Nova interview experience

[fifa518]

I had my interview at Nova a few weeks ago and was accepted within the same week. I have nothing but positive experiences and thoughts about this amazing school. Everyone was super friendly and welcoming. I felt like I was already a student. The interviewers were super friendly, down to earth and shared a lot of experiences themselves. They asked me the basic interview questions like, tell me about yourself, why optometry, why nova, and a question about integrity (someone is cheating on a test what would I do). Then they talked about some things on my application like my shadowing, sports. They were super friendly. It was conversational. I asked them plenty of questions regarding nova and they were so helpful and funny. the tour of the school was great. I loved the big campus feel. I love how there are so many other health professions in the same building. Lunch was also great, you have Q&A with current freshmen. They're super friendly. The clinic was walking distance. The on campus dorming and apartments were also beautiful.


Great school.. Fun interview.. Great program.. Great location and weather too.

I heard back about my acceptance 3 days after my interview. Nova is super efficient and quick. I love their speedy responses!

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[eyedoc01]

This is great information! I have an interview at NOVA in two weeks, so excited

 

[fifa518]

This is great information! I have an interview at NOVA in two weeks, so excited

Good luck! Sure you'll love it

 

[roush137]

I figured I would add my experience as I just interviewed today at Nova. I'm going to go pretty in detail because I worried about every little detail before my interview.
Before:
I wore a maroon pant suit, black heels (under 2 inch and comfortable.) Most of the other people there wore black pant suits, and maybe one or 2 wore skirts (they were also interviewing for other programs.) I had planned to bring a leather padfolio but I forgot it in Ohio and I needed something to keep my wallet and phone in, so I brought my purse. I stayed at the Plantation Hampton Inn because they offer a shuttle from the airport and to the school.
Interview
I chose the 8:30 time slot because I knew I'd be too nervous to wait around any longer than that. I took the 8am shuttle from the hotel and I arrived around 8:15. I was nervous that the shuttle wouldn't get me there early enough, but it did, and it was free. So I saved a lot by not getting a cab. I checked in, and I got a name tag, a folder with a notebook and a pen, and a cute Nova side bag to carry everything in. So my purse was unnecessary, and so was worrying about whether I should bring it or not. There were only 2 optometry applicants that day, but we waited in a room with applicants for other programs. As soon as I sat down the admissions rep, Juan, greeted me and started talking about how the day would go and why Nova was awesome. The other applicant that day came with her mom, and they were very welcoming, so definitely bring someone if you can/want. I came alone because my mom/fiancé couldn't really afford to fly down here with me.
Around 9 Fran came around and let us know that one of the interviewers wasn't there and she left to find a replacement. A few minutes later they came out to get the the other interviewer, and I sat and chatted with Juan and Fran. About 20 minutes later it was my turn. The interviewers were very nice. They asked the basic questions, why optometry, why nova, what would you do about cheating, they asked about my study habits, and my time management skills. Overall it was very relaxed and I went from being extremely nervous when I first got there, to being completely comfortable before the interview even started thanks to Juan and Fran.
After
After the interview Juan discussed housing, financial aid, and addressed any questions we had. One thing I found particularly interesting was that he told us they interview about 300 applicants and they accept around 280 of those. He also told us that the committee meets on Thursdays, so we would probably hear about their decision Friday, which is awesome. After that, we toured the health division, ate lunch with the associate dean, and then talked with 3 first years. That was probably my favorite part of the day, it was nice to hear about the school from their perspective. After that, we toured the rest of the university, and then we were finished around 2:30. I think that timeline might have been different if there had been afternoon interviewers, but it was nice to end a little early.
Anyway, I know that was long and probably boring, but hopefully it helps some of you who were as nervous as I was!

 

[eyedoc01]

roush137, do you remember approximately how long your interview lasted?

 

[roush137]

The formal interview with faculty (there were 2 of them and it was open file) was about 20 minutes.

 

[Mark2K8]

Congratulations! It is my top choice thus far. I submitted my application like the first day of September but still have not heard back from them. Have gotten accepted at SUNY and have multiple other interviews at almost every other school I applied to, but NOVA, which is worrying me :/ . I called them and i was informed it has a "pending decision".

 

[fifa518]

Congratulations! It is my top choice thus far. I submitted my application like the first day of September but still have not heard back from them. Have gotten accepted at SUNY and have multiple other interviews at almost every other school I applied to, but NOVA, which is worrying me :/ . I called them and i was informed it has a "pending decision".

Congrats on your acceptances ! I'm sure you will get into NOVA as well. A lot of schools haven't answered me yet and I applied In September too.

 

[Eyeknow19]

I had my interview about two weeks ago. Nova is my first choice! It was a great experience and everyone was super friendly. I didn't find out about my acceptance until the next week however because I interviewed on a Friday. I talked to Dr. B and he said of about 1000 applicants, about 260 are offered interviews and of those 200 are accepted. Hope this helps anyone who is interviewing.

 

[Dordy]

from my NOVA interview experience:

- Beautiful and massive campus
- colour coded faculty scrubs (green is optometry)
- toured the massive school and beautiful facilities
- super friendly staff
- interview was a professor and another girl, 2 on 1, 15-20 mins, simple questions
- found a week later of acceptance

Proud to be a part of NOVA Optometry Class of 2019!

Also that sunshine and weather doe.....

 

[fifa518]

I had my interview about two weeks ago. Nova is my first choice! It was a great experience and everyone was super friendly. I didn't find out about my acceptance until the next week however because I interviewed on a Friday. I talked to Dr. B and he said of about 1000 applicants, about 260 are offered interviews and of those 200 are accepted. Hope this helps anyone who is interviewing.

Congratulations on your acceptance!! Thanks for all the helpful information!

 

[fifa518]

from my NOVA interview experience:

- Beautiful and massive campus
- colour coded faculty scrubs (green is optometry)
- toured the massive school and beautiful facilities
- super friendly staff
- interview was a professor and another girl, 2 on 1, 15-20 mins, simple questions
- found a week later of acceptance

Proud to be a part of NOVA Optometry Class of 2019!

Also that sunshine and weather doe.....

Congratulations on your acceptance ! I had a very similar experience. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Eyeknow19]

@Dordy congrats, classmate! @fifa518 thank you!