pointy's a 4th yr meddie. i'm a 1st yr.
have a whole range of things at the forefront of your mind so that at a moment's notice u can bring it up. so if they say "have u had any leadership experience?" ur not all like "um, uhhh" for 5 minutes, you're like "*1 sec moment pause* why yes actually, last yr i was captain of the soccer team... blah blah... quite enjoyed it... blah blah... this is what i found good/difficult about it" (or whatever). it's up 2 u 2 guage how much 2 talk. personally i talk 2 much. some don't talk enough*
(*for this reason it's important to have someone give u a mock interview maybe 2 times b4 u have a real one)
most interviews do NOT care how academic u r. the point of the interview is to find out the other stuff about u. they already have or will have your UAI/GPA. what they want to know is, how do u relate to ppl? can u lead? can u work in a team? r u ethical? r u empathetic? can u handle stress? r u adaptable? do u value diversity? do u know much about yourself? and in some interviews, do u have critical thinking skills? can u explain difficult concepts in simple language?
remember the answer to any question they ask u is rarely "yes" or "no". it's usually just an open-ended question which will give an opportunity to share the things u've already thought about b4 the interview. so u don't have set, formulaic answers to their questions, but u have thought about yourself, medicine, the university you're applying to etc. enough 2 b able 2 say some sort of answer without rambling too much when they ask u about it.
o ya... remember they're going 2 ask u why their uni and not another, why med not another, why this city not another. remember 2 b realistic, sincere and flattering. unis love hearing how they're the best but u dont want 2 badmouth other unis/degree ("i love uncle, it's not as stuck up as unsw"... and then u find out the interviewer used to lecture at unsw
). think about what u'll do if med doesn't work out. and remember: realism. medicine is not glamourous. think about ALL the negative aspects of the career. the more u can mention, the more they realise u've looked into it. but u can say "but i still want 2 do medicine for THESE reasons"... that looks well thought out. saying "wow, i so want 2 do medicine, it's amazing, blah blah blah... like i guess there r some difficulties, but whatever, i'm so excited for it!"... they'll b like "ok, u'll b the first to burnout if u actually start the course"
