refreshing inbox af...

I was reading a thread about how its much more competitive these days and it keeps getting harder. I think we all know this. Every year it gets more competitive. But what is the actual solution for this?

Give me ideas from serious answers to insane suggestions.

And I’m a female!

I work as a CRC and came in to do a visit with a pt and he goes “Oh finally! You must be the doctor!” I was like “oh, no. Thank you though I am flattered!!” And he was like “well you really fooled me.” Then he complimented my cadence and demeanor 🥺 Excuse me while I think about this interaction for the rest of the day 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Tis the season, so I thought this would be a good time to share my tips for acing your med school interview!

AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE AN INVITE:

First things first: book a date! Sooner is better. When it comes to time off work/school, generally ask forgiveness, not permission (unless there’s something really big you’d be missing that day). Triple check that you have the right date/time on your calendar (especially if the school is in a different time zone from you.) Then ask for time off, explaining that a certain school has offered you an interview on a particular date.

Your next (logistical) steps:

• Plan out the logistics of interview day. Do you have somewhere with strong wifi, good lighting, somewhere you won’t be disturbed? Does your background look okay? 
• Contingency plans:
  • Where would you go if that spot wasn’t available? Could you get there quickly?
  • What would you do if the wifi dropped? (E.g. are you prepared to quickly switch over to a phone hotspot?)
  • What would you do if you were interrupted? (You should have a sign on the door to minimize the odds of this.) Highly unlikely, but did in fact happen to me: what would you do if there was a fire drill? Or another crisis?
• Do you have something nice to wear? Have you thought about hair/makeup? Do you have any visible tattoos/non-ear piercings? Do you need a haircut?
  • Throughout the cycle, make sure you always have your interview outfit with you. I don’t care if it’s a holiday, a short trip - interview invites follow no rules and they will come when they come.
• Make sure your zoom is updated to the latest version. (This is your sign to do this now!)
• Check your application portal regularly - there may be forms to sign or info sessions to schedule before your interview date! They might not email you, so check at least (at least!) once per week up to your interview date.

FOR STANDARD (NON-MMI) INTERVIEWS: 

Normal ways to learn about the school:

• Skim their website, learn about their curriculum - don’t burn too much time doing this, it rarely comes up.
• If you’re interested in research, track down the names of a few PIs you’d consider working with if admitted. If you’re interested in community service, look up some orgs. Definitely know the name of their free clinic (if they have one).
• Many schools offer pre-interview info sessions, which are usually optional. Regardless of whether they track attendance, I figured it was worth an hour out of my evening to learn something about a school and potentially make a good impression, so I made a point of attending when possible.

My bizarre trick that ended up really paying off:

