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MMI Disaster


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Hi,

I had to make an account after the way my interview went this weekend.

Initially, I thought I had done average...but going over it, I realize that my interview, my MMI especially, was a complete disaster. I feel like I basically babbled for 5 minutes straight. I had a predefined structure which I barely followed and am terrified I missed a bunch of points on every station because of that. Some stations I ended early and a few I was basically cut off and tried to wrap up my final thought. 2 stations I think I just blew. 4 I probably sucked at a little less but still didn't follow my structure.

I think my panel went...fine. They were very friendly and seemed eager to know me...but who knows.

I'm just feeling so defeated right now. I prepped hard for this and screwed up. Does anyone know how Queen's weights ABS/Refs/Interview for final offers? I'm assuming the MMI is worth more than the panel...?

Sorry for the rant. I just needed to get it out of me since its been eating me alive.

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I think your feeling is pretty normal. I always feel fine right after, but then a few hours later get flashbacks or what I should have said or shouldn’t have said until I freak myself out until decision day. Your perception of how you did can be very misleading, and as everyone will tell you, says little about how well you actually did. So take a deep breath, it may not have been that bad. I also ended early and sat in silence for most stations. I don’t think it means it’s bad imo. 

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I am sorry you feel your interview did not go as planned, but always remember that we are our own biggest critics. Personally, I am a little disappointed with the inconsistencies between applicants that Queen's has for their interviews. Some of my friends had rushed panels and only got ~9 minutes for that part, but others due to being in the last time slot, had nearly 25 minutes for the panel. It would be incredibly defeating if by proxy, your time-slot determined whether you were admitted or not based on panel performance (this is obviously something the school needs to fix). With time the interview will become a blur and all we can do is wait until May to see how we really did. 

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Breathe. You've done your best. Congratulate yourself on getting so far.
Last year, I felt just like you. Ruminating for weeks. It's torturous. So try to distract yourself! 
I found that watching/reading about how others succeeded kept my spirits up: aka talent shows, med school success stories, x factor, the voice, etc.
Whatever happens from now is out of your hands and no matter what happens, it'll be okay. 
Best of luck to you!
 

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Just now, ChickenDinner said:

Thank you guys for being so nice. 

I'll do my best to...forget...Its just that the one thing I was told was follow your structure no matter what but it all moved so quickly that I feel I didn't really do that. Did anyone else stray from their predetermined structure while in MMI?

I think that that's the point. They want to keep you under so much pressure and give you such unusual and unexpected questions that you have to think on spot and come up with an answer. But I do agree with you. I interviewed in the first weekend and I also had a structure in mind, but the MMI questions were so weird that I found that I only used my "structure" for one question!! So don't worry, it's not just you! I think that they are meant to be like that :)

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23 minutes ago, ChickenDinner said:

Thank you guys for being so nice. 

I'll do my best to...forget...Its just that the one thing I was told was follow your structure no matter what but it all moved so quickly that I feel I didn't really do that. Did anyone else stray from their predetermined structure while in MMI?

Last year I went in with no predetermined structure at all. I felt that all my answers varied depending on the prompt I was given. You'll be okay!!

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2 hours ago, Instagrammar said:

I am sorry you feel your interview did not go as planned, but always remember that we are our own biggest critics. Personally, I am a little disappointed with the inconsistencies between applicants that Queen's has for their interviews. Some of my friends had rushed panels and only got ~9 minutes for that part, but others due to being in the last time slot, had nearly 25 minutes for the panel. It would be incredibly defeating if by proxy, your time-slot determined whether you were admitted or not based on panel performance (this is obviously something the school needs to fix). With time the interview will become a blur and all we can do is wait until May to see how we really did. 

wow...it is really disheartening to learn that there is so much inconsistency. my panel lasted ~15 minutes.. i feel that i could have said a lot more if I had been allotted another 10 minutes :(

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You can write down your thoughts about each station, and how you could have improved while it is still fresh in your mind, but then don't spend too much time dwelling. It's already over, nothing you do now will change what happened. The notes might help you reflect back on what happened this year if/when you prepare for next year. We all go through the phase of ruminating and thinking we could have done better, but the reality is, its already over. It's done, its happened, we can only prepare for what is to come next. 

Now, I have heard rumors floating around that the panel is just to screen you for potential red flags/ inconsistencies. Meaning, performing well on it might not do much to your application. As long as you don't trip a red flag that they have to review, you're good. The panel itself also varies greatly. Each year I felt very differently about the panel and was asked very different questions.

Trust in the system that the questions are designed so it is fair across interviewers, dates, weekends, etc. They typically do review questions if people are scoring abnormally high or low as well. 

 

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33 minutes ago, chiynadoll said:

Now, I have heard rumors floating around that the panel is just to screen you for potential red flags/ inconsistencies. Meaning, performing well on it might not do much to your application. As long as you don't trip a red flag that they have to review, you're good. The panel itself also varies greatly. Each year I felt very differently about the panel and was asked very different questions. 

