How To Pass A Medical School Interview?

In order to be successful in your medical school interview, you must first understand the purpose of the interview.

It is useful to remember the following points:

1. They already know you are good enough academically, otherwise you wouldn`t have been asked to come in
2. They are not sure whether you have what it takes besides your academics to be a doctor
3. They are there to see if you are better than the average person and you are worth offering a post to study medicine and this depends on several key factors

• Do you know what it is like to be a doctor? (Work experience)
• Do you understand why you want to be a doctor? (e.g., some people say they want to help people, but many careers can help people, why a doctor specifically?)
• Can you explain yourself clearly and formulate an argument on the spot? (How well you communicate in general)
• Can you take topics which you don`t yet understand and form a logical approach (usually tested by clinical/ethical scenarios which you can`t possibly have the right answer to)?

Most people make the mistake of simply answering questions as they ask them.



THIS IS THE WRONG APPROACH.
What you must do is keep the above points in mind with every answer and try to drive the interviewer to ask you about your strengths and sell yourself at every opportunity.
Remember that every answer you give, is an advert.
Why you? Why medicine? Why this medical school?
Every answer must touch on these points, and it is absolutely possible to give a fantastic interview with good preparation.