Wow our stats are very similar, I have a 3.2 gpa and 82 pcat. So just a couple of questions regarding the interview... Is there anything that I should look out for during the interview? Any particular questions that you find give people trouble? Do's and Don'ts? What made you choose tech over say UT and A&M?
Just to add: I agree with you that Tech really does a great job of being accessible to the applicants. I've spoken to Mike Nall several times on the phone and he's been extremely helpful.
Thanks for any input. Hopefully I get an interview =P
I'm not really sure how to answer the first question. I guess be aware that the interview day is long. You'll be at the school for quite sometime. There's an introduction and some other informational stuff you'll have to do. Then there's a test called the california something or other that you'll take. Don't freak out, essentially it's a method to see how you process information. It has nothing to do with your knowledge. All of the questions are reasoning type questions. No one is supposed to do well on it, because no one should be able to think in so many different ways. I know this is confusing, but bottom line is don't panic, just do your best, there is no way to study for it.
Then there's the group interview. Essentially you and other interviewees will be given a case and together you'll come up with a solution and present it to a couple of faculty. Then they'll ask the group questions. The key for this is to speak but not to dominate. Let your group members answer questions, but make sure you get a chance to answer as well.
For the interview itself, all of the questions that Tech asks are situational based. Essentially, "give me an example of a time you showed _____" What the interviewers are looking for are specific event in you life when you showed a certain characteristic. When answering you want to give a detailed description of the process that went into it. What were you thinking while it happened, what actions did you take, who did it benefit, and why that example reflects the characteristic were looking for.
There are only 7 questions that will be asked. I don't think any of them are troubling. Sometimes the wording can be weird, but dont hesitate to ask your interviewers to repeat the question. You're also able to take some time to think about your response, so if you need to gather your thoughts, do so. The best advice I can give to anyone is be confident. Confidence can make an average answer sound good and a good answer sound amazing.
Do's and Don'ts: Do ask a lot of questions. Be confident in yourself and your answers.
Don't give generalized answers. Be as specific as possible when answering a question. Don't do anything too distracting during the interview. I understand that some people have ticks, I do as well, but anything loud or obvious can distract us from what you're saying.
When I applied for pharmacy school, my first choice was UT. UT was also my first interview and I was a nervous wreck. I had memorized a bunch of answers and my interviewers caught me on it. Austin being my hometown and the fact I wanted to go there so badly all negatively affected my interview that day. By the time my Tech interviewed rolled around, I had already interviewed at 4 other schools, I had spent more time on SDN, and I had learned from the mistakes I had made earlier. It all worked out for the best in the end and if I had to do it again, Tech would be my top choice.
Why Tech? I didn't know it at the time, but I really enjoy the clinical aspect of pharmacy. Tech has an a great program geared toward clinical pharmacy and you'll see that in many classes, it's not only about learning drugs, but also disease states and how you should approach treatment of that disease. Tech also has more rotational experience than the other schools. You'll have 4 rotations your P3 year while most other places don't start rotations till P4 year. It was nerve racking to be thrown into practice after only 2 years of classes, but honestly thats where I learned the most. Tech also has 8 P4 rotations while most of the other schools have 6-7. Sure, it's a lot more work, but I do feel like I have an advantage over other residency applicants because I've had so much experience in my specific interest. Not to say that if you want to go into retail, that you shouldn't go to Tech, but I think you could graduate from Tech, UT, or A&M and be a good retail pharmacists regardless.
*edit: Reread this paragraph and wanted to clarify, you can be a good clinical pharmacist without having to go to Tech. But I do believe we have an advantage over other schools. Something we commonly hear is that compared to other schools, Tech students are great in a clinical situation. However, in terms of pure drug knowledge, we are weaker. They've done a few things to try and improve this. Whether it works or not is something we'll have to wait and see.
Sorry this was so long, but I hope helps some. If you need something clarified please ask and good luck to you.
city person eh?!? FYI the same smell would be at Kingsville if you went there too. I'm use to it since I grew up around that area even though I have a very sensitive nose. I was just wondering if it was some other smell.
