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kekemapa04

WSU CVM c/o 2012
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I figured I would start a thread for WSU! Any advice from people that have already interviewed or people attending WSU would be greatly appreciated for us nervous interviewees!!!

I think I am most nervous for the essay part...only 15 minutes to write it?!?!? That is hardly enough time to get all my thoughts gathered under such stressful conditions! What kinds of this should I be going over for it??

Here is the link for mock interview questions from the WSU website for all who want it!

http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/prospectiveStudents/MockInterview.aspx

Good luck everyone!
 
Yay! Thanks for starting the thread!

How are you guys getting to WSU to interview?

I live in the Western part of WA, it's a good 6 hr drive over.

Since the passes seem to be open/closed, I think I might fly.... Last thing I want is to miss the interview just because the passes were closed, or I got stuck.

Not sure which airport to fly into.....

Any advice? Thanks! 🙂
 
you're right, the essay was the most anxiety filled part. if that isn't enough you have to do it in a room with lots of people talking, handwritten, while timing yourself. I had my mom make up a few 'mock essays' for me which I gave myself 15 minutes to write in the week before my interview. it sounds dorky (and surely is!) but it really helped me figure out how much I could write and gave a good idea of how to structure an essay in 15 minutes.

the idaho interview has a member of the idaho state board as an interviewer and he clearly was the 'hard nose' of the group- the one there to make you sweat for sure! there will probably be one of those in your group, just make sure you realize they act tough on everyone and don't let it fluster you. also don't be afraid to laugh a little, I think it broke the ice nicely in my interview.

the mock interview questions were very helpful, I think they asked a lot from that list. also have examples of how you work in a team and what your leadership style is like. and they will (of course) ask you why you want to be a vet and what you feel the most rewarding part of practicing vet med would be. also what challenges face the vet med profession- when they ask this make sure you have an example of what you think can be done to mitigate the challenge. it also won't hurt if you want to practice rural medicine, as a bunch of us accepted have that interest and they seem to be focused on accepting a class that has that interest in mind (not a hard and fast rule mind you)...

jeez, that's a lot, if you have more questions PM me- I'll do what I can to help. 🙂
 
Thanks for the info, tealamutt. Was the writing prompt similar to the sample interview questions, or something totally different? I like your practice idea but I'm not sure what kind of questions would be the most useful for practice.

I'm also trying to figure out which airport to use. I'll probably fly to Seattle a few days before the interview and visit my parents, but then I don't want to drive all the way from western WA. Flying into Spokane is way cheaper than flying to Pullman and I've heard that planes flying into Pullman get diverted often if the weather is poor...but flying to Spokane means lots more overall travel time...

I am really excited for my interview but it's kind of a pain that it's on Tuesday as I'll have to miss almost a week of work. Oh well, it's the price I pay for living across the country from my state of residence!
 
I just got my travel plans done today.

We're flying into Spokane on Monday (right after I take my biochem test...bleech) then driving down to Pullman that afternoon so I'm all ready to go for my interview Tuesday (2/26).

I wouldn't mind flying directly to Pullman, but they only have those dinky planes that hold like 30 people, and the person I'm traveling with isn't too fond of those.

I'll be staying at the Hawthorne (scratch that: la Quinta) , anyone else?

And I'm planning on being at the Pizza Mixer Tuesday evening. Maybe I should make a shirt with a big picture of my avatar on it : ) or just yell "SDN! Hey SDN people!!"

--- Hey Tealamutt, how many people interview you? Are you sitting at a round table, or is it like you sit in a chair and they're on the other side of the table?
 
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And I'm planning on being at the Pizza Mixer Tuesday evening. Maybe I should make a shirt with a big picture of my avatar on it : ) or just yell "SDN! Hey SDN people!!"

I really wanted to go to the pizza mixer, but unfortunately with an interview Wednesday night at 8m, there is really no point in going over the day before just for that. I would have to miss my med micro lab too, which I have already missed twice due to interviews. You will have to let me know how it goes!!!!!!!!!
 
Bummer! I was looking foward to meeting you! Don't worry, I'll fill you in.

I understand though -- I'm also missing a lab.....sigh.... Dang labs.

