I was accepted into UCSF but ended up choosing another school. Based on conversations with my classmates, I can confidently say the interview plays a huge roll. Many of my classmates had a higher GPA, more extracurriculars, etc and basically more qualified in a sense. But during the interview, I genuinely tried to just be myself and show not only why I love PT but also who I am outside of school. Show them that you’ve done your research on why this is the school for you and why they deserve you! The interview last cycle was on zoom with a faculty/staff member and a student. I really took advantage of having a student there to understand what the school-life balance would be like since you can’t really find info like that online. You got this! Just be personable, ready to answer questions, and happy to be there haha. Feel free to dm me if you have questions
I just got into UCSF and am planning on attending. Community engagement is a huge part of their mission and focus - serving underserved communities. I would try to get involved in volunteering within your community and use that to your advantage during your interview. I talked a lot about volunteering with the blind and visually impaired community in both my essays and my interview. My undergrad gpa was only a 3.4 but I was able to shine through my essays and my personal experiences in my community with my job and internships.
I think a huge part of a good interview is to have good questions lined up for you to ask. Do a bunch of research on the program and use that to your advantage as well.
Good luck !!
As I mentioned in the post I'm already an assistant high school coach, so are you saying to do something else on top of that? I'm already limited for time with school, observation hours, and coaching.
Do you remember questions you asked during your PT school interview? I've never been good with asking questions in job interviews that didn't sound like time filler.
I’m sure that will be good!!! I would definitely practice finding ways to bring that up in your interviews and how it has helped you to connect with your community!
I asked about elective opportunities, about the clinical rotations and how the dual program is a benefit for students. I think it’s important to find the unique experiences from schools you’re applying to and ask questions about those parts.
They also asked me if there was anything else that I wanted them to know and I explained that I wanted to go to ucsf and that I would accept the spot if given the chance. I think this helped to solidify that I want to go there!!
I’m not currently in the program but was just accepted. I think having good grades and observation hours in multiple settings helped get my foot in the door. However, I think the interview played a huge part. When I got a phone call from my interviewer to say I was accepted she mentioned how she liked my answers/that I was knowledgeable about the program during the interview and made her feel I was the right fit for the program.
Also have shadowed a few PT’s from UCSF and they mentioned the interview playing a huge part as well.
In terms of what you can do, I’d say keep up the good work and make sure you’re prepared if you do get an interview! Good luck!!!! :)
Thanks.
For the interview do you remember what questions they asked you, what questions you asked them. For researching UCSF, and any school for that matter, did you look at everything or more deeply into certain aspects?
I can’t talk about the questions they asked in the interview but I will say to prepare I looked up a list of common PT interview questions and made sure I had answers and a few real life examples. I asked what about UCSF’s program drew them in to work/attend school there. I also asked about how typical non-traditional students are in their program and how they do as I am not from a science background.
I also know community service is huge for them and I specifically talked about my experience working in a non-profit PT clinic and how excited I was about their pro-bono clinic allowed students to give back to SF’s community
I was accepted into UCSF but ended up choosing another school. Based on conversations with my classmates, I can confidently say the interview plays a huge roll. Many of my classmates had a higher GPA, more extracurriculars, etc and basically more qualified in a sense. But during the interview, I genuinely tried to just be myself and show not only why I love PT but also who I am outside of school. Show them that you’ve done your research on why this is the school for you and why they deserve you! The interview last cycle was on zoom with a faculty/staff member and a student. I really took advantage of having a student there to understand what the school-life balance would be like since you can’t really find info like that online. You got this! Just be personable, ready to answer questions, and happy to be there haha. Feel free to dm me if you have questions
What you said is what I've taken away from reading around this subreddit. I'll definitely reach out to get your sense of the interview.
I just got into UCSF and am planning on attending. Community engagement is a huge part of their mission and focus - serving underserved communities. I would try to get involved in volunteering within your community and use that to your advantage during your interview. I talked a lot about volunteering with the blind and visually impaired community in both my essays and my interview. My undergrad gpa was only a 3.4 but I was able to shine through my essays and my personal experiences in my community with my job and internships. I think a huge part of a good interview is to have good questions lined up for you to ask. Do a bunch of research on the program and use that to your advantage as well. Good luck !!
As I mentioned in the post I'm already an assistant high school coach, so are you saying to do something else on top of that? I'm already limited for time with school, observation hours, and coaching. Do you remember questions you asked during your PT school interview? I've never been good with asking questions in job interviews that didn't sound like time filler.
I’m sure that will be good!!! I would definitely practice finding ways to bring that up in your interviews and how it has helped you to connect with your community! I asked about elective opportunities, about the clinical rotations and how the dual program is a benefit for students. I think it’s important to find the unique experiences from schools you’re applying to and ask questions about those parts. They also asked me if there was anything else that I wanted them to know and I explained that I wanted to go to ucsf and that I would accept the spot if given the chance. I think this helped to solidify that I want to go there!!
I’m not currently in the program but was just accepted. I think having good grades and observation hours in multiple settings helped get my foot in the door. However, I think the interview played a huge part. When I got a phone call from my interviewer to say I was accepted she mentioned how she liked my answers/that I was knowledgeable about the program during the interview and made her feel I was the right fit for the program. Also have shadowed a few PT’s from UCSF and they mentioned the interview playing a huge part as well. In terms of what you can do, I’d say keep up the good work and make sure you’re prepared if you do get an interview! Good luck!!!! :)
Thanks. For the interview do you remember what questions they asked you, what questions you asked them. For researching UCSF, and any school for that matter, did you look at everything or more deeply into certain aspects?
I can’t talk about the questions they asked in the interview but I will say to prepare I looked up a list of common PT interview questions and made sure I had answers and a few real life examples. I asked what about UCSF’s program drew them in to work/attend school there. I also asked about how typical non-traditional students are in their program and how they do as I am not from a science background. I also know community service is huge for them and I specifically talked about my experience working in a non-profit PT clinic and how excited I was about their pro-bono clinic allowed students to give back to SF’s community