I've got an interview at a med. school coming up, if any of you have any tips, please let me know.

if i get in i'm thinking about doing the USAF scholarship program.

alternatively, i'm also debating on this anasthesiologist assistant program at case western.  if any of you guys have a minute, please check in.  i may send a few im's to those who respond in this post.

i think a list needs to be compiled of all the physicians on this site for this sort of hting.  maybe a health professions folder or something.


thanks guys

-Mike

i'll probably bump this a few times if noone responds.  i doubt anyone searches for these kinds of posts on a regular basis

how many interviews do you have coming? Just one? Multiple? where have you applied? Where do you want to go?

im me, I can help.

congrats on getting an interview, i didnt even get that far.

sadly just one interview.  i didnt do so hot on the MCAT (which i didnt take until august) - so it put me towards the back of the list

the interview is at NEOUCOM, north eastern ohio univeristy college of medicine.

although i still havent heard back from the medical university of ohio (MUO) in toledo.  

Just be yourself.  Be truthful and eager.  You credentials will talk for themselves but if you wow them in the interview you can get in.

My GPA in college was mediocre for a medical student.  About a 3.7

But my MCAT was stellar.  12, 10, 12, R

What got me in was the interview.  One prof spoke to me a few minutes and then said what did I like to do for fun.  After a few more minutes he said I had got his vote after the first few minutes.  But just wanted to get to know me better.  He was reloader!  Shot a lot of .45s.

Be confident, be yourself, dont show off, show genuine interest.

Good luck.

ps, Be persistent.  Write thank you letters.  You have to set your self apart from the thousand others.  Write follow up letters saying how you are looking forward to going to school there.

It also helps and you can throw all the shit I wrote if your dad gave $3,000,000 for the new microlab.  I have seen it happen.

Doing poorly on the MCAT will definitely put you on the bottom end of the list.

Quoted: I've got an interview at a med. school coming up, if any of you have any tips, please let me know.

Be assertive and confident but not overbearing. They are only trying to make usre you are not a fucking loon with an agenda. Just be yourself.  I always found it useful in any interview to make answers brief and take opportunities to ask them about themselves. People love talking about themselves and will find your listening to them a positive. Before you know it, time's up and you've just sat there listening to THEM talk.

if i get in i'm thinking about doing the USAF scholarship program.

Reconsider.
In a couple of years you may want to do soemthing entirely different. Finanacially you are probably better off going it alone. Further, you will find out that you can join them any time you want. Waiting will be a better deal financially.

That was what I noticed anyhow. All of those who did were real happy when they started, watching the rest of us running up debt hand over fist, but by the end most all were unhappy with their decision.

The money is there in loans, etc.
Medschool loans float above the prime rate with a max of 18% though in most cases, and the interest accrues from day 1. So be aware.

The best advice I can give you is too live a spartan existence and minimize your debt. It and the interest really add up. When you get to residency try to start paying off right away, at least pay the interest.

alternatively, i'm also debating on this anasthesiologist assistant program at case western.  if any of you guys have a minute, please check in.  i may send a few im's to those who respond in this post.

Not much help there.
Very little pt contact which can be good or bad depending on your point of view.

You can always retake the MCAT.
Or there are PA programs also. those have a lot of people who wanted to be docs but couldn't do well on the MCATs.

I will tell you how I studied for the MCAT (97th percentile):

I was out of college for 4 years and working, wife, 2 kids.

Took my Chem book out, Physics book, human bio book.
Would study at night after everyone went to bed for a couple of hours. And/or get up about 4:30 - 5AM and get in an hour or two before hitting the shower.
Somedays I wouldn't study at all but I was pretty disciplined.
Read the chapters over(didn't take long as it all came back quickly--I had good grades) and then hit the problems that I found tough when I took the class. I always circled a few problems in each chapter that were represetnative of what was learned or were hard questions. That was always how I prepared for tests. Anyway, I would hit those and move on. Probably not more than 5-6 problems per chapter.

Got what ever sample MCAT tests I could find and would hit those periodically.

If you took the test you know speed is of the essence. If you can fininsh the test you will probably do well. If you are struggling to do so you will be in trouble.

I kept an MCAT Study manual at work and I would hit one section on break and 2-4 sections while I ate lunch.

I did this during the summer and made it thru each book and the study manual 3 times before I took the test. I really didn't put all that much effort into it, I was just very disciplined in how I went about it and made good use of the limited time I had.

