U Of Alberta 2021 Interview Discussion

[amiralangs]

Hello everyone,

I believe everyone has completed their interviews, so I've created a thread in which we can discuss our reactions if anyone wants to vent. Please remember this is a space to talk about how you felt / how you are feeling, while keeping the details of the interview questions concealed. 

I'll start off by saying that I felt okay overall about the interviews. I felt a bit off guard with the panel as I assumed it would be my last station, but that was more of a shock that I was quickly able to overcome. 

[Neuro_bertagirl]

Overall, I think it went well and none of the questions seemed overly difficult or out of left field. I'm not sure if I was able to make myself stand out though lol. In terms of the interview experience, it went really smoothly with no technical difficulties, which was definitely a relief. 

[silver_08]

Overall, I thought it was decent. MMI stations weren't unexpected nor challenging (in fact I would say that they were predictable questions). That being said, I don't know if I did enough to personalize each one of my answers, especially for stations where I could not find any personal experience to link into the answer. I had one technical glitch for an MMI station where I started 2 min late because my interviewer had computer problems. They gave me extra time to answer at the end, and even promised me that they would compare this station to my other stations, and decide if it would be dropped due to these technical problems affecting my answer. 

For the panel, I had it at the very end, when I was already fatigued from being on Zoom for 2 hours... I felt like I dropped the ball on what should have been easy questions to nail and talk about my own values and experiences and linking them to medicine. Instead my answers felt weakly developed. I'm disappointed in having a lack of stamina for the end. I know that I shouldn't be too hard on myself, but this is my third interview cycle where I've interviewed, and I cannot accept subpar performances anymore. 

Does anyone know if they eliminate your worst station? I know other schools will drop your worst station, and average the rest. 



 

[adisplayname]

Absolutely bombed my first two stations because of nerves. What sucked the most is both were very similar in theme and involved topics that I truly care about :( (it didn’t help that they were extremely text-heavy). Felt okay about the rest including the panel, but I’m having trouble NOT ruminating over my responses and thinking about how I could have fleshed out opposing perspectives better.

[miniaturebeaker]

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[amiralangs]

1 hour ago, adisplayname said:

Absolutely bombed my first two stations because of nerves. What sucked the most is both were very similar in theme and involved topics that I truly care about (it didn’t help that they were extremely text-heavy). Felt okay about the rest including the panel, but I’m having trouble NOT ruminating over my responses and thinking about how I could have fleshed out opposing perspectives better.

You most definitely are not alone! Honestly, although organization and logic are highly valued communication skills, don't forget that your personality and smile can really boost your score in regards to how you are perceived. The interviewers are aware that this is a highly stressful time, and it's normal for students to get nervous. One or two nervous stations shouldn't kill you as long as you kept a positive attitude and didn't display any red flags. 

 

 

[bekind]

5 hours ago, adisplayname said:

Absolutely bombed my first two stations because of nerves. What sucked the most is both were very similar in theme and involved topics that I truly care about (it didn’t help that they were extremely text-heavy). Felt okay about the rest including the panel, but I’m having trouble NOT ruminating over my responses and thinking about how I could have fleshed out opposing perspectives better.

right with you- was so nervous I literally rambled my whole first station. hoping for the best too

[amiralangs]

Just a question here, did any of you stare into the camera hole as you spoke? Before one of my stations, one of my facilitators asked me to look into the camera hole and then look away so that they could see the difference. I naturally stare into the camera hole due to my snapchat addiction, but I was wondering why they wanted me to do this. Do you think that's something that they marked us on?

[Hellocarrot]

No  I just looked at them and I am sure I didn't look like I was making eye contact because my webcam is above my screen but I still wanted to look at their reaction.

I am not used to talking when staring at the camera.

When I had some friendly interviewers who actually unmuted to say hi to me (most didn't), I explained this to them in the beginning and they smiled and told me it's okay.

