Questions to ask the interviewers?

Here are some of the questions I asked:

What separates this school from others in state? I just wanted their opinion.

How much of a benefit do you feel it is to be at a college that works so closely with the medical school? (MCV's pharmacy students do rounds with the med. students at the hospital in richmond) I was just showing off my knowledge that MCV was one of 15 or so schools that taught every health care degree.

What kind of benefits are there to going to a school with such a history, compared to those schools that seem to be popping up all over the place? (MCV had been around for over 100 years, other in state schools were five years old at max) I was kind of curoius, plus I figured it could lead into a question about networking.

How do the students at the school compare to other pharmacy schools you have worked at? (To a professor that had worked at a different pharmacy school for a while) I just wanted to find out if the place was cutthroat or not.


The point is you really have to tailor your questions to the school. Do research and find out alot about the school. Don't ask too many questions that they have the answers to on their website unless you want the interviewers opinion on the topic, and if you are doing that then mention that you read X and wanted their opinion on it. Oh yeah, if you have a good question but already know the answer to it, then ask it anyways...it can't hurt. Remember, sometimes it is what you ask that separates you from the other candidates. Good luck too.

ask about rotations, financial aid (if applicable), student housing, student organizations, how much time students generally have to put in to work/student organizations... you could also ask about naplex passing rates. i agree with laferno that you can tailor questions to the school, but remember, some people need to choose between more than one school and the answers to general questions may be very helpful for comparison. this is an investment of your time- ask questions that pertain to what is important to you academically and personally to help make the best decision for YOU. btw- the questions i suggested are ones that i plan on asking during my interview in a few weeks. good luck!

All of the above.

But I wouldn't go about memorizing the questions - it'll appear (and be) artificial and a lot of interviewers can pick up on that.

Just be honest. What are you curious about with the school? What questions would you ask a student? What would a faculty member be able to answer that a student couldn't that you'd be interested in?

Take some time to just think about it over a couple weeks. They'll come to you. 👍

nikkai said:

All of the above.

But I wouldn't go about memorizing the questions - it'll appear (and be) artificial and a lot of interviewers can pick up on that.

Just be honest. What are you curious about with the school? What questions would you ask a student? What would a faculty member be able to answer that a student couldn't that you'd be interested in?

Take some time to just think about it over a couple weeks. They'll come to you. 👍

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Actually, nikkai, I disagree. 😉 Being in a 45-minute long interview can already be stressful enough. Even though you may be calm and chitchatting really nicely with your interviewers, you don't want to all of a sudden blank out when it comes time to ask your questions.

Here are some I asked at my interviews:
1 - (student or professor interviewers) Given that the field of pharmacy is rapidly changing, exactly what is (insert school name) doing to prepare its students for these changes?

2 - (student interviewer) If you could do things differently to get to where you are today, what would it be and why?

3 - (student interviewer) What experiences have you had at this school that you found to be the most valuable?

4 - (Student or professor interviewers) Building healthy relationships with people everywhere I go is important to me. What does (insert school name) do to promote this healthy relationship between professors and students and what kinds of things do faculty and students do to have this great relationship?

If you were really passionate about something in one of your ECs in undergrad and want to try to incorporate that into that particular pharmacy school's students' everyday lives, you could ask your interviewers (either one) whether something like it has ever been done before and whether or not they like that idea. (i.e. I asked about starting a discussion forum for the homeless and students that is similar to the one at UC Berkeley).

Best of luck!

endlesslove said:

Actually, nikkai, I disagree. 😉 Being in a 45-minute long interview can already be stressful enough. Even though you may be calm and chitchatting really nicely with your interviewers, you don't want to all of a sudden blank out when it comes time to ask your questions.

Here are some I asked at my interviews:
1 - (student or professor interviewers) Given that the field of pharmacy is rapidly changing, exactly what is (insert school name) doing to prepare its students for these changes?

2 - (student interviewer) If you could do things differently to get to where you are today, what would it be and why?

3 - (student interviewer) What experiences have you had at this school that you found to be the most valuable?

4 - (Student or professor interviewers) Building healthy relationships with people everywhere I go is important to me. What does (insert school name) do to promote this healthy relationship between professors and students and what kinds of things do faculty and students do to have this great relationship?

If you were really passionate about something in one of your ECs in undergrad and want to try to incorporate that into that particular pharmacy school's students' everyday lives, you could ask your interviewers (either one) whether something like it has ever been done before and whether or not they like that idea. (i.e. I asked about starting a discussion forum for the homeless and students that is similar to the one at UC Berkeley).

Best of luck!

Click to expand...

To each their own. 🙂

nikkai said:

To each their own. 🙂

Click to expand...

I only asked two questions...because I was actually curious on what their takes are on the subject matter.

1) What are your opinions on pharmacy as a field and pharmacist as a profession "internationally"? Do you foresee future developments in pharmacy on the international stage?

2) As I am aware, many drugs and medications have numerous side effects. How do you deal with patients that are on drugs with extensive side effects? How do you go about in alleviating their pain?

best of luck on interviews =D

If the interviewer is a teacher with a Pharmacy Degree ask them what led them to the teaching area of the career.