Having received an invitation means you're a competitive applicant, and that there were several things that stood out to the admissions committee about you.
So you're super excited and then, suddenly, you think about how you should prepare.
Here's a burst-fire collection of advice:
- Go over your AMCAS/TMDSAS personal statements, volunteer activities, extracurriculars before you interview. Going over your application becomes more important with the more extensive your resume is, and you're not sure what you might be asked to elaborate on or explain. You might even be asked to compare different experiences that you have on your CV.
- Run a quick recon of where you need to report for the morning of your interview. You won't know what exact room you'll be in, so you don't have to explore the entire school. Even then, about 95% of the time, there will be people on hand to help you find your interview location. No sweat!
- If you need to be caffeinated like I always have to be, have your coffee about 1-2 hours before you set foot on campus (because we all know that caffeine has other effects).
- Set out a little early, to give you some time to relax, go over your application in your head, and deal with unexpected traffic.
- Stay with another med student the night before your interview: sometimes interviewers ask if you've done so and it only helps. But then again I told one interviewer I hadn't and I still got in to this one school. Not a big deal, but it can be a cool boost because you have something to talk about.
- Attire! This needed an exclamation mark. Black suits aren't interview suits, they're for somber occasions. I suggest dark grey/charcoal colours with a shirt that complements your suit, and a tie if you're a guy. A neat, uncomplicated low-key pattern to the suit is acceptable. I once saw a girl in a 100% white pantsuit thing and was pretty confused by the whole thing. Navy works great too. Some people do tan pants and a blazer and tie, but I'd suggest a suit for guys, probably because it's a more cohesive look. I saw a girl wear a dark grey dress and apparently that wasn't a big deal, it looked pretty sophisticated, but I dunno. Girls, keep your skirt-length below your knee for interviews. Just sayin'. And if you're traveling, a back-up dress shirt is a great idea.
- Be confident! You made it this far and worked super hard to get here. Be confident but also humble, even if you're super accomplished. The interviewer is looking for someone cool, collected, positive, humble, and friendly.
- Make eye contact, smile, and shake hands. Body language is super important and your interviewer will pick up on this easily.
- Use formal language. It's a little random yea, and I actually surprised myself a little when I let out the word "awesome" during an interview. Haha. It didn't go against me and I was interviewing with a pretty chill student. Just if I had said that to someone not of my generation, it could've been a little awkward. Don't use stilted language or talk like you're in a Shakespearean play, be yourself and relax!
- If awkward silences come up, be proactive: ask "Is there a particular thing about my application you would like to discuss?" Ace up your sleeve!
- The "Do you have any questions for me?" question. Sometimes you might have a question, and sometimes you might be too nervous and can't think, so you say "You've already answered my question on X before I asked." or "I can't think of any right now, thank you." You might have an awesome interviewer and you could ask that if a question comes up later if you can e-mail them or know of someone who could be of help.
- Don't ask overly specific questions like "How many people graduate?" And stuff along the lines of that: because you could look it up but also, your interviewer will say they don't know.
- If you do ask a general question like "what are the most popular groups on campus?" or "what volunteer opportunities are there?" and your interviewer doesn't know: it doesn't count against you from my experience. You're just curious and they just don't happen to know! It's all good!
- Be proactive: if there's a problem with your app or something in it you're nervous about and you have time in your interview, discuss it and be honest. You'll likely be asked about it to begin with, so be ready. BUT keep in mind your interviewer isn't against you or trying to ding you: they want to hear your story. The school invited you here in the first place and they're interested! Haha.
- Relax. I've touched a lot on this. I've heard the phrase "the application gets you the interview, the interview gets you the spot." And while I don't know how accurate that is, you were selected from hundreds/thousands of applicants, and now it's time to relax and show them who you are!
- Hang out/talk with your fellow interviewers. It's a great way to de-stress. I would always wish my fellow interviewers good luck and stuff like that makes everyone feel good.
I'll try to write more later on. Good luck, I'm sure you will get into a great school!
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