Interviews

[RoseOpt391]

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I scheduled my first 2 interviews today. One at the end of October, one the first week in December. If you've been offered an interview and passed their academic criterion, what exactly are they looking for/what would cause them to not offer you an acceptance? I'm very excited but I don't want to get my hopes up

 

[csandova]

At this point, they've already seen that you look good on paper. By interviewing, they want to see how you look in person. Basically how confident you are, how passionate you are for the profession, how good your people skills are, etc. As an optometrist, it's not only important to know your stuff and know what you're doing, but it's also important to be able to communicate with your patients and colleagues. Just be confident, be sincere in your answers. If this profession is something that comes from your heart, you're going to be okay.

 

[paasnaas]

If you received an interview you have already met their academic requirements and so the purpose of the interview is just to get to know you. Most likely you will not be asked questions regarding your academics unless you did really poorly in something. Be prepared to open up and talk about yourself with a complete stranger (aka interviewer). They want to see who you are & whether you have the characteristics becoming a great doctor. There will be some interesting/tough questions during your interviews but that's the name of the game.

This link was extremely helpful and it is the main source on how I prepared for my interviews:

http://studentdoctor.net/schools/?view=optometry

Under the "interview feedback" column, click on the number and then click on the "questions" tab to see some of the questions that schools asked during their interview.

 

[Skydancer]

Everyone keeps saying the purpose of the interview is to gauge an applicants social skills and passion for the career, yet only a certain percentage of interviewees are accepted. I can't imagine each of the individuals passed up on are unsocial or lack passion. I have not interviewed yet, but I feel like these individuals must have done something wrong. Perhaps they did not prepare enough for specific questions on legislation and the particular school. Possibly they entered the interview hoping impromptu answers would be more genuine, but drew a blank when they were in the hot seat. Whatever it was, I don't want it to happen to me. Obviously, each school wants the best. Maybe the others were just better suited for their program. I am interested in hearing what some people feel were interviewing mistakes, whether you gained acceptance or not.

 

[belizaire]

I scheduled my first 2 interviews today. One at the end of October, one the first week in December. If you've been offered an interview and passed their academic criterion, what exactly are they looking for/what would cause them to not offer you an acceptance? I'm very excited but I don't want to get my hopes up

They've seen you on paper. Now they want to see you in real life. There really isn't anything that anyone can say other than that because this is entirely a subjective test.

If you're pleasant and actually participate actively in the interview and tour, then you should do fine. If you just answer everything as if you're playing Jeopardy and don't show any feign of interest in the tour, then you'll probably be reevaluated negatively...

 

[bkaDOC]

Everyone keeps saying the purpose of the interview is to gauge an applicants social skills and passion for the career, yet only a certain percentage of interviewees are accepted. I can't imagine each of the individuals passed up on are unsocial or lack passion. I have not interviewed yet, but I feel like these individuals must have done something wrong. Perhaps they did not prepare enough for specific questions on legislation and the particular school. Possibly they entered the interview hoping impromptu answers would be more genuine, but drew a blank when they were in the hot seat. Whatever it was, I don't want it to happen to me. Obviously, each school wants the best. Maybe the others were just better suited for their program. I am interested in hearing what some people feel were interviewing mistakes, whether you gained acceptance or not.

You'd be surprised, the interview really is about getting to know you outside of your stats. I interviewed at ICO, SUNY, and PCO and didn't get a single legislation question (outside of a broad "what problems is this profession facing?"). You do need to be able to think on your feet to answer various questions but mostly about yourself and the things you've done (which no one can answer better than you). Showing excitement and genuine interest in the profession, and making it clear you have a realistic picture of optometry are probably the most important things.

And definitely check out the SDN interview feedback survey results for your specific school - I found it really helpful, and calming because I had a good idea of what I was walking into.

Good luck!

 

[MeShe1ly]

I recently had an interview at western and thought it went really well. A few days after the interview, I found out I didn't get in. After speaking with admissions, they told me it was because my prerequisite GPA was 'reasonably low,' even though my interview went 'really well.' I'm still kind of in shock I didn't get in, and at this point just trying to remain positive because I have more interviews in a few days.

