How many people interviewed you?
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 1.92 | 38 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Positively | 31 |
| Negatively | 1 |
| No change | 7 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 5.61 | 38 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.13 | 39 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.47 | 38 |
No responses
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 5 minutes | 0 |
| 10 minutes | 0 |
| 15 minutes | 0 |
| 20 minutes | 0 |
| 25 minutes | 0 |
| 30 minutes | 1 |
| 35 minutes | 0 |
| 40 minutes | 0 |
| 45 minutes | 3 |
| 50 minutes | 7 |
| 55 minutes | 2 |
| 60+ minutes | 26 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At the school | 38 |
| At a regional location | 0 |
| At another location | 0 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| One-on-one | 29 |
| In a group | 8 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Open file | 1 |
| Closed file | 36 |
| Response Average | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 1.92 | 38 |
"I made sure I knew all of my experiences and qualifications before interviewing. The most important thing for me was being confident and remaining calm."
"Practiced behavioral interview questions"
"I thought critically about my various jobs, leadership experience, and volunteer work so I would be able to pull from those experiences when asked to talk about past experiences."
"I looked through the schools website and did some research about the school and its programs. Then I looked up what a behavioral interview was and looked up types of questions. I started practicing what I would say and came up with how I would answer different types of behavioral questions."
"Spent some time walking down memory lane, pulling examples of times where I showed networking, quick-thinking, communication, "leadership," etc."
"I looked up a list of behavioral interview questions and tried to prepare examples for each scenario in my head."
"Read over questions on SDN from other schools that do behavioral interviews, researched vet school behavioral interview questions on google, listed as many examples as I could for answers to each question, outlined them in more detail to get my thoughts in order, practiced answering some of the more difficult ones aloud. There was really only one question I was not prepared for!"
"I studied behavioral interview questions, reviewed my most significant experiences, and got a good nights sleep."
"I did practice behavioral interview questions."
"Reviewed behavioral based questions to allow for me to retrieve a relevant example from my brain."
"I looked over this website."
"As the interview questions were blocked by the school on SDN, I reviewed the behavioral questions from all the other schools because I figured they'd mostly be the same type asked at Minnesota."
"Researched behavioral questions online, then sat with my wife in a coffee shop and went through each of them, coming up with several answers for each. Practiced delivering some of them to her. Did not 'memorize' answers - just let it all stay fresh in my head."
"Went over various behavioral questions on SDN and googled typical behavioral questions."
"I read over all the questions posted on SDN, did a mock interview with my advisor, reread my personal statement the night before, and read the school's brochure so I'd have a good handle on the school's strengths and weaknesses."
"Read a medical-school interview guide, reviewed questions on SDN, came up with situations to talk about for various questions and practiced with a friend. The practicing was the most helpful as the interviewers managed to ask most questions slightly differently than expected, so it helped to have to practice answering questions I hadn't prepared for."
"Reviewd SDN interview feedback, discussed possible answers with co workers"
"Looked on SDN for interview questions and prepared answers to those questions using examples from my life, also reflected back on different situations from my life in general. Read the book "The Medical School Interview- Secrets and a System for Success" by Jeremiah Fleenor, which, while geared towards pre-med students, I also found very insightful and helpful."
"School website, SDN, Went over the why me? why vet med? why Minn?"
"Jotted down anecdotes. Reviewed previous questions on this thread."
"SDN!! I studied all the interview feedback questions for Minnesota. I prepared an answer for each one."
"Made a list of possible events in my life that might be good or interesting to talk about."
"Listed experiences that could be used as examples for a variety of questions."
"Reviewed my application, looked at the school's website, reviewed the current events, talked to students at the pizza party, and SDN."
"Read this forum. Made list of behavior style questions and prepared for them."
"I knew it was a behavioral interview and used some HR resources to practice behavior questions. I also have a brother in HR so he could prepare me."
"I thought about events in my life that conveyed my actions in various situations."
"Read-up on common behavioral-type interview questions and outlined certain general life experiences I've had that I could speak about AND that were important to me that I wanted them to know about me."
"Since it is a behavioral interview, I just looked at some common questions on web sites and prepared for certain applicable situations."
