Are Ottawa interviews really that 'tough'?

[hkm91450]

I've been reading around and it seems like Ottawa is notorious for super tough interviews? Is that true?

By no means am I saying interviews are easy, but tough to the point where they tear apart and try to find everything wrong with your ABS, etc.?

[future_doc]

I would not take such an approach or attack personally or react negatively, rather it is an opportunity to defend and explain my ABS and show how my activities allowed for my growth and development.

[rmorelan]

Originally Posted by hkm91450

I've been reading around and it seems like Ottawa is notorious for super tough interviews? Is that true?

By no means am I saying interviews are easy, but tough to the point where they tear apart and try to find everything wrong with your ABS, etc.?

I would prepare for tough - they grilled me quite a bit actually. Basically no matter what I said they responded with yet another followup question.....

Still if you know that going in it is a big help!

[LookingForInfo]

Originally Posted by rmorelan

I would prepare for tough - they grilled me quite a bit actually. Basically no matter what I said they responded with yet another followup question.....

Still if you know that going in it is a big help!

Wow...thanks for the heads up. I read on another website (can't remember off the top of my head) that Ottawa had super relaxed interviews and such. Guess these people just did superbly well.

[hkm91450]

Originally Posted by rmorelan

I would prepare for tough - they grilled me quite a bit actually. Basically no matter what I said they responded with yet another followup question.....

Still if you know that going in it is a big help!

Thanks for sharing rmorelan.

If you don't mind me asking, did you get accepted/waitlisted/rejected at Ottawa?

[rmorelan]

Originally Posted by hkm91450

Thanks for sharing rmorelan.

If you don't mind me asking, did you get accepted/waitlisted/rejected at Ottawa?

Don't mind at all! - for full disclosure I was actually rejected at Ottawa, waitlisted at Queens, accepted at U of S, Western, and Toronto. I didn't apply to Mac or NOSM. Since I accepted Western I have no idea where I was on the Queens waitlist

I was kind of surprised by the outright rejection, as my mock interview went well there and I was first round pick at other heavy interview based schools - U of S is 100% interview OOP, Western 50%, Queens, well, Queens had a ridiculous number of applicants My GPA kind of towers over the interview at Toronto I suppose so I can get nothing really from that - they are so academic dependent there. Still it goes to show you the crazy world that medical school acceptance is!

I guess at the interview I was a still taken back from the rather stark colder approach of the interviewers. Now this is just one sample point, I have been told that it is highly interviewer specific at Ottawa so I wouldn't extend this to mean all interviewers

[supafield]

rmorelan... when you say outright rejected... do you mean the unlikely waitlist... or was there another category beyond that which was an outright rejection?

[rmorelan]

Originally Posted by supafield

rmorelan... when you say outright rejected... do you mean the unlikely waitlist... or was there another category beyond that which was an outright rejection?

ahh sorry, just looked up the email. Yes, it was the unlikely waitlist. As you can imagine once you get even one acceptance, the rest of the details on the big day kind of fade into the background

[supafield]

Originally Posted by rmorelan

ahh sorry, just looked up the email. Yes, it was the unlikely waitlist. As you can imagine once you get even one acceptance, the rest of the details on the big day kind of fade into the background

Haha, oh how I've imagined...

[rmorelan]

Originally Posted by supafield

Haha, oh how I've imagined...

Hopefully not for much longer, I am expecting good things this May 13th

as a side note May 15 last year was the start of the long weekend. For most of us any details we did remember were destroyed during the festivities!