Most Bizzare/Weird/Interesting Interview Moment

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pyxystyx

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Hey guys! I saw a thread like this in the MD forum, so I thought I'd start one here.

I haven't interviewed anywhere yet, so I don't have any stories to tell... but I know you guys'll have some good ones. :D

Some I heard from friends-
At one interview (I forget where it was at) they put an O-Chem question on the board and asked her to do it as part of her interview.

At another interview, as she was walking out the door, one interviewer stopped her and asked her who her state Senator was. :eek:

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At the interview for Glasgow they asked me why American's like to shoot their presidents...
 
At the interview for Glasgow they asked me why American's like to shoot their presidents...

Did they mean that as a joke or were they being serious
 
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At an interview I had (school name will remain unmentioned) there was the typical good cop bad cop business. Anyway, by the end of my interview, "bad cop" was slouching on the table with her head resting on her arm!!!! :eek: I felt like my time was completely wasted and that they didn't even want to hear what I had to say. That was definately an akward situation. How do you take an interviewer seriously when they're practically nodding off? Perhaps it was strategy, but very strange!
 
Interviewer A: How do you feel about global warming?
Interviewer B: How could you ask that?!?
Interviewer A: Well I wanted to ask yesterday, but I felt it was too controversial, now we're on day 2 of interviews.

Me: I really just don't buy it. Maybe we're speeding up this cycle where the earth heats up, but I don't believe in it.
Interviewers: (Nods all around)
And one mentions that in the midwest they don't buy it either and feel it's purely political.

Phew! Because that's not how people feel on the East Coast (especially near DC).

Not that that is a terribly funny/exciting story... but hearing the whole global warming thing put me on the spot for a brief moment!

And last year I got asked about pit bulls... I own two. Of course I think BSL is BS!
 
Interviewer A: How do you feel about global warming?
Interviewer B: How could you ask that?!?
Interviewer A: Well I wanted to ask yesterday, but I felt it was too controversial, now we're on day 2 of interviews.

Me: I really just don't buy it. Maybe we're speeding up this cycle where the earth heats up, but I don't believe in it.
Interviewers: (Nods all around)
And one mentions that in the midwest they don't buy it either and feel it's purely political.

Phew! Because that's not how people feel on the East Coast (especially near DC).

If you don't want to tell us, I understand, but what school was this? Or at least, what part of the country? I'm pretty glad I didn't interview there, or I might shot myself in the foot answering this question...I didn't take a class called "The Science and Human Impact of Climate Change" for nothing!
 
yeah, seriously what school was this? I would be really curious to know what school disagrees with the majority of the scientists that believe climate change is happening...

as for my interview, I don't think I had any realy bizarre moments but was definitely asked questions about some tough topics like convenience euthanasias. I think I would have died if they had asked me to do an o-chem ques esp. since I hadn't finished second semester o-chem yet!!
 
One of OKSU's interview questions (I didn't draw it, but I know people who did):

How is the outside of the horse like the inside of a man?

It's referring to a quote, I think, but it's a bit off... and not what you would expect.
 
yeah, seriously what school was this? I would be really curious to know what school disagrees with the majority of the scientists that believe climate change is happening...

"What school disagrees"? It's not as if the vet. school has some official policy on global warming. It's a few individuals on the interview committee. Furthermore, you never know for sure if interviewers are giving you their real opinion or just saying something for the sake of discussion.
 
One of OKSU's interview questions (I didn't draw it, but I know people who did):

How is the outside of the horse like the inside of a man?

It's referring to a quote, I think, but it's a bit off... and not what you would expect.

What the &^%$???? How could you possibly answer that? Even if you knew the proverb which goes...
"There is nothing so good for the inside of a man as the outside of a horse"; how would you tie those 2 concepts together.

-Clueless
 
I don't remember specifically what the joke was because I couldn't understand this one particular interviewer, but it was about testicles..and I missed it...completely went over my head...this is unusual because I'm usually the one making dirty jokes. I missed it mostly because he was from Chile...but at U Tennessee, this interviewer (who happened to be an equine reproductive specialist) made some joke about nuts...which I dismissed because I couldn't understand him...and then he said..."yeah, that was a joke." Followed by an intense few seconds of silence...I felt ******ed...but I got in anyway.
 
