oh no! I have 2 interviews tomorrow and I'm sick

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ar2388

ar2388

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I have interviews at my two top schools tomorrow and im sick with a nasty cold. as in voice half gone, stuffy nose, and overall crankiness... shoudl i just suck it up? they are both in manhattan so it only nvolves using the subway...
 
i was sick for my first interview. It made for an interesting way for me to start the conversation. I discussed a little bit of public health policy actually.
 
Suck it up...get some rest today, drink fluids, take decongestants or whatever you need.

When you say you are "sick" do you have an infection? Do you have a fever? Or is this just some change of seasons / allergy thing / head cold? Because if you are really "sick" you need to go to the doctor TODAY and if you have some infection (strep, etc) you need to get some help...
 
just go. Don't talk as loud. Bring a bottle of water with you.
 
just a nasty cold. no fever thankfully. i also dont have much of a choice i guess anyway. thanks for the opinions guys.
 
btw, i just noticed you said TWO interviews tomorrow???
that is going to be a LOOONG day! Be sure to get some rest and try to have as much as you can 😳
 
yes, bring cough drops and water. i was sick at my last interview and during my 2nd interview i had a coughing fit that brought tears to my eyes. i finally was able to continue talking, but with a raspy voice. my interviewer just stared at me too! i was so embarrassed. moral of the story- i didn't bring water like i should have 😱
 
haha yeah 2 interviews....I guess ill try to get a whole lot of sleep lol and suck it up
 
Sorry to hear that, get well soon! Also I think I would attend both interviews if I was in your shoes.
 
thats waht i will most likely do. i can collapse into bed after i get back home and forget aboput the world. lol
 
Tea is your friend.
 
ar2388 said:
I have interviews at my two top schools tomorrow and im sick with a nasty cold. as in voice half gone, stuffy nose, and overall crankiness... shoudl i just suck it up? they are both in manhattan so it only nvolves using the subway...
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Just walk in there with that MCAT score written across your shirt. This should make adcoms ignore your nyquill ranting and runny nose!!! :laugh:


Just kidding. I think everyone has these situations - to some extent - and the best thing you can do is just power through it, and do everything you can to minimize sickness (don't stay up late, stress all day before etc). Good luck, I'm sure you'll do well - very qualified applicant.
 
How do you have two interviews in one day? Don't interview days usually start in the morning and continue until the mid/late afternoon?
 
Not at Columbia and NYU! Two of the shortest interview days I've ever had. Columbia should take about 2 hours. NYU another 2 or so. Good luck! Feel better!
 
MsJLewis said:
Not at Columbia and NYU! Two of the shortest interview days I've ever had. Columbia should take about 2 hours. NYU another 2 or so. Good luck! Feel better!
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I'd be kinda irritated if I flew across the country to spend 2 hours at the school. Seems like a poor effort on their part.
 
ryserr21 said:
I'd be kinda irritated if I flew across the country to spend 2 hours at the school. Seems like a poor effort on their part.
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Kind of true, but I also like not having to sit through all the fluff. If you want to know specific things, like financial aid stuff or what classes are like, I am sure that can be arranged for by the admissions office or by just walking over to the specific department. Doesn't hurt to wander around and chat up random students.. it might give you a better picture of the school than sitting through the tour.
 
Aww, poor ar2388. Hope you feel better soon. Good luck for tomorrow!
 
RoadRunner17 said:
Kind of true, but I also like not having to sit through all the fluff. If you want to know specific things, like financial aid stuff or what classes are like, I am sure that can be arranged for by the admissions office or by just walking over to the specific department. Doesn't hurt to wander around and chat up random students.. it might give you a better picture of the school than sitting through the tour.
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Well its not much of a tour if you are sitting in one place! :laugh: Just kidding. Yea i see your point, but most people do want to know specifics about financial aid and curriculum and stuff like that.....seems kinda weird to leave it out. But I mean how much could you possibly learn about the school in two hours? At least a quarter of that time will be spent in the interview. I'm supposed to make a decision that will affect the next 4 years of my life based on a two hour visit? Lame.
 
ryserr21 said:
Well its not much of a tour if you are sitting in one place! :laugh: Just kidding. Yea i see your point, but most people do want to know specifics about financial aid and curriculum and stuff like that.....seems kinda weird to leave it out. But I mean how much could you possibly learn about the school in two hours? At least a quarter of that time will be spent in the interview. I'm supposed to make a decision that will affect the next 4 years of my life based on a two hour visit? Lame.
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my dear that is what 2nd looks are for!!!!!!!!!!
 
