Hi all! I applied to Pacific last year, was waitlisted, and decided to drop from the waitlist study/strengthen my application for the next cycle. I was invited to interview this year, which I'm very thankful for, but will be attending WUSTL. Here's what I experienced during the interview:
1. First thing is you go in and meet at the current students, who will be acting as guides and answering your questions. Quite a few professors and administrators were there last time too. They mill around in the lobby. I highly recommend going up and talking to them - it's likely they could be your interviewers.
2. Q&A session with current students and some faculty. Info on the field of OT, what Pacific has to offer, etc. Again, a good time to engage and ask questions that show your knowledge of the field. Applicants are then broken up into groups, and the next steps are done in different rotations. If you happen to see the program director, ask him how he feels about OT's role in helping artists. He is very passionate and knowledgeable about this area (often shares the story of how OT helped famous artist Chuck Close).
3. Tour of the labs and classrooms.
4. Handwritten writing sample. This by far was my least favorite part of the process. They put A LOT of weight on the writing sample, and I have wrist ligament problems that make writing by hand very uncomfortable. I wish I had asked for a modification beforehand that would have allowed me to type it instead. So, anticipate a writing sample and ask for modifications ahead of time if there might be an issue.
Another point on the writing sample: mine had to do with a personal experience of encountering/overcoming challenge. You will learn that this narrative is HUGE for OT schools - not just Pacific. I don't know if they'll use the same one, but I would recommend brainstorming how to answer if some variation of that is asked. Discuss your own personal strategies for adaptation/remediation.
5. Interview with a faculty member and a current student. Again, ask a lot of questions. If you have Sean Roush as your interviewer (who is AWESOME), ask about integration of OT with mental health. That's a huge focus of his practice and research. Both the faculty member and student will be asked if they recommend you to the program. So, yes, the weight of the interview is pretty significant.
Good luck all!