Episode 11: Preparing for Medical School Interviews

In this episode, Katie and Rebecca discuss how to prepare for the medical school interview. 

Explore all Hidden Curricula Episodes

Transcript for Hidden Curricula Episode 11

Preparing for Medical School Interviews

Rebecca: Welcome to Hidden Curricula, a podcast exploring aspects of preparation for professional schools that may not be obvious or common knowledge. We will delve into topics of concern for undergraduates and discuss questions that relate to professional school applications. My name is Rebecca Curtin. 

Katie: And I'm Katie Wang.

Rebecca: We are two of four pre professional advisors at Stanford University. Our group works with students who are interested in professional fields such as law, education, business, and medicine.  

Katie: This podcast is not meant to be advice, like we might give to our students, but rather to shed some light on how an advisor might approach various situations and level the playing field for all applicants. Hi, Rebecca. 

Rebecca: Hi, Katie. 

Katie: Today's episode is about interviews. So why don't we start with a little, tell me about yourself.  

Rebecca: This is a great question. However, I don't think our listeners really want to learn about me today. I think they want to know more about professional school interviews.  

Katie: You're probably right about that. And for the purposes of today's episode, we're going to mostly be talking about interviews for medical school programs. Much of this information can also be applied to dental programs. So we're going to assume that our listeners are tuning into this episode because of an upcoming interview and today we are focused on learning more about an MD, MD PhD, or maybe a dental school interview. 

Rebecca: And for a medical school application topic, this one is complex. So just putting it out there early that we will try to delve into many topics related to the interview, but we will most certainly not cover everything today. So first things first. Why do medical schools interview their candidates?  

Katie: I like to think of the primary application. So when I say primary application, I mean  AMCAS, AACOMAS, TMDSAS,  the primary application of the medical school application process as the why of medicine step.  Generally for all programs, the applicant is trying to address Why they want to go to medical school. For the secondaries, it's really about why that particular school, the applicants are submitting information that a specific school is interested in knowing. Applicants should take time and care to answer the secondaries with the specific school in mind. So that brings us to the interview step, which is about fit. Now, the idea of fit. It goes both ways between a medical school and an applicant, even though it might not always feel that way from the applicant's perspective. 

Rebecca: Yeah, you and the medical school ideally should be a good fit for one another.  

Katie: Yes, and to determine this, do you, as the applicant, feel comfortable talking with members of this medical school community?  Are you eager to learn more about the program and its support for students? Does the program offer you what you are looking for in your medical school education? These questions are really important for all prospective medical students, and especially so for the MD PhD applicants. That particular dual degree program is very long and it can be quite challenging, so it's really important to feel like it's a great fit.  And for the interviewer, did they get a sense that the applicant would be a good fit for the program? Can they picture this applicant as a future colleague? Does the applicant in the interview match the one they liked so much on paper?  Are they easy to talk to? Interesting, thoughtful in how they respond to questions. The interview might provide a time for applicants to communicate information about themselves that they haven't already. And it might also allow time for the applicant to get some questions answered, too. 

Rebecca: So it sounds like we're describing what the role of the interview is in the overall process, correct? 

Katie: Yes, that's right. 

Rebecca: And let's orient ourselves in time. The interview happens after the primary and secondary application components have been received and initially reviewed. As we outlined in our medical school application timeline episode, this can be as early as August or as late as March. So the interview season goes on for many months. In many ways, this is a very challenging part of the process. Because interview invitations can really come at any time during that window. It's hard to wait for news. But preparing for the interview is one way you can keep yourself occupied. 

Katie: So far in today's episode, we've covered interview timing, and we covered the purpose of the interview. But let's get to the question that's probably on our listeners' minds. What is the interview really like? 

Rebecca: It's a great question, and maybe a bit of history would be helpful. So before the COVID-19 pandemic, the medical school interview was an on site, full day experience. Included in the day may have been a short presentation or orientation to the program, a campus tour, and often a meet and greet event that was a more casual way to get to know some members of the school community. These days, it may still be a full day or even longer, but most medical school interviews have almost entirely become and remain virtual. Yes, an outcome of the many changes the pandemic brought to us. Now, this new interview approach can have pros and cons. The pros, it can be a huge time and money saver to not have to travel around the country to interview, sometimes even at the last minute. What are the cons? A virtual interview means not being able to be on campus and see the location and meet people in person. The virtual landscape can also make getting a sense of the school, its people, and its broader community significantly more difficult. And maybe we should note that many programs have acknowledged this and may offer opportunities for accepted applicants to come visit. We sometimes call this a second look, or an admitted student's weekend. So it's often possible to still visit the campus before committing to a program, even if the interview is virtual.  

Katie: Mm hmm. Okay. So back to interviews. These are almost all virtual now, as Rebecca mentioned, but there is some variation on what form they come in, though they generally will come in a few standard formats. So Rebecca, tell us a little bit about some of the formats that our listeners might expect. 

