glia_girl

Got an acceptance to Duke! ?

Got an acceptance to Duke! ?

Got an acceptance to Duke! ?

Got an acceptance to Duke! ?

Got an acceptance to Duke! ?

Got an acceptance to Duke! ?

Got an acceptance to Duke! ?

Got an acceptance to Duke! ?

Hi - I've been on two so far. Around 60% of the time, the school will be trying to recruit you by showing presentations about the school, giving faculty talks, hosting socials and conversations with current graduate students.
You'll like have 5ish actual interviews which are 30-45 minutes long. Honestly, they can really range in format. Some faculty will ask for a 3-5 minute recap of your research, some will ask you to describe one of your projects in depth (usually of your choosing). Sometimes, professors will ask tons of questions, not necessarily as a "gotcha," but mostly just to see how you're thinking about your research. Then your interviewer will likely talk about their research (which they love to do, so show enthusiasm!) and offer to answer any questions you have about the program or anything.
Mine have really ranged; I've talked for 20 minutes straight at some and at others we only talked about why we love to do research and what I hope to do in grad school. So, be prepared to talk about your research, but don't be surprised if you don't at all! Hopefully