Congratulations on receiving a Zucker School of Medicine / Hofstra BS MD Interview Invite! We are super excited for you, and our BS MD Admissions interview team is happy to help you out. In this blog post, we want to give you step-by-step tips on how you can prepare for your Hofstra BS MD Interview. Our goal is to help you STAND OUT!
In this post, we will cover:
- What does the Hofstra BS MD program look for in applicants?
- How to prepare for Hofstra’s CASPer exam
- Research unique opportunities at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra / Northwell’s 4+4 Program
- Read about healthcare issues that affect Hofstra’s community – Long Island, New York
- Common Hofstra BS MD interview questions and how to prepare
- Schedule a mock interview with our Cracking BS MD Admissions team!
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Dr. Rishi Mediratta and Dr. Rachel Rizal below!
What does the Hofstra BS MD Admissions Committee look for?
You’ve been working hard throughout high school and you’ve finally received the coveted Hofstra BS MD interview invite! So obviously, you had a strong academic track record including good grades and good standardized test scores. You also had patient care and clinical opportunities throughout your time as a high school premedical student.
Hofstra’s 4+4 BA/BS MD program has a 3.7 unweighted GPA and a 1410 SAT score minimum requirements. Given that every single Hofstra BS MD interviewee is going to have strong academics + clinical experience … and likely research too, how will you stand out?
It is important to note the unique traits that the Hofstra BS MD program looks for in its applicants.
Highlight the following qualities in your Hofstra BS MD Interview:
- Commitment to clinical medicine – It’s a big commitment to choose a career at 17 or 18 years old. Hofstra looks for students who are sure they want to practice medicine. Therefore, they want to hear about your clinical experiences and patient care experiences during your Hofstra BS MD interview. Specifically, you should not only talk about shadowing and observing doctors, but you should also talk about working directly with patients. Additionally, you need to articulate why you want to be a DOCTOR and not any other healthcare professional in your Hofstra BS MD interview.
- Ties to Long Island – Hofstra is committed to serving the Long Island, New York community. If you have any ties to New York, specifically Long Island. If you’ve met or spoken to anyone at Hofstra University & Zucker School of Medicine, definitely mention those ties!
How To Prepare For The Hofstra BS MD Interview
First, the Hofstra BS MD Interview consists of the CASPer exam. If you want to find out more about CASPer, we wrote an entire blog post + tips here.
- Read through all the CASPer tips and do the sample questions in the CASPer blog post.
- You should also read our STAR method blog post because many CASPer questions are behavioral-type questions.
- [Read more: STAR Method for College Interviews and BS MD Interviews ]
- The absolute best way to prepare for the CASPer exam is through doing our Mastering the Multiple Mini Interview course created by Dr. Rachel Rizal! CASPer is basically a short-form of the Multiple Mini Interview. Instead of 2 minutes to think and up to 8 minutes to respond, you have 1 minute to think and 3 minutes to respond. However, the techniques for the CASPer and the Multiple Mini Interview are the same!
Second, if you receive a Hofstra BS MD Interview Invite, prepare your answers to traditional interview questions. Here are some helpful resources for traditional BS MD Interviews
- Download our Cracking BS MD Admissions interview guide
- The most important question is “Tell me about yourself.”
- [ Prepare a STRONG response to that question using our step-by-step advice: How to Answer Tell Me About Yourself College Interview]
- Read our tips on how to answer 4 other common BS MD interview questions.
- Why do you want to come to ______ college / BS MD program?
- 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.
Third, improve your interview skills by scheduling a mock interview with us!
From our experience, we LOVE working with BS MD applicants because they work hard, they are coachable, and they practice a ton. However, with our coaching, we will help you fine-tune your answers.
Take a look at our college interview coaching packages.
A big part of this is actually learning about BS MD interview strategy. What should you highlight in your Hofstra BS MD interview?
