Are subjective feelings correlated with admission outcome?

[Guest monksters]

Hi Everyone,

 

Just thought of an interesting question that would be fun for this time of waiting.

 

Are subjective feelings correlated with admission outcome?

 

If you could answer this survey, it would be fun! For current medical students, could you answer based on your last experience? This would especially interesting for us who are waiting

 

1) This is/was your ____ time applying to medical school

 

2) Did you feel that your 1st interviewer was

a)friendly

b)neutral

c)confrontational

 

if c)... how?

 

3) Did you feel that your 2nd interviewer was

a)friendly

b)neutral

c)confrontational

 

if c)... how?

 

4) For your 1st interview did you feel you did

a) amazing

alright

c) terrible, completely stuffed the interview

 

for any answer why did you feel this way?

 

5) For your 2nd interview did you feel you did

a) amazing

alright

c) terrible, completely stuffed the interview

 

for any answer, why did you feel this way?

 

6) Overall after the interview did you feel

a) you were totally in!

perhaps would get in

c) absolutely would be flunked

 

for any answer, why did you feel this way?

 

7) When did you get your interviews?

a) January

February

c) March

 

8) How long did you get between notification and the interview.

a) 1 week

2 weeks

c) 3 weeks

d) more than 3 weeks

 

9) How long did you prepare for your interviews

a) not at all

1 week

c) 2 weeks

d) 3 weeks

e) more than 3 weeks

 

 

9) Did you get in this last time you applied to UBC medical school?

 

a) yes

no

[Guest not rex morgan]

I'm pretty much surveyed-out after two years of med, but I'll give you the short answers.

1-3, 2-A, 3-B, 4-A, 5-B, 6-B, 7-C (before making any generalizations, I was interveiwed with out-of-towners), 8-D, 9-E (try years...it's all about life experience...I did take a couple of weeks to catch up on current events as I had been out of the country for 6 months prior).

As for the last question, I quite obviously got in the last time I applied.

[Guest mymomthinksimacatch]

1) 3rd... but I'm really only getting started.

2)c- She said she would challenge and confront me, and she did. Unfortunately, I've had so much time to mull it over that its become a muddle in my head. The line between reality and fiction blurs...(did she really ask me if I would sell my soul?)

3)a, 4)b, 5)b, 6)b, 7)b, 8)a, 9)b Didn't do a great deal of prep, 10) :lol

Wish y'all the best in this thing.

[Guest ssup]

mymom....

 

u must've had Dr.Doudet? Right?

[Guest monksters]

1) 2nd

2) b.. challenging at times

3) a

4) b stumped on a couple questions

5) a

6) b

7) c

8) b

9) e

10) nope... second time hopefully:rollin

[Guest mymomthinksimacatch]

What makes you say that?

How did your interview with Doudet go?

[Guest ssup]

mymom...

 

Your description of your interviewer just matched my experience with Doudet so I figured it was her...from what you hear about the interviewers, she's one of the only female interviewers that has developed a reputation for being confrontational and she always starts the interview by saying "I'm going to challenge everything you say and try to play devil's advocate etc"...that's why I assumed it was her. Was I off-base?

 

Ssup

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hey guys,

 

That's funny re: Dr. Doudet. She said the same pre-interview ditty to me last year, but through the course of the interview I found her more to challenge/question answers rather than be confrontational. She was quite pleasant throughout, but definitely by the end of the interview she was anything but confrontational.

 

Cheers and good luck this year,

Kirsteen

[Guest xanth]

Hi,

 

I had Dr. Doudet last year for my interviewer. I found her to be very challenging and thought for sure that you meant her...

 

In terms of subjective feelings...

 

1) second time

2) friendly

3) neutral (but he seemed to warm up once we started talking about Myanmar)

4) alright

5) amazing

6) perhaps I'll get in

7) March

8) 2 weeks

9) more than three weeks... mainly because I had interviews at other schools starting in February and lasting through until March 30

10) no

 

For comparison, last time I applied as a third year student...

1) first time

2) friendly (Dr. Dalal)

3) confrontational (Dr. Doudet)

4) amazing

5) terrible

6) absolutely would be flunked

7) interview in January

8) more than one month

9) didn't prepare at all!

10) no

[Guest mymomthinksimacatch]

ssup,

 

Good eye (you nailed it). Actually, I would agree with the challenging over confrontation view for Dr. D. How was your experience?

 

Suprising how quickly that was figured out.

[Guest ssup]

mymom...

 

You guys are right..."Challenging" is probably a better word for describing Dr. Doudet.

