interview weight

[Guest shetland23]

Hiya,

 

Was hoping if someone knew how much interview is worth and what is the breakdown for admissions.

 

Thank you

[Guest Jag]

40% interview, 50% MCAT, and 10% adjusted GPA. U of M certainly loves the MCAT

[Guest kalenakai]

What about extracurricular stuff, like sports and volunteer work? Thank you for letting me know the breakdown Jag. Take care.

[Guest silverjelly86]

And the autobiographical sketch/references. How do those factor in?

[Guest Jag]

They don't give you particular 'points' for how many sports teams you were on or how many different places your volunteered I don't think, they want to see what sort of stuff you got out of it. The autobiographical sketch and references are used as fodder for asking questions in the interview, where the references are mainly glanced at to find 'red flags'. The references got a sheet which had to rank you on a sliding scale for things like empathy or whatnot, a red flag would be a horrible score in any area that may perk their interest.

[Guest kalenakai]

very intriguing. you reckon that they will ask alot on the essay? I am nervous about political stuff, esp war, government, economics... I am hopeless at them.

[Guest Jag]

personally i got asked absolutely no questions from my essay, and a question out of my reference letter for some odd reason. Many others got questions out of their essays

[Guest kalenakai]

ta darling

[Guest 1Smiley]

One thing I was told to do was to read a copy of the newspaper that came out on the day of my interview. I did that and that helped me out. I was expecting a question on Iraq or something, but instead I ended up getting a question about a problem that was going on in NHL hockey at the time. What I'm trying to say is make sure you've got a bit of background on all of the main headlines (not just the most prominent headline) of the day and you should be fine. Just answer everything to the best of your ability. When you don't know something, say 'I don't know'... and you should DEFINITELY read your essay a couple of times before your interview. Nothing looks worse than when you contradict your essay! More often than not, your interview will be heavily based on the contents of your essay.

 

Best of luck!

[Guest kalenakai]

thank you smiley. are you from Manitoba or OOP?

What was your experience like? ... were they nice and seem to have some sort of emotions that you can read... or agressive or did they show no emotions. will they know about the curriculum or uni if you ask them questions on that? Sorry lotsa questions. Cheers

[Guest 1Smiley]

Hi kalenakai... I'm a Manitoba girl. I had my interview a couple years back and I ended up getting in. My panel was pretty relaxed (I had the last interview of the day on a Sunday) and I really did not feel any stress during the interview. As a matter of fact, I almost forgot that I was doing an interview! But, because my panel was made up of apparently happy-go-lucky people, I couldn't tell if I was doing well or not. Then I started to sneak peaks at the evaluation sheet one of them was filling out (I don't suggest you do that because you might miss something being said). I have to say that in the days and weeks that followed, I REALLY tortured myself by second-guessing everything I said. I remembered every little thing that went on... I think I even dreamt about the experience and then I'd wake up in a somewhat nervous state. So try really hard not to re-live your interview... it can be distracting, which is bad if you're studying for exams. Don't talk endlessly about it to other people.

 

I would definitely encourage you to ask the panel about the curriculum and the university. It makes you look like you are a truly interested canidate. You can even ask the members of the panel about their individual fields of interest.Take a look at the U of M's website to get some more info on the curriculum: www.umanitoba.ca/facultie...iculum.htm

 

I do know there are some panels that like to try to scare the interviewees (I think those panels are in the minority at the U of M- most people I know had a great experience). Try not to let them get to you. Just focus on the questions and answer them to the best of your ability. Some of the questions may seem wacko, but take a deep breath and be logical about things. The crazy questions are about seeing how logical you can be. If you're given a follow-up question and you feel that you have to deviate slightly from a point you made when you answered the primary question, then deviate- but explain your rationale. Some people are under the impression that they have to stick to their guns, no matter what the scenario. Don't fall into that trap, or else you'll come across as an inflexible thinker.

 

I think I went off on a bit of a tangent, but I hope I answered your questions. Good luck

[Guest kalenakai]

hey smiley,

 

thank you for your feedback, I am glad to have got to interact with Manitoba students- which has been very supportive and helpful. I feel so lucky to have an interview with Manitoba as an OOP.

 

you know your comment "Some people are under the impression that they have to stick to their guns, no matter what the scenario. Don't fall into that trap, or else you'll come across as an inflexible thinker" really made me think about a hypo situation. What if a parent really insist that you give her son antibiotics for sorethroat, you examine the baby and he did not need any, what if even after you educate the mother about the possible dangers bateria resistance in the community, she still demands for it. Some ethics questions that I have been thinking about, there is a gut feeling of yes and no. and sometimes interviewers can challenge the decision and I will stick to my gut reaction (of not giving the baby antibiotics). you reckon that is inflexible? I hope I havent confused you guys. Sometimes peds are more like parent doctors

[Guest 1Smiley]

Hey kalenakai,

You could certainly stick with your original decision not to give the antibiotics. There will be many times when you will need to stick with your answer. I guess I meant that you should be aware that there are times when you might have to alter your stance a bit if you are given a slightly different scenario to deal with in the follow-up. It's thought (and probably correctly so) that the interviewers use follow-up questions to test your 'back bone'. I think the best way to deal with the questions is to answer with your 'gut feeling'. Just be sure that you explain the logic you used to arrive at your answer instead of just giving a simple yes or no. Having said that, there are times when it is only necessary to say 'yes' or 'no'. The panel will be able to determine whether or not you are answering questions in a way that is just to make them happy, so I would definitely say you should stick with your gut.

 

Lastly, I'd like to close by saying that U of M's med school is a great place to be and our grads tend to do quite well The environment is very supportive and encouraging. If you decide to come here, you won't be sorry

 

Best Wishes!

[Guest Akraxis]

Why not give a sugar pill if the mother will not take no for an answer?