peachypie

I am not entirely sure what booties are you referring to. Are you talking about the kind that cut off at the ankle but look like a boot otherwise? Or are you talking about actual boots. Either way, your pants will cover over that so it shouldn't matter. I used a tote bag for my interviews. Something similar to this: Which is very similar in style to Longchamp. Mine is actually JPK which is about as close to a longchamp as you could probably get, so yours should work just fine! I found it really nice since it was something I could use for plane carry-ons, nice to carry my stuff with me during interviews and can kind of go for a variety of events (dinners and interviews). It was nice to have something where I can stash a water bottle and my personal belongings.

1. I would go khakis and a button down shirt. I don't even know if you need the suede jacket but if you like the way it brings the outfit together, go for it! I would always assume no jeans for any part of the interview. The only times I wore jeans for interviews was during my travel days and when I went to any official event I changed from those. If you are simply getting picked up by grad students to go to the airport and that is it, feel free to wear jeans. Other than that I always avoided them. If you feel that jeans are ok for the "showing you about town" that should be fine, by then you'll have an idea of the feel of the situation, or you can casually ask your grad student buddy if you can wear jeans on that day. 2. I am a woman and I did a pant suit for interview day. I wore my pants, heels, tucked in button down/blouse and had my suit coat with me. You can always take the coat off when sitting in the interview and rather easily take it off when you are taking a regular coat off if its cold enough. I don't think it super matters but no one will care if you have the coat on so why not? If anyone gives shade for a suit/suit coat that is speaking more about their insecurity in the situation than you. I've never heard once someone say: "oh they were a great applicant but really wearing the suit and trying to look nice, i mean come on...why do we want someone that tries so hard? Reject." Whereas the opposite is true "Did you see so and so was wearing jeans on interview day? Not a good look for an applicant". Basically, don't worry about over dressing. It is always better to err on the side of over dress than under dress...ALWAYS. Also you will have someone else in your interview group that is wearing a suit/suit and blazer...its not that uncommon that you'll stick out. Best of luck on your upcoming interview!! Have fun!

DO NOT CALL. Again, this is unnecessary and inappropriate. Please stop doing this to program admins. Assume a rejection if that is the information you need to hear and you will only be pleasantly surprised. Anything can happen and invites do go out later. To some extent it is true that "no news is good news" but knowing that interviews are starting for many programs and ongoing means that it may be more like "no new is ok news but not great news". I would suggest right now focusing on any and all interviews you have. Not contacting schools that have not contacted you at this point and simply waiting to hear results and prepare for interviews and spend your other time focusing on school if you are still in undergrad or your job if you are working. enjoy life for the moment.

for an invite or rejection?

Depends on your program a lot but a lot of times your first year includes rotations which means you automatically get time off between the semester break. That would be an ideal time. I know people who got married between semesters of the first year and also people who got married during the first semester and honeymooned later.

You should probably (and most importantly) ask them about their research. Just because they aren't someone you *think* you will want to work with, doesn't mean you shouldn't give them equal time and consideration that you do to those that you *think* you'll want to work with. Things change and you can't anticipate that you'll be working with the people you named in an SOP, that they are accepting students, or that they are a good fit for you environmentally. Therefore you should approach interviews and conversations with PIs as a great time to learn more about what kind of science they are doing. I wouldn't ask about picking research advisors from an external department...that might be a question you ask after you get in.

I'd read 2-3 abstracts/paper of professors you know you'll be meeting with. Skip the graduate students because the lunch will likely be informal and more about you asking them about life as a student there. grad students will talk about research but that is not what they are there to do. Don't memorize biographical data and research interests, that is just too much. Spend a bit just getting a general idea of the research interest of the professors and that is about it.

