If you’re preparing for a BSMD interview, it’s important to know what questions to expect. Find out 5 common BSMD interview questions and how to prepare for them. We have a thorough How to Answer Tell me about yourself College Interview blog post.
5 Common BSMD Interview Questions are:
- Tell me yourself?
- Why do you want to ______ college?
- Why do you want to come to _____ medical school?
- Is there anything else you want me and the admissions committee to know?
- Tell me about ______ activity OR What’s your most significant extra-curricular activity?
Get more common college interview question and 5 BS MD interview mistakes to avoid below!
If you have any questions or want to schedule a mock interview, please email Dr. Rachel Rizal and Dr. Rishi Mediratta in the contact form below.
Common BSMD Interview Questions
Common BSMD Interview Question 1: “Tell me about yourself”
A significant part of the college admissions process is the interview portion. For many, this part induces a bit of anxiety or fear especially when you do not know what will be asked of you. However, in almost every college interview, you can ensure that you will be asked one thing that causes many high school seniors to panic a bit: “Tell me about yourself.” It will most likely be the first thing that interviewers will ask you to do, but do not be afraid! While we give an overview of what you should include in your Tell me About Yourself college interview response here, please read our full blog post with examples on How to Answer Tell me About Yourself College Interview.
- Say your preferred name. Sometimes the name listed in the interviewers’ files does not match the name you would like to go by; therefore stating your name first can not only break the ice, but also clear any confusion.
- State demographic information. This includes your hometown, the high school you attend, and your family background (ie parents and sibling information). You can also express information about your identity if comfortable, such as racial/ethnic background, cultural background, sexuality, religious affiliation or other factors you may want to share.
- Describe your activities and hobbies. This gives the interviewer an idea of how you contribute to various communities outside of just pursuing academics and helps to personify you or add to your character.
- Explain what interests you. This step can be very brief, but providing 1-2 sentences on bigger topics or areas that intrigue you or that you want to learn more about can help frame your aspirations and activities.
- State what you hope to pursue in the future. This ranges from what you are looking to study at university and the overall experiences you hope to take away from your undergraduate experiences to your future career and personal goals.
[ Read more: “Tell me About Yourself” sample answer here: How to Answer Tell me About Yourself College Interview ]
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Common BSMD Interview Question 2: Why do you want to come to this college?
Preparation: College is your first step in a BS/MD program, so interviewers will definitely expect you to have some nuance to your answers. Similar to the “Why this medical school?” question, you do not want to just look at the university’s or program’s main admissions page. You have to do deeper research! Interviewers will want to know how you will actively contribute to the college community, and what opportunities you will take advantage of that will make you a better physician in the future.
Look at the school’s academic requirements. Are they flexible (e.g. Brown’s open curriculum?) or are they more stringent (e.g. Columbia’s Core curriculum)? Look at the courses required for your major. What excites you? What additional majors/minors interest you? You want to be able to speak to what you would like to major in as well as other types of classes you’d like to take and why. The “why” can tie back to how this will make you a better physician in the future.
Like the approach to “Why X medical school,” it’s important to think about professors you may want to do research under (they can be medical school professors, as mentioned earlier!), student organizations you may want to partake in, or activities you want to engage in (e.g. study abroad, specific funding/grant opportunities).
“Why This College” Example Response
“Why this college” tips
Are there any BS/MD specific program opportunities? For instance, does the program offer special funding for research or studying abroad? If so, you can mention that in your answer to the “Why X college?” question.
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Rachel Rizal, MD
Changing the trajectory of people’s lives
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Princeton
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Stanford
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RISHI MEDIRATTA, MD, MSc, MA
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Johns Hopkins
Medical School
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Common BSMD Interview #3: Why do you want to come to _______ medical school?
Preparation: Even though medical school may seem far away, it’s important to do your research about the school. Don’t just look at the homepage of the medical school website. Medical school admissions committees will want to know how you will be active and contribute to the medical school.
Look at the medical school’s curriculum. What are some key elements that they emphasize that you may want to take advantage of. You can think about preparing for this question similarly to how you might tackle the “Why this BS MD program?” essay question, which you can read more about here. It is important to talk about the clinical curriculum, and not the pre-clinical curriculum.
Think about professors you may want to do research under in medical school. Many times, college students in BS MD programs have mentors (including research mentors) at the college and medical school.
Finally, look into college and medical school student organizations you may want to partake in. How are these organizations related to your interests? How will these organizations make you a better physician improving healthcare.
This is an important question that you can prepare through mock interviews with our Cracking BS MD Admissions interview team!
