Disheartened: Interview help/tips?

[stemaba]

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I'm super disheartened with the whole process of trying to get into school. I was waitlisted at my hometown school last year, and this year I've been denied and waitlisted (near the bottom of long wait lists). The problem is - I feel GREAT after most my interviews. Last year, I thought I was IN after the process because everything felt so good! and my most recent interview this year was damn near perfect.... and I'm so far down on the waitlist it's laughable.

Are there any interview tips out there to get yourself to stand out? Or just to improve the whole process? I know my skill set, and feel I would kill it in school, and as a PT, but how do I get someone to SEE that? I don't feel like I'm show-offy in interviews, cocky or acting superior. I'm really confused, and upset at this point.

I feel at an utter loss right now because I actually enjoy interviews, I like talking to people, and I feel like my interviews have gone really well, and yet, here I am, still not accepted to any school, fearing I have to try for a third year.

I still have two more interviews to go (one in my hometown again)... I'm just getting more and more disheartened with everything.


Thanks!

 

[cait-laine]

Have you done any mock interviews with employers, professors, PTs, etc? I found those very helpful in preparing for my interview because I was able to get feedback from those people on if what I was saying was coming across well. That was probably the most valuable preparation that I did before my interviews.
I also bought the book “A New Exercise: How to Succeed at the Interview for a DPT Program” by Gaurav Khanal. It gave many good examples of ways to answer questions and why certain answers may not be received well. It is on amazon and is not very expensive, so that may be worth a shot for you to look at too.
If you believe in your skills and abilities, then someone will hopefully see that and will accept you!
good luck with your next interviews!

 

[TheDancingWriter]

Sent you a message.

 

[TheDancingWriter]

Have you done any mock interviews with employers, professors, PTs, etc? I found those very helpful in preparing for my interview because I was able to get feedback from those people on if what I was saying was coming across well. That was probably the most valuable preparation that I did before my interviews.
I also bought the book “A New Exercise: How to Succeed at the Interview for a DPT Program” by Gaurav Khanal. It gave many good examples of ways to answer questions and why certain answers may not be received well. It is on amazon and is not very expensive, so that may be worth a shot for you to look at too.
If you believe in your skills and abilities, then someone will hopefully see that and will accept you!
good luck with your next interviews!

Also this for the book. I downloaded the book and read it as soon as I got my interview. I attribute it being the largest reason I got accepted. Granted, I applied to only one school, but being a non-trad, it was really the only school for me.

 

[stemaba]

Have you done any mock interviews with employers, professors, PTs, etc? I found those very helpful in preparing for my interview because I was able to get feedback from those people on if what I was saying was coming across well. That was probably the most valuable preparation that I did before my interviews.
I also bought the book “A New Exercise: How to Succeed at the Interview for a DPT Program” by Gaurav Khanal. It gave many good examples of ways to answer questions and why certain answers may not be received well. It is on amazon and is not very expensive, so that may be worth a shot for you to look at too.
If you believe in your skills and abilities, then someone will hopefully see that and will accept you!
good luck with your next interviews!

Thanks for the tip on the book! I'm buying it right now - I hadn't heard about it before!
I've done a ton of mock interviews with friends and family, but not much with employers - I'll see if I can work that in! Thank you for your help!! 😍

 

[ya1]

Ask feedback for your interviews from schools that denied you. Maybe too late to ask schools from the previous cycles, but you can try.
What they do not want to see at interviews are people interrupting interviewers or other students and things like you already mentioned you do not do (like being cocky, etc). If you were doing something wrong during interviews, they would not have waitlisted you but rejected.

 

[vmish03]

Maybe you've already done this, so I apologize in advance, but I've prepped with a lot of typical questions that get asked in these interviews. I went in knowing what types of unique stories I wanted to tell that related to my experiences, many of which were outside of the realm of PT, that would hopefully help me stand out (I also had to do this so I wouldn't go off on long tangents as I tend to do when storytelling!). I talked about my school involvement, sports, extracurriculars, and my PT-related experiences when I felt necessary. In my group interviews, I showed I was listening to my potential future peers and interacted with them if they told an interesting story. I think it showed to our interviewers that we were invested. In my one-on-one, I asked my interviewer questions that they would be excited about. I made it clear I was listening to them and was truly interested in what they had to say, because I really was!

