This post will roughly describe what an MMI is and how to survive it. As you know, OVC changed their interview process 4 years ago from a standard 30 min, 2 person classic interview to an 80 min, 16 person, station based interview. This was to minimize bias by individual interviewers. Sometimes you are just having a bad day and someimes people just rub you the wrong way. Now instead of that one person counting as 50% of your admission, it is 1/16th. It also allows the interviewee a chance to restart at each station, even if you bombed the pervious station, the next people have no idea, and do not ever know, giving you a fresh start.
There is HUGE confidentiality issues around this so I cannot give specific examples. I will give you the general idea.
The admissions committee has seen your lovely reference letters, your outstanding marks, your inspirational experience form, and your heart warming essays, now they need to see you. Please do not under estimate how important first impressions are. So let's start with what to wear.
What to Wear:
Girls:
- If you do not wear heels everyday, do not wear heels, no matter how short you are, wear comfortable shoes that you can walk in.
- If you do not wear a necklace or ring or dangly earrings everyday, do not wear them. they distract you A LOT! Stick with jewellery that you wear everyday that you are used to wearing! (This goes with scarves as well! I nearly choked to death on mine that day!!)
- If you do not wear your hair up/down, do not try to do this on this day. same as the jewellery, it is distracting if you always wear your hair up, but today it is in your face. In fact, I highly recommend pulling it out of your face. You will be flustered enough, and it is hot in the rooms.
- Do not try and get your hair died that morning, no matter what time the interview is at and how much you trust your hair dresser... I did my interview with red dye on my forehead and it was so embarrassing, do it the day before at least!
- Do not wear strong perfume, but do wear deodorant. These interviews are in small rooms in the middle of summer, so strong smells will linger.
- Dress business casual, so a dress or skirt is fine, but to your knees, this isn't Trappers. Dress pants are a great option, try and avoid jeans. A nice blouse or sweater is good, no tank tops, at least have a short sleeve.
Guys:
- Similar rules as above
- You do not need a blazer, again due to heat, but wear a dress shirt and dress pants, tuck your shirt in, wear a belt, wear nice but comfortable shoes, if you can handle a tie, that would be lovely, but if you fidget or are uncomfortable in ties, maybe skip the tie.
- Deodorant, but light on the cologne, and no axe body spray, please. Actually just stop wearing that stuff all together! hahah
- Hair, get a hair cut 5-6 days before the interview so it is neat but not too short. Do your hair the way you normally do, so if you are not a gel kind of guy, do not all of a sudden become one.
What to bring:
Seriously, nothing except a form of *ID* - drivers license will do great
BUT I HAVE TO BRING SOMETHING!!!!
Ok, ok, you can bring a water bottle, and a pen. Maybe your ID card. But you can't bring paper in with you from home, they provide paper outside of each station and it has to be discarded before leaving the room. And they will have pens to borrow. Be careful with the water bottle. DO NOT scrunch it or peel the label. Place it on the table to your side so you do not touch it while you are talking. You do not want to distract the interviewers, you want them focused on your words! Try and leave your purse and backpacks at home or in your car. You can leave your keys with the sign in student, you do not want to lug a purse around or have jangly keys in your pocket.
Day of Interview:
- Arrive 30 min early
- If you do not know Guelph campus, take a look at the campus maps to figure out where free parking is and where the building is.
- If you have a chance to visit the campus a couple days before, that would be a great idea (45 min from Hamilton, Toronto, 30 min from Milton, Waterloo) There is usually construction on campus in the summer which may change the doors you can enter to get to the interviews.
- Usually, the interviews are held in Mackinnon on the 2nd or 3rd floors.
- Eat about an hour before hand, and then bring gum or a toothbrush. Obviously spit the gum out before you start the interview.
- There are 8 stations (one in each room), 7 with a question on the door and on the table in the room. You have 2 minutes to read the question, Then you have 8 minutes to enter the room, give your answer, and leave. you may leave earlier than 8 minutes but you cannot return once you have left. There is one rest station.
- Shake each interviewers hand, or at least offer. Say hello, state your name, say nice to meet you, and offer them both your name and ID sticker. After, say thank you. These polite gestures can honestly be forgotten in high stress situations. (if you need to practice shaking hands like an adult, do so, no limp noodles!)
- Breathe and take your time with your answers. Go slowly and do not ramble. If you need a moment to organize your thoughts, take it. You do not need to be afraid of silence! They will not be allowed to speak to you or give you any encouragement so embrace the silence!
- Afterwards, do not harp on what you said. It is over and you did the best you could. Now enjoy the rest of your summer. It could take a month to hear back from the school, so don't log onto the computer every hour, it will make you crazy.
Ok with that superficial stuff out of the way,
How do I prepare?
The questions are meant to challenge your ethics and communication skills. There are no right answers, honestly. They are really just looking for red flags. Example, you saying you don't think animals deserve pain management. Or that you think that cows are stupid. You get the gist.
To prepare, I suggest researching some common welfare topics. These won't exactly pop up, but it will help you think about your opinions. You DO NOT need to know ANY medicine. Zero. But you do need to know the stakeholders in each situation. Example, tail docking in piglets - You do not need to know the procedure, but know that the producer, the piglet, the vet, and the consumers would be effected by the procedure.
If you do not have an opinion, or you can see both sides of the story, explain this but strongly. Give pros and cons. Do not fence sit the whole time. Play devil's advocate with yourself.
Practice by talking about a topic, in front of a mirror, video camera, your friends and family. Learn what your quirks are and if they need to be reined in. Example, hand talking, can be used to be emphasize a point, but shouldn't be used to distract the interviewer from your words. Parctice folding your hands neatly in your lap for as long s you can. (I am a huge hand talker! I know this is hard!) Also your verbal ticks, such as "you know", "like", "umm", "and so on", "totally", "obviously". These are nervous ticks, so the more you have people pointing them out to you, the more aware you will be! You want to look at both of the interviewers in the eyes for equal amounts of time. One may not be looking at you or even seem to be listening, but you should be talking to them either way. A strong voice should be used, don't be meek or shout. If the interviewer has to strain to hear you, they will stop listening.
The interviewers are a mix of alumni, professors, and students. You do not know if they have done extensive research on the topic you are talking about so DO NOT make shit up. If you are unsure of a fact, state that you are unsure and say that if you had to make an educated guess you would think, etc. Example, if you are sitting in front of the swine prof and you say that pigs can fly, she is going to think you are an idiot. Another example, you are in front of the prof that designed the Canadian parasite management amendum, and you tell him that deworming puppies should be done a different way, you will sound silly. But if you say "I am not sure if pigs can fly" or "I am not familiar with deworming protocols in Canada" but if you had to comment on it you would say ....
It also may be valuable to research the governing bodies and laws in ON for vets, especially the CVO.
I used an animal welfare textbook that had opinions on some basic topics to "study". Again I was not making notes, just reviewing stakeholders and reading about procedures I knew little about. They aren't JUST about animals, sometimes it is about the client asking you to do something you don't want to or can't because it is illegal. Or telling someone you screwed up. These are important to have thought about before hand! Just go to your campus library and spend a couple hours reading. Another student has informed me that he looked up the Canadian Veterinary Journal "Ethical Question of the Month" and practiced responding to them. Archives can be found online as well as all of their position statements (http://www.canadianveterinarians.net/resources/statements.aspx#.Uxy15PSwJU0).(Important to note: They are not looking for PETA members. You are allowed to say that you agree with elective surgeries, but you have to have thought about the position and seen it from other peoples perspective!).
Simple really! Hahhaha
Any questions, just leave me a comment or email me!
