uOttawa Interview 2018 Discussion

[Morinphen]

18 hours ago, Eudaimonia said:

Corrected you?! Did their questions have "correct" answers?

hey so what I meant was I had a question prepared about Ottawa/Ottawa's medical program that I thought was quite good, one of the panelists twisted my question in a way that made me seem like I hadn't done my proper research into the city/school; sorry for being vague. Not a huge deal but definitely not the best impression I wanted to leave and I tried to save it afterwards as best I could

[Eudaimonia]

4 minutes ago, Morinphen said:

hey so what I meant was I had a question prepared about Ottawa/Ottawa's medical program that I thought was quite good, one of the panelists twisted my question in a way that made me seem like I hadn't done my proper research into the city/school; sorry for being vague. Not a huge deal but definitely not the best impression I wanted to leave and I tried to save it afterwards as best I could

Wow pretty unforgiving. Many schools take these interviews as opportunities for both the candidate and school to get to know each other and welcome questions. You wouldn't be asking a question if you already knew all the information about the school. 

[rmorelan]

8 minutes ago, Eudaimonia said:

Wow pretty unforgiving. Many schools take these interviews as opportunities for both the candidate and school to get to know each other and welcome questions. You wouldn't be asking a question if you already knew all the information about the school. 

Some examiners, regardless of whether it makes sense, just want at some point to stress out the applicant. They want to see how you handle that - they believe it is important to be able to manage it basically, and that a completely friendly interview is just not appropriate as you lose out on that knowledge. 

The key to this is to understand why they are doing it - once you have understanding they lose a lot of power, You know it is not personal, and they do it to everyone. It allows you push back a bit in the right way, and not become stressed. I have been in similar situations and i have even called them out a bit - "I wouldn't want to give you the impression I didn't complete detailed research on your school - I in fact spent a couple days learning everything I could. Still I thought this area was still a bit unclear to me, maybe because I overlooked something, and I was hoping for the thoughts of people going through the program....."

Firm but polite. It isn't personal. You are going to leave the room and ruminate for 3-4 months. They have another candidate in 5 mins. You will remember the interview for a long time. They probably won't think about you ever again. 

[Eudaimonia]

3 minutes ago, rmorelan said:

Some examiners, regardless of whether it makes sense, just want at some point to stress out the applicant. They want to see how you handle that - they believe it is important to be able to manage it basically, and that a completely friendly interview is just not appropriate as you lose out on that knowledge. 

The key to this is to understand why they are doing it - once you have understanding they lose a lot of power, You know it is not personal, and they do it to everyone. It allows you push back a bit in the right way, and not become stressed. I have been in similar situations and i have even called them out a bit - "I wouldn't want to give you the impression I didn't complete detailed research on your school - I in fact spent a couple days learning everything I could. Still I thought this area was still a bit unclear to me, maybe because I overlooked something, and I was hoping for the thoughts of people going through the program....."

Firm but polite. It isn't personal. You are going to leave the room and ruminate for 3-4 months. They have another candidate in 5 mins. You will remember the interview for a long time. They probably won't think about you ever again. 

Super, thanks for your reassurance. It's just frustrating that not all examiners do this and that it's not standardized like an MMI. Can't help but feel it's a little unfair but that's what it is!

[rmorelan]

18 minutes ago, Eudaimonia said:

Super, thanks for your reassurance. It's just frustrating that not all examiners do this and that it's not standardized like an MMI. Can't help but feel it's a little unfair but that's what it is!

well it is standardized though at most schools in a sense - schools track everything. If one group is just getting slammed for some reason they take notice and tell with the scores. Plus it doesn't mean that just because you were put through the ringer as it were that they didn't give you a high score. 

In other words just because they are nice to you doesn't mean they are scoring your higher. You are acting in an interview, they are acting in the interview.  

[brady23]

Yup, unfortunately the interview process will never be perfect.

Consider that there's probably probably around 100 interviewers, there definitely is some variability 

[Eudaimonia]

I'm wondering in terms of the structure for panel interviews, how much is the applicant in control of the time? Should we spend longer talking about a question we have lots to say on, will we get interrupted, or should we keep answers to each question reasonable so that we can cover the rest of their questions?

Conversely, for a question we're having difficulty answering, should we try to wrap it up quickly and move on or take extra time answering it even if it's not a strong answer?

