- Gigantic class size of like.. 300+ (more seats = more acceptances)
- Interviews are generally 15-30 minutes long and very casual (or so I thought..)
- NYU is $$$ from my pocket.
- Still worth it to go to an interview because it was a pre-Dec. interview, and I wanted to maximize chances of getting into any dental school by the first deadline. Plus, its NY - who wouldn't love the chance to check out NY?!
So, I ventured on, bought plane tickets (for you CA people, don't make the mistake that I did for my first interview and buy tix on Southwest.. Check priceline and then Yapta to get good prices for flights, that are hopefully direct. Transfers are the worst.), reserved a spot on super shuttle (I WILL NOT POST THEIR LINK BECAUSE I HATE SUPER SHUTTLE), and made sure I had warm clothes.
Okay, now to the good part. I get to the admissions office 15 minutes early, to find 8 other applicants already waiting. I sign in at the desk, and get assigned the number 9 - turns out they conducted interviews in order of who showed up first. Filled out some paperwork, and before I knew it, my interviewer called me to the room.
I walk into the room where IFH is already seated (the room's only about 10 feet across), so I walk over and extend my hand, and say "Hi, I'm Rachel, nice to meet you" when she just peers up at me from her paper, refuses my hand, and says (rather coldly I should add), "Yes, have a seat." No introduction, nada. I didn't know her name until I asked for it in the "Do you have any questions for me?" part of the interview).
I'm wondering now if it's even worth it to recount each horrible moment, but I will give you the tl;dr version.
1) She cut me off in the middle of my responses after asking every question, and then misconstrued my words into a really negative interpretation.
- IFH: "So.. why do you want to live in New York, all the way from California?" / Me: "I'm really excited about the culture in New York, and how it's so fast pace-"/ IFH: "So you're saying Californians are lazy?"
- IFH: "You have a lot of experience teaching.. why don't you just become a teacher?" / Me: "I considered that.. but I believe dentistry incorporates teaching and -" / IFH: "So you're saying teachers are worse than dentists?" Me: "No, no not at all I think -" IFH: "Professors are necessary for blah blah blah" doesn't give me a chance to explain.
2) She accused me of lying on my application
- IFH: "Tell me.. how is it possible you did all these things?"/ Me, naively thinking it was a semi-compliment: "Oh, there's a lot you can get done with little sleep-" / IFH: "So you didn't really do anything for these that you've listed because there's obviously too much here" / Me, interjecting, "Sorry? I've had 4 years to complete everything on my application" / IFH: peers up from under her glasses unconvinced.
3) She accused me of cheating on my DAT
- IFH: So you taught the DAT.. That's how you got your score huh? They gave you all the materials that other students couldn't have and you knew the tests in advance. Me, visibly outraged because I'd had enough : "Excuse me, I don't know what you're trying to accuse me of right now-" IFH, now realizing she should apologize because she's being CRAZY: "Accuse? No no...-" / Me: "Look, I took the DAT months before I considered teaching for a Kaplan course.."
And simple as as few direct words, polite, but clearly offended, I turned the conversation around.
I held my ground, knowing full well that I don't deserve that kind of treatment from anyone, whether they are involved in the admissions process or not. My interview ended up being an hour long (much longer than I had anticipated), and I left with IFH saying that "she didn't have full control over interview acceptances, but if she could, she hopes to see me in her class next year".
And that was that.
And 2 weeks later, I was accepted, and I declined - because I've got other gripes about NYU and my interview day as a whole. But that can be left unsaid.
MORAL OF THE STORY: When you get an IFH, stand your ground. YOU spent the money to fly your ass over to their sorry school, YOU spent the time and energy, nervously preparing and organizing to perfectly orchestrate your interview day, YOU spent years and years making yourself ready for this interview moment, with your all-nighters, exam stress, shadowing, and all the pre-dent works. The least you deserve is respect.
SURVIVAL TIPS:
- When someone is cray like that, say something about it, and don't start crying. For the love of god, DON'T START CRYING. It makes you look weak and unprofessional, and will ruin your ability to think for the rest of your interview.
- Be direct, and show them you deserve respect. When someone is an asshole to you at an interview, its for one of two reasons:
- They are genuinely an asshole.
- They're trying to intimidate you and want to see how you react to fear.
- So in both cases, standing up for yourself is the answer.
- Try not to get flustered, knowing that their asshole-ness is likely an interview scare tactic. One them up on their own game by being collected, and taking time to answer your questions thoughtfully. When they retort, give genuine responses, and when you honestly don't know, say you don't know. But you don't get many of those cards, so use them well.
:) rachel
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