Stadman

so I have said this in another forum but the Hello PhD podcast has an episode (146) that geos over virtual interviews and one of the hosts is part of UNC's admissions committee and the head for Vanderbilt is a guest, they go over what is good and what is too much, the general advise/ rule of thumb was don't use slides/ images as a crutch, they can tell if you are speaking from a place of genuine knowledge and understanding or not. If you have some figures that support what you are saying then it could help but don't read from it. The PI's are also going to be passionate about their research and might do the same thing, if you show how much you care about what you are doing I think the slides could be a useful asset.

I LOVE the Hello PHD podcast!! It was definitely the most insight I have been able to find into the process. They have an earlier episode I think 106 that talks about in person interviews and listening to that helps to think about questions to ask PI's and current students. Beth did that episode as well.

I am starting this thread to start the discussion of interviews in a Covid world. I have personally scoured the internet and numerous other forums looking for advice and what schools are saying in regards to their interview plans and this is what I have found so far. I received this notice from Stanford's Bioscience admissions when I submitted my application "During the week of January 11, 2021, the committees will start to contact applicants who have been selected for an interview. The selected applicants will be invited to interview via Zoom and participate in programming with faculty and current students. Our interview dates are currently set for Wednesday, March 3 through Saturday, March 6, 2021, but may shift. This is our only interview session. All applicants will be notified of the decision on their application by the end of January." I have not seen any of my other programs change their websites yet to reflect how they will be conducting interviews but I assume many will follow suit. For resources I recommend listening to a Podcast I listen to for many of my Grad school related questions, its called "Hello PhD" their most recent episode 146: Ace your virtual Graduate school interview with Dr. Beth Bowman. This episodes they have a discussion with Dr. Beth Bowman, she is the assistant director of graduate programs at Vanderbilt University. They do go into how time zones would work and how to prepare. Their previous episodes do go into general interview prep as well as a vast amount of other topics. As much as I want to be able to meet the professors personally I am glad that schools are thinking about peoples safety. My only thing I do worry about is what it will be like trying to choose a school that maybe we never got to visit and how we can choose where we will be living and working for the next several years.

Some of the programs I applied to have sent emails after submitting applications confirming they will be doing virtual interviews as well as programing with the current grad students and professors as they would have in person. I have seen a few schools that seem to be considering in person as well, and the rest haven't updated the interview schedule and details on their sites as of yet. "The selected applicants will be invited to interview via Zoom and participate in programming with faculty and current students. Our interview dates are currently set for Wednesday, March 3 through Saturday, March 6, 2021, but may shift. This is our only interview session. All applicants will be notified of the decision on their application by the end of January." this was attached to Stanford's email confirming application submission. "Applicants who are determined to be among the most qualified will be invited to participate in a Virtual Interview. These will be held from January through March." this is what UMASS med sent as well. I feel safer doing virtual interviews with the pandemic but I know I interview better in person and I get wary about connection issues and not being able to see the schools before making a decision of where to attend.