Question about

[W2BVet]

What do you guys think?

Do you think that having a horrible interview will keep you from getting an acceptance? I know being nervous is normal but how about being a rambling idiot, having episodes of silence, and answering questions with incomplete thoughts. I take having stage fright to a whole new level. I mean I REALLY screwed up my interview. So in other words if you completely bomb the interview do you think that will be a factor for their decision even if your application is solid.

Thanks for your opinions!!!

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[Optimistic 13]

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[jglovicz]

I'm sure it didn't go as bad as you think! But, yes, I do think that the interview will affect whether or not an applicant is offered admission. Otherwise, what would be the point of an interview?

I absolutely agree. I'm sure the interview wasn't as bad as you thought! If the committee could see that you knew what you were talking about but were just nervous, I think you'll be fine. Positive thoughts!

 

[GenghisCohen]

I can totally empathize with the terrible interview anxiety. At my first interview I was really, really nervous, and in addition to general inchoherence and rambling, I may have accused one of my interviewers of being "one of those crazy PETA sea-kitten people," and showed my love of all animals by refering to the the famous talking parrot I worked with in college as a "mysogynistic *****hole."

The jury's still out on that one, but I am not hopefull.

 

[Optimistic 13]

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[W2BVet]

I can totally empathize with the terrible interview anxiety. At my first interview I was really, really nervous, and in addition to general inchoherence and rambling, I may have accused one of my interviewers of being "one of those crazy PETA sea-kitten people," and showed my love of all animals by refering to the the famous talking parrot I worked with in college as a "mysogynistic *****hole."

The jury's still out on that one, but I am not hopefull.

Hehehe...how funny! The things that come out of your mouth when your life is on the line and you can feel your heart pounding in your throat. I keep saying to myself over and over "why did I say that..that was soooo stupid" I better learn how to control my nerves pretty quick or else I'll never get in.

 

[No Imagination]

I consider myself quite personable - when I control the situation, but as soon as I am in the hot seat, I stutter, say "I think" or "I believe" or "umm" when I should be exerting my opinions.

This is what worked for me - may or may not work for you, depending on your interview problems.

Control the situation. When you walk in, shake everyones hands, greet everyone, smile, say "How are you".

Mock interviews with Mommy, Daddy, SO, your boss, only go so far. You need to be able to think on the fly in these situations.

Find the scariest person on campus, not attached to the vet school or you and set up a meeting. Go talk to them about your interest in synthesis of poly organic cyclic polymers. Prepare, and see how it goes. See if you are comfortable during your talk. I did this about 3 weeks before hand.

Have prepared statements for those awkward silences. After answering a question, that you may have rambled on a bit much, take a breath and say "I hope I've answered your question, would you like me to elaborate on my thoughts more?"

Say, "I don't know!" - then follow it up with "But from what I do understand about the situation, I feel..." Personally, nearly every current event topic question you will be asked should have 2 sides - and unless they ask you "How do you feel about puppy kicking" you should admit to both sides of the argument and state your stance and back up your stance with logic and facts (BTW, you want to be against puppy kicking).

The most important thing, I think. You should know when you walk into the interview, what is going to keep you from getting accepted. Are your grads sub-par, is your animal expereince lacking, are you too old/young, are you flighty, are you ... Whatever.

Make sure you address these issues in a positive manor - you have 30 - 45 minutes to sell these people a used car - After that they are going to go back and think about it. Know whats wrong with the car before they do, and knock any doubts about it out of the water.

Damn, car analogies make me feel like such a man... Next time i'm going with hockey.

Just MHO

 

[Angie09]

At one of my interviews (for a school that I figured I had about a 0.6% chance of getting into anyway) the interview went mostly okay, except they wanted to know what I would do if a client brought in a pet and wanted to euthanize it and there was NOTHING I COULD DO to convince them otherwise (I asked about every possibly option I could think of, but they shot them all down because what they really wanted to know was if I would euthanize or send the client and pet away, and why) and I spent quite a while frantically looking for a loophole and couldn't find one, which looked a little haphazard, I think. I ended up taking a position and logically defending it, but it took me awhile to get there.

