Most of the people who serve on admissions committees at medical schools believe that your test scores and grades provide reasonably reliable indications of your potential as a medical student. Because of their nature, however, grades and test scores cannot provide complete information about your potential for becoming a physician. The personal comments you submit with your applications may give a glimmer into this aspect of your character, but even so, members of admissions committees agree that they still do not know you as well as they would like. By means of an interview, admissions officers can possibly add a new dimension to their (and the committee's) understanding of your human qualities. Some schools are looking for students with certain kinds of interests and capabilities; the interview is a further aid to evaluating your compatibility with the programs, faculty, students, and objectives of the medical education at a specific school. No person who interviews you, on the other hand, is likely to claim that he or she knows you by virtue of the interview. An interview is part of the process of applying, nothing more, and nothing less.

The interview is an experience that you can use to your advantage, too. You'll be meeting with a faculty member and perhaps a student at the school. These persons should be very well informed about all facets of the school, and while the interview is not just a question-and-answer session for your benefit, you are likely to have an opportunity to ask questions that might not have been answered for you in catalogs or in conversations with medical students. Since medical schools vary in their approaches to medical education, you'll want to find out as much as you can about the subtle differences between schools before you commit yourself. Just as schools must choose among applicants, you must choose among schools. The interview is, then, a two-way process.

There's no way to predict exactly what admissions officers will be seeking in your interview. You can be sure, however, that they will try to find out about some of your personal attributes that are not discernible from the factual and written parts of your application. Are you friendly and warm? Will you be liked and respected by your future patients and associates? Are you articulate? Do you express yourself easily and sensibly, or are you silent and difficult to involve in a lively conversation? Are you able to give intelligent, informed answers to questions which may have been raised in your application? Personal communication is frequent and crucial in the profession of medicine, and your interviewer(s) will judge heavily on this point.

Another important facet of your interview may center on the interviewer's desire to probe your motivation for wanting to go to medical school. Is your interest in medicine long-standing and/or based on practical experience (a job in a hospital or lab)? Are your reasons for wanting to go to medical school clear? Can you express them succinctly to the interviewers, or are they based on naive expectations of what you perceive medical school to be? Will you still be enthusiastic about learning, or will your undergraduate years drain you of every desire to do further scholarly work?

During your interview you will probably be asked to comment in greater detail on any activities and experiences you have mentioned in your application. Don't be caught stammering because you really have little knowledge of the issues in a field you've mentioned as an interest. Interviewers may also ask you about major national issues, your exposure to the humanities and fine arts, or your views on some of the problems of American medicine and medical care.

An interviewer will be interested in knowing why his or her school attracts you. Are you ready to answer the question, "Why do you want to go to this medical school?" Interviewers might even ask you if their school is your first choice. If they do, and it isn't, tell them you are considering their school very strongly (which you ought to be anyway if you've reached the interview stage). You don't need to reveal your priorities in terms of specific schools. First, those priorities may change due to impressions you gain in interviews and visits; second, a sensitive interviewer might not put you in that difficult spot. The point: know why you have an interest in each school to which you apply, and if you don't have an interest in a school and are reasonably sure you would not go, don't apply there - it's a waste of your time and theirs.

The old adage says to "be yourself" in an interview. The adage is right. According to one student, "The secret is to be relaxed. Say what you feel, not what you think they want to hear. React naturally. They've interviewed a lot of people and can spot a phony easily." Don't look at the interview as a game requiring cunning moves between you and the interviewer. Approach it with an open mind.

How should you appear? Interviewers have different attitudes about the physical appearance of applicants, and you should present yourself as you see fit. Your primary objective should be to dress and appear and act in such a way that your prime objective is full and honest communication. If you are a man and believe your interviewer will be more comfortable if you have a haircut and wear a coat and tie, do both. If you're a woman and unsure whether your interviewer will expect you to wear a dress instead of pants, you might give him or her the benefit of the doubt and wear a dress. If you are truly uncomfortable in a certain mode of dress, though, don't dress that way. Your discomfiture will be evident and will distract from the interview. Be sure you wear comfortable shoes as your interview usually involves a campus tour.

Admissions officers realize that the impressions they gain from an interview are based on many variables, not the least important of which is the fact that both interviewees and interviewers have good and bad days. Sometimes, the idiosyncrasies of both parties may react in such a way that an unreasonably high or low opinion is formed about an applicant. Usually, an interviewer will be just as sensitive as you if an interview goes poorly, and he or she may suggest under that circumstance that you have an additional interview with another member of the committee.

Your interviews will usually consist of individual meetings with two or even three different people, at least one of them a faculty member and another often a medical student. Usually the interviewer will have read your application, but sometimes they know nothing about you before the interview. Be sure you know which is the case before you answer a question. You might also encounter a group interview - more than one interviewer and/or applicant at one time. If you follow our advice to be yourself and to react naturally and honestly, you should be able to handle any interviewing situation that might occur!

It is imperative that you remember that interviews are scheduled at the invitation of the school, not upon the request or preference of an applicant. However, many applicants find that time and financial restraints will limit them to only one interviewing trip. If you are applying, for example, to several schools in Boston, and one of them invites you to go to Boston for an interview, it is acceptable for you to write or call the other schools to which you applied in that geographic region. You should inform them that you will be there on certain dates, that you hope your application is complete and in order, and that you would appreciate the convenience and opportunity of having an interview with them while you are in the area IF they wish to see you. Such communication however, should optimally precede the trip by at least three or even four weeks so that the school has a chance to consider its options and then to respond to your inquiry and request. Just remember that you should treat a medical school as you would treat any person you have not met and from whom you are asking a favor. If an interview is not possible, most schools will at least try to arrange a tour for you.