Sorry this was long, but just want to help at all if I can! Definitely ask these schools what reasons they had for waitlisting, if you don't end up getting pulled off the waitlist. Don't be too discouraged though! There are still months left before these programs start! You've got this, good luck 🙂

 

[Nickerson15]

Hey I'd like to say that I am right there with you! I feel like I have had great interviews, stayed afterwards to schmooze so my name would be remembered, dressed very professionally, showed up early, prepped my answers, felt super good after interviews having them feel like a friendly conversation with laughter throughout and I am being denied too. It's super disheartening and I know exactly how you feel.

I'm pretty sure the interviews are not the deciding factor however. I think they are just another layer of data they throw into your profile and then relook at all the stats of people that were given an interview. So your interview may be great but that doesn't gurantee you'll get in. Think of the interview like a stat such as your GRE, GPA and observation hours. It's promising you got one, but when they relook at all the stats you may have an area that is holding you back. I'd suggest trying to redo your GRE, get more observation hours, or get a job in the medical field or a PT aide for relevant experience and keep your great interviews up.

 

[TheDancingWriter]

Hey I'd like to say that I am right there with you! I feel like I have had great interviews, stayed afterwards to schmooze so my name would be remembered, dressed very professionally, showed up early, prepped my answers, felt super good after interviews having them feel like a friendly conversation with laughter throughout and I am being denied too. It's super disheartening and I know exactly how you feel.

I'm pretty sure the interviews are not the deciding factor however. I think they are just another layer of data they throw into your profile and then relook at all the stats of people that were given an interview. So your interview may be great but that doesn't gurantee you'll get in. Think of the interview like a stat such as your GRE, GPA and observation hours. It's promising you got one, but when they relook at all the stats you may have an area that is holding you back. I'd suggest trying to redo your GRE, get more observation hours, or get a job in the medical field or a PT aide for relevant experience and keep your great interviews up.

That second paragraph. It's just another layer.

 

[MartialArtDPT]

I'm super disheartened with the whole process of trying to get into school. I was waitlisted at my hometown school last year, and this year I've been denied and waitlisted (near the bottom of long wait lists). The problem is - I feel GREAT after most my interviews. Last year, I thought I was IN after the process because everything felt so good! and my most recent interview this year was damn near perfect.... and I'm so far down on the waitlist it's laughable.

Are there any interview tips out there to get yourself to stand out? Or just to improve the whole process? I know my skill set, and feel I would kill it in school, and as a PT, but how do I get someone to SEE that? I don't feel like I'm show-offy in interviews, cocky or acting superior. I'm really confused, and upset at this point.

I feel at an utter loss right now because I actually enjoy interviews, I like talking to people, and I feel like my interviews have gone really well, and yet, here I am, still not accepted to any school, fearing I have to try for a third year.

I still have two more interviews to go (one in my hometown again)... I'm just getting more and more disheartened with everything.


Thanks!

I second mock interviews with feedback so that you know if you're coming across in an unintended way. I looked back at your stats, and they're pretty good- solid GRE, solid GPA, lots of hours and some good experiences. If you've applied to several schools each cycle, I'd be looking for something that might give off unintentional red flags- perhaps an LOR, or a youthful indiscretion, or maybe your essay. If you feel like the interview went well, it probably did, and so it's time to look closely at your application and see what else might be there that you may need to explain a bit better.

 

[stemaba]

I just wanted to follow up with all of you and say thank you for your support and suggestions.
I got into the program I wanted to in my hometown... so on the back end of everything, I'm feeling much better :3

Thanks y'all!

 

[bc0167]

Booyaa!! Congrats!

 

[cait-laine]

I just wanted to follow up with all of you and say thank you for your support and suggestions.
I got into the program I wanted to in my hometown... so on the back end of everything, I'm feeling much better :3

Thanks y'all!

Yay!! Very happy for you!