Oh geez, as if I wasn't nervous enough for (hopeful) interviews!! These are pretty funny, but I think I'd be more amused if I was done with interviews and accepted. :eek: :laugh:
 
After my first couple interviews I realized that sometimes I should think a little more before answering the interview questions....but I pretty much answered this one with my first reaction:

Interviewer: What are some of your goals in life?
Me: To have a family once I am established in my career, etc., etc.
Interviewer: Do you want to have kids?
Me: Yes, eventually.
Interviewer: How about 10 kids?
Me: HECK NO!!

At least I made everyone in the room laugh out loud and lucky for me I still got in!
 
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In one of my particular interviews, it was clear they were just seeing if I could communicate and weren't looking to explore my application. This one took me by surprise though...

Interviewer: So you're from Arkansas, around the west fork of the White River?
Me: Yea
Interviewer: What direction does the water flow?
Me: ???, uhmmm...North, otherwise I don't know why you'd ask
Interviewer: You should go look that up. It's really interesting! (enter 15 minute schpiel on the history of the area and fishing).

It was my favorite interview ever. (And the water does flow north and he didn't lie, the history actually was very interesting)

I love ratbandit's...wth is that about?!
 
Yea, hearing all of this is REALLY making me look forward to interviewing:p
 
Interviewer: What are some of your goals in life?
Me: To have a family once I am established in my career, etc., etc.
Interviewer: Do you want to have kids?
Me: Yes, eventually.
Interviewer: How about 10 kids?
Me: HECK NO!!

I'm surprised they asked that. In general, questions about marital status and children are considered inappropriate because they aren't supposed to base admissions on those factors. Same for religion and several other things.

I can see how that happened since you brought up the issue of family and it was probably just the natural flow of the conversation. But I wouldn't be surprised if the interviewer could do it again, they might omit that question.
 
I'm surprised they asked that. In general, questions about marital status and children are considered inappropriate because they aren't supposed to base admissions on those factors. Same for religion and several other things.

I can see how that happened since you brought up the issue of family and it was probably just the natural flow of the conversation. But I wouldn't be surprised if the interviewer could do it again, they might omit that question.

Yea, I know....it definitely caught me off guard too! They asked me three goals in my life, and they chose that one to elaborate on. Oh well, I guess it gave me a chance to get them to laugh!
 
Yea, I know....it definitely caught me off guard too! They asked me three goals in my life, and they chose that one to elaborate on. Oh well, I guess it gave me a chance to get them to laugh!

Perhaps (pure conjecture) he just happened to watch the night before your interview one of those programs about the families with 17 children and was just curious how many other crazy people might be out there. :laugh: Or it could have been asked on purpose to see how you might react. A good litmus test for when clients will catch you off guard and ask the MOST RIDICULOUS questions. (We had a thread going on about this one recently)
 
OK, I'll bite.

At one job interview I had, two guys were interviewing me at the same time. One of them brought his baby, maybe 8 months old, and set it in it's little seat thing on the desk between me & him. Good thing I'm not phased by kids, but it was a bit distracting!

And at an interview for my MS, the guy who ended up being my major professor had been monologuing for a good 45min about his research projects, as scientists seem particularly able to do. Something about pigs, and a hox gene in mice. I was trying really hard to pay attention, but man my head was swimming! I'd been interviewing non-stop since 8:00 AM, except lunch when I met with some students, and this interview was at like 3:00 in the afternoon. I was doing my absolute best to appear interested & engaged while my mind wandered about hopelessly (at least I wasn't falling asleep!). I had no idea what the heck he was saying. He paused for a air, and I scrambled around in my poor little brain for an intelligent question about whatever he'd just said. I came out with something lame along the lines of "So how you apply this to your research in hogs?" He thought I said hox, his favorite gene! Apparently that was one of the most brilliant questions anyone could have come up with (??), as it sent him into another animated 20min schpiel on exactly how it applies to hox. I got in. I never did tell him....
 
