UTK Class of 2021

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has anyone received a response to the email they sent to confirm their interview? I did not have a conflict for the date I was assigned, but I just want to make sure they know that I am definitely coming lol

I received a response as well thanking me for confirming.

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Received my interview invitation this afternoon - will be interviewing on Jan 7th!
 
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My inbox is still empty. Has anyone received a rejection?
 
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Haven't gotten anything.
 
Does anyone know if there any activities (dinners, student panels, tours) associated with the interview? I'm driving up for it and don't want to miss anything!
 
Does anyone know if there any activities (dinners, student panels, tours) associated with the interview? I'm driving up for it and don't want to miss anything!

I know the morning of your interview there are a couple different times that you can choose from to get an overview of the interview process and a tour of the facilities. It should've come in your invitation email!
 
Does anyone know if there any activities (dinners, student panels, tours) associated with the interview? I'm driving up for it and don't want to miss anything!

The email I received mentioned that there are available tours at several times throughout the day, but didn't mention any student panels or anything.
 
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Good luck to everyone who's interviewing! It really is a chill interview process, and if I end up being one of the 4th-year interviewers I promise I'll be nice (for the most part...).
 
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C/O 2020 here as well! For anyone who's curious (like I was when I was applying) - I was a first time applicant, 3.5 GPA, with maybe 300 hours experience, with an intent to specialize (pathology). Having finished this first semester, it wasn't nearly as bad as people made it seem like it would be. I also was lucky to end up with a wonderful group of friends, and we played almost as hard as we worked .
Like WildZoo, I'm here to answer any questions y'all might have!


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C/O 2020 here as well! For anyone who's curious (like I was when I was applying) - I was a first time applicant, 3.5 GPA, with maybe 300 hours experience, with an intent to specialize (pathology). Having finished this first semester, it wasn't nearly as bad as people made it seem like it would be. I also was lucky to end up with a wonderful group of friends, and we played almost as hard as we worked .
Like WildZoo, I'm here to answer any questions y'all might have!


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Glad to hear that!

Could you tell us a bit more about what to expect from the interview? Like what kind of questions did they ask you (about your experiences, ethical questions, more behavioral questions such as 'Tell me a time when...')?
 
Glad to hear that!

Could you tell us a bit more about what to expect from the interview? Like what kind of questions did they ask you (about your experiences, ethical questions, more behavioral questions such as 'Tell me a time when...')?
If you go here https://schools.studentdoctor.net/s...-agriculture-college-of-veterinary-medicine/0 there are some examples of questions that were asked in past interviews (click on the "Questions" button under the graphs). I was asked about the human-animal bond, my experiences, my hobbies, how I would handle working with large animals in school since I came in with 0 LA experience, and what unique attributes/qualities I thought I had to offer to the class.
 
If you go here https://schools.studentdoctor.net/s...-agriculture-college-of-veterinary-medicine/0 there are some examples of questions that were asked in past interviews (click on the "Questions" button under the graphs). I was asked about the human-animal bond, my experiences, my hobbies, how I would handle working with large animals in school since I came in with 0 LA experience, and what unique attributes/qualities I thought I had to offer to the class.

Thank you for the reply and for that link - I didn't realize that part of this site existed!
 
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Glad to hear that!

Could you tell us a bit more about what to expect from the interview? Like what kind of questions did they ask you (about your experiences, ethical questions, more behavioral questions such as 'Tell me a time when...')?

Hey!
So, I liked my interviewers (one of them was also a first year professor!). They asked me ethical situations like, "what would you do if your employee did this." They actually didn't ask me about my experiences, that I can remember. They asked what the most historically significant site in Murfreesboro TN is (since that's where I'm from). They also asked what my plan would be if I wasn't accepted, and I was honest and told them I would pursue a masters and PhD. They didn't ask any questions that put me in panic mode! I was really nervous going in, and it would have served me better to be more relaxed. Just try to be conversational and genuine!