I hear what you're saying (flights are freakin expensive) but you're always free to wander around and sit in on classes (they will give you a schedule of classes going on if you ask). You can go to the Fin Aid office and chat or just talk with students. You do also have the obligatory lunch and tour during the interview.

I guess they don't want to put you through all of the fluff that sometimes occurs at other school's interview days if you may not even get accepted. Second look though is a whole other story. A ridiculous amount of activities, lunches, tours, presentations, etc. I think that after attending any school's second look, you will definitely be able to make a thorough decision... especially after you receive financial aid packages!
 
I wish schools would skip the lunch and the fin aid and all the break time. I think Interview day should consist of your interview, a tour, and overview of curriculum/anything special the school might offer. 2-3 hours seems sufficient. I've been on a 8am-4pm interview day, and it was overkillllllll.
​
 
I got sick the night before my interview last friday, and I had a horrible sore throat etc the next day. However, during the interview I was excited and didn't even notice it. This is probably what will happen to you also. Thank you sympathetic nervous system! I actually think I may have performed better because I was more relaxed than normal.
 
I had a stomach ulcer for my first interview last week. That sucked.
 
Zicam really does seem to minimize symptoms if you take it ASAP- four people in our family got colds last week, all in different cities, 3 tried zicam and never got horridly sick, the other one was too lazy to go to Target and spent a day in bed and felt horrid.
 
heh. too late i guess. i think im over the peak and slowly on my way down. 🙂 hopefully by tomorrow i will be a whole lot better
 
Feel better! :luck: And take vitamin C.
 
gujuDoc said:
my dear that is what 2nd looks are for!!!!!!!!!!
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MsJLewis said:
I hear what you're saying (flights are freakin expensive) but you're always free to wander around and sit in on classes (they will give you a schedule of classes going on if you ask). You can go to the Fin Aid office and chat or just talk with students. You do also have the obligatory lunch and tour during the interview.

I guess they don't want to put you through all of the fluff that sometimes occurs at other school's interview days if you may not even get accepted. Second look though is a whole other story. A ridiculous amount of activities, lunches, tours, presentations, etc. I think that after attending any school's second look, you will definitely be able to make a thorough decision... especially after you receive financial aid packages!
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is the "second look" a formal day or are you just suggesting I fly back to schools to revisit the campuses as I please?
 
they are official days I believe.
 
Good luck :luck:

And please update us on how the 2 interview day thing goes! Sounds like a great idea for anyone interviewing in the med school "hubs"
 
Good luck. Incidentally.. I was sick at two of my interviews last year.. though not on the same day. It wasn't bad... I just couldn't be extremely verbose in my answers because it made my throat hurt. Seriously though... just hang in there. Good luck.
 
haha I'll trade places w/ you 🙂 g'luck
 
To the original poster:

:luck: :luck: :luck:

Let us know how it goes.
 
ryserr21 said:
is the "second look" a formal day or are you just suggesting I fly back to schools to revisit the campuses as I please?
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"Second Looks" aka "Revisit" are formal days and/or weekends (depending on the school) where all accepted applicants are invited back to get to see the school again (and meet and get a vibe for future classmates). They are hosted by the school and will involve a variety of activities for you to get to know the school (curriculum presentations, financial aid presentations, meeting the deans, etc..) as well as for you to get to know your classmates (ice cream socials, bar hopping, clubbing, etc.. these are usually planned by current 1st and 2nd years). Some schools will pay for you to fly out for second look/revisit (Vanderbilt comes to mind), others won't (like Columbia and NYU). And some schools do not have second looks/revisit at all (like Tufts).

Good luck OP!
 
MsJLewis said:
"Second Looks" aka "Revisit" are formal days and/or weekends (depending on the school) where all accepted applicants are invited back to get to see the school again (and meet and get a vibe for future classmates). They are hosted by the school and will involve a variety of activities for you to get to know the school (curriculum presentations, financial aid presentations, meeting the deans, etc..) as well as for you to get to know your classmates (ice cream socials, bar hopping, clubbing, etc.. these are usually planned by current 1st and 2nd years). Some schools will pay for you to fly out for second look/revisit (Vanderbilt comes to mind), others won't (like Columbia and NYU). And some schools do not have second looks/revisit at all (like Tufts).

