Who else didn't feel good after the interview?

[meds2014]

Interviews are all over now, so I just wanted to see if there were others who didn't get a good vibe from the school, the first years, the interviewers, etc. I dunno if I would choose UWO if I got into UT or Mac. Queen's and UWO is a toss up though. Of course, if I only get into UWO, I'll obviosuly go, but did anyone else feel bad after the interview weekend?

[T. Funke]

I feel pretty terrible right now. I don't think I did well in my interview. I was fine with the questions that the med student, doctor asked me. The community member was a whole different issue all together. Every-time she asked me a question, I had to ask her to clarify. I don't know if the problem was on my end, or whether she was having difficulty communicating with me but I felt like it threw me off my game.

 

Did anyone else run into this type of problem?

 

Before my western interview, I never would have thought that I'd prefer an MMI...but there is something to be said about having multiple interviews and everyone reading the same questions.

[meds2014]

I feel pretty terrible right now. I don't think I did well in my interview. I was fine with the questions that the med student, doctor asked me. The community member was a whole different issue all together. Every-time she asked me a question, I had to ask her to clarify. I don't know if the problem was on my end, or whether she was having difficulty communicating with me but I felt like it threw me off my game.

 

Did anyone else run into this type of problem?

 

Before my western interview, I never would have thought that I'd prefer an MMI...but there is something to be said about having multiple interviews and everyone reading the same questions.

 

I had a similar experience. Personally, I thought the first year president was a typical western douche (read: extremely pompous and elitist). It really turned me off, and I hope it didn't affect my attitude in my interview, because there were questions that threw me off my game as well...

[AdamP]

I had a similar experience. Personally, I thought the first year president was a typical western douche (read: extremely pompous and elitist).

 

Wow, I didn't get that vibe at all. I will say though Western Pride was definitely a key part of the weekend, having been there for four years I'm probably pretty desensitized to it, and actually enjoyed what they had to say.

 

That being said I could totally understand how it could turn off applicants who come from other university cultures, something next years class could probably reflect on.

[Violet]

I asked the community member to repeat one of the questions....it was long and strange, and I sort of zoned out while it was being asked. I asked for clarification for another question the faculty member asked. I didn't worry about it...far better to make sure you understand the question than to just forge ahead and give a dumb answer.

 

I'm sure everyone can think of a few things they'd change about their interview. I drank SO MUCH WATER during mine. The community member (very sweet man) kept getting up to refill my glass. The first time he got up, I got all flustered and stood up with him, saying I would refill it myself, but he insisted I sit down and not worry about it. He refilled it at least twice more after that. I felt awful.

 

Haha, I drank tons of water too! Except I brought a water bottle so I kept refilling my little plastic cup. And I asked for clarification on one question too but didn't think it was such a big deal. I definitely agree it's better to understand the question before answering.

[T. Funke]

LOL. I drank SO MUCH water too. I didn't even realize I was doing it. Completely subconscious, until they offered me a second glass!!!

 

When I did interview prep with my buddies, I never had water in front of me....I have no idea if I was fidgeting with the glass or what. If I go through this process again, next time I will for sure practice with water.

 

Good to know that others had to ask for clarification. That makes me feel a bit better.

[maodiddymao]

There's nothing wrong with asking for clarification on a question. What matters most is your answer. I wouldn't worry about it at all. Unfortunately, whether it's an MMI or a traditional panel interview, for most people it's impossible to tell how you're going to do based on how you feel after the interview is over. Just try to relax now that it's over and do something to distract yourself until May 13th.

[Nobodycirclesthewagons]

T. Funke, I did some prep interviews and I heard it's good to ask for clarification. They want to see that you don't just assume that you know what interviewers (and eventually patients) are talking about. They prefer if you try to make sure you are on the same page as the other person so you can adequately answer the question/provide a good diagnosis.