Did you know that BS/MD programs usually give you early access to medical school faculty. Stating your interest in working with a medical school professor both in college and in medical school will demonstrate not only your interest in the specific offerings of the medical school, but also that a BS/MD program is right for you.
“Why this medical school” Example Response
“Why this medical school” tips
- To give you some guidance, research what’s unique about the school’s curriculum, culture, location, and opportunities. Is there anything unique about the medical school’s curriculum? For example, do they start clinical rotations during the second year of medical school? Do they offer a funded research year? Are you interested in doing clinical rotations in urban or rural areas? Do you want more exposure to certain patient populations?
- Paint a picture of how you will take advantage of the opportunities and resources at the school. These may include extra-curricular activities, research projects, and other graduate degrees available (e.g. MD/MBA, MD/MA). For instance, if you have an interest in public health, you might consider a medical school’s MD/MPH program should they offer one, which will allow you to receive an MD and a Master’s in Public Health in four years. By actively describing your plans and interests, you will show the interviewer that you have thought hard about why you applied to that specific BS/MD program, and are thinking long-term not only about the opportunities you’ll get in college, but also in medical school.
Download Our Interview Guide
If you are prepared, the Cracking Med School Admissions interview gives you the perfect opportunity to standout and shine by sharing with people what you are passionate about.
Common BSMD Interview #4: “What is your most significant extra-curricular activity?” OR “Tell me about _____ activity.”
Preparation: Have a short answer and a long answer prepared for each of your activities. The length of your answer will depend on how much you want to emphasize this particular activity, the position of this question in your interview (whether the question is at the end of your interview or whether the questions is at the beginning of your interview), and what you’ve already talked about. Be able to give a brief 30-second to 1-minute description of each of your major extra-curricular activities. Additionally, be able to also give a longer explanation of each of your extra-curricular activities that includes examples of your impact, specific details of your work, and leadership.
Questions about your extracurricular activities during interview day allow the interviewer to learn more about how you spend your time and what excites you. Sound excited and enthusiastic!
Furthermore, talking about your extra-curricular activities allows the medical programs to dive deeper into your interests. For example, if you conducted research during high school, then your college interviewer can ask you more questions about your research. Make sure you can explain your research to an individual who has no research or background in your field. The admissions committee will gauge whether you can clearly communicate ideas, including the research (or other extracurricular activities) you were involved with. The interviewer can ask you: what motivated you to do that type of research? What did you learn? How is this related to the medical field?
Alternatively, if you were involved with sports, your interviewer can ask you more questions about being part of a team. Other follow-up questions interview committees can ask you related to sports could include: what challenges did you face? Can you tell me about a time when you led the team or showed leadership?
For each extra-curricular activity, you should include:
- A strong topic sentence about the activity you are talking about
- (If applicable) 1-2 sentences about the context of the activity: What motivated you? Did you work with anyone? Was this part of school or another organization? Did you hold any leadership positions?
- A description of what you did in the activity. Again, don’t forget to say the impact you had! This is the most important section.
- What you learned from the activity. This is important to include.
- (If applicable) How the activity relates to medicine or what you want to pursue in college
Specific tips about discussing your research experiences:
If you conducted research during high school, then your college interviewer can ask you more questions about your research. Make sure you can explain your research to an individual who has no background in your field. The Admissions Committee will gauge whether you can clearly communicate ideas.
In addition to asking you about the research description, the interviewer can ask you:
- What motivated you to do that type of research?
- What did you learn?
- How is this related to the medical field?
Talking about Your Activities – BSMD Interview Tips
- Be able to give a brief 30 second – 1 minute description about your major extra-curricular activities.
- Say what you did and the impact you made. A common mistake we see students make is that they talk too much about the organization and not enough about what they did in the organization.
- You may want to give a reflection about how your experiences have shaped your perspective or how they will impact the way you practice medicine in the future. Perhaps, through your activity, you were inspired to do certain clinical research. Or, you realized a new way to communicate with your patients.
Common BSMD Interview Question 5: Is there anything else you want me and the admissions committee to know?
Preparation: Have a short answer and long answer prepared for this BS MD interview question.
Throughout the interview, you should be situationally aware of what topics you’ve had the chance to talk about or not had the chance to talk about. For example, say that two things you want to highlight are 1) your interests in community health and 2) your interest in primary care. And, a few of your activities that support these two interests include: shadowing a family medicine doctor, working with a mobile clinic in Mexico where you taught patients about diabetes, and your public health research. If you did not talk about either community health or primary care during your interview, then the “anything else” question is the perfect time to talk about these activities!
