Interview Discussion

[Guest PistonsMD]

Hello,

 

I am an OOP who received an interview for UofS. I think we should discuss what the interview is like, what Saskatchewan looks for in terms of what type of applicant would fit in, the accreditation/probation of the school, etc...

 

I'll start..

 

I heard that last year they interviewed around 28 people for OOP spots and had to accept most of them to fill the 6 spots in the class. Is this true?

 

I also feel that the school will regain full-accreditation this year because I think that the whole probationary status was to force the gov't to give more funding to the school.

 

I would like to know what the interview is like in terms of types of questions, etc...

 

Also, any OOP interviewees book your flights/hotel yet? We should all stay at the same place so we can hang out. I will be flying in on Friday and leaving Sunday. I didn't book the flight or hotel yet but this what I found on the internet.

 

Alright, I hope all of you guys respond...

[Guest kosmo14]

Let me add my perspective as a 4th year:

 

What is the college looking for? There is no answer to this question. Each class is so diverse that there is no set path/personality that makes a med student. We have outspoken types and quiet types. We have pharmacists, lawyers, hardcore science people, teachers etc...

 

Probation: You will most likely know before your interview if we are off of probation as we find out Feb 22-23. My feeling is we will definately be off of probation as there have been some drastic changes for the better. I will keep everyone posted.

 

UofS generally deos go deep into its OOP waitlist although there are never any guarantees.

 

As far as questions you should consider the basics: Why medicine, are you aware of all of the aspects of medicine (the good, the bad, and the ugly), strengths/weaknesses, knowledge of current events is always important to many med interviews, know yourself and your application (although the interviewers don't actually see your app. you still need to sell the hilights of you)

 

Good luck to all

[Guest PistonsMD]

Excellent response! It is good to hear from someone who has been successful with the process.

 

Does anyone know what the cutoff for OOP acceptance was last year? 0.76*GPA(%)+Interview Score(out of 24).

[Guest Gunseli]

It was 89.2%

[Guest Gunseli]

Kosmo14, would you be able to tell me how excactly to prepare for this interview? I am in province and I will be taking the mock interview by the premed club, but I was hoping to get more mock interview practice than just the one time, or maybe an interview skill workshop of some sort. Where would this be possible? I heard rumours that last year there was soemthing of the sort.

[Guest PistonsMD]

Was that the OOP cutoff for acceptance or In-province?

[Guest PistonsMD]

Does anybody know how many people were offered an acceptance for OOP last year to fill the 6 spots?

[Guest PistonsMD]

I really wish more people actually posted on this forum!

[Guest nonce]

Gunseli,

 

If I may, i will give a response on Kosmo's behalf (or, at least until he replies )

 

First.....the uofs interview, compared to the only other place i've interviewed (Western), is very informal. There are no ethics type questions (at least i havent heard of anyone ever having any), and most of the interview is directed by the applicant. They'll ask about your interests, qualities, experiences etc. They will want to see if you've researched the lifestyle and understand what being a doctor is like (i.e. ad's/disad's). Other than that, there is not really anymore i can say about the interview.

 

As for doing mocks....do a few, but remember, this interview will be about you and who you are as a person. No amount of mocks will be helpful if you havent at least thought about the things ive mentioned above (im sure all applicants have). As well, you do not want to do too many, as answers may come off as 'rehearsed', which in my opinion, is worse than not practicing at all; rehearsing why you want to be a doctor, or what your strenghts are, to me, only gives the impression of insincerity....

 

Having said that, do a few mocks, get used to talking in front of people. Videotaping yourself, i've heard, is a useful method. Talk in front of the mirror. Most importantly, be yourself.

 

If you cant find someone to do a mock, ask around at the PMC-set-up mocks, im sure one of your interviewers would do it for you. And if you want them to find another person (i.e. to avoid having the same interviewer) they will probably help you out.

 

Hope that is helpful.

[Guest kosmo14]

I think taking the mocks from the pre-med club are actually very useful as they are done by med students in the college now. Remember all of the people that are interviewing you have been through the process so it is very likely you will be getting questions that were actually used in the past. I think you generally get two interviews on that mock night. As far as extra practice use your friends (ask them to get one of thier friends to help out, someone you don't know). My biggest piece of advice for anyone interviewing is be honest. Honesty will come out better than the "perfect" answer to each question. When you are asked a question, take a few seconds to think about a logical way to answer it, don't just blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. Second back your answers up with examples. (ie/ How do you handle stress? give your answer then tell the interviewers about a time you were involved in a stressful situation and how you dealt with it.) this will go a long ways to actually making the interviewer you have experienced that particular situation. I have always found that many times it is not what you say but how you say it.

 

As far as cut offs and numbers go I don't have a clue about the stats as I haven't had the chance to hear anything this year.

 

Good luck I hope this helps.

 

I will post a list of potential questions to ponder that I ripped from one of the schools websites. It was specifically meant for CaRMS interviews but most interviews have some of the similar questions. Remember this is just an example of the questions that could be asked. I have no way of knowing what may actually be asked on interview day.

[Guest nonce]

Hey Kosmo,

 

I just read over the questions you posted. Were these for carms inverviews?

 

If so, do they really still ask stuff like "why do you want to be a doctor"?

 

I have never looked into the interviews (there still 2 yrs away!), but i always assumed they would be more about a schools program, personal traits, and some clinical stuff thrown in as well.

[Guest melNB]

They are interviewing 31 OOP this year.

[Guest kosmo14]

For the most part those were CaRMS interview questions. I changed some of it (ie/ why do you want to be a doctor from why do you want to do a particular specialty).

 

The thing about CaRMS interviews is that they can ask you anything even questions that you think are illegal (I got asked who I voted for). It actually felt a lot like my med school interviews except with some questions relevant to the specialty I choose.