The Medical School Interview: Secrets and a System for Success

I am a health communication professor and I work closely with the university's premed program. I sometimes do trainings prepping the students for their med school interviews and many of my students have been successfully admitted to med school. Over the years I have gathered dozens of books in this topic. This book is in my top 10 favorites.This is a great book and I think that anyone preparing for an interview will find it to be incredibly useful. When my students ask for resources, this is in the list of book titles I give them. I would also like to point out that, in my opinion, the two best books to help you prep are  The Medical School Interview: Winning Strategies from Admissions Faculty  and  Multiple Mini Interview (MMI): Winning Strategies from Admissions Faculty  Start with the general one, and spend some serious time on it. Don't skip the 'why do you want to be a doctor' and 'what is professionalism' sections, they are gold! Then if you are informed that you will have an MMI, go ahead and read the other one. If you won't have an MMI, I would still consider browsing through it because it gives you interesting ethical questions to think on, which should get your medical communication juices flowing and ready for an interview!As someone who helps train prospective med school students, I want to emphasize that whatever book you buy, you need to practice. Practice out loud and hopefully to another person who is listening to you and providing feedback.

While preparing for the interview trail, I had checked out quite a few books in preparation. Most other books amounted to little more than lists of questions, to which you would write out your canned answers, and then regurgitate those answers when in your interview.This is NOT how the interview really goes, and if you prepare this way, you will NOT perform well!I was interviewed by about 15 people at 7 schools this year, and was accepted to 3 of those schools (one of them is one of the best in the US). I give this book a lot of credit with helping me to organize my thoughts, motivations, and eventually figuring out what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it.I found that the majority of my interviews were very conversational in style, and this book teaches you a system that enables you to seamlessly steer the conversation and get your talking points across. Of course, it will take quite a bit of work on your part, but it will be worth the effort when you can effortlessly explain why you are the ideal candidate.Do not buy any other book other than this one; you will simply be wasting your time. Also, don't worry too much about memorizing answers to lists of questions. It's a waste of time. The self-inventories that you will work on in this book are more than enough.Good luck!

I am currently applying to medical schools in the US and was recommended this book by an admissions counselor for one of the medical schools. This is the perfect book for anxious pre-med students that are applying for medical school as it goes over what the interviewers are looking for in a potential medical student including traits, work habits, answers, etc. It even contains a section on how to dress as well! I recommend this book because it made me a lot less anxious about the interview process and it familiarized me with what the interviewers were really asking- not just the surface level answer. I got into medical school and I do commend a large part of that to this book. So happy reading and good luck with your interviews!

Excellent read. As a reapplicant that failed to move past the interview stage last cycle, I need to give special kudos and thanks to Dr. Fleenor for writing such an informative and helpful book for helping applicants approach what I consider the hardest stage of gaining admission into medical school. I especially loved how he helps the applicant visualize what the adcoms are looking for and really puts things in perspective.Reading this book made a significant impact on how I performed on my most recent interviews during this new cycle, and I am proud to say that I have been accepted at one of my top choices.Highly recommend.

I liked this book. It gives a little bit of perspective to applicants from the interviewers/school's POV. Though, I don't think that it provides exceptionally "secret" information, I think the author does a really good job trying to get the reader to really think about their answer, especially to the general questions. I think it helped me with my interview and also answering my secondary application questions. It helped me change the perspective of how I answer the questions.

This book provided a clear and concise way to organize my experiences and story for my medical school application. I used the outline that I prepared using this book to prepare for all of my interviews, and I felt confident answering all questions that I was asked during my interviews. I would highly recommend this book for any pre-medical student preparing for medical school interviews.

Very helpful! I used this for my medical interviews back in the day. I was accepted on my first attempt so I am guessing it did its jobs. I felt very comfortable and was prepared for interview!

This book is helpful when it come to knowing more or less which questions you will encounter during a medical school interview. However, when the author tries to explain techniques for the 'high-yield questions' some of what he says is not necessarily relevant anymore. If the book were to be updated I would recommend it. While it is an easy read, it also eases your nerves for the big day!

information not particularly helpful. I likely wouldn't recommend this book but if I did, it would be someone applying to an American med school (not a Canadian school)

great!

Pretty usefull even in Quebec!