• I don't have any family members in medicine, so I felt that there was a lot of hidden curriculum I was missing. When I got my first interview invite, I reached out to a friend of a friend who was a current student at that school and learned a ton from our conversation - so as the ii's kept coming in, I kept reaching out to med students. I usually aimed for around 2-3 students per school.
• I generally reached out over LinkedIn. Use up all your free LinkedIn messages, and sign up for a premium free trial if needed. The LinkedIn messages you send them need to be short (200 character limit).
  • Here’s an example of one I sent to another alum from my school: "Hi! I'm a former [mascot] (class of 2024) applying to med school. I just got an interview invite from [school] for [date]! If you're available, I'd love to chat. My number is [X]. Thanks!"
  • This is not a script so much as a guideline. Ideally, make sure you mention some connection you have to the person. Definitely include your interview date to convey that sense of urgency.
  • Look for people from your undergrad, people who have worked the same jobs as you, won the same scholarships, played the same sport, etc - just about any connection is fair game! (See “The Strength of Weak Ties”)
• When you meet with them - this is your chance to get your questions answered! Come prepared with anything you’re curious about, whether that’s about interview strategy, the school itself, the transition to med school, anything on your mind. This is also your chance to ask questions about the school that you might be uncomfortable asking on interview day.
  • Remember - these are busy medical students! You’re asking for their time and offering nothing in return. Be polite! Make your gratitude clear!
  • Sometimes the students you meet with will offer to connect you with other current students/organizations - when in doubt (especially if there’s still lots of time before your interview), the answer is “that would be great, thank you so much!”
• Of all the questions I asked, these were the most high-yield (a term I fear is becoming a permanent fixture in my vocabulary). That said, there's no need to get through all of these, and feel free to add your own! Remember, the goal is to have a conversation where you learn something useful for interview day (and beyond), not a checkbox grill session.
  • (If you’re told in advance who your interviewers are) Do you recognize these names?
  • What is the institution most proud of about itself? (Useful for “why school” questions)
  • What do I need to know in order to sound like I did my homework about the school? (Translation: what’s important about the school that might not be front-and-center on their website?)
  • What about the school would you change if you could/did you have any hesitations about attending?
  • (If they’re a current student/applied relatively recently) How was your interview day? What is the style of the interview?
  • Why did you choose this school?
  • How are you being affected by *gestures vaguely* everything going on right now? (Translation: how’s your school’s federal funding doing? What's happening with vaccines/reproductive care/gender-affirming care and their ability to teach about it? How has the school been handling any protests? ICE? Or any other recent shake-ups and/or scandals?)
  • Other than finances, what do you think I should be weighing when choosing a school?
  • Was your interviewer matched with you based on your application?
  • (Last question) Anything else I should know? (They always say no - and then often share another nugget of info)
• Many students end the call with “reach out if you have more questions!” or something along those lines. One person even offered to have me crash on their couch if I ended up visiting! Make sure to jot this down in your notes! You may end up speaking with a lot of people - remembering who offered to tour you around campus, buy you a coffee, help you weigh your options, etc, will be very useful down the line
• In your interview, you can absolutely mention that you reached out to and met with current students! Independently meeting with students is not cheating - it's going above and beyond to (1) learn about the school and (2) demonstrate interest. Don't forget the names of who you spoke to, especially if you get a student interviewer (they're often curious, plus you'll get a chance to say nice things about their friends)

Practicing: you can start this step any time - even before you get an invite! 

Important questions to really nail (most important in italics):

• Tell me about yourself (no more than 2-3 min max)
• Why medicine? (Bonus question: why MD/DO, and why not NP/PhD/something else in science/healthcare?)
• Why are you interested in our school?
  • This is your chance to talk about the students you spoke to, the info sessions you attended, etc
  • This question is in large part a vibe-check. Are you clearly enthusiastic about the prospect of attending their school, or are you just blandly listing off some student orgs/electives/etc that you found on their website?
• Tell me about a time when you…
  • Faced/overcame a challenge
  • Had an ethical dilemma
  • Disagreed with someone (often the same as “ethical dilemma,” but worth prepping both)
  • Worked on a team
• Tell me about [an activity]
• Tell me about your research
  • Rarely asked, but usually blundered. Standard bad answer: "I pipetted this reagent into that reagent, and then I ran this assay, and at the end of it all I got a figure and it had four lines on it."
  • Use plain English and don't include extra details - I don't want to know the name of the alphabet-soup receptor you studied or the signaling molecule I could go my whole career without ever hearing about. Assume that, if your interviewer wants to know some specific detail about your methods, they'll ask.
  • My structure: basically an incredibly accessible abstract. (1) Open with the problem you're trying to solve/question you're trying to answer and why I should care about it. (2) Briefly (briefly!!) explain the methods and your role (lots of people forget to explain what they actually did). (3) Briefly explain the results and why they're interesting/exciting. Also mention any posters/pubs/awards/etc. (4) Wrap up with future directions and/or big takeaways either for this research or for you as a researcher
• How do you de-stress/tell me about a hobby
• Describe your ideal career
• What’s the biggest issue in medicine today? (Bonus question: and what needs to be done to address this issue?)
  • If there's one specific type of inequity you wrote about in your application, you should be especially prepared to answer this question
  • You’re not being asked to solve inequality, just be able to talk intelligently about a complex issue
• Questions for me?
  • This will almost certainly be the last question they ask - and you do need to have prepared questions!
  • For interviewers who weren't students (faculty, adcoms, random people filling in), my go-to first question was "what's your role in the medical school?" Then I could ask questions from there - "so what do you hope your students take away from their EM rotation?" "How do you feel about X new change in your field?" etc
  • Let go of the idea that you're asking questions to learn something. You're asking questions so your interviewer gets a chance to talk about something they're passionate about, and so they leave the interview with a positive impression of you. If you met this person at a dinner party, what would you ask them about their life?
  • Do not ask questions like "can you tell me about this one random club/lab/etc you've probably never heard of?" You can absolutely ask hard questions - but don't just ask questions for the sake of asking them. “What is your medical school most proud of about itself” often went over well and got thoughtful, informative, non-rehearsed answers.
  • My very last question was usually "can I get your email address so I can send you a thank-you note?" They almost always say yes, but some will ask you to send notes through the admissions office instead.

