Guest cher1234 Posted March 31, 2003 Report Share Posted March 31, 2003 I just completed my interview and was wondering if anyone knows how each component is weighted (i.e., each tutorial, the personal interview, etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WTBMED3 Posted March 31, 2003 Report Share Posted March 31, 2003 Hi! No one knows how they weigh the different components. This has been a mystery for years. How did the interview go? What was the video like? I have my interview this saturday and I am a little nervous about this component. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cher1234 Posted March 31, 2003 Report Share Posted March 31, 2003 I am hoping it went well.. I guess I will find out in May. Good luck to you. Just be yourself, and I'm sure you will do fine. The whole process is really well described on this message board, and I found it helped to visualize what the day would be like. The students that help out throughout the day were great. They made a high-pressure situation fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jmh2005 Posted March 31, 2003 Report Share Posted March 31, 2003 We really tried to make the day as 'stress free' as possible...glad to hear that the student contribution was helpful...I had the chance to meet many people on Saturday which was a great experience, so many wonderful people...best of luck to you all!! Jess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest macdaddyeh Posted March 31, 2003 Report Share Posted March 31, 2003 Hi all: Haven't been on the boards in a few weeks because I'm swamped with final school stuff, and likely won't be posting again for a while. Is the final weighting really a secret? I "heard" (but what do I know?) that it was 50% interview 25% video, 25% , or at least that seemed to be the consensus among a number of people I spoke with over the weekend (non-students, so also hear-say). In terms of the interview it was excellent for personal growth and interesting to see how it finally works although the whole process is likely to change next year to the mini-interview scenario process. In terms of how I personally did, I think I did awfully on the video[i ran out of time], OK on group work and better (but not stellar) on the interview; but I am my own worst critic. I did run into a few people who called the process a "crapshoot" but I don't agree, despite the fact that I don't think I did well--I see how it really gives the adcom/collation committee an "overall picture" of the candidate. So as to maintain the integrity of the process I won't divulge anything specific, but really it's nothing to worry about. I met a great bunch of people (interviewees, interviewers and students). In general I was very impressed with Mac, but from herein we're all just part of the admissions "game." PS. Can anyone give insight as to how the final weighting occurs; is this a truly unknown and unspeakable subject? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest McMastergirl Posted April 1, 2003 Report Share Posted April 1, 2003 Hi, as far as I know, you are right about the 50/25/25 split. But I can't remember where I heard it. Something tells me that when I interviewed in 2001, that was common knowledge. However, seeing that the admissions process at Mac is in a constant state of flux, it could have changed. I'm not very up on it this year, too busy with clerkship! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nubar89 Posted April 2, 2003 Report Share Posted April 2, 2003 Last I heard, from the person I spoke to when I called Mac, after the interview, they access all components from the interview AND your letters of reference. NBR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bug Posted April 2, 2003 Report Share Posted April 2, 2003 Thanks for posting about your interviews. I didn't get a mac interview this year, but I would love to hear about your interview experiences, in hopes that I'll get an interview next year. Tell all of us hopefulls how they went, and any suggestions you might have for those of us who may interview in the future. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IRNBRUD Posted April 2, 2003 Report Share Posted April 2, 2003 I had my interview this past weekend. Things were running delightfully smoothly despite the SARS-induced change of venue. One thing did definitely set me off balance for a moment though... The evaluators are sitting directly in the room with you during the group discussion. This is a bit of a change from the one-way glass technique that I had been expecting. In all honestly, it didn't make any difference after about 3 seconds into the discussion, but it did set my heart a-racing for a second so BE PREPARED!! Also, the sign that is placed on the parking kiosk on the way in to the parking lot does NOT say "NO INTERVIEWS". I nearly crapped my lovely new suit when my partner gasped and said that it did. From a distance the MD on the "MD INTERVIEWS sign kinda looks like "NO" I guess??!!! >: He has an eye appointment this week :rollin Best of luck to everyone. I had a really **fun**experience and hope you do too! IB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MayFlower1 Posted April 2, 2003 Report Share Posted April 2, 2003 IRNBRUD, Thanks for sharing your information. It sounds like you feel ok about your interview. I wish you the best of luck come the end of May! Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest IRNBRUD Posted April 2, 2003 Report Share Posted April 2, 2003 Thanks Peter. I'm happy with how it went regardless of the outcome. This was my second interview experience at Mac. What sucks is this year I seem to have a lot longer wait until June than I did last year!! The agony eh?? :x :x :x bye IB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cher1234 Posted April 2, 2003 Report Share Posted April 2, 2003 I think the best advice regarding the interview is to know yourself. After all.. the interview is really all about you, and what you have to offer the programme. When you know yourself, you can be yourself and just enjoy the day. I found the whole process, although it was stressful, to be an experience that will last a lifetime. It was facinating to see how a large group of strangers from all over Canada (and some from beyond) could come together as a group and support each other despite the competitive nature of the process. To those of you interviewing next weekend... good luck and enjoy the day! Regardless of the outcome, you will definitely walk away an enriched person because of it. Cheryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shelleyrn Posted April 2, 2003 Report Share Posted April 2, 2003 IRNBRUD....i just fell off my chair laughing (ouch!) reading your post about your interview experience. Oh my gosh!! I am sure this second interview is the lucky charm...good luck..I am anxiously awaiting my interview on Saturday.....ahhhhh... Shelley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest multifish Posted April 2, 2003 Report Share Posted April 2, 2003 The whole process went better than I thought, although I really felt a bit hindered by being so early in the morning. The group tutorial went very well and set a good tone for the rest of the day, the video part was simple, and the interview was quite standard. My interviewers were so-so friendly, and I was beginning to fade by this point, but it was okay. Typical questions that one might expect, i.e. why medicine, tell us about these activities you've done and what you learned from them, what are your strengths and your main weakness, no ethical scenarios or current events. I found some of the med students were very friendly and others less so -- at Mac, more than at other schools I've interviewed at, they had a tendency to ignore the interviewees in favour of talking among themselves, although it could have been the time in the morning and I can't say I was feeling all that chatty myself. I also took part in the bell ringer study, and was told that there is an excellent chance that this will be included in next year's interview process. It is quite different and a little strange, with a lot of emphasis on your opinions and your ability to communicate. If people are interested, I can give some more details on this. Mm, but those details would have to wait until after the next interview weekend, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jmh2005 Posted April 2, 2003 Report Share Posted April 2, 2003 Multifish, When did you interview? I was there all day Saturday and there was a definate difference in both applicants and students depending on the time of day...the first lot 0645 group didn't seem to chat with students much and vice versa...I think this was a product of the time of day and many of us were standing at various entry points to the university in the rain, re-directing applicants since 0600. Many students were going on 2-4 hours of sleep due to the change in venue... As the day progressed, there seemed to be so much more discussion between students and applicants...I'm sorry you didn't have as good an experience as maybe you hoped, tours would have been really nice and even the pouring rain made it almost impossible to give a tour of the university that we as med students rarely see (but should!). I can assure you that we are a very, very friendly bunch of students who really tried to make the day go as smooth and as pleasant as possible. We just found out about the changes Friday at noon. Apparently after the 1st crew of applicants went through, things were much more 'on-track'. Take care, Jess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mumfirst Posted April 2, 2003 Report Share Posted April 2, 2003 Hello all, I had my interview on Sunday and can say that I am so glad that it is now over. The day went well - it was much less painful than I thought it was going to be! It was also nice to meet some of the wonderful folks from this board! Everything felt so surreal - probably because I have wanted this for soooooo long that I had to keep reminding myself that I was actually at a med school interview! You start off in a large room with all 24(?) applicants for your check in time. There is a first year student there to answer any questions as we waited to be filed out for name tags and id presentation. The name tags are all colour coded and there was another first year student host/hostess assigned to each colour coded group of 6 applicants. The groups then go upstairs to wait for their first part of the simulated tutorial (some groups do the video first, others do the group discussion first). We had about 15 minutes to wait and we were able to introduce ourselves to each other and generally start to get comfortable with each other. We had our video clip first - quite a straightforward exercise, but make sure you write very small and very quickly so you don't run out of space or time! We were then escorted into another room by our host and were seated in a horseshoe shape facing the 3 chairs of the interviewers. Our host drew up a seating chart and gave us our instructions and told us exactly what to expect (except what the discussion subject would be of course). The interviewers then came in and introduced themselves. The new venue only had one room with a one way mirror so all groups had the interviewers in the room with them. We were given a sheet of paper with the subject to be discussed and we had 15 minutes to discuss. Our group worked well together and the discussion flowed. After the discussion there is