Congratulations on receiving a Penn State 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 Penn State BS MD Interview. Our goal is to help you STAND OUT!
In this post, we will cover:
- What does the Penn State BS MD program look for in applicants?
- How to prepare for the Penn State BS MD Interview
- Research unique opportunities at Penn State University and Penn State School of Medicine
- Read about healthcare issues that affect Penn State’s community – Philadelphia
- Common Penn State 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 Penn State BS MD Admissions Committee look for?
Congratulations again on receiving a Penn State BS MD interview invite! You are one step closer to realizing your dream of becoming a doctor!
Given that every single Penn State 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 Penn State BS MD Admissions Committee looks for in its applicants. The Penn State Pre-medical-Medical Program (PMM) is an accelerated 7-year program. You do 3 years of undergrad at Penn State University followed by four years at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
In the box below, we also highlight personal qualities that you should highlight during your Penn State BS MD interview.
Highlight the following qualities in your Penn State BS MD Interview:
- Commitment to Clinical Medicine – It’s a big commitment to choose a career at 17 or 18 years old. Penn State 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 Penn State 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 Penn State BS MD interview.
- Commitment to Pennsylvania – Penn State College of Medicine has clinics and hospitals throughout a lot of Pennsylvania, not just Philadelphia. It’s best to talk about how you want to give back to the Pennsylvania community during your Penn State BS MD interview. Because this 7-year Penn State + Sidney Kimmel BS/MD program is both in suburban Pennsylvania and Philadelphia, you can show your interests in a variety of issues affecting Pennsylvania residents, not just health issues in Philadelphia.
- Well-roundedness – Penn State loves students who are passionate about other things aside from academics. If you have outside academic interests like dance or sports or the arts or journalism, you should highlight them in your Penn State BS MD interview!
- Team Player – The Penn State BS MD curriculum, including the medical school curriculum, is based on a lot of team learning. The Thomas Jefferson University medical school culture is very chill and collaborative. Therefore, it wants to recruit students who will be good team players and not cut-throat competitive.
- Innovative thinking – One of the cornerstones of Sidney Kimmel Medical College / Thomas Jefferson University is that it loves students who are creative and innovative in solving health problems. For example, our successful students in the past have highlighted their engineering & problem-solving background through robotics clubs in high school. They have also highlighted creative ways they’ve improved community health through health education programs.
- Problem Solving – It’s one thing to have innovative ideas to improve healthcare. But it’s another thing to actually make that creative idea into reality. Thomas Jefferson University is looking for students who are strong problem solvers. Make sure you have concrete examples of times when you solved problems as a high school student.
How To Prepare For The Penn State BS MD Interview
First, if you receive a Penn State 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.
- You should also read our STAR method blog post because many traditional questions are behavioral-type questions. Whenever you are asked about a challenge you encountered, you have to discuss how you resolved it. The best way to prepare your answers to these questions is by using the STAR method.
- [Read more: STAR Method for College Interviews and BS MD Interviews ]
Second, 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 Penn State 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 Penn State & Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
We like to give Penn State Premedical-Medical Program PMM applicants very specific opportunities to look up at Penn State University and Thomas Jefferson University. You need to mention these in your interview!
Research Opportunities at and around Penn State University & Thomas Jefferson University
- 2 community opportunities: Penn State appreciates students who want to serve Pennsylvania residents. Find community service opportunities around Penn State University (State College, Pennsylvania) and Philadelphia!
- You can start by looking at the Penn State University activities.
- Find opportunities at Thomas Jefferson University here.
- 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 Penn State undergrad. You can take a look at Penn State University’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 Penn State BS MD interview.
- 1 creative initiative to improve healthcare: Thomas Jefferson University School of Medicine loves students who want to creatively improve healthcare! Therefore, think about an idea of how you want to improve healthcare. This can be related to conducting research, founding new community health initiatives, or inventing new medical devices.
Read About Current Event Issues That Affect Pennsylvania
Read about healthcare issues that affect Pennsylvania
- Read the Pennsylvania State Health Department’s website to learn more about what health issues affect Pennsylvania residents. You don’t need to know all health issues, but you should be more familiar with the pertinent health issues. You can also pick 1-2 health issues that you are passionate about solving.
- Rural, suburban, and urban health issues
Common Penn State BS MD Interview Questions
It’s important to prepare STRONG answers for the following common Penn State BS MD interview questions:
- Tell me about yourself.
- Why do you want to have an accelerated path towards getting an MD degree?
- What programs and opportunities are you interested in pursuing at Penn State University as an undergrad and at Sidney Kimmel Medical College as a medical student?
- 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 and faced a challenge.
Scheduling a Mock Interview
Work with our BS/MD Admissions interview team for your upcoming Penn State BS MD interview!
How to schedule a mock Penn State 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 Penn State PMM 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