MadameD

Thank you! It ended up being really laid back! For international students who have skype interviews before being invited to weekend interviews, stay calm! My interview was mostly to see that I was actually interested in the school, and there were more personal/laid back questions asked. They did ask about my research, but that was a short part of the conversation. Be prepared to ask questions and explain why you want to go for their PhD program. At this point, they know you're a good student, they just want to know more about you as a person. At least that was the case for me! Good luck to everyone!

Hello! I know there's a thread for seasoned interviewees, but that seems more geared towards interview weekends. I just got invited to interview with 3 different professors via Skype at my top choice school. What should I expect? I'm just so nervous! Thanks in advance! and hopefully once I finish the interviews I can let others know what to expect as well!

Thanks everyone! That makes me feel a lot better! I think everyone is right with the cold thing, I guess I hadn't thought about that. I usually feel more comfortable over-dressed than under-dressed, so I'll try to keep it in mind. I'm so ready to get more information for my interview! So far, I know I have an interview... and that's about it.

Sorry to keep on going back to the outfit questions but... I'm the opposite of what most people were asking. As in, most of my business-casual clothes are dresses with short heels. Or a nice top with boot-cut pants and again short heels. Is this too much? I'm worried about appearing like I don't belong in a lab because of being girly/delicate. I guess I'll probably try to tone down my outfits a bit, it's just going to mean going back and buying a few staple pieces. As for what to expect at interviews, what sort of questions were you asked? I go to a really small school for undergrad and I'm not used to so many of the terms and protocol at big research universities. My research experience was definitely more casual than others. But it was definitely a time-consuming, long hours, sort of experience. Did anyone else have this problem? How were you able to show yourself as ready for graduate school without the same experience as students from big research universities?