25 Questions For Medical School Interviewers You Should Ask

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One of the requirements to enter medical school is to nail the interview. I know you would usually surf the Internet for ideal answers for your interview, but in this post, we’ll be turning the table around as I will give you 25 questions for medical school interviewers that you should ask!

As much as how impressive you sell yourself to every question they ask, it’s equally important how you think of relevant questions for medical interviewers. It provides an impression of your burning interest to be a part of the institution and additional information to help you choose the best medical school for you.

Here are 25 questions for medical interviewers divided into the most relevant and impressive categories.

25 Questions For Medical School Interviewers

Table Of Contents

Questions About The Program Curriculum

Tell me something about your program curriculum?

This question will provide insight into the programs and the challenges you’ll encounter. You’ll get to know information on the courses you need to put extra effort into or familiar courses you might have been exposed to beforehand.

What’s unique about your curriculum?

Program curriculum varies from one medical school to another. If you have several medical schools to choose, it’s important to compare and select the curriculum that best suits you.

Some may have problem-based strategies whereas some still have the traditional lecture approach. Check also the length of the preclinical curriculum. Note the length of time they conduct lecture classes before initiating clinical rotations.

Are there any special programs for which this medical school is noted?

Aside from the usual courses that the medical schools offer, there might be some medical schools that are notable that offer special programs that could reinforce your learning and skills.

How is the school’s recent performance on the National Board Examinations? How does the school assist students who do not pass?

The NBE is often the basis of the quality education that the school offers. High passing rates mean that they have been producing several students ready to practice as doctors. However, some students don’t make it. It’s important to know how they help such students until they finally pass the boards.

Check out these NBME practice exams for your guide soon.

Questions About Clinical Training

What local population of patients does this school work with?

You might be interested in being exposed to a specific local population such as the disadvantaged urban or rural population, a particular ethnicity, elderly or pregnant patients, or cases with infectious or non-communicable diseases.

This will give you information on the types of cases you’d like to work on that match your interests.

Which hospitals or health centers in the medical school affiliated with?

Hospital and community affiliations, plus the number and types of elective rotations influence your future clinical learning environment. The cases catered in these institutions will dictate your training in dealing with the simplest to most complex cases. These will also eventually affect your readiness for residency.

What unique clinical experiences are available to students?

Knowing the unique clinical experiences in each school could help you compare and contrast. Take note if they allow multiple electives. You may also check for downsides that may affect your clinical experience.

Questions About Research Opportunities

What research opportunities are available on campus?

Research has been one of the most in-demand opportunities nowadays. Aside from your clinical preparations, assert also opportunities involving research. Your published research adds to your credentials providing your greater opportunities outside patient care.

Are there any research grants available to your interested students?

Doing research might come a bit tedious and costly. Even though you’re the most interested and qualified student on earth, financial constraints might keep you from doing it. Ask if they provide grants that could assist you to pursue research.

What are the researches your school is well known for?

Knowing the research discoveries of each medical school that had a great impact on the people might help you decide on which medical school to enter. It would also inspire you to get involved in particular research in that school in the future like the story you just heard.

Questions About Student Support

What do you have in place to help me if I experience stress, anxiety, or depression?

You can’t deny the fact that med school can cause stress and anxiety. Given the demanding volume and pace of the courses, it’s good to know if the school has mental health support programs. Knowing this, you’ll have an idea of how the school provides a nurturing environment for its students.

Are there support services or organizations for special populations (i.e., ethnic/cultural minorities, LGBT students, and women)?

If you belong to a special population, you might be interested to know if they have special support programs for you. Choose a med school that offers you support which would prevent discrimination or prejudice against you and protect you at all costs during your stay on the campus.

What kind of counseling (related to academic, personal, financial, or career) is available to students?

Counseling creates a difference to students who might have been experiencing a particular struggle. These struggles might negatively affect your academic performance. Regardless of the challenge you might get into, it would be good to have someone to talk to and to receive helpful pieces of advice to help you get through.

Is there a mentoring/advising system?

Receiving support from faculties or fellows themselves through a mentoring system is helpful for the coping of students. They could provide real hand strategies and tips on addressing several challenges relating to academics, financial, personal, etc.

Questions About Financial Aid

What kind of financial guidance do you provide your students?

Medical school is expensive. You might want to refer to this article to know the true cost of medical schools in the USA.

You might have probably heard of a huge amount of debt you would incur when you avail of a student loan. Yes, they would help you a lot to pursue your medical career, but you should be wary about it.

Knowing if they have programs to assist students in their financial problems would be a great relief. This is one of the most important questions for medical interviewers.

It would be practical if they could assist you in financial planning, budgeting, and provide you counseling on financial literacy and wise borrowing.

What is the current tuition and fees?

Knowing the estimated tuition and fees you need to pay would give you an idea of how much you should prepare. Before entering med school, make sure to plan and create a budget for the total expenses you’re expected to incur.

What kind of financial aid and scholarships are available to students?

Scholarships will be a helpful financial aid. Usually, it’s only granted to students who really cannot afford to enter medical school yet are academically excellent and have the burning desire to go. You may check this article on medical schools that offer tuition-free programs.

Does this school provide guidance to its students and to its alumni on debt management?

Because medical loans can be overwhelmingly high, you’ll probably carry the burden of your loans even after graduation and when you’re already practicing as a doctor. Programs for debt management may ease these financial burdens sparing you from all the stress and anxiety.

Questions About Facilities

Tell me about the library and extracurricular facilities (i.e., housing and athletic/recreational facilities).

This would provide you an overview of the available facilities that may be useful for your entire MD journey. It would be good if they have a library built with several cubicles to help students study and concentrate well.

Are students required to have a laptop?

Laptops are essential nowadays given that there are a lot of references that could be accessed exclusively through electronic devices. But of course, there is a chance that not all students entering medical school have a laptop. There might be medical schools that could give you free access to their desktops instead.

Is there a stable internet connection on the entire campus?

The Internet is a necessity today. Ask if there is a free WiFi in the entire campus. WiFi can become handy for research and our learning resources online.

Do students have electronic access to journals? Textbooks? UpToDate?

Some journals and textbooks on the internet are not free and accessible. Try to ask if the school is rich in these helpful resources. They are essential in doing research and in keeping yourself updated on the latest clinical practices and information.

Questions About Policies

What is the student’s medical insurance coverage?

Health insurance is a part of your medical school expenses. Aside from knowing the cost, it’s important to be well-informed of its coverage and your entitlements. You will be exposed to various hazardous environments so you need to ensure that you’re financially protected for these.

Is there an Honor Code at this school?

Honor codes are school policies to keep things in order. Without honor codes, the school environment might be chaotic. Honor codes regarding cheating and bullying should be strictly implemented.

How are violations of the Honor Code dealt with?

There are cases when honor codes are violated. Knowing how things are justly dealt with is important to ensure that these policies are applied and implemented fairly to all.

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I hope you now had a direction on what questions for medical interviewers to ask.

You don’t just provide a great impression, but you would also get to know more about the school you’ll be spending for the next 4 years of your MD journey.

Hopefully, the answers you’ll be receiving will help you decide what school to choose.

If you have enjoyed this post, you may find our other blog posts helpful as well!

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