At the interview for Glasgow they asked me why American's like to shoot their presidents...

I don't really know what they were getting at there...I think they were trying to throw me off but I babbled about us trying to assassinate Castro and then JFK got assassinated so then we stopped trying to assassinate other country's presidents since it was obviously backfiring - I don't even think they knew who these people were...Then they started talking about how they've always had a queen etc. etc. and no problems with them getting assassinated and why should we have these problems when our presidents are only elected for 4 years at a time. After that they started asking me questions about what part of the electromagnetic spectrum each diagnostic uses (ultrasound, x-ray, etc.). THEN they tried to throw me off by asking something about what the different names for 1 hump vs. 2 hump camels were...lucky for me one of my best friends is obsessed with camels and talks about them all the time. Anyways...it was an interesting interview -and I got in!
 
I don't really know what they were getting at there...I think they were trying to throw me off but I babbled about us trying to assassinate Castro and then JFK got assassinated so then we stopped trying to assassinate other country's presidents since it was obviously backfiring - I don't even think they knew who these people were...

I know that a lot of Canadians like to joke that Americans really take their politics to heart (i.e. MUCH more seriously than Canadians do - we've never had an assassination of our Prime Minister, or even any really good attempts) - maybe they were joking?

haha, other presidents assassinations backfiring, that's funny!
 
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jesus christ! am i going to have to study orgo again for interviews? I don't know anything about politics! How is that at all related to vet med! I have no idea what part of the electromagnetic spectrum ultrasound uses! what the hell! How do you answer these questions!

half the time, the really random stuff is somehow related to information the person being interviewed either provided in their application or provides during the interview.
however, the other half of the time it's a grab bag...they want to see if you can think on your feet, how you react to stressful situations etc.
AND as far as politics/other worldly matters, especially current events...yes you do need to know that, even if it has nothing to do with vet med. you are entering a professional program to become a professional, and therefore it is completely relevant and important for you to know what's going on in the world around you.
 
jesus christ! am i going to have to study orgo again for interviews? I don't know anything about politics! How is that at all related to vet med! I have no idea what part of the electromagnetic spectrum ultrasound uses! what the hell! How do you answer these questions!

Breathe! :)

That's pretty much how I felt before going into my interviews last application cycle. If you don't know the answer, it's OKAY! They just want you to be honest and they want to see how you perform under pressure. Sometimes it's not about what you answer, but the manner in which you answer. Don't try to make things up if you don't know, and don't freak out either! You will be fine, I promise.
 
Along those lines, how many of you ever had to just say "I don't know" when asked something in an interview?
How did your interviewers react to that??? :)
 
I have definitely had to say 'I don't know' in an interview...and I will say that I think it's a far better idea than making something up and blindly stabbing at an answer because chances are good that your interviewer knows the correct answer...just a hint. I'll share with you my moment (even though it is incredibly embarassing considering I have a horse background):

Interviewer #1: Do you know what a Coggins test is?
(crap, I wish they wouldn't ask me horse questions)
Me: um, no :confused:. I know you have to be current to go to shows. My mom/trainer always took care of that stuff back in the day when I rode competitively and wasn't particularly intereted in vet med.
Interviewer #2: Well weren't you ever curious as to what it tested for?
Me: um, no, I guess not :confused:
Interviewer #1: Does equine infectious anemia sound familiar?
(dude, I would tell you something in farsi sounded familiar right now so we can move on to the next question because obviously I have no idea)
Me: Uh, vaguely
**blank stares, me smiling nervously :oops:**
Interviewer #1: Ooook

I crashed and burned on that interview because that question was followed by me being so nervous that I fidgeted and accidentally launched my shoe off my foot...nail in the coffin (thankfully pried off to get me in off the waitlist a few months later:))
 
Try not to stress about interviews too much (and this bit of information makes me a huge hypocrite, because 7-8 months ago this is precisely what I was doing every second of every day). Seriously, I actually enjoyed most of my interviews.

