UCSD Interview: Nerves

My UCSD interview is coming up quickly: next Tuesday, St. Patrick's Day. I should wear a green tie. Or not. I'm getting kind of nervous, not quite the same breed of nerves that I felt before Colorado but a little edgier.

I keep reminding myself how fortunate I am to have so many people within UCSD actively pushing my application forward. A coworker asked me, "Do you know who your interviewers are?" Medical school applicants typically don't find out who their faculty interviewers are until the morning of the interview. It's better that way, in my opinion, because otherwise a whole Pandora's box opens, with applicants obsessively researching their interviewers' academic careers and memorizing their curriculum vitae. I told my coworker, no, I don't know who they are, and she offered to try to find out for me. I'll take any little advantage I can get! Well, I didn't get that particular advantage, but her friend on the admissions committee instead gave me this advice, which, from my perspective, is much more valuable:

1. Be relaxed. Most interviewers are not going to give you a hard time.
2. The ability to relate to another person you just met is important.
3. Know yourself: a) destined for primary care; b) destined for research; c) interested in a specific program.
4. Know your application: what about it is special; what about it is typical for students accepted to the school; what about it is less than typical for the school. Be able to talk with passion about the first category. Be able to succinctly answer questions about the former in a positive way.
5. Prepare questions, but do not ask questions about things that are readily obtained from the website or catalog; rather ask questions that draw upon the interviewer's personal experience.