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Anyone get an interview invite? I did! Let me know
Western University of the Health Sciences
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Thank you! I sent my app on August 2nd.
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I also received my interview invitation last Friday and I chose to have my interview on 16th December...
Does anyone have any information about interview questions ???
Ohhhh and I already had my interview at Loma Linda University
Does anyone have any information about interview questions ???
Ohhhh and I already had my interview at Loma Linda University
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I have my interview on the 16th as well! It sounds like the interview is going to be pretty short so I'm guessing we're going to need very concise answers. I think they ask unique questions too, going to do some research in the forums. Did you hear back from Loma Linda?
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See you there!
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I will be interviewing January 13th as well!See you there!
Not yet, they told me that they will let us know around Christmas.,,Did you also have an interview at Loma Linda ??
I didn't apply to Loma Linda. Looks like you'll be hearing back from Western and Loma Linda within the next couple weeks though! Good luck today
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Not yet :/
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just got an interview invitation from western! however i'm on the east coast and flying out west isn't a possibililty right now does anyone know if they do skype interviews?
does anyone know if they do skype interviews?- Joined
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Western's interview is in the form of multiple mini interviews, a writing sample, and a group activity. I am not sure how they would accommodate for a skype interview. :/ However, it never hurts to try and ask.just got an interview invitation from western! however i'm on the east coast and flying out west isn't a possibililty right now
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Anyone here still waiting on if they get an interview or not?
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I just recieved an Interview invite for the 17th or the 18th of february!!!! Does anyone think they could let me interview the week before that though they didnt disignate those dates?
For everyone waiting to interview/hear back, I heard that Western accepts very few applicants in the beginning, then after all the interview dates they go back and look at those on the wait-list. So if you're wait-listed or haven't interviewed yet I wouldn't worry!
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Hi everyone! Just some info I found out the Sheridan inn fairfax, pomona has a free shuttle to and from the airport. The hotel also has a FREE shuttle drop off/pick up to Western University! They also have a discount with the school you just have to mention the name
Hey everyone,
I had my interview on Tuesday and I received an email telling me I was accepted to Western today! I'm not sure I will be accepting it though becausee I've got some other options as well and still waiting to hear back from my top choice.
I had my interview on Tuesday and I received an email telling me I was accepted to Western today! I'm not sure I will be accepting it though becausee I've got some other options as well and still waiting to hear back from my top choice.
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What did you think about their program and faculty?
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From what I saw at the interview it seemed like a good program. It was hard to get to know the faculty for they were all conducting interviews. The interviews were only 6 minutes each. With that being said, I didn't get to go on the department tour due to a time constraint.
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Anyone out there still waiting for a response?
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I am! I keep checking my emails like a crazy person and checking in here to see if any of you have heard anything. I interviewed last Thursday. I was not going to get anxious just yet until I read above that someone interviewed last Tuesday and found out within 3 days they were accepted which is really quick.
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Still waiting. Interviewed Wednesday. I don't even know how I feel anymore
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I sent this to someone else who asked in a PM:
I liked the program and the facility is nice although the area it is in, Pomona, is very run down and has gang violence occasionally. The student housing looked really nice though, but it was very expensive. I think the students said something like $1200-$1500 per month. If you live there, I would recommend trying to find a room in a house maybe in Chino Hills or Phillips Ranch area. It's a short commute to school and you could save about $500 per month. You will need your own car if you live in SoCal.
The faculty seemed really nice and approachable and some of them seemed really fun. We only got to meet two actual students of the program but they were both very nice and answered any questions we had candidly. It's definitely a much more diverse campus than the ones I've been to so far. They seem very hands on too so they apply what they learn there. I liked that about it.They have a very large cadaver lab and they don't share cadavers with other departments which is awesome. You get 1 cadaver per 4 students. They even hire "actors" like.. actual actors and actresses to come in and act as if they are patients so you can practice doing intakes and evals on them. I asked what type of manual techniques they teach (as in, do they use one particular school of thought or teach a broad spectrum) and they said they teach an eclectic mix of approaches, which I really appreciate. Some of the programs are too fixated on one school of thought and that's unfortunate. I really enjoyed the tour, faculty and facility and the program sounds really solid. They choose your clinical affiliations using a computerized system. It's almost like a personality test. You answer a bunch of questions and then the computer matches you up with the best fit from their list to keep it fair and not play favorites.
For me the drawback is the cost of living and tuition. It's pretty high although I suppose it's comparable to some other west coast schools like Pacific University for example. Western was near the bottom of my choices (I applied to 9 schools) but after visiting the campus it really moved up high on the list. And you can't beat the California weather if you're into sunshine 365 days of the year.
Good luck to everyone interviewing and waiting to hear back! I will more than likely decline so that should open up a spot for someone on the waitlist.
I'm making my final decision on Monday.Anyone interviewing on the 11th (next Wednesday)? It says I have to be there at 7:30 am. Did anyone have their interviews that early? I just wanted to make sure because in the email it says the campus tour doesn't start until noon.
