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splitmcsplit

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  1. For some schools, the % invited after interview can be low (e.g. 33%), but for others, it's pretty high (>75%). It really just depends on the school and they can change from year to year based on their needs.
  2. You're not interviewing with them to join their lab at this stage (you will set up rotations later when you are actually admitted and sometimes not until after you actually start the program) but there's probably no harm in contacting them to express the hope that you get to talk to them on the interview weekend and maybe a brief blurb about yourself or what interests you in their lab. This may not have any effect as it's not necessarily up to them who they speak to and they might not even be participating. Put them on a list of people you want to talk to (if the coordinator requested it). If you don't interview them then (very good chance you will not talk to a specific PI) then try to seek them out at any social gathering the program might have. For UCSD, there will be a dinner and many faculty will show up. I don't know what USC does. If you emailed them ahead of time, then at least they will have "heard" of you before you walk up and approach it and it could make the interaction easier.
  3. These are common. The pre-interview event is usually informal and run by grad students (but there could be some faculty there). It's just an opportunity to chat with current students and meet some of the other interviewees. If faculty are there, they might go around and talk to groups of people, but it's still going to be informal. The post-interview happy hour might include faculty or might just be grad students -- it's unclear from your post (and I've seen both). It's going to be similar to the pre-interview event: an opportunity to talk with current students/faculty in a more relaxed situation than an interview. If faculty are there, usually you seek out ones you wanted to talk to but didn't interview with. Come prepared with a very brief spiel on who you are and research interests. Don't be obnoxious or get drunk.
  4. It doesn't mean anything. It could be they enjoyed talking to you (because they replied), it could mean they are just being polite, etc. etc.
  5. I don't know. It's sometime in February. It sounded like it was for students who couldn't make the other two weekends (they described it as an overflow weekend) and was smaller than the first two. As I said, I suspect they've sent out all invites already. I would just email admissions as they're pretty forthcoming with information compared to other places.
  6. Other than if I happened to talk to who you interview with, I can't offer specific advice that wouldn't apply to interviews anywhere else. Know your work to be able to talk about it and answer questions about it, know why you want to go to that school, why you want to do a PhD, etc. I've heard that a few interviewers asked odd subjective questions, but there's just no way to prepare for that and it's really just an assessment of how well you can think on your feet and answer questions you don't have a pre-prepared answer for. In all four interviews, I was barely asked anything at all and spent the whole time asking them questions about their work. But, that's not the case with everyone.
  7. I recommend a small notepad that fits in your pocket or purse/bag. Some people bring a full sized notepad in a portfolio, but then you have to carry it around with you. Odds are, the only thing you'd write down is a name (a suggestion of somebody to talk to) or email address. Don't bring a backpack to the interviews. For some schools with large campuses, such as UCSD, you will do a lot of walking. Don't worry too much about knowing what the interviewer does in any sort of detail. You're not interviewing to work in their lab at this stage and you can just ask them what they do. It's far more important to know what you do to be able to explain it to them, if they ask. They will probably only ask you specific questions about your work if they work in your field, but they might ask why you want to do a PhD, why you want to go to that school, why you want to research whatever area, etc.
  8. I just finished interviewing there. They actually don't split up by sub-program so invites go out to everyone in general rather than by sub-program. You're not applying to bioinformatics, for example -- you are applying to biomedical sciences (even though you need to specify a concentration on the application, which isn't set in stone and can be changed). I would guess they are done inviting but there's a small chance because there is a third interview weekend and they could send out a few more invites. However, if you are an international student, that could work differently and they're one of the schools that does take a sizable amount of international students.
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