Edit: Also! They asked me what I would do if my aspirations to specialize fell through. The only thing I could honestly say was small animal GP, since it was the only thing I had experience in, and they liked that! (even though I'll go insane if that actually happens...)
 
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I also have not heard anything from UTK. Not a rejection or an invite.
 
Got my rejection this morning, and it stated that gpa was an important factor, but not the only thing they considered. Just thought it was odd that they mentioned this when I have a diverse amount of experience and a lot of hours which makes up for my lower gpa... but oh well. Good luck to everyone that has an interview!! :)
 
Got my rejection this morning, and it stated that gpa was an important factor, but not the only thing they considered. Just thought it was odd that they mentioned this when I have a diverse amount of experience and a lot of hours which makes up for my lower gpa... but oh well. Good luck to everyone that has an interview!! :)
How much experience "makes up for" low GPA really depends on the school, how much they weight gpa, and the applicant pool. Your academic profile evaluation (phase 1) is worth 127 points, while the holistic packet review (phase 2) is 100. So phase 1 is weighted just slightly more than phase 2. The applicant pool is really the biggest factor here though - the threshold of points that you need to interview is going to change based on that.
 
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I don't know specifically for UTK, but I've seen it mentioned on several school threads that they had record numbers of applicants this year. This may be true for UTK as well, and I wouldn't be surprised since it's taking them a bit longer to get through all the applications. So if you didn't get an interview invite, just remember that competition is very fierce this year in particular!
 
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How much experience "makes up for" low GPA really depends on the school, how much they weight gpa, and the applicant pool. Your academic profile evaluation (phase 1) is worth 127 points, while the holistic packet review (phase 2) is 100. So phase 1 is weighted just slightly more than phase 2. The applicant pool is really the biggest factor here though - the threshold of points that you need to interview is going to change based on that.

Good to know! If I don't get into my other schools this cycle I will definitely try to boost my points up for the next cycle.
 
Still havent heard anything :(

hang in there! no news is still good news :)

and when I called to confirm my interview (because I never received a response to my confirmation email) she said she was very behind!!
 
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Got my rejection this morning, and it stated that gpa was an important factor, but not the only thing they considered. Just thought it was odd that they mentioned this when I have a diverse amount of experience and a lot of hours which makes up for my lower gpa... but oh well. Good luck to everyone that has an interview!! :)


That was my exact thought too! Hahah I'm thinking we made it through phase 1 and those emails are sent to people who didn't make it past phase 2. Good luck to you and everyone!
 
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Here's some unsolicited advice for those of you who have interviews: don't spend much time, or perhaps any time at all, studying old interview question lists. It's very unlikely you'll get asked any specific question that you've seen before and prepared for, and if you do I don't think the interview team is going to be impressed if you obviously have a canned answer that you've practiced. Just go in with the expectation that every question will be new, that way when you get a curveball question (which does happen periodically), you won't be thrown off your game completely. The best way to prepare for your interview is practicing being confident and being yourself.
 
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To second Timo, I did prepare questions and even when I was asked those questions I totally blanked at didn't give the answer I had talked through in my head. be confident and conversational and you'll all be fine.

And, I'll speak just for myself, but going through interviews was 100% more stressful for me than our actual first semester. Im rooting for you guys - I'm so thankful to not be going through the application whirlwind again.


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Got my rejection sometime last week. Not sure when cuz I've been in Germany. I was really hoping for an interview at least but I'm just happy they let me know and didn't leave me hanging on to false hope (unlike some schools)


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Is anyone else that is interviewing next weekend concerned about the possibility of snow...? I'm driving up from FL, so I've never driven through snow before.
 
Is anyone else that is interviewing next weekend concerned about the possibility of snow...? I'm driving up from FL, so I've never driven through snow before.

Last year the weather got really bad, and they had to reschedule interviews (which of course delayed acceptance emails!). If it's something you're really concerned about, I would wait until a little closer to the date and send Ms. Shepherd an email.


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Is anyone else that is interviewing next weekend concerned about the possibility of snow...? I'm driving up from FL, so I've never driven through snow before.