Anyone else going to the pizza mixer?

:luck:And good luck to the OOS people having their interviews this week!!:luck:
 
For those of you flying into Spokane, keep an eye on the weather/travel reports. A lot of the roads south of Spokane (including the highway down to Pullman) have been closed this week due to blowing snow and high drifts. Things are okay today, and it's supposed to be warm enough all week that I think things should be all right for the near future. Drive carefully!

Good luck to everyone interviewing!
 
I'll be going to the pizza mixer on the 12th. See you there! (I'm coming from California, so you can probably pick me out because I'll be a frozen icicle. I think I've been in snow three times my entire life.) Brrr...:scared:
 
lailanni, the interview was 4 people, they sit at a long table and you sit on the other side. they had name tags sitting in front which was really helpful,and water and kleenex available for interviewees (I cracked some joke about them making us cry, which they thought was more funny than it was). I think IS interviews are a bit different (longer) and the essay topics are probably not the same, but both of our choices for topics involved a current vet med related issue and asked for your opinion of it (ie. a piece of legislation and whether we think it's effective or not).
 
So I may end up being at the pizza mixer on the 26th.... it all depends on if my friend can get someone to work for her because we are going over together. I will keep you posted though lailanni!

I have already started having dreams of my horrible WSU interview (like forgetting to wear my suit and showing up in jeans and a t-shirt!)....only 2 more weeks!
 
So far I'm feeling pretty good, no scary dreams.

But during intro bio, I did have some nightmares which I vividly recall screaming "Nooooo! Not my enzymes!! "

You should never have to dream about the safety of your enzymes!
 
I just booked our hotel in Pullman! My friend and I will be staying at the Hawthorn Inn. We won't be getting in until around 10pm on the 26th though, but maybe we will see some of you at breakfast on the 27th!

We are planning on going to sit in on the class Wednesday morning as well! WSU here we come!!!!!!😀😀😀
 
I just had my OOS interview yesterday. Everyone in Pullman was super nice -- my dad got us stuck in some snow in a ******ed fashion, lol, but literally about 20 people stopped on a deserted country road to make sure we were okay. By the time the tow truck arrived we were having to beat them off with a stick! The students were all very nice when they saw us waiting for our interviews and wished us good luck, and there was a border collie/Aussie pup in the waiting room with us. 🙂 My interviewers (2 of them) were extremely nice and funny, and it was the most comfortable interview I've had, having also interviewed at Western and Oregon. The essay question was perfect for me -- I've already written on the small animal topic several times in my own personal blog, so it was super easy!

All in all it was a great experience! If Western doesn't take me I will be happy to go there 🙂

Oh, and Quality Inn Paradise Creek is awesome! Free breakfast with waffles, biscuits and gravy, oatmeal/cereal/loads of other stuff until 10 AM, plus milk and fresh-baked cookies from 8:30 to 9:30 PM, and they were very nice 🙂
 
The pizza mixer was really crowded. It was hard to tell the students from the applicants and even harder to get any questions in with all the conversation going on. Everyone was really friendly though.

The OOS candidates were interviewed by two people. The questions were mostly just getting to know you types. There were also a couple ethical questions. From talking to other applicants, we definitely did not all get the same questions, but almost all of them appear on the practice sheet on the WSU website. The interviewers were friendly and relaxed. There was water on the table for us to drink during the interview but I didn't touch it because I was so busy answering questions and didn't have a comfortable pause to pour myself some.

The essay was easy. You get to pick one of to questions to write about for 15 min. You time yourself so try not to look at the clock obsessively and just focus on what you want to say. You only get about half a page to write in and almost no one filled that space. The students told us that the essay barely mattered anyway to the ad coms.

The classes I sat in on helped me see what it is like being a first year there. The times that I got in email were all wrong though, so email the person who sent the email just before you come so you know when the classes you get to sit in on will really be held. She will probably tell you what subjects they are too if you ask. Sit in on pathology if you get a chance.

The tour was nice. Try to go with a smaller group if possible. You don't have to go at one of the prearranged times. Just ask one of the students that are hanging around the dean's office and they will take you.

