How to answer “How would your friends describe you?” in a medical school interview

A strong answer to "how would your friends describe you" in a medical school interview names two or three qualities your friends would actually use and attaches a moment to each one that they could point to. It also includes one quality that isn't flattering. The interviewer is checking whether you know how you come across to the people who see you most.

What the interviewer is assessing

• Self-reflection and growth

This is a self-awareness question dressed as a question about other people. The interviewer compares your friends' version of you with the one in your application and the one in the room, and a gap between them is what they're listening for. They also note whether the qualities you choose are ones a classmate, a nurse or a patient would want in you, and whether you can name a less convenient trait without turning it into a boast. A friend's description also reaches parts of you the application can't, such as how you behave when nothing is being graded.

In a panel interview the follow-up is usually about what your friends would criticize. In an MMI, it can appear as a short personal station alongside a question about strengths and weaknesses, and the rater wants specifics and one honest admission, as a panel does.

How to structure your answer

1. Give the first quality in the words your friends would use, and describe one moment they'd cite for it.
2. Add a second quality and its moment.
3. Include one quality your friends would mention that's less flattering, and say what you've done about it.
4. Close by saying how those qualities would show up on a medical team or in a room with a patient.

Ask two or three friends before the interview, because their words are usually more specific than the ones you'd choose for yourself. Pick qualities an interviewer can connect to medicine, such as reliability, calm under pressure, honesty or the kind of humor that eases a tense room. Keep each moment to two sentences and the whole answer under ninety seconds.

Common mistakes

• Repeating the same list you gave for your strengths tells the interviewer your friends see only what you want them to see.
• Naming qualities with no moment behind them, such as loyal, funny and caring, describes most people's friends.
• Offering only flattering qualities sounds rehearsed, and the interviewer will ask for the unflattering one anyway.
• Choosing a flaw that is a boast in disguise, such as being too dedicated, wastes the one chance the question gives you to show insight.
• Describing a quality your friends enjoy that doesn't belong in a clinic, such as being the last to leave a party, invites a question about judgment.

Follow-up questions to prepare for

• What would your friends say is your biggest flaw?
• Would your family describe you the same way?
• Can you tell me about a time one of those qualities caused a problem?
• How would a supervisor describe you differently from a friend?
• Which of those qualities do you think will matter most as a physician?