Pre-Health Advisement

Admission Process - Medical School

The Interview

(NAAHP Health Professions Admissions Guide)

When a letter arrives inviting you to an interview, you have every reason to be exhilarated since most schools only interview a fraction of their applicants. Read the instructions that come with the invitation to the interview very carefully and respond promptly. Delaying your response or unsuccessfully putting off the interview may imply lack of interest in the school.

The interview is an opportunity for you to enhance and complete the picture of who you are, to show that you can think and speak clearly, and to illustrate how you form a relationship. At the same time, the school is trying to recruit really good candidates, and so you want to use the time to address any questions you have about the school. Not only is the interview your single most important opportunity to express or explain yourself to the admissions committee, it is also your opportunity to learn something firsthand about the institution.

At the interview, most schools use a one-to-one format, with one of more interviewers. A few schools use a committee interview, with three or four persons on the panel. Interviews are typically clinical faculty, basic science faculty, or students, especially where multiple interviews are the custom. These personal interviews are relatively unstructured and usually last from thirty minutes to an hour.

Interviewers will evaluate you with regard to several qualities, including:

• Your motivation: How strong is your desire for the chosen career?
• Your level of maturity and judgment
• Your intellectual curiosity: What is the evidence that you recognize the importance of life-long learning? How well do you learn from experience?
• Your interpersonal skills: Do you communicate with the interviewer easily and clearly? How well do you relate to the interviewer? What’s the evidence that you can work well with others? The interviewer will be interested in your ability to relate to, communicate with, and empathize with people from various cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Interview Tips:

• Important preparation for your interview is to think about your goals, strengths, weaknesses, and the information you most wish you communicate to the admissions committee. This preparation is of enormous help if your interviewer begins the session by saying “Tell me about yourself”.
• Learn about the school by looking at their website, reading their publications and by talking to students on that campus before your interview session. A common interview question is “Why are you interested in attending our school?”
• If possible, arrange to arrive at the school early enough to avoid stress and to look around and get a feeling for the campus.
• Maintain good eye contact. Display your best “professional manner”. Dress professionally but comfortably and remember that this is not the time to make a statement with your clothes, hairstyle, jewelry, etc. The most important thing to remember is to conduct yourself naturally and calmly. First impressions are important.
• Do not be reluctant to express your feelings during the interview. Don’t sound boastful, yet take the opportunity to make the committee aware of positive factors about you that would be difficult to present in any other way.
• It is highly suggested that you write a thank you note to the interviewer(s) after the interview.
• For more interview tips, visit the Student-Doctor Network’s Interview Advice Column.