Jump to content
Premed 101 Forums

UWO Interview Prep


Recommended Posts

Ok folks. U of T interview down - now UWO in our sights. This is do or die for me this year - got an interview last year but didn't make it in -sooooo..... putting my all into making sure I blow this out of the water (I hope I'm not jinxing this before invites go out but I'm pretty confident in my stats this time round).  Any insights, suggestions, links, very welcome.

Good luck y'all! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Western is not MMI - it is primarily CDA although they say that it has been modified a bit from the traditional old CDA they used to use. From threads over the last two years the consensus appears to be that if you want to prepare - prepping traditional (why western, why dentistry, etc, etc) , behavioural (tell me about a time when you....), and situational (hypothetical situations to which you develop your hypothetical reaction) questions is the best route to go. That's why I'm going full blast on all the material I can get my hands on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/20/2019 at 12:40 PM, Zaandrei. said:

I'll hopefully be sitting on the other side of the table from you guys ^.^ This should be exciting!

Be kind!!:rolleyes:  I agree with stressed1948 - while Western was very conversational last year, I did feel that using the structure of prep packages to go through my lifetime of experiences to have them ready for the behavioural type questions was really helpful. I used borrowed notes of old Elite seminars, the Astroff book, and the Dental Interview Plus package. I went in feeling confident (now hoping that I've boosted my weak gpa enough to let me in this time!!!)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On February 13, 2019 at 2:20 PM, stressed1948 said:

Ok folks. U of T interview down - now UWO in our sights. This is do or die for me this year - got an interview last year but didn't make it in -sooooo..... putting my all into making sure I blow this out of the water (I hope I'm not jinxing this before invites go out but I'm pretty confident in my stats this time round).  Any insights, suggestions, links, very welcome. In the meantime I'll get the ball rolling here in terms of resources I've begged, borrowed, or bought for my arsenal of practice:

CDA Crush (notes of someone's prep)

Astroff book

Topstar package

Dental Interview Plus package

Good luck y'all! 

What resources do you think it's the most useful and it's like a must?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/13/2019 at 4:20 PM, stressed1948 said:

Ok folks. U of T interview down - now UWO in our sights. This is do or die for me this year - got an interview last year but didn't make it in -sooooo..... putting my all into making sure I blow this out of the water (I hope I'm not jinxing this before invites go out but I'm pretty confident in my stats this time round).  Any insights, suggestions, links, very welcome. 

Good luck y'all! 

did u get in to uoft?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The best way to prep for the UWO interview is to know your ABS inside and out and to be able to readily draw on your experiences for personal/situational questions. Most interview companies teach you some kind of formula for answering questions, and if you answer every question like this (particularly in a traditional-style interview where there is more back and forth interaction) you will seem very robotic.

I think interview prep courses may be beneficial for MMI where your answers need to be more structured, but may be a waste of time/money for a traditional panel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/8/2019 at 3:19 PM, BROSCIENTIST said:

The best way to prep for the UWO interview is to know your ABS inside and out and to be able to readily draw on your experiences for personal/situational questions. Most interview companies teach you some kind of formula for answering questions, and if you answer every question like this (particularly in a traditional-style interview where there is more back and forth interaction) you will seem very robotic.

I think interview prep courses may be beneficial for MMI where your answers need to be more structured, but may be a waste of time/money for a traditional panel.

I disagree - the interview prep that's out there for CDA is a great way to practice digging into all your available background, in terms of showcasing competencies, and if we practice enough, rather than being rote, it's practice to think well on our feet for the "back and forth". Additionally  - you can never practice enough different situational type questions - the more you do, the better you are at it. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/22/2019 at 12:47 PM, crackingup said:

Be kind!!:rolleyes:  I agree with stressed1948 - while Western was very conversational last year, I did feel that using the structure of prep packages to go through my lifetime of experiences to have them ready for the behavioural type questions was really helpful. I used borrowed notes of old Elite seminars, the Astroff book, and the Dental Interview Plus package. I went in feeling confident (now hoping that I've boosted my weak gpa enough to let me in this time!!!)

I also used prep packages for last year's Western interview and am doing the same going into this year's interview prep (my interview went fine I think but GPA likely my downfall in terms of not getting accepted). I found that they did a good job of helping prepare the star method, how to probe my own experiences to dig for material so that it was top of mind during the interview, how to practice answer structure to deliver as much content in as coherent a way as possible, and most importantly, a huge variety of questions from which I did mock interviews with friends always rotating through new situational and behavioural questions to be as well-practiced as possible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/25/2019 at 5:21 AM, yampotato said:

What resources do you think it's the most useful and it's like a must?

I am finding all the ones that have large databanks of questions - both traditional, situational, and behavioural allow me to get a good mix of mock interviews done. I'm also finding that doing my mocks with different people each time is helpful - different people have given me good varying perspectives on delivery and ideas from my past that I hadn't thought of before to apply to competencies. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/22/2019 at 12:47 PM, crackingup said:

Be kind!!:rolleyes:  I agree with stressed1948 - while Western was very conversational last year, I did feel that using the structure of prep packages to go through my lifetime of experiences to have them ready for the behavioural type questions was really helpful. I used borrowed notes of old Elite seminars, the Astroff book, and the Dental Interview Plus package. I went in feeling confident (now hoping that I've boosted my weak gpa enough to let me in this time!!!)

Which packages did you find most helpful?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/25/2019 at 5:21 AM, yampotato said:

What resources do you think it's the most useful and it's like a must?

I've been using the packages you can purchase online like Dental Interview Plus, my friend's old copy of Topstar, and I booked some interview coaching as well. I figure I can't be too careful and prepared, this is my last year of trying - then I give up and move on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...