Lemon Bars Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 After years of prereq classes, the GRE, the CASPA application, essays, and after six rejections, I finally have my first ever interview for PA school! They have told me that the interview lasts all day from 8 am to 5 pm which includes a solo interview with the director, a student panel interview, a tour of campus, some sort of game challenge with other applicants and who knows what else. I have not yet practiced for the PA interview. Honestly I didn't think I was going to get any interviews this year after the six rejections and I was feeling a bit depressed, but this has re-energized me! Please hit me with any interview advice you have and I will start searching the forum and preparing as much as possible. I have never had an all-day interview before for any job... Thanks so much for any advice! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktcan10 Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Congratulations! There are many people who will tell you lots of relevant and good advice, and here's my two cents gleaned from my interview experience: -as contradictory as it sounds, don't over prepare. Have a clean and solid idea of why you want to be a PA, where you come from, and what your goals are for PA school and beyond, but don't rehearse too much! I didn't rehearse much, and as a result, I was prepared for variations in the way common questions are asked, and had room to be spontaneous with some curveball questions. I actually have a pretty hilarious curveball question story and my random response. -and again, as contradictory as it sounds, relax and have fun! Getting to the interview is a huge accomplishment. They've already seen things they like, so SHINE! Show them they're right! -I relied a lot on the other students to help calm my nerves. When there was downtime, I talked to them, learned their stories, and was able to handle group activities better as a result. Yes, you are all going for a limited number of spots, but my advice is to view them as potential future colleagues and not Amazing Race competitors. ;) Good luck!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj13 Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 I have not interviewed yet, as I am also preparing for my first interview. But I wanted to share with you Andrew Rodican's book How to "ace" the Physician Assistant School Interview. It has helped me calm my nerves a bit as it has a lot of common interview questions in there. I would recommend it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyblue3 Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 My first interview was back in October and the first thing that the admissions director told us was to relax and think of the interview as a Match.com date. It's about seeing if you and the school are a good fit for one another. As ktcan said above, your application proved that you deserve an interview..now it is about your personality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Here's the deal: your group interviews probably will be the largest part of the process. You will probably get one out of every three questions (assuming 3 to a panel) to answer first. The rest will probably involve you following up with the same questions after your fellow panelmates answer. Relax, answer smoothly, don't go on too long, and try to cooperatively build on the answers of others when it isn't your turn to go first. Don't over-rehearse. Don't worry about being totally complete with your answers. The goal is for the people to see who you are as a person -- they already know your grades, letters of recommendation, healthcare experience, etc. Let them see you as someone who knows what they want to do, is flexible enough to deal with change, and would be a nice complement to their social culture. Relax; you'll do fine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Bars Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 You all are awesome! Thanks for the advice. I will try to be prepared but not neurotic about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pbuonocore Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 One thing I thing interviewees should realize is that if you were selected for an interview the school already feels you are qualified for their program on paper. The point of most interviews is to assess whether you are a good fit for the particular program AND if the program is a good fit for you (in terms of personality, learning style etc). Don't go into an interview as if you are desperate to be admitted (even if you are). You are interviewing the school as much as they are interviewing you. Read the schools mission statement, learn what you can about the structure of the program (ie is it a generalist focus, surgical focus, does it emphasize lots of lecture time or is does it take a student directed learning approach). Make sure you express to the interviewers why specifically the program appeals to you and why you feel you it would be a good fit for your learning style and goals. Most of all relax! You are not a child being scrutinized by your principal. You are an adult being interviewed by another adult who is likely a member of the field you are hoping to join. Make the interviewer feel as though they are speaking to a future colleague not a nervous student. Enjoy the experience and stay positive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latina PA Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 ^^ fully agree with the above^^ Make sure you know as much as you can about the school, the program and each faculty professor (find their bios and read them) Make sure you know why you want to be a PA. Know why you want to attend that program in particular Re-read your personal statement the night before and the morning of and it is true…... remember you are their equal, don't let them intimidate you or make you sweat ! Be confident ! *******CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I'M STATIC FOR YOU !!!!!*********** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 I sit on an adcom at times and, frankly, if an applicant ever did research about me and said something about me during an interview, I would think they were a stalker and be totally freaked out! Know yourself, know the program, and be yourself! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pbuonocore Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 I sit on an adcom at times and, frankly, if an applicant ever did research about me and said something about me during an interview, I would think they were a stalker and be totally freaked out! Know yourself, know the program, and be yourself! Well if the school has the program director or director of admissions doing interviews then I don't think knowing a bit about them would be considered stalkerish lol, since they are going to be pretty public figures in their respective programs. Jim Van Rhee is the new director at the program I'll be attending and I made sure I knew a bit about him before my interview since a) he had just been hired in August and his approach is a bit different than the previous director and b) hes a relatively prominent figure in PA education. I wouldn't drive yourself too crazy over these types of things though. Spending time learning about the program itself is more worth your while. Furthermore, most school give you a pretty good overview of their program at the beginning of the interview day so you'll have the opportunity to ask questions and develop questions to ask your interviewers then as well. All the schools know you really want to attend PA school but what schools want to see is that you really want to specifically attend their PA program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latina PA Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I sit on an adcom at times and, frankly, if an applicant ever did research about me and said something about me during an interview, I would think they were a stalker and be totally freaked out! Know yourself, know the program, and be yourself! At the programs I interviewed, all the professor's bios were in the program's website. Some of the professors have published textbooks, others are involved in research, some have both a JD and an MD degree, etc, this is the info that they want a prospective student to know about. During my interview I was specifically asked if I had read their bios………I'm glad I had. It has been said before, you are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you, how else are you going to see if they are a good fit for you if you don't read their bio…………………….no stalking there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nospin29 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 My biggest advice I can give is BE UNIQUE. When asked why you want to be a PA, tell them what brought you to the PA profession, not healthcare. Saying how you want to help people and make a positive impact on society is great, but you can do that as a nurse or EMT.the " why PA" question is the easiest question to answer, but its also the easiest to over think. How i prepared for this question was memorizing the key points I wanted to make rather than memorizing exactly eveything I was going to say. Under stress, if you're trying to rehearse something you memorized and get lost, you're entire response can get derailed and your answer will show them that it isn't from the heart even knowing it is.hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swooshie1 Posted January 14, 2014 Share Posted January 14, 2014 I agree with everything above, try to relax, they already think you're qualified ! But something I would suggest really trying to "flesh out" is what their clinical rotation site situation is. Where are the sites, when will you know where you are going, can they help with housing etc. This probably best comes from 2nd year students; ask if there are any available that you can speak to. This is information I wish I had more strongly pursued prior to my interviews and final school decision. Don't rely on the program's website or their faculty statements regarding clinical sites. Good luck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 try to cooperatively build on the answers of others when it isn't your turn to go first. This is so important in a group interview, and a shocking percentage of applicants (in my experience anyway) are absolutely shit at it. No one wants to hear you regurgitate your memorized answer when the person next to you has just said the exact same thing already. It could be the best answer in the world and you'll still sound ridiculous. Gotta improvise! Listen to the other applicants' answers and pick out what you agree with and what you disagree with. Use it in your own answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAtoB Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 Make sure you've eaten and are hydrated so you feel your best and don't go in with a slight headache or feel tired or 'out of it.' It'll help you act more like your natural self. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoRyou Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 I sit on an adcom at times and, frankly, if an applicant ever did research about me and said something about me during an interview, I would think they were a stalker and be totally freaked out! Know yourself, know the program, and be yourself! But UGL, you should not be freaked out. You are very rare and a lot of people have read your book (including myself ;-) ) so people are going to know a lot about you already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrooklynPA-C Posted January 15, 2014 Share Posted January 15, 2014 First Congrats on the interview! You've already made it past significant hurdles just to get this far. There's a lot of good advice here. KTCAN10's point about interacting with the other interviewees and current first years, especially. Current first years can be a great source of information about what to expect with the program. In my opinion I feel if you get along with them it's a good indicator that you'll be a good fit for that program. I was more nervous for my first PA interview than anything else I can remember, but talking with everyone there helped me feel relaxed. In addition to what you say, it's how you come across. I watched this TED talk about non-verbal communication a few times, and I really think it helped. It's all simple stuff (like don't slouch and make eye contact), but its all good to keep in the back of your mind. Most importantly, just be yourself and have fun. Good Luck! PS. If you want a nickel's worth of advice (meaning that there's slightly more than my previous 2 cents), I recently finished up a blog post with some interview advice http://paschoolandbeyond.wordpress.com/2014/01/15/interview-day/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Bars Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 tjcorso than you for your reply and that was an excellent TED talk! Thanks to everyone for their advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeatlesLVR Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Congratulations!!! I hope to be I. Your shoes after... 2 or 3 more years of pre reqs, GRE exams, CASPAR app, and essays. You'll do GREAT in your interview!!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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