dormcat

Write them down I've had phone interview so far so it hasn't been difficult, but I plan on bringing a small notebook I can fit in my bag for my in-person visits. People also bring copies of their CVs, so wherever they keep that they can keep a list of questions/paper to take notes if needed.

Do you have questions for your POI that aren't necessarily about them? Like how supportive the department is of student work, funding opportunities, how collaborative and supportive the environment is, what direction the program is going and how you play a role in that, what they wish they knew going into grad school, etc.? You can ask grad students these things too, and compare answers between students and faculty.

I did, with great pre-application contact with two POIs. Haven't heard anything.

I got an official rejection from UCLA the yesterday, and based on the results page Michigan and Duke also sent out rejections this week. My guess is that schools rejecting folks this early already have their first, second, and waitlist choices figured out.

Definitely. I applied in 2013 to one school (against the advice of my mentor, so naive) and didn't get in. My friend's dad is fairly well known in neuroscience and he applied four or five times before he got in. I think we like to think adcoms are basically robots making the objectively best choice but what matters to them one year might be irrelevant another year. It all depends on who you're competing with and what funding looks like!

I got into UMich for the joint psych/WS program last week. I'm not sure about others in the department, though, since I heard directly from my PI. I do know they sent out a rejection email earlier this week or last week, since there were a lot of posts on the results page.

I actually love this, so much of academia is about what you've achieved and very rarely do people acknowledge their "failures." I had hoped to get at least two offers so I could feel like I had some choice in the matter, but ended up getting accepted to ONLY my top choice at this point, so I guess it could be worse. These are the ones I am pretty sure rejected me: School: Yale, Minnesota, UCLA, BerkeleyArea/Degree: Social/developmental/community psych (really applied for PI, not program)Rationalization: My quant GRE score was 70th percentile, my background research is really niche and probably put "old school" adcoms off, came from a small undergrad, been working in a fantastic lab for three years but the work here is unrelated to my grad school interestsComment: It's cool, for most of my 12 applications I applied to a PI whose work was relevant enough to keep me interested during grad school but not really my topic of choice. Minnesota stings though, the PI seemed really into my application when I talked to her in the fall. I have 7 other schools but I'm not sure at this point who has sent interview invites.Coping tactics: Celebrating my acceptance since I've already informally agreed to go there

Hi folks, hoping to revive this massive thread for 2017 incomers. I've been accepted to Michigan (PhD) and will be moving there sometime between April and August with my husband and our two cats. I've heard Kerrytown and Old West Side are good areas. I've only lived in the DC/MD/VA area to date, and have lucked out in that I've been living in a really beautiful "garden-style" apartment in a quiet neighborhood for three years. Looking at housing in Ann Arbor, I see mostly apartment complexes. Does anyone have recommendations for how to find smaller places that are more garden-style? Would this require a trip to A2 to just look for "for rent" signs in neighborhoods? I'd even be down to rent a small, 2BR house or a townhouse, but am a bit overwhelmed. Even recommendations of complexes that have a good reputation would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Yes, the PI at UCSC asked me about my past research experience as an undergrad (which is where the majority of my presentations/papers are from). Honestly I interpreted his tone as him being skeptical that I had actually put in the work so I felt a bit more defensive than I normally would when asked about my background. Typically I would walk someone through how I got involved in research > simplified explanation of topics > CV-worthy outcomes. I did not talk at all about my personal life with him. Between the two interviews the only time I talked about non-academic topics was during my interview with the PI at Michigan; we talked about the Women's March on Washington and since I live right outside DC I offered any grad students she knows will be attending a place to stay.

I applied to UW and haven't heard anything, though I wasn't a great fit for the program so I'm not sure I'm a good measurement of whether invites have gone out!

I applied to UMN and haven't heard anything.

UMich doesn't hold an interview weekend though, only a recruitment weekend. I plan on wearing my suit because, well, that's what I bought for interviews and they've ended up being on the phone. Once you're accepted they're not going to take away your acceptance because you've dressed more formally than others. In general, I would warn people that you can't go too formal unless you're wearing a ball gown or tuxedo. If you have a suit or can get a suit (skirt or pant for women), wear it.