THEN, they asked why I wanted to be a vet, and I was so frazzled from the euthanasia dilemma that I said something like, "blah, blah, blah, and I LOVE PUPPIES (giggle)!" (Yes, I actually giggled. And I'm not really a giggly person). And even minus the giggle, that is really not what adcoms are looking for.

But you know what? I got in anyway!

 

[tpad40]

THEN, they asked why I wanted to be a vet, and I was so frazzled from the euthanasia dilemma that I said something like, "blah, blah, blah, and I LOVE PUPPIES (giggle)!" (Yes, I actually giggled. And I'm not really a giggly person). And even minus the giggle, that is really not what adcoms are looking for.

That's great!

I can totally picture that happening (and I can totally picture myself doing that). I was also totally frazzled by my convenience euthansia question (despite being totally prepared for it).

 

[W2BVet]

Thanks for all the responses!

I was happy with most of my answers when they would ask me something veterinary related but the questions about myself I completely bombed. For some of them I don't think they even got a straight answer.

Oh and did I mention that I talk with hands!! I'm sure they really loved that!!

 

[HopefulAg]

Oh don't worry. I talk with my hands too. I just figure it's being more expressive, right? More personable? More into the conversation? Right?!


In my interview one of the interviewers coughed (choking, really) kinda loudly and for a couple of seconds while I was talking. Instead of asking if she was OK I put up my hand and looked at her and went 'are you better now?' I still have no idea what prompted that. And I didn't mean to sound like an ass, it's just the first thing that came out of my mouth, and I've no idea what my hand was doing! Honestly I think it was Phantom Hand syndrome or something, a malfunction of the corpus collosum...something! I've no recollection of sending that particular signal to that particular body part at that point in time.


I hope she didn't take it the wrong way, it was meant to be concern, not asshattery.

 

[sumstorm]

Another way to prepare for interviews is to ask your family, friends, professors, etc to set you up with cold interviews with thier associates and such. Let them know that you are seeking out people who will interview you in a formal situation and not be 'easy.' Hand out resumes with this, plus a list of your obvious strengths and weaknesses from your vet school app (I would say the entire app, but it is too long for a mock interviewer to read.) If you can get 5-15 of these under your belt, you may find that you are more confident. Since they aren't people you know, it is much more realistic, plus the settings may be mroe genuine.

Practice speaking delibeartively for at least a few weeks before your interview. Learn to pause instead of 'uhh' or 'hmmmm.' Plan clear and concise explanations for your big achievements and your major shortcomings. Having a prepared sound bite can do a world of good in a tense interview situation.

 

[EqSci]

In my Penn interview (which I didn't think I was even nervous for because I had already been accepted to Iowa) I said "tube-y thingy" for catheter, and I said something like "there were darker spots where there should've been air, I mean lighter white spots, but denser, well you know what I mean" when trying to explain the results of an X-ray. Needless to say I was not accepted that night, but I'm still waiting to hear if I'm officially waitlisted/accepted/rejected.

In my Ohio interview, I rambled, and I was waitlisted. In my Iowa interview, I think I did GREAT, and I was accepted. My application itself? Mediocre.

Could be coincidence, but I think that says something. Yes, I think a horrible interview CAN prevent you from being accepted if you are an otherwise stellar applicant... but by horrible, I don't mean you got tongue-tied and said some strange things. I mean you clearly don't understand the profession, tell them vet med is a backup, or something along those lines. In your case, with an excellent application all around, I wouldn't stress too much about it. Remember the adcoms know how nervous you were, and they are very good at seeing through it.

If nothing else remember that it was in the past and there's nothing you can do about it now except to learn from it, and HOPE!!

 

[hopefulvet21]

What do you guys think?

