So I was wondering how all of these places compared, interview wise. They were all this weekend it seemed. Thoughts? I'm not applying this cycle but hopefully for the class of 2020 somewhere in the Atlanta area- GSU probably being first choice.
I interviewed at GSU back in November at one point, had my Mercer interview today, and have an interview at Emory on Friday. With that being said I'll comment on the first two and eventually Emory. I was accepted to GSU and am obviously still waiting on Mercer/Emory.
To me, there was certainly a stark contrast between GSU and Mercer. I previously went to an open house at Mercer before I even began applications and it quickly became my first choice. The campus is small and quiet, our tour was quick, and the interviews I felt were pretty easy although a little more uptight than GSU. There was a 30 minute group interview (in my opinion VERY relaxed although my group was relatively quiet), and also a 30 minute individual interview. Mercer had a lot of questions on their list, and I found them to be the most "standard" interview questions. Why PT, what will your classmates say about you when you graduate, what is career success, define/give examples of professionalism, whats a failure and what did you learn, what makes a good PT, essentially a very long list. I feel like I talk a lot and asked 2-3 questions and then the 5 minute warning knock came. I think the interview personally could be a bit shorter and still helpful. You definitely get a chance in this interview to say everything you want - theres not a lot which you can walk out and think you forgot to say something important because there is so much time and so many questions. The facilities at Mercer are nice and the staff was great, however, in my opinion the "vibe" was more professional, less laid back, and although polite not as outright open/friendly. I noticed this not through my interactions with the students but mainly through the way the students interacted with one another and with staff. Mercer is known for their professionalism which is GREAT but for me I felt it was a little much.
GSU had a completely different vibe. You could tell their interview process was less "polished." I liked that aspect, it seemed as if I was getting to meet and interact with students and staff in the way that they always are. You either interview or tour first, I toured first. It was a little unorganized, in my opinion, but I didn't mind as I still got to see the main aspects of the school and it was entertaining watching our student tour guide try and work out the kinks. We saw his personality and also the other students. Before they interview you are placed in a holding room with a group and I had two students in there. The students were open with questions and were laughing and talking to each other but also including us. One thing that I noticed at GSU was when I asked about if the students were close to one another I always got a very passionate "Yes, we are like family." etc etc etc. When I asked this question at Mercer the answer was "Well you spend all day with them so you kind of have to hang out after class." It was clear they were friends but not on the same level as the students at GSU. To some, this may not matter much, but considering its three years of my life it matters a lot. And once again, this is only MY impression, it could be COMPLETELY wrong. At GSU while in the holding room some of the other staff members (who were not interviewing students that day) would pop in and chat and make jokes a lot as well. It is clear the students/staff like to joke and have a more relaxed rapport. My interview was 15 minutes, my interviewer was polite and personable although not overly friendly. I found this to be similar at Mercer. The questions were also very similar to those at Mercer, but there were fewer. I'd also like to mention another thing that stood out to me at the GSU interview: before anyone left for tour, etc, and we were waiting in the room I met every single full-time staff member. They all went down the rows and personally introduced themselves to every interviewee and typically asked 1-2 questions and moved on to the next. That showed to me the respect they had for not only their own students but also simply for those interviewing. At Mercer and GRU where I also interviewed you only met 1-2 of the staff members.
That is my take on each interview. Overall, I felt both were fairly relaxed, everyone was polite and the jitters went away fairly quickly. Definitely different programs though.
