DPT Interview Experiences

[amont2020]

Hi everyone!

I am starting this thread hoping that you will share your DPT interview experiences. Please let us know about the details of your interview. What you were least prepared for, questions you were asked, essay topics, and overall thoughts! I'd also be interested in other details like your outfit for the day, what you brought, and other random tidbits. I have an interview coming up at the end of this month and will return to this thread to share my own experience! Thank you all!

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[PTstudent97]

Common Questions Asked:

- Why PT? I think this is the most important question btw. Practice practice practice answering this question. Be unique and be precise.

- They might pull up one of your supplemental essays and ask you more about that

- Name one meaningful experience you had during volunteering/working

- Biggest strength/weakness

- Scenario questions ie. patient doesn't want to participate what do you do?

Overall:

I loved the whole experience. They all usually start with some faculty speaking to you, then splitting the interviewees in groups where one group goes on a tour while the other interviews then switch. At my very first interview, I was obviously very nervous and although I wouldn't consider myself shy, I was a bit more reserved and didn't talk to anyone unless they talked to me...soon I found out most PT students are extremely sociable so it made everything much easier. It was really cool talking to students from all ages, backgrounds and cultures. I loved meeting students who were from other cities cause I am super curious about other parts of the country etc. After the first interview, all the other interviews were much easier and comfortable.

It helps if your interviewers are chill and easy going, I did best on interviews where it was more of a conversation where the dialogue just flowed and it wasn't robotic like a Q&A.

In terms of dress code, I wore a suit and the majority of guys did as well while the ladies wore...idk what they're called lol but they were very professional as well.

My advice: Be confident, be friendly and enjoy the moment. Obviously its normal to be nervous but have confidence in your abilities, you were invited to an interview for a reason. Your grades and application got you in the door, now its time to sell yourself. I didn't have the best GPA but I used the interviews to my advantage.

 

[ldc124]

Questions I was asked at every interview was why PT and why that school. The question I was least prepared for at one school was definitely, "tell me something unexpected about yourself that we don't know already?".

What definitely helped me the most was typing out answers to practice questions and then answering them out loud to myself doing random things like cleaning, driving, etc.

As for clothes definitely wear whatever business professional clothes you feel most confident in! For me, that was dress pants, a blazer and short heels, but if you feel more confident in a skirt or flats then do that The only things I brought in addition to my phone/wallet/etc was a notebook and pen!

 

[JMarcusDPT]

Hi everyone!

I am starting this thread hoping that you will share your DPT interview experiences. Please let us know about the details of your interview. What you were least prepared for, questions you were asked, essay topics, and overall thoughts! I'd also be interested in other details like your outfit for the day, what you brought, and other random tidbits. I have an interview coming up at the end of this month and will return to this thread to share my own experience! Thank you all!

Hi Amont2020, I described the interview process in an article for the APTA here. Good luck!

 

[MartialArtDPT]

My interviews were laid back and fun, mostly, but if you want a hard interview look no further than the Mayo Clinic. Their behavioral interview consists of 5 or so specific questions about situations where you've had to deal with/done X. I had several general stories prepared, but their questions were specific enough that I couldn't shoehorn them and had to come up with new experiences on the fly. I should really have tried harder to shoehorn the good stories, but oh well! I tried my best. Here's a lesson, though- I thought I did terribly and didn't stand a chance, but I got in!

Emory was 3 interviewees and 2 interviewers. Went round robin then a few open questions. I had a bunch of answers prepared but should have memorized them a bit better. Ruffling through my notes was a bit distracting, I think. The key in these is to listen to the other interviewees and build off what they say. "Similar to what she mentioned, I also think that..." and, if you think differently, "I hadn't thought of that before, but that's a really compelling answer. My first thought on the question is that..."

Prepare with online question lists, but once the time comes, relax. By the time the interview happens, you've already done all the work you can realistically do for it and the rest is just relying on what you practiced. It's already over, as far as you're concerned, so just relax and be friendly. Most of the day is them trying to sell themselves to you, while only a few minutes is you selling yourself to them. Remember that they're trying, too, and you're not desperately trying to fit where you don't belong. You already do belong, otherwise they wouldn't have invited you. Now just chill and have a good day, making friends where you can.

I wore a black pinstripe suit (small pinstripes, yenno, not full-on gangster) and blue blouse. Blue tends to be associated with friendliness and warmness, and I already had the black for a professional impression. I either came across as laid back but professional or a well-dressed bruise. I also had a black leather portfolio with notes in it to write and put any papers they gave me in it.

 

[ark77]

Questions I was asked at every interview was why PT and why that school. The question I was least prepared for at one school was definitely, "tell me something unexpected about yourself that we don't know already?".

What definitely helped me the most was typing out answers to practice questions and then answering them out loud to myself doing random things like cleaning, driving, etc.

As for clothes definitely wear whatever business professional clothes you feel most confident in! For me, that was dress pants, a blazer and short heels, but if you feel more confident in a skirt or flats then do that The only things I brought in addition to my phone/wallet/etc was a notebook and pen!

How did you answer this question? Did you go with hobbies and something truly interesting about yourself? Or did you keep it more business professional and along the lines of what you thought the school probably wanted to hear?

 

[ldc124]

How did you answer this question? Did you go with hobbies and something truly interesting about yourself? Or did you keep it more business professional and along the lines of what you thought the school probably wanted to hear?

Yes I went more casual! Looking back I know it wasn't the strongest answer but honestly in the moment I could not think of anything else! I ended up saying that I really like to meditate, that it's super underrated but that it helps me stay focused and study better. There were other things that I definitely would have rather said, but this was one of the last questions I was asked so I felt like I mentioned most of my points already!