I stayed at the Quality Inn while there and found it satisfactory.

Ask me if you have any other questions.
 
You two should fill out interview feedback!
 
just an FYI for those of us who are obsessive (nooo!) I know last year they gave a lot of phone calls for acceptances after interviews but adcoms told us this year that everything would be done via snail mail due to some very unhappy folks- I guess one roommate would get a phone call and the other would have to wait and it turned ugly... but who knows, they may call for the next round. It's clear nothing is cut and dry with this process
 
just an FYI for those of us who are obsessive (nooo!) I know last year they gave a lot of phone calls for acceptances after interviews but adcoms told us this year that everything would be done via snail mail due to some very unhappy folks- I guess one roommate would get a phone call and the other would have to wait and it turned ugly... but who knows, they may call for the next round. It's clear nothing is cut and dry with this process

Agh! Blast!! And I thought my days of mail box stalking were done : (

Maybe I'll tell them I don't believe in mail any more due to religious reasons, and will only be accepting phone calls. Phone calls are so much faster. Sigh.

Thanks for letting us know!!
 
Had my interview today and it went pretty smoothly! The drive from Spokane to Pullman is BOOORRRIINNNG if you are driving by yourself and didn't bring good music to listen to! Everyone was really nice and the campus was beautiful!
 
How are the in-state interviews going? Good luck!! :luck:
 
They dont start till next week i believe...I am getting nervous though!
 
Yep, I don't think there are any in-state interviews until next week.

Any in-state people for the pizza mixer at all? Am I going to be the lone SDN rep?
 
I'm planning on being there, lailanni. I'm a pretty low-profile SDNer but I read (almost) everything.
 
I'm planning on being there, lailanni. I'm a pretty low-profile SDNer but I read (almost) everything.

Neato! Well, I look like this

It's not a great picture, but I don't know anyone who looks great when they're gardening.

I'm pretty friendly, so if you spot me don't hesitate to say hi!
 
its a great pic lailanni!! hmm picking up some tasty treats for your bunny friends??
 
its a great pic lailanni!! hmm picking up some tasty treats for your bunny friends??

Thanks 🙂 hehehe, those actually were for my rabbit! He loves the tops, and only rarely eats the real carrot part. Weirdo!

I'm getting real excited about next week. I have a Monday morning biochem test to keep me distracted from getting nervous though.

For people who have already interviewed...

Were there any questions that caught you off guard? Hard questions?
Did you get any behavioral style questions?
How long did your interview last?
Where's a good place to eat in Pullman?
 
For people who have already interviewed...

Were there any questions that caught you off guard? Hard questions?
Did you get any behavioral style questions?
How long did your interview last?
Where's a good place to eat in Pullman?

1. Nope! I looked through all the ones on the website and prepared answers to just about all of them, and while they didn't ask me any that were exactly the same as the ones on the site, I could use the answers I had already prepared for them very easily. Although they did surprise me because they knew that I had studied cockroaches and did firespinning, and I had thought the interview was going to be entirely close file. I wonder if maybe they go through beforehand and pick out one or two things they want you to clarify about in the interview?

2. I think they were all behavioral... they were all pretty easy for me to answer.

3. Half an hour exactly, I think.

4. Er... didn't see one, haha. My family and I went to Moscow's Applebee's. Pullman is freaking TINY and Moscow's not much better!
 
Lailanni....in response to where to eat....I really loved Wingers! It is also a favorite for people that go to the school. It is kind of like a Red Robin and if I am remembering correctly it is on the way to Moscow but only a few miles from the school. I don't know of any gourmet places to eat though if that was what you were looking for. Good luck studying for biochem...I will be studying for med micro this weekend!
 
Sella's is in Pullman and you'll probably drive by it on the way to your interview. They have great Italian food and are especially known for their calzones! If you like Mexican food, Rancho Viejo is great and it's also in Pullman.
Good luck at your interview! All the interviewers are very nice and really want to get to know you.
 
I ate at Sella's when I went for my interview. They make pretty good and unique calzones. Pullman is very small and there really were not very many options, but Sella's was the place that all the people I talked to said to visit.
 
