the good news is, i've been offered an interview at my top choice school. it's next monday, the 10th. only half of the 450 applicants for the 48 spaces make it this far!

the bad news is, it's a 2-hour long "group" interview. i tried to nail down details about what the format would be, but the secretary said she was new and didn't know! all she could tell me was that she's calling "a bunch" of students, and we all come from 9-11am.

does anyone have experience with one of these? it's not an informational session--we've had those already--it's the admissions interview.

my "strategy" so far:

obviously, i have to be verbal within the group, or they'll have no clue of who i am.

i'm working on preparing a couple of good questions to ask about their program: clinical hours and preparedness for the "real" workplace, what level of skills are actually practiced on patients, etc--any suggestions of "good" questions will be gratefully accepted.

i'm going to see if i can hook up with someone at the school . . . there's a friend of a friend who's in the program, for more details of what the process is like.

whaddya think? should i call the director of the program for more info on how this works? it's her secretary who is new and couldn't answer my questions--it certainly would get my name in front of her, but i worry about being a pain in the butt, and essentially dissing the new secretary, before i'm even interviewed.

generally speaking, i do well in interview situations, so i'm not unduly stressed . . . i come across as intelligent and capable. but this is obviously the way they make the cut from 200+ applicants to the final 48, so it is important!

any feedback is appreciated!

Best of luck to you....let us know how it goes!

Wish I could give you some good advice but I've never done anything like that before. Sounds like a Miss America contest. Do they have a sound proof booth?

Sorry, just kidding. I imagine they will give you an overview of the program and then ask questions. I guess, try to look and act attentive, ask some questions, be outgoing and try to answer their questions if they put the out there, be very polite to the other people in the group and their questions and remarks. They are probably looking to see how you interact with others.

I'd be interested in hearing if others on the board have done an interview like this and what it what like.

Hmm...I remember reading a thread on similar topic a while (months?) back. I know I have heard of this before...

dianacs--

:chuckle I thought it was that same thread being brought up again too!

As for the interview. Just be involved and as pertinant questions. Don't ask about vacations or if you miss days how do they handle making it up, etc... Ask what they expect of you and be genuinely interested in what they have to say. Like you said, stand out. But don't wear a flashy neon arrow on your head.

Good luck.

dianacs--

I thought it was that same thread being brought up again too!

I think the person w/the group interview in the other thread was in Florida. Don't know why that is stuck in my head. Alright, I'll do a search for it!

OK, here it is:

https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16922

It's the one about how either everyone in the group would get in or no one would get in regardless of individual performance. Remember? It may not specifically relate to Judith's situation, but an interesting read nonetheless.

OK, here it is:

https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16922

It's the one about how either everyone in the group would get in or no one would get in regardless of individual performance. Remember? It may not specifically relate to Judith's situation, but an interesting read nonetheless.

Yep, I did a search before I posted and found that one thread about a group interview--was back in May 2002, I think.

Seems to be the only other instance of this on the boards. Maybe this is a new and exciting (NOT) trend in interviewing.

Why, oh why, does the school I want to go do have to do it this way?! This group interaction "you all move on or nobody does" format is for the birds.

I've also searched for interview suggestions in general--and have found a number of tips.

For the moment, I think my best resource is to track down that "friend of a friend" to see if her interview was handled the same way last year.

Thanks for the ideas and encouragement.

Judith,

What school are you refering to? NHTI by any chance?

Hi, Christie!

Nope, the interview is not at NHTI, but NHCTC! Are you at NHTI?

I have applied at NHTI, but the drive time to Concord would be a bit much for me, I'm right at the MA border.

At NHTI, admissions told me they wouldn't even require an interview. Same for Rivier, where I've also applied, though they've already told me that aid $ is likely not going to be thrown my way, so I'm pretty much ruling them out. My son will also be a freshman, so we really can't afford Riv's $18K tuition on top of his tuition!

I'm really hopeful things will work out for NHCTC--reasonable tuition, and only abut a 30 minute commute!