Lioness

FORMAL Interview School: George Washington University Type: Counseling PhD Date of invite: 12/8/2020 Type of invite: Mass email Interview date(s): Three options given - 12/15, 1/8 and 1/15 (I chose 1/8) (10 am - 4 pm virtual) DM for POI: Sure

I am almost 40 and just started getting my feet wet by taking the GRE applying to one program this year. I am limited to programs in my city since I have two kids and my husband's job is here, and this is home. I didn't get an interview. So I am trying to decide on my next move, and whether to apply to more programs here next year or apply for an online program based in Europe. As much as I would love to have the full-time, on-campus experience, I am thinking the ship has sailed. What I was saying to myself all along was I will go for it, see what happens, and quit if it gets too hard (knowing that I rarely quit anything). If I had an opportunity like you have, I would at least give it a shot!

Yes! That reminds me of a guy I interviewed for job, who stuck around and then snuck into the company holiday party that afternoon. We hired him.

I saw that, however it was one person and they also said they were invited "for interview weekend from Jan 6th -8th" for interviews, which is not a weekend. If that person sees this, could you let us know your POI initials and whether you indeed interviewed earlier this week or you meant February or March 3-6? I'm still keeping hope alive!

So I haven't had an interview invitation yet, but in the spirit of obsessing... my top program typically does two interview weekends and you can choose which one to attend. Assuming there is no scheduling conflict, is there a strategy to which one is better? Going first to make sure you are among the first faces they see, or last so you are fresh on their minds as they make the decision? Any psych theories on this? ?

Still nothing either for me. I saw one person on the results page who said they were emailed about an interview. Not clear whether it was an informal interview or invite to the interview weekends (Georgetown has done them in February the last few years). Best of luck!

OMG that is just so cruel!! Best of luck!

Just got a call from the same area code as my top school... it was a robo telemarketer. Pure evil. Do POIs even call anymore?

Has anyone applied to/heard from the human development and public policy program at Georgetown?

I have a MPP from Georgetown, and while I worked for 6 years before going back, there were quite a few people in my program that were straight out of undergrad. Having a great GPA and GRE scores helps, and several of them were econ majors (the program was pretty quant heavy at the time - now I think there are other pathways too). I actually joke (but am half serious) that my time waiting tables and bartending is what prepared me the most for the international policy work I do now, because I have to deal with so many egos and difficult personalities. Being able to smile and come up with a solution that makes everyone happy is a skill I learned from those days, as well as being able to strike up a conversation with anyone. And there was one time that we were organizing an event to launch a report I wrote with several heads of state, and the green rooms were not properly set up, so I had to run through the event with trays of water and refreshments for the president of Tunisia. Definitely used my waitressing skills for that. When I interview people for jobs at my organization, I always look for people who have some type of real "get your hands dirty" work experience. I've found that people who only have illustrious internships and fellowships make terrible employees, because no one has ever really depended on their work. I guess what I'm saying is don't discount your experience, it can really be useful! Best of luck.