And no, they did not ask me such a question. I certainly do not wish they were marking us on eye contacts specifically, then I definitely lost marks. lol

[amiralangs]

2 hours ago, Hellocarrot said:

No  I just looked at them and I am sure I didn't look like I was making eye contact because my webcam is above my screen but I still wanted to look at their reaction.

I am not used to talking when staring at the camera.

When I had some friendly interviewers who actually unmuted to say hi to me (most didn't), I explained this to them in the beginning and they smiled and told me it's okay.

And no, they did not ask me such a question. I certainly do not wish they were marking us on eye contacts specifically, then I definitely lost marks. lol

Don't let that get you down! I'm really just trying to see if anyone else had a facilitator mentioned that. There is always the possibility that they weren't specifically marking us on that.  I think if anything, it may be part of an "overall general impression," as eye contact can be a sign of confidence in person (although I'm not sure how they would assess that virtually given the placement of some people's cameras). I only saw their reactions when they looked down to write, or when they were asking questions. 

 

[Coffee&Naps]

On 3/22/2021 at 7:27 PM, amiralangs said:

Don't let that get you down! I'm really just trying to see if anyone else had a facilitator mentioned that. There is always the possibility that they weren't specifically marking us on that.  I think if anything, it may be part of an "overall general impression," as eye contact can be a sign of confidence in person (although I'm not sure how they would assess that virtually given the placement of some people's cameras). I only saw their reactions when they looked down to write, or when they were asking questions. 

 

As one of the facilitators on the weekend, I can assure you that they were not marking candidates on eye contact or where individuals were looking on their screens. 

[amiralangs]

3 hours ago, Coffee&Naps said:

As one of the facilitators on the weekend, I can assure you that they were not marking candidates on eye contact or where individuals were looking on their screens. 

Thank you for that! I had been wondering why one of my facilitators asked me to look at the camera and then look away before the interview began. 

[Neuro_bertagirl]

1 hour ago, amiralangs said:

Thank you for that! I had been wondering why one of my facilitators asked me to look at the camera and then look away before the interview began. 

My best guess is maybe they were suspicious of you, but I could totally be wrong. This is what it said in the UofA interview info package:

"If you are suspected of using your resources inappropriately or misrepresenting yourself you may be asked to complete specific actions, ie. close your eyes, either by the facilitator or an interviewer. If instructed to perform an action, you should complete this action while still answering your question."

[amiralangs]

1 hour ago, Neuro_bertagirl said:

My best guess is maybe they were suspicious of you, but I could totally be wrong. This is what it said in the UofA interview info package:

"If you are suspected of using your resources inappropriately or misrepresenting yourself you may be asked to complete specific actions, ie. close your eyes, either by the facilitator or an interviewer. If instructed to perform an action, you should complete this action while still answering your question."

That's understandable, but this was before my interview started. We were all just talking about restaurants in town.

[Neuro_bertagirl]

8 minutes ago, amiralangs said:

That's understandable, but this was before my interview started. We were all just talking about restaurants in town.

Hmmm that is quite odd, I don't know what to say lol

[Catsandstuff]

On 3/22/2021 at 3:04 PM, amiralangs said:

Just a question here, did any of you stare into the camera hole as you spoke? Before one of my stations, one of my facilitators asked me to look into the camera hole and then look away so that they could see the difference. I naturally stare into the camera hole due to my snapchat addiction, but I was wondering why they wanted me to do this. Do you think that's something that they marked us on?

I had that happen too, maybe we had the same facilitator? I wonder if there was an issue with an interviewee looking somewhere weird for their camera and the facilitator was trying to avoid any confusion at future stations. It was only the one station so I don’t think it was a big deal.

[amiralangs]

9 hours ago, Catsandstuff said:

I had that happen too, maybe we had the same facilitator? I wonder if there was an issue with an interviewee looking somewhere weird for their camera and the facilitator was trying to avoid any confusion at future stations. It was only the one station so I don’t think it was a big deal.

That happened at only one station for me too! I think we may have had the same facilitator. I should have asked them why, but I was busy trying to remain calm.