There are infinite lists of interview questions on the internet. I wasted a ton of time on them before realizing they were pretty useless since they were all variations on the same few questions anyways. Specifically, there are hundreds of versions of “tell me about a time when…” - but you really only need a handful of stories at the ready (the ones I listed above)

You can outline (outline! NOT script) in a google doc, but you'll see the most improvement from practicing OUT LOUD, ideally without your notes. So many things look okay in a google doc but sound dumb when you say them out loud. Practice in the shower, practice with your voice memos app, practice with your family/friends, practice with your cat - just make yourself actually say the words.

FOR MMI INTERVIEWS:

Practicing:

• Suggested viewing - 10 min background on MMI (I have no affiliation with Dr. Ryan Gray): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjgJJtPNeiY
• There are tons of MMI (multiple mini-interview) scenario compilations online - I’d suggest practicing talking through some of them, on voice memos. It will be painful to listen to these. It’s worth doing.
• The most common weakness applicants have is inability to fill the time (generally 6-8 minutes). I’d aim to be comfortable speaking for 3-5 minutes, with the assumption that you’ll get asked follow-up questions by your interviewer.
  • One thing that’s important to know is if the interviewers are instructed to ask follow-up questions if you finish early, or if they’ll just stare at you awkwardly until the timer runs out. You can generally find this info on SDN or by asking (or, better yet, letting someone else ask) on interview day
  • Also find out if you’re allowed to take notes - someone more neurotic than you will likely ask this on interview day
• Tracking down current students isn’t quite as important for this - but still worth considering meeting with 1-2 people so you have a sense of what you’re walking into

My structure for answering an MMI question:

• Briefly (briefly!) restate the scenario (1-2 sentences max) - sometimes this is an item on the rubric so worth doing
  • "In this scenario, I'm the doctor for a patient who doesn't want a flu shot"
• If relevant, talk about the bioethical principles in conflict, and why
  • "Here, the principles of beneficence and autonomy are in conflict. As the physician, I want what's best for the patient's well-being - I want them to have a lower risk of catching the flu. But autonomy states that the patient should be able to make their own medical decisions and choose whether or not to consent to treatment, even if their providers disagree with them."
• Lead with empathy, especially for scenarios around inequity/super painful decision-making
• Leave your assumptions at the door. You usually don't have enough info to take a solid stance - you need to fill in some blanks to answer the question. But you need to explicitly say what blanks you're filling in! This is where you use lots of if/then statements. Lots of applicants mess this up.
  • If the patient doesn't believe that vaccines work, then...
  • If the patient is concerned about side effects, then...
  • If the patient is uninsured and worries they can't afford the vaccine, then...
  • If the patient is afraid of needles, then...
  • (and so on)
• Tie-up: don't just stop talking after you run out of if-thens. Wrap up with some sort of bigger-picture conclusion, whether that's about the empathy you feel for everyone in a very difficult situation, the principles in conflict, the need for more equitable healthcare access, etc.
• Note: know your audience, especially for highly political questions. Talking about abortion access, immigration status, vaccines/masking, etc might get very different reactions depending on who your interviewer is. If your school is in a purple/red area, tread carefully.

