False Alarm

Alas, my soon-to-be alma mater did not send admissions decisions yesterday (this is precisely why they tell applicants "any time in March" so that you don't get your hopes crushed when there is a delay).  Like you, I am hoping for today so that I can call and email the applicants I interviewed and say COME HERE!

Out last Admissions Committee meeting of the year is next week, so there will be a few additional decisions trickle out.

In the Mail

My school is sending out the first batch of acceptances today!  Good luck everyone.

Interview Madness

My own interview madness, that is!

When I started this blog, I imagined that my own residency interview season would be the perfect time to write a blog for medical school applicants and interviewees.  I envisioned conducting interviews for my medical school's admissions committee while traveling the country for my own interviews all the while sitting on tarmacs updating my blog and reflecting on the irony of sitting on both sides of the interview table.

Needless to say, I've interviewed a lot of medical school applicants, had the good fortune of attending 26 of my own interviews (!!), and in fact, I have done a lot of reflecting on the challenges of being both the interviewer and the interviewee.  The part that is lacking is...the BLOGGING!  And for this, I am sincerely sorry.

More to come soon.  In the meantime, I hope you will find this comment reply helpful.

I Like You

It's an awkward thing to say in a relationship, and the same goes for expressing interest to medical schools (this is in response to a comment from November 28.) I have several thoughts on this issue.

- It's late enough (now) in the interview season that you are likely starting to have a sense for which medical schools will be your top choices. You see, at the beginning of interview season, when an applicant says, "I like you," I think to myself, "I don't believe you." How could you know?! There are too many fish in the sea. But by now, you've sewn some oats; expressing sincere interest means something. So, one potential thing is to overtly express interest when you send your thank you notes. Something like...

"I have nearly completed my interviews, and I anticipate that ___ with be one of my very top choices. I would be absolutely delighted to become a medical student at ___."

- That said, saying it in a thank you note is not enough. I HIGHLY recommend sending a letter of interest to your top choice. But, be cautious. You should not be sending multiple letters of interest. Your word means something. While the above comment could be sent in thank yous to, say, your top three choices, a letter of interest should be sent to just one. I would send it electronically so that it can easily be forwarded (if necessary) and so that it makes it into your electronic file. Be brief, personal, and sincere. Say why you think the school is a good fit (as opposed to just saying that it is a good fit).

Just yesterday, I was chatting with a current first year at my school who says that this time last year she knew my school was her first choice. She sent an email to one of her interviewers because she had been waitlisted, and he recommended that she write a letter to the admissions committee expressing her sincere interest in attending. Although a waitlist is a slightly different scenario, she was delighted to report she got in shortly thereafter. Admissions committees often look kindly upon these communications. You have nothing to lose, so go for it! If you message me, I will happily review yours.

Don't Blow It

Simple enough advice, but tremendously challenging for many applicants: don't blow the interview.

My school's Admissions Committee met again this week, and I was surprised that applicants' "numbers" (GPA, MCAT score) and overall qualifications came up only twice during a whole evening of discussion.  Instead, what dominated the dialogue was the interview content. 

Highlights:

• One applicant was described as "lacking depth."  He was apparently unable to elaborate upon some of the observations he made in his personal statement about differences between the US healthcare system and healthcare systems elsewhere.  
• Another applicant was marked down because the interviewer was unable to get him "off script."  Often, interviewers are truly trying to get to know you.  For example, when they ask what you do for fun, it's not a trick; they really want to know what you enjoy.  This is not an opportunity to say something about how much you love sports because they have taught you about working in teams and developing as a leader.  It's enough that you love sports.  Save the additional details for when you're asked a more appropriate question.
• One applicant was described as "weird."  There are plenty of extremely normal smart folks out there.  Being a bit unique is nice; being gross is not.
• Finally, an applicant was described as arrogant.  This is a big problem.  Every future doctor is proud of their achievements, but a little humility goes a long way.  It's not too much to ask you to be humble for 30 straight minutes.

Remember:

• Everything in your application is fair game.  If you are unable to expand upon your coursework, activities, or topics you discussed in your application materials, read up.
• Regardless of how much you've rehearsed, try to ad lib a bit.  This will become even more challenging as the interview season continues.  Relax.  Chat.
• Don't be "that guy."  For example, if you lived and bathed in a park during part of undergraduate, you might just keep this to yourself.  Really.
• Be poised and confident.  Don't be cocky.  Often it's not what you say, it's how you say it.

Comment Follow Up - Thinking of Thanking

Last week, I emphasized the importance of thanking interviewers, and I received a Comment today that I feel merits further discussion.  Don't loose sleep over this issue, but here are my thoughts:

Writing thank you notes will not get you into medical school, and choosing not to write them will not keep you out.  Writing thank yous isn't about good karma, or paying it forward, or hoping for more points on your interviewers' evaluations.  It's simply the right thing to do. 

For one thing, you will be a student at one of the schools at which you're interviewing in less than a year (!!).  While you may never see your interviewers from the other schools again, your interviewers from the school you will attend are likely to be lecturers, attendings, and even mentors in your very near future.  Thanking them is the courteous and professional thing to do.  Some of these interviewers may one day be your colleagues.

Additionally, writing thank you notes is also about creating allies who can help you with your decision making process.  Come spring, you may be making some difficult decisions, and it's nice to have established rapport with some of the very people who can help clarify questions for you. 

Finally, it's just nice.  People like nice people, and it's nice to be a nice person.  This season, I have received multiple thank you notes, and on every occasion except one, I had already completed my evaluation of the applicant by the time the thank you arrived.  But, the fact that they wrote notes to thank me for my time was very meaningful and makes me think highly of applicants I had already decided I really liked.