[PirouetteCacahuete]

Weird, I didn't have that. We've gotten the answer already from one of the facilitators, but it just doesn't make sense to stare at the camera for a lot of people and their set ups. I know that personally I'm a lot more natural if I'm staring at the person on the screen, and I'm pretty sure that interviewers can sense that. Because staring at a lit up camera hole while talking to someone who appears 4 inches below that can't be looking natural or comfortable and I wouldn't call that eye contact hehe. 

Overall I felt pretty good about my interview  immediately after, then started feeling progressively horrible over the next few days. I definitely got stumped at one station and said some silly things at others, but I had some good and some great stations too so it was a mix. 

I'm thinking probably not good enough for OOP but there's nothing that I can do about that now.

[PunkRockerForLife]

I’ll add my interview experience,

Going into the interview I had practiced but I knew I couldn’t expect perfection I just had the mindset to smile and be confident in who I am and answer the questions the best I could. I just tried to have a good time with the experience the best I could despite it being a high stress situation.

 

during the interview I felt like I was doing pretty good. 1 station I felt like I did really poorly and struggled. 2 were okay and the others I thought were decent. In my panel interview, there were just a few questions and I had like 1-2 minutes left in my panel interview. I thought they were going to keep asking me more questions so we just sat there in silence till it was over, and then I’m kicking myself thinking I should’ve talked more in my previous answers haha oh well. Better to be concise rather than ramble too long right haha

 

after the interview, and as time has gone by, all the self-doubt has crept back haha. I can just reflect back on questions and answers and think... “I could have been more specific here... or been more personal here... maybe rambled a bit too much or maybe didn’t answer the question as directly as I should’ve here”. At times I think I crushed it and other times I feel like I bombed it haha.

 

Sounds like most people feel this, and my interpretation of how I did will obviously be different than how the interviewer thought. The long 2 month wait just feels like forever and it’s hard not to think about my interview performance while waiting. 

 

 I’m hopeful though, and I just remind myself if I get rejected this year it’s not the end of the world and things will work out.  

[gin_and_myoclonic]

Is anyone (everyone?) else feeling very antsy waiting until May? I feel like I fall asleep thinking about the results.... wake up thinking about the results.... go to the gym & think about the results... dream that I missed my MMI & imagined the whole thing... lol. 

 

[amiralangs]

On 4/8/2021 at 1:00 PM, smolandfeisty said:

Is anyone (everyone?) else feeling very antsy waiting until May? I feel like I fall asleep thinking about the results.... wake up thinking about the results.... go to the gym & think about the results... dream that I missed my MMI & imagined the whole thing... lol. 

 

I'm also feeling very antsy. There is a possibility that we may find out before May. We may know late April OR early May, but I'll just keep May in my mind to stay calm. 

[M3P0]

On 4/9/2021 at 11:44 PM, amiralangs said:

I'm also feeling very antsy. There is a possibility that we may find out before May. We may know late April OR early May, but I'll just keep May in my mind to stay calm. 

Oh no I didn't need to know this LOL but where did you hear that (late april)??

[amiralangs]

13 hours ago, M3P0 said:

Oh no I didn't need to know this LOL but where did you hear that (late april)??

I emailed the admissions office, and that's what I was told. Late April to early May is a very vague timeline as you can imagine. Nonetheless, I'm hopeful for late April. 

[PirouetteCacahuete]

39 minutes ago, amiralangs said:

I emailed the admissions office, and that's what I was told. Late April to early May is a very vague timeline as you can imagine. Nonetheless, I'm hopeful for late April. 

NO WAY.  Please make it late April. Please make it late April. Please make it be good news. Either way we want to move on with our liveeees!

[amiralangs]

44 minutes ago, PirouetteCacahuete said:

NO WAY.  Please make it late April. Please make it late April. Please make it be good news. Either way we want to move on with our liveeees!

I'm so with you on this! I'm really hoping for late April. In 2018 and 2019, offers were sent out around the 23rd/24th of April. I'm assuming covid shifted things for 2020.