Didn't Get In due to "Rehearsed Interview"

[Kingsta2426]

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[ATG20]

Well, was it rehearsed?

 

[Kingsta2426]

.

 

[UCSFx2017]

That sucks but I'd try my best to forget it and move on. It's not healthy to hold gripes.

The next time you have an interview, don't memorize your answers word-for-word but have an outline in the back of your head and then wing it. Watch your intonations because you don't want to sound like a robot or Patch Adams. Talk like you would with any other person or patient.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdCrPBqQALc[/youtube]

👎thumbdown He might have some good things to say but he sounds too inhuman.

 

[dentalWorks]

So I applied last summer for the 2013 cycle and I was accepted to University of Florida which I will be attending, but I did not get into my state school, Louisiana State University. Don't get me wrong I am very thankful and happy I got into UF, but I am still a bit puzzled about why I didn't get into LSU. After LSU finished filling the class I called them and the only thing they could tell me was that in the 1-on-1 ethical interview that my interview seemed "rehearsed" and that they "thought I had seen the questions before" - wtf ? I kept asking questions very professionally and he literally said your application was flawless but we weigh the interview heavily. I was in the first interview group at LSU that the director of admissions called "a very special group with the best DAT scores and GPA's." Has anybody heard of a school not accepting a student because their interview was "rehearsed?" Here are my stats 3.6 oGPA and sGPA (at LSU undergrad), DAT was 23 AA, 25 TS, 19 PAT, 1500 hrs of research, good LOR's, and many other EC's. I probably would have attended LSU dental since it is so much cheaper. I'm really not sour about it at all just seems like a BS reason to me. I would like some analysis on this situation because I still can't put my finger on this one.

P.S. - I was initially wait-listed at LSU before being rejected.

Who doesn't rehearse for an interview?

soooo.... you rehearsed..... they rejected you because of it..... and now ur asking what exactly?

 

[UCSFx2017]

Who doesn't rehearse for an interview?

When you rehearse for an interview and say the same exact thing at the interview. Chances are it won''t come out the same as it would if you just knew the basic idea of your answer and went from there. You'll probably say something too fast like you were reciting something or it'll sound too monotone or your nonverbal communication won't match what you're saying. Think of the interview more like a conversation or a "getting-to-know-you" thing rather than an incredibly formal and tense FBI interrogation. If you rehearse something, it'll sound like two conspiring criminals trying to come up with the same cover story. Your patient interactions are going to be a lot more like the former than the latter. Or at least, they ought to be.

 

[Kingsta2426]

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[UCSFx2017]

Another thing, if you notice that the way you talk with the interviewer changes with the way you talk with the other interviewees in the waiting room, you're probably doing it wrong. Anyways, that's my (n = 1).

 

[Kingsta2426]

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[UCSFx2017]

You make some great points. In this particular interview the questions were like "would you treat an AIDS patient?" "Would you report a student cheating if you saw it?" "Would you do free dental work on your wife without telling school?" I tried to say the most ethically correct answers from my own opinions. I rehearsed for the committee interview for questions like "tell us about your path to dentistry or tell us about your research" not the ethical questions because I had no idea there was even an ethical interview. The admissions director said committee interview was fine but ethical interview seemed "rehearsed"

That's rough. Well, at least you got in somewhere right?

 

[AlbinoPolarBear]

Who doesn't rehearse for an interview?

You can rehearse, but the answers shouldn't sound rehearsed. Get it?

 

[JAWSSS]

Did you rehearse for your interview? If you say no, you're lying. I hardly used anything I rehearsed in the actual interview. The committee director said the interviewer "thought it was sounded rehearsed and that I had seen the questions before" (never saw any questions) I thought the interview went great, he even said the notes were pretty good.

I'm not lying, I did not rehears for an interview... When EVERY person that has ever been though an interview tells you to "be yourself," I listened. I did not rehearse because I did not want to sound like I rehearsed.

Even though you did not see the questions before the interview, you probably overthought the 'types' of questions they were going to ask (especially considering it was probably your first dental school interview) and that alone is enough for you to sound rehearsed.

Honestly, I would choose the person that seemed honest and sincerely thought about the questions I was asking over the person who never seemed phased by my questions and sounded rehearsed any day. Because, by the time you are at your interview, stats are a side note.

I think that it is perfectly acceptable to not accept an applicant for the reason they gave you. Regardless, you are going to attend a great school next year, good luck.

 

[wcombs]

Honestly it sounds like you just got screwed. It's annoying they would ever reject someone because they had a "feeling" you had somehow seen their interview questions but no basis to back their claims.

On the bright side at least you got into UF. It's my state school and you're about to have the best 4 years of your life here. Forget what happened with LSU and just move forward because there are people (ahem... me) who would kill to be in your shoes 😛

 

[Kingsta2426]

I'm not lying, I did not rehears for an interview... When EVERY person that has ever been though an interview tells you to "be yourself," I listened. I did not rehearse because I did not want to sound like I rehearsed.

Even though you did not see the questions before the interview, you probably overthought the 'types' of questions they were going to ask (especially considering it was probably your first dental school interview) and that alone is enough for you to sound rehearsed.

Honestly, I would choose the person that seemed honest and sincerely thought about the questions I was asking over the person who never seemed phased by my questions and sounded rehearsed any day. Because, by the time you are at your interview, stats are a side note.

I think that it is perfectly acceptable to not accept an applicant for the reason they gave you. Regardless, you are going to attend a great school next year, good luck.

I agree with all of this, valid points.