And along the lines of making people feel better, here are some of my unhappy interview moments:

--One of the interviewers was (if I'm remembering correctly) a lab animal vet and I worked in the path lab of a research facility for a while. She asked me what PPE we used during NHP necropsies (which I knew just fine) and then she asked me what pathogen we're really concerned about with NHPs. Which is not a hard question and I knew the answer. But for some *****ic reason when I try to answer that question I always mix up Hepatitis B and Herpes B. It's just when I say them out loud I have a hard time remembering which one is which (I think it's like spelling out loud...not my forte). Anyway, so I knew I might say the wrong one, took a second to think about it, and came up with Hepatitis B virus. She looks at me weirdly and says, "Do you mean Herpes B virus." I'm sure I went 17 shades of red. Gah. Open mouth, insert foot.

--At a different interview, I got asked about prevention measures for WNV. In my defense, I had just been asked a whole bunch of questions about avian influenza pandemic preparedness (i.e. human public health stuff) so I was thinking about human prevention. So I start talking about vector control (fine), and education about wearing long pants/long sleeve shirts, bug spray, etc. etc. Then they guy who asked the question looks at me and says, "Who cares about people, tell me about prevention for horses." Yea, I definitely felt like an idiot for a long time after that.

But in the end, I got into both of those schools. And I didn't get asked any totally out of left field questions, though that is one of the major things I was super paranoid about in the months leading up to interviews. So really, try to relax, be confident, admit if you don't know something, and don't beat yourself up too much if you think you messed up on certain questions. I think the overall feel of the interview (for both you and your interviewers) is more important than whether you might have flubbed one or two questions.
 
Nothing too bad for me. They did want to know what exactly the DHLPP (aka distemper vaccine) was vaccinating against.

Which I knew - I looked it up ahead of time just in case. Distemper. Hepatitis. Lepto. Parvo. Parainfluenza.

After I answered one of the interviewers gave me a big smile and said good job. I guess some people missed that one.
 
Nothing too bad for me. They did want to know what exactly the DHLPP (aka distemper vaccine) was vaccinating against.

Which I knew - I looked it up ahead of time just in case. Distemper. Hepatitis. Lepto. Parvo. Parainfluenza.

After I answered one of the interviewers gave me a big smile and said good job. I guess some people missed that one.

not saying that people shouldn't know that, but it's a little bit tricky because different clinics use different forms of the vaccine, ie. at the clinic i worked at we did DA2PP or DA2PPL based on owner's choice and our recommendations. so i would have known adenovirus, but i'm not sure if i would have known to say specifically hepatitis, if i had been asked about DHLPP even though it's caused by adenovirus.
 
Along those lines, how many of you ever had to just say "I don't know" when asked something in an interview?
How did your interviewers react to that??? :)


I did, and they react a whole lot better to that than you making some crap up. There's nothing at all wrong with saying "I don't know" for most questions.
 
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I am really worried about interviews already! I feel as if I have pretty good stats. My grades are good and I have 3 diff types of experience with a decent amount of hours. But I am absolutely horrible at interviews. I hate questions like "Describe how you take initiative." They annoy me and I can't think of how to specifically answer them. I can answer questions on the spot, I'm a good test taker, fast thinker, and work well under pressure, but if they give me a question like that, I will not have a good answer.

So if I bomb the interview, what are the chances I'll still get in?

There are some schools that count the interview very highly. I am the example of someone who did not get in (waitlisted, with a not likely to attend letter) because of my interview skills. I would look at behavioral interview questions and traditional questions, starting now.

I didn't, and it counted. Oh man, did it count.

The reason I didn't study? I interviewed for a new job, and got the job. I figured, "Hey, I did okay enough in that interview."

I'm not trying to scare the jeepers out of you. There are stories on this forum of people who thought they died in the interview, but got accepted. It's just another thing that should be prepared for, just like writing the personal statement. You can just slap something together and do well.
 