 

Also, I too asked for clarification for a question or two. It's natural that in a high-stress environment like that, you're not going to understand/even hear everything that is said. It's way better to make sure you understand the question than answering something they didn't even ask

[maodiddymao]

I had a similar experience. Personally, I thought the first year president was a typical western douche (read: extremely pompous and elitist). It really turned me off, and I hope it didn't affect my attitude in my interview, because there were questions that threw me off my game as well...

 

I'm sorry to hear that you didn't think your interview went well. One thing that's important to remember is that it's very difficult to judge how you're doing in an interview. You could feel like it didn't go well, but the interviewers may feel that you did a great job. It's really hard to evaluate given the state of mind most people are in at the time. Even people who felt like it went really well sometimes don't get in. I wouldn't worry about it, especially with respect to asking for clarification. I did that several times when I was interviewing, and it never turned out to be a problem.

 

As for calling our class president a "typical western douche", that's both completely uncalled for and incredibly unprofessional. He is neither pompous nor elitist, and he worked incredibly hard to get where he is. Like the rest of our student body he has a great deal of pride in our class and passion for our program, and he took time out of his schedule to try and give you a student's perspective of what it's like to go here. I'm sure if you had taken the time to speak to him you would find out that he's not only a really nice guy, but incredibly helpful and easy to get along with.

[aKGDH]

Every single time my faculty member asked me a question, I had to clarify...sometimes, I clarified twice or three times to be sure that I was answering the question correctly. I didn't think badly about that at all as the doctor was more than happy to clarify (he had an accent lol)...Nothing to be worried about at all imo.

[Byrne]

Every single time my faculty member asked me a question, I had to clarify...sometimes, I clarified twice or three times to be sure that I was answering the question correctly. I didn't think badly about that at all as the doctor was more than happy to clarify (he had an accent lol)...Nothing to be worried about at all imo.

 

I had a similar experience.

 

Didn't feel like it had a negative impact on my interview at all.

[rmorelan]

I had a similar experience. Personally, I thought the first year president was a typical western douche (read: extremely pompous and elitist). It really turned me off, and I hope it didn't affect my attitude in my interview, because there were questions that threw me off my game as well...

 

hmm that is unfortunate - sometimes people just come off in ways they don't intend to I guess. It just happens.

 

Hopefully everything will work out regardless

[rocket27]

I had a similar experience. Personally, I thought the first year president was a typical western douche (read: extremely pompous and elitist). It really turned me off, and I hope it didn't affect my attitude in my interview, because there were questions that threw me off my game as well...

 

That is completely unprofessional to say something like that. Having been at the interview this weekend, seen the 2013 President give the presentation and then had the opportunity to sit down and talk to him one-on-one prior to my interview, I think I am in a much better position to say that he was a very sincere, genuine and caring person. He definitely calmed my nerves down and answered all of my questions with no arrogance or elitist attitude.

 

I hope I get into Western (top choice) and get to be part of the awesome family they have.

[T. Funke]

Thanks, maybe asking for clarification wasn't a problem. I just felt like I did it a lot.

 

now, to try and stop thinking about this for ~46 days!

[hopeforthebest]

We would love to have you all!

 

Re: meds2014, he isn't that way at all. He is actually a great guy. Sorry you felt that way, but then again I don't see how anyone could judge another human's personality being based on a 5 minute presentation he gave.

 

Sorta like the MMI?

 

Just a thought

[hopeforthebest]

Are you bashing the MMI? that's a first!

 

In the MMI at least you are discussing your personal achievements or your opinion, both of which can reveal a lot. A 5 minute presentation about the curriculum with a few quips here and there are much less reliable.

 

Haha, I was more or less making a joke. The MMI has its benefits, but of all the interviews I've done the MMIs have been by far the most impersonal and my least favourite.

 

But who knows. I can understand why people do it. A panel just seems to go more in depth, but you lose some objectivity.

[jk.rofling]

I had a similar experience. Personally, I thought the first year president was a typical western douche (read: extremely pompous and elitist). It really turned me off, and I hope it didn't affect my attitude in my interview, because there were questions that threw me off my game as well...

 

Lolz. I like how everyone topsy turvied this mother ****er to make him look like the douche.