"I do better when I don't prepare. "
"I read information about the interview process on the school's website, and read SDN to try to get an idea of some specific questions they might ask (And I had seen the committment question on here, which they ended up asking!) I also tried to think of a variety of experiences I'd had which could serve as answers for different questions."
"Mock interviews with profs and friends. Research behavioral interviewing process on internet. Reflected a lot on past life experiences and wrote them down/clarified them in my mind."
"Their interviews are behavioral so I looked up questions on the internet and thought of different situations in my life that I could apply."
"I really enjoyed this interview process! I felt as though the longer interview allowed me to really get to explain my experiences rather than just rush through them. The interview was very conversational and my interviewers were very engaged. Overall, the University of Minnesota was very welcoming!"
"The student ambassadors were very helpful in calming nerves, answering questions and giving their honest opinion of the school"
"The interviewers were friendly and asked follow up questions. There were a number of activities that made it clear that the school was trying to recruit me as much as I was trying to sell myself. There was a student panel that seemed genuinely happy to be a gopher."
"I really loved how welcoming everyone was. Truly I had such a positive experience with their "student ambasadors" who are first through 3 year students who volunteer to give tours, mingle and eat lunch with you, as well as share personal stories and insight. They had a student panel which I thought was a really cool idea because we could ask any questions we wanted and they had a student from each year. The school/students also offered ride to the school for your interview if you were staying at a nearby hotel! What service!"
"I loved pretty much everything about the school. I found the curriculum to be the most impressive aspect of the program, but everything is pretty top-notch. The students and faculty alike were very giving of their time and honesty, and I left with a great impression of the College."
"The interview day was very well organized and gave me a thorough feel for the school. The students were all very helpful, very enthusiastic, and seemed to genuinely like the school. Loved the supportive, close knit relationship the students seemed to have with each other."
"The students were extremely friendly and were seemed really satisfied with the school. Also, St. Paul and Minneapolis seem like great cities and the area has a great social and recreational atmosphere."
"The current students and the student panel."
"Everything! Interview weekend was planned very well. Between the interview, orientation, student Q&A, tour of the hospital, school, and equine center, I left genuinely excited about the university. My interviewers were great! They were friendly, and were happy to have a discussion with me at the end that got me so thrilled about the program."
"Facilities were very nice. Students, faculty, and administration were very welcoming and friendly."
"Staff seemed very friendly, students all had great things to say about the school."
"The friendliness of everyone there (including my interviewers!). I also was impressed with almost all of the vet buildings being interconnected so that you never have to walk outside."
"Absolutely every staff person at UMN was very polite and friendly. The interviewers did as much as possible to put me at ease (not that it helped much, but they at least tried)."
"The campus, the updated facilities and the friendliness of the whole community."
"The interview was very casual and conversational. The interviewers were very positive and seemed genuinely interested in my qualifications and accomplishments. They took extra time after the interview to answer my questions, and told me that the questions wouldn't be part of the interview, a nice touch that I appreciated."
"Nice, thorough tour by an enthusiastic student."
"Interviewers were very friendly and low key"
"The friendly, concerned nature of the staff and interviewers."
"The facilities and the technology are some of the best! Very family and student oriented."
"The tours were one-on-one and tailored to your interests- they showed me everything! Also, the administration was so friendly, generous and organized. Student ambassadors spent a great deal of time talking with me. It was a great day."
"How friendly and generous the students were. I had all of my transportation covered by student volunteers...to and from airport, to and from my hotel. It took a lot of stress off of me. I am so grateful to them."
"The new equine center, the personalized tour, the happy students, the hands-on animal experience early-on, the cities."
"New equine center, decent SA hospital, that 1st years work with animals right away and 2nd years start doing surgery at the end of the year. Also, have chance to travel abroad during the summer doing veterinary work with part of the trip funded. The tour was also very personal, they tried to put each interviewee with one student."
"The students, facilities, dual degree programs, caseload, and equine center."
"The facilities were really nice. The people were very friendly. The students seemed very enthusiastic. I had two tour guides give me a solo tour."
