Since there's lots of you who are getting interviews and stuff lately, here are my comments from a few months ago regarding my timeline and interview. Hope it helps someone <3
Application submission: September ish, 0-2 days before deadline through VMCAS
Invite for interview: Jan 27th
Interview: Feb 22nd
Application status in portal changed to "committee review": March 15th
Acceptance call: April 13th
I initially applied for Fall but my masters program completion got pushed back a semester. I requested to be moved for Spring 2022 consideration only a few days before I received the interview invite, so that may have contributed to me hearing back so soon for Spring.
I had my interview with Ruth [Feb 22]. For context, I completed an undergrad degree in 2015 with AWFUL grades and am now in a research-based biochem masters program with (not absolutely standout, but) good grades. My GRE score from 2018 was 154 verbal (64%) and 163 (83%). It was actually 85% when I took it but the percentile went down over the years, so sad lol. I also provided an explanation statement through VMCAS outlining my emotional and academic growth as a student.
She GRILLED me on academics. I appreciated that she focused on that, but I wish she had asked me at least one open ended "tell me about yourself" or "what do you like to do for fun" question. I have a lot of eccentric hobbies and achievements and would have loved to show her a little more of my personality outside of academics since I already wrote a whole essay on it. All in all though she was very nice and it was less intimidating than I anticipated. She was kinda hard to read since she gave me a lot of generic encouragements (okay, good, next question!) with some conversational dialogue in between. I'm glad I prepared for the worst and rehearsed the big questions (why a vet, why ross, strengths/weaknesses/what can you bring to the field). I might be one of the first few to apply for Jan 2022 (technically still c/o 2025) so she said I'll be waiting a minimum of 4 weeks. I'm telling myself that she focused on academics and study habits so heavily because they are trying to decide between vet prep and acceptance, and not between vet prep/acceptance and rejection LOL.
My advice to anyone preparing for an interview is to find friends in vetmed or other professional fields (med/dental/phD programs) and pretend you are interviewing with them. I gave my friends a list of questions to choose from and let them run with it. It feels a little silly and it's hard not to break character but it REALLY helped put me in the interview mindset to answer the questions as if they were real. Use Webex or Zoom instead of FaceTime or Facebook Messenger so it feels more real. One of my best friends dressed up in interviewer clothes and a notepad. The first thing she said when we connected was "Hello, before we begin can you confirm your first and last name thank you."
Take a short walk before your interview and practice your responses to make sure your answers flow. Good luck!!
