gliaful

In general, are there scheduled breaks between consecutive interviews? Even 5 minutes would be helpful. Are the interviews all held in the same area? I'm picturing a big, open room with many tables, but this is my uninformed imagination's work. In particularly snowy/raining settings, is there a chance to change after the interviews or should my interview clothes depend on the weather? Here's a vague question that I'm going to ask anyway: how much do I need to know about my interviewers' research? I am totally fine dissecting the last 5 years of everyone's publications (I have a couple weeks off...) but I don't know if this is necessary, or if understanding a few of their recent papers would be sufficient. Will I specifically be asked questions about their research, or am I just expected to be able to hold a conversation about it and ask them questions?

Oh, yes! In that case you should mention it. When you said "funding" in general I wasn't sure if you meant your own funding or your lab's funding. Do mention funding that you have competed for. Everyone loves a blooming grant writer!

If it was funding you personally sought out/were awarded, I think you should mention at least that you obtained funding. I don't know if you should name funding sources for the lab you worked in -- sounds kind of silly to my ears, because that funding doesn't say anything about you.

I only used the Magoosh free online flashcard decks, and I found those easy to use and helpful. https://gre.magoosh.com/flashcards/vocabulary/decks

It started to feel real when I got a call from a POI and she was describing the interview process in more detail than anyone else had previously described to me. She said something close to this (I was taking notes like crazy): Okay kiddo, you'll sit down with a faculty member, and they'll say, "Tell me about yourself". And your mind will be scrambling for the most succinct thing to say, but you should jump right into your research. Talk about your hypotheses, results -- don't go straight for the techniques -- show that you understand the ideas behind what you've done. This should calm your anxiety, as it's something to talk about and you are in control of the situation. After 15 minutes, try to wrap up, and ask them to tell you about their research. Of course, you already know about their research -- you've read a couple of their papers, seen their lab page. Be prepared to ask questions about their research as it relates to something they have said. Being informed, by having read their papers...it isn't so much about digging up some obscure question to launch at them, it's more about having the background to really listen to them and ask questions in the moment, like a real conversation. When your time is up, shake hands and smile. Do send them a thank-you email at your earliest convenience, as it reminds them of you and leaves them with a warm impression of you. Okay, kiddo? You're going to do great! After this phone call, I curled up on my couch and felt more things than I can remember. That's when it felt real.

Third possibility: I'm just a champion brown-noser. Thanks!

Oh man, good to know. I just looked at plane tickets and they're actually ~$360-450, so I would be able to make it work with a $500 reimbursement. However, location does kinda matter to me. I know it really shouldn't, but all of my family is in the Pacific Northwest and I feel secure knowing that I could drive home in a day (from, say, OHSU, CU Denver, and Utah). I'm an aggressively protective big sister to three younger brothers. I applied to Brandeis because it's a great program, but I like these other programs that I'm interviewing at, too. Rankings don't mean much to me. I know Brandeis is one of the best programs, but Waltham is also 3000 miles away. The interview isn't "required", so I don't think I'll go -- chances are, they'll reject me for this, but I didn't anticipate having as many interview offers as I got.

Check your messages.

Thanks! Yeah, I can't decide if it's worth it to go. I live on the opposite end of the country so I doubt $500 would cover my flight, but maybe I'll check and think about it. They did say that they would make housing arrangements for my stay, so maybe travel would be the only expense... But really, if they're making me pay for my travel, what else might they make me pay for down the road if I were to go there? I do not need more interviews, but they all sound so exciting.

BUT, Brandeis doesn't outright pay for your interview (and it's not "required for admission"). They reimburse you up to $500 for travel and have 4 weekends available.

Brandeis Neuro just arrived!

How many interviews do you have lined up? Is it worth it to you to go to the interview for your last-choice school? My last-choice school was the first to send me an invite. I grabbed it immediately because I didn't know how the rest of the season would play out...but then overlap became a serious problem, and I got my last-choice school to reschedule, but now I wish I just declined the invite. Unfortunately they have purchased my plane ticket and made other accomodations for me, so I will be a good sport and see what they have to offer. I mean, interviews are "free" in that they don't cost anything directly, but there's the opportunity cost of hours you could have put into work/the lab -- everyone says that this is the time to save up for the expenses of moving, but now I have 6 interviews, each lasting 3-4 days...I'm going to lose out on 22 (mostly weekend) days, or about ~130 hours of pay. Just something to consider.

Dr. Carol Colby from Pittsburgh just called me and she's hilarious. But she also called me "kiddo" multiple times. She told me to "wear normal clothes -- it's cold here -- people that show up looking like bank tellers will freeze". She just said "normal" clothes, with no rips/stains/large logos. Does she really mean this? I am scared that I'm going to show up looking like a fool.

I've never been, and am generally just a boring fair-weather sometimes-runner. It's not something I'm proud of. I cook and knit and smother my 20 pound lap-cat. I hope I don't break all of my bones. Utah's the only place I've heard of that has a physical activity component of the interview. Most interviews just involve city/campus tours, and feature some attempt to get you intoxicated so that all of your true feelings come gushing out to stand trial.

