U of A Interview Reactions

[coffeeandmed]

Just wanted to start a thread so we can debrief about the interview...

The video didn't work at any point on either end during my interview. Each party could see themselves but we couldn't see each other. 

I'm definitely panicking and not feeling great at this point about the whole thing. 

[acacna]

I am sorry to hear you experienced technical difficulties. I hope the school this takes into consideration when scoring people. In case of severe technical difficulties, I hope there is a chance to re-do the interview.

If you feel severe technical difficulties happened to you, I encourage you to email/call them ASAP. I do not know how they will respond at this time of crisis, but perhaps speaking to them might give you some closure. They could also make a note on your file.

Irregardless, you should be happy it is done. You've made it through the other side! Prepare for whatever else you have to do. 

I'm disappointed there is no free food to chow down. That always made me happy post-interview

[fymg1103yxy]

Just finished my as well! No technical difficulty, but I was a little cut off guard by the questions, hopefully, I did not just ramble and provide a bad answers. My is also 30 min only so I was a little worried about not provide long enough of an answers.

[Marf1225]

Nah, don't worry about it being 30 minutes. It's supposed to be that way, it's a hard cut-off apparently. I was cut-off at 25 minutes, as were a lot of other people (usually 25-30 minutes). As far as I can tell, that is by design. The other 15 minutes are probably for technical problems and/or deliberations between the interviewers.

[PlsLetMeIn02]

Just curious, did anyone else practice panel or did ya'll just wing it like me? 

[fymg1103yxy]

 

12 minutes ago, PlsLetMeIn02 said:

Just curious, did anyone else practice panel or did ya'll just wing it like me? 

I did very little panel practice and so I just went in hoping for the best lol. The question was not too hard, but I do feel my answer is a bit disorganized and only on hindsight it could be a lot better. 

[lonelytraveller101]

34 minutes ago, PlsLetMeIn02 said:

Just curious, did anyone else practice panel or did ya'll just wing it like me? 

Were the questions largely panel-style? Or did they try to incorporate questions (ethical etc.) that would have been on the MMI? Any clarification you are able to provide is appreciated!

[Marf1225]

43 minutes ago, lonelytraveller101 said:

Were the questions largely panel-style? Or did they try to incorporate questions (ethical etc.) that would have been on the MMI? Any clarification you are able to provide is appreciated!

Don't think we can say specifically tbh. There's still the confidentiality agreement that we signed, and it wouldn't be fair to applicants who have already completed their interviews. I can assure you though that the questions are really not that difficult, and you shouldn't have a problem coming up with some sort of answer to them!

[Ohvalleyofplenty]

I found that my answers were concise and that I didn't ramble too much, and that I was able to showcase some important values to me. That being said, I finished relatively early (~20-25min). Can this be taken against me? :/

[PlsLetMeIn02]

34 minutes ago, lonelytraveller101 said:

Were the questions largely panel-style? Or did they try to incorporate questions (ethical etc.) that would have been on the MMI? Any clarification you are able to provide is appreciated!

I think this thread is more so to support those who interviewed rather than release confidential interview info. Obviously that would give an unfair advantage to future interviewers.

Don't worry LonelyTraveller, I'm sure you'll do great! Trust yourself 

[Med2be]

No technical difficulties on my end other than some audio issues. Other than that, I really enjoyed the interview and felt really good about it! Prepped extensively for the last 2 months and felt extremely comfortable and was able to talk about good points. Hope everyone else’s went/ goes well! 

[bruh]

I’m very happy about how it went!

I made the interviewers laugh several times and had a really comfortable time. I went for the full 30 minutes and got to speak about everything I wanted to. I also had some questions that really hit my strengths. 
I have never felt this good after an interview (Ottawa and Calgary 2 years ago felt much worse). I think this online interview turned out a lot better than what the MMI would have been like. But who knows, our perception isn’t always accurate.

Now, I’m just hoping they still weigh the interview heavily!

 

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH US!

 

[ballsortahard]

3 minutes ago, RiderSx said:

I’m very happy about how it went!

I made the interviewers laugh several times and had a really comfortable time. I went for the full 30 minutes and got to speak about everything I wanted to. I also had some questions that really hit my strengths. 
I have never felt this good after an interview (Ottawa and Calgary 2 years ago felt much worse). I think this online interview turned out a lot better than what the MMI would have been like. But who knows, our perception isn’t always accurate.

Now, I’m just hoping they still weigh the interview heavily!

 

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH US!

 

Out of curiosity how did you make them laugh? I always assumed med interviews would be more somber/professional?

[bruh]

16 minutes ago, ballsortahard said:

Out of curiosity how did you make them laugh? I always assumed med interviews would be more somber/professional?