 

Has anyone else heard this? Is the panel just for flags?

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1 hour ago, AvgApplicant said:

I’ve heard this as well. I think it’s just mainly to test for communication ability and that you’re a normalish person to talk to

That's interesting because the talk with my panel was substantially different from what I was expecting in that the questions felt more "shallow" compared to what I had practiced and anticipated.. 

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41 minutes ago, struggling2getin said:

That's interesting because the talk with my panel was substantially different from what I was expecting in that the questions felt more "shallow" compared to what I had practiced and anticipated.. 

I sort of felt this too...

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31 minutes ago, Albert said:

 

 

Haha I didn't want to give too much away but I essentially hold the same sentiment. Did you interview this Sat/Sun? Perhaps we just happened to share the same panellists since I know many people get far different questions. It felt like, for me at least, that they already had a decision in mind or wouldn't be contributing a lot to my overall score based on their areas of focus.   

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15 minutes ago, betterlattethannever said:

If this is the case, don’t you think it’s a bit limited to base a candidate’s entire interview on only 6 MMI stations? That’s half the stations Mac uses

McMaster just looks at #'s for an interview, some candidates might have never volunteered in their life (unlikely) and you could technically get an interview. Queens gives all files a pre-interview score which encompasses EC's and reference letters. This is combined with the MMI score and what ever the heck the panel assesses to rank candidates. Perhaps 12 stations are not necessary to find out more about the applicant as they have been screened in other metrics which McMaster does not do until their interview. 

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17 minutes ago, betterlattethannever said:

If this is the case, don’t you think it’s a bit limited to base a candidate’s entire interview on only 6 MMI stations? That’s half the stations Mac uses

This exactly. 'Red flags' can be spotted in the MMI and you are also assessed for communication in the MMI. 

I wouldn't speculate unless the adcoms explicitly state on the website the purpose of the panel. Until then, I would just assume that all aspects of the interview are combined to determine where you 'placed'. 

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23 minutes ago, betterlattethannever said:

If this is the case, don’t you think it’s a bit limited to base a candidate’s entire interview on only 6 MMI stations? That’s half the stations Mac uses

Honestly, Queens has a reputation for being a big black box. There is no real way to predict what it is exactly that they are looking for, or measuring. As with any school, there is always some limitation with how the process is. There is always that one med-student who you question "how did they get in?", and that pre-med that you wonder "how are you still not in??". 

Again, I wouldn't look too much into the interview at this point, it'll only cause you unnecessary stress. 

I absolutely rocked my panel last year IMO, it felt like the perfect panel, and the interviewer even responded with something along the lines of "I wasn't expecting that, very impressive, I liked how you framed that answer". I felt like I connected well to the panelists and represented myself well. Unfortunately, I'm still here so.... 

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6 minutes ago, chiynadoll said:

Honestly, Queens has a reputation for being a big black box. There is no real way to predict what it is exactly that they are looking for, or measuring. As with any school, there is always some limitation with how the process is. There is always that one med-student who you question "how did they get in?", and that pre-med that you wonder "how are you still not in??". 

Again, I wouldn't look too much into the interview at this point, it'll only cause you unnecessary stress. 

I absolutely rocked my panel last year IMO, it felt like the perfect panel, and the interviewer even responded with something along the lines of "I wasn't expecting that, very impressive, I liked how you framed that answer". I felt like I connected well to the panelists and represented myself well. Unfortunately, I'm still here so.... 

May I ask how you also felt about your MMI relative to the panel last year?

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1 minute ago, Albert said:

May I ask how you also felt about your MMI relative to the panel last year?

I felt really good about 4/6 stations (definitely rocked 1), and average on 2/6. Didn't feel like I struggled with any of them. I ended up being waitlisted. MMI was definitely weaker than my panel, and if the panel had weight to it, it wasn't enough to carry me over. 

*shrugs*

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6 minutes ago, chiynadoll said:

I felt really good about 4/6 stations (definitely rocked 1), and average on 2/6. Didn't feel like I struggled with any of them. I ended up being waitlisted. MMI was definitely weaker than my panel, and if the panel had weight to it, it wasn't enough to carry me over. 

*shrugs*

Oh boy... am I in trouble then...

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2 minutes ago, Albert said:

Oh boy... am I in trouble then...

My sentiments exactly...felt very similar this year as chiynadoll felt last year...

Ugh. I know its over. I know there's nothing else I can do. I know my fate is out of my hands. But I can't stop obsessing...Hopefully, it'll die down in a few days...

My panel was super conversational as well...didn't even ask questions I was 100% sure I would get asked...Just seemed to pick random things in my application to ask me about and a lot of random, side chitchat...So disappointed to realize that maybe the panel doesn't play a massive part...

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