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Interview Feedback

Individual Response

  • University of California San Francisco School of Pharmacy
  • Pharmacy School
  • San Francisco, CA
Overall Experience

How did the interview impress you?

Positively

What was the stress level of the interview?

9 out of 10

How you think you did?

5 out of 10

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

10 out of 10

Questions

How long was the interview?

45 minutes

Where did the interview take place?

At the school

How many people interviewed you?

2

What was the style of the interview?

One-on-one

What type of interview was it?

Open file

What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 1)?

"Why not a PhD? (I've had five years of research experience). How do you feel about competition among colleagues?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 2)?

"How do you manage time? How is it that you work full time, manage to do research part time, attend school full time, go to professional meetings? What makes you qualify for these professional organizations? Be prepared to answer if you are heavily involved in many ECs, work, school, etc." Report Response | I was asked this question too

What is one of the specific questions they asked you (question 3)?

"What is pharmacogenomics? How do you think that will change or shape the pharmacy profession?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most interesting question?

"If you could change something about Eastern medicine, what would it be? How would you 'educate' others who hold on to their cultural medical practices?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

What was the most difficult question?

"Do you believe in Chinese/herbal medicine? How would you find out or counsel a patient if their cultural medicine is interfering with a drug they are prescribed?" Report Response | I was asked this question too

How did you prepare for the interview?

"Read SDN. Read Joel's blog (admissions director). Re-read my app. Gave lots of thoughts into potential questions. Have taken a few speech classes in advance semesters. Have taken writing courses in advance to help polish the application process, and to prepare for the writing session. Kept up with current events for the writing session. Took a day off to relax before the interview." Report Response

What impressed you positively?

"Everyone was nice. The entire interview process was on schedule and proceeded smoothly. I was impressed that interviewers knew our profile and had already put thoughts into what to ask us. They showed a lot of interest in wanting to get to know every individual. Above all, I was surrounded by the world's brightest pharmacy faculty members; UCSF ranks #1." Report Response

What impressed you negatively?

"How intimidating the entire process was. It was difficult to remain calm. It was even more intimidating to know I was sitting alongside the best of the best interviewees. Eek!" Report Response

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

"Wished I had learned to find my comfort zone and relaxed. Also, the writing portion we were given 2/3 of a page to answer a prompt in 45 minutes. It's plenty of time for so little space. So don't rush through it. 2/3 of a page! How much can you write in that amount of space? Some people did 5 paragraph essays with tiny prints. I did 3 paragraphs in 20 minutes and handed it in. It was a big gamble on my behalf, but I got in!" Report Response

What are your general comments?

"Lots of questions from my application. Review it before your interview. Don't be intimidated by the fact that UCSF is #1. Think of it like it is any other interview. They just want to get to know you better, match a face to the application, and they are looking for consistencies among your app, your writing style, and if you are 'authentic'. Be YOURSELF. I keep mentioning that I was nervous, but I know I appeared calm on the outside. As long as you can keep a cool head, you'll be okay." Report Response

Tour and Travel

Who was the tour given by?

Student

How did the tourguide seem?

Enthusiastic

How do you rank the facilities?

10 out of 10

What is your in-state status?

In state

What was your total time spent traveling?

4-6 hours

What was your primary mode of travel?

Automobile

About how much did you spend on room, food, and travel?

$201-$300

What airport did you use?

No Response

Where did you stay?

Hotel

How would you rate the hotel?

10 out of 10

What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?

Hilton Downtown

Would you recommend the hotel?

yes

General Info

On what date did the interview take place?

02/12/2010

How do you rank this school among other schools to which you've applied?

10 out of 10

What is your ranking of this school's location?

10 out of 10

What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?

10 out of 10

How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?

10 out of 10

How is the friendliness of the admissions office?

10 out of 10

How eco-friendly are the school's application materials and interview process?

8 out of 10

What are your suggestions for the admissions office?

"Sending out acceptance letters sooner would relieve the nervousness of anxiously await." Report Response

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