 

[aznboi89x]

move on.....



florida gators are way better than LSU tigers... just saying

 

[doc toothache]

Wise is the dean who does not discuss the reason(s) for rejection.

 

[ATG20]

Did you rehearse for your interview? If you say no, you're lying. I hardly used anything I rehearsed in the actual interview. The committee director said the interviewer "thought it was sounded rehearsed and that I had seen the questions before" (never saw any questions) I thought the interview went great, he even said the notes were pretty good.

My original inquiry was to whether you had seen and rehearsed the ethical question, per your original gripe.

And for one of my interviews, I didn't rehearse (maybe I'm lying though, according to you 😉 ). Just speak off the cuff and if they like you, they like you. The interviewer probably just didn't get a good vibe off you and wrote down something to justify a 'Not Recommended' rating: It happens.

 

[Ferneezy]

Wise is the dean who does not discussed the reason(s) for rejection.

this. i thought it was SOP for dschool deans to keep opacity at 100%

 

[Kingsta2426]

.

 

[Kingsta2426]

Wise is the dean who does not discussed the reason(s) for rejection.

Another typical one liner

 

[doc toothache]

By it being discussed it will help others not make my "mistake" 😉😉😉😉

Not to worry. They are perfectly capable of making their own "mistakes".

 

[DMDWANNABEE]

Forget about it. You're going to be a dentist, you get to live in a warm college town, you will be surrounded by pretty women (assuming that's relevant to you), and for all you know they just fed you a BS answer to make you go away. It sucks, but really not that bad.

Cut a prep, have a beer, relax.

 

[dentalWorks]

Did you rehearse for your interview? If you say no, you're lying. I hardly used anything I rehearsed in the actual interview. The committee director said the interviewer "thought it was sounded rehearsed and that I had seen the questions before" (never saw any questions) I thought the interview went great, he even said the notes were pretty good.

Rehearse??? no I did not... thats silly and shows no self confidence.

I did however read over some of the interview feedback from here... But, I didn't think it helped that much. I used to conduct interviews at my previous job, I know how to interview and what type of body language to give (attended 5 interviews, 4 were acceptances and 1 was high-hold wait list)

 

[Bis-GMA111]

i mean, i made some bullet points for a few common questions and that's about it. probably took me about 10 minutes before each interview to organize what i was going to say. actively rehearsing what you're going to say is overkill, in my opinion

 

[Hawkteeth]

Don't feel bad, I didn't even get an interview at my alma mater. It kind of pissed me off but I'm glad because I will get to experience another part of the country and meet entirely new people. I don't understand why they don't like a rehearsed answer, it shows you put in the work and actually thought enough about it to come up with a response before hand, but that's what I did and got waitlisted at all but one of the schools I interviewed at...

 

[UCSFx2017]

Don't feel bad, I didn't even get an interview at my alma mater. It kind of pissed me off but I'm glad because I will get to experience another part of the country and meet entirely new people. I don't understand why they don't like a rehearsed answer, it shows you put in the work and actually thought enough about it to come up with a response before hand, but that's what I did and got waitlisted at all but one of the schools I interviewed at...

Unfortunately it's not just about the answer but also about the way the answer is presented.

 

[xbite]

You can rehearse, but the answers shouldn't sound rehearsed. Get it?

+1. I actually practiced timing of certain things: throwing in a stutter, shake in the voice, look aways, hand gestures, etc. so that I didn't sound rehearsed for the expected questions: why dentistry, why this school, strengths and weaknesses. Worked for all the places at which I interviewed.

 

[BlackThought]

Agreed
I did the same, just reviewed sdn feedback questions and mentally prepared. Most of the interview advice advised not rehearsing. My first interview did not go as well as I hoped, but that was my practice for the next ones.

Yup. Same. I've mentioned it a couple times on this forum, but if I were to give one piece of advice in regards to interviews it would be to not over-prepare. This is a issue when people start to become under-confident in their communication abilities and subsequently feel they need to compensate with tireless preparation. Don't get me wrong, some preparation is good, but don't pigeon-hole yourself into saying a certain sentence or paragraph for a given answer, even if you've come across that question before. Speak freely and spontaneously but keep in mind the points you came across during your preparation. If you are asked a question that you've heard before, stop, pause, and throw around some non-verbal (possibly verbal) cues to make it seem as if you are thinking about the question, but in your head go over generally the topics you want to touch upon in your response.

It can kill any discussion that may come up during your interview because you may go in to the room with blocks of paragraph answers engrained in your head and let's say it turns out to be a relaxed conversation. Changing your mindset that quickly/smoothly is what leads people to freeze/falter during interviews (imo)

 

[RickCo]

Totally off-topic: Anyone else think Robin Williams makes a better Patch Adams than Patch Adams? 😀

 

[Dgeorg6]

Damn man. Are you in the pre-dental society at LSU? I am applying to LSU this summer and you got me worried over here. No way the only reason they rejected you is because your interview sounded "rehearsed". That sounds like a BS answer to hide something else. Maybe one of your LOR's ended up not being so good? IDK honestly but I dont believe that is the real reason you didnt get excepted. especially with those stats.

 

[Glimmer1991]

That's lame. I sort of think interviews, in general, are lame. They can't know you in 25 minutes. And seriously, we're all incredibly nervous about these things because our futures rely on them. We won't be incredibly nervous when conversing with future patients. How we behave in an interview doesn't necessarily show our personalities. I know that I am terrified of my future interviews, as I've had rude interviewers in the past that gave me a bad taste for the whole process. If your application is awesome, that should hold MUCH more weight than a supposedly "canned" interview.

Ugh. I'm sorry. Life sucks sometimes.