Horrible interview experiences?

[calisoca]

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Have you guys had or heard any horrible interview experiences? What were they? I havn't had any thus far (thankfully) but there's got to be some out there.

 

[Sparda29]

Have you guys had or heard any horrible interview experiences? What were they? I havn't had any thus far (thankfully) but there's got to be some out there.

Packed poorly for an interview at Jefferson, resulting in having to wear a belt that had a huge lion symbol on the buckle, picked up the wrong jacket from the closet which I forgot was a bit too tight. Forgot to bring the machine trimmer and ended up having to use a razor to shave which made me look like I was 15.

So when I got there, I was 1/2 early, so while waiting I went to grab a Sprite from the vending machine, I didn't think the fall from the top of the vending machine to the dispensing part would have any effect on the bottle, opened it up and it spilled all over the lobby floor.

So finally got to the interview, and it was HOT.

 

[medicalCPA]

Earlier this year, I had one interview that I bombed. I bombed it because I did not prepare. I blanked on questions like "Tell me about yourself," or "What is your most rewarding experience?" "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" The one thing I remember about it was I was asked "If there was something about you that you could change, what would it be?" My reply was, "My teeth." (Note: Please NEVER give that answer at your interviews)

Then when I got interviews at two pharmacy schools, we got ice storms and blizzards in my part of SW Missouri, and I had to cancel one school interview twice and the other interview once. When I finally scheduled them, they were one day apart. I was being interviewed in Omaha on Thursday, and in Morgantown, WV on Friday (or was it Friday and Saturday?). When I got to Omaha, it was minutes before my interview. I had no place to shave, so I shaved in the bathroom. Guys were coming in and I could swear that they thought me strange, but I just kept shaving away. I cut myself while shaving and when I put my white dress shirt on, I got a bloodstain on my collar, which remained for the length of my interview.

Then I flew to Pittsburgh. I couldn't withdraw money with my debit card for a while because I was being told "insufficient funds," even though I had deposited my paycheck the day before I began traveling, and I almost could not pay the $20 bus fare from Pittsburgh to Morgantown. A student (whose name I still remember) paid my bus fare, and I was finally able to withdraw money from an ATM in Morgantown and pay him. It later turned out that someone had hacked into my bank account and illegally used my money, hence the NSF notice. Luckily said hacker did not clear me out. Then I got to my interview at 5:00 pm, and it was supposed to have been at 2:30. I could not change into my suit, and interviewed in a polo and jeans and tennis shoes. I could not catch the return Greyhound bus that day, and had to stay the night. I got home two days after.

Talk about an interesting interview experience! Somehow, though, I got into both schools.

 

[calisoca]

Good lord those sound intense.

I just stumbled upon a post from 2005: A kid was asked in his interview, "what was your favorite subject as an undergrad?" He lied and replied with, "Organic chemistry because blah blah..." Then the interviewer got up and drew an orgo rxn on the board and asked him if he could predict the products--he couldn't, and was ultimatley denied admission.

The strangest thing that has happened to me thus far was when I was in Vallejo CA for an interview. A large black lady approached me while I was outside my hotel tryin' to get into the mood for some interviewing, and told me she needed $46 for a room in the local motel 6 for herself and her 3 kids. She said her husband left them 6 months ago and refuses to pay any child support. Sitting there in my $350 suit, she made me feel pretty bad and I ended up getting suckered in. I gave her $15 dollars, like a *****, and went back into my room. I watched her from my window, she went into Chevron and came out like 5 min later with a case of Natural Light. Never again, never again.

 

[chibipinkbunny]

Good lord those sound intense.

I just stumbled upon a post from 2005: A kid was asked in his interview, "what was your favorite subject as an undergrad?" He lied and replied with, "Organic chemistry because blah blah..." Then the interviewer got up and drew an orgo rxn on the board and asked him if he could predict the products--he couldn't, and was ultimatley denied admission.