Rebecca: Yes, so first there are what we call traditional interviews. Again, there is always some variation here. But in general terms, you may have one to two traditional interviews scheduled as part of an interview day at a given school. Usually, but not always, this is a conversation between one interviewer and one applicant. The length might vary from around 30 minutes to an hour or so, and the interviewer may be a faculty member or a current student or a member of the admissions team. This format can include the open ended tell me about yourself prompt to you ask me at the top of the episode, Katie. It may also ask more specific questions of you or about your application materials. The beauty of traditional interviews is that they can feel like a conversation and they can be practiced, since there are often similar types of questions to prepare for. The other main type of interview for medical school admissions is called the multiple mini interview or the MMI. These are generally a series of stations that applicants will rotate through. Now, each station has a prompt that requires an applicant to think about a complex scenario and then discuss with an interviewer how they might approach it. These aren't really meant to be prepared for. But it's good to understand the format and to know a bit about how you might approach crafting a response in that moment. The format itself is usually around a 2 minute time window to review the prompt, followed by an 8 minute response time, so about 10 minutes per station, though this can vary quite a bit. Each applicant goes through multiple rounds, getting rated for each station separately, so hence the multiple mini interview name.  The idea behind this is that your score may be less reliant on your connection with any given interviewer, since you will see many of them over the course of the entire circuit. 

Katie: So to summarize, the MMI interview type is a series of stations of about 10 minutes each. An applicant would go through each station and each station would be scored independently with a new reviewer. 

Rebecca: Yes, and to clarify, MMI style interviews don't really have the space to provide updates or ask questions, right? 

Katie: Right, at least not in the MMI station part. There may be a hybrid format to allow for these types of items, or maybe even a separate opportunity for questions or to provide updates to the application. 

Rebecca: Okay, so we've talked about interview timing and what the format might be like. Let's talk a bit about preparation. 

Katie: Such an important part of the interview. 

Rebecca: It is. 

Katie: This is yet another aspect of the hidden curricula we are hoping to uncover with this podcast. Some applicants may suspect that if the written application is done, the work is done.  But we would definitely recommend that students prepare as well as they can for this part of the process. If you've got an interview, this is a really exciting moment. You've made it this far. Your application materials are really compelling. They are interested in you and want to get a chance to learn more. Because the two types of interviews are so different, let's take them one at a time. Rebecca, take it away. 

Rebecca: Okay, so this time let's start with the MMI, since this is often a source of anxiety for applicants and is probably a less familiar format than a traditional interview is. Now the key with preparing for the MMI is to familiarize yourself with the types of questions you may be asked. There are zillions of sample MMI prompts online. Practice responding to a few using the timing you will be given. See what that timing feels like. Record yourself responding or practice with a friend or advisor. Have a visualization for your time between stations to clear your mind and recenter your attention on the next task. The key is not to get derailed by a particularly challenging question, but rather to be able to roll on to the next. Remember, each station is a new chance to nail a response. So believe it or not, many applicants leave finding the MMI to have been fun and maybe even more fair than a traditional interview. One reason for this is that the MMI feedback consists of not just one or two interviewers, but a whole group of raters. So if one station goes poorly, it's just a small piece of the overall interview. There's effectively a blank slate to be filled at every MMI station. Each station is evaluated independently. And this allows a school to be more confident in the overall performance of the interviewee, since feedback will be from many sources across many different topics. Another reason why MMI is popular is that it prompts an interviewee to unpack their thought process about a certain topic.  So let's say an MMI prompt presents a complex dilemma. It's not necessarily just the answer that matters, but rather what thought process the interviewee, you, went through to get to the answer. Clear communication is so important for MMI. 

Katie: And while MMI prompts can't be practiced ahead of time in the same way that traditional interview questions can, it is still a good idea to learn about what issues could come up in an MMI prompt and to start considering how you might structure an answer.  Perhaps you might want to identify the prompt. Maybe any stakeholders that are part of this prompt, possible perspectives that could be at play. What might you offer? What decision might you come to? Try to keep communication clear and concise, but not so concise that you don't fully explain your reasoning. 

Rebecca: Mm hmm. Now, even if an MMI interview is the format indicated, it's still a good idea to brush up on conversation skills and hone an answer to common questions like, tell me about yourself. Get your notes out and remind yourself of why you applied to this program in the first place. Have several reasons why you think the school is a good fit for you. Why are you interested in the programs they offer?  It's also a great idea to come to any interview with questions. After all, questions help you determine whether this is the school you want to spend the next several years attending. And great questions can help you showcase your level of interest in the program. Maybe one day we will do an entire episode on what questions to ask. But even for an MMI doing this basic level of preparation can help get you in the mindset for that particular school. 