ALL INTERVIEW TYPES:

On the day of:

• Make sure you’re well-rested for your interview and eat a good breakfast! 
• As for caffeine: I always felt too jittery even without caffeine, but if you’re not functional without it, it’s ok to have caffeine. You know your body best - just make sure to account for the interview day nerves
• Bring your government-issued photo ID. Only one of the 22 interviews I attended asked for it (Stanford), but worth having just in case. Have your AAMC ID number on hand as well
• Plug in your laptop! Earbuds on hand in case there’s an audio issue. Phone on do not disturb (but nearby in case there’s a zoom issue!)
• Put up a sign on your door - “med school interview, done at X o’clock.” 
• How’s your wifi? Do you need to use your hotspot? How does your lighting look?
• Show up early! (5-10 min should be okay)
• Snacks and water at the ready (do NOT eat on camera, even if they say they won’t judge. Water is okay)
• Do not have your notes up during the interview! The only acceptable notes to have is a list of the names of the students you spoke to, if relevant (if you’re worried you’ll forget their names)
• There will likely be an icebreaker and/or “fun fact” question with the other applicants. This is low-stakes. Don’t overthink this
• There will also likely be a few hours of info sessions/student panels. They will likely be a bit boring. Pay attention, ask good questions if you have them - don’t dominate the conversation, but it’s worth making your voice heard if you have something constructive to say/ask - you are probably being assessed by the adcoms
• Do your best to make “eye contact” with the interviewer - this means you should look at the camera, not your interviewer's face! (It helped me to put their zoom box near the top of the screen)
• Remember, that adrenaline you’re feeling isn’t anxiety - it’s excitement! You’re confident, you’re calm, you’re excited to be there! Breathe. Smile. You’ve got this!
• Before leaving, check in with the adcom/administrator in the main zoom room that you’re good to go, and make sure to thank them for inviting you

Post-interview:

• If thank you notes for your interviewers aren’t explicitly not allowed, I’d send them - it’s just the nice thing to do. Ideally, they should be personalized (referencing something from your conversation) and reiterate your interest in the school. Will your note move the needle? Probably not. But your interviewers are largely volunteers and they deserved to be thanked for their time.
• Definitely thank all the students who helped you prep for your interview! (A quick text/email/LinkedIn message will do)
  • Let them know if you get in/get waitlisted too! They could be valuable resources and they deserve gratitude for their role in your application cycle

FAQ:

• How did your app cycle go?
  • Here’s my Sankey from the 2024-2025 cycle.
• Can you do a mock interview with me?
  • Unfortunately as an M2 I no longer have the bandwidth to mock interview redditors like I did back when I was applying, but I'm happy to answer quick questions. In my cycle I did a handful of mock interviews with fellow applicants I met over r/premed, which I'd highly recommend.

For those who don't already have enough anxiety in their lives

Here are the most difficult questions I got asked during my interviews:

• "It's clear you're incredibly intelligent. And I'm sure that's not the case for all of your classmates. I guess I'm just curious - what is it like for you? You spend all your time being around all these classmates who just can't keep up with you. It must be incredibly frustrating to be around people who are just... slow"
  • This felt super rehearsed - I think it was the adcom's way of screening out people who thought they were god's gift to premed
  • I was definitely a bit flustered but I tried to respond with humility. I talked about how we all have strengths and weaknesses and I don't think I'm any better than my classmates, adding that if I found it frustrating to be around people who didn't understand scientific concepts then I wouldn't have worked as a science tutor
• "When I interviewed here a few years back, I'd already been to a few other interviews and was sitting on a T10 A, so I straight-up asked my interviewer why I should choose this school instead of the one I already got into. So if you're considering any other schools, I'd be happy to talk it through with you and help you weigh your choices"
  • Felt like a genuine offer from a student interviewer who was a very kind person (and a huge help to me in weighing my options after I was accepted) - but that question also felt like a trap
  • I responded by thanking them and reiterating my interest in their school. Displaying anything other than excitement about the school I was interviewing at felt risky
• "Why didn't you say anything on your application about being URM? What do you mean you're not URM? Of course you are. What country did your parents immigrate from? What's their immigration status? Anyways, you should check out this program at my school for URM students."
  • There are lots of questions that are wildly inappropriate for an interviewer to ask. You should not expect them. But you should probably prepare for them anyways
  • AAMC page on inappropriate interview questions, with some examples and advice on how to respond

Good luck!! I'll do my best to answer any questions!