Typically, BS MD applicants can improve in the following ways:
- Do not adequately explain why medicine
- Talk about their extracurricular activities like a resume but they do not talk about what they learned from
- Can incorporate more specific stories and examples throughout the interview
- Talk about generic reasons to go to the medical school and not specific reasons tailored to themselves
Take a look at our interview preparation packages and if you have questions or are interested, contact Dr. Rachel Rizal and Dr. Rishi Mediratta at he***@*******it.com or the contact form below.
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
Research Unique Opportunities at Zucker Hofstra
We like to give Hofstra BS MD applicants very specific opportunities to look up at Hofstra University and Zucker School of Medicine. You need to mention these in your interview!
Research Opportunities at and around Hofstra
- 2 clinical opportunities: First and foremost, you are applying to a BS MD program. Therefore, you should look for clinical opportunities you want to pursue at Hofstra University and Zucker School of Medicine! You can start looking for clinical opportunities here!
- 2 community opportunities: Hofstra appreciates students who want to serve its local Long Island community. Take note that we said Long Island, and not the larger New York City. Find public health or community service opportunities around Long Island! You can start by looking at the Hofstra University activities. You can definitely mention community service work that you want to pursue during your 8 years at Hofstra during your Hofstra BS MD interview.
- 1-2 other non-academic extracurricular activities: Medical schools do not want college students who are only focused on academics! They also want students who pursue other interests. Look up at least one extra-curricular activity you want to be a part of as a Hofstra undergrad. You can take a look at Hofstra’s activities and student organizations.
- 2 academic opportunities: Have an idea of 1 or 2 majors you’re interested in. If you’re interested in a particular Major or specific class, write those down so that you can weave those into your Hofstra BS MD interview.
- 1 research opportunity: Zucker School of Medicine loves students who have research experience. Look up one research opportunity and professor you want to work with as an undergrad. The research can be either at Hofstra University or Zucker School of Medicine. The perk of being in a BS-BA/MD program is that you get to utilize the resources at the undergraduate university AND the medical school!
Read About Current Event Issues That Affect Hofstra's Community
Read about healthcare issues that affect the Long Island community
- Look up the Long Island Health Department’s website and/or local newspapers to see the most recent pertinent healthcare issues. You can also find some resources here.
- Some popular healthcare issues that our BS MD Admissions team regularly hears about are the following:
- Healthcare disparities
- Vaccine hesitancy
- Cancer
- Drug & alcohol abuse
- Heart disease & stroke
Common Hofstra BS MD Interview Questions
It’s important to prepare STRONG answers for the following common Hofstra BS MD questions:
- Tell me about yourself.
- Why BS/MD vs attending a 4-year university?
- Why do you want to go to Hofstra’s 4+4 program?
- Do you have any idea about what major you want to pursue?
- Where do you see yourself in 15 or 20 years?
- Can you tell me about a time when you faced a challenge and how you resolved it?
- Talk about a time when you worked on a team.
Scheduling a Mock Interview
Work with our BSMD Admissions interview team for your upcoming Hofstra BS MD interview!
How to schedule a mock Hofstra BS MD interview:
- If you have questions, feel free to contact Dr. Rachel Rizal and Dr. Rishi Mediratta about BS MD interview prep.
- If you have no questions, purchase mock interviews here. Most students will purchase 4 mock interviews with your team (and the Mastering the Multiple Mini Interview course if they have an MMI interview) and they will use those 4 mock interviews throughout the interview season. Students will also use mock interviews to prepare for Ivy League or Scholarship interviews!
- After purchasing the mock interview package, you will receive an automatic email that allows you to upload your application materials, including your Common Application plus Hofstra BS MD supplemental essays. Additionally, you will be asked for more information like your name, contact information, interview date, time zone, and availability. Please fill out the form thoroughly.
- Our interview team will reach out to you to schedule a mock BS MD interview!
If you have any additional questions, feel free to reach out to Dr. Rachel Rizal and Dr. Rishi Mediratta through the contact form below. Or, you can email us directly at he***@*******it.com.
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