Hopefulinva, how should I prepare for my upcoming interview?
Bring an umbrella, because if you're supposed to look nice in Blacksburg, it's going to rain. =)
But seriously - Dr. Pelzer will tell you once you're there, there are
no wrong answers to any of the scenarios you'll be given. Since you can't get them wrong, that means you can only get them right - so now it's time to stop worrying about prepping for the scenarios themselves, and focus on honing your regular interview skills.
😉
If you have a Career Center near you (community college, undergraduate institution, etc), I'd schedule a mock-interview with them. It won't be an MMI (even the Career Center associated with Virginia Tech doesn't have mock-MMI's established), but it doesn't matter, because they'll be able to point out unconscious habits you have and knock the "ums" out of your speech and whatnot.
If you don't have that, turn the webcam on on your computer and start talking to yourself. =) It almost doesn't matter what you say, so long as you're focusing on your tenor, not mumbling, not "umming," making eye contact - the basics.
Make sure you're comfortable the day of. Coming from a stress-induced insomniac - try to get a full 8 hours of sleep the night before, and definitely get some breakfast in the morning. One of our professors this past semester suggested washing your hair the morning before an exam, because it's impossible not to feel good with freshly cleaned hair; it may be that extra bit of oomph if you need it.
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Waiting for the interview is probably the most stressful part of the day, because you're going to be chatting with people who are going to seem more qualified for the class than you are, but you
have to remember that if VMR wasn't interested in you, they wouldn't have asked you to interview.
Don't doubt yourself. Or at the very least, don't let the interviewers know you're doubting yourself.
Be confident, be personable, and answer the questions honestly - even if you don't think it's what they want to hear (remember: there are no wrong answers).
If you get done with one scenario and you're convinced you bombed it, take a deep breath, put it behind you, and focus on the next one. That's one of the saving graces of the MMI; you have 8 (6? I can't remember) different instances to prove why you're a good choice for the class of 2017.
Hope that helps. =) Good luck!
Edit - If you're obsessive (as I was) and you're freaking out about preparing for individual scenarios - I'll tell you now, there's no way to do that. There just isn't. But, what you
can do, and something I found helpful for other interviews, is answer the following question as thoroughly and as completely as you can. Revisit it, hone it, tweak it - just know that you probably won't get a chance to use it in its entirety in any of your interviews. It will give you a good foundation for answering other questions, though!
Why do you want to be a vet?