Forecasting what and who a 17-year old will develop into in the coming eight years is not easy and, at least with the program I am affiliated with, a hit or miss proposition. Consistent with this, there are no good metrics that we have been able to establish that will positively identify, with consistency, the outcomes we seek as a program. However, there are negative factors that we can point to in retrospect that almost always correlate with poor performance and less-than-stellar reviews by our faculty regarding particular students. One of these factors is awkwardness of presentation. This is a subjective metric that is difficult to quantify, but easily spotted in person. The quality is accompanied by: poor ability to pick up on social cues; non-contextual interjection of facts or stories that are irrelevant; inappropriate attempts at humor, a lack of appropriate eye contact; and, rambling, incoherent responses to conversational questions.
Judging teenagers with a standard that is more befitting an adult may seem unfair, but these teenagers are asking to be judged in this manner by applying for entrance into medical school in the first place. So, we err on the side of being hypercritical to weed out poor performers. And, by the way, you may agree with my opinions or not, I donāt particularly care; regardless, my opinion should matter to those reading this forum, since I am a gatekeeper, overseer, and policy-maker. I am happy to give advice to those that seek it.
@faith4ever17820 Really? That excuse will complement your rejection letter quite nicely. If it is a bridge too far to seem genuine, a program can live without your services.
@AdmissionsAdmin Your feedback on BS/MD interviews is very helpful and appreciated. What I am often curious about is: given the hit/miss nature of the success of the students selected into the program, what are the main reasons for institutions to maintain a BS/MD program?
@bsmd14 It depends upon the nature of the program. Some states try and use these programs as a way to keep their best students from going to greener pastures elsewhere. Other institutions use the joint degree program as a magnet to attract the very best students from across the country to their campuses. This second reason is usually the most prevalent. And, almost always, it is the undergraduate objectives that supersede the medical school objectives, since there is no shortage of very good applicants that are applying to all medical schools. Likely, also, are out-of-state tuition objectives (out of staters = revenue generators) that are being fulfilled by attracting students from afar. Such students help defray costs.
@AdmissionsAdmin We are glad you have shared some insight from other side of the fence being policy maker and being part of selection committee and interviewer. We are glad you highlighted where students fall on the face. however, being on other side, it will be useful for the forum over here, if you can share some of your thought on what should students do? what should they prepare? how they should carry them selves? any insight and inputs will be very useful for students interviewing for this year as well as future. can you share your thoughts for students for to-do and not-to-do in the interview?
@Dadofhskid I sent a parent some advice earlier who had a similar kind of question. My response went something like thisā¦
First, programs are looking for applicants that are comfortable with the idea of being uncomfortable. Parent-driven applicants that are sheltered tend to crumble under pressure. So, applicants may expect to get their cage intentionally rattled. Also, when students donāt want to go off-script, they can expect to have a more difficult interview, because that indicates they are hiding something which needs to be flushed out.
Second, focus on appropriately long responses to interview questions without rambling. Stay away from mentioning accomplishments that will disappear off your resume in year or two, and for goodness sakes donāt mention middle school accomplishments ā that smacks of immaturity. If something is truly impressive it may be worth mentioning, because it will always be impressive, but donāt force it. This goes hand-in-hand with applicants that fail to answer even basic questions regarding a particular experience, calling into question the veracity of the original claims. Lilly gilding can be an automatic dis-qualifier.
Answer the question that is asked. Way too many applicants have an agenda they are trying to fulfill and fail to answer the questions. The interview should be a discussion.
@AdmissionsAdmin I just wanted to take the time to thank you for your invaluable tips and advice! I am sure that such bits of insider wisdom will allow students now and in the future to improve their applications and ultimately make themselves better candidates for these programs! Thank you!
@faith4ever17820
I donāt think the issue is one of truly being genuine or not. The issue is more one of HOW you are presenting your answer. If your responses are sounding rehearsed because youāve repeated yourself with the exact same information 4, 5 or even 20 times from different interviewers asking the exact same question, genuine or not, it tends to come across as not genuine. I believe itās the PERCEPTION, not the intent, that is important.
Honestly, if answering a question for the millionth time causes you to sound rehearsed, you will likely have a steep real life learning curve once actually practicing. I can promise you that while actually practicing clinical medicine, you will repeat yourself over & over & over & over every single day, every day you work, for years on end. Itās par for the course & comes with the territory. If you can not learn to repeat the same information over & over in a way that is perceived as genuine, heartfelt, caring, & empathetic, NOT rehearsed, you will not likely have a lot of patients to care for after a while.
It IS difficult to say the same thing repeatedly & make it sound like itās from the heart & genuine every single time. Very difficult. Iād have to agree with @admissionsadmin that this is an important āsoft skill.ā It does set one apart if you are naturally gifted with it.
@faith4ever17820 Where did you hear that the Brooklyn decisions were released? I just talked to someone earlier today who said that they interviewed there this morning.
@faith4ever17820 Congratulations! I guess they do not send a rejection email then because I interviewed on the 24th and did not receive anything from them yet.
Total # of OOS students interviewed = about 90
Around end of March, 115 students will receive acceptance letter. Until all the 115 spots are filled, there will be a waitlist (separate waitlists for instate, regional, and OOS).
Instate = 65 to 70
Regional (KS, OK, NE, AR, IL) = 30 to 35
OOS = 15 to 20