1. It depends on the snow and ice. It is entirely possible, check the weather forecast a few days ahead. It will definitely be cold though so you won't really change that much with what you are wearing regardless of precipitation. 2. You are going to want/need a coat. A peacoat at a minimum. You'll also want: a hat, scarf (peacoats don't do a great job of protecting your neck/torso from cold winds) and a pair of gloves or mittens. It is a hassle to take those things off and hold them but that is just how it has to be. No one will think less of you for holding a coat or having to first set it down before exchanging handshakes etc. Everyone will be in a similar boat. As a woman you can easily have a tote that you can stash some of the smaller items (hat, gloves, scarf) as soon as you walk into the building. Generally on interview days they try to keep you out of the cold and having to take stuff on and off so the person taking you around will be aware of this and keep that in mind. I had an interview in a very snowy place once and it snowed like 8 inches the morning of the interview. I ended up having a pair of boots that i can walk easily in snow with and I stashed my heels (that had the proper hemming to my pants) in my tote. My grad student taking me around was a guy and totally understood the situation and was like "take your time and get situated, it is really smart you brought those boots etc" They get it. 3. I don't consider jeans business casual so take that as you will. It sounds like the Thursday dinner is going to be simply a meal at the hotel you are staying at? Sounds like it'll be catered in a meeting room there and fairly casual. Generally things with just grad students is going to be casual. It is a travel day so this allows some extra time if there are delays without really starting the interview process. The grad students will probably be in jeans but that doesn't mean you get to be. I'd wear a nice pair of pants and the same outfit as you described, just upgrade from jeans. Don't be worried about looking like you are "trying too hard". Just dress as the school outlined (business casual).

Depends on your school and how it is set up for your program. When you are in classes and in lab its a lot of time commitment. You have class and work in lab during the day then have to come home to study/prepare for exams or presentations etc. You don't get a lot of "break time" if you will. Often times when you aren't studying you feel guilty that you aren't because you don't really have "the time" to do that. Grad students will work anywhere from like a 9-5ish kind of feel to 12 hour days. Weekends happen often. All depends on the student and where they are in their PhD journey. If you are still in classes you add in time away from lab in class and when studying at night. Weekends and holidays are just time to catch up with what you've been behind on either class-wise or in lab.

Anywhere from a few days to maybe a few weeks. Usually like average about a week or so?

That is really too bad and I've had some similar things happen to me. It is not ideal for student or program obviously. The issue here is that typically your interviews will include members of the admission committee. They also need to schedule your interviewers and they aren't always able to get everyone the ones the applicant is interested in. This may be a result of a professor being gone or unable to schedule that day. What to remember is the interview process isn't solely about you talking to one person you are going to work with in an interview. You are going to have to be able to talk a lot of science regardless. It also doesn't prevent you from meeting these individuals in non-interview time of your visit. I had interviews where the morning of there were emergencies (pipe burst or family emergency) and I couldn't even meet with the people I was planned to meet with. You really have to roll with it and enjoy the experience. I am sure the school tried to get interviews with people of interest to you but it also can be a bit like herding cats. Try not to let the impression of the school be dictated by something like this and realize there is a lot going on in the background you may not be seeing the result of.

Maybe nix the fun vacation or quit before that?

First reading an abstract should still be accessible and I think that should hit on some major points for you to think about. Second there should be a fair amount available on open access journals these days so maybe try to read what is available. I wouldn't email a POI at this point. It is not THAT important. You certainly can ask about it at an interview though (they often give out papers for you if you are interested). You may say if it comes up "would you mind emailing me or providing a copy of *name specific publication*. I tried to read it but unfortunately don't have access to the journal".

You'll have less free time than working a full-time job.

It should be fairly obvious then, based on your itinerary, that you will meet with faculty (anywhere from 5-8) throughout the course of the interview day. They will be one on one interviews that last anywhere from 30-45 minutes. Again all these details will be given in your itinerary. Have you received them already? I typed up a whole paragraph of the things that faculty care about before I realized it is all questions you should be able to answer if you are prepared for graduate school anyway. Me spoon feeding you the types of questions and what the expect of an applicant does not do any service to the school or you as an applicant. I would be happy to answer specific questions but this isn't a final exam and I'm not giving out a study guide so people can "do their homework" to get into graduate school. Prove to me you have thought about this and are coming with specific questions like you've taken time to understand the process and what you are embarking on. then I'd be happy to guide you or talk about specifics. Most graduate programs will be very similar in their approach so you don't need to ask a student from each school/program.

You'll get an itinerary and schedule from your schools before the interview. I think that should clarify what the formats of interviews will be fairly clearly. Any additional information can be answered by the graduate student contact that you'll have.