Just a word to the wise.... If your interview is scheduled for a funny time, like 8PM, you may want to call Barbara and double-check that. Mine was scheduled for 8pm and I called today to double-check....and sure enough it was a typo on my invite and it is actually at 8AM😱😱! I would have shown up at 8pm!!! That would have been horrible! I am so glad I called today!
 
ok in-staters, how has it been going? I'm excited to hear how people think it went!!
 
Out of staters: am I going crazy? When I had my interview on 2/11 they told me they'd be sending decisions out by "next Friday," which I took to mean 2/22... and no letter yet. I'm only in Portland, OR, for Chrissakes! It shouldn't take 4 days to get here! Did I mishear or something, are they not sending out decisions for out-of-staters until later?

/end angst
 
Yeah they said that they would meet after the last day of interview -the 15th- and would be sending out letters shortly thereafter. I don't know what is taking them so long though.They did seem kinda disorganized when I was there so maybe they are just behind schedule. I will be declining regardless of what they decide though.
 
Hey FractiousCat, congrats on your acceptances! Going to CSU?

Also, I'm glad I'm not crazy, haha.
 
yep yep, i'm pretty sure they told me they would have the decisions for OOSers sent out by last week. i've been going crazy checking the mail.
 
Places to eat?

I always liked the fish and chips at Rico's in downtown Pullman. Is the place where the grad and prof students hang out. Or did, anyways.

The Mexican place downtown as well is fair; the sopapillas aren't authentic sopapillas, though

Swilly's is so-so; never was impressed with them.

Sella's is a joke; I weep at the fact the Rathskellar closed down my freshman year - THOSE were calazones.

There's a Korean-ish place at the end of town past the IGA grocery store (as if you were heading out of town to Albion) on the left that use to have decent Katsu.

The red door in Moscow is good but a bit pricey.

The burger joint cat-corner-ish from the UI campus in Moscow was one of my favorites. Can't remember the name any more; good burgers and a great dessert wine selection (owner is a wine snob and a great guy to chat with if you're a pseudo-snob, too)

There was a hippy place in downtown Moscow that had pretty darn good gyros. It was near the Hallmark store.

There's others; I just haven't thought about it for so long my brain is cramping...
 
ok in-staters, how has it been going? I'm excited to hear how people think it went!!

Phew. Just got back! Our flight back to Seattle was delayed 3 hours because the plane had a mechanical problem. Wheeee. But a 3 hour wait is better than being dead. They were outside taking pictures of the wing and everything. A little creepy.

Anyhoo, I think the interview went well? They didn't seem to be bored or angry with me, and they smiled a lot so I think that's a good sign....? We talked a little about vet med, what my interests are, the biggest future challenges, etc.. Then they asked some questions from my application and we talked about my hobbies and some fun stuff. The "worst" question was what's in the DHLPP vaccine, but I knew that.

The pizza mixer was crowded!! It was more like in a hallway than in an actual room, and wow it was packed! I ran into a few people I knew and that was kind of nice. But not a good pizza to people ratio.

I didn't do a school tour since I had already been on one, and used the extra time to brush up on my interview questions.

We ended up eating at: Tucci's in Moscow, the food Co-Op in Moscow, Subway, and Denny's. I thought Tucci's was nice, good pasta type stuff.

So IS people should hear around March 13 or something. Agh. Everything is snail mail, and all the envelopes are going to be the same size.

The only hitch is that I need a B in biochem if I'm accepted. 🙁 Stress!! Dang biochem.

Odd question-- Anyone else think the water in Pullman is weird? It's way, way too soft compared to what I'm used to. It felt like soap never came off. It was kind of gross. Anyone else notice that?
 
Good luck Lailanni. It sounds like your interview went well.

Athenaparthenos - Thanks. I don't know whether I am going to pick CSU, Missouri or Wisconsin yet. CSU does have the IS tuition advantage though.