Sorry if this is vague; I do know that generally you should take as much time as needed to answer things to the best of your ability but I'm asking about these more extreme situations

[dankmeme]

19 hours ago, Eudaimonia said:

I'm wondering in terms of the structure for panel interviews, how much is the applicant in control of the time? Should we spend longer talking about a question we have lots to say on, will we get interrupted, or should we keep answers to each question reasonable so that we can cover the rest of their questions?

Conversely, for a question we're having difficulty answering, should we try to wrap it up quickly and move on or take extra time answering it even if it's not a strong answer?

Sorry if this is vague; I do know that generally you should take as much time as needed to answer things to the best of your ability but I'm asking about these more extreme situations

I don't know - it's tough because I found that I noticed their body language as an indicator of when they wanted me to stop talking...for one of my questions, I had a very well prepared answer, but I felt like perhaps they wanted me to wrap it up prematurely, which kinda cut me short in terms of what I wanted to say. 

This is perhaps one of the main reasons why I prefer MMIs to the trad format. In MMIs, you know you have 5-7ish minutes to talk about your answer, if it's well thought-out and covers multiple points. And if your answer isn't a long one, you get very fair probing questions. Whereas in the trad format, like I said, the interviewer's body language may suggest to stop talking, which makes your answer, in some cases, worse than it could be. 

I would say just try and cover all your main points in a concise way without dragging on too long. With only 40 minutes or so in the interview, that amounts to a very small number of questions (maybe like 6 or so questions in total?). So, use your time wisely and be aware of the feeling in the room.

[Eudaimonia]

16 minutes ago, dankmeme said:

I don't know - it's tough because I found that I noticed their body language as an indicator of when they wanted me to stop talking...for one of my questions, I had a very well prepared answer, but I felt like perhaps they wanted me to wrap it up prematurely, which kinda cut me short in terms of what I wanted to say. 

This is perhaps one of the main reasons why I prefer MMIs to the trad format. In MMIs, you know you have 5-7ish minutes to talk about your answer, if it's well thought-out and covers multiple points. And if your answer isn't a long one, you get very fair probing questions. Whereas in the trad format, like I said, the interviewer's body language may suggest to stop talking, which makes your answer, in some cases, worse than it could be. 

I would say just try and cover all your main points in a concise way without dragging on too long. With only 40 minutes or so in the interview, that amounts to a very small number of questions (maybe like 6 or so questions in total?). So, use your time wisely and be aware of the feeling in the room.

Yes I know exactly what you're talking about! Thanks for your thoughts. In a sense I like the flexibility a panel allows vs MMI but there's a lot of uncertainty how to use it wisely.

If you gave a very short answer, did you find they had probing questions to help you keep going? Or simply moved on to the next topic? 

I'm shocked you say 6 questions! That's about how many I get through in a 20 min panel. 

[medbruh]

1 minute ago, Eudaimonia said:

Yes I know exactly what you're talking about! Thanks for your thoughts. In a sense I like the flexibility a panel allows vs MMI but there's a lot of uncertainty how to use it wisely.

If you gave a very short answer, did you find they had probing questions to help you keep going? Or simply moved on to the next topic? 

I'm shocked you say 6 questions! That's about how many I get through in a 20 min panel. 

I had some probing but what caught me off guard more was how much they pushed me and challenged my choices. Like straight up asking me if I want to change my mind 

[PD23]

5 hours ago, dankmeme said:

I don't know - it's tough because I found that I noticed their body language as an indicator of when they wanted me to stop talking...for one of my questions, I had a very well prepared answer, but I felt like perhaps they wanted me to wrap it up prematurely, which kinda cut me short in terms of what I wanted to say. 

This is perhaps one of the main reasons why I prefer MMIs to the trad format. In MMIs, you know you have 5-7ish minutes to talk about your answer, if it's well thought-out and covers multiple points. And if your answer isn't a long one, you get very fair probing questions. Whereas in the trad format, like I said, the interviewer's body language may suggest to stop talking, which makes your answer, in some cases, worse than it could be. 

I would say just try and cover all your main points in a concise way without dragging on too long. With only 40 minutes or so in the interview, that amounts to a very small number of questions (maybe like 6 or so questions in total?). So, use your time wisely and be aware of the feeling in the room.

Definitely resonate w/ this. In some way, all prep goes out the window when they interrupt you mid-sentence like that to challenge your idea (even if you had a very well-prepared answer). Just be prepared to react quickly even if you don't get to say all that you wanted. 