Lol, interviewers like to call you out on things. At my UCSD interview I said that I really liked learning about diseases, and that I would read through the Merk Manual for fun in high school. Actually this is true, but my interviewer must have not believed me because he asked, "What diseases did you find in there?" Honestly, this was in high school so I could barely remember diseases that I found in the Merk Manual. I just started naming off random diseases. Ha, ha, very weird 😵 What UCSD likes to do though is that they have a supplemental question about the last few books that you've read. You better be prepared to discuss them because they don't like liars. After my UCSF interview I was really upset because I thought I had blown it. This was the first thing that happened in my UCSF interview. I live in a really rural place so my interviewer asked me, "Oh, place X, where is that?" I told him that I wasn't sure. Then he asked, "Well, where is it relative to San Francisco?" I said, "I don't know." Then he said, "Is it north, east, south, west?" I was getting kind of nervous at this point because I honestly did not know! Yes I am very spatially disoriented. They have your application, and I said that I traveled home every week to teach ballet, so he asked, "what highways do you take to get home?" Again, I didn't know! I kind of laughed and said, "Honestly, I just get in my car and drive." The student interviewer laughed, but he gave me a look like, you idiot. He said, "You really don't know how you get home?" After the interview I cried, and told my parents. They called me an idiot, and when I got home they pulled out a map and showed me where I lived. I actually got into this school, so maybe everything else made up for it 😛 Oh yes, the other thing about the UCSF interview was at the end they ask you if you have any questions, and I remember my dad told me that no questions were better than stupid questions, so I didn't ask any. Then my interviewer said, "You sure you don't have any questions?" I said, "Yeah, I think so." Then he said, "Are you really sure you don't have questions." I said, "No, but I think this is a really great school, and I'd love to come here." 😱 This was the last impression my interviewer had of me. I was pretty sure I ruined my chances, but I got in. If I have any advice for anyone, know where you live, and have research the school beforehand so that you have questions prepared.

 

[Prepharm1214]

Lol, interviewers like to call you out on things. At my UCSD interview I said that I really liked learning about diseases, and that I would read through the Merk Manual for fun in high school. Actually this is true, but my interviewer must have not believed me because he asked, "What diseases did you find in there?" Honestly, this was in high school so I could barely remember diseases that I found in the Merk Manual. I just started naming off random diseases. Ha, ha, very weird 😵 What UCSD likes to do though is that they have a supplemental question about the last few books that you've read. You better be prepared to discuss them because they don't like liars. After my UCSF interview I was really upset because I thought I had blown it. This was the first thing that happened in my UCSF interview. I live in a really rural place so my interviewer asked me, "Oh, place X, where is that?" I told him that I wasn't sure. Then he asked, "Well, where is it relative to San Francisco?" I said, "I don't know." Then he said, "Is it north, east, south, west?" I was getting kind of nervous at this point because I honestly did not know! Yes I am very spatially disoriented. They have your application, and I said that I traveled home every week to teach ballet, so he asked, "what highways do you take to get home?" Again, I didn't know! I kind of laughed and said, "Honestly, I just get in my car and drive." The student interviewer laughed, but he gave me a look like, you idiot. He said, "You really don't know how you get home?" After the interview I cried, and told my parents. They called me an idiot, and when I got home they pulled out a map and showed me where I lived. I actually got into this school, so maybe everything else made up for it 😛 Oh yes, the other thing about the UCSF interview was at the end they ask you if you have any questions, and I remember my dad told me that no questions were better than stupid questions, so I didn't ask any. Then my interviewer said, "You sure you don't have any questions?" I said, "Yeah, I think so." Then he said, "Are you really sure you don't have questions." I said, "No, but I think this is a really great school, and I'd love to come here." 😱 This was the last impression my interviewer had of me. I was pretty sure I ruined my chances, but I got in. If I have any advice for anyone, know where you live, and have research the school beforehand so that you have questions prepared.

Wow, that's pretty bad - no offense. If they still accepted you then they could probably tell you were just nervous.

 

[LongPigeon]

I get the feeling from you guys' posts that integrity is really something that they are looking for in applicants. But you all must have been amazing in your interviews and profiles otherwise because you all got in despite all that! I guess this is kind of comforting to me knowing that a great impression at a interview isn't a must to get accepted?

 

[LongPigeon]

Oh, and this I heard from a friend who heard it from a friend...anyways, it was an interview for medical school. The interviewer took her to a room and left her there. When she was by herself the phone rang. Do you pick up or not? Later the interviewer comes back and asks what she did. If she picked it up, the interviewer would lashes out at her for disregarding confidentiality, but if she didn't pick it up, she would still get yelled at because what if it was an emergency? Supposedly the whole point was to make the interviewee extremely uncomfortable and see how he/she would react under this stressful situation. Crazy~

 

[chibipinkbunny]

Wow, that's pretty bad - no offense. If they still accepted you then they could probably tell you were just nervous.

