Interview

[evil mcnasty]

Originally Posted by justdoit

If you follow the above story of the guy who wore a T-shirt and shorts your suicidal. He should not have gotten in.....that's just plain stupid or rather his interviewer is just plain stupid! Hate to be so blunt, but if the shoe fits.....

i agree that it was very unproffesional and im not defending his choice, but he still got in. he's been been in my class each semester for 4 semesters without failing. go figure.

if you look around campus i can see at fair amount of people who have failed one or more semesters and still dont get the idea. there are currently students here that arent even enrolled in classes for the semester but have been here 8 months longer than i have.... hmmm [6th semester basic sciences? awesome.] i bet they wore fancy clothing to their interviews....

cheers.
-evil.

[McGillGrad]

Originally Posted by Manny22

... well now I hate to ask but yeah, I've been working on my personal essay statement (in all its 300 word glory) for a month... I've taken the activist perspective to responding... and now I'm feeling somewhat doubtful about it- what if it's too hostile? or seems too idealist? and about HMO's... I'm a Canadian student- so I'm not well versed in American health care structure but I did take a course in ethics in medicine and the law which briefly covered HMO's- so based on the above topics that were covered is it a good idea to reserach those items?
also... I'm wondering if I should even apply to ross because my gpa is kinda low, and I only took the MCAT once, my score was 25M; my first year was great, my second and third year I kinda blew it but by 4th year it was time to get back on the horse- I honestly became disinterested in school and faced other problems, but then my passion was reignited by some courses I took in my fourth year which actually excited me about the medical profession and about global health in general- is there any hope for me or should I go back to school and take the MCAT again?

Your personal essay should convey your passion, your strengths and your die-hard attitude along with personal challeges that you have dealt with/overcome.

As for your GPA, how low?

[Manny22]

we're on the 4.5 scale: im cringing as im telling you this- 2.53; in my first year i held at 3.68, durring second year i decided to take organic and biochem at the same time, full course load, and a part time job, along with other things- i wasn't advised academically and i bottomed out. By second year i gained some optimism, but because i had not learned how to resolve the mistakes i made in second year i again faced the same problems with taking on more than i could handle. By fourth year, it was time to do some structuring (organizing, time management, prioritising) and de-stressing ; i had to reduce some of the extra-cirriculars. My embryology (a course i failed in the second half of my second year and took again in third year) prof had even advised me to drop my volunteering duties - which i didn't. Altho i made a lot of mistakes (my belief is that those years were a cumulative low point) i came out of it with a lot of perspective. In august of the end of my third year i wrote the mcat, but again i was working full time in the summer, and didn't study as much as i had wanted to and ended up getting 25M. However, by fourth year I started picking up the slack when i'd heard of the program at ross- it became a motivating factor...
All through-out this I've had to grow up (in the sense of personal relationships and difficulties with family, stress, etc.- things which can get the best of you, but you have the ability to become a more adaptable person for getting over) and deal with the mistakes...
is there any hope or should i go back to do another year?

[sukhtinder]

Originally Posted by GumpyChump

Hello All,

For those that have upcoming interviews, I wanted to share my experience. I interviewed a few days ago at the California office with ************. Before I had my interview I was a little afraid because I had heard that other people did not have a good experience with ************. Well, let me tell you. My interview was great because *************** is a very friendly man. He greeted me with a smile and asked me if I wanted any water or coffee. During the whole interview he was very nice and thorough as well. I started out with a video and then sat down for the interview. In total my interview was about 1 1/2 hours.

First he asked me a little about my family. We then spoke a little about my hobbies and what I like to do. After that we went through all the information that I had written in my application. I was asked to explain my volunteer and work experiences. We went over my academic records. The last part of the interview were some ethical questions and the interview ended with my questions.

Here are some specific questions I was asked:

1. Why do you want to become a doctor?
2. Where do you think the future of medicine is going?
3. What do you think about the HMO issue?
4. What is your opinion of assisted suicide?
5. What would you do if you had a patient who asked you to assist them in ending their life?
6. How do you plan on paying for your education?
7. What area of medicine do you have in mind?
8. What kind of relationship do you want to have with your patients?

In all, the interview was very thorough and I was impressed. Now all there is to do is wait. I was told it would take about 4 weeks for me to find out the final decision.

Good luck to everyone!

~Gumpy

holy crap they ask Qs like a real med school these days!

[justdoit]

Originally Posted by sukhtinder

holy crap they ask Qs like a real med school these days!

