UVA Interview Tips

[Yogurt the Kid]

Hey Folks,

I hope everyone is doing well. I am interviewing at UVA soon and wanted to ask those who have interviewed at the school or know a little something about it if they could provide some tips or feedback about specific questions and miscell./general advice.

Thanks a lot,

Raj

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[secretstang19]

Thought I'd bump this thread back up...

I too am interviewing at U.Va. soon and would greatly appreciate any advice. Anyone have any useful tidbits?

 

[Blitzkrieg]

how long after u submitted did it take for the interview to come?

your stats?

instate/outta statte?


remember why you love UVA..the essay in their secondary..know it. That's #1 far and beyond all else.

 

[secretstang19]

It's probably not overly helpful, but here's a link to the only U.Va. listing on the Interview Feedback section...

http://www.studentdoctor.net/interview/show_entry.asp?ID=55

As for me, the letter notifying me about the interview is dated August 21, and I got the e-mail saying my application was complete on August 15. I'm a Virginia resident, and I've gone to college in Virginia, too (my school's pre-med advisor insists that this helps, also). I'll give you my stats if you PM me.

 

[indigoblue22]

These tips mostly apply to interviews in general, but I hope this helps you out!

*Know your AMCAS application (especially essays) well and review your UVA secondary before your interview (especially the "why UVA?" question)

*Check out the med school's website - get details on curriculum, rotations, etc. Figure out what you're really interested in at the school.

*Ask questions during the tour (you'll get a tour before your interviews) so that you'll learn more about the school and have more to discuss with your interviewers.

*Show your enthusiasm! Be genuine, of course, but make sure to communicate your interest.

*I don't remember many current events or ethics questions, but it's good to do a little reading on each - most questions were just to see my opinions, no right or wrong answer.

*Relax - the interviews tend to be pretty laid-back and fun.

Sorry if these were all givens, but I hope this helps. Congrats on your interview and enjoy your interview day! If you have more questions I can try to help...

 

[clittle1981]

Originally posted by indigoblue22
These tips mostly apply to interviews in general, but I hope this helps you out!

*Know your AMCAS application (especially essays) well and review your UVA secondary before your interview (especially the "why UVA?" question)

*Check out the med school's website - get details on curriculum, rotations, etc. Figure out what you're really interested in at the school.

*Ask questions during the tour (you'll get a tour before your interviews) so that you'll learn more about the school and have more to discuss with your interviewers.

*Show your enthusiasm! Be genuine, of course, but make sure to communicate your interest.

*I don't remember many current events or ethics questions, but it's good to do a little reading on each - most questions were just to see my opinions, no right or wrong answer.

*Relax - the interviews tend to be pretty laid-back and fun.

Sorry if these were all givens, but I hope this helps. Congrats on your interview and enjoy your interview day! If you have more questions I can try to help...

good tips, thanks! I will use them for my MCV and EVMS interviews this week! Unfortunately my application has been complete at UVA for a month now and I have not heard a thing. Well, considering that I didn't go to school in VA (thanks secretstang, I wish someone had told me about that when I chose to venture up to Bethlehem, PA for undergrad) and that my GPA and MCAT are below their averages, I'm not surprised. I am a VA resident for those wondering.. oh well, I guess if UVA hasn't rejected me by December I will send them my Fall grades and a letter of interest since it is my #1 choice. hey I can always hope for a miracle.. good luck to you all.

 

[Weeble]

hey all,

when i interviewed there I had a couple of HMO type questions, a lot of questions about myself (again, know yer amcas) and also an interviewer had me read a short paragraph on a medical student's reaction to an ethical-type situation in the ER and asked what my own response would be. For this last one (and for any ethical type question) it's always good to try and elucidate both sides of a potential argument to show that you are able to reason and see both sides, and then you might go on to say something like "but my own instinct would be...." if you feel comfortable doing that. If the issue is highly controversial ie. abortion, physician-assisted suicide you might not want to, otherwise it's probably fine.

On the whole, my interviewers were extremely nice and seemed genuinely interested in getting to know more about me, so just try and relax. You may surprise yourself with some pretty articulate answers!

 

[indigoblue22]

for anyone who hasn't heard yet,
I just wanted to post and say not to worry about not having heard from UVA yet - it's so early in the interview season!

clittle1981,
congrats on your EVMS and MCV interivews - both are great schools and pretty laid-back interviews - getting interview invites in September is definitely a good sign.

Good luck everyone

 

[hokiedoc]

Hi Clittle1981,
Good luck on your MCV and EVMS interviews. I interviewed at one of these schools last week and one the week before. I am in a similar situation to you though. I had my appliaction complete for UVA over a month ago and no word. I am a VA resident and also attend school here. Good luck and maybe we will hear from UVA soon!

P.S. I absolutely loved MCV and EVMS so have fun!!!!

 

[secretstang19]

Just wanted to clarify something I mentioned in a previous post since a couple of you have asked me about it...

I mentioned that my pre-med advisor swears that going to college in Virginia is a significant advantage when applying to U.Va. I think that this mainly applies to out-of-state applicants. U.Va. takes more out-of-staters than almost any other state supported medical school (~30% if I'm not mistaken), and for this group, it can help a lot if you went to college in Virginia. For Virginia residents who attended college out of Virginia, it's my impression that this isn't a significant problem - I don't think you'll be kept out just because you didn't go to college in Virginia!

 

[Random Access]

Originally posted by secretstang19
Just wanted to clarify something I mentioned in a previous post since a couple of you have asked me about it...

I mentioned that my pre-med advisor swears that going to college in Virginia is a significant advantage when applying to U.Va. I think that this mainly applies to out-of-state applicants. U.Va. takes more out-of-staters than almost any other state supported medical school (~30% if I'm not mistaken), and for this group, it can help a lot if you went to college in Virginia. For Virginia residents who attended college out of Virginia, it's my impression that this isn't a significant problem - I don't think you'll be kept out just because you didn't go to college in Virginia!

Michigan takes much more from out of state actually. According to USNews, Michigan had 88 out of 170 out of state. UVa had 57 out of 139.

-RA