Lol, none taken ~_^ I was really nervous, but not knowing where I live is just very much me. I'm quite the spatial klutz. I'm actually getting better on that. The rest of the interview went really well though.

 

[sakigt]

At the end of the interview when I was standing up to leave the 3rd interviewer said: "You know, we dont have information on you like you transcripts, personal essay or references...you may want to have them sent to us before we turn this into the dean, or they wont accept you."

😱

I had turned everything into Pharmcas plus what school interviews someone they dont have anything on 😕 so I knew I was in the right. I just told them I had copies of my essay and I would have my transcripts forwarded to their office. Turned out they had everything in front of them anyways but I left the interview thinking "WTF just happened to me?" Quite an impression I left them with. 🙄

 

[tbs fan]

well, i heard from my friend, that this girl went to an interview not sure which school, in which they ask her: "what motivates you?" and she had no answer, she was blank!, so they went on to ask her since they saw she was stuck: "what makes you get out of bed every morning, your reason for waking up?",you know what she said...."in that case, my alarm clock motivates me!",,, yeah she didn't get in....

 

[Storm90]

I had a rough time getting to my last interview in Colorado. Spent 4 hours at the BC-US border, had my whole flight itinerary cancelled (later reactivated thanks to some very nice ladies 🙂), had to spend an extra night in Seattle, and got searched at every airport I went to because my itinerary was cancelled. My worst interview though was at Dalhousie in Halifax. I got called the day before the interview (I lived locally), and got all ready, went in the next day only to find out I wasn't on the list. Once that was sorted, sat in a room with ~15 other people waiting to be interviewed. I was the last to be interviewed and the interviewers seemed to want to go to lunch rather than get to know me. Needless to say, when I went to find out why I didn't get in, the AA told me I didn't have a chance anyways 😡. So why interview me???? Also, I was invited for an interview at UBC only to have that invite rescinded days later as I was making plans to attend. Wonderful stories, I tell you. I also had an interview for UMKC last year. I spent nearly $1000 in travel costs, etc, and all they did was ask me 3 lousy questions! That was annoying!

 

[Brandie28]

I had a rough time getting to my last interview in Colorado. Spent 4 hours at the BC-US border, had my whole flight itinerary cancelled (later reactivated thanks to some very nice ladies 🙂), had to spend an extra night in Seattle, and got searched at every airport I went to because my itinerary was cancelled. My worst interview though was at Dalhousie in Halifax. I got called the day before the interview (I lived locally), and got all ready, went in the next day only to find out I wasn't on the list. Once that was sorted, sat in a room with ~15 other people waiting to be interviewed. I was the last to be interviewed and the interviewers seemed to want to go to lunch rather than get to know me. Needless to say, when I went to find out why I didn't get in, the AA told me I didn't have a chance anyways 😡. So why interview me???? Also, I was invited for an interview at UBC only to have that invite rescinded days later as I was making plans to attend. Wonderful stories, I tell you. I also had an interview for UMKC last year. I spent nearly $1000 in travel costs, etc, and all they did was ask me 3 lousy questions! That was annoying!

What pharmacy school do you go to?

 

[PrepharmKID]

well, i heard from my friend, that this girl went to an interview not sure which school, in which they ask her: "what motivates you?" and she had no answer, she was blank!, so they went on to ask her since they saw she was stuck: "what makes you get out of bed every morning, your reason for waking up?",you know what she said...."in that case, my alarm clock motivates me!",,, yeah she didn't get in....

Come on! At the very least, it should have made the interviewer smile!

 

[Transformer]

Just curious

What's the farthest anyone traveled for Pharmacy school interview?

I'm currently looking at a 3 to 4 hour flight and a total of 4-5 hour drive in a rental car. I'm estimating close to a minimum of $700 in expenses for just one interview. I'm on my own so this is a lot of money to me and frankly, I'm a little frustrated trying to make ends meet this month.

anyone feel me here?!

I guess ill pick up more hours and work a little more. Maybe get a second job.

whatever it takes to get a little closer to pharmacy school admissions....🙂

 

[Sparda29]

Just curious

What's the farthest anyone traveled for Pharmacy school interview?

I'm currently looking at a 3 to 4 hour flight and a total of 4-5 hour drive in a rental car. I'm estimating close to a minimum of $700 in expenses for just one interview. I'm on my own so this is a lot of money to me and frankly, I'm a little frustrated trying to make ends meet this month.

anyone feel me here?!

