I meant to re-type my experience yesterday for anyone interviewing today (Nov. 19), but I didn't get to it. I'm sure most students interviewing today will be fine.
🙂
The important thing to keep in mind is that OU's interviews are generally very conversational and low-stress. Nearly everyone I talked to on interview day said that their interviews were very conversational with maybe one or two difficult political/ethics/healthcare questions. However, I (Nov. 16) really didn't have any difficult questions and neither did my friend (Nov. 18).
The first question was a form of, "Why do you want to be a doctor?" I also got a form of, "What are some qualities that physicians should have?" and, "What concerns you most about the profession?" They also asked me to explain my low verbal subsection score. Other than that, we just talked about the activities on my application. My friend's interview was very much the same as mine, even though I know we had different interviewers.
With that said, however, some of the difficult questions that were asked of other students that day were:
-"What do you think about Proposition 19?"
-"If the governor were to give you $1 million, what three areas of Oklahoma healthcare would you put the money toward?"
-"In your opinion, what are the three biggest issues in healthcare today?"
-"How would you solve those issues?"
-One applicant I talked to was grilled in the interview for applying as a junior with no shadowing experience and with no idea of a possible future specialty.
-Also, an undergrad from my university interviewed at OU Med a few years ago and was grilled about who certain political leaders were (Vice-President, Secretary of State, Speaker of the House, etc.).
In other words, the interviews can be pretty tough but generally aren't. I was nervous, but they do a pretty good job of getting you to relax.
FYI:
There are about 30 interviews/day. When you show up at 8:15, you are given your interview time, which can be at 9:00, 10:00, or 11:00. The applicants are divided into three groups of about ten each. There is a short infomational session about the rest of the morning with an opportunity to ask questions. At 9:00, the groups split-up and rotate among the three activities (interview, tour, tour), with the order dependant on your interview time. The tours are given by current MSIIs who are very friendly and honest about their experiences, and lunch is provided once your last rotation ends at 12:00.
The interviews are 30 minutes to an hour. There are usually three interviewers per student. Generally, two of them are physicians and one is an MSIV, although some applicants had three physicians. The interviews are semi-blind. For the first part of your interview, the interviewers can only see your AMCAS personal statement and activities. After about 20-30 minutes, they send you out so they can have time to look over your MCAT scores, GPA, and LORs. Then you come back and have another 15-30 minutes. Since many of the interviews are in adjacent rooms in the Bird Library, you have a chance to talk to other applicants to see how their interviews are going while they're looking at your grades.
Currently, each class size is 165. OU has semi-rolling admissions, so the earliest applicants have a chance to hear a yes for acceptance within 10 business days. From what I have heard (but it sounds legit), acceptances are offered until they hit about 120/165. At that point all students are either deferred for decision until early March or are denied. Since there are ~30 interviews/day, all students on the first four interview days (this year, through Nov. 18) have an opportunity to have an immediate decision. Applicants with October/November interviews have a very high acceptance rate. Since there are two dates in October and three in November, the 120 mark is likely hit during the third November date. Interviews in January and February are offered in November and almost certainly will result in deferral. Students who are deferred for decision to early March will then receive correspondance stating either accept, wait-list, or deny. Dr. Baker (Associate Dean of Admissions) told us that there are anywhere from 30-60 that come off the wait-list in any given year.
And by the way: OU acceptances come in the mail in BREs (Big Red Envelopes).
🙂
Whew... that was long. Hope it's helpful!
