Medical School Interview

Reflections of a Former Admissions Dean

Dear Prospective Medical School Student,

I offer my perspectives as a former medical school admissions dean, and to offer you some helpful advice as you prepare to apply to medical school. I hope you will find my comments to be informative and encouraging.

Initial Screening

Different medical schools may vary in how they make decisions, but the considerations discussed below are important in one way or another to all schools. After your application is complete (receipt of AMCAS application, MCAT scores, secondary application, and letters of recommendation), it will receive initial screening.

Because of the high volume of applications for a limited number of first year places (e.g. 5,000 applications for 150 places at a given school), regardless of how applications are processed, a great deal of emphasis will initially be placed on your grades and MCAT scores. Some schools may actually use a formula based primarily on academic criteria to initially place applications in interview or rejection categories; however, unless the applicant falls well below competitive academic averages, most schools will review the entire application in making decisions to interview. Academic assessment involves more than merely crunching numbers. For example, an applicant with a 35 MCAT and 4.0 GPA may not automatically considered desirable on the basis of academics unless he / she has a strong load of credits, including a depth in the major and breadth in other disciplines, a progression from lower to higher level courses, and evidence of substantive scholarship. Research (in science or non-science areas) is not required, but it may be a way to express academic creativity, the ability to work independently as well as with others on the research team.

Importance Of Timing

Most schools are only able to interview around 15-25% of their applicant pool. So being selected for an interview is a tremendous advantage, and drastically increases your chances for admission. As it gets closer to medical school deadline dates the time taken for the processing and review of applications will backlog at AMCAS and medical schools. In some cases applications can be backlogged by 2 months or more. The early completion of an application may help you to avoid a long delay in admissions decisions and lower the risk that interview slots will be filled by the time your application is reviewed. Because state schools typically favor in-state residents, I heartily encourage you to apply to your state schools. Based on my experience at both state and private schools, I believe that the caliber of students and preparation are quite similar at all medical schools in the United States. Also, I worked within a university that had a school of osteopathic medicine; I learned about the rigor and quality of this pathway to medicine. Unfortunately, many premedical students are not familiar with osteopathic medicine or think of it as preparation for a different kind of career. You should be aware that osteopathic medicine is also a viable way to become a physician.

Critical Factors That Make A Difference

As your application proceeds from screening to possible decisions to interview and admit, the assessment of letters, essays, experience, motivation, and personal qualities will have increased significance. Here are some considerations that I would give to these areas.

• Experience: Is there evidence of leadership? A long term or short term commitment to extra-curricular activities? What is the degree of involvement: is it limited or extensive? Are the stated applicant’s talents (e.g. music, athletics, art, etc.) demonstrated at a low or high level? I often found that appealing applicants would show some degree of connectivity with their academic work and experiences. For example, a student who does research in oncology to learn about the science of medicine, who also volunteers with oncology patients to learn about the human dimensions of disease. In this case, each area – scholarly pursuits and experience – serves as a basis of interest and motivation for the other.

• Levels of Recognition: indicate the perceived value of your experiences. I would closely consider which of the following (with examples) are the sources of recognition for activities listed on application forms: self reported (playing a musical instrument, intramural sports), peer (election to a position with an established organization), institutional (selection for being a resident assistant, an award, or teaching assistantship), national (publication or fellowship). A greater degree of recognition usually indicates a more impressive accomplishment. Aspire to develop your abilities to the fullest.

• AMCAS Personal Statement and Secondary Essays: The AMCAS essay probably has the greatest range of use – some schools and individual admissions deans and committee members will consider essays to be very important, others less so. I found that most essays were good, but a much smaller percentage were either bad or outstanding. Nonetheless, it may be the best way for schools to become acquainted with you personally, to determine what distinguishes you from many other outstanding applicants, and to learn about the depth of your motivation and experiences. Secondary applications provide an opportunity to share more information about yourself, and by taking the time to carefully answer these essays, it will show your interest in the school.

• Letters of Recommendation: provide an assessment of you and your abilities from mentors and supervisors. If you attend a school that has a premedical advisor or committee, it is imperative that you take advantage of these services, including the writing of a premedical letter of evaluation. Many medical schools require a premedical letter from undergraduate institutions that have premedical advisors or committees. In order for your premedical advisor to help you, it is necessary to follow all directions and meet all deadlines, which may also be viewed as a reflection of your professionalism and ability to assume responsibility. The premedical advisor or committee letter gives admissions committee details about your academic skills, talents, degree of involvement, potential, personal qualities, and motivation. They’re a good frame of reference for what you write in your applications and may serve to confirm what you say you’ve done. In order to have the most helpful information for your premedical advisor or committee letter, you should get letters from individuals who know you well, such as professors, research mentors, employment supervisors. Furthermore, medical schools may want you to have individual letters from one or more science faculty.

