Hey!
I opted for the tour of campus, so I arrived about an hour before official activities began. Most of the interviewees were there, but some candidates met us later. Dr. Barr, one of the PT professors, met us and took us around the campus. The campus is fairly small, but I was impressed with their facilities. Dr. Barr greeted several students by name if we passed them and asked how they were doing without interrupting the tour.
We then attended a group presentation given by the program director. You'll see all of that when you get there, but it was actually super interesting. After that, we basically hung out in that room together with some current PT students and were able to ask them questions. We were called in to our interviews at our assigned time and could leave anytime after we were done.
My interview was with Dr. Barr and another faculty member, so it was awesome to talk with someone I already had the chance to connect with. The interviews were structured, but the conversation itself was low key and relaxed. They said they wanted to get to know us better and assess whether we'd be a good fit for the program. I was asked about some of my experiences on my application, what my favorite shadowing experience was, what my long term professional goals were, and what some current issues in PT are. They specifically mentioned that they were impressed by my GRE scores and the variety of my shadowing experiences, so they might ask you more about the strong points of your app. I asked them about research opportunities and how they address student concerns, which they said were good questions. At the very end, they asked me if there was anything else that I would like them to know that might not be on my app or spoken about in the interview. I really blanked, so I suggest having something small prepared to say in case they ask you that.
Overall, I was very impressed with the interview process and the program itself. Everyone was friendly and the program felt very cohesive. The professors are award winners, very experienced, and seem to genuinely care about the success of their students. They have plenty of clinical sites, and intersperse clinical rotations throughout their program, which I hadn't seen before.
My advice would be to try to connect with every faculty member you come in contact with, especially if you're doing the tour. Putting a face to a name can be extremely valuable, but don't force it if opportunities don't arise. Read up on current issues in PT, cause I think that was the weak point of my interview. I know it's easier said than done, but try your best to relax about the interview. You've already been offered an interview, so you're qualified and an impressive candidate. Don't forget they're trying to impress you as well
🙂 Hope I helped!
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