The Neuroscience chair at Utah just called me to talk about the program and any concerns/questions I might have (they had already emailed me an invite to interview) and they told me that 20 students are interviewing and that the program's desired entering class size is 10, so I'm feeling pretty good about it based on what you said, peachypie. One of the interview days at Utah is spent skiing/learning how to ski with the current grad students! I know this shouldn't shape my decision-making but I've always wanted to learn how to do some sort of winter sport. I'm starting to feel like interviews might actually be a lot of fun.

I've heard that where you do your postdoc is more important than where you do your PhD, and that an ivy is the "ideal" for a postdoc. I've been told numerous times that fit is the most important thing about choosing a grad program. And really, it makes sense. You want a place that you fit well so that you get the most out of your experience. As far as I'm aware, "fit" is really just a condensed way of saying that the program's research strengths/interests match yours and you actually get along with most of the people there. Both of these things, of course, will impact how much you take away from your education.

I'm in the same boat. My fiance will have a master's degree in math in a few months, but he's anxious about what kind of employment opportunities will exist depending on where I move. I've also thought about being able to support us both on my stipend, but even though I know what my stipend amounts would be, I don't have a real feel for the cost of living in these places. Do you feel comfortable asking the programs what your stipend would be?

I got an email Friday from Dr. Carol Colby saying that I was invited to interview (very informal email - it was a personal email, not a form email) and that she would like to call me on Monday to discuss it. Dr. Carol Colby is one of the members of the admissions committee, she's not my POI. My application was complete on 10/31. However, the CNUP program explicitly says that review of all applications begins in December, so this doesn't matter.

With interviews lined up, I'm now starting to stress about the process of moving out of state. When I google "moving checklist" or "moving to another state", most of the advice is about the process of moving itself. I was wondering about all of the phases - before, during, and after. The "after" stuff concerns me the most, but here is what I've come up with for tasks following relocation: Driver's license, vehicle registration and insurance for the new state Updating my address for all accounts/things that require an address Finding and transferring to a new credit union to keep my precious $19 safe Getting my prescriptions transferred and finding a new doctor Surely I'm missing things, but I don't know what they are. Anything you can add would be really appreciated.

While you're all talking about rent, how did you current grads relocate? It's sounds silly, but I think this is what stresses me out the most about the whole process. But maybe it's because I drive a car that's as old as I am and I'm never quite sure if I'll make it to the grocery store alive. I'm planning to invest in a more reliable vehicle (I don't drive much now) but I don't know if I should do this before or after I move. Obviously having it before the move would be nice, but I would also have to pay to register it + insure it in both my current state and my future location. Did you make a trip to your school's city to go apartment-hunting for a few days? Or did you look at places online and set up viewings prior to the trip?

You have been so helpful. I really, really appreciate it.

This is nice to know. A few of my schools have umbrella programs, but I applied to their specific programs. I wonder if funding has anything to do with it? A well-funded program can afford to fly more people out, at the very least. Whether they actually do this is unknown to me. I've heard that some people ask the program directly (usually following an invitation to interview) what percentage of interviewees is usually accepted. But I've also heard countless times that the key to an interview is to not screw up in some way. Surely this can't account for everyone who gets rejected after an interview, though, so I'll just keep wondering... If anyone has any info about the schools that I'm interviewing at, I would really appreciate it.

I wish I knew someone there. I just want to pelt questions at people who actually attend some of these schools. Like, are you "happy"? How's your work-life balance? Did you feel like you were adequately prepared when you first started? EIther way, did the program (your rotations, etc) adequately train you well for your ventures into independent research? How much control did you have in designing your project? How often is your PI in lab (mine never is)? What do you do when you're stressed out? Do you hang out with students in your program when you aren't working? Do students compete with one another, or is it a more celebrative, collaborative environment? What's the city like to live in? How did you relocate -- how do you find an apartment in another state? How are the seminars -- does the program actively bring in researchers from across the country (or globe?) -- or is it more of a requirement that nobody really likes? Is the stipend well-suited to the university's location? How is the health insurance? Do you take on side projects in other labs? Is traveling to conferences supported or encouraged? What other schools did you consider when you were in my shoes? How did you make your decision -- what won you over? EDIT: I just remembered that this is what interviews are for. I'm going to remember this list for when I'm freaked out about my first interview.

Okay, question I never thought I'd ask: how many interviews should I attend? I have committed to five interviews: OHSU, CU Denver, Vanderbilt, Utah, and Iowa. I have had seven invites; I haven't committed to Pitt but they are calling me on Monday to discuss the interview, and I had to turn UW down. Brandeis is the only school I haven't heard from, but they typically send invites in January. I already have invites from the schools that I am most excited about. However, I know that visiting a school in real life can drastically change one's preferred lineup. Should I turn down future invites? Or is it worth it to visit? I don't want to take a spot that could be given to someone who actually really wants to go to a particular school. This is the sole reason that I am considering turning down invites, but it's a big one to me. Being on the gradcafe forums and getting the chance to interact with so many like-minded people with common interests and goals has really changed my perspective. My PI thinks I should take every visit I can get, because interviews are a fun way to network. She also thinks that because I am shy, mass interviewing might be a good way to obliterate my shell before grad school. So, I see pros and cons. I'd really like to hear some other perspecives on this before Pitt calls me on Monday.

It was probably just getting late in the day for them -- you'll probably get that email Monday. Did you mention on the phone that you would prefer another weekend? Maybe their response is delayed because they're still trying to coordinate a second weekend. I really have no idea, but I bet you didn't offend them.