I have an interview in January for the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy. They changed the interview process to MMI this year so I was wondering if any of you have any tips to prepare. If by chance any of you interviewed early for UNM I would appreciate some feedback on the new interview process also. Good luck to everyone applying this year!
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TL;DR - PRACTICE!!!
So quick disclaimer, I did receive an interview invite to UNM but eventually declined it because I got accepted to a different program (which did not use MMI, but I am still waiting to hear whether I got an interview at a school that does use MMI). The invite email I remember had two videos about the MMI format; did you watch those? They’re a good starting point but they’re more for information only (i.e. what is MMI, what is the purpose, etc.) and not really that good at helping you prepare. The thing that is most helpful is practicing using sample questions.
First, I found a playlist of sample MMI questions and answers: MMI Practice Scenarios - YouTube IMO the speaker talks/writes too slow so I watched these at 1.5x speed, but do what works best for you. Note that the questions he uses are from the University of British Columbia’s medical school, so they may not all apply to U.S. pharmacy schools. But the most important thing to take from the videos is how he works through the problems and possible solutions. In general, the format he follows is (1) state the problem in your own words; (2) collect additional information about the problem; (3) restate the problem again; (4) identify possible solutions, even if you know it’s the “wrong” solution; and (5) explain which solution(s) is best and why. The first video in the playlist, “The Gym,” does a really good job at illustrating all these steps, though personally, I think step 3 should be optional. The reason this is important is because you’ll have several minutes of talking time at any given station, and, counterintuitively, you don’t want to simply state your answer. Instead, you want to show how you arrived at your decision. It is a critical thinking exercise, after all.
Second, now that you know how to answer an MMI question, practice them yourself! You can easily find hundreds of sample MMI questions online, so pick a few and practice them like you were in a real interview (you can even pick questions from the above-mentioned playlist, pause to answer, and then see how they answered it). That means allowing yourself two minutes to read the question and prepare and then answering the question out loud. You can choose to have an audience or not, but it’s important that you’re answering out loud. It might feel a little silly to be interviewing yourself in the mirror or in front of your friends, but we’re all perfect interviewees when we only practice in our heads.
Speaking out loud will allow you to better identify your strengths and weaknesses. Oh! And I forgot, also time yourself while you’re speaking. You want to make sure to fit within about 6-8 minutes so that you’re concise enough to fit in all your thoughts, but also aren’t awkwardly sitting there with your interviewer when you’ve run out of things to say too early.
Lastly, it is possible that a few stations will ask traditional interview questions, like why you want to be a pharmacist, so don’t neglect practicing those questions either.
I hope this gives you a good starting point, and good luck with your interview!
So quick disclaimer, I did receive an interview invite to UNM but eventually declined it because I got accepted to a different program (which did not use MMI, but I am still waiting to hear whether I got an interview at a school that does use MMI). The invite email I remember had two videos about the MMI format; did you watch those? They’re a good starting point but they’re more for information only (i.e. what is MMI, what is the purpose, etc.) and not really that good at helping you prepare. The thing that is most helpful is practicing using sample questions.
First, I found a playlist of sample MMI questions and answers: MMI Practice Scenarios - YouTube IMO the speaker talks/writes too slow so I watched these at 1.5x speed, but do what works best for you. Note that the questions he uses are from the University of British Columbia’s medical school, so they may not all apply to U.S. pharmacy schools. But the most important thing to take from the videos is how he works through the problems and possible solutions. In general, the format he follows is (1) state the problem in your own words; (2) collect additional information about the problem; (3) restate the problem again; (4) identify possible solutions, even if you know it’s the “wrong” solution; and (5) explain which solution(s) is best and why. The first video in the playlist, “The Gym,” does a really good job at illustrating all these steps, though personally, I think step 3 should be optional. The reason this is important is because you’ll have several minutes of talking time at any given station, and, counterintuitively, you don’t want to simply state your answer. Instead, you want to show how you arrived at your decision. It is a critical thinking exercise, after all.
Second, now that you know how to answer an MMI question, practice them yourself! You can easily find hundreds of sample MMI questions online, so pick a few and practice them like you were in a real interview (you can even pick questions from the above-mentioned playlist, pause to answer, and then see how they answered it). That means allowing yourself two minutes to read the question and prepare and then answering the question out loud. You can choose to have an audience or not, but it’s important that you’re answering out loud. It might feel a little silly to be interviewing yourself in the mirror or in front of your friends, but we’re all perfect interviewees when we only practice in our heads.
Speaking out loud will allow you to better identify your strengths and weaknesses. Oh! And I forgot, also time yourself while you’re speaking. You want to make sure to fit within about 6-8 minutes so that you’re concise enough to fit in all your thoughts, but also aren’t awkwardly sitting there with your interviewer when you’ve run out of things to say too early.Lastly, it is possible that a few stations will ask traditional interview questions, like why you want to be a pharmacist, so don’t neglect practicing those questions either.
I hope this gives you a good starting point, and good luck with your interview!
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My interview date before I cancelled it was this Friday, January 12.
When did you submit your application? I submitted mine 2-3 days before the deadline, so I was wondering whether I got one of the first interviews or interviews already started even before the deadline.
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I don’t remember when exactly I submitted it. I want to say it was a few days before or after Thanksgiving? I guess it’s possible this Friday is their first round of interviews (not counting ED applicants of course).
I submitted mine early November and interview January 26th
How did your interview go? How is the MMI?
It was alright. I did well on half and not my best on the other half. But hopefully I'll still get accepted.. Everyone was so nice though, from the other candidates to the staff and pharmacy students. It was a relaxed environment up until the actual MMI. It actually went by quicker than I expected. You don't have to use the whole 7 minutes for each station, the interviewers have follow up questions so just be prepared for those.
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What are your stats, if you don't mind me asking?
I’m sure you did great!
My pcat was in the 40s embarrassingly but I work with a few interns who got in the 30s so I’m not too worried about that.
GPA 3.4 and I’ve been working in a pharmacy for a little over a year. I don’t have any volunteer experience unfortunately.
I wouldn't worry too much! Your GPA should compensate for your PCAT score, and your pharmacy experience can compensate for not having volunteer experience. I didn't have any volunteer hours either, but I put a couple extracurricular activities because I heard they don't just look at grades. And if your personal statement and interview are good then you should be fine! One of the pharmacy students said that once you get an interview the chance for acceptance is really high
I’m mostly nervous because I don’t want to completely blank on my interview lol. Best of luck to you, keep me posted hopefully we will be class of 2022 together!!!I wouldn't worry too much! Your GPA should compensate for your PCAT score, and your pharmacy experience can compensate for not having volunteer experience. I didn't have any volunteer hours either, but I put a couple extracurricular activities because I heard they don't just look at grades. And if your personal statement and interview are good then you should be fine! One of the pharmacy students said that once you get an interview the chance for acceptance is really high
Thank you! Good luck on your interview as well! I hope so too, let me know how your interview goes
We were told they probably won't start sending acceptance letters until after the second interview in January just to be fair to everyone else, especially the ones with later interviews.Congratulations!!! I can imagine your relief and excitement!I just received an acceptance email today
Thank you!!
No more anxiously waiting for that email haha Good luck on your interview tomorrow!