It is competitive for sure.
Moreso when you get to medschool.
There is nothing which can prepare you for that. The pace is VERY, VERY rapid and it is sink or swim. Generally, they will not accept people that cannot cut it. The only exceptions to that were a few minorities and a couple of women in my class who should have never been admitted in the first place. The women got the boot before the 1st semester was over. The minority stragglers took 6 years to do a 4 year program.

1/2 of my class was from Kali, 45% female, few minorites--maybe 15%. My class had almost 200 in it.

Each month we took a battery of tests which would be about like taking an entire semester of undergrad finals in one morning.

Good luck!

Just be yourself. Be truthful and eager. You credentials will talk for themselves but if you wow them in the interview you can get in.

+1

Try to be confident, but not arrogant. Eager, but not nervous, etc. Hard to describe, but you know what I mean.

Apply to at least 5-7 different schools. Don't forget the D.O. schools; they have traditionally accepted students that may look slightly less attractive "by the numbers", but who are more mature with more varied life history. In my class, besides the usual academic superstars and stereotypical braniacs, we had a  fair number of veterans. One was former A-7 pilot in Vietnam. We also had a couple of former semi-pro ball players.

I got in with a 3.23 GPA. A couple of my math grades were teh suxx0r, pulling down my GPA, and when they asked about it, I told the truth that math wasn't my strongpoint, and I was in classes competing against engineering majors. I did have pretty strong MCAT's though. 12's, 11's and 10's. (Not sure how they score them now)

IF you really want it, keep applying. Persistence pays off.

Good Luck,

Doc H.

Talk about competitive.

We had one cunt that kept volunteering to do extra work for the residents.  When we were alone she would ask who was going to help her.  I told her to fuck off and that she could wipe off that brown shit off her nose.  When we would stop in front of a patients room she would step up and make sure she was in the front.  One day one of the other guys tripped her ass as she was making her way to the front.  We laughed our asses off.  The residents knew what was going on and laughed too.

Kind of sad really but you meet people like that all the time.

I met genius level people and people that were semi retarded.  We had one lady take 8 years to finish her first 2 years of med school.

Then there were the black students.  They had extra review sessions and non-colored students were not allowed in.  One of my buddys made a point of going and he shot daggers at him the whole time but couldnt ask him to leave.

The copy girls were black and a huge scandal arose because they were making copies of the tests and giving them to the black students. It was squashed like lightening.  The girls all were all replaced and everything went on if nothing was wrong.

Quoted: Talk about competitive. We had one cunt that kept volunteering to do extra work for the residents.  When we were alone she would ask who was going to help her.  I told her to fuck off and that she could wipe off that brown shit off her nose.  When we would stop in front of a patients room she would step up and make sure she was in the front.  One day one of the other guys tripped her ass as she was making her way to the front.  We laughed our asses off.  The residents knew what was going on and laughed too. Kind of sad really but you meet people like that all the time. I met genius level people and people that were semi retarded.  We had one lady take 8 years to finish her first 2 years of med school. Then there were the black students.  They had extra review sessions and non-colored students were not allowed in.  One of my buddys made a point of going and he shot daggers at him the whole time but couldnt ask him to leave. The copy girls were black and a huge scandal arose because they were making copies of the tests and giving them to the black students. It was squashed like lightening.  The girls all were all replaced and everything went on if nothing was wrong.

Yeah, I remember some of the women runningup to residents shoving their breasts up against them and telling them how wonderful they were.  A LOT! No shit. Never thought I'd see that kind of shit in medschool. But hey, they did get better reviews....
I left medschool firmly believing that interns, who had never had a real job in their life, should never be put in charge of anyone or anything. LOL.

We started with 3 blacks in my medschool class. 2 were really bright. Really bright. When we got to our second year we picked up the stragglers and had 8 or 10. Most should have got the boot. They just weren't smart enough. When I think of them now I cringe and wonder what they are doing now.  Odds are they are doing okay though, now that I am out in the field. Bottom line is that you just have to know your limitations.  No one can ever know it all and you have to realize that.

IT IS WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW THAT WILL GET YOU IN TROUBLE.

Most people have no idea how much they don't know, including nurses, RNPs, PAs, etc. A good doc has had enough training that he has a fair idea what he doesn't know and when to read, when to get a consult.

Lot of good info here so far. I was on the admissions committee for one of the med schools and for the residency training program. Once you get an interview, personality is a big factor. People want to see how you interact, if you can be flustered, how well you think on your feet. Demonstrate genuine interest in that particular school. Read up on some of the history there and some of the famous graduates. Read up on any research projects that are going on in the school. Be genuine and show eagerness. Listen attentively and prepare questions to ask your interviewers. Nothing worse than saying "no" when they ask if you have any questions for them.