I live here in Knoxville, the weather has been pretty decent lately, mostly just well needed rain. There has been some talk of snow on thursday, but even if it does it never lasts very long here. Good luck!!!!
 
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Interview 1/14/17!!! Good luck to everyone else during their interviews!
 
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To follow Doktor Timo with additional unsolicited advice - this school uses the interview to see what YOU are like. If you practice canned answers, they'll know. They want to meet YOU, learn something more about YOU, and see how YOU feel and think about certain things. It's a conversation. Questions are only meant to start the conversation and to continue the conversation. You know yourself best - I said this to a lot of people last year when they were sitting outside their interviews, just take a breath - it's a conversation where you get to talk about yourself and really be honest about who you are and what you want. Try to relax. It's completely ok to be silent for a moment in order to answer something they've asked! I'll likely be buzzing around studying and what not on the 14th and 21st - so some of you are likely to bump into me telling you to breathe and you'll be fine ;)

(I'm a 2nd year, DVM/PhD student, non-trad.)
 
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I'm also another 1st year to bounce questions off of and you'll likely see me around during the interviews. The others have given great advice and I second what they've said. Relax and just be yourself. Enjoy it. Ask questions and see if this is the best fit for you.

Weather report shows chance of snow Friday and Saturday, but it'll be a few flakes here and there, not a white-out blizzard.

Any questions though feel free to PM or post on here. SDN was great when I was going through this process so I'm here to help pay it forward.
 
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I had my interview this morning--and I just have to say WOW. I am overwhelmed by the friendliness of the people here and everything the school has to offer. I also saw snow fall for the first time and that was magical! Haha.
 
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To follow Doktor Timo with additional unsolicited advice - this school uses the interview to see what YOU are like. If you practice canned answers, they'll know. They want to meet YOU, learn something more about YOU, and see how YOU feel and think about certain things. It's a conversation. Questions are only meant to start the conversation and to continue the conversation. You know yourself best - I said this to a lot of people last year when they were sitting outside their interviews, just take a breath - it's a conversation where you get to talk about yourself and really be honest about who you are and what you want. Try to relax. It's completely ok to be silent for a moment in order to answer something they've asked! I'll likely be buzzing around studying and what not on the 14th and 21st - so some of you are likely to bump into me telling you to breathe and you'll be fine ;)

(I'm a 2nd year, DVM/PhD student, non-trad.)
Could you tell me more about the PhD program? I'm interested in a PhD from the Center for Wildlife Health. I talked to Dr. Kirk today a bit about it, but she told me to find a student and I was going on the tour when she was able to talk. :(
 
Could you tell me more about the PhD program? I'm interested in a PhD from the Center for Wildlife Health. I talked to Dr. Kirk today a bit about it, but she told me to find a student and I was going on the tour when she was able to talk. :(

If you want to send me your email address I can put you in touch with Riley, the student Dr. Kirk was telling you about.
 
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Can anyone help me with interviewers' names? I was in Group 6 and I wrote down their last names, but unfortunately a lot of people have the same last name, so the directory on the website isn't much help. I should have picked up one of the papers with their names on it!!
 
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Can anyone help me with interviewers' names? I was in Group 6 and I wrote down their last names, but unfortunately a lot of people have the same last name, so the directory on the website isn't much help. I should have picked up one of the papers with their names on it!!
I got you! Dr. Amanda Dykstra, Dr. Robert Wang, Riley Thompson
 
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Could you tell me more about the PhD program? I'm interested in a PhD from the Center for Wildlife Health. I talked to Dr. Kirk today a bit about it, but she told me to find a student and I was going on the tour when she was able to talk. :(

If you want additional information or another perspective, let me know.
 
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I loved UTK!!! The students were so nice and I felt really comfortable. I especially loved how willing they were to help us out financially by talking about ways to get in-state tuition and scholarships during the info session. This was my third veterinary school interview and I was really impressed by the school and the community!
 
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Does anyone know when we'll be hearing back about if we got in or not?
 
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