Today, we take a behind-the-scenes look at a mock interview with a student. At the end of the day, the medical school interview is just a conversation!
For more podcast resources to help you along your journey to medical school and beyond, check out Meded Media.
Listen to this podcast episode with the player above, or keep reading for the highlights and takeaway points.
So our student today who’s doing this mock interview with me got into medical school. At this point in the interview, the student was freezing because he was losing his thought. He felt stuck in his head thinking it’s like the actual thing.
“The reason you're doing a mock interview is to practice. Just understand that at the end of the day, this is just a conversation.”Click To TweetOur student noticed that his entire tone of the conversation shifted into a rehearsed response. It comes a little bit through practice, but it just comes through mindset.
Q: What do you think is the biggest problem with our healthcare system?
A: “What COVID has really brought me to be aware of is the lack of coverage so many people have, especially with their insurance that’s tied to employment. I think a big problem in the health care system is our insurance system. I think insurance has a large impact on choosing the treatments that people can get the medications that are covered, and the levels of treatment that are available for children and adults and elderly populations. I would like to see in the future, a system where we can expand coverage for every person. I think healthcare is a right that every person deserves. And I’ll be honest, I don’t have the answer to how that can be instituted right now. But I think that’s the direction I would hope our system moves to and or the system that I’m able to practice in my future.”
When I asked the student why he didn’t freeze on this one, he said there wasn’t that much pressure as compared to being asked “why do you want to be a doctor?” He just feels there’s too much pressure on such a question. And that’s because he feels his answer has to be something that sets him apart from everyone else.
As soon as you realize that you are one of tens of thousands of students interviewing and that your experiences are not special and that you are not special, what you say and what you have done aren’t any different. It doesn’t stand out.
And at the end of the day, what you need to understand is that you have the stats to get through this whole process. You’re smart enough to do it. You met some baseline level of genius there and that you have shown enough interest in this field to know what you’re getting yourself into.
You understand your journey and you’ve reflected on your journey. And that you’re someone cool they want to chat with for the next four years. That’s all there is. You’re not special.
You can be as conversational as possible, but the interviewer may still just ask question after question and you just have to be okay with that.
And the answer needs to be as long as it needs to be no longer. It’s going to be different for everyone.
And when asking about your top strengths. Having one or two in the back of your mind is getting into the weeds of everything. Don’t get nuanced in what you’re trying to think about and what you’re worried about. Just focus on the big picture.
Please reach out to me if this is something you’re interested in. I’m thinking about switching a lot of things up in the next few months so that I can help more students. I want to focus more on the content that I provide, which I’m currently doing with Mappd.
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I just received my admission to XXXXX! This is unreal and almost feels like I am dreaming. I want to thank you for all of your help with my application. I cannot overstate how influential your guidance and insight have been with this result and I am eternally grateful for your support!
IM SO HAPPY!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP, IM INDEBTED TO YOU! Truly, thank you so much for all your help. Thank you doesnt do enough.
I want to take a few moments and thank you for all of your very instructive, kind and consistent feedback and support through my applications and it is your wishes, feedback, and most importantly your blessings that have landed me the acceptance!
I got into XXXXX this morning!!!! It still has not hit me that I will be a doctor now!! Thank you for all your help, your words and motivation have brought me to this point.
I wanted to once again express my heartfelt gratitude for your help in providing feedback during my secondary applications. Your guidance has been instrumental in my journey.
Just wanted to share my wonderful news! I received my first medical school acceptance! Thank you for all that you do for us Application Academy!!!
I am excited to tell you that I just got my third interview invite from XXXXX today! I can’t believe it. I didn’t even know if I was good enough to get one, let alone three – by mid-September. Thank you so much for all of your help and support up to this point; I would not be in this position without it!!
I wanted to thank you for helping me prepare for my XXXXX interview. Even in a 30-minute advising session, I learned so much from you. Thank you for believing in me, and here’s to another potential success story from one of your advisees!
I just received an acceptance with XXXXX! This is so exciting and such a huge relief and so nice to have one of our top choice schools! I also received an interview with XXXXX which brings the total up to 20 interviews! Thank so much, none of this would have been possible without you!
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