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Hi everyone, I’m seeking some guidance for my current situation. This past cycle I was grateful enough to interview at 6 Canadian medical schools, but was rejected by 5 of them these past few days. I’m still waiting on one tomorrow, but I do not expect much at this point. I feel hopeless at this point and was wondering what I should do moving forward in terms of interviewing? I practiced mainly by myself and with two interview coaches this past cycle. They both said I was doing well, so these rejections come as a shock.

i practiced in front of the mirror, videotaped myself, and familiarized with current topics. What I didn’t do enough was practicing in front of an actual person (I did Skype sessions with coaches, so maybe that was a factor? They didn’t really focus much on my body language since it was Skype, but I didn’t see any obvious concerns (maybe I didn’t know what to look for?)

I’m terms of my actual response, i was told I had really great structure when answering questions and that the content of my responses were great

So I really don’t know what to do anymore. What seemed to be great prep was obviously not enough. What can I do? What does it take to get an acceptance post interview or even a wait list? Has anyone been in my situation before and if so, what did you do differently?

Thank you!

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On 5/10/2018 at 1:27 PM, future_doczhang said:

Hi everyone, I’m seeking some guidance for my current situation. This past cycle I was grateful enough to interview at 6 Canadian medical schools, but was rejected by 5 of them these past few days. I’m still waiting on one tomorrow, but I do not expect much at this point. I feel hopeless at this point and was wondering what I should do moving forward in terms of interviewing? I practiced mainly by myself and with two interview coaches this past cycle. They both said I was doing well, so these rejections come as a shock.

i practiced in front of the mirror, videotaped myself, and familiarized with current topics. What I didn’t do enough was practicing in front of an actual person (I did Skype sessions with coaches, so maybe that was a factor? They didn’t really focus much on my body language since it was Skype, but I didn’t see any obvious concerns (maybe I didn’t know what to look for?)

I’m terms of my actual response, i was told I had really great structure when answering questions and that the content of my responses were great

So I really don’t know what to do anymore. What seemed to be great prep was obviously not enough. What can I do? What does it take to get an acceptance post interview or even a wait list? Has anyone been in my situation before and if so, what did you do differently?

Thank you!

Unless we hear it for ourselves... hard to know exactly where to help you. 

Are those coaches actually coaches for MMI and have experience? It's hard to come by actually good coaching in this area in the first place. 

My personal belief is if they don't smash me with criticism then I didn't find the right coach... you're not really there to hear them praise you, you're there to get their advice on improvement. 

In the immediate future though I do recommend taking a step back and trying to do other things... it does help with coming in with a fresh perspective after being so tense throughout the year. After you've cooled off a bit you can look to come back and keep going. 

Good luck, 

- G

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On 5/10/2018 at 3:27 PM, future_doczhang said:

Hi everyone, I’m seeking some guidance for my current situation. This past cycle I was grateful enough to interview at 6 Canadian medical schools, but was rejected by 5 of them these past few days. I’m still waiting on one tomorrow, but I do not expect much at this point. I feel hopeless at this point and was wondering what I should do moving forward in terms of interviewing? I practiced mainly by myself and with two interview coaches this past cycle. They both said I was doing well, so these rejections come as a shock.

i practiced in front of the mirror, videotaped myself, and familiarized with current topics. What I didn’t do enough was practicing in front of an actual person (I did Skype sessions with coaches, so maybe that was a factor? They didn’t really focus much on my body language since it was Skype, but I didn’t see any obvious concerns (maybe I didn’t know what to look for?)

I’m terms of my actual response, i was told I had really great structure when answering questions and that the content of my responses were great

So I really don’t know what to do anymore. What seemed to be great prep was obviously not enough. What can I do? What does it take to get an acceptance post interview or even a wait list? Has anyone been in my situation before and if so, what did you do differently?

Thank you!