At one of my interviews I used the term "zoonotic" incorrectly. I thought it also meant diseases that are spread between different species, as well as between humans and animals. My interviewer asked me "Do you know what that word means because you tend to be using it a lot." I explained what I thought it meant and he told me I was wrong and corrected me. I didn't want them to know they shook my confidence, so I just politely said, "oh I didn't know that, I guess I was wrong, thank you for correcting me."

In the same interview they asked me what I was currently interested in on the news. Now, I do listen to NPR but the only news I truly seek out is sports news. I didn't want to lead them down a path of discussion I wasn't ready to answer more detailed questions about so I just said that lately I am really busy to keep up with anything in particular, but recently I started downloading podcasts of different science news so I could listen to it on my long drive to work. It's a good way to kill two birds with one stone.

I really thought I had bombed my interview actually and I kept obsessing over it, but in the end I guess I did really well because my score was nearly perfect and I have NO idea how. But, I got in!

I think overall it's more how you carry yourself and the confidence you convey moreso than your actual answers. Handle your mishaps graciously and you'll be fine.
 
just curious, at MSU if you're accepted, do they actually let you know what your scores were in various areas?
 
JKQ - to add to what Truth said, I would definitely study for interviews. I did and it helped a ton. It took me a while to figure out how to study for them.

To study for the interview I recommend:
- Study a few basic "hot" topics: rabies, bse, microchipping, food recall, vaccine protocal

- Know your experience like the back of your hand, be able to explain any research, know the roles you had, know what you learned from your experiences, have at least one interesting case you would be able to share with the interviews start to finish

- Know a strength and a weakness of your own and what you are doing to improve the weakness (I wasn't asked this, but it's fairly basic question)

- MOST IMPORTANTLY, what helped me the most was listing some basic characteristics they look for in behavioral interviews - leadership, problem solving, conflict resolution, communication, etc. - then I wrote a short anecdote for each one using the STAR method. I didn't memorize it word for word, but during my behavioral interview (Illinois) I didn't worry so much when they asked "Tell me about a time when..." Granted, I acted like I had to think for a moment (they actually like it when you put thought into your answers so don't feel like you have to jump right in).

- Know something about the school before you go to the interview!! Every school asked me "Why would you like to come here?" Plus, at the end, you should have some questions for them regarding their school that shows you put thought into your research. "I am very interested in your [insert specific program name here], can you tell me more about it?"

I truly believe my interviews are what got me into schools and got me scholarships. Oh, and make sure you know ahead of time what TYPE of interview you will be having - it makes it easier to study for.
 
Yes, at Michigan State, anyone that applied can request a profile of their scores against the average score. The reports contain: cum GPA, science GPA, last 3 semesters GPA, GRE, MCAT, File Review, and Interview. They compare your scores with (1) everyone that applied, (2) everyone invited to interview, (3) selected candidates, and (4) admitted candidates.

I was really interested how I had done, so it was nice to be able to request it.
 
I am really worried about interviews already! I feel as if I have pretty good stats. My grades are good and I have 3 diff types of experience with a decent amount of hours. But I am absolutely horrible at interviews. I hate questions like "Describe how you take initiative." They annoy me and I can't think of how to specifically answer them. I can answer questions on the spot, I'm a good test taker, fast thinker, and work well under pressure, but if they give me a question like that, I will not have a good answer.

So if I bomb the interview, what are the chances I'll still get in?


The bad news: Schools--and jobs--do reject people who do not, for whatever reason, perform strongly in their in-person interviews. I've been on an admissions committee as well as on several hiring committees in my old career, and we definitely met with candidates with whom we were severely underwhelmed during the interview compared with their paper application, so subsequently did not admit/hire. In my albeit limited experience on an academic adcom--and this depends on the weight each school gives to an interview--if you are a strong candidate otherwise (recommendations, numbers, etc), you would likely have to have a particularly poor interview performance in order for that portion of your application to be the main reason for a rejection. Or, you would have to display some kind of alarming or questionable behavior or characteristic for the adcom to recommend against you even if the rest of you looked great on paper. They do understand nerves, etc, so I'm in general not talking about not being quite as eloquent as you may have wished or not knowing the answer to one question in your interview (and, yes, it is best to say you don't know when you really don't know, but offer to look it up and get back to them if they would like).

