I thought my interview went well. However, I am pretty disappointed that this school wasted our time by having P1s interview us. The interview process had so much downtime and then insulted us by having P1s ask us the same questions the interviewers did. I think it would have been much more valuable to have the insight of 3rd year students. Anyone else have an opinion about the ISU interview process?
Which students interviewed totally is dependent on our school schedule. All of the student interviews were from 2pm-3pm. The P1s have more time in the afternoons right now - P2s have class everyday except for Friday until 3pm. The P3s have class most days until 4pm. So it really was just a matter of scheduling. I participated in two interview days, and it was only P2s and one P4 that were available on those days. It's also true that a lot of the P3s have helped with interviews for the last two years and didn't feel like doing it this year. We have all had huge exams lately and many people work. Helping with interviews isn't mandatory at all.
Sorry that you felt that having P1s interview you was insulting.
As P1s they still have more experience in pharmacy school then you do, and their memories of what the first year is like are more fresh. Remember, what those students thought of you is definitely considered during the decision process. It wasn't intentional for them to ask you the same questions that the faculty asked you - there is a list of certain questions that we can ask (or make modifications to), and you just must have gotten people with similar minds.
As to the huge blocks of time that you guys sat twiddling your thumbs, I think that that is a shame. But there are only so many faculty available for interviews and on most days there were 16+ interviewees. Did you go on the campus tour? That's what I did to help pass some time on my interview day two years ago. I also explored the campus on my own and struck up conversations with the current students hanging out in the student lounge. I learned a lot from these experiences too.
ISU, like every school, puts a lot of work into the admissions process. None of the students and few of the faculty that interviewed you were required to do so. It's actually insulting to
me that you think so little of the interview process. You're not in pharmacy school yet - don't look down on the faculty, administration and students that are already in the program.
