Scco Interview Help!

[FLCBRUIN84]

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Hi everyone..

After almost 2 years of re-taking coursework after graduating from UCLA in 2006, I didn't think I stood a chance to get in this year. I applied anyways and after bugging Dr. Monroe all last week, she told me to maybe consider applying to other schools.

HOWEVER!!!!!!!! On Friday, they received my last transcript that had 2 A's from Winter Interssession (I retook a Gen Bio and Stats course) and she called me to cordially invite me for an interview at SCCO! wahhooooo! I almost fainted at work when I got her phone call, but now my nerves are catching up to me.

I hear that SCCO has a very tough interview. I read through the interview feedback posts on this site, but I want all the advice I can get. What sites are best to read up on current news and legislation regarding optometry? Also, what did you guys outsource to brush up on current events? I know that I have an advantage since they put all your grades and OAT scores down for the interview because I've devoted the past two years to working full time for an optometrist (a very well know scco alum who wrote me my letter of rec), voluteering with any optometry related activity in my area (health fairs, vision screenings, research, etc) and nonetheless taking 45 units of post bac work and maintaining a 3.9!

This is the ONLY school I applied to, so please please please.. those of you who interviewed and got in, help me out. Also, do you think there are still seats left? I hope im not just interviewing to get on their waitlist 🙁

Lastly, do you think I should schedule my interview ASAP, or give myself more time to prepare. I'm just afraid that seats are filling up so fast for this year =(
Anyways... share anything you can to help.. and wish me luck! Trust me.. this has been a long two years of hard work, but boy was it worth it to finally make the cut for an interview!

 

[Habitual Rx]

Lastly, do you think I should schedule my interview ASAP, or give myself more time to prepare. I'm just afraid that seats are filling up so fast for this year =(

Just to let you know, SCCO is now scheduling interviews into March. I scheduled mine this past Friday and only March was available. A month is more than enough time to prepare for any interview.

However, I am an out of country applicant, so they may reserve closer interviews for in-state or nearby applicants.

 

[mthwong]

CONGRATS!! on all your hard work and your interview. You should definitely try to schedule an appointment as soon as possible.

As for tips on the interview, I felt that it was harder than the one I had at Berkeley this past weekend. SCCO does ask you questions from your personality, what you like about the school, and your knowledge of the field of optometry.

You might want to see if your optometrist that you're working for has time to practice answering questions with you. What I did was write 20 questions I thought would be asked, and went over my answers with an optometrist.

Also have some questions prepared for the interview, or be able to ask questions relevant to the people interviewing you. Definitely read some articles to prepare you to discuss something if needed. You can ask your optometrist if he/she has any journals. There is always California Optometry, and whatever SCCO is doing in terms of research.

Definitely take sometime to understand why you want to get into the field, how you will contribute to the class of 2012, why you want to go to SCCO, and think about the field of optometry and where it is headed.

 

[cherryplum]

well congrats on scoring an interview!

I would probably schedule asap, just because the majority of the class should be filled by now (just a guess). I interviewed at SCCO in November so I can tell you about my experience.

to prepare I browsed the interview feedback and then made a list of possible questions, I also took an old pamphlet that they hand out at career fairs to read through to get to know the school better. you start by writing an essay for 30mins -- I think this is just to verify your writing skills as your interviewers will have a copy of this later. then you meet with financial aid and go through all that good stuff. the interview is in a small conference room with 3 people: a professor, admin/admissions officer, and a student. pretty laid back, they just want to get to know you! they asked me a variety of questions from what I do in my spare time to what I thought was the most pressing political issue currently (I said healthcare and they asked me to elaborate my views so be prepared!). the professor was very interested in what experience I had and what kind of offices I've worked at. he also picked at why I thought SCCO was a good fit for me and what other schools I applied to. then you meet with Dr. Voorhees to review your application for anything missing, then go on a tour with the student who interviewed you. that was great because it's one on one and the student I got was really chill so I asked her everything I could think of. they review applicants and make decisions every week so you don't have to wait too long! in fact I got my acceptance the next day via email. all in all I don't think it was too tough. just be yourself. I did review news and legislation regarding optometry by doing a couple google searches and asked the doctors that I work for what they thought the most pressing issues were. oh yea, make sure you think of some good questions to ask them too.

hope that helps and good luck! 😉

 

[IcanSEEanOD]

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[FLCBRUIN84]

ughhhh.. I called today and the first avail interview is on March 3rd! Yikes, if the rumor is true that they already have 88 out of 99 seats filled.. then am I really just interviewing to be placed on the waitlist! grrrr so frustrating!

 

[macy2012]

about how long would the interview last for? i have an interview at scco this coming friday, feb 8th. now after reading this, im getting really nervous!

 

[optEXTREME]

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[CarltonBanks]

I had my interview in December and it was pretty laid back. I guess it just depends on who your interviewers are. I opened up with a joke before we started. It helped ease the tension and made me feel comfortable (i wouldn't recommend doing this unless you are comfortable doing so!). They did ask some tough questions, but just take your time in answering them. Don't rush and ramble on incoherently. Remember what you wrote on your personal statements, know your reasons for applying, and be confident! You made it this far, you should be proud of yourself! 👍

 

[curiousGuy]

I interviewed there about three weeks ago and had a really good experience.

The first question they asked me, a basic one, why do you want to be an optometrist, set me off on a tailspin of rambling and incomplete sentences and illogical reasoning, this I continued on for about 5 minutes.

Then I finally said, uhh..., yeah!, does that answer your question?

I looked them in the eyes and realized that they were not interested in torturing me. So I was able to relax a lot. After that it was all good.

I think the best advice I had was to be yourself.

I figured if they asked me about laws and things I would tell them that I don't really know much about that. And they sort of did ask and I told them what little gossip I had heard and that I did not know the validity of it and asked them to clear up my confusion.

One thing that was helpful to me was that I got dressed up really nice and felt like I was looking good. I think it boosted my confidence a bit.