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Interviewing Tips for Health Professions Schools

The Interview Committee will be made up of faculty members who already know about your credentials from your resume, but want to identify candidates with maturity, empathy, and excellent interpersonal skills. They are going to assess the following: 

  • Knowledge about the school and program: Before the interview learn as much as you can about the school. Research the program to know ongoing initiatives. 
  • Professional Appearance: Be sure to wear a suit with neutral colors such as black, grey or navy. 
    • Men should have the suit pressed, avoid patterned ties, and be well groomed 
    • Women should avoid distracting accessories and wear neutral makeup
  • Your verbal and nonverbal communication: Not only is it important to communicate and use proper grammar, but watching your body language is important as well. 
    • Firm handshake in the beginning 
    • Make eye contact 
    • Smile and remain enthusiastic 
    • If it is a group interview they will also assess you when fellow candidates are speaking 
    • Do not cross your arms or fidget 
  • Your ability to articulate your experiences: Know your personal statement and application and be able to speak about each item in detail. 
    • Schedule a mock interview with a Career Advisor to better prepare when answering questions 
  • Honesty in your answers: The committee members will be interviewing a bunch of candidates. They know when someone is not being sincere. If you do not have the answer to a question it is okay to answer honestly rather than making something up. 
  • Ask questions: Prepare a list of 3-5 questions for the interview. Not asking any questions will make them think you are disinterested. 
    • Avoid asking questions that can be answered by looking on the school Website. 
    • if you have a break or go on a tour, ask questions to the current students in the program. 
  • Follow up after the interview: Sending a thank you note to your interviewers is not only appropriate but also an opportunity to communicate with someone who may or may not choose to be your advocate on the admissions committee where you have applied. 
    • Thank the interviewers for his/her time 
    • Mention something unique about you or something that stood out in the conversation you had during your interview
  1. So tell me a little about yourself.
  2. Why do you want to be a dentist?
  3. Have you had any experience with dentistry?
  4. What differentiates you from the rest of the applicants?
  5. I like you and this all sounds great, but what can I go back and tell the admissions committee that will convince them that we want you in our upcoming class?
  6. Why did you apply to our Dental school?
  7. What other Dental schools have you applied to?
  8. Have you had any other interviews at other schools?
  9. What type of dental program are you interested in?
  10. What did you think about our school (ie. facilities, program)?
  11. In the past, what has happened to you that has made the biggest impact on your life?
  12. Can you explain the (A-F) grade you received in this class?
  13. We noticed you withdrew from a class, why?
  14. Why did you decide to major in...?
  15. If you could meet anybody, in all of history, and eat dinner with them, who would it be?
  16. Dentists require a great deal of hand coordination. Do you have any relevant experience?
  17. Do you think the role of a Dentist has changed, and how so?
  18. Did you consider applying to medical school?
  19. If you are relocating, what do you think of our school's location?
  20. How did your friends/family react to your interest in Dentistry?
  21. Do you have any friends or family who are Dentists?
  22. Do you have any plans after graduation?
  23. What would make you happy 10 years from now?
  24. If you had to change anything about yourself, what would it be?
  1. Tell me about why you are interested in this program.
  2. What are your career plans and what led you to these decisions?
  3. Why medicine?
  4. What is one thing that you currently do that you will keep doing once you start practicing?
  5. Define professionalism and talk about a time that you were professional
  6. Tell me about a time when you demonstrated initiative.
  7. Tell me about a time when you faced a conflict or anger with another individual.
  8. Tell me about a time when you were criticized unfairly.
  9. Describe a situation in which you have worked with a diverse group of people. What did you learn from that situation?
  10. If you could start your college career all over again, what would you do differently?
  11. What were your most memorable accomplishments in your college career?
  12. What two things would you consider your greatest strengths?
  13. What two things would you consider your greatest weaknesses?
  14. What do you think is the most pressing issue in medicine today?
  15. Say you were a doctor and your patient is terminal. The patient looks at you with hope and asks if he will make it. What do you tell him?
  16. Imagine you are a physician. You are working with a patient who is refusing a treatment that you believe is necessary. What would you do?
  17. What do you think will be your greatest challenge in completing medical school or learning how to be a doctor?
  18. Why would you be a good doctor? What do you feel are the most important qualities in being a good doctor?
  19. Why did you choose your undergraduate major?
  20. What extracurricular activities were you involved in during your undergraduate major?
  21. What impact do you want to have on the medical profession?
  1. Tell us about yourself.
  2. What appeals to you most, about working in the field of optometry?
  3. What other schools of optometry have you applied to and where does our school rank?
  4. Which optometry related newspapers, journals or publications do you read to stay in touch with new industry discoveries, and current events?
