The pharmacy school interview is an integral part of the application process, as admissions staff, who already know everything about you on paper, will finally be able to see how you will fit into their program. This is also your time to interview each pharmacy school, so be prepared to ask questions you may have about their program.
Most pharmacy schools do a good job of making the interview session as stress-free and comfortable as possible. Current pharmacy school students will usually greet you and chat with you. Make the most of this opportunity to relax and practice your speaking skills. By now, you should have completed your speaking requirement, so now is the time to put what you’ve learned in the classroom to use!
Prepare by familiarizing yourself with what you wrote in your personal statement essay. Also, it’s a good idea to have a general idea of what kinds of questions are going to be asked.
As soon as you meet your interviewers, take the initiative to build rapport/start small talk (crazy traffic this morning, beautiful day, etc.). Smile and split eye contact between all of your interviewers as much as possible when you are speaking and maintain eye contact with the person asking the questions.
Some general interview questions
1. Tell me about yourself
2. What was your favorite/most difficult course in college?
3. Who is your best role model?
4. What is a negative aspect of yourself? How have you worked to improve it?
5. Describe a time when you felt proud of an accomplishment.
6. Why our pharmacy program?
7. What do you want to do after you graduate?
8. What do you do in your spare time?
9. Why pharmacy, why not research or medicine?
10. What got you interested in pharmacy?
11. What are the most important attributes of a pharmacist?
12. What makes you stand out among other candidates?
13. What sparked your interest in pharmacy?
14. Give us an example of your leadership ability.
15. Is there anything you would change about your college experience?
16. Describe the importance of understanding diversity as a pharmacist.
17. What is the most positive aspect of the pharmacy?
18. Give us an example of when you used your creativity to solve a problem.
19. What makes you unique?
20. Where will you be in 5/10 years?
21. Anything else we should know about you? YEAH, [list other positive aspects about you]
Familiarize yourself with healthcare issues and the ongoing changes in pharmacy practice, as you may be asked for your input or specific questions about some of the major events happening now.
Other questions may be hypothetical questions that place you in a ‘difficult’ or ethical situation where you will need to discuss your course of action. There is usually no right or wrong answer, but make sure you pay close attention to the question you are asked so you don’t miss anything. Take a moment to think about your answer before you start talking.
I personally bought a book to get myself in the right mindset and strategy to answer even the toughest interview questions. I think this really helped me nail my interviews. Check out my pharmacy school interview lens for a link to comments and actual interview questions from each pharmacy school.
Don’t stress, you’ll be fine for your interviews!
