How you schedule medical school interviews, believe it or not, can have an impact on your overall interview performance! In this blog post, I'll share how I prepared for my medical school interviews, the best strategy for scheduling your interviews, what to do in the event you need to cancel or reschedule and more!
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Why You Should Schedule Your Medical School Interviews Right Away
The first and most important thing when scheduling your interviews is to reply to your interview invitations as soon as you receive them and schedule your interviews as soon as possible.
Never delay scheduling your interview. Delaying your interview may affect your chances of getting an acceptance into your top medical school choice.
This is because medical schools review applications continuously through the rolling admissions process, and you must remember that you have competition. You are one of many with top scores and an excellent application overview. Your competitors are also getting invites, and you reduce your probability of getting a slot by delaying your interview.
I got my first interview invite on a Tuesday morning, and although I knew I had a strong chance of getting into medical school with my excellent MCAT score and impactful personal statement, it became a turning point in my life.
Ensuring your medical school interviews are scheduled when it’s best for you will eliminate some of the stress of this process. It will also make sure you’re not left with dates or times that don’t fit into your personal schedule or your strategy. Remember that interviews are scheduled on a first come first serve basis. You don’t want to be the applicant scrambling for the last remaining interview time and having to rearrange your schedule to make it work.
How to Schedule Medical School Interviews: A Step by Step Guide
If you have received more than 3 invites, you need to be strategic about scheduling your interview.
For my medical school interview season, I received five invites in two weeks. I did not immediately respond to my invites to avoid scheduling them at the wrong time. The average number of invites per candidate seeking medical school admission is approximately 2.5 interviews per person. Candidates who receive less than 2 invites reduce their chances of getting accepted.
My first and second invites were from second-tier medical schools, so I scheduled them three days apart. Once I received an invite from my top-choice medical school, I avoided immediately responding, although I was fully aware of how quickly I needed to make up my mind to avoid losing my spot. I responded on the second day, putting a space of six days before my first top-choice interview.
Step 1: Schedule Your First Medical School Interview at Your Second-Choice School
During my first interview, at my second-choice school, I was a nervous wreck. It didn't matter that I had rehearsed my introduction over again with my friends.
Fortunately, I was asked about my greatest strengths during the interview. I leveraged my rehearsed answers, and although I sounded nearly mechanical in my response, this helped steer me back in line. The interview was over in half an hour, and it felt much longer than that.
This experience helped me better prepare for my interview at my top-choice school. I was more familiar with the interviewer's expectations and found it easier to respond to questions in my subsequent interviews. I was rushing to respond to the questions during my first interview because I thought I was running out of time, so I learned to pause between answering questions to catch my breath. This was of great help to me because I got more than one offer following these interviews.
After my first interview at a lower-tier school, I went into my top medical school interview with a maximum ego boost.
Step 2: Schedule Interviews at Your Top Schools Second
My top choice of medical school sent me an invite on the first day of interview season. This left me sweaty and confused because I was not about to lose a vital admission opportunity due to poor scheduling.
You can never schedule your top medical school choice as the first interview. This is because you have the least confidence as you participate in your very first interview.
Step 3: Schedule Your Final Med School Interviews at the Least Competitive Schools
The last batch of interviews should be scheduled for your lowest-ranked schools. You may experience fatigue from multiple interviews, which can be managed by taking enough breaks between your scheduled interviews.
Hydrate yourself. Avoid caffeine if it messes with your composure, but get a cup of coffee if you need high alertness during your interview. Before my interviews, I noticed I got tremulous whenever I took a caffeinated drink before speaking to a group. So, I avoided it during my interview season, choosing to catch up on enough sleep. Get at least six hours of sleep the day before your first interview.
Haven't received any interview invites yet and are wondering what happened and what to do next? This infographic will help:
Tips for Scheduling Your Medical School Interviews
Tip#1: Keep your schedule open
While it’s understandable that you should continue living your life, attending school, and completing any other major day-to-day commitments, avoid making plans that can’t be easily moved or cancelled, such as trips overseas, and make sure to let your employers, family and friends know about the interview process and that your schedule will need to remain flexible.
If need be, make sure you’re able to take time off work to attend and prepare for your interviews, and be transparent with the person scheduling your interview on what days and times work for you.
Tip #2: Decide what time of day your interviews should be held
Be sure to schedule your interviews at the best time for you. Are you a morning person? A night owl? What times of day do you have the most energy, or are you the most productive? Try to schedule interviews at these times so you’re always putting your best self into the interview room.
