How significant is the interview itself?

[babobabo]

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I just had a decent interview, and now I'm waiting for a response from the school.

Lemme throw out a general question to ya'll -- 😀

How important is the opinion of the person that interviewed you?

Is it sort of a roundtable discussion of the admissions committee, in which the interviewer participates and injects his/her opinion of the applicant?

bottom line: if my interviewer had a great impression of me, but another member of the admissions committee doesn't like my application -- what's the outcome?

general question, i know... but ANYONE KNOW THE SPECIFICS OF THE WORKINGS OF THE ADMISSIONS COMMITTEE POST-INTERVIEW? 😕

 

[Sprgrover]

In my opinion the interview is a very important aspect of your application and it can make or break you at certain schools. As far as how they go about discussing their impression of you, I have no clue as every school operates differently. If you are curious about the workings of this particular school, call them up and ask them. I am sure someone will be willing to fill you in on the rest of the selection process and how it works there. Congratulations and best of luck!

 

[dental poopie]

I just had a decent interview, and now I'm waiting for a response from the school.

Lemme throw out a general question to ya'll -- 😀

How important is the opinion of the person that interviewed you?

Is it sort of a roundtable discussion of the admissions committee, in which the interviewer participates and injects his/her opinion of the applicant?

bottom line: if my interviewer had a great impression of me, but another member of the admissions committee doesn't like my application -- what's the outcome?

general question, i know... but ANYONE KNOW THE SPECIFICS OF THE WORKINGS OF THE ADMISSIONS COMMITTEE POST-INTERVIEW? 😕

The interview is 90% acceptance.

10% is getting asked to come and interview.

End of story!

 

[nothen2do]

The interview is 90% acceptance.

10% is getting asked to come and interview.

End of story!

I disagree, many schools have "formulas" for how they rank students and the interview is a certain percent of that formula. I remember at USC they said it was something like 25% or so. Other schools might not even care about the interview as long as you aren't completely different from what your application says (UOP comes to mind). So it depends, but for border line applicants, it probably does make or break your chances

 

[babobabo]

thanks guys for this input.

anyone else? i appreciate any other feedback... let's keep it comin

 

[Biogirl361]

In my experience, getting the interview is the hardest part, it means that what they see on paper is good enough to get into their school. once you get an interview I think you're pretty much in unless they specifically don't like something about your personality, for example if you come off as really nervous, passive, arrogant or aloof. I think your actual answers to the questions don't really matter, it is all about how you come across as an individual. so if you're a people-person or a good presenter you have it made as far as interviews, and if not then you will be at somewhat of a disadvantage, so hopefully your application is above average to make up for it.

 

[JakeMUSC]

Im not sure, but I think most Dental schools use a formula/index, and the interview is a percentage of the formula. For example 25% DAT, 25% GPA, 25% Extra currics/research, and 25% for the interview. So if you ace the interview you should be in contention for a spot. Good luck!

 

[babobabo]

This is goooood stuff... Thanks for the insight, guys...

The reason why I care about the interview so much is that I'm at a disadvantage...

Especially since...

I was a damn late applicant -- my AADSAS was received by schools on January 26th!

On top of that, I took the DAT in mid-Feburary!!

Did ok... 22AA, 19Sci, 18PAT

if you are bored enough to read my stats...

Have decent extracurriculars...
- working as a management consultant in downton Boston currently... (60+ hours/week)
- president/founder of various student clubs in undergrad... supervised a homeless shelter at Harvard...
- research internship experiences at harvard med, MIT, and northwestern (all as undergrad)
- co-authored a paper on public health with a dude from harvard...
- have taught at a local SAT prep school for the past 2 years on the weekends... (15 hours/week)

But my stats are kinda weak...
- <3.0 undergrad sci GPA, albeit from a top-10 school
- 3.3 graduate GPA, masters... at harvard

i've had 2 interviews... nyu and columbia... all within the past month... and i'm prayerfully crossing my fingers here......

 

[onetoothleft]

Those are great schools to have come from. I think since you did a masters at harvard with a 3.3 that will have the most weight [compared to undergraduate GPA]. You are applying kind of late though.

As to your original question: it depends on the school. Columbia and NYU didn't seem to put so much emphasis (to my knowledge they do not use a formula) on the interview as some other schools do such as Arizona or UNLV. At my columbia and NYU interviews they just asked the typical questions.

Hope to see you there next year 😉

 

[babobabo]

thanks for the kind words, buddy.

if i get in, i'll take EVERY 1st year out for drinks at a local pub in Harlem, on me...

... granted they were also admitted with a sub-3.0 GPA

but, for real, thanks. good luck to everyone --

 

[DDS2BE]

Here is my thought on this:

I think having an interview is a privilege especially for those with average stats. You’ve probably heard this “grades mean nothing and won’t show what I really am….(blah, blah, blah). It gives you an opportunity to let the adcoms know what you really are despite your problematic grades in the past. At the same time, it you don’t have an ability to present yourself in front of others, then no matter how good your grades are you would probably not get admitted (unless your family has a strong pull) I would say an interview takes up 50% of acceptance.