[Eudaimonia]

1 hour ago, PD23 said:

Definitely resonate w/ this. In some way, all prep goes out the window when they interrupt you mid-sentence like that to challenge your idea (even if you had a very well-prepared answer). Just be prepared to react quickly even if you don't get to say all that you wanted. 

Oh yeah forgot about the interruptions. I keep thinking I'll be monologuing for a few minutes like the MMI before it becomes interactive

[buttercream]

10 hours ago, dankmeme said:

I don't know - it's tough because I found that I noticed their body language as an indicator of when they wanted me to stop talking...for one of my questions, I had a very well prepared answer, but I felt like perhaps they wanted me to wrap it up prematurely, which kinda cut me short in terms of what I wanted to say. 

This is perhaps one of the main reasons why I prefer MMIs to the trad format. In MMIs, you know you have 5-7ish minutes to talk about your answer, if it's well thought-out and covers multiple points. And if your answer isn't a long one, you get very fair probing questions. Whereas in the trad format, like I said, the interviewer's body language may suggest to stop talking, which makes your answer, in some cases, worse than it could be. 

I would say just try and cover all your main points in a concise way without dragging on too long. With only 40 minutes or so in the interview, that amounts to a very small number of questions (maybe like 6 or so questions in total?). So, use your time wisely and be aware of the feeling in the room.

Totally agree with this. It seemed at the end that they rushed me through most questions and cut me off after what felt like roughly 2 mins of answering. They might have let me talk too long or kept up some of the questions for too long when challenging me earlier on in the interview and then realized we were cutting it short on time.

However, I was asked around 10 questions + follow up questions. 

[Dr_dreaming]

Definitely agree - it was very conversational, but at times I found the interruptions distracted me from what I wanted to say. However, not a bad experience! Felt fortunate to have a friendly panel and was very low stress the entire time. I suppose I had about 10 questions as well. I felt that a few times they changed topics before I was ready to move on, but I tried to be adaptable and go with the flow

On an unrelated note - does anyone know if verifiers are contacted before or after interviews? Just curious. Thanks! 

[Bluecolorisnice]

When we have acceptances. Will we get am email or will something show up on OMSAS.

[Eudaimonia]

3 hours ago, friedchickendude said:

When we have acceptances. Will we get am email or will something show up on OMSAS.

Both acceptances and waitlists are emailed. I think May 8 is the date!

[bruh]

1 hour ago, Eudaimonia said:

Both acceptances and waitlists are emailed. I think May 8 is the date!

Yes May 8th in the morning (confirmed by Chantal) likely 7-8am.

116 acceptances sent to Anglophone applicants 

48 To francophone 

all others will be waitlisted,

no rejections. 

 

FF

[Eudaimonia]

4 minutes ago, FatherFranklin said:

Yes May 8th in the morning (confirmed by Chantal) likely 7-8am.

116 acceptances sent to Anglophone applicants 

58 To francophone 

all others will be waitlisted,

no rejections. 

 

FF

Ah lovely early morning. I didn't go to the info session but do you recall any other important info if you went?

[Bluecolorisnice]

4 minutes ago, Eudaimonia said:

Ah lovely early morning. I didn't go to the info session but do you recall any other important info if you went?

Will they email basically? thanks!

[Deathnote]

13 hours ago, FatherFranklin said:

.

[bruh]

33 minutes ago, Deathnote said:

I thought it was 48 spots for francophone?

Yes, 48! My bad. Made the edit.

FF

[bruh]

1 hour ago, Eudaimonia said:

Ah lovely early morning. I didn't go to the info session but do you recall any other important info if you went?

Not much. They said they would call waitlisters if they are next on the list. If you don’t pick up, Chantal will email you to call her back as soon as you can. 575 is the total interviewed, 475 English, 100 French. The rest was about class schedules, tuition and orientation.

FF

[Eudaimonia]

1 minute ago, FatherFranklin said:

Not much. They said they would call waitlisters if they are next on the list. If you don’t pick up, Chantal will email you to call her back as soon as you can. 575 is the total interviewees, 475 English, 100 French. 

The post-interview chances for the French stream though! 

That's nice to notify your time may be coming but an email would suffice lol 

[bruh]

Just now, Eudaimonia said:

The post-interview chances for the French stream though! 

That's nice to notify your time may be coming but an email would suffice lol 

Yea I talked to Diane as well and she said chances are pretty good for the French stream. Nearly half get accepted right off the bat, and there is still a waitlist after that.

English seems to have more waitlist movement however!

FF

[obiwankenobi]

Does anybody know the post-interview formula this year?