 

PS. Bad idea to blame other people for your own failings.

[shoopdeedoop]

....sorry, i don't think 'standing up for yourself' and putting someone else down by calling them a douche are really the same thing.

Also, wuckfestern, if you hate bias and prejudice so much maybe you shouldn't be promoting those spread about western. it's all the same thing just different sides of the coin, not every class is your class, we have plenty of diversity and our pride extends to areas way past sports.

I would think that if you were at the stage of your career where you are interviewing, you would have learned a bit more professionalism by now.

[jcman]

While I agree that there are different sides of the coin at every school, wuckfestern is just providing the "negative" side of the coin for Western.

 

I don't think he/she is saving anything unprofessional at all. Is what he/she is saying much worse than what's in the Western video itself (of course, given that it is a joke there)? I don't really think there is need for him/her to squlech themself and in fact, I'd like to encourage them to elaborate on why some people wouldn't like Western.

[shoopdeedoop]

"Everyone here thinks western is the best, etc, no modesty or acceptance of diversity or a wider perspective.

 

I wish I knew that "western pride" extended to other aspects of university life, outside of sports, before I started.."

 

 

i'm pretty sure that not everyone thinks western is the best, has no modesty or acceptance of diversity, or is uncapable of a wider perspective. I'm equally sure that "western pride" isn't just about sports for a lot of people.

 

I don't care who likes or dislikes western for personal reasons, but these are all wild generalizations, and are therefore in my opinion unprofessional. As is promoting calling people names on public threads as an outlet. If it's rude, keep it to yourself; it has nothing to do with standing up for yourself.

[Dr_Apt]

People need to relax.

 

The video was not meant to be taken that seriously. So what if they're proud to be at their University? I think it shows how much they're enjoying themselves. Most of the things they talked about during the guided tour were jokes "e.g. Western has recently discovered that sweeping the ice in curling actually makes a difference" so I don't think their goal was to brag. I really enjoyed the entire day and I was happy to see that people at Western were proud to attend their university and were excited to welcome new students.

 

The only comment that threw me off a bit was the "we're the best looking med school". If I were a self-conscious person, I could see how that might diminish my confidence before an interview.

[MansionMD]

...our pride extends to areas way past sports...

 

...I'm equally sure that "western pride" isn't just about sports for a lot of people...

 

I'm pretty sure these are reasons why he/she doesn't like UWO. From reading the post, I think he/she was saying that it's better if western pride was only in sports games, and not extended off the field, where it is often perceived to be arrogance.

 

Anyways, I also think the way wukfestern is expressing his/her viewpoints is professional, and support the full disclosure of both sides of the story.

[shoopdeedoop]

i'm not saying they shouldn't discloses view points. I'm fully supportive of that. I'm just saying maybe they should leave quotes like "typical western douches" and generalizations out of it.

If they're interviewing, it means they're in 3rd year or 4th year, who have very little interaction with the lower years, which is what bothers me about the very broad blanket statements regarding the make-up of the classes.

 

Anywayy..I didn't really want to get into it. There are definitely down sides to every school, I think it's good to get both sides of the story, but think it should be done in a way that doesn't involve calling people douches and making assumptions about classes that aren't your own.

[AdamP]

re: meds2014

 

Everyone here thinks western is the best, etc, no modesty or acceptance of diversity or a wider perspective.

 

Be the change you want to see in the world.

[neurotic1]

As an OOP student coming from Alberta, I felt that Western's spirit was one of the MOST attractive aspects of the school.

 

Though I can only base my experience on some of the campuses I've visited over the past (Queen's, UBC, Calgary, U of A), I feel that pride in one's school is a huge component of how I would feel attending a school.

 

The University of Alberta is particularly known for its apathetic attitude (partly because it is largely a commuter school), and it has certainly impacted my impression of the school.

 

Though I can't speak for wuckfestern's side, I found that Western's spirit was an "enlightening" experience and a breath of fresh-air from the normal downer attitude in dEadmonton.