Good luck OP!
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very interesting! I did not know about this. Thanks!
 
ar2388 said:
haha yeah 2 interviews....I guess ill try to get a whole lot of sleep lol and suck it up
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I had four interviews two weeks ago, and I was flying form California to Virgina. During my flight I got a high fever, cough, you name it! My plane got delayed in Denver and i missed my connecting flight in Washington, I stayed at the gate for 5 hours, and got to my hosts house about 1am the day of my first interview...i flew out the same day to new york for my second interview and then DC for my third, plus the hanger to my suit broke so I had it wrinkled up during most of my trip, unless my host had a iron.....all the while taking any drug i could find.

it made for a great conversation starter and I was always able to leave every interview by saying "I know im going to get into your school because i'm having horrible luck everywhere else...something good has to come of this". I wish I could tell you how the story ended but im waiting for October 15. 🙂
 
ryserr21 said:
very interesting! I did not know about this. Thanks!
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Yep, isn't it wonderful?? Also if a school doesn't have a second look then you can always schedule a revisit on your own with many admissions offices where they will let you tour again and sit on a class or 2. At least this is true at some schools. But most schools do have second looks from what SDN has shown in the past.
 
schoolsucks, thats crazyy....

so the day is over.the adrenaline definitely carried me through the interviews but as soon as i got out of the columbia one it all hit full force. so now i am in pjs, in bed and avoiding all the work i have been putting off bc of interviews. i hope i get good news on the 15th bc my grades this semseter are gonna suck..
 
ar2388 said:
schoolsucks, thats crazyy....

so the day is over.the adrenaline definitely carried me through the interviews but as soon as i got out of the columbia one it all hit full force. so now i am in pjs, in bed and avoiding all the work i have been putting off bc of interviews. i hope i get good news on the 15th bc my grades this semseter are gonna suck..
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aww i'm sorry ar2388! i hope you feel better!
 
it's okay ar2388, you got through two interviews in one day while being sick, you accomplished alot already! congrats
 
ar2388 said:
schoolsucks, thats crazyy....

so the day is over.the adrenaline definitely carried me through the interviews but as soon as i got out of the columbia one it all hit full force. so now i am in pjs, in bed and avoiding all the work i have been putting off bc of interviews. i hope i get good news on the 15th bc my grades this semseter are gonna suck..
Click to expand...

Way to take it like a champ 👍
 
ar2388 said:
schoolsucks, thats crazyy....

so the day is over.the adrenaline definitely carried me through the interviews but as soon as i got out of the columbia one it all hit full force. so now i am in pjs, in bed and avoiding all the work i have been putting off bc of interviews. i hope i get good news on the 15th bc my grades this semseter are gonna suck..
Click to expand...

Way to go!! I hope it pays off for you.
 
When I interviewed for PA school 10 years ago I had the flu. Real flu. Fever, chills, myalgias, URI stuff, awful cough, felt like crap. It was the last interview day of the cycle and I had a late invite. It was now or never. I sucked it up and chugged Theraflu from a thermos and popped ibuprofen throughout the day. My voice was completely gone by the third interview. Somehow I got in 😎 Maybe they took pity on me.
Just do your best. Good luck!
 
Congrats on making it through the day, ar2388! Despite being sick, I hope you had a good time. Now rest up and feel better!
 
Bring a handkerchief. A really class one. You never know when it comes in handy.

Take a really hot shower in the morning and try to get rid off all the gunk and mucous. Make sure to take a claritin. Or whatever is tried and true for you. Load up on zinc and vitamin c. Hydrate all day but stop about an hour and a half before the interview.

And, if I were you I'd also top all of that off with taking a few wheat grass shots before the interview (take these with mints). Wheat grass will make me feel much better when I'm sick for like an hour and a half. If you take a couple right before the interview it might give you a boost
 
My bad I didn't realize it was too late. Oh well maybe my advice will come in handy for someone else
 
ar2388 said:
schoolsucks, thats crazyy....

so the day is over.the adrenaline definitely carried me through the interviews but as soon as i got out of the columbia one it all hit full force. so now i am in pjs, in bed and avoiding all the work i have been putting off bc of interviews. i hope i get good news on the 15th bc my grades this semseter are gonna suck..
Click to expand...

don't worry about grades, just blame it on senioritis 👍 👍
 
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