How do setbacks emotionally affect you?
The interviewing team at Kansas State University is seasoned enough to have seen every veterinary student who comes to their program experience a struggle or two during their four years with the program. Knowing that each student will handle the stress and disappointment of these setbacks differently, your interviewers want to hear you discuss how you handle setbacks with professionalism and ease.
"Experiencing a setback is always disappointing and can be very disheartening, especially when involving a project, paper, or test that I have put a lot of time and effort into. I also fully understand that setbacks happen to every veterinary student. When I experience a major setback, I take a few moments to debrief internally, get some fresh air if possible, and discuss what I could have done differently with a student colleague or faculty member. Then, I move on and learn from the mistakes I may have made in the situation."
Openly discuss how you typically handle setbacks in your work to ensure that your emotions stay in check and so that you can learn from the situation. If you have an example of a time when you successfully navigated a tough time in your academics, discuss that situation and explain how you worked through it to improve.