All I do know is that WA is not the right place for me. I thought that they had great facilities and the classes I attended were good, but Pullman is not great. They also waited until after my interview had already happened to check through my prereqs. Barb looked them over with me sitting there and then told me that my Genetics might not count because it is lower division.😡 It doesn't say anywhere on their website that the class had to be upper division. I just looked at their website again to make sure. My course description matches up well with what they have on the site too. It is going to be reviewed by the college but it just made me mad that they waited until I had flown all the way up there, spent all that money, and done an interview to tell me that I might not be eligible. 😡
Oh well, they weren't in my top choices anyway.
 
Good luck Lailanni. It sounds like your interview went well.

Athenaparthenos - Thanks. I don't know whether I am going to pick CSU, Missouri or Wisconsin yet. CSU does have the IS tuition advantage though.

All I do know is that WA is not the right place for me. I thought that they had great facilities and the classes I attended were good, but Pullman is not great. They also waited until after my interview had already happened to check through my prereqs. Barb looked them over with me sitting there and then told me that my Genetics might not count because it is lower division.😡 It doesn't say anywhere on their website that the class had to be upper division. I just looked at their website again to make sure. My course description matches up well with what they have on the site too. It is going to be reviewed by the college but it just made me mad that they waited until I had flown all the way up there, spent all that money, and done an interview to tell me that I might not be eligible. 😡
Oh well, they weren't in my top choices anyway.

Ugh, I know what you mean about the last minute pre-req critique. That was not done very well. Applicants should know asap if they need a change in pre-reqs. Preferably before they even submit an app!

And with 3 weeks left in my quater, they tell me I need a B (not a B-) in my last pre-req biochem to not revoke my potential admissons offer. Regardless of my good (way, way above 3.0) GPA. Just B- this one class and no vet school for you.

What's really ironic is that if I'd taken this all last year, they wouldn't care if this one particular class is +/- 3.0, as long as my overall GPA is good.

Really not happy about this. Especially since my biochem class is ~600 people, average is 2.8, and the pre-meds would probably gouge eachother's eyes out for a bonus point.

And for some reason, this one particular class can decide my vet admissions fate? Even if they like my grades, app, interview, and offer admission? Not cool WSU, not cool at all. No soup for you!! Mega frowny face.
 
All I do know is that WA is not the right place for me. I thought that they had great facilities and the classes I attended were good, but Pullman is not great. They also waited until after my interview had already happened to check through my prereqs. Barb looked them over with me sitting there and then told me that my Genetics might not count because it is lower division.😡 It doesn't say anywhere on their website that the class had to be upper division. I just looked at their website again to make sure. My course description matches up well with what they have on the site too. It is going to be reviewed by the college but it just made me mad that they waited until I had flown all the way up there, spent all that money, and done an interview to tell me that I might not be eligible. 😡
Oh well, they weren't in my top choices anyway.

Yeah, I'm not impressed with Pullman at all, haha. But of the 3 schools I interviewed at, Western was most awesome, but I feel I performed better at Washington and they were very nice... plus, they didn't do anything like that about my prereqs. Oregon did however. They were like, "HMMMM only one term of biochem we usually want you to do a whole series blahblahblah" and I'm like "Screw you guys, that class was hard and evil and I'm pretty darned sure I learned whatever it is you wanted me to learn there and if you don't like it, tough cookies." 😛 ...as you can see I didn't have the best impression of Oregon. There was nothing for interviewees to do except a tour (which I missed, getting lost on the campus -- no vet school right on the main road like in Pullman, no, it's way the crap out of the way) and supposedly chat with some students, but the area for that was in a common area where it looked like people were sitting just having their normal lunch and I had no idea which were the students who'd signed up to talk to people and which were just people having lunch. So, yeah, that was a bust. And Corvallis is nothing to write home about either.
 
I didn't have to meet with Barb after my interview but my friend did and I am guessing that since I don't have any pre-reqs left is why I didn't, but it would have been nice to just hear "yes, you have everything" since everyone else met with her.

I am kind of hoping that I don't hear until around the 13th since I don't want to hear next week right before finals....and my finals are done on the 13th, so that day would be fine. I doubt they will take that long though. Did someone ask if they are only sending out snail mail this year? I actually sent Barb an email last night about it so I will let you know....cause I thought it was weird for her to ask for our phone numbers when we went in.