Do you think that having a horrible interview will keep you from getting an acceptance? I know being nervous is normal but how about being a rambling idiot, having episodes of silence, and answering questions with incomplete thoughts. I take having stage fright to a whole new level. I mean I REALLY screwed up my interview. So in other words if you completely bomb the interview do you think that will be a factor for their decision even if your application is solid.

Thanks for your opinions!!!

wow! This sounds EXACTLY like my Tufts interview! I was asked about pet insurance, which I haven't really looked into...well...at all. There were a lot of words like "well," "ummm" and "hmm." I got in anyways though! As long as you answer maybe half the questions well you should be good if everything else on your app is strong. Sometimes I stutter just talking with people in normal conversation, so an interview for me was a death sentence. Don't worry too much!

 

[W2BVet]

Great stories!! They really made me laugh. Tube-y thingy...no you didn't say that!! That is hilarious It's nice to see that there are other people that didn't have a perfect interview.

Thanks!!

 

[chris03333]

What do you guys think?

Do you think that having a horrible interview will keep you from getting an acceptance?

Short blunt answer...yes.

 

[NittanyKitty]

I mean, I think a really terrible interview would certainly damage your chances. An interview doesn't mean you're already in - it's your chance to prove yourself and show that you deserve that one spot over the three or four others competing for it. But I also think that the interviewers have done this a LOT and they can tell the difference between some answers that come out of nerves and the ones that really reflect a poor understanding/attitude/preparation. I don't think they expect you to be perfect in the interview. A stutter, flubbed answer, or blanking out on a question wouldn't be enough to totally doom your chances.

 

[crittergal]

and unless they ask you "How do you feel about puppy kicking" you should admit to both sides of the argument and state your stance and back up your stance with logic and facts (BTW, you want to be against puppy kicking).

ROFL Really? You're saying that pro-puppy kickers don't get accepted?

 

[BR549]

I think an interview can make or break you. I know that I do not look good on paper at all, but I am very personable. I knew if I could get an interview, my chances of getting accepted would increase exponentially. I left both interviews with the interviewers laughing! (Where they laughing with me, or at me?) Anyway, when one interviewer asked, "What should I tell the admissions committee when they ask if you should be accepted or not?" I answered the usual, highlighting my good qualities. Then I said,"LET ME IN!!". The interviewer proceeded to write this down on my evaluation! It must of worked, though. I got in! Good Luck!

 

[eventualeventer]

Darn, I guess I'll have to go back to kicking kittens. They're so much harder to hit than puppies.*

OP, I'm sure you were far from the only one with interview nerves!

* In case it isn't obvious, this is tongue-in-cheek. I do not advocate kicking of anything except sports balls and occasional buckets.

 

[W2BVet]

no no no...you guys are supposed to say that "no it's not going to hurt you if you completely bomb your interview" work with me people!!

 

[crittergal]

no no no...you guys are supposed to say that "no it's not going to hurt you if you completely bomb your interview" work with me people!!

I'm positive it won't hurt your chances at all if you bomb the interview. Yep, no doubt about it, the interview has zero weight whatsoever.

 

[HopefulAg]

TBH it's a formality, really.

 

[rachroo]

I'm positive it won't hurt your chances at all if you bomb the interview. Yep, no doubt about it, the interview has zero weight whatsoever.

Except at Ohio State where the interview/subjective sections account more for your than grades/gre.

I remember they told us before the interview that they understood we were all nervous, so I think they took that into play.

 

[nyanko]

I also suffer from the afflictions of having 1) diarrhea of the mouth and 2) absolutely 100% no filter between the stream of consciousness that is my thought process and my words, especially when I'm nervous about something. It's really really hard for me to slow down and gather my thoughts, since my brain is usually going a mile a minute in some perpendicular direction to where it's supposed to be. I also tend to crack (sarcastic, sometimes self-deprecating) jokes when I'm nervous. Saying out loud "Oh man, that was probably a really dumb thing for me to say wasn't it? I sure wouldn't let me in after that! " is probably not very endearing in an interview situation.

Needless to say, I will be working on my interview skills a lot over the next 8-10 months.