Well you're going to start the day with an introduction and meeting with the Associate Dean of admissions, Dr. Whitehurst-Cook. She is extremely friendly, knowledgeable and laid back. After that you're going to meet up with the Financial aid office in which you will be told over and over again to organize your finances and budget which was very helpful. Two students will then tour you around the school most likely MS-2. The tour is absolutely amazing you get to tour the campus and the MCV hospital. They show you the stimulation room and you get to experience how students learn. Also most importantly you will be touring in the midst of students studying, conversing and running around to class. I think the tour in an essence showed me how happy students were and it really made me fall in love with VCU. I must say the campus is absolutely stunning and there is an extremely diverse environment. You have dental students, pharmacy students, medical students and nursing students all in very close proximity to each other. You will have your interview before or after the tour/lunch based on when they have scheduled you. The interviewer will pick you up from the waiting room. The interviewer is either faculty or a MS-4 and has significant say on your final decision ( therefore, you must stay friendly and professional at all times). The single interview is very conversational and laid back. Even though my interviewer was a little aggressive, he was extremely friendly and understanding. I meant aggressive in the sense that he was asking me challenging questions to test me. Before I entered the interview he had pages worth of notes written down about me, he had tons of things circled and underlined in my primary, secondary application and the LORs from my committee. Everything was on his table at front of him while he was interviewing me but of course I was sitting a little far away and couldn't tell what exactly he had circled or underlined but I saw the red ink every where. I'm not going to lie it should have intimidated me but it really didn't because as a former Marine I've been through rougher times, he was extremely friendly and he was simply putting in a lot of effort to get to know me (which I appreciated). He was also taking down important notes during our conversation. The questions were not just generic questions but questions that really made me dig deep inside myself and I loved it. Honestly, at one moment during the interview I felt that the interviewer knew me more than I knew myself and that is when I knew that the interview was a complete success. Some of the people I talked to had a slightly different experience, their interviewers had a different personality which is understandable. Either way I truly believe VCU and it's admission board put in a lot of effort and time to get to know you and so should you. Go to their website if you're not a local and really get to know the school. Try to see how the schools mission matches with your own if at all. I personally appreciated my interviewer presenting challenging questions because it really let him know more about me. I feel that if the interview is extremely laid back and casual then sometimes a lot of necessary stuff can be skimmed over which can be detrimental because an interview is your last chance to sell yourself to the school. You should not be too desperate or casual just try to stay moderate. By the way VCU has many interviewers so you could have a totally different experience during the actual 1 hour interview. So, please do not assume anything based on my single interview. Just stay positive, enthusiastic and always smile during your time at VCU/MCV. Enthusiasm can get you a long way 😉 just please for the love of God do not be that person that sits there as if they are bored, rolling their eyes, have their shoulders rolled forward with their head tucked down (yes someone did that at my interview day and trust me you do not want to do that when the Associate Dean of Admissions is sitting a couple feet away from you). I am not judgmental but trust me the way you present yourself to everybody on the day of the interview will play a major role in your final decision. One of the main things I have learned from interviewing at 5 schools is that people are always watching so treat everyone well even your fellow interviewees and always bring that positive energy. VCU is an amazing school and congratulations on getting an interview out of thousands!!! Let me know if you need anything else and Good luck!