"The staff and students were very nice and welcoming; the technology; the many electives that were available even to first year students; hospital caseload."
"The student panel was wonderful. All of the students seemed to be very well-balanced. It bodes well for the school's general atmosphere is its students seem academically challenged yet personally balanced, as well."
"How absolutely nice the people are in Minnesota and at the University!"
"The beautiful campus, the friendly staff and students, the feeling of comraderie and cooperation among the students, huge case load, lots of hands on experience. "
"Everyone was very friendly and willing to answer all my questions. My interview ended up going over by about half an hour, mainly because I was asking questions (which my interviewers were more than willing to answer). The interview was laid back and the interviewers seemed genuinely interested to hear what I had to say. Furthermore, the campus was BEAUTIFUL and the facilities were amazing. I was also incredibly impressed by the sense of community between the students, and the steps taken by the University to foster that feeling."
"Everyone was very helpful. My interviewers were professional and very friendly."
"The small animal hospital has a huge case load. Everyone was very nice and welcoming. I really liked the fact that it is located in the Twin Cities. There is a lot to do and it was easy for my spouse to find a job."
"I would have liked to meet some of the faculty members, or be introduced to some of the professors I would be studying under."
"There is a large number of interviewing pairs, so it is very likely that another interviewee might have had a completely different experience than my own. Additionally, it seems that it would be difficult to standardize acceptance criteria."
"I didnt like the cold weather, but thats not within their control. Aside from that they were very accommodating and fed us well. It would be nice if they offered free parking, however it didn't affect me because I was dropped off. Some of the other students were miffed though."
"Some of the facilities are a little dated but I wasn't pushed away by them."
"The facilities in the hospital were dated and the halls were kind of convoluted."
"Facilities could use some updating, but otherwise loved the school!"
"The lack of exotics track and courses were the only negative for me."
"The location and parking."
"The wet lab for gross anatomy was unimpressive."
"Some of the equipment and such at the school is a bit old (ex: lab benches have really old stools to sit on). Also, on the tour we weren't really able to see much; it was a lot of "down this hallway is this stuff, but we're going to go down this other hallway.""
"The tour. It was given by a first year student. Halfway through she got lost in the hospital and admitted she really hadn't spent much time there yet."
"It was all positive for me."
"My interviewers were somewhat casually dressed, which was both relaxing and off-putting at the same time."
"Too little done to woo in-state students."
"Interview was fairly intense and involved some grilling."
"My interviewers were dressed extremely casually making me feel ridiculously overdressed in my suit. Threw me off a little as I expected a formal interview."
"Nothing .... maybe the fees?!!!"
"The info. sessions were not that informative, but everyone was so nice and friendly!"
"I wish I met some professors for the interview weekend. I know that some of them were conducting interviews but I didn't have a professor for my interview. I wish they were more involved with the interview weekend. I also wish there was more diversity in the school. Very "white bread"."
"The interview was very down-to-business and intense, and the interviewers seemed somewhat bored."
"That I might need to buy an AWD car for all the snow! It snowed 6" the night I got there."
"Nothing, the school was great!"
"Not much other than it gets sooo cold there!"
"Nothing."
"Nothing. It was a very positive visit all around."
"out-of-state tuition. also very cold. price of living is also more expensive than other schools. "
"It was perhaps a bit cold.... (-3 degrees, w/o windchill, at some points)."
"The price of out of state tuition."
"Im glad that I knew how much the interview factored into my application. The interview weighs pretty heavy so it is important to be well prepared."
"How much the interview weighed toward the final decision"
"Always wrap up your experience with a conclusion and/or impact."
"I wish their idea of "refreshments" on the Friday night Equine Center tour (an optional event to mingle with students and see the equine facility) had more than just cookies and cider."
"Pretty sure I had a good idea of what to expect going into it. I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as I did!"
"Nothing, I felt well prepared and informed!"
"I thought the behavioral interview was going to be horrible, but in the end I came away feeling like they knew exactly who I was as an applicant."
"I wish I would have known the interview was a 'closed file' interview."
"There wasn't any ethical/issue related questions which they didn't tell us until the information session which was the day after my interview (interviews were Fri/Sat with the introduction session Saturday morning)."
