Fourth interview is a little closer to home! Unfortunately, the day was not as perfect as I thought it would be. Actually, it was pouring buckets and I, along with the other interviewees, were drenched to the bone. The fact that I had an umbrella with me was mostly useless due to the torrential rain.

I recognized one of the applicants from my interview in New Mexico! We chatted a bit but everyone else was brand new. I was surprised to find that a majority of them had been interviewed last year but did not get accepted. I wonder what that could mean for me? Being a 7 AM interview, I was disappointed that no food or drink was offered. There was the obligatory short introduction about classes and sim labs they offered before we were herded out into the rain and made to walk to a different building for interviews.

I think I'm getting much better at walking in heels because I had to brave very slick cement while sharing an umbrella with an interviewee that didn't have one. There was a small room with water bottles and snacks so I could put something in my belly while we waited. It was a long wait! But at least I had a chance to speak with other interviewees. An interesting bunch, this group: lots of nurses and re-applicants. I felt very much like the odd one out.

After the two interviews, we had a short student panel where we got to interact with two current students. I had a nice moment to shine when I showed I knew about the changes concerning schedule two and three drugs! After some time, we went to student presentations which felt a bit like a rehash of the first presentation we were given by the admissions recruiter. I realized the time was winding down and yet, no tour had been given!

All the interviews I had up until this point included a guided tour. Even the schools where the buildings were in the middle of renovations (I'm talking about construction workers passing us in the halls!) still gave us a tour. I think it's important that the schools do that to really show what they have to offer. I firmly believe interview days are a two-way street (and this has been spoken by admissions committees at my other interviews).

Overall, I was probably the most excited about this interview but the day did not got as I expected. I thought the interviews went great (got into an interesting segue about the amateur videos I made) but the overall feel of that interview day felt.... unwelcoming.

I had been looking forward to walking around the campus. Anyway, I'm flying straight to Chicago after my interview so I'm going to really have to hit the ground running for two days. Hopefully I don't forget anything important!