The good news: you can get better and more confortable with interviewing just like you would get better at anything else you'd undertake: practice! Do mock interviews with a friend, significant other, family, faculty, etc; practice answering questions, play around with the wording of your responses, see what feels comfortable, etc. Talking things through with someone else really does build confidence. As for those "behavioral interview"-style interviews, start thinking about experiences you've had in your life that could be told as a story in order to answer those kinds of questions. Then try to envision that you are telling that story to friend and not an adcomm. It might take some of the pressure off and make you feel more relaxed in your response.

Good luck!
 
Tennessee's interviews were very laid back, and the first thing they told me and others was "We are not trying to scare you or stress you out. We just want to get an idea of what you are like". They were so kind (like everyone else we met that day from the school) especially considering I was the LAST interview on the LAST day. One of my interviewers seemed sleepy (he did nod off a few times), but I don't think it was intentional to throw me off. I don't blame him...I can be ummm...long-winded.:oops::sleep:

I prepared for the interview by reading about some current vet issues, diseases on the forefront, and thinking what I would say if they asked certain introspective questions. Mostly, they didn't ask about any of this. It was VERY conversational. However, I think just knowing that I could have answered some tougher questions if they were asked made me feel more confident as a whole.

That being said, the ONE thing I did not want them to ask about was current events. Call me ignorant, but I just have very little interest in any current news other than the local news. So, what did they focus on at the interview? CURRENT EVENTS! 2 of my interviewers were from Europe, so they not only asked me local and national news, but INTERnational news. I couldn't believe it was happening. But, I got through it and told them what I could. It was fine. I explained I didn't know as much about current events as I should, and they seemed to appreciate the honesty.


Good luck to everyone!:luck:
 
A&M didn't really ask me anything odd.

What I did find weird was the entire interview was based on me. No current events, no senator questions, nothing to test my knowledge of anything aside from what I knew about myself (a subject I'm well versed in).

They didn't even ask me why I wanted to go to A&M! I guess they figured it out by the maroon shirt and tie I was wearing. Looked sharp, though lol.


Oh but I guess this is kind of odd. The male interviewer asked me about what I thought of the football team that year lol. Good thing I am a football fan. It didn't help (I didn't get in) but it was a good pressure reliever to discuss something so casual.

One other thing that kind of threw me off. Something brought up the Top 10% rule Texas has and they said "So it sounds like you're not a big advocate of the Top 10% rule, how would you fix it?" and that left me drawing a blank. Reason being is I don't think the rule should be in effect at all, so I was trying to think of a way to fix it. I eventually just told them I'd get rid of it completely and they nodded and went on.
 
what's the top 10% rule?
 
Oh I have a bunch! At MSU they said something about my 5 brothers and sisters (I am the oldest of 6 , so yes 5 brothers and sisters.) I said oh you mean 6? Haha I guess I was so nervous I just had in my head "oldest of 6" and thought they said "oldest of 5." I probably sounded pretty dumb! I got in though! I had lots of funny/nervous moments though out of 3 interviews.:)
 
what's the top 10% rule?
If you're in the Top 10% of your high school graduating class in Texas, then you automatically get accepted into any public university in Texas that you want to go to.

A very broken system for several reasons, such as quality of the school, circumstances in the school, population of the school (a small town school of 40 people in a class vs a large school of several thousands), etc.
 
The girl who interviewed right before me came out of the room in tears. Unnerving, to say the least. But she was babbling about how they asked her some question about solving conflict or something like that--why in the world would that make someone cry?

I was so nervous that my mouth completely stopped producing saliva and it was hard not to give in to the temptation to babble a blue streak. It really is okay to have moments of silence while you think about a question. Much better than filling it with "ums" or things you don't really mean to say.
 