Personally, I didn't like my interviewers....it was almost an exact repeat of my Ohio interview. Many of the same questions....except I made them laugh pretty hard this time! I really don't know what to think and I do not want to get my hopes up this time since all my other interviews have returned bad news for me. Good luck to everyone though!
 
I'm right with FractiousCat and athenaparthenos, I wasn't excited about the town at all! I also had a strange encounter with a kid on a bicycle in Spokane when I was filling up my rental car on the way to the airport at 3:30 am. Totally creeped me out 😱... I don't mind small towns at all, but I definitely did not feel "at home". On a lighter note, good luck to IS interviewees this week!! :luck:
 
for all you OOS waiting on reply's- Barb said we'd hear within a week (ID students) of the interview but then she went on vacation and we didn't hear for 2 weeks- agonizing! So don't sweat it too much if you haven't heard yet!

lailani- it sounds like it went well! congrats on everyone's interviews and good luck with those acceptances!

also lailani, if disaster strikes and you don't get the B in biochem (you will of course!) you can take a WSU course online over the summer for biochem- I never took it in undergrad so that is my plan this summer...
 
Yeah, I'm not impressed with Pullman at all, haha. But of the 3 schools I interviewed at, Western was most awesome, but I feel I performed better at Washington and they were very nice... plus, they didn't do anything like that about my prereqs. Oregon did however. They were like, "HMMMM only one term of biochem we usually want you to do a whole series blahblahblah" and I'm like "Screw you guys, that class was hard and evil and I'm pretty darned sure I learned whatever it is you wanted me to learn there and if you don't like it, tough cookies."

Haha, I agree on the Oregon pre-req stuff. I have 10 credits of Physics, they require 12. So they want me to take a whole 5 credit class at school to 'finish the series'. How in heck is calculating magnetic fields and doing stuff with circuits even remotely going to make a difference in the kind of vet I'm going to be?

I wish schools had a more standardized pre-reqs. It'd make life easier in some ways.

Tealamutt - thanks for the info on their online course! I'm going to try to get that B, but it's nice to know there's a backup plan.

Kekemapa - according to Abbie, one of the people in the admissions office, they're all snail mail this year. And she said everything would be in the same sized envelopes. So based on the envelope, you can't tell if it's sad or happy news. Ugh. And Barb said that around the 13 would be when we'd hear back.

MBV- do you think we ran into eachother at some point?
 
I am surprised that WSU made it seem like the OOS people would have heard by now...On Tuesday, Abby said that the only final decisions that the school has made are the WICHE & contract spots...Now they will evaluate all WA residents and admit "all qualified applicants" (whatever that means). There is not a set number of WA residents that will be admitted. Then the rest of the class will be filled with OOS applicants. The target class size is 95 people and the absolute cap is 103. They interviewed 88 WA residents this year, and last year they admitted 55 WA residents, so I'm guessing that they will admit a similar number this year. Barbara told me that we (in-staters) should hear within 2 weeks via snail mail and that all decisions will be mailed on the same day (accept, reject, waitlist)!

I was impressed with the teaching hospital and I was really glad that I got to sit in on a class (parasitology). My interview felt SO short and I didn't get to discuss/highlight all of the pieces of my application that I wanted to.

I am not a Pullman fan, but I will definitely suck it up for 4 years! And now that I'm back in Boston, I'm extra motivated to take advantage of city life while I still can!

lailanni - My interview was on Tuesday morning and I was soo exhausted by the pizza party! I went for about 10 minutes and then didn't feel well so I left, but I think that I may have seen you...Sorry I didn't get a chance to say hi! Maybe our rabbits can have a playdate sometime if we're in school together 😉
 
Oh, and about the pre-reqs...They made me go into the office and point out on my transcripts my genetics and biochem classes...Even thought they were right there, listed as "Biochemistry and Cellular Metabolism" and "General Genetics". It was weird and made me feel like they had barely read my transcripts!!!
 
From everything I've been told, us in-state people should know by two weeks from today!

So here's to the 2 week countdown!! :luck::luck::luck:

:banana: And congrats to the OOS people, I saw that you guys are starting to get your letters!! :hardy:
 
Got my rejection from WSU today via snail mail...
 
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