Cydney Foote, one of Accepted’s most experienced medical school admissions consultants, worked with a client, Ben (not his real name), during the 2016-2017 cycle. Ben started working on his personal statement in February and received medical school acceptances by October. He certainly had good grades and MCAT results, but he also actively maximized those assets by…
The 4 Most Surprising Things You Should Know About Interviewing
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…
3 Common Myths About Medical School Interviews
Have you received a med school interview invite? Nice job winning the attention of the adcom by writing persuasive essays! But you’re far from done…now you have a whole new set of challenges to prepare for in order to receive that golden acceptance. To help you prepare for your interview, I will dispel some of…
Practice, Practice and More Practice to Prep for Your Med School Interview
One of the most-asked medical school interview questions is: “Why do you want to become a doctor?” In order to sound coherent and avoid rambling, you should practice your answer to this question before your interview. Your answer should be long enough that is sounds conversational, but not so long and full of details that…
Did You Miss Our Med School Interview Webinar?
Applicants who attended How to Nail Your Medical School Interviews learned crucial strategies to help them get ready for interview day – even how to prepare for difficult questions like the “weakness” one. They’re now armed with proven techniques and strategies for interview success. If you missed the webinar – or if you’d like to…
How Can Introverts (And Anyone Else) Do Well on the MMI?
The Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) was designed at McMaster University in Canada to better evaluate an applicant’s interpersonal skills and predict performance in medical school. Like all other interviewers, MMI interviewers are looking for problem solving, communications skills, and the ability to listen to and respond to another person. The benefit of the MMI (to…
Typical Medical School Interview Questions
Enter interview day ready to show how you can contribute to the entering class and why you are confident you are a good match for this particular program. You will have already spent loads of time looking inward at yourself and outward at your target program – so these points should be no-brainers by now!…
What Should You Do During Your Medical School Interview?
Some of these tips are obvious, some less so. All are important and will help you maintain a sense of professionalism, project confidence, reduce anxiety, and prove to the interviewer that you’re a top med school shoo-in. 1. Make sure you smile. Chances are, your interviewer will smile back. This will help set the tone…
Tips for Visiting Med Schools: 3 Ways to Keep in Touch with the Adcom
This article is part of a series of tips about visiting medical schools. In this post we’ll explore things you should do after you’ve returned home from your school visit. You should send follow up emails as soon as you return home from visiting a medical school. The longer you wait, the less likely the…
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…
Tips for Visiting Med Schools: What Questions to Ask
This article is part of a series of tips about visiting medical schools. In today’s post, we’ll cover the types of questions you should ask during your school visit. The kinds of questions that you ask when visiting medical schools will reveal a lot about you as an applicant. It’s a good idea to come with a…
Tips for Visiting Med Schools: Updates to Highlight in Your CV or Resume
This article is part of a series of tips about visiting medical schools. In this post we’ll discuss what you should include in your CV/resume, and why it’s important to bring copies with you on your school visits. Anytime that you’re planning on visiting a medical school campus, whether it’s for a tour, a health fair, or…
Visiting Medical Schools: How to Make a Lasting Impression
This article is part of a series of tips about visiting medical schools. In this post we’ll share tips on what you can do to maximize your med school visits!! Whether you have arranged a tour, are attending a premed fair, or have been invited to interview, making a memorable first impression can be the first step…
Tips for Visiting Med Schools: Your To-Do List for a Successful Visit
This article is part of a series of tips about visiting medical schools. In this post you’ll learn that one of the best ways you can set yourself apart as an applicant is to visit as many medical schools as you can before and during the application process. If possible, you should plan on visiting…
How to Discuss Failure in a Medical School Interview
Inevitably, you will be asked to describe a time when you have failed. It’s a common medical school interview question. This blog post will help you prepare for this question. It’s a tough one. When selecting an example to discuss, consider the following strategies: 1. Choose a recent example. It’s almost always better to use…
Med School Applicants: It’s Not Too Late to Interview!
As the medical school application season progresses, you might be getting anxious, especially if you haven’t gotten the response you want yet. Don’t be discouraged. While it is late, medical schools are still (and will be for some time) inviting applicants to interview. Here are a few things that you can do to maximize your…
6 Tips for Talking About Your Weaknesses
How do you react when you read/hear the weakness question? With this question, schools are assessing how well you self evaluate. Like a business problem, they want to hear your plan of action, your implementation, and your success rate. Here are some tips to help you a) think about and evaluate your weaknesses, and b)…
Ask Away at Your Admissions Interview!
An interview works in two directions: The interviewer asks you questions to see if you’d be a good fit for the school in question, and you ask the interviewer questions to help you determine if this program is right for you. In order to come up with some good questions, you’ll want to make sure…
Prepare for Interviews with Positive Imagery
Imagine yourself standing on a tennis court: Picture yourself tossing the ball into the air and then smashed an ace serve right past your opponent. Then, walk into your interview and nail that too. Why should you think about tennis when you could be spending your last pre-interview moments recalling formative leadership experiences and key…
What the Adcom Looks For During an MMI
During the MMI, you’ll be evaluated by many different people at several different stations. Having multiple reviews and reviewers provides a more consistent way to evaluate applicants because schools have more data available from the evaluations provided by each person who observes you. They rate you based on how you interact with others—your process— and…
