Regarding Interviews

[Supernova]

Hey guys

 

Before I start I must say that I have yet to apply and I would just like to know certain things before I apply just so I can prepare myself.

I have a couple questions regarding interviews at western.

 

I know the interviews are worth 50% overall, but how much of that is worth on your autobiographical sketch, your community work, research work if any, and puplications if any? and how much is worth on the Q&A portion?

This is just a guess but I'm guessing that its 25/25 for the Q&A and the other stuff?

 

Also if a student has a publication under his name, im guessing that can really improve his portfolio going into the interview?

 

And lastly I read this somewhere but Western ranks the students coming into the interview via there MCAT scores, is this true?

 

Thanks

[ploughboy]

Interviews at Western are "closed file". That means that the interview panel (a faculty member, a medical student and a community member) know only two things about you: your name, and the fact that you've applied to train as a physician at UWO. You need to tell them anything else that you want them to know.

 

It's your responsibility to bring up anything you've done (community work, research, publications) in the interview. Fear not! A pretty typical opening question in this type of interview is "So, tell us about yourself..."

 

I doubt that I'll be interviewing this year, but I think it's pretty standard for the interviewers to be looking more at what you've learned and taken from your various experiences than the experiences themselves.

 

Contrast

 

"I like, totally got this first-author publication and I think that makes me better than everybody else you interviewed today. Boo-ya, I rock!"

 

with

 

"When I was conducting my research I not only learned more about the basic sciences, but how to manage my time, negotiate with my busy collaborators and explain my very technical work to my nontechnical grandmother." (except that's a pretty stilted sentence, but you get the idea, right?)

 

pb

[webshy]

Does the autobiographical sketch get used at all during the application to Western? What about the essay on self-directed learning?

 

Thanks for your help.

Elaine

[Darla]

We were asked about our self directed learning essay and the interviewers had it, but they didn't have nor did they ask about the sketch.

[webshy]

Thanks Darla.

Elaine