  5. How does your family feel about you becoming an optometrist? Do you have a great deal of support?
  6. How do you respond to feedback and criticism?
  7. Describe a situation where your work was criticized. What was your immediate reaction to the situation?
  8. Who in your life mentors, or inspires you?
  9. When you suffer a setback, how does that emotionally affect you and your work?
  10. Do you have aspirations to own your own practice in the future? What appeals to you about business ownership
  11. Why are you choosing optometry over other health care professions?
  12. As an optometrist, how will you keep in touch with your community's needs?
  13. Do you consider yourself a leader? When have you led a team?
  14. Many optometrists have an area of specialty in which they work. What area of optometry interests you the most?
  15. What are you reading right now?
  16. What achievement are you most proud of, so far, on your path to becoming an optometrist?
  17. It is important that our school exercises great discernment when choosing applicants. What is your plan if you are not accepted into our optometry program this year?
  18. In your opinion, what is the most concerning topic facing optometry today?
  19. Optometry school is expensive. Have you made a solid financial plan for tuition costs at our school, and beyond?
  20. Tell us about your overall academic performance, so far. Where have you excelled, and where could you improve?
  21. Do you have any questions?
  1. Tell us about yourself.
  2. What is a PA?
  3. What have you done to prepare yourself for this profession?
  4. Tell us about the role you see the PA playing in the health care system.
  5. Are you familiar with any national or state level regulations for PAs?
  6. Describe the most stressful work or academic situation you have been in, and tell us how you dealt with it.
  7. You have had several jobs in the past; how do we know you will finish the program if we accept you?
  8. What are your strengths?
  9. What are your weaknesses?
  10. Do you prefer to work with others or by yourself?
  11. Your supervising MD tells you to do something that you know is dead wrong; what do you do?
  12. What do you want to be doing five years from now?
  13. What will you do if you don’t get in this year?
  14. What does your typical day look like?
  15. Where do you see the future of medicine heading?
  16. If you saw someone stealing medications in the hospital, what would you do?
  17. What experiences influenced you to pursue this career?
  18. Your file indicates that you have had difficulty with (e.g., time management or science coursework). Would you like to explain this?
  19. What accommodations, if any, do you need to successfully complete this program?
  20. If you could pass a law that would help PAs, what would it be?
  21. What do you do outside of work or academic studies?
  22. How do you feel about taking call or working 60 or more hours per week as a second-year student?
  23. If we have only one position left to fill why should we pick you?
  24. Do you have any questions for us?
  1. Tell me about yourself
  2. What was your favorite/most difficult course in college?
  3. Who is your greatest role model?
  4. What is a negative aspect about yourself? How have you worked on making it better?
  5. Describe a moment you felt proud an accomplishment.
  6. Where did your interest in pharmacy come from?
  7. Why our pharmacy program?
  8. What do you want to do after you graduate?
  9. What do you do in your free time?
  10. Why pharmacy, why not research or medicine?
  11. What got you interested in pharmacy?
  12. What are the most important attributes of a pharmacist?
  13. What makes you stand out among other applicants?
  14. What got you interested in pharmacy?
  15. Give us an example of your leadership ability.
  16. Is there anything you would change about your undergraduate experience?
  17. Describe the importance of understanding diversity as a pharmacist.
  18. What is the most positive aspect of pharmacy?
  19. Give us an example of when you used your creativity to solve a problem.
  20. What makes you unique?
  21. Where will you be in 5 / 10 years?
  22. Anything else we should know about you? [list other positive aspects about yourself]
  23. Do you have any questions for us?
  1. Tell us about yourself.
  2. What is the biggest challenge facing veterinary medicine today?
  3. If you could not be a veterinarian, what would you do?
  4. Are you interested in pursuing research?
  5. Tell us more about your experience with…. [Veterinarian Shadowing]
  6. How do you relieve stress?
  7. What are your hobbies?
  8. How would you defend the use of animals in research to PETA advocates?
  9. How would you describe yourself, your background, and your future goals in three minutes or less?
  10. What past experiences have made you want to be a veterinarian?
  11. What skills are essential to be a successful veterinarian? Why are these skills necessary?
  12. What responsibility do veterinarians have in assuring food safety?
  13. What is a key piece of legislation affecting the food animal industry today?
  14. Why have you been successful this far into your academic career?
  15. How do you make decisions?
  16. Tell me about a time when you handled a situation where you had to work with a difficult co-worker or customer.
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