I guess ill pick up more hours and work a little more. Maybe get a second job.

whatever it takes to get a little closer to pharmacy school admissions....🙂

Drove to my aunts house 150 miles away the day before interview. Stayed there over the night, then drove to Philadelphia from there with my cousin, was a 90 minute drive since we were tunnel blasting and all 😀

 

[FaBpHaRm2Be]

Just curious

What's the farthest anyone traveled for Pharmacy school interview?

I'm currently looking at a 3 to 4 hour flight and a total of 4-5 hour drive in a rental car. I'm estimating close to a minimum of $700 in expenses for just one interview. I'm on my own so this is a lot of money to me and frankly, I'm a little frustrated trying to make ends meet this month.

anyone feel me here?!

I guess ill pick up more hours and work a little more. Maybe get a second job.

whatever it takes to get a little closer to pharmacy school admissions....🙂

Well, considering I live on the east coast, NYC specifically, traveling to L.A. on Friday will be the farthest I had to travel for an interview. Luckily, it will be by plane!

 

[cinnamoroll12]

Just curious

What's the farthest anyone traveled for Pharmacy school interview?

I'm currently looking at a 3 to 4 hour flight and a total of 4-5 hour drive in a rental car. I'm estimating close to a minimum of $700 in expenses for just one interview. I'm on my own so this is a lot of money to me and frankly, I'm a little frustrated trying to make ends meet this month.

anyone feel me here?!

I guess ill pick up more hours and work a little more. Maybe get a second job.

whatever it takes to get a little closer to pharmacy school admissions....🙂

Hmm...the farthest? The flight from SoCal to Chicago took about 4 hours. Or from SoCal to Kansas City, which took about the same amount of time since I flew from home to Denver (2.5 hrs) and from there to Kansas City (1.5 hrs).

 

[fenixtnlfan]

These are some crazy stories! The worst that happened to me was getting really lost driving in Chapel Hill because they have really bad street signs. And then my flight got canceled on the way back because it snowed like crazy in Dallas. I had to stay an extra night (extra money for hotel) and then flew through Chicago, which was nice and sunny lol. The worst story I've heard about interviews was someone being asked to draw acetaminophen. Pharm school interviews tend to be laid back and getting to know you. Med school interviews are the ones where they actually try to stress you out.

This thread about bad interviews is in the med forum but is pretty funny. My fave story is the guy who hit his interviewer's car in the parking lot.

 

[hktt1801]

This thread about bad interviews is in the med forum but is pretty funny. My fave story is the guy who hit his interviewer's car in the parking lot.

Oh nice there's another similar thread in the same forum: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=359690

 

[DaddyOAK]

Just curious

What's the farthest anyone traveled for Pharmacy school interview?

I'm currently looking at a 3 to 4 hour flight and a total of 4-5 hour drive in a rental car. I'm estimating close to a minimum of $700 in expenses for just one interview. I'm on my own so this is a lot of money to me and frankly, I'm a little frustrated trying to make ends meet this month.

anyone feel me here?!

I guess ill pick up more hours and work a little more. Maybe get a second job.

whatever it takes to get a little closer to pharmacy school admissions....🙂

Alaska to San Diego, Alaska to Nebraska. More than enough hours in a plane.

 

[LongPigeon]

okay, reading the thread about medical school interviews was definitely funny but at the same time VERY unnerving! I really hope pharmacy school interviewers don't grill you this bad.

 

[Storm90]

What pharmacy school do you go to?

I was accepted to the University of Colorado program starting August 2009.

 

[Storm90]

Just curious

What's the farthest anyone traveled for Pharmacy school interview?

I'm currently looking at a 3 to 4 hour flight and a total of 4-5 hour drive in a rental car. I'm estimating close to a minimum of $700 in expenses for just one interview. I'm on my own so this is a lot of money to me and frankly, I'm a little frustrated trying to make ends meet this month.

anyone feel me here?!

I guess ill pick up more hours and work a little more. Maybe get a second job.

whatever it takes to get a little closer to pharmacy school admissions....🙂

I flew from Seattle to OKC via Salt Lake City (total travel 4.5 hours each way), plus 3 hours driving from Canada. Vancouver to KC was ~6 hours travel each way, and Bellingham to Denver was 4 hours at the border, an extra day in Seattle and a 3 hour flight. Much shorter coming back though. Only took ~5 hours total 😛. And each one of those trips cost me nearly $1000.