It’s not like they were bursting out laughing, so it was definitely professional still.

I can’t give details on my responses but I tried to lighten the mood when I found it appropriate, and I got some chuckles from them. It just seemed like a very chill interview. They were kind and did not seem to try and throw curveballs.

[coffeeandmed]

4 hours ago, Marf1225 said:

Nah, don't worry about it being 30 minutes. It's supposed to be that way, it's a hard cut-off apparently. I was cut-off at 25 minutes, as were a lot of other people (usually 25-30 minutes). As far as I can tell, that is by design. The other 15 minutes are probably for technical problems and/or deliberations between the interviewers.

Okay that makes me feel a bit better. 

 

2 hours ago, Ohvalleyofplenty said:

I found that my answers were concise and that I didn't ramble too much, and that I was able to showcase some important values to me. That being said, I finished relatively early (~20-25min). Can this be taken against me? :/

Thats how I felt too. It seems like people are having relatively similar experiences. 

[fymg1103yxy]

48 minutes ago, RiderSx said:

It’s not like they were bursting out laughing, so it was definitely professional still.

I can’t give details on my responses but I tried to lighten the mood when I found it appropriate, and I got some chuckles from them. It just seemed like a very chill interview. They were kind and did not seem to try and throw curveballs.

WOW, you must did a really well! Congrats!

I felt I was only able to connect with one of my interview who was very nice and smiled at me. The others were very serious and writing furiously.  But one of they were so indifferent and laid back that he almost lying on chair and did not even make ANY notes. Not sure if anyone also had him and felt the same way. 

I do not know what to make of that, and now is kind of worried. 

[theevilsloth]

None of my interviewers even introduced themselves..There was no feedback given for me of any kind, they literally didn't even say a single word even one word at any point in the interview. The one of the four people who was asking the questions, she didn't introduce herself either. I love how objective interviews are.

[gniyonna]

I went into the interview with audio problems so I’m not sure they knew when I introduced myself and I didn’t wanna reintroduce myself in case they had heard me. 
 

they seemed really stone faced and borderline annoyed 

[coffeeandmed]

 

8 hours ago, theevilsloth said:

None of my interviewers even introduced themselves..There was no feedback given for me of any kind, they literally didn't even say a single word even one word at any point in the interview. The one of the four people who was asking the questions, she didn't introduce herself either. I love how objective interviews are.

Same. They knew who I was but I didn’t get an introduction. They at least said that there were 4 people? But it was honestly just one question after another with no interaction. 

[bruh]

14 hours ago, fymg1103yxy said:

WOW, you must did a really well! Congrats!

I felt I was only able to connect with one of my interview who was very nice and smiled at me. The others were very serious and writing furiously.  But one of they were so indifferent and laid back that he almost lying on chair and did not even make ANY notes. Not sure if anyone also had him and felt the same way. 

I do not know what to make of that, and now is kind of worried. 

Thank you! Although as time is passing I’m feeling more and more unsure about my answers lol. 
 

Only 2 of my interviewers were laughing and smiling. The other 2 were pretty quiet and were taking notes the whole time. So I wouldn’t worry too much if you couldn’t connect with all 4. I think most of us can relate on that!

[chxiel]

Same, 2 of them were smiling, 2 of them were kind of cold. It also seemed super quick, ended like 25 minutes after abruptly.

Really don't like how impersonal/short it felt because of current limitations and it being online, but oh well what can you do

[coffeeandmed]

The more people share, the more comforted I feel by the fact that this was a gong show for everyone haha. Guess it's time to hunker down and wait until May....like always, it's going to be a looooong wait

[coconutbread]

I had quite a lovely experience, in general everyone was alert, friendly, and welcoming, even if some didn't smile you can get good vibes. Connection did go down about 3/4 of the way through but I knew they probably had a contingency plan so I didn't panic on my side either. Just switched to my cell data (lol) and restarted the Zoom call. That, and I later checked my phone and found a missed call from them, looks like they had my number handy just in case too! It was comforting to read on this forum that they allot you more time than needed in case something like this happens. Very professional of them.

Don't forget that the U of A is a professional institution, and they do know how to handle these kinds of things - statistics can certainly be used to make things more comparable and fair. For example - and this is just a guess / how I might approach it - stratifying by type (online vs in-person) and day of interview.

[PlsLetMeIn02]

Did anyone reach out to ask if the interview weight will change? 

[regretful spoon]

I feel like I had a positive experience overall. Interviewers smiled and laughed which made me more comfortable (although last year the same thing happened in my panel and I was not accepted so i think it means very little haha). I felt like the first minute I definitely rambled a bit but calmed after I got into the flow of things. Now the dreaded wait starts