Guys help. I just did a 7 station MMI interview for a school and I was actually doing decent until the last two. My stutter, which I haven't really stuttered since 4th grade after 3 years of speech therapy, came back in full force. It took me like 4 minutes to say something that should've been 2.5 max omgggg. The very last one was literally a sell yourself one (and they told you ahead of time so I prepared), but I completely blew up that one even though it was THE most important one. He asked me "what are the strengths you'll bring" and I started saying some dumb shit about building inclusive communities and taking initiative omg. And this was after a 15 second pause.

Gotta lock in for the next one ig, but hot damn am I mad at myself

I can't figure out how to answer this.

My cars score is a 124, I suppose I could talk about that?

I’m writing 3-4 secondaries/day right now because I applied late and im genuinely so nauseous like I can barely eat any food and feel like vomiting all the time 😭😭

Do you go for an SMP? Straight apply? Cry and die? cGPA is over 3.0 (before and after postbac because of excessive units) but I believe sGPA will be screened at 3.0 too. Applying to both MD (lol) and DO. Mathematically very difficult to raise a ~2.56 sGPA (3.9 GPA in postbac so far) with a double major and a lot of young adult BS-ery 10-15 years ago.

Tbh I'm almost done with secondaries but im not really applying to a bunch. Only 19, both MD and DO. I'm from Florida, but my 507 MCAT isn't exactly close to the median at most med schools here so i doubt i get into an MD program. I just feel like im donating money to some of these programs like Penn State too cuz I just feel like the most generic asian applicant for these programs and i dont qualify for FAP.

And then for DO schools, i just look at the COAs to attend, like NYIT, and I realize maybe I won't be able to even afford to do it with private loans. I doubt im gonna get a good interest rate despite my credit score but no cosigner either. I'm really praying I get into my local DO school (unfortunately new and for profit but i guess i dont have to move or anything) or one of the few cheap MDs in my state. And please don't tell me to serve in the millitary; I refuse to do so in this climate.

And then, I go on admit.org and see so many people apply to 40 plus schools to a bunch of reaches despite their stats. idk their full story but man sometimes i realize how poor i am compared to other people applying.

Are there any high stat individuals out here (MCAT 519+) that just do not get interviews from top Texas schools as a Texas resident? What do you think was the reason?

Basically the title, every single thing I’ve read and seen online about interviews say they will always ask you the 3 basic questions which is tell me about yourself, why medicine, why this school. The only question of those 3 I was asked was tell me about yourself. Idk if I’m just tripping cause this was my first ever interview but I’d say it went fairly well. Has anyone also had this? Thank you in advance.

Why haven’t they hired more people to handle the amount of people who submit early? I feel like it’s the same problem every single year. I submitted 6/21 and got verified MID AUGUST which basically delayed when I submitted my secondaries.

If you’re applying next year, submit your application the FIRST DAY bc I don’t expect amcas to change their process any time soon.

I wish I could use the shitpost flair for this but I would like others to heed my warning. I got an email today from MSU COM reminding me to submit my application which I thought was odd because I did at the end of July. I paid the application fee but did not hit submit. The same with two other schools that used AMP as the application portal.
I now have put myself back at the end of a thousand applicant line just for not double checking if my applications had submitted. I could have potentially had more than one interview invite by now if I hadn’t messed this up. Please double check your initial applications to make sure you don’t make the same mistake i did
Also: Because I can already imagine a comment asking why didn’t I look out for the confirmation email. Once again, these were the first three schools I applied to and never realized that was a thing. I also took the email for confirmation of payment as the confirmation of submission. I never knew they were two separate emails😭😭

I got an interview at Frank H Netter Quinnipiac recently, and not only is it one of my favorite schools, it also apparently has a really high post-II acceptance rate.

According to this: https://med.admit.org/school-rankings/quinnipiac-university

They accept 89% of people they interview in-state, 40 offers made to 45 students interviewed. I am just slightly above the 10th percentile of both MCAT and GPA, and thought it was gonna be a long shot because of that but I am also a clear mission fit for this program.

