These are the basic questions inherent in any interview situation. As soon as you know this, you know a great deal about how to prepare for the interview and how to interview. The question is seldom asked as briefly and bluntly as that, but it underlies many other apparently pointless questions. What the admissions committee wants to know is why they should choose you for one of the limited number of places in their entering class. Knowing whether you are suitable for them and they are suitable for you helps them decide whether to accept you.
Candidates often approach the interview at the professional school with trepidation.
They know that almost every school requires an interview before admission and from that fact alone they can deduce the importance of the interview. Admissions committees differ in the format they use for the interview and in the relative weight they assign it in the total admissions picture, but they generally agree that it is a valuable component in the selection process. However, they feel that if they recognize and allow for these disadvantages, there are also numerous advantages. This process does genuinely measure different and important characteristics from those that can be measured by reviewing student grades. It can also serve as a way for the medical school to recruit.