Tip #3: Send a thank you email immediately when you receive your invite
Many students and professionals struggle with how to craft good, professional email or how to make a professional phone call. A good rule of thumb for both is to keep a professional, friendly and polite tone, be concise and to the point, and thank the person for their time.
If the email is automated and asks you to schedule your interview time using a scheduling system, don’t reply to the email. Instead, start planning your interview schedule and confirm through the scheduling system the time and date you want.
If the interview invitation is by phone, be sure to keep a copy of your schedule close by and be ready to provide the necessary information to schedule your interview at your desired time. At the end of the call, thank the person scheduling your interview for their time and help.
If responding by email, simply indicate which dates and times will work best for you to schedule your interview and thank the person on the other end for their time.
Tip #4: Make sure to have some time between interviews
I recommend scheduling your interviews at least three days apart, just as I did. Proper scheduling gives you enough time to prepare for your following interview without experiencing interview fatigue.
Remember you may need time to commute to your interview, so plan ahead if you need to make travel plans or secure a ride to and from your interview. It’s always best to give yourself extra time between leaving for your interview and arriving so you can adapt to any events that may make you late. It’s nice to have a bit of time before the scheduled interview time as well to compose yourself and do some breathing exercises if you get nervous.
Tip #5: Factor in your interview prep plan
My advantage over several other applicants I met during admissions was how laid out my plans were. I had created an interview prep months before I received my first invite. You must start preparing for your first interview at least eight weeks earlier. To improve your performance, take a break of two to three days between your first and second interviews.
When you get your first invite, you must be as confident as possible. Ask a friend to join you on a video call for an interview simulation. Let them tell you about your body language and how to improve your confidence. Record yourself or stand in front of a mirror to practice relaxing your facial muscles. Unlock your jaw and practice your smiles. Work on your tone without sounding like a robot. Participate in mock interviews to help detect your weak points and boost your confidence.
You do not need to be a perfect candidate with automated responses but you must learn to adapt your responses to the questions and continuously improve your interviewing skills.
Tip #6: Prepare your interview budget
There are some costs associated with scheduling your interviews that need to be considered.
First, consider your travel costs. Whether you live nearby the medical school offering you an interview or miles away, it’s important to consider how you are going to get to your interview. If you’re driving, take into account your gas costs. If you’re using public transportation, factor the cost of a ticket into your interview budget. In the case of needing to hop on a plane or train to reach your destination, research costs and timetables ahead of time so you can book the necessary tickets and plan your route to and from the interview.
What to Do After Each Medical School Interview
After each of your medical school interviews, it’s good and common practice to write a thank you letter for medical school interview within 24 hours of your interview. Admissions committees appreciate seeing these and receiving one can reflect positively on your application.
Some students may also need to write a medical school letter of intent to their chosen medical school. Letters of intent are documents which state a student’s continued interest in attending a medical school, in the case that their application has been waitlisted.
FAQs
1. When should I schedule my medical school interviews?
Students should begin scheduling their medical school interviews as soon as they receive an invitation to do so from their chosen schools. Scheduling interviews as early as possible is key!
2. Should I only accept an interview at my top choice school?
You should accept an interview for every invitation you receive. Getting an interview from your top choice school doesn’t guarantee acceptance, and it’s best to have second-choice schools and third-choice options to fall back on and increase your chances of admission.
3. Is it okay to reschedule my interview?
Schools can and do reschedule interviews, but students need to provide a very good reason for the change, such as a family emergency, or it can reflect badly on an applicant.
4. How many interviews should I schedule?
Schedule an interview for every school that offers you an invitation. This will increase your chances of getting accepted and give you a chance to interview at several schools to prepare for your interview at your top choice school.
5. How often should I schedule interviews?
Try not to schedule all your medical school interviews back-to-back. Leave a day or two at least between interviews to give yourself time to prepare for the next one.
6. What happens if I get into my top choice school before interviews are done? Can I cancel?
Students do have the option to cancel their interviews, but it’s best to let the school know via email or phone as soon as possible, to give another student the chance to interview in your place.
7. Does it cost anything to schedule my interviews?
Costs associated with medical school interviews are usually associated with travel costs. Students may need to budget for transportation, accommodation or parking costs when they plan their medical school interviews.
8. Which interviews should I schedule first?
Our strategy for scheduling medical school interviews is to first schedule interviews with your second-choice schools. This way, you can become more familiar with the format and procedure of medical school interviews.
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1 Comments
Joyce
My son just received an invitation for his first dental school interview. We have a conflict with the date and time. He emailed to ask of another date or time was available. Will this hurt his chances? He has not heard back. He is distraught he may have made a mistake in asking if another date or time was available. This is his first choice school. Please advise. Should he call the school? What can be done?
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