I had a few copies of CVs (ps no one asked or needed one) but you always want to have one just in case. I had copies of my publications as well. Again no one needed to see anything so you probably won't have to show either but its good to have just in case it does come up. PIs can misplace a CV or something and it looks good that you are well prepared. Also a pen and paper for either you to jot a note. You'll get a paper schedule/itinerary from your school and a folder so that is nice to have easy access to so you know who is coming up. You don't get a lot of time between interviews so if I read about them before i had a quick reference page that reminded me what this person specialized in (like a sentence or two) just so I could recall what was the next series of people. You probably won't use any of it, but again always better to be prepared since the off chance someone asks you don't want to say you don't have it.

I either got automated emails or was contacted by a PI from the admissions committee.

Never. This is out of hand and I've seen SO MANY POSTS about it. You guys need to calm down and realize that an admin does not have one sole job of secretary to applicants. They are: organizing their interviews right now (either before or after invites go out), they have to run their own programs with students who already go there and they have plenty of admin duties for PIs. You need to stop. None of you calling will make any difference in your application, your contacting them is unnecessary. If you haven't heard, why not assume you are rejected and leave it at that. If that is what takes to move on then just do that. Stop calling and emailing an admin just to know 100% sure you are rejected so you can "know".

I never was grilled in an interview, not once. I also don't bullshit at all and I really knew my research well. From my interview and those along the interview trail said, the ones that got grilled for stuff like that are people still in undergrad and they either don't have a lot to talk to about your personal research experience and/or they are trying to decide if you know what you are talking about. Memorizing your research shouldn't need to occur. You after 5 years should know your own research better than anyone else. If you can't explain it with a few questions that is a problem. Generally its a "if they can't answer the basic questions easily then they dig deeper because they aren't sure how much you know". Therefore the better and more at ease with your own research from the get go the better. I talked in depth about my research and extrapolated upon their questions. They don't want to know each and every protocol but like to see how you are thinking and what challenges you encountered. I interviewed with many different PIs some that I had expressed interest in, other that I hadn't (ad comm members) etc. You need to familiarize yourself to be able to carry on a technical conversation with them. The ones that were in my field knew exactly what I was talking about but I also am working on research so you don't get so detailed that they can scoop your idea. I would read 2-3 abstracts of the most recently published material from this PI/lab. Be ready to ask insightful questions and not just sit there and go "uh huh!" and "Yeah that is really cool, I find that interesting".

I carried a nice tote bag, like a longchamp style one...actually mine was JPK and dark purple in color so a color that worked just fine with interview clothes. I kept my portfolio in there as well as like pens, my phone and random stuff. Really nice not to be holding a bunch of stuff when you are meeting people and shaking hands etc.

I had both situations where I got my own room and where I shared. It depends on the school! There are pros and cons to both, but never had an issue with any of my roomies or any awkward times. won't feel like a competition with them at all, and look at it as a way to meet your potential classmates.

That is weird and kind of ironic considering the amount of people here dropping interviews because they feel like it. Maybe the schools are going to start doing the same to invitees? My best guess is that there are faculty members you noted in your SOP that are interested in working with that are not available during the weekend you first selected but are available on the later date. They may want to make sure you get to talk to the people of interest to you since it benefits both parties. This is purely a guess however. I had an interview where I had taken the first weekend and had other conflicts for the second weekend and they didn't have some of the people available to me to interview. They ended up offering to fly me back for my own visit to meet with whoever I wanted at cost to them which I declined since I felt it would weigh heavily on my decision and by that time I was so over travel. Another possibility is that everyone wanted to take the first weekend and they simply just have too many people on one and not the other so they are trying to equalize it and nearly everyone got that message. Maybe they are hoping enough people volunteer to switch if they don't have a conflict.

Most flights are non-transferable. The lesson is they should never have said yes at this point than to say yes and then a few weeks later decide not anymore. Its extremely selfish and immature to think that you are the end all and be all of this process. Why would you have accepted an interview in the first place if you couldn't miss more school or wasn't interested? Also why would having a top program get back to you by the end of this month mean you would want to cancel 2-3 interviews you said yes to.

I dunno. That is a tough position. You didn't work for any other PIs that you could ask from. If you have to I would explain to the school the situation and say that you don't believe that this person may be the best person to recommend you. Is there anyone at that person's lab that you may have worked more closely with that can speak more to your abilities? Be straight with them. I think they'll understand if you say that this professor no longer is at the university or any university for that matter.