Along those lines, how many of you ever had to just say "I don't know" when asked something in an interview?
How did your interviewers react to that??? :)

I said "I don't know" many times, even for big questions. Assuming you are otherwise a strong applicant, they just want to see you are a good person. They are not going to reject you because you don't know something that you will probably learn in school anyways. Now the way you say "I don't know" can make a difference though. For example you could say "I would like to look into it more before answering that." You could even follow it up at the end of the interview by asking THEM about it.

I would actually advise you not to study obscure facts, orgo, or anything like that. Yes read the news daily, go over the school's website, and be familiar with your app but that's it. Just because you worked at a clinic doesn't mean you have to know all the drugs or diseases. If you do, great, but if not don't fake it. Don't study anything the day before your interview, try to go out have fun and relax.
 
My weirdest interview moment was when one of my interviewers looked at my application, then announced he had only one concern about me. He said, "I see you've been everything from a soccer mom (coach, actually) to a college Administrator, Girl Scout leader, volunteer, and Mary Kay sales rep. So, convince me that vet school is not just a whim."

I was just...stunned. I first fell into it by telling him he had a good point. But then I recovered and explained that as a 41-year-old wife and mother, I'd obviously had very broad experiences over the years. I also said that none of my prior incarnations had ever dissuaded me from wanting to become a veterinarian.

I left the interview feeling shaken. I even cried on my drive home. But I guess I answered ok, because I got in.
 
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thank you!! I know I am going to do pretty poorly in my interview already, I am so bad at interviewing in general. Whenever I get really nervous, bad things happen...I was pulled over one time and when the cop came over to my window and asked for my license, I was so nervous that instead of answering him I just screamed. (Luckily he thought it was funny and had to walk away for a second because he was laughing so hard...but I can't see them taking it so lightly at an interview :eek:)

Since you know this is an issue, take proactive steps to ensure your success. If there is a local interview clinic anywhere, make use of it (Career centers, for instance). Have friends and family give you mock interviews. make it a less stressful event for yourself.
 
Your local U should have mock interviews, and big pdf files on the two types of interviewing. Mine had methods for preparing for them, too. If you don't find the ones for your school, I can send you the link to the ones for my school. I've also found writing out my answer on a note card, then adding a little bit, (then adding a little more) useful. It gives me an idea of what I want to talk about and why.

I wish I had done that last year.
 
At one of my interviews I used the term "zoonotic" incorrectly. I thought it also meant diseases that are spread between different species, as well as between humans and animals. My interviewer asked me "Do you know what that word means because you tend to be using it a lot." I explained what I thought it meant and he told me I was wrong and corrected me. I didn't want them to know they shook my confidence, so I just politely said, "oh I didn't know that, I guess I was wrong, thank you for correcting me."

In the same interview they asked me what I was currently interested in on the news. Now, I do listen to NPR but the only news I truly seek out is sports news. I didn't want to lead them down a path of discussion I wasn't ready to answer more detailed questions about so I just said that lately I am really busy to keep up with anything in particular, but recently I started downloading podcasts of different science news so I could listen to it on my long drive to work. It's a good way to kill two birds with one stone.

I really thought I had bombed my interview actually and I kept obsessing over it, but in the end I guess I did really well because my score was nearly perfect and I have NO idea how. But, I got in!

I think overall it's more how you carry yourself and the confidence you convey moreso than your actual answers. Handle your mishaps graciously and you'll be fine.


At MSU they also included diseases such as lyme in with zoonotic diseases. I didn't realize that a vector like a tick would make it count as zoonotic.

I didn't get my scores back for my MSU interview. Would be nice to know though!
 
At MSU they also included diseases such as lyme in with zoonotic diseases. I didn't realize that a vector like a tick would make it count as zoonotic.

eh, that one is tricky though and depends on who you are asking. inherently, many vector-borne diseases or arboviruses (arthropod-borne viruses) can infect both humans and animals, but still, many "experts" consider these separate from zoonotic diseases or at least a sort of sub-category. and it's not that the vector, in your case, a tick, made it a zoonotic disease it's just that lyme disease, which is transmitted by the tick infects humans and animals.

ok...done with my spiel/deviation from actual topic
 
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