"How interested the interviewers would be with my answers. I was asked a lot of follow-up questions, which I was able to answer, but was not expecting that."
"That they'd hit me with the general "tell me why you want to be a vet." They advertise it as a behavioral question, so I didn't sit down and really think that one out. Probably should have regardless. :)"
"They start off with general questions about your past experiences and then move into behavioral."
"I wish I would have know that the interviewers were going to pull out some regular interview questions right in the middle of behavioral ones so I could have been on my guard."
"It seemed like the interviewers were doing kind of a good cop-bad cop thing. I worked really hard to win over the bad cop rather than just focusing on the good cop and that seemed to impress them."
"I wish I would have known that not all the questions would be behavior-based."
"That it was such an awesome school!"
"I wish that I had practiced putting together complete sentences ahead of time. Because it's closed file you struggle to include the necessary background information and to get to the point of the story in a timely manner."
"How organized the student volunteers were. I was worrying needlessly about transportation and having back-up plans in case things fell through, but the students had everything covered for me."
"That students would be EVERYWHERE and very available for questions. The pizza party the night before the orientation/tours/presentations on Saturday had students to talk to and between the Saturday events, even more students were meandering around."
"How many opportunities there were to ask questions, make sure you have a lot prepared!"
"Nuttin'."
"The difficulty of choosing a track. I'd prefer to be large animal only but have to select mixed animal to incorporate both food animal and equine medicine."
"I wish I had known how nice the interviewers would be - this would have made me worry less about the interview."
"The heavy snow that started falling while I was there! Everything--travel, etc--went very smoothly, though."
"nothing"
"I wish I had known more about the dual degree DVM/MPH program so I could have asked about it in my interview."
"Be very specific as they do not like broad answers."
"During your interview, jot down key words to remind you of each question. It’s easy to forget the question as you begin telling your example story."
"I was so impressed with my interview experience that it was a no-brainer to choose UMN."
"I had an interview with two people and they wer very nice. I found that the whole interview was very well organized and when I got accepted the whole process of notifying us was very streamlined. Also from what I heard they kept the waitlisted people updated on their spots, so overall I would say their admissions office is very well prepared and friendly."
"Great school with amazing faculty, research, and curriculum. The Equine center was pretty awesome, I thought."
"My interviewers were very straight and did not react much to anything I was saying, which I felt was a good thing, but didn't give me much of an impression on how I did in the interview."
"I felt that the interview was very negative. Instead of asking questions in a more positive manner, they all came across as looking for negative experiences. This makes it very difficult to show your good aspects and to eloborate on your successes."
"I was so impressed by the University that by the end of my short time visiting it became my first choice over my in-state school."
"Some people had interviews on Friday and others Saturday. The people that had interviews on Saturday had an opportunity to talk with students at the information session (which took place Saturday), so I felt as though you had a slight leg up if you interviewed on Saturday."
"The school seemed very nice, I didn't find one thing I didn't like."
"It was a very nice school, but things need to be updated a bit."
"A friend of mine thought her interview went really well; she didn't get in. I thought mine was mediocre; I got in. Don't stress over how you think you did."
"The interviewers want to know more about you as a person. Go over behavioral questions and apply past experiences in your life to them."
"This was probably one of the most pleasant interviews I've ever had. Also, they are very accommodating if you get a question that you genuinely dont have an answer to. I had one or two questions that were just impossible for me to answer (I don't really remember them, but they were just out of my field and not relevant to me at all), and I told the interviewer this and she gave me an alternate question. I got in, so it would appear that this doesn't count against you too badly."
"Be prepared to think on your feet no matter how well prepared you are."
"Be prepared to back up your answers and actions in response to the behavioral questions."
"It was a truly great day. They really know what they're doing at UM."
"Everyone was so nice. It was a weekend of asking a lot of questions and talking about yourself. I ran out of questions and was burnt out from talking so much. I was glad I interviewed on Friday. I flew in Thursday afternoon and left Saturday afternoon after the Saturday activities."
"It was worth it to see the new equine center, even though I am going for small animal medicine."
