Even the great warrior in you begins to heel when you are about to start preparing a medical school mock interview. We completely understand that armor chink, the blemishes, and that tragic flaws suddenly become a part of your highly impeccable character. Mr. Ryan Karmouta, Founder of Acceptmed, says that “commonly, there are plenty of things to consider. What usually is not discussed is to present the weaknesses straight off during the interview.”
Today, here we have put together a few tips that will make you confident enough on how to present your weakness for medical school interviews in the right way. Well, for sure, you need only to tell them when you are asked to. Mr. Ryan shares that most probably, there are high chances that the interviewer will ask you this question, “What is your greatest weakness?” No doubt, it has become a popular cliche for many years, it is still being asked, but definitely for a good reason.
But when it comes to getting an admission to an elite medical school like Harvard, the interviewer admittedly evaluates whether the appearing candidate has enough self-awareness. Plus, they actually observe it if you can openly discuss your potential areas of improvement. So, let’s get started with how to prepare for a medical school interview, especially about the weakness clause.
#1 - Frame it well
The foremost thing to keep in mind is to smartly put a comparison with another skill or role common to our best ones. In this way, your strength sticks around more in the background while exhibiting recognition of where you could improve. In simple words, with this tip, you are framing your weakness in such a way that your response seems more exciting and palatable.
#2 - Yes, Context Matters!
Ryan shares a tip to never portray your weakness as your strength by just flipping the whole script. Imagine your answer by sharing something that has been a compatible skill in your entire life. Just give a few examples from your life scenario that ideally make sense. For instance, you can discuss how one of your strengths became a weird weakness in a specific situation. The primary goal is to present both strengths and weaknesses in an independent context, just like Chinese Philosophy Yin and Yang.
#3 - Connotation is the sovereign
Lastly, another trick to keep in mind while presenting your weakness in medical school mock interviews is to bring connotation in action. For example, Idealistic and Principled are two different words that are strictly related but have a much different vibe. So, always pick the right word and not sugarcoat your statement with fancy words because the goal is to make your responses better, not deceitful.
If you got any questions, feel free to share it with Mr. Ryan Karmoute at info@acceptmed.com. You can even ask any of the Acceptmed experts (who are graduates from Harvard Medical School) how to prepare for a medical school interview this year to maximize your potential and get into the best US medical schools.