So you're about to have your first medical school admissions interview. What should you do (and not do) to make your first experience a good one? Here is some advice to get you through that first interview.

What to Wear?
No, the purple flip-flops will not make a successful statement about your originality. The interview is not a fashion show. If you have a question about your hair, clothes, or general appearance, try the "how would my grandmother feel if she saw her doctor wearing this?" test, and act accordingly.

Be Nice
From kindergarten to Med School, the golden rule applies. Many people work hard behind the scenes for both applicants and medical schools. If you are stressed, don't take it out on the office staff or caterers. The statement: "But I'm not a vegetarian! I need a sandwich with meat in it or I won't do well on my interview!" will not reflect well on you. You are applying to a professional school. Act in a professional manner consistently, not just with your interviewers. Don't chew gum, don't drink sodas in the interview, and avoid using slang words that would not be appropriate for an encounter with patients.

Know Your Application
Any information on your application is fair game for a topic of conversation during the interview. You wrote it, you should know it backwards and forwards. No one expects you to be a doctor already, so don't worry about having medical knowledge at hand. But if you listed your volunteer work at the local emergency room, then be prepared to talk about a patient that you met while volunteering. Rather than wowing an interviewer with the story of how you removed your own appendix, consider patient experiences a wonderful way to show the admissions committee that you possess the all-important bedside manner.

Know Your Environment
You have been traveling for the last month around the country, and before that you were up to your eyeballs in applications, and before that you were studying for the MCAT. You can't remember what the sun looks like and you aren't sure who is President. You double majored in Biology and Molecular Physics, but the interviewer just asked you a question about the economic feasibility of Universal Health Care delivery. Huh?

One general survival tip for a difficult question on a topic that you know nothing about is to politely admit your ignorance and ask the interviewer to educate you on the subject. But to be a prepared applicant, know that the doctors interviewing you face patients without health insurance everyday. You don't need to go back and take a course on politics or economic theory. At a minimum, know that in this country not every one has health insurance, and that this fact often affects how patients access healthcare.

Finally, as is often the case in medical school, residency or job interviews, if you are invited to interview, it is because your paper application meets the qualifications of an admitted/hired individual. So relax! All you have to do at the interview is let the admissions committee know that their first impression from your application was the right one.