 

My experience?

Well my main problem with Doudet was that I have NO IDEA how the interview went. I felt like I held my ground well, remained objective and was somewhat coherent (as much as was possible considering it was my first medical interview EVER and I was definitely nervous)! In retrospect though, I could've answered a lot of Qs differently etc etc but I think it's just natural to start second-guessing everything now that it's over!

 

In fact with Doudet I sometimes wonder how she evaluates the interviewees. Considering her interview is so challenging, I wonder if she rewards those that are able to survive through it with really high marks...

 

The only positive indication I got from her was at the end of the interview she said something along the lines of "wow your name is hard to pronoune...you'll probably have to remind me of it a few times when you're in my class"...and I thought to myslef "PAARTTYYYY!!! I JUST GOT IN!!!! :smokin " and then she quickly added "oh, if you're in my class"...and somehow I was suddenly back where I started :rolleyes

 

How was your experience with her?

[Guest xanth]

Hehe,

 

Last time around, Dr. Dalal told me "Well, I'm really looking forward to talking to you more in September." And Dr. Doudet told me "I hope you get in!" Didn't even get waitlisted though... so I'm not sure how much the comment at the end means! That might make another interesting survey. Still, this year, my interviewers told me that they would definitely remember me, and that my answers were very good and balanced... so I really really hope that's a good sign.

 

Also, it might make some people feel better to know that the interview scores are standardized. So if an interviewer is really tough on everyone, they'll take that into account.

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

It does seem to be true, that the interview scores may be standardized. After I had my interview with Dr. Doudet she asked who I would be interviewing with next. I told her the person's name and she mentioned that he's notoriously tough. I found out later on that my interview score from him was standardized on the upside, whereas that for Dr. Doudet either remained the same or decreased a little.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest mymomthinksimacatch]

ssup

 

My interview was remarkably similar to what you described. Felt I performed reasonably, but don't have a good sense of what she thought of me.

Try not to think about the questions I could have answered differently :x

She gave me some positive feedback at the end of the interview, but nothing that I feel definately improves my chances. Who was your other interview?

Ahh well, that's enough of a trip down memory lane for now... Only 5-6ish more weeks of life in limbo.

[Guest not rex morgan]

Oh, I hated this agonising. You guys have raised some good points about interviewers making comments about seeing you in September, and then not making it in. One thing you can take positively about this is that this particular interviewer, at that time, thought you were a star. Alot of them really enjoy people and think highly of people. I doubt they would say something like that flippantly. Little solace considering it didn't work out in the past, but try not to think of those words as empty. They have a pow wow, and discuss everyone and everything about them. A sort of secret society, if you will. Nobody knows what goes on behind those doors. If it makes anybody feel better, I know someone who got into meds, whose interviewer told her she talked too much, and was pretty much stupid.

[Guest Jazz]

I got Doudet too, and she did pretty much what the others have described. Only I got no positive comments whatsoever at the end. She just said "hmmm...i think that's it" "that's it?" "yeah..bye bye". Not feeling good about my chances.

[Guest mymomthinksimacatch]

Not to placate you, but she's rating us on more than her last sentance tells us. She said I was honest. Could be she also thinks I'm about as smart as a tractor (she just didn't mention that part). Don't really know. Or she could pay compliments to people she suspects have ego issues to see how they respond. Or she might simply say what was on her mind, and she was thinking about some other aspect of your interview right then.

Who knows.

All the best.

[Guest peachy]

... or, she was thinking about her plans for the evening, she had a headache, or one of a million other reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with you.

[Guest monksters]

Hi there,

 

I think that we all have times when instances from the interview replay in hour head. I don't think that any interview can be perfect. We might wish that we answered a question a little better, gave a smile where we didn't, reacted to a challenge with more convincing points to support our point. But I think that no interview in our minds can be perfect, even when in reality they were much better then we percieve.

 

Like was said by another poster above, the moments that we have focused on may have been long forgotten by our interviewers. I have heard that the interviewers are really trying to get a sense of your character more than anything. Being able to be ourselves, honest and true, we should already be giving ourselves a pat on the back no matter the outcome. Good for all of you for sticking through this process!

 

Wish you all the best of luck!

[Guest Pucca81]

Thanks for the nice, encouraging post, monsters. You are right... all those, "would haves", "could haves", "what ifs" run in our heads over and over again.. but hopefully the interviewers realize that those few minutes we spend with them could be one of the most stressful or challenging times in our lives and that they will be more understanding of our imperfections~ :b