In a medical school interview, a first impression is often the only impression you get to make. With just a handshake your aim is to come across as professional, confident, and trustworthy. After all the hard work you have put in to your pre-med journey, this is your moment to shine as the outstanding applicant…
The Men’s Guide to Dressing for Medical School Interview Success
After the tests are scored, resumes printed, and applications submitted, interview day is the last—and potentially most—stressful part of getting to your school of choice. This is your chance to make a great first impression with the interview committee, and your appearance should mirror the image of a medical student; clean, professional, and detailed. Follow…
When Will Medical Schools Give You an Answer?
This post addresses some of the big questions on med school applicants’ minds: How long does a medical school have to invite an applicant to submit a secondary application? (Go there) When to expect interview invitations for medical school (or a response of ‘thanks, but no thanks’?) (Go there) Final interview invite date and update…
Active Learn and Admissions at UVM’s Larner College of Medicine [Episode 494]
All About UVM’s Larner School of Medicine [Show Summary] The University of Vermont’s Larner School of Medicine’s new Associate Dean for Admissions, Leila Amiri, shares the hallmarks of the program, including its active learning curriculum and mission centered around respect, kindness, and cultural humility. Interview with Dr. Leila Amiri, Associate Dean for Admissions at UVM…
Encore: All You Want to Know About Georgetown Medical School’s Admissions [Episode 491]
Welcome to the 491st episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for joining me. I am taking a week off for family time this week. As a result, I decided to air an encore of one of our most popular shows of 2022: All You Want to Know About Georgetown Medical School’s Admissions. I chose this…
Why Is It Taking So Long to Hear Back From Med Schools? Accepted’s Consultants Have the Answers
We had a wonderful turnout for our recent live session, Got Interviews? What if I’m NOT Invited to Interview: A Live Q&A. Accepted med school consultants Dr. Barry Rothman and Dr. Herman Gordon offered loads of helpful information, and the attendees asked our panel great questions. If you couldn’t join us, do not worry. The…
What’s the Best Way to Prep for Your Residency Interview
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, and then some more PRACTICE! According to Dr. Sheryl Neuman, Accepted’s expert in residency and fellowship admissions, one of the most common residency interview question asked will be: “Why did you want to become a doctor?” Practice your answer to this question ahead of time so you can create a coherent answer and…
MMI Interview: Everything You Need to Know
The Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) has become a very common med school interview format – one that is meant to provide a fairer, more comprehensive assessment of applicants. It began to grow in popularity after 2004, when Canada’s McMaster University published a study illustrating the flaws in the traditional interview format, especially in the ways…
Ready for Your Interview? Let’s Prep for Success!
You scored an interview invite–that’s fantastic! The school wants to get to know you better because you’ve made such a good impression so far. Slam-dunking the interview will help you take your application to the next level. We know: there’s a lot on the line! We can help you present yourself with confidence and in…
Reapplying to Medical School: Secondaries, Interviews and School Selection
In this final part of your assessment, we will look at all the other ways you communicated with the admissions committee. With the multi-staged admissions process, and an increasingly longer application season, applicants have multiple opportunities to make an impact – or be weeded out. Therefore, it’s important to evaluate whether or not your interactions…
All You Want to Know About Georgetown Medical School’s Admissions [Episode 459]
Interested in a spot in Georgetown University SOM? [Show Summary] Dr. Ellen Dugan, Georgetown Medical School’s Senior Associate Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid, describes how cura personalis, or care of the whole person, drives the Georgetown experience and curriculum. Interview with Dr. Ellen Dugan, Georgetown Medical School’s senior associate dean for admissions [Show Notes]…
No Med School Interviews: What Now? [Episode 445]
What to do if you have no interviews [Show summary] What do you do if you still haven’t heard back from medical schools by Thanksgiving? In this episode, podcast host Linda Abraham shares how students can pursue parallel tracks to expand their opportunities. Linda Abraham’s advice for med school applicants who still haven’t received interview…
4 Tips for Discussing Failure at Your Med School Interview
Inevitably, you will be asked to describe a time when you have failed. It’s a common medical school interview question, and it’s a tough one. This post will help you prepare for this question. Strategies for tackling the failure question When selecting an example to discuss, consider the following strategies: Choose a recent example. It’s…
Practicing for Your Med School Interview: Conversation 101
Most applicants come away from their first med school interview saying, “that wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.” As in many areas of life, the anticipation of a stressful event can be worse than the event itself. Although many med schools work hard to make applicants feels relaxed, this doesn’t mean you…
“Fools Rush In”: An Important Lesson for Your Med School Interview
He was a World War II veteran, a member of the Greatest Generation. Although he undoubtedly carried painful memories in his heart from those difficult days, he was always smiling; he had a winning smile that could light up a room. He could captivate that same room with entertaining jokes that would leave everyone begging…
The Importance of Maintaining Your Composure in Med School Interviews
“Wow—my first medical school interview!” I shouted to my parents breathlessly. I could hardly believe it. And it was at a top choice school for me in one of the most exciting cities in the world. Although being invited for an interview by no means guaranteed that I would be accepted, I found myself daydreaming…
Nervous about Med School Interviews in the Time of COVID-19? Help Is Here!
Our recent live Q&A session, Med School Interviews During COVID-19, was incredibly informative. Dr. Rothman and Dr. Gordon, two of Accepted’s med school admissions experts, provided clear and helpful answers to attendees’ questions about how to successfully navigate med school interviews in a virtual environment. Just because you might not have been able to join…
Medical School Interviews During COVID-19: What You Need to Know
This is a particularly challenging year for med school interviews, not least due to the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unavailability of testing in the spring. Now comes the newest change, entirely virtual interviews and in some cases a video interview: AAMC’s Video Tool for Admissions (VITA) program, which launched this year to…
Medical School Interviews: 7 Things You Need to Know
Think you know everything there is to know about interviewing, and that interview prep and mock interviews just aren’t for you? “It’s sad to see an applicant do well throughout the entire application process, only to crash and burn during their interviews,” says Accepted consultant Dr. Barry Rothman. “Many applicants assume that an interview is…
How to Approach VITA, AAMC’s New Video Interview
To address the novel challenges the pandemic has created, the AAMC will be using a video recording in place of in-person interviews. They are calling it the AAMC Video Interview Tool for Admissions (AAMC VITA). It is being offered at no cost to applicants since it is a pilot program and will be available from…