Do you guys believe this is correct or am I getting my hopes up too much?

For UCLA COVID-19 secondary, do you think its ok if it did not have an impact on my path to medical school, to just be honest and say that? It occurred during my Junior and Senior year of high school and while I missed out on things, my desire to attend medical school developed during my Senior year of college, so it did not really impact things.

I have currently submitted 29/36 med schools in this list. I have the following remaining: rutgers, wisconsin, quinnipac, sunny upstate, pittsburgh, tulane, and oakland...

i am already verified and wanted to ask if this was a good list (and I should just work on them and call it quits) or add more schools to work on.

515 mcat, 3.79 gpa, have instate ties to new jersey and philadelphia

I’m currently 24 working in the medical device industry in orthopedics, specifically product management. I’ve learned a tremendous amount about the business/operational side of healthcare through my role. However, I know my true passion is delivering healthcare more directly, physician to patient.

I studied biology in undergrad and finished with a 3.81. Im currently studying for my MCAT and hope to take it early next year to potentially apply in May given I like my score. I’ll need both volunteer and clinical hours, how have others accomplished that while working full time (when your job doesn’t already count for hours)? Regular hospital volunteer networks? Weekend scribing? I’d love to hear more ideas and any advice from those who switched from big industry into medical school.

Schools that I have submitted secondaries are saying I did not submit my committee letter so I reached out to the premed committee and they said one of my letter writers did not sign the letterhead (who ofc is not responding to them and already submitted so late for me), they think I should go ahead and send the letter without her because it is already this "late in the cycle." I am texting the doctor again today but idk how much longer to wait

However, i wrote one of my most meaningful activites about my experience with this doctor and in my personal statement, and she already wrote an entire letter of rec, just won't respond about signing it :( What should i do??

1. Patient Transporter: 20 min drive from house, don’t think I’d be able to get a good letter of recommendation, universally seen as clinical
2. Human Services Aide: 25 min drive from house, old supervisor who would be willing to write a good LoR, not sure if it’s seen as super ‘clinical’

I’d be helping people with psych diagnoses in an open facility with med management under nurses, ADLs, etc.

Any advice is appreciated! :)

I only have 180 clin hours, rest of app is very solid

i know people recommend having a LOR from someone who’s seen you in a clinical setting, would an NP count for this? my clinical position is pretty much exclusively overseen by nurses and i have a pretty good relationship with one of them and he offered to write me a letter, is this ok or is it recommended to get an MD letter for MD schools? tysm and good luck to everybody!!

I have lots of different opportunities for volunteering where I would rack up a lot of hours. Is it better to have just a few dedicated posts or a larger spread. (Think 2-3 different posts vs 5-6)

Hi!!

This is gonna sound really dumb but pls advise

So I submitted my applications and have all my secondaries in, and I just got an offer for an unpaid dolphin training internship (4 months)…. So I guess my question is, would it be stupid to take it? Obviously there is the I will be making no money issue if I take it, but I am also worried that if I get interviews (or don’t and then have to reapply) they will be like why tf were you training dolphins for 4 months….

I am mostly concerned bc I have 6months of experience at a vet hospital bc I was contemplating that as a career path, but ultimately decided on this… I have lots of human clinical experience (6months as a pct and now over a year as an MA), but I don’t want them to think that because I take this I am more interested in animal medicine…. Also with this experience there will be opportunities to contribute to/ learn about marine research (which in a sense helps human health if you think about the interconnectedness of everything)….

I feel like my application is solid with 519/3.9, well over 1000 clinical hours (probably over 2000 at this point) and 4 years of volunteer with underserved kids every weekend during undergrad… My week spot is definitely my research, but beyond working on a lot review I wasn’t really making strides on that anyway….

If I’m being honest I only want to do this because I think it would be really cool and fun, but I don’t want it to hurt my application or make me look like I actually want to be a vet… thoughts??

For schools that like a lot of service/volunteering, do they specifically want non-clinical volunteering or do they include clinical volunteering in what they’re looking for?