So...what have you done differently this year?

[Guest med2006McGill]

Hi peachy & Biochem10:

 

I can tell you a bit about the UT MD/PhD and McGill MD/PhD program since I applied to both. It's true that they interviewed quite a number of MD/PhD applicants at UT, but keep in mind that usually only extraordinary applicants apply to the combined MD/PhD program. Of the five people I met at the interview, two of them were from Harvard (need I say more?).

 

As for McGill, there is usually only 1 MD/PhD spot available for OOP students each year. For both programs, they really look for people who are interested in research. Of course, it helps if you have publications or tons of research experience.

 

If you guys have more specific questions, I'd be glad to answer them.

[Guest peachy]

med2006McGill,

 

Are you in the MD/PhD program at McGill, or just the MD?

 

Do you think that it disqualifies an applicant not to have deep research experience as evidenced by publications? I've had several varied experiences, but because I chose to try out different things rather than keep working at the same project, I don't have any publications.

 

peachy

[Guest med2006McGill]

Hi peachy,

 

I got accepted into the MD/PhD program. I didn't have any publication when I was applying (my manuscript was just being submitted). Not everyone has publications, so I wouldn't worry about it. Like you, I worked in several different labs to broaden my horizon instead of just staying in one lab.

[Guest JSS02]

Like AJ, I went to the U of T Career Centre for mock interviews (they do give interviews geared towards med school applicants), and also found them extremely useful. I'm sure many universities have something like this, so once you start getting interview invites in the new year you should definitely look into it.

[Guest Biochem10]

Thanks for your comments medicator. I also don't have any publications and have worked in three labs. I'm going to be working in a fourth next semester. I'm hoping that I'll get interviewed for the combined program (at least at McGill since I'm an in-province student), but I'll be happy to do an MD first and get more scientific training afterwards. I'm trying to stay optimistic about everything because I know how tough it will be to get in. In any case, I'll be just as happy starting my PhD next year and applying to the MD later.....needless to say, I'll be in school for life! Oh, well, better than the real world! One question about the interview: there are two, right? One for MD committee and one for the PhD committee? Were the questions in the PhD interview very focused on the scientific details of your research projects? If they are, I'm going to have to refresh my memory about what I was doing in the lab way back in 2000.

[Guest TimmyMax]

Hey all,

 

Again, assuming the role of deviant, in my preparation for my interviews, I did not make use of a mock interview service, although in theory, I can see how it would be beneficial.

Furthermore, may I stress that the way that any given person chooses to prepare for his/her interview is up to the individual-there seems to be no 100% foolproof method of interview preparation, otherwise, it would have already been discovered and described by now.

As for I personally prepared for my interviews, well, aside from posting incessantly on this forum (and others), I did a lot of reading. This reading incorporated a wide range of topics, ranging from the individual med programs that each school was offering to current global events. In addition, I did some serious introspection, asking myself the tough questions, like why did I really want to go to medical school and nowhere else? What was I going to do if I didn't get med?

I think that if you come from a solid knowledge of yourself (mostly) and the world around you, you will be more than set. After that, it's all about how you choose to apply this knowledge when the time comes. Add in some solid interviewing skills and you should have a recipe for success, no matter how tough the adcom you draw!

Above all else, I found that honesty was the key. You can give an adcom what you think that they want to hear or what you feel you should be saying, but be warned that they often will see right through it. IMO, there is no substitute for an honest, genuine, well thought out response, no matter what the situation. It shows that you've actually given this choice some thought and aren't doing it because you somehow feel that you should be. Besides, if you do get in by faking your way through and giving them what they want to hear, in the end, who will you be cheating???

At least that's how I approached it.

 

Best of luck!

Timmy

[Guest mying]

I didn't practice interviewing either. I read over the school's curriculum/mission statement/whatever mostly as part of just deciding if I really wanted to be at that school. And I read over my CV and just remembered past things to remind myself of what things I'd done that might seem "cool" to an interviewing committee. It was odd what I did end up talking about in the interview... old sociology papers was one. Botching a blood pressure was another. I think the biggest preparatory thing I really did was just acquaint myself with medical ethics, because I had no training in that in school and I wanted to be comfortable with the lingo.

 

I also consumed large quantities of chocolate the night before.

[Guest aneliz]

I also didn't practice interviewing per se before the real thing....although I had been interviewed for many different positions in the past and had participated as a panel interviewer to select peer helpers for the department that I worked in at the University of Guelph....

 

Before my interviews, I made sure that I watched the news the night before, checked out the school's website to make sure that I had all of the readily available info on their curriculum, mission statements, etc, read over my autobiographical sketch and essay (if applicable) and then relaxed! Make sure that you know where you are going, what you are wearing etc before the big day....these things can cause a lot of un-needed stress if you don't plan in advance!!!

[Guest med2006McGill]

Hi Biochem10,

 

Being a Quebec resident, you have a good chance of getting an interview at McGill. I had 4 interviews at McGill: one with the MD/PhD coordinator, one with 2 MD/PhD students, then 2 more with 2 different people from the MD admissions committee. Each interview was 30-45 min long. They didn't focus on the scientific details of my research projects. They just want to make sure that you love research and that you've though thoroughly about becoming a clinician scientist.

 

As for UT, I had 2 interviews: one with the MD/PhD admissions committe (5 or 6 of them) and one with the MD admissions people. The UT MD/PhD committee asked me questions similar to those the McGill MD/PhD people asked me.