My interview, from what I remember was fairly laid back. You interview in a fairly small group, maybe 4-8 people or so. When you arrive there is sort of a pre-interview with one of the people in student affairs. At some point in time the student affairs people will give you a tour of Volker Hall (which in my opinion is fairly unimpressive), where you will most likely walk by the cadaver lab, and see where your mailboxes would be etc. and maybe some other points of interest.
There are actually 2 interviews. There is a 1 on 4 or so interview, where you sit in a room with 4 members of the admissions committee. If it is still this same, this is a closed file interview, meaning, that the interviewers know nothing at all about you. Then there is the one on one open file interview with a faculty member. In this interview your grades, essay, OAT scores etc. will be in front of the interviewer. The questions that I was asked were what I would consider fairly typical interview type questions
Why optometry? How much experience do you have in the field, did you shadow? What type of practice do you see yourself in down the road? Etc. etc
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The best part of the interview in my opinion is lunch with some of the current students, normally two. These students will also give you a tour of the clinic as well. Use this time to ask the students whatever you want. Without any of the faculty there, you will most assuredly receive honest and direct answers. These students are there purely for your benefit. Remember the interview (at least at UAB) is just as much to see if the school is a good fit for you as it is for admissions to see if you are qualified to be a student at the school.
