Hi, this is my first post on here, ever. Please be gentle
I just wanted to share my interview experience.
I submitted my application about a week prior to booking a flight to Grenada through their "See SGU" campus tour. I took the first available booking, which was only three days away.
After booking my flight, I contacted the person who coordinates the tours and asked her if it would be possible to arrange for a courtesy interview while I was on the island. Since my tour was in three days, she replied saying that it would NOT be possible to arrange for an interview on such short notice. So I sucked it up and flew out a few days later, just expecting to take the tour and then fly back home. I should also mention here that right before my plane took off, I checked my email on my phone one last time. I had received an invitation to interview!
As soon as I got settled into my room at the Radisson, I connected to the WiFi and checked my e-mail. Lo and behold, there was a message from Bob Ryan (Associate Dean of Enrollment Planning) asking me if I wanted to interview since I was on the island. He said that I could interview as soon as my tour of the campus was over. I was ecstatic.
Only one problem: since I was told prior to my flight that it would be impossible to set up an interview on such short notice, I didn't pack a suit. I was told to pack lightly, so that's what I did. All I had was shorts, some T-shirts, sneakers and a pair of jeans with a polo shirt. I replied to Mr. Ryan's message explaining my wardrobe crisis, and he reassured me that they completely understand my situation, and that jeans would be fine. He added that their interviews do not tend to be very stressful.
So I showed up on campus wearing my jeans and polo shirt with sneakers, took the tour (which was awesome, by the way), and went in for my interview.
Just before the interview, I was given a sheet of paper with three questions on it:
1. Describe a moment in your life when you decided that you wanted to become a doctor.
2. (Sorry, can't remember what this was, but I'll think about it and try to get back to you guys on this one)
3. Who is your role model?
I just remember that the 2nd question wasn't difficult, at all. I was given 15 minutes to answer all three questions, and the receptionist kept checking in on me to ask if I was done. She told me not to stress too much over the questions, so I asked for just a few more minutes to wrap it up, then I submitted my answers. My answer to the last question was really rushed and half-assed as I had to end it abruptly.
I was then interviewed by the Senior Associate Dean, who was dressed in a polo shirt and shorts. I apologized briefly for the jeans and sneakers, trying not to make a big deal out of it, and he said "don't worry about it at all--look at me, I dressed down just for you!" That pretty much set the tone for the rest of the interview, which was very comforting.
The interview was extremely relaxed; he just asked me about some of my life experiences (I had mentioned that I love to travel and have lived in foreign countries for years at a time). I asked him a few questions about the curriculum and campus life, and we had a pretty "normal" conversation. It didn't seem much like an interview at all. He did have a list of questions that he had to get through, but it was very straightforward stuff (e.g., "How do you plan on paying for your tuition? Family help? Loans? etc.?")
After the interview, I thanked him and he invited me to something called Sandblast, which was a kind of social event on the beach that all the med students would be attending the following day (buy a Sandblast T-shirt and bracelet on campus and drink all the booze you want while socializing with med students on the beach, great deal!).
The result of all that? Five days after I flew back home, I received my acceptance letter in the mail. I will be matriculating into the January 2015 class.
I just went in there and acted like myself. I didn't try to impress him with my knowledge of the health care system, or my previous clinical experience, or otherwise try to be some hotshot. I was just able to speak candidly and passionately about the things that interest me.
So in short, I interviewed in jeans and sneakers, screwed up the last essay question, had a very relaxed conversation with my interviewer, and then he invited me to drink Caribbean rum with some current med students on the beach. I was accepted not even a week later. I guess your mileage may vary, but I have to say that this was probably one of the most awesome interviews I've ever had.
Hope this