Katie: So we've discussed tips for preparing for an MMI style interview, where for a traditional interview, you're probably going to be asked questions like, why are you interested in medicine? Why did you apply to our program? What are some of your strengths? Do you have any weaknesses? So it's good to make a list of questions that seem like reasonable ones and then spend a little bit of time practicing. You can search a bit online for some interview prompts and your pre health advising office may be able to help you brainstorm a list of questions, too. Once you have a list, you should carefully consider what you might answer. I prefer to brainstorm ideas rather than full sentences. And this is because you can't always predict what question they might ask or the order they might ask the question in. So I think that just brainstorming some ideas helps me be a little bit more flexible in how I might think about it. 

Rebecca: Yeah, agreed. Good old fashioned index cards can be a great thing to use for brainstorming. As long as you don't use them in the actual interview. Now you won't be able to predict every question, so you want to be flexible during the interview and not get flustered when the interviewer doesn't ask the exact question you practiced. But having some general ideas in mind is a good place to start. And then, adapting your answer to the question during the interview will be easy. 

Katie: Great point.

Rebecca: Any strategies, Katie, for when they ask you something totally unexpected? 

Katie: Well, try practicing with a friend or your advisor and see if they can ask you some unexpected questions. Like most things, the more you practice, the better you get at interviews. And the more comfortable, you'll probably feel. So practice, practice, practice. Oh, and remember to read through your application materials before the interview, since an open file interview may base questions on your application. 

Rebecca: Mm hmm. 

Katie: I tell my students that I like to practice presentations and answering questions by walking around outside. Hopefully, I'm doing this where I'm out of earshot of others. Uh, but I like to practice speaking my answers aloud. It does feel a little bit weird when I'm doing this, sure, but I realized many years ago that I sound really good in my head. But when I try to speak the same thoughts out loud, it comes out all jumbled, at least at first. But it seems to get better when I spend some more time practicing. 

Rebecca: Let's talk virtual conversations for a minute here. Now that interviews are mostly virtual, what tips do you have for our listeners about how to connect with an interviewer through the screen.

Katie: Hmm. This is a skill that takes practice, too. So let's start with some basics. You know the little light at the top of the computer screen?

Rebecca: You mean the camera?  

Katie: Yes, the camera. For the interview, you want to try to look at the camera when you're talking, not at the ceiling or the wall or the picture of your face. But you really want to look at that camera. I find this really, really hard to do personally when I'm trying to do this. I find it difficult, especially if it's for a long time. But looking at the camera gives the impression that you're looking at the interviewer.  

Rebecca: Good tip. Some programs, and now every school is probably going to use a slightly different program to conduct a virtual interview, but sometimes you can even move the self view up towards your own camera, which can help you, if you're anything like me, keep your eyes toward that little green light  and make sure that your face is fully visible for them too.  

Katie: Yes and smile, be friendly. Try to show emotion. Show appropriate emotion. Obviously don't describe a serious situation with a big smile that likely won't go well.

Rebecca: And make sure the lighting in the room you're in is good. No backlighting. 

Katie: And make sure you're in a quiet space. If you happen to share a room or you're worried that the door to the room you're in might open, put a note on the door to let someone know that the room is in use and that you need some privacy so you don't get an unexpected visitor during your interview. 

Rebecca: Check your internet connection ahead of time. Make sure any necessary software is working. 

Katie: What about clothing? This was something that was a very big topic when interviews were in person. For virtual interviews, what should an interviewee wear? 

Rebecca: Now, and we love to be fashion consultants, so feel free to run this by your pre medical advisor too. But the dress should be similar to what you might wear if the interview were in person. So this is what might be worn in a professional, mostly dressy workplace, including possibly a suit, perhaps with a jacket and tie. No t-shirts, no ripped clothing. Keep any jewelry minimal so that it's not distracting. Make sure your hair is not covering your face, or if you have a tendency to play with your hair, make sure you pull it back.  And though the camera will probably be on the upper half of your body, dress formally from head to toe, that makes it feel real and guards against not being able to get up for some reason during the interview because you've still got your PJ pants on. 

Katie: Very good point. Good reminder. 

Rebecca: We wouldn’t want that.

Katie: So we've already indicated that you should consider what questions to ask the interviewer. So make sure you prepare those in advance. Take your time with this and make them really good ones. Remember, this is an opportunity for you to try to understand whether or not you might want to attend this school for the next several years. So it's a great opportunity to be able to learn information that could be helpful to you in making that decision. We've already gone on so long today on this topic. So we're going to skip our myth busting today. 

Rebecca: I think our listeners will forgive us.  

Katie: Yes, I hope so. And I also hope that we gave you a lot of new and helpful information today about medical school interviews. 

Rebecca: I hope we did too. And with that, thanks for joining us today. We hope you return soon for another episode of Hidden Curricula and good luck on those interviews.