time for evaluation and then the interviewers leave the room. At that point, all of the groups are taken to the "lounge" where there are refreshments set out. There are 24(?) applicants awaiting their 3on1 interviews and several 1st year students available to answer any questions. The students that I met were all extremely friendly and seemed genuinely interested in making us all feel comfortable. Every 1/2 hour, a first year came in and called the applicants whose turn it was for the personal interview. I felt very comfortable with my personal interview. The interviewers were all very friendly - more so than I was expecting! I didn't have any "desert island" or "world news" questions. They were all questions about me - and several right from the autobio submission. I really got the feeling that my interviewers got to know me for who I am. We laughed a little about some things and got quite serious about other things. On the whole, I came out of there knowing that I had done my best and said all that I had hoped to get across. It is now out of my hands and the adcom will either feel like I am a good fit for Mac or I'm not. Personally, after meeting so many wonderful students and others affiliated with the university I am convinced that Mac is for me. Having said that, having met so many wonderful applicants, I am glad that I am not the one having to decide who should get in and who shouldn't!!! Hope this rambling helps those still awaiting your interviews feel more at ease. Many have said it before, but I really do see now that the best thing you can do is "just be yourself"! Good luck to all. Edited to say - Please excuse my jumping between 1st and 3rd person in my description! :lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest toothyhuh Posted April 2, 2003 Report Share Posted April 2, 2003 Hi Mumfirst, glad to know your interviews went well. Just a quick question, how long was the issue that was put forth to you during the sim tut? I've heard 1 page from someone, but i"m not sure if the page was full of text or just a few lines. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mumfirst Posted April 2, 2003 Report Share Posted April 2, 2003 Hi Toothyhuh, It was on a full sheet of paper but the text was only about 5 sentences long. As easy as it is for me to say, there really is nothing to worry about - it is a situation that everyone will know about. As one of the other applicants in our group asked our host "if we live in this world then we should know something about it?" The answer was absolutely! I know that I was worried that it might be some type of medical or health related issue that would demonstrate our tremendous lack of knowledge once we started to discuss....lol.....it really was VERY straightforward. DON'T worry about it! Good luck and enjoy your day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lynlloyd Posted April 2, 2003 Report Share Posted April 2, 2003 Hi mumfirst, Thanks so much for your post. It's helped me to de-stress a little. I have my interview on Saturday and I'm getting damp palms already!!! I'm glad you had a good experience. Good luck!!! Lynlloyd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest toothyhuh Posted April 2, 2003 Report Share Posted April 2, 2003 Thanks mumfirst, I was under the impression we'd have to read quite a detailed description of an issue. Thanks for clarification. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bug Posted April 2, 2003 Report Share Posted April 2, 2003 your description of your interview, was very enlightening. I am not interviewing this year at Mac, but I feel like I know a little bit more about the Mac philosophy and what they are looking for because of what you have shared. Thanks, bug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest misagh Posted April 3, 2003 Report Share Posted April 3, 2003 Shouts out to mumfirst for the fantastic description of the interview day! You have done all of us a great service! And thank you everyone who contributed their experiences, just goes to show your kindness and thoughtful nature. Hopefully i can post some of my experiences after this Sunday... - misagh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snoopychan Posted April 3, 2003 Report Share Posted April 3, 2003 Props to mumfirst! I was quite honoured to be one of the 6 students in her group on my interview day. Her description was dead-on. Mumfirst: if you are reading this, I was one of the "out-numbered" guys in your group that day. My experience was exactly as she described it. My personal interview also went extremely smoothly. The interviwers were very nice and asked valid questions in getting to know me. I would say that it has been the smoothest of my 6 interviews. I walked out of there a happy man. so don't worry..have fun...and be yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mumfirst Posted April 3, 2003 Report Share Posted April 3, 2003 Hey snoopychan!!! Glad to see you have made it to 4 posts! Of course I remember you! I'm glad to hear that you felt good about your personal interview as well (and of course it was the best interview of all of them - yeah Mac!!) I'm sure you will get accepted at all 6 schools - let me know how you make out. To everyone else - you are more than welcome for the interview info - I'm glad I could be of some help. Good luck to all this weekend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MACFORME Posted April 3, 2003 Report Share Posted April 3, 2003 Hi Everyone! I was just wondering if you could enlighten us on where the new venue is for interviews. Is it walking distance from Health Sciences Centre? Where do you suggest we park? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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