I think medical school interviews definitely select for the people who can really sell themselves well and are confident. There is a big part of it that is personality dependent but it can be something that is built upon life experiences. It seems like you already put in your all with preparation, but what be lacking is the execution and presentation. You might want to get a friend or someone in med to really evaluate you and see where you could improve. In your gap year (if you do end up needing one), i'm speculating here but you might want to really push yourself and your own boundaries. Those new life experiences you gain from pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone, really change how you present yourself as a person in interviews.  

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Agree that you want coaches who will give you as much constructive feedback as possible. It's one thing to provide a confidence boost to someone who needs it, but most everyone starting out this in this process will have room for improvement. Did these coaches have a background in medical admissions? Are you near a university where you can access in-person coaching? Even family/friends may be helpful to pick up on body language cues, as they will be motivated to help you succeed.

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thank you for your replies! this will be my second year out of undergrad and am planning on doing more volunteering this year. ill also be joining a toastmasters club to build better communication. i worked at a clinic full-time last year, but will probably be doing part-time this year to allow more time to do other stuff.

my coaches helped me with response delivery (structure, content) at least in the verbal sense. but since it was online, we didn't focus on body language, and this will be something that i look to change.

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1 hour ago, future_doczhang said:

thank you for your replies! this will be my second year out of undergrad and am planning on doing more volunteering this year. ill also be joining a toastmasters club to build better communication. i worked at a clinic full-time last year, but will probably be doing part-time this year to allow more time to do other stuff.

my coaches helped me with response delivery (structure, content) at least in the verbal sense. but since it was online, we didn't focus on body language, and this will be something that i look to change.

Yeah, it's good to start all that stuff asap for next cycle just incase, but I have a feeling ur gonna get off the UBC waitlist B)

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I'm in a similar boat, and feeling pretty dejected about how things turned out for me this cycle. I only have one waitlist (Western) to hope on. Torn about what my focus should be for the upcoming cycle, or whether I should focus on boosting my CV and going for a Master's to bide me some time to work on interview skills (which seems to be a slow fix), and reapply in my final year of grad school.

 

 

 

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On 5/13/2018 at 12:09 AM, Persephone said:

A lot of people who did well on their interviews said their best advice for interviews came from medical students and doctors!

This was definitely the case for me. Speaking to a Med 2 briefly on the phone for 10 mins ended up easing my nerves so much. I felt like my approach was much more genuine because of it. 

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Six interviews is a feat in of itself, congratulations! Are you opposed to applying to American schools? I only ask because they typically have very high post II rates and some schools even view interviews as a formality more so than another form of evaluation. Compare that to Canada where the interview is basically everything.

 

Anyway, regarding interview advice I found it extremely helpful to practice with current medical students, especially if they have prior experience with interviewing medical hopefuls.  

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1. Practice in person with an interview coach who is an expert in medical school interviews. Practicing online is not very useful because a huge component of the MMI is how you present yourself.

2. Develop stories for the various canmed competencies ( ex. a time when you were a collaborator, advocate, a time when you resolved a conflict).

3. Join a public speaking / debate club.

4. Take every opportunity to present things whether it is in school or at work

5. Try to get out of your comfort zone as much as possible.

 

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2 hours ago, count123 said:

2. Develop stories for the various canmed competencies ( ex. a time when you were a collaborator, advocate, a time when you 

 

Complete agree with the above. 

Having a story to tell is crucial to standing out amongst all the amazing candidates out there. It makes you memorable and enables your interviewers to relate to you.

I didn’t develop a proper way to relay my story  until my 2nd and 3rd interview. The result is that I got rejected at my first school, waitlisted at the second and accepted at the third one. 

The more you practice and the more interviews you do, the better you get at it.

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  • 3 weeks later...
22 hours ago, Mary7713 said:

Hello. What is the best college to go for McGill pre med? Dawson or Vanier? And the next question: the best of these two vs Marianopolis, Thanks

Just go to where you think you will have the best university experience. Med schools don't care where you do your undergrad. Just go where you think you'll be best set up for academic and personal success.

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