R post interview

[boredbanana]

Does anyone know what truly causes an R post interview? Very conflicted, have heard it’s an interview issue and also have heard that it’s your whole application in general. This process is confusing lol

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[DO2015CA]

It depends. A lot of the times it’s an interview issue. Especially if your stats are well within their mean or above. But if you are a below stats person, they may reject you if you don’t have a compelling interview; don’t sell yourself. Something in your application was interesting enough to interview you Having bad stats. If you have a good answer or story, then it may result in an acceptance, but if your answer is just meh then it’s not enough to overcome the rest of the bad application.

 

[boredbanana]

It depends. A lot of the times it’s an interview issue. Especially if your stats are well within their mean or above. But if you are a below stats person, they may reject you if you don’t have a compelling interview; don’t sell yourself. Something in your application was interesting enough to interview you Having bad stats. If you have a good answer or story, then it may result in an acceptance, but if your answer is just meh then it’s not enough to overcome the rest of the bad application.

That makes sense. I had a mediocre interview with a low MCAT and received an R from that school. Hopefully I fare better with my next interview

 

[DO2015CA]

Sorry. It’s hard to get rejected especially after you got that II. Do you have more interviews? If you have a decent number of interviews then it’s not an application issue and likely solely interview. Know your app, know your message, and practice.

 

[boredbanana]

Sorry. It’s hard to get rejected especially after you got that II. Do you have more interviews? If you have a decent number of interviews then it’s not an application issue and likely solely interview. Know your app, know your message, and practice.

I did a Do only cycle and attended 2 II’s so far. I got a secondary from WCUCOM which only sends it to 20% if applications so I think I’ll get an II later hopefully. I think I might head back later since I’m low stats

 

[Goro]

Does anyone know what truly causes an R post interview? Very conflicted, have heard it’s an interview issue and also have heard that it’s your whole application in general. This process is confusing lol

In addition to what's been mentioned above:

Here are some things that get people rejected immediately:

· Being unprofessional for any reason. An example is addressing a faculty member by their first name. Another is chewing gum during the interview. If you have a dry mouth, suck on a lozenge instead. BTW, the interview lasts all day. Acting unprofessionally during your tour, like yelling at a parking attendant, or trashing the school, or expecting the Admissions Office staff to hang up your coat or fetch you coffee is duly noted and affects your fate accordingly.

· Not taking the interview seriously, like showing up poorly dressed. This is suit and tie time (and nice dress/outfit/suit for the ladies). You're going into character. Yes, if the airline loses your luggage, we understand that.

· Do NOT be arrogant. People who think that they're God's gift to Medicine do not go into Medicine.

· Being too shy or nervous. Being quiet is OK; being monosyllabic or robotic is not.

· Not making eye contact is also a no-no (yes I'm aware that in some cultures, one does not look elders in the eye, but this is the USA and you need to look people in the eye here).

· Any hints of immaturity will be lethal for your chances. We expect you to be thoughtful and self-aware. Would you admit the gal who, when asked a hypothetical, "What would you do in this situation?" answers, "Oh, that wouldn't happen."

· Showing you're greedy.

· Showing any hint of entitlement. This includes the “I was accepted to XSOM, so what are you going to do for me?” The answer will be “Good luck and have fun at XSOM.”

· Being clueless as to why you're choosing Medicine as a career.

· Doing this because your mom/dad wants you to be a doctor (or don't think you can be doctor).

· Completely lacking people skills (4.0 automatons are a dime a dozen, really).

· Showing that you're more interested in research than Medicine. This might be OK at Stanford, but it won’t fly at most other schools.

· Still being the hyper-gunner...I rejected a 4.0 gal who wanted to answer the questions I asked of another person in the interview panel. I don't want to admit someone who will be in my office whining about how they got a 95 on an exam and deserved a 96.

· Having a flat affect. This might be due to medication, or a mental or personality disorder. You ever meet someone who could never crack a smile? I don't want someone like that touching patients.

· Copping an attitude. I asked a woman why she didn't have any volunteer experience. She replied that she was too busy working. Fair enough, some people have lives, but she copped an attitude while delivering this, and I just wrote down "reject".

· Coming in with scripted answers and being unable to deviate from said script.

· Being ill-prepared for fairly common interview questions (e.g. Why this school? Why Medicine?)

· Thinking that always circling back to your accomplishments and how great you are impresses us.

· Making excuses for misdeeds. We had rejected someone once who had some fairly benign misdemeanors, but blamed it on the policemen who gave him the tickets.

· Don’t do show and tell. I don’t want you pulling out a binder with your resume or portfolio. Let your application speak for you.

· Being a babbling idiot. These are those people who can't answer a question concisely. I've sure you've met people like this...why bother using one word when ten will do? I suspect that they’re thinking for an answer while they're speaking, so the mouth is going while the brain tries to come up with something.

· It’s OK to gather your thoughts, but it’s not OK to blank out. This group includes the people who do something like this (and I am NOT making this up!):

goro: So tell me about this trip to Honduras
Interviewee: Well, we went there for a mission trip and...what was the question?
goro: (thinking: reject!)

Or the guy who, when asked "How does your hobby relate to the practice of Medicine?", and can't even say "It doesn't", and definitely can't even BS an answer, but sits there in a coma?

 

[Angus Avagadro]

We did group interviews and how the applicant related to the others being interviewed was factored in. Did the applicant interrupt others or disagree with their answers? Did the applicant try to overutilize their time and have me interrupt them and move on. Show less than casual interest in our school during their day on campus?

 

[Goro]

Here's one more thing that's lethal:
In Zoom interviews, it's noticeable when people reading another screen (like their phone), talking to someone else out of camera view, or looking down at a paper or tablet/laptop and reading off answers.

Those rejected ASAP.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Does anyone know what truly causes an R post interview? Very conflicted, have heard it’s an interview issue and also have heard that it’s your whole application in general. This process is confusing lol

If you want confusing, there's always sorority rush (fraternity rush, perhaps too, but maybe when I went to college, sorority rush was much more stressful).

 

[boredbanana]

Here's one more thing that's lethal:
In Zoom interviews, it's noticeable when people reading another screen (like their phone), talking to someone else out of camera view, or looking down at a paper or tablet/laptop and reading off answers.

Those rejected ASAP.

Thanks! I think my main reason for my first II being a rejection was just ill preparation/anxiety. I feel like I did a lot better my second one but who knows lol. Thanks for your help