If you are looking to go to med school, you need to make sure that you’re prepared for your interview. Interviews can be scary, daunting processes that are feared by many grad school applicants. If you are reading this article though, you’re well on your way to preparing to ace your med school interview!
Remember that preparing for a med school interview can take a lot of time and practice; do not expect to be ready for your interview overnight. Take your time and do your research so that you can present yourself as the strongest possible applicant for your chosen med school program.
Take a Blueprint MCAT Course
One of the best ways to prepare for your med school interview is by taking a Blueprint MCAT course. Blueprint is a company that provides materials to students that are preparing for graduate school. Taking their MCAT course will help you get an amazing score on your MCAT exam, boosting your chances of admission and giving you an edge during your interview.
If you take a course and can boast an impressive MCAT score during your interview, the admissions staff performing your interview will be much more likely and willing to offer you admission to your chosen graduate school.
Stay informed about current medicine
The field of medicine and healthcare is always changing — and changing fast. As a potential graduate student, it is important to stay up to date on the latest trends, theories, and studies happening in your field so you can show the individuals performing your interview that you have extensive knowledge of your field before you have even begun your graduate program.
Admissions staff are much more likely to consider an applicant if they demonstrate that they already have some knowledge of their field. Show them that you are familiar with the specifics of your program so that you come across as an active student who takes their education seriously. You could even try to read medical journals and studies published by the school you are applying to. Showing the interviewer that you’re familiar with the work that that school has done shows that you’ve done thorough research on the program you’re applying for, making you a much stronger applicant to your chosen med school.
Have a thorough application — and study it!
Having a strong application when applying for graduate school is important. Remembering what you put on your application is even more important. When preparing for your interview, you should anticipate that the interviewer is going to ask you about the information you have provided for your application. It might not look too good to an interviewer if you aren’t sure what you included on your application, so make sure you’re familiar with all of the ins-and-outs of what you wrote.
Keeping that in mind, remember that it also probably is not the best idea to lie on your graduate school application. If the interviewer suspects that there may be some misleading or inaccurate information on your application, they could ask you for specific details that could trip you up and make the interviewer suspicious of your application. Make sure that you stay transparent and honest on your application to make sure that you do not get caught up in a lie.
Research your school’s interview process
If you’re stuck wondering about how you should prepare for your med school interview, you should look online at what other people have said about interviewing at your school. Online, you can find many places where people have shared thoughts on their experiences getting interviews for med school.
If you look into the experiences that other people have had, you can go into your interview with a pretty good idea of the kinds of questions you might be asked. Make sure you have answers for the most common questions that interviewers ask med school applicants so that you can feel confident about your chances at getting into your chosen med school program.
Ask Important Questions
Going into your interview, try to think of it as a conversation. You need to ask questions to keep that conversation going. Don’t ask basic questions that could be gathered from the school’s website or try to make small talk about the weather or your drive to the school; ask questions that show you are a driven, motivated learner. You should ask about specific members of the faculty in your program or the kinds of research that the faculty is doing. Asking these kinds of questions shows that you are actually interested in the program and have a passion to learn.
Make a Strong First Impression
Making a good first impression sets the tone for the rest of your interview. You should come across as confident and eager to be a student in your chosen program. Look professional, and make sure that you are behaving professionally with your interviewer. You should maintain eye contact with your interviewer, speak confidently and avoid interrupting or speaking over other applicants or the interviewer.
Try to make a connection with the person conducting your interviewer. They are human too, and they aren’t there to make your life difficult by giving you an impossible interview. Taking some time to get to know your interviewer can go a long way in making you come across as a strong med school applicant.
Conclusion
Preparing for a med school interview can be scary and confusing. Just remember that it is important to stay informed about the latest trends and studied in your field and that it’s important to take the time to research the school you’re applying for. Learn what interviews look like at your school and learn the kinds of questions you are likely to be asked. Prepare answers for the most common questions you can find and come prepared with the knowledge of your application itself. Do all of this, and make a strong impression with your interviewer, and you’re a shoo-in for your med school program.