When I was asked what I want out of Michigan's program, I answered it in two parts: why I want to go to Michigan and why I want to work with my PI. In answering why I want to work with my PI, I mentioned a particular paper I read in undergrad that really set me on my research/life path and how when I read her work I was inspired in the same way. Her work is like a call to action, and I see my research as a form of advocacy, so it was perfect. She brought it up numerous times over the course of our call and even said she was teaching my 'catalyst' article the following week and hoped it had the same impact on her students. I had a lot of little things like that throughout my responses that I think really resonated with her and showed we were a good fit, so I hope that helps. I didn't really know what "fit" meant or how it was measured until I had two calls where I felt like I was saying the same sort of thing but the vibe was starkly different. Also, I'll say I was really open about what I have and haven't accomplished. I am admittedly going into grad school with a really unusual research record, but it's still a bit outside my PI's preferred methodology. I was upfront about how her research made me look at my own differently, and made me regret that I didn't do things X way and that I am really excited to change the way I think about data. After the call I felt like we really hit it off but was worried I was too forward with gaps in my knowledge. However, I just found out I was accepted and she noted in her acceptance email that my curiosity and excitement for the research is what stood out. Honestly my main advice is to be yourself a bit and let your personality come through a bit because if you hide it you'll feel like you need to hide it for the next five or six years.

Congrats! I was invited too I've spoken with a grad student in the P&SC/women's studies joint program and she said recruitment weekend is only for accepted students. It's to get to know people and they want to impress you so you sign your life (well, 5-6 of years of it) away when they give you the formal offer!

I had an interview at Michigan and at UCSC and they were really different, so maybe the contrast will help? For UMich, where I applied to the joint women's studies phd, I was asked: What do you hope to get out of the program (academically)? Who is your favorite theorist outside psychology? What questions drive the research you'd like to do in grad school? Can you tell me more about your past work with x methodology and how you hope to use it in the future? Where do you see yourself in five years, or, when you're ending grad school, what do you imagine you've accomplished? With just these five questions we talked for about an hour, and it was a lot of fun. At UCSC I was asked: Can you tell me more about your research background? What was your role in x project? What research would you like to do at UCSC? Where else did you apply? With these four questions we talked for about 20 minutes and it felt like a more formal interview. Overall, with the UM interview I felt more like I could express my personality and carry on a more casual conversation whereas I couldn't get a read on the person interviewing me from UCSC. I was also sick during my UCSC interview which probably colored my experience. The questions I asked them were: What do you wish you had known at the start of your graduate career? When you think about past students who have been successful in the program, what characterizes them and sets them apart from others? What careers paths have your successful students pursued? I don't have a particular definition or idea of "successful," so I'd like to know your own interpretation of success in the context of your response. Does the program or school provide academic and/or emotional support to students? Are there tutors, or do students tend to form study groups? Is there an assigned advisor outside the research advisor available to students as they transition into grad school, particularly during their first year? My work is driven by X. I have a sense from your work what your broader goals or implications are, but we haven't directly discussed it. Therefore, I’m wondering what drives your research? To what extent do you prioritize promoting student work through publications and presentations? What are the most important ways the joint PhD program can grow in the next 5-10 years and how can I as a student contribute to the growth of the program?

I had an interview with someone in developmental, can't speak for social though. He said they're going to be meeting in the next two weeks to make decisions.

Aw, good luck! I totally understand how hard the wait is. Hopefully you get some good news soon since January is just around the corner!

After being rejected from two schools, PI at UMich requested phone interview. Michigan does phone interviews (or at least does not do in-person interviews, can't speak for all faculty) and then a recruitment weekend for accepted students. Really excited but also super nervous since it's my first choice.