Not really. I think it probably depends on the interviewer. I only had about 2 to 3 questions from that list. It was very "laid back".....got my mind on my money and my money on my mind.

bonus point's to anyone who can name the above tune....



I also want to address Manny22: there could still be hope for you getting into Ross (you could definitely get into some of the other schools)? Your overall gpa I'm assuming is 2.53? Break it down for me.....what's your overall gpa and your science gpa? If you have a better science gpa I think you'd probably have a chance. Also you didn't mention any medical experience or maybe I missed that.......this will also work in your favor.

[Manny22]

thanks for the reply by the way

Originally Posted by justdoit

Not really. I think it probably depends on the interviewer. I only had about 2 to 3 questions from that list. It was very "laid back".....got my mind on my money and my money on my mind.

bonus point's to anyone who can name the above tune....



I also want to address Manny22: there could still be hope for you getting into Ross (you could definitely get into some of the other schools)? Your overall gpa I'm assuming is 2.53? Break it down for me.....what's your overall gpa and your science gpa? If you have a better science gpa I think you'd probably have a chance. Also you didn't mention any medical experience or maybe I missed that.......this will also work in your favor.

ok so here's my breakdown (looking at my med app for ross)
the 2.53 was incorrect- it was a guess regarding credits i had transferred back to my school- it's actually 2.465:
science gpa:2.09 (but before you recoil in disgust-my science gpa in first year was 4.36 this is on a 4.5 scale); durring my second and third year i faced certain family situations, my head wasn't in the books- i failed 18 credit hours, was super depressed and miserable. I was super cocky in my second year, i decided to take biochemistry and organic chemistry at the same time- the biochem labs were MURDER... it was a totally disheartening experience, I started to not really care anymore. I pretty much set myself up for failure by not seeking academic advising and my work-load was rediculus because i also was working at a job part-time. It was the lack of time management and dealing with stress that paved this road to hell...
in my fourth year, i was back on track: more structured, organised, time better managed- it was difficult to remain positive after falling off so hard.
but through-out the four years i was involved with inner-city youth organizations, disaster relief/foriegn aid groups, i worked as a volunteer receptionist at a medical clinic, and also volunteered with Cancer Care.
My other re-course would be to apply to St. Christopher's in England or to a certain school in Ireland that looks primarily at mcat scores (must be between 22-36); i wrote the August 2004 MCAT (my first and only time writing it) and got a passing score of 25M. I was working full time, and studied whenever I could... but I'm thinking I should probably enroll in a class for the MCAT, take time off work, and really focus on it. Then I'm probably giong to enroll back in university and under the direction of academic advising try to at least get back up to a 3.0 if possible...but I'm just sick of undergrad and the medschools in Ireland and the UK are looking more and more promising because as a Canadian student- If i wanted to practice in Canada there'd be less of a problem because the cma recognizes those institutions...
the bonus of ross tho is that i have family friends who go there, one of which is on the Dean's honour list, the other is getting ready to write the USMLE step 3 or has written it (not sure)- basically i've gotten the low down on how to succeed in that environment and am looking forward at the opportunity to do so but there's that gpa that stands in my way...
what to do?

[FRNC]

Originally Posted by evil mcnasty

There are a bunch of us from california currently in 4th sem right now. One of the guys i know wore a T-shirt and shorts to the LA interiew where as the rest of us were in full suits. He got in without a problem and 4 semesters later we are off to miami... good luck guys.

Dress your Best and be your Best. This interview will effect the course you take for the rest of your life. Give it your best shot and don't make "light" of it. Wear a T-shirt to your pre LVN/LPN interview (you're still jepordizing your chances).

FRNC

[BelleStarr]

Originally Posted by justdoit

It was very "laid back".....got my mind on my money and my money on my mind.

bonus point's to anyone who can name the above tune....

So off subject but that would be Gin and Juice. I have a "country-fied" version on a cd a friend gave me as a gift one year. Never have found out who sings it. Once you listen to it its hard to get it out of your mind.

**

[McGillGrad]

Originally Posted by BelleStarr

So off subject but that would be Gin and Juice. I have a "country-fied" version on a cd a friend gave me as a gift one year. Never have found out who sings it. Once you listen to it its hard to get it out of your mind.

**

WHAT! You do not recognize who sings that?

Please tell me you were not born in the 80s!

[sukhtinder]

i had like a 2.2 GPA, and no MCAT... and i'm proud! dumbbuttses unite!