Pretty frustrated though that my successful interview didn't really make seem to make much of a difference in the judgement, especially because they made it seem that I had 'passed' the prelimary numbers. I don't mean to burst any bubbles, but this is something I wished I'd been more aware of going into my interview (and the fact that you won't only get rejected if you have a poor interview).

 

[Loptometriste]

That seems like a waste of your time and their time. If they knew you didn't meet the academic requirements...why even take the time to interview you??? I hope you didn't have to travel far. What are your stats? I am looking at applying there but I don't want to fly to California just to find out they really weren't planning on accepting me to begin with!

 

[MeShe1ly]

My overall gpa was 3.1-.2, which I think is still fairly competitive from my university. My prerequisite gpa was ~3.0. My AA/TS was 340

Good luck to everyone else! I hope this does not happen to others.

 

[nguye4nt]

I got in at Western, and thought my interview went really well. My GPA is very high, but my OAT scores weren't as high as I would like them to be. So I really think that my interview helped me out to get into Western.

 

[MeShe1ly]

I got in at Western, and thought my interview went really well. My GPA is very high, but my OAT scores weren't as high as I would like them to be. So I really think that my interview helped me out to get into Western.

As far as I know, and I talked pretty extensively w/ the counselor over any weak points in my app, my interview went well too. I should have more specifically asked them why they invited me in the first place, seeing as how they were aware of my GPA prior to inviting me to an interview.

Ultimately, I think others w/ similar stats might still have a good chance of getting in. I think its just the luck of the draw at some point. Had my OAT been slightly higher, it could have made a difference this time around. The counselor told me that if I wanted to reapply next year, I should basically get my masters first. Anyway, I don't plan on getting my masters just to get into WUCO.

Good luck to you if that is where you wanted to go!

 

[csandova]

I recently had an interview at western and thought it went really well. A few days after the interview, I found out I didn't get in. After speaking with admissions, they told me it was because my prerequisite GPA was 'reasonably low,' even though my interview went 'really well.' I'm still kind of in shock I didn't get in, and at this point just trying to remain positive because I have more interviews in a few days.

Pretty frustrated though that my successful interview didn't really make seem to make much of a difference in the judgement, especially because they made it seem that I had 'passed' the prelimary numbers. I don't mean to burst any bubbles, but this is something I wished I'd been more aware of going into my interview (and the fact that you won't only get rejected if you have a poor interview).

I'm sorry to hear this 🙁 where else did you apply?

Also I feel your case is really odd, I've read that 3.1/340 is pretty average for Western. Last cycle's average GPA was 3.2 and average OAT was 310 😕

 

[DeterminedOpto]

I'm sorry to hear this 🙁 where else did you apply?

Also I feel your case is really odd, I've read that 3.1/340 is pretty average for Western. Last cycle's average GPA was 3.2 and average OAT was 310 😕

I'm really sad to hear this too!! your GPA is okay and your OAT 340 is really decent !

 

[MeShe1ly]

I'm really sad to hear this too!! your GPA is okay and your OAT 340 is really decent !

I'm sorry to hear this 🙁 where else did you apply?

Also I feel your case is really odd, I've read that 3.1/340 is pretty average for Western. Last cycle's average GPA was 3.2 and average OAT was 310 😕

Yea, it definitely confused me as well, go figure. Also, since the counselor specifically told me that it was my pre-req GPA that was low, while my overall GPA was fine, I asked her what the avg pre-req GPA from last year, and she told me around 3.3-3.4....?? Anyway, all this was pretty disappointing, as WUCO was my "back-up" lol. I applied to Western, ICO, SCCO, NECO, PCO, SUNY. I have interviews for the last three coming up, so I'm trying to not let this bring me down. 😳

 

[csandova]

Yea, it definitely confused me as well, go figure. Pretty disappointing, as WUCO was my "back-up" lol. I applied to Western, ICO, SCCO, NECO, PCO, SUNY. I have interviews for the last three coming up, so I'm trying to not let this bring me down. 😳

Best of luck! I just withdrew my application and cancelled my interviews for NECO and SUNY, but I interviewed and was accepted to both PCO and ICO. Both are very laid back interviews, very conversational. I'm sure you will do great! 🙂