As the BS/MD (typically from November to March) seasons is in progress, many students are receiving BS/MD interview invites and getting one step closer to achieving their dream of becoming a doctor. However, most high school students have not had experience with much formal interviews, let alone one of a graduate school caliber. If you want to get more experience in preparing for BS/MD interviews, click here to get started.
Types of BS/MD Interview Questions
Knowing what types of medical school interview questions there are is almost as important as learning how to answer these questions well. Medical schools use different types of questions to assess different traits within a candidate. It’s important to understand which core competencies taught in a BS/MD candidate.
Traditional BS/MD Questions
The three most important questions for any medical school are
- Tell me about yourself
- Why medicine?
- Why our program?
These questions should summarize your goals and passion for medicine. After doing hundreds of interview preps for BS/MD and premed students, I’ve learned that this is something many students struggle with. Conveying your goals is highly important as it demonstrates that you have given a lot of thought to your future career in medicine. Being a doctor is tough: it requires long hours, personal sacrifices, and is emotionally taxing. Admission committees want to see that you’re going to quit because you’re committed to your goal of caring for patients.
In addition to practicing these high yield questions, expect to see questions about your resumes. Some interviews may be blinded, meaning that your interviewer won’t see your application. However, this doesn’t stop them from asking you questions about your most meaningful extracurriculars or research. With that said, frame your answer around a purpose. Oftentimes, students will tell me that they participated in an activity for the purpose of completing the medical school “check list”. For the interview, it’ll be important to discuss why you chose to spend so much time volunteering or doing research.
Multiple Mini Interview (MMI)
One of the hardest things about preparing for a BS/MD MMI interview is that they can ask you anything from aliens invading the earth to what you would bring to a remote island. Many people incorrectly associate MMI with only ethical questions. However, MMI can consist of self-reflection questions, situational questions, roleplaying, random questions, and healthcare questions. In short, be prepared for anything!
The best way to prepare for MMI is practice a lot of different questions. Understand that each question is designed to test something different. For example, ethical questions may test how you would handle an ethical dilemma, while situational questions would test your communication and team work skills. The key to MMI is having exposure to a lot of different types of questions and understanding how to structure your answers in an organized and concise way. Remember, they are testing your logical approach, so walking the interview through how you interpret the issue and what you plan to do will be important.
Healthcare Questions
As you are preparing for BS/MD interviews, these types of questions should not be a surprise as many medical schools want to know that you have a solid understanding of the field you are about to enter. Healthcare can be complex and frustrating to navigate not only for patients, but for physicians as well. However, having a realistic understanding of what you should anticipate and how to address some barriers to care can demonstrate that you are aware of different healthcare issues.
If you’re looking to review topics on the healthcare system for your BS/MD interview, Application Architect has created a guide outlining high yield topics that are often seen in BS/MD and medical school interviews. However, this guide is exclusively for our interview students.
Delivery of Your Answers
Once you master the content of your answers, developing the style and delivery of your answers is equally as important when you are preparing for BS/MD interviews. Although this is a high-pressure environment given the stakes of early medical acceptance, nerves can easily bring sabotage the quality of your answers. Even with perfect content, your lack of confidence would make it difficult for the admissions committee to be convinced that you’re prepared for the rigor of a 6-8 year commitment to medical school. So how do you prepare for this?
Filler Words
Filler words are perhaps the most common nervous tic for many BS/MD students. Words like “um”, “like”, “and”, “kind of”, “so” are the ones that I frequently hear. These can make you seem unsure of yourself. It can also make it difficult to follow the point that you’re trying to convey. Being cognizant of the this is the first step to improving your delivery.
There are several ways to mitigate this. Thinking before you speak seems obvious, but I’ve worked with many students who haven’t considered this. Slowing down your pace may also give you time to think about what you’re trying to say before you verbalize the rest of your answer. My best tip is to pause when you feel like you’re going to say a filler word.
Talking with your hands
Another bad habit is talking with your hands. This can be extraordinarily distracting when your interviewing is trying to pay attention to your response. If you’re in an in-person interview, then hold your hands together in your lap. If you’re doing a virtual interview, such as Zoom, then keep your hands underneath the table. You can keep fidgeting without them seeing it!
Using words too many buzzwords
Recently, I’ve seen an influx of students using the terms “underserved” and “interdisciplinary” without actually knowing what these phrases truly mean. It is not uncommon for me to hear “I want to help underserved patients” from students without any experience with underserved medicine. You do not need these buzzwords to get into medical school. It is always advisable to be authentic in your goals. Medical schools are looking for a diversity of candidates. Use your breadth of experience to explain what you plan to do as a physician.
Prepare Questions For Your Interviewers
Oftentimes, many students don’t know to prepare questions for their interviewers. Asking good questions to your interviewer can show that you’re engaged and have done your research. The key phrase here is “good questions”. Your questions should not be obvious or easily found. For example, many students that I meet for the first time like to ask “Do students engage in research?”. This can usually be found on the website of any school you apply to. A better questions would be “What activities do you think will support the transition from the undergraduate level to medical school”.
Final Thoughts
Whether this is your first interview of the season or your fifth, preparing for BS/MD interviews is extremely important. Make sure to work on the content and delivery of your answers without sounding too rehearsed. Lastly, practice mock interviews with a trust interview who can give constructive feedback. Good luck with your interviews!
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