am - 2:30 pm and was pretty jam-packed but very welcoming and informative. I can't wait to hear from them in a month-ish!!