Certainly, if you have been told not to thank your interviewers (maybe Stanford does this?), it would be inappropriate to do so.  (As an aside, learning to properly follow instructions, even silly ones, is an important part of the medical school process.  Earlier this year, I had a Residency Program Director tell me that applicants who did not follow the instructions to list prior education in reverse chronological order were not invited for interview regardless of how qualified they were!)  However, it's hard for me to imagine a school specifically instructing you not to thank someone.  Do you really want to go to that school?  And, if your thank you note borders on coercion, I suggest you tone down the language. 

I love reader Comments.  Keep commenting.

Danke Schoen

I really cannot emphasize enough how much Thank You notes after interviews matter. Previously, I've mentioned Thank Yous here and here. I have actually been quite surprised how few Thank You notes I have received this season. Perhaps this is in part due to the fact that I'm a student conducting interviews, but given that I have equal weight on the committee as my more senior colleagues, I think this is a mistake.

Although I'm editing to ensure anonymity (both for me and the applicant), I received a Thank You note via email this evening very similar to the one below, and it blew me away. I found the applicant to be appropriately gracious while continuing to sell herself as an applicant and also mentioning specific details of things we discussed during the interview. Kudos to this applicant! I thought she was terrific when I interviewed her, and this just confirms what I already knew.

Dear ______,

Thank you so much for the opportunity to interview at *** Medical School on Tuesday. I was really impressed by ***'s top-notch facilities; I was especially amazed that ***. I was also impressed with the innovative PBL curriculum, which seems to be an excellent match with my experience working in small groups as an undergraduate and in my current job. I loved the location and would love to be in *** near my family during medical school.

Thank you again for taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet with me. *** is on the top of my list of medical schools. I really appreciate your consideration for entrance into the Class of 2016. Good luck with your residency interviews!

Sincerely,
_____

Theme and Variations

My school's Admissions Committee convened for the first time this week, and what an interesting experience!  I am pleased to say that my gut feeling about the applicants I interviewed was nearly identical to that of the other committee members who interviewed the same applicants.  That's not to say the process is perfect (it's not!), but it's reassuring to know that my advice to you is on target.

Below are some of the themes that consistently emerged when interviewers discussed interviewees who did not receive the highest marks.

The applicant:

• spoke at a volume that was too loud or soft to comfortably hear.
• was disorganized in the way he or she spoke about experiences well known to him or her.
• was unable to recapitulate concepts that had been eloquently described in the written application.
• passed blame to someone else for low grades in courses, missed opportunities, etc.

In the end, my first Admissions Committee meeting was far more contentious than I expected.  But, the above themes consistently led to applicants receiving less favorable reviews that they likely would have preferred.  Take home points:

• Speak at a comfortable volume.  Ask the interviewer if you're unsure.
• Be organized in your discussions, and in particular, be able to fluently discuss your application.  (An applicant I interviewed had incredible leadership experiences listed in her application, but when I asked her to describe a time when she had demonstrated leadership, she could not think of an example.)
• Don't ever lay blame in an interview, even if it's true.  Past circumstances are a superb way to demonstrate personal growth.

The Conversationalist

"Interview" is really a misnomer for the conversation that occurs between an applicant and Admissions Committee member. Interview seems to imply that one person is asking the questions, really grilling the other person, while the applicant spitfires rehearsed, trite, and long-winded answers. An interview does not at all describe what transpired between me and the first applicant with whom I spoke today. (Yes, I was scheduled for my first "interview" on Thursday, but a physician interviewer canceled, and I was recruited to take his place.)

Have a conversation with your interviewer. In fact, having a conversation is precisely what my Dean of Admissions instructed interviewers to do - to coax a conversation out of the applicant, to assess the genuineness and spontaneity of his or her answers, and to discern whether the applicant responds to the interviewer's facial expressions and body language, particularly when explaining potentially challenging topics such as research endeavors.

Today's applicant did a fantastic job embodying the conversationalist approach to interviews. I was impressed by his consistent eye contact, lack of fidgeting, and natural intuition regarding my level of interest in the things he described. In truth, the young man I interviewed today was far from the most outstanding applicant with whom I will speak this season, but his poise, sincerity, and articulateness were more than enough to impress me. "Two thumbs up."

Start Your Engines

For the most part, I applied to be on my school's admissions committee because of my interest in medical education. Ultimately, I hope to conduct research and teach medical students and residents at a large, academic institution, and as a result, most of my extracurricular activities in medical school have related to medical education in some way - curriculum development task forces, institutional accreditation committees, teaching and tutoring, etc. A year on the admissions committee seemed very consistent with my endeavors and sounded like a fun and educational way to give back to my school. Nonetheless, a portion of my motivation for joining the admissions committee was my desire to get a insider's look at the admissions process. Along with the other student committee members, I met with my school's Dean of Admissions yesterday to discuss the beginning of interview season. I have to tell you, I am absolutely giddy with excitement about the whole process getting underway.

Of course, I cannot share with you the specific rubrics we use to assess applicants or the voting procedures themselves. But, what I can do is continue to provide nuggets of information that will hopefully demystify the process and help you in your pursuit of the right school. Most importantly, what I learned at the meeting yesterday is that there is no "formula" for the perfect applicant. MCAT scores, GPAs, research, extracurriculars, and many other components are intimately interweaved and make each applicant very different. As my Dean of Admissions explained, every applicant we interview is qualified to attend our institution. In fact, about 1,000 of the applicants who don't get interviews are also qualified. Interviews go a long way toward distinguishing candidates, and ultimately the committee's gestalt coupled with some good luck leads to the creation of another diverse and immensely talented group of future physicians.

Stay tuned in. I'm conducting my first applicant interview on Thursday, and I can't wait to share with you what I learn about the process so that I can continue to provide with you honest and reliable advice.