2020 has been an insane ride but it's about to become absolutely WILD for any of you participating in PPS at ASHP Midyear 2021. I'm not sure how applicable this post is for upcoming candidates but I do hope this sheds some light on how hectic the experience was for me... and could still be for you 😜Maybe things will change post-pandemic? 

PART V. (See PART IV: MASTERING INTERVIEWS HERE)



You should have a basic notion of what to wear to interviews and what to do but now you're probably wondering, "How do I prepare?" Let me just tell you that there is no way to prepare for Multiple Mini Interviews. What's that you ask? Well, I'm glad you're questioning it! You don't want to be blind-sighted the day of.

Here's a breakdown of my interview experiences:

ONE ON ONE

This is your classic interview. You're sitting directly across one person who, most likely, has a doctorate in pharmacy or the likes.

School that had this:
Keck Graduate Institute (KGI)

TWO ON ONE (PANEL)

This is one up from the previous. You can probably predict what this entails... There may be two professors interviewing lonely ole you or a professor and a current pharmacy student. It's all a toss of a coin.

Schools that had this:
California Health Sciences University (CHSU)
University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
University of Southern California (USC)
Western University

GROUP INTERVIEW

You're in there with one or more students. Depending on where you interview, answers may be based on what another person says (i.e., you have to build or add on to what the previous person said). In my experience, we were asked completely random questions that WERE NOT contingent on what the previous person stated.

Schools that had this:
West Coast University
Touro University ( I declined my interview invitation )

MULTIPLE MINI INTERVIEW (MMI)

This was the most eye opening kind of interview - I honestly enjoyed the experience. I must admit that I was nervous since there is no way you can prepare for this. HONESTLY. You can come up with different scenarios or scavenge the internet for examples but it won't help. I tried studying for these but I found out that if I just stuck to basic instinct, I would have been more than fine.

So how does it work? You're given a situation/question/quote... etc.(on the door) before you enter. Read fast but efficiently since you're on the clock. You then knock and go into the room. What happens in the room depends on the question you were given. This really allows you to see how you do without preparation... which mirrors reality. You're not given a road map or study guide to life, you just have to use your best judgement to survive.

Schools that had this:
California Northstate University
University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)


Now, to the part you've all been waiting for. So what happens at these schools on the interview day?! I can't wait to share my thoughts with all you upcoming applicants. HOWEVER, I did sign a


Due to that, I will be unable to share my experience at those two schools with you guys (*insert sad face with a tear drop emoji*). UCSF was one of my favorite interviews (BONUS POINTS BECAUSE THE LOCATION WAS SO AWESOME) but my lips are sealed!