• Motivation: must be demonstrated not just espoused. You may want to “help people”, but without sufficient direct exposure to medicine, how do you know you want to become a physician, rather than a teacher, or social worker or other health care provider? The admissions dean and committee will want to know what experiences you’ve had to confirm your interest in medicine.

• Personal Qualities: Do you have strong communication and social skills, the ability to relate to people from diverse backgrounds, the capacity to be serious as well as pleasant? Have you shown evidence of professionalism, humanism, and integrity? Are you a caring, compassionate and tolerant person? These are questions that you should ask yourself before you decide to apply, because these are features that medical schools will want their students to possess. Essays and letters of recommendation are often helpful sources of information about the applicant; however, the interview will be essential to the assessment of these qualities.

The Role/Importance Of The Interview

Unlike the folklore, which portrays medical school interviews as a way to see how an applicant can handle stress, I believe that the vast majority of interviews are intended for admissions committees to become better acquainted with the applicant, find out more about the substance of his/her experiences, and get a sense of the applicant’s humanism, and social and communication skills. As a matter of fact, I considered the interview day as an opportunity for recruiting prospective students. This is why medical schools spend an enormous amount of time and expense on admissions. Even if we didn’t select an applicant, or he / she didn’t select us, there is a good chance we would see the interviewee later as a resident, member of the faculty, or associated with us in some other capacity. Keep in mind that you are sizing up the school as much as they are assessing you. Ultimately, I think of the interview as a way to find reasons for selecting students rather than rejecting them. Students often tend to view the interview in the opposite way, which is disappointing. Perhaps, this is the reason why many applicants think they did poorly on an interview when the reality is they did very well. Be aware, admissions personnel, students and others with whom you meet at the medical schools may have input about you. It’s important to be on your best behavior, but also to be your natural self. (Committees and deans are quite astute in differentiating between the real person and play acting.)

How the interview is conducted will vary from school to school and with each interviewer. You may have multiple interviews at some schools that are given by faculty, students or others; single interviews exist less so, as do panel interviews. In order to understand how the admissions process works, I would note that committees use objective criteria, but in the end the process is also subjective. Otherwise, decisions would be focused almost entirely on MCAT scores and grades, and your experiences, essays, personal qualities, letters, etc. would have little value. Based on my experience, academic records and MCAT’s are usually not an issue during admissions committee meetings, because with few exceptions applicants invited to interview are deemed to have the academic foundation to succeed in medical school. Schools have tried to find objective ways to classify subjective areas, but without much success. What’s important to know is that the medical school admissions process is as thorough and deliberate as any other area of admissions with which I’m familiar. Admissions committees and deans work very hard at meetings to make thoughtful choices and use their best judgment. With a range of perspectives from faculty with diverse backgrounds and specialties, a consensus emerges during committee meetings that is intended to select the best possible class for a given school.

My role was to provide consistent and uniform information and guidance to help the committee make good decisions, although I often wished we had a larger class, because there were so many excellent candidates. Assuming you have a competitive application, you are likely to have some surprises; you may get admitted to some schools that you thought would reject you, and vice versa.

Closing Thoughts

• Even if you have a strong application you may not get admitted, or for that matter, get interviews at most of the schools where you apply. It is difficult to convey the enormous volume of other outstanding applicants to medical school. Don’t be discouraged by the long and arduous time it takes for medical schools to make decisions. In the event you are not admitted, confer with your premedical advisor; there may be some viable ways to strengthen your preparation for a successful application in the future.

• An Admissions Dean’s Pet-Peeves:
• Overly persistent individuals, who frequently email, call or write to the admissions office. Excessiveness indicates a lack of patience and an abundance of self-importance.
• Applicants who hold many acceptances for a long period of time, and especially those who hold multiple acceptances after the deadline date of May 15. This shows a lack of sensitivity to peers, i.e. other applicants, and disrespect to medical schools. If an applicant needlessly held a large number of acceptances in addition to one at my school, I’d want him / her to go elsewhere.
• Applicants who felt they were entitled or showed signs of arrogance – there was no room for these kinds of students at our school.

• An Admissions Deans’ Favorite Things:
• The opportunity to meet so many wonderful and talented applicants. A sense of faith and reassurance about the future knowing that these students will become practicing physicians.
• The chance to meet hard working faculty who spent a tremendous amount of time for unselfish dedication to students and their medical schools.

• Words of Advice and Encouragement: You have chosen one of the most honorable vocations for your life’s work. Congratulations. You will frequently be challenged, but never lose sight of your commitment and compassion for each of your patients.

I wish you great success for your acceptance to medical school and career in medicine.

Sincerely,

David Trabilsy, Ed.M., Ed.S.

Former Assistant Dean of Admissions

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 1987-2000