Quoted: IT IS WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW THAT WILL GET YOU IN TROUBLE.

A wiser thing has NEVER NEVER been ever spoken.  The unknown will kill a patient.  You have to learn to draw the line and back off if you are not sure of something and ask for help.

Quoted: I've got an interview at a med. school coming up, if any of you have any tips, please let me know. if i get in i'm thinking about doing the USAF scholarship program.

if you get in, make sure and do your research on the USAF scholarships, I've heard nothing but bad things about the armed forces and how they treat grads, I'd already have joined the Army on scholarship had the recruiter not fed me a bunch of horseshit about how accomidating they'll be since I have a family,

Quoted: alternatively, i'm also debating on this anasthesiologist assistant program at case western.  if any of you guys have a minute, please check in.  i may send a few im's to those who respond in this post.

they've covered the bases, just be prepared to talk politics about medicine and be prepared for just about anything in the interview, most will play nice, but I had a few that were bitches about petty stuff.    so be sure to pay attention to news articles and such before your interview.  other than that, get a good night sleep before hand, make sure your credit card works and you'll be able to pay for the hotel room, and no alcohol, until after it's over.

Quoted: Quoted: IT IS WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW THAT WILL GET YOU IN TROUBLE. A wiser thing has NEVER NEVER been ever spoken.  The unknown will kill a patient.  You have to learn to draw the line and back off if you are not sure of something and ask for help.

Obviously I am quoting those who came before me. It is however, something I remind myself of regularly.  A little humility is essential to your own and your pt's well being.

if i get in i'm thinking about doing the USAF scholarship program

Think twice about that. I had a Navy scholarship, and it worked out well for me.  It was pretty competitive then (mid-80's). However, the Navy was only able to fill 33% of their HPSP slots last year. That ought to tell you something. I dunno about the Air Farce, but Navy medicine is in the hurt locker.

Doc H.

Ok, thanks for the tips.  I will be graduating with a double major in Biology and Chemistry, with a concentration in Biochemistry/Molecular Biology.  (from John Carroll University)

Unfortunately i only got a 27 on the MCAT, (8,8,11).  i was actually very surprised, i got an average of a 10 on the verbal reasoning practice tests and for some reason sucked up an 8 on the real one.  I had a 28/29 on the full lenghts i took right up to the test, and expected to go up a point or 2 on the real one, cause thats what everyone said would happen.  

I'm not sure if it was a fluke or what, but retaking it is something i am definitely considering (and will be sure to bring up in the interview if they ask what i'm gonna do if i dont get in this year)

also, would you guys mind stating what kind of doc you are? i'm just curious

Hey, my stats were not too much better than yours and I got in.  I'm a first year med student at the moment.

My MCAT was OK.  My science GPA was a 3.9 but my overall GPA was a 3.3.

My positives were:  lots of volunteer time (medical and non-medical both), i held a full time network administrator job throughout undergrad (they liked the job thing)

I was pretty relaxed at the interview.  All the students being interviewed (guys had on black suits and the girls had on black business suits) dress alike.  This is what they tell you to wear so you will look conservative.  When I saw this, I took off my suit jacket and just had on a nice shirt and tie.  I stood out.  That is what you have to do, stand out.  You need to make sure that they remember you out of the 300 or so that they are interviewing.  

If you get into the interview, then the school thinks that you have the smarts to do the work.  Otherwise they wouldn't bother.  So the interview is what is going to make or break you.  You have to make a good impression to your interviewers.  They always ask about what books you have read lately, so go brush up on some profound ones.  =)

Learn about what school you are interviewing at and then go and read input from people who have already interviewed there.  Go here:
www.studentdoctor.net/interview/interview_read.asp

Let us know how it goes.  and PM me if you have any questions I can answer for you.

Also, be careful what you wish for... You may get it (in other words, med school is more work than you can imagine) =)

PS. I'm studying for a neuroanatomy test at the moment.

Quoted: scholarship had the recruiter not fed me a bunch of horseshit about how accomidating they'll be since I have a family

Medical education on the DoD's budget? New to the service/field? Got a family? Two words for ya: OVERSEAS ASSIGNMENT (within easy flight distance to current/future combat zones). It's time to pay the piper!

They send you where they need you and they don't need you here. But when you get back, you'll leapfrog the civilian competition. If you do enough PT, you'll be the studly doctor your wife always dreamed about.