Can/should you make a complaint about a uni interview

My cousin had a virtual medical interview for a university and was incredibly disheartened by the attitude of her interviewers. One of them was looking out of the window throughout and the other was on her phone. They seemed very flippant, asked irrelevant questions and didn't seem to care/listen to any responses at all. My cousin said it felt like they were bored and had already made up their mind before the interview- this obviously left them very upset about the situation.

I assume, as these interviews are virtual, the interview is recorded. So if my cousin complains there will be a recording of the interview to review rather than a 'he said she said' situation.

Do you think the university will take this complaint seriously? And do you think that it's worth making a complaint?

Reply 1

McGinger

You only have your cousin's word for any of this - and its up to them to 'make a complaint' not you.
Its likely the interview was recorded so it could be checked for any disadvantage, if that is actually what happened.

Reply 2

AllThingsLaw1405

Original post by McGinger

That’s a brilliant response!

Reply 3

phoestudies

Original post by McGinger

Exactly, my cousin feels quite a bit of peace knowing it was recorded, as they already know it was innapropriate, so any physical evidence is actually quite useful. So you suggest pushing the investigation forward?

Reply 4

circusqueen

Your cousin may wish to bear in mind that interviews are not naturally "comfortable" experiences.

And in medicine sometimes they are supportive and helpful and sometimes they feel as though they are deliberately playing bad cop, or unresponsive listener to see how somebody would react.

The looking out of the window, apparently not listening etc, being grumpy, isn't a nice experience, but may be deliberate to test them. I have heard others say similar.

If I was applying for a job, and my interview didn't go well I wouldn't complain about the interview being inappropriate, unless it was inappropriate, ie, interviweres were racist, sexist, went against employment law. Big red flags only.

It's a matter for your cousin, but how do they know how they scored yet, and how do they know how others were treated? It may have been unpleasant but it doesn't mean it was unfair.

(edited 2 months ago)

Reply 5

Zarek

I certainly wouldn’t do this before the outcome is known. I also doubt that raising a complaint will lead to her feeling any better. However if she thinks it was really bad, then perhaps it is worth flagging. Few would have the courage to do so and some learning might be taken from it

Reply 6

AF2Dr

I would think the interviews probably aren't recorded, by the way.

Reply 7

boxdil

What is an irrelevant question or not is subjective and maybe your cousin didn't recognise the relevance. However looking at your phone or out of the window is unprofessional and I would complain about that. I strongly doubt it's done to "test you" as med interviews don't work that way, they are supposed to listen to and score your responses. It would also be interesting to know who the interviewers were as sometimes they invite existing med students onto the interview panel and I believe they get paid for doing it so I'm sure the uni would be grateful to receive feedback if someone was just there for the money rather than being really interested in the process.

Reply 8

Admit-One

Universities Forum Helper

I would be wary of the comments about people not paying attention. One or more participants will have been taking notes and for example I have a dual monitor setup and I can appear to be looking away, but actually I am just not staring at a camera perched atop my second screen. Basically anything other than a laptop and their eyeline could have been anywhere.

Obviously they should have been engaged as listeners but whether this was sufficient to ask for a review, only the participant can tell.