Impact of recorded, asynchronous admissions interviews on holistic and academic interview scores

Applications across colleges of pharmacy have decreased significantly over the last few years. Many applicants turn down an in-person interview due to the cost of travel or time restraints. Offering asynchronous virtual interviews may increase the number of applicants interviewed; however, they may also affect the candidate's interview score. The purpose of this study is to compare the interview scores of candidates who interviewed in the virtual asynchronous platform vs. candidates who interviewed in person on campus.

Admission candidates participated in either an in-person interview or a virtual asynchronous interview. Virtual interviews were conducted asynchronously through audiovisual capture of interview responses. All interview questions were rated on a scale of one to four. The individual question scores were averaged with applicants receiving an overall academic and an overall holistic interview score.

One hundred and twenty-one interviews were included in the analysis. Of these interviews, 32 (26%) were conducted virtually and 89 (74%) were conducted in person. Students participating in virtual interviews scored significantly lower than their in-person peers for both academic (U = 782 [2.8 vs. 3.3], P < .01) and holistic interviews (U = 1040 [3 vs. 3.3], P = .02).

Asynchronous virtual interviews could be a convenient method to offer interviews to candidates who may not be able to interview in person due to travel costs or other contributing barriers. Although this method may be more convenient for the interviewer, it may result in a lower interview score compared to an in-person interview.