I haven't, but it's my worst "fit" so I'm not expecting anything (of course, it would be nice to get good news!). However, their website does say around 12/21, and based on past years on TGC results, it looks like it could be anytime this week. I saw someone from developmental got an invite, but am not sure if that means all psych interviews went out or just dev so far. Also not clear if 11% chosen to interview means 11% of dev apps or all apps. Bleh.

I count myself lucky that the only time I won't be wearing jeans and a t-shirt in 2017 is when I should be wearing a stupid pantsuit! Basically going to grad school to put off dressing professionally for another 5-6 years, nbd

@stereopticons - pantsuit or skirtsuit will be the same color and material, and will be designed to "mesh" (so any little details will match, cut will be similar, same weight fabric, etc.). Slacks with a blazer can match and look nice, but unless they were designed as a set they aren't a pantsuit. I don't care much for fashion myself, I chose pantsuits just so I wouldn't have to worry about matching two articles of clothing together.

I'm a short lady and I found amazing suits at Ann Taylor (petite size, of course). I have NEVER found pants that don't need tailoring and while I'm not thin+petite, they fit like a glove. Pricy, but you can get a discount for signing up for their emails. Try it on in the store for sizing and order online with the discount, which is what I did.

Hi, this is a tough situation, but let me say congratulations on the interviews even if it's a complicated situation! This is a really frustrating situation for school B to have put you in, not that they have a responsibility to avoid conflicting with other schools when there are so few weekends. I don't have experience here, but I will say that a colleague of mine got accepted to schools despite turning down interviews (she had already accepted an offer). FOR SCHOOL B: Is it possible for you to reach out to the PI (if it's not who you're communicating with already about the interview), explain, and ask them if they would be willing to do a skype or phone interview, or if you can come visit them personally at a time that works with their schedule? FOR SCHOOL A: Or, you can talk with the person coordinating the interview (grad secretary, maybe?) and ask about alternative days. That way, you don't have to communicate further with the PI until you know if there's alternate days. If there are other days and you reschedule and can attend interviews at A and B, just send the PI at school A an email explaining that you had to change your interview date due to a conflicting interview (or, if you don't want to seem like you're choosing B over A, you can just say a conflicting event) but that you are looking forward to interviewing with them on Alternate Day. If school A doesn't have an alternate day either, in my opinion you should just go to school A's interview day and put school B out of your mind after sending the aforementioned explanation and offer alternatives to the PI at B. The reality is that you *might* still get an offer from school B despite them not meeting you in person, but if you cancel at A to go to B for whatever reason, the PI will know and that will hurt your chances more than a "sorry I have already an interview I've committed to, can we work something else out?" will. Good luck!

With regard to @OptimiscallyAnxious's comment (congrats btw!), and I'm sure many others of us who are feeling the same way ("how come others are getting pre-interview interviews and save the dates and I'm not?"), just remember that every PI moves at a different pace. None of the grad students I know heard back about interviews before Christmas/January. While some schools had earlier deadlines (e.g., Berkeley was mid-November and they say they'll get to students around 12/21) many programs don't even break out the applications until the semester ends mid-December and it's barely past mid-December. So if you're seeing that someone who applied to your top choice got an email from their POI, that doesn't mean the PI you want to work with has discarded your application (or, as in my nightmares, set it on fire while laughing maniacally). I know this is a really stressful time but the reality is that most of us won't hear from the majority of our programs until January, and that doesn't mean we are less desirable candidates!

I would absolutely recommend wearing a suit. I recently bought two pantsuits for interviews, one black and one navy blue. It's much better to be overdressed, and the more professional you look, the better. My friends in grad school all, with the exception of one in a school psych program, wore skirt or pantsuits. The one in the school psych program wore a nice dress with a sweater and said there were people even more underdressed than she was. A friend who interviewed at Duke, UConn, FSU, Fordham, and Virginia Tech for clinical programs said people who weren't in suits looked very out of place, but she recommended that if it's a multi-day event to only wear a suit the day you meet with professors and wear a nice dress or slacks with a blazer the other day.