“Anything Else?” BSMD Interview Tips
On a related note, know how to connect your various activities with each other. Using the previous example, find good transitions between your Mexico mobile clinic, research, and your interests (both clinical and non-clinical) and tie those to what kind of physician you might want to be (e.g. specialty, types of patient populations you want to work with, etc.)
Mock Interviews: Refine Your Interview Skills With Us 1-On-1
Rachel Rizal, MD
Changing the trajectory of people’s lives
Undergraduate
Princeton
Medical School
Stanford
Awards & Scholarships
Fulbright Scholar
USA Today Academic First Team
Tylenol Scholarship
RISHI MEDIRATTA, MD, MSc, MA
Advising students to attend their dream schools
Undergraduate
Johns Hopkins
Medical School
Stanford
Awards & Scholarships
Marshall Scholar
Tylenol Scholarship
Global Health Scholar
Common College Interview Questions
In addition to interviewing for BS/MD programs, you’re likely to be interviewed by alumni of colleges you apply to. Though schools may weight the importance of these interviews differently, they overall are only one piece of the application you submit. However, a very strong performance on an alumni interview or conversely, an extremely poor performance, can impact your admission chances.
Here are a few commonly asked questions during college interviews. This list is by no means e exhaustive and can give you a taste of what to expect. You’ll find that some of these questions do overlap with BS/MD interviews, so be prepared for these to come up in any interview.
- Tell me about yourself.
- Why do want to go to x college?
- Tell me about your favorite extracurricular activity.
- What do you do in your spare time?
- Tell me about a challenge you faced, and how you overcame it.
- Tell me about a time you worked in a team.
- What are your strengths? Your weaknesses?
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5 BS MD Interview Mistakes to Avoid
There are common mistakes applicants make that affect their interviews or may not paint them in the best light. We have included some of the most commonly made errors during an interview and ways to avoid these pitfalls below.
BSMD Interview Tip #1: Avoid contradicting your story and facts in your application
While some interviewers review your application materials before your interview, many others review it after. Nonetheless, BS MD interviewers expect to see a high degree of similarity between your application essays and your interview. If they see significant differences (i.e. you write your personal statement on volunteering but never mention it in your interview), they may question which story is the most accurate and find it difficult to advocate for you to the admissions committee. Making sure that your narrative is consistent throughout the application process will make you more memorable and provide a clear rationale for what you will contribute as a future physician.
BSMD Interview Tip #2: Avoid excessive focus on irrelevant experiences
Don’t feel like you need to discuss all your extra-curricular activities. Yes, you should discuss your major activities. But again, don’t feel like you have to bring up all your activities throughout high school.
Interviewers are looking to understand how some of the pivotal experiences that you have had have prepared you to pursue a career in medicine. If you begin to spend an inordinate amount of time describing experiences that are not relevant to the “Why medicine” question, you could distract the interview from understanding your main reasons of going into medicine. The best way to avoid this from happening is to practice, practice, practice your answers to common questions like “Tell me about yourself?” and “Why medicine?”
BSMD Interview Tip #3: Avoid getting too personal
Although your interviewer is trying to understand details about you and your journey to medicine, remember that this is a professional environment. There are certain topics that may be too personal to discuss with someone you only recently met. Try to shy away from over-sharing and perhaps placing your interviewer in an awkward position. For example, if you are discussing a unique illness that one of your friends had at a young age that greatly affected you and inspired you to go into medicine, perhaps avoid detailing too extensively the toll that your friend’s illness may have had on you and instead focus on the lessons that it taught you and how you seek to help others suffering from similar ailments.
BSMD Interview Tip #4: Avoid sounding unconfident
One turnoff is to sound unconfident or insecure about your application. Do not apologize for your past experiences and answers.
Remove filler words. Specifically, words like “I think” and “I believe” make you sound tentative.
BSMD Interview Tip #5: Avoid sounding negative
Avoid expressing a large amount of regret or negative takeaways from experiences unless it bolstered your desire to apply to medical school. As a rule of thumb, all activities you talk about should be positive experiences. If there is an aspect of the activity that you do not like – do not mention it. If there was one individual you did not get along with through the activity – you do not need to mention this toxic individual either. Interviewers want to remember you positively, and not as someone who regrets many of their past decisions.
Now that you know how to approach answering the “Tell me about yourself,” BS MD interview questions, you are prepared to lay a strong foundation for your interview and impress your interviewer. With a clear understanding of who you are and what motivates you, your interviewer is free to delve into particular areas they find interesting or move on to other questions they may have. With the frameworks we have provided, you can confidently construct your narrative to convey your unique perspectives on how you will make an excellent future physician.
If you want to schedule a mock interview with our team, fill out the contact form below.