Interviewers Know Second Time Applicant?

[Guest mluong]

Hi,

 

Will the interviewers know if you are a repeat applicant or will they just interview you as if you are a first time applicant? I'm just wondering if I should be including a brief paragraph in my autobiography about not being accepted last year.

 

Thanks.

[Guest tea]

i don't think they'll let you have the same interviewers. So it's up to you whether you want to mention that you're a repeat applicant or not to the interviewers.

 

personally, i would put that in and also show how or what i've done to improve myself to increase my chances of admission. It would show perserverance.

 

g'luck.

tea

[Guest Kirsteen]

Hi there,

 

I think the interviewers are blinded to quite a bit of the applicant's history (a good thing). Reason being, during the two cycles that I was interviewed at UBC: 1) the panel had no idea that I was an out-of-province applicant; 2) the interviewer was not at all aware that I was an MD/PhD applicant.

 

With respect to referencing past applications, my take is that I wouldn't use the valuable essay or personal activities list space to do so. One big reason why interviewers may be blinded to your application history is that the admissions folks don't want to introduce bias, i.e., having the interviewers think, "Hmmmm, why wasn't this person accepted previously?" and have them see any part of your application in some negative light. Likewise, this bias may be introduced if you talk about previous failed attempts at entering medical school. Instead, I'd use the space to highlight what you have done and how those activities and experiences have led you to be the fantastic applicant that you are.

 

Cheers,

Kirsteen

[Guest mluong]

thanks!!