Written by Kinza Hussain
There are tips all across the internet on how to interview for medical school. Having gone through the process just a year ago, I share the top things that helped me land an acceptance after my interview. If you would like to watch my LIVE Youtube video about this topic, please click here.
The tips I share may sound simple, but implementing them makes a huge difference. So, let’s get started (take notes)!
Kinza’s Top Med School Interview Tips
- Smile: This is my first tip because you should be smiling from the beginning of your interview all the way to its end. Your jaw should hurt at the end of the day from smiling so much. Every person you encounter should see those shiny teeth because it leaves them with a great first impression. You want to showcase yourself as happy, optimistic, enthusiastic, and collaborative.
- Treat everyone you meet with kindness from the moment you step on campus to the moment you leave. You never know who will be your interviewer.
- Talk to the other students that are sitting in the lobby with you for their interview. You want to be sociable because admissions will notice this.
- Prepare for interview questions using multiple interview questions to practice. Here are a few good resources for sample interview questions:
- Always know WHY you want to go to that medical school, WHY you want to be a physician, and if you’re interviewing for DO school, you HAVE to know WHY Osteopathy.
- Use this YouTube channel to prepare for MMI interviews.
- For MMI interviews, it’s important to understand that there is no right or wrong answer. You just have to back up your answer AND stay OPEN-MINDED.
-
Have filler-phrases ready for awkward silences.
- If they ask a question you don’t have the answer to right away, say, “that’s a really great question, let me just think about that for a moment before I answer.” This will show you are analyzing the question and that you think before you speak. It also shows you are professional about the situation rather than freaking out about not knowing the answer right away.
- During an awkward silence, ask your interviewer questions. You could ask about the school or ask about their experience as a faculty member, like their favorite thing about the medical school environment.
- THANK THEM FOR THEIR TIME at the end of the interview when things get quiet and you have to gracefully get up and leave.
-
Your outfit does matter. Do NOT dress casual.
- For women, wear a professional pant-suit or skirt-suit. You do not have to wear heels if you are uncomfortable walking in them. I wore flats!
- Wear an accessory that will help you stand out. It could be nice earrings, a necklace, a ring, a headband, or a scarf.
- For men, wear a professional suit. If you hate blazers, make sure your shirt and tie are nice.
- Wear an accessory that will help you stand out. Maybe a nice watch, a pen, or a padfolio.
-
Always follow up with everyone you met during your interview by sending a nice email. Send this email to your interviewers and all the admission faculty you met that day. This means you should remember to ask for their business cards or emails when you meet them.
- Make the email personable about your specific conversation. If you talked about books or sports with them, then mention that again in the email.
I hope these med school interview tips were helpful. They’re coming from personal experience, and I genuinely think they helped my chances for scoring a seat at different medical schools. Good luck!
Email me at [email protected] if you have questions or would like to schedule a mock interview.
About Kinza Hussain a.k.a. MedKinza
Kinza Hussain is a second-year medical student who uses her popular YouTube channel to share her medical school journey with the world. Each week, she shares a new insightful video to update her subscribers on how to study for the MCAT, how to apply to medical school and get accepted. You may subscribe to her channel and follow her on Instagram @medkinza.
If you are a recent college grad who will soon be registering for the MCAT, check out our MCAT learning platform.