"A tour is given to each interviewee by 2-3 vet students and they tailor it to what you want to see/know about. The equine center is great to see the night before and you earn a lot about the school by going to the pizza party so that you can ask questions to the students."
"Behavior based. Interviewers were very friendly and put me at ease and seemed interested. Really seemed to want to get to know me. The interview ran long (about 75 minutes) but went by very quickly."
"Overall I had a good experience. It was hard, challenging and tiring. The interviewers were kind and promoted a relaxing environment."
"The interviewers were extremely kind, and though the interview was over an hour, the time went by quickly. This was the best interview experience I had anywhere."
"The interviewers were both faculty members and were very professional and responsive. Not effusively responsive, but clearly they were listening to what I was saying and asking follow-up questions that made me feel like they were interested in what I was telling them and interested in getting to know me as a whole person, inasmuch as you can do that in an hour."
"Two female interviewers, one a professor of oncology and the other an employee for admissions. Both ladies were extremely nice and encouraged me to feel relaxed and know that there are no ''wrong'' answers. They really wanted me to feel comfortable and we actually had a few laughs during the interview. The interview was strictly behavioral. I think they are looking for people with a lot of life experience."
"My first thought coming out of the interview was literally ''I'm not sure how I did, but I had fun!'' This was obviously NOT how I expected to come out feeling. The interviewers were impossible to read in terms of whether they were happy with my answers or not, but at the same time they seemed interested to hear what I had to say and were very laid-back. "
"A great experience! My interviewers were easy to talk to and with. Their professionalism was exceptional and yet they helped to create a calm atmosphere. A good balance of character!"
"I loved Minnesota. The people were great and the students seemed happy. The location is great and it is a beautiful campus."
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Student | 38 |
| Faculty member | 0 |
| Admissions staff | 0 |
| Other | 0 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Enthusiastic | 36 |
| Neutral | 2 |
| Discouraging | 0 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.24 | 38 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| In state | 7 |
| Out of state | 32 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 0-1 hour | 4 |
| 2-3 hours | 6 |
| 4-6 hours | 16 |
| 7+ hours | 13 |
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| Airplane | 23 |
| Automobile | 16 |
| Train or subway | 0 |
| Other | 0 |
Minneapolis
Minneapolis-St. Paul
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
N/A
Minneapolis Airport
MSP
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| At school facility | 0 |
| With students at the school | 0 |
| Friends or family | 5 |
| Hotel | 29 |
| Home | 1 |
| Other | 0 |
Radisson
Yes
Marriot Residence Inn- Roseville
Best Western
Radisson
Yes
Marriot Residence Inn- Roseville
Best Western
| Response | # Responders |
|---|---|
| < $100 | 4 |
| $101-$200 | 4 |
| $201-$300 | 3 |
| $301-$400 | 5 |
| $401-$500 | 6 |
| $501+ | 9 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.36 | 39 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.33 | 39 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.55 | 38 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.17 | 29 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 8.59 | 29 |
| Response Avg | # Responders |
|---|---|
| 7.75 | 28 |
"So far so good. Keep using email to update people. Although I think phone calls to those who are accepted is a nice personal touch, so keep doing that."
"Compared to the other schools I have applied to, the interview was much more high stress and cold. I understand that it is unnecessary to ask behavioral based questions but I think the process could have been friendlier. It is very reassuring a huge selling point when the school seems friendly."
"I would have liked a tour of the Raptor Center, but overall the interview was really nicely planned out."
"Free parking for out-of-state applicants who took the time to travel to Minnesota."
"Adjust the schedule so that folks who have the 'right after lunch' interview slot aren't trying to fit the tour and lunch both into one hour. I didn't want to eat because I didn't really want to rush from eating into the interview with lettuce stuck between my teeth. :) (That said, I skipped lunch and after my interview someone from admissions saw me headed out and stopped me and asked if I had had a chance to eat; so they took care of the problem!)."
"E-mail admissions notifications would be better, but I understand the need to send out official forms with the letters."
"Offer a bit more to in-state students on interview days. The tour is a good step, but a bit more of a welcome would have been nice."
We help students become doctors. TM
How did you prepare for the interview?