Should I Look Up Who My Interviewers Are Before I Go?

Session 11

Some medical schools will tell you who is interviewing you. How much research should you do on your interviewers before your medical school interview?

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[00:24] The Medical Interview Standard Format

The standard format of a medical school interview is you’d be interviewed by 1-3 people. There may also be a student that’s interviewing you. And typically, a faculty member is also interviewing you.

This is separate from the MMI (Multiple Mini Interview) where a lot of faculty members are interviewing you over the course of several stations.

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[01:10] Should You Research Who’s Interviewing You?

Yes, you should look up who they are. Figure out the research they’re involved in, if there’s any. Find out what their background is. Maybe you went to the same undergrad then you can talk about that. See if they mention specifically about who they are or where they came from. See if there are any connections you can make with that person.

[01:35] The NO Part of the Answer

The ‘no’ part of the answer comes from understanding that who is interviewing you may change. So don’t be too prepared and then go in the room and ask a bunch of questions. Then you realize it’s somebody different. Now, you’re just thrown off your game. This would be very bad.

So if you find out who’s interviewing you beforehand, look them up. Do some research. Figure out who they are. See if there are any common connections that you can talk about. See what research they’re doing. Have an idea of things to talk about if it comes up in the interview.

Don’t expect that the person you did research on is going to be there. It may change. And if it does change, be prepared for it.

Don’t go in with any preconceived expectations.

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If you go in only prepared for that one person they told you is going to interview you and it turns out to be something different, that’s going to screw you up. Don’t let that screw you up. Go in prepared for everything. If it happens to be the person they told you about, great. If not, be ready for that as well.