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Before I switched my day,my interview was at 730. So yes I believe that is correct. Its supposed to be a very long day
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The day will go till noon guaranteed. Check in is at 7:30 am. They present a power point on Western U until 9 am. At 9 am they conduct interviews until 12 pm. Once everyone is done, they do a group activity! If you want, you can participate in a campus tour after everything is completed!
I sent this to someone else who asked in a PM:
I liked the program and the facility is nice although the area it is in, Pomona, is very run down and has gang violence occasionally. The student housing looked really nice though, but it was very expensive. I think the students said something like $1200-$1500 per month. If you live there, I would recommend trying to find a room in a house maybe in Chino Hills or Phillips Ranch area. It's a short commute to school and you could save about $500 per month. You will need your own car if you live in SoCal.
The faculty seemed really nice and approachable and some of them seemed really fun. We only got to meet two actual students of the program but they were both very nice and answered any questions we had candidly. It's definitely a much more diverse campus than the ones I've been to so far. They seem very hands on too so they apply what they learn there. I liked that about it.They have a very large cadaver lab and they don't share cadavers with other departments which is awesome. You get 1 cadaver per 4 students. They even hire "actors" like.. actual actors and actresses to come in and act as if they are patients so you can practice doing intakes and evals on them. I asked what type of manual techniques they teach (as in, do they use one particular school of thought or teach a broad spectrum) and they said they teach an eclectic mix of approaches, which I really appreciate. Some of the programs are too fixated on one school of thought and that's unfortunate. I really enjoyed the tour, faculty and facility and the program sounds really solid. They choose your clinical affiliations using a computerized system. It's almost like a personality test. You answer a bunch of questions and then the computer matches you up with the best fit from their list to keep it fair and not play favorites.
For me the drawback is the cost of living and tuition. It's pretty high although I suppose it's comparable to some other west coast schools like Pacific University for example. Western was near the bottom of my choices (I applied to 9 schools) but after visiting the campus it really moved up high on the list. And you can't beat the California weather if you're into sunshine 365 days of the year.
Good luck to everyone interviewing and waiting to hear back! I will more than likely decline so that should open up a spot for someone on the waitlist.
Thanks DDJ this has been very helpful and informtive. Would you or anyone else mind sharing what types of questions they asked you and how the essay portion was for you?
Here is what I can tell you about the interview:
The interview experience is kind of intense. They don't really feed you (apart from water and some power bars) so plan to eat a big breakfast because you'll probably be there for about 6 hours and maybe even bring something to eat with you. We are supposed to arrive at 7:30am (most were there earlier than that) and I didn't leave until 1:30pm. The tour is optional so you could be done before that, but I recommend the tour.
They started out around 8am with presenting us information about the program, classes, approach, how the day will go etc. Then they had someone come in and talk to us about financial aid and loans. After that was the essay. We wrote a very brief, half page essay on a very easy topic. Bring a pencil with a good eraser if you don't want to use theirs. I'm sure you'll get a different topic than what I got, but it isn't hard. They just want to see that you can articulate yourself on paper well.
After that we are put in a classroom they call "The Holding Cell" where we wait around for our interviews. There are several different groups of interviewees and you will be given a color when you check in. The color tells you what time you interview. Some students who had to wait until the last interview slot got to sit in on a class being held. That was pretty cool. The rest of us had to wait and wait and wait. We got to know each other well. Ha. They sent a couple students in to talk to us about the program and answer questions too during that time. So when they call your name you will go into one of four rooms. Each of the 4 rooms has a theme where they ask you a set of questions based on the themes and you only have 6 minutes per room. There are two faculty in each room taking turns asking the questions. The room themes (I think) were: Ethics, Personality (stuff like, what personality types don't you get along with, example of a time you used good listening skills etc.), Healthcare (you will need to know some healthcare stuff, APTA, issues affecting PTs etc.), and Critical Thinking (the hardest room). So you go into one of the rooms, answer questions, then you are shuffled into the next room, same thing until you are done. I can't tell you what the exact questions were, but you can focus your preparation around the room themes I mentioned. I would have some examples ready of times when you turned negative experiences into positive ones: communication, errors in judgement things like that. It's hard to come up with specific examples so having some at the ready is helpful.
Let me say this: Don't freak out if you can't answer a question. I really think they just want to see how you respond under pressure. If you can't answer a question, just ask if they can come back to that one. No big deal. I had to do that a couple times and I flubbed at least a couple questions and I feel like I sounded like a babbling idiot and I still got accepted. So don't worry, relax, and just do your best. Everyone else is in the same boat and nobody is going to be perfect in that situation. The interviewers want to see if you can make a meaningful connection with them in the 6 minutes. So be yourself, be friendly and try not to stress out.
Hope that helps and good luck to everyone. I am declining my spot at WesternU so that should open up a spot for someone else.
The interview experience is kind of intense. They don't really feed you (apart from water and some power bars) so plan to eat a big breakfast because you'll probably be there for about 6 hours and maybe even bring something to eat with you. We are supposed to arrive at 7:30am (most were there earlier than that) and I didn't leave until 1:30pm. The tour is optional so you could be done before that, but I recommend the tour.
They started out around 8am with presenting us information about the program, classes, approach, how the day will go etc. Then they had someone come in and talk to us about financial aid and loans. After that was the essay. We wrote a very brief, half page essay on a very easy topic. Bring a pencil with a good eraser if you don't want to use theirs. I'm sure you'll get a different topic than what I got, but it isn't hard. They just want to see that you can articulate yourself on paper well.
After that we are put in a classroom they call "The Holding Cell" where we wait around for our interviews. There are several different groups of interviewees and you will be given a color when you check in. The color tells you what time you interview. Some students who had to wait until the last interview slot got to sit in on a class being held. That was pretty cool. The rest of us had to wait and wait and wait. We got to know each other well. Ha. They sent a couple students in to talk to us about the program and answer questions too during that time. So when they call your name you will go into one of four rooms. Each of the 4 rooms has a theme where they ask you a set of questions based on the themes and you only have 6 minutes per room. There are two faculty in each room taking turns asking the questions. The room themes (I think) were: Ethics, Personality (stuff like, what personality types don't you get along with, example of a time you used good listening skills etc.), Healthcare (you will need to know some healthcare stuff, APTA, issues affecting PTs etc.), and Critical Thinking (the hardest room). So you go into one of the rooms, answer questions, then you are shuffled into the next room, same thing until you are done. I can't tell you what the exact questions were, but you can focus your preparation around the room themes I mentioned. I would have some examples ready of times when you turned negative experiences into positive ones: communication, errors in judgement things like that. It's hard to come up with specific examples so having some at the ready is helpful.
Let me say this: Don't freak out if you can't answer a question. I really think they just want to see how you respond under pressure. If you can't answer a question, just ask if they can come back to that one. No big deal. I had to do that a couple times and I flubbed at least a couple questions and I feel like I sounded like a babbling idiot and I still got accepted. So don't worry, relax, and just do your best. Everyone else is in the same boat and nobody is going to be perfect in that situation. The interviewers want to see if you can make a meaningful connection with them in the 6 minutes. So be yourself, be friendly and try not to stress out.
Hope that helps and good luck to everyone. I am declining my spot at WesternU so that should open up a spot for someone else.
Here is what I can tell you about the interview:
The interview experience is kind of intense. They don't really feed you (apart from water and some power bars) so plan to eat a big breakfast because you'll probably be there for about 6 hours and maybe even bring something to eat with you. We are supposed to arrive at 7:30am (most were there earlier than that) and I didn't leave until 1:30pm. The tour is optional so you could be done before that, but I recommend the tour.
They started out around 8am with presenting us information about the program, classes, approach, how the day will go etc. Then they had someone come in and talk to us about financial aid and loans. After that was the essay. We wrote a very brief, half page essay on a very easy topic. Bring a pencil with a good eraser if you don't want to use theirs. I'm sure you'll get a different topic than what I got, but it isn't hard. They just want to see that you can articulate yourself on paper well.
After that we are put in a classroom they call "The Holding Cell" where we wait around for our interviews. There are several different groups of interviewees and you will be given a color when you check in. The color tells you what time you interview. Some students who had to wait until the last interview slot got to sit in on a class being held. That was pretty cool. The rest of us had to wait and wait and wait. We got to know each other well. Ha. They sent a couple students in to talk to us about the program and answer questions too during that time. So when they call your name you will go into one of four rooms. Each of the 4 rooms has a theme where they ask you a set of questions based on the themes and you only have 6 minutes per room. There are two faculty in each room taking turns asking the questions. The room themes (I think) were: Ethics, Personality (stuff like, what personality types don't you get along with, example of a time you used good listening skills etc.), Healthcare (you will need to know some healthcare stuff, APTA, issues affecting PTs etc.), and Critical Thinking (the hardest room). So you go into one of the rooms, answer questions, then you are shuffled into the next room, same thing until you are done. I can't tell you what the exact questions were, but you can focus your preparation around the room themes I mentioned. I would have some examples ready of times when you turned negative experiences into positive ones: communication, errors in judgement things like that. It's hard to come up with specific examples so having some at the ready is helpful.
Let me say this: Don't freak out if you can't answer a question. I really think they just want to see how you respond under pressure. If you can't answer a question, just ask if they can come back to that one. No big deal. I had to do that a couple times and I flubbed at least a couple questions and I feel like I sounded like a babbling idiot and I still got accepted. So don't worry, relax, and just do your best. Everyone else is in the same boat and nobody is going to be perfect in that situation. The interviewers want to see if you can make a meaningful connection with them in the 6 minutes. So be yourself, be friendly and try not to stress out.
Hope that helps and good luck to everyone. I am declining my spot at WesternU so that should open up a spot for someone else.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate you taking the time to type out everything that happened during the day of the interview. It puts my mind at ease knowing what to expect. What school did you decide on accepting if you don't mind me asking?
I can't decide! It's between Columbia and Eastern Washington University. While I really love the Columbia program, structure, faculty and students, I just don't know if I can justify the expenses both tuition and cost of living. Eastern Washington would be half the cost of Columbia or less and I'm sure it's a fine program. I just wish I knew more about it first. I'm being forced to decide on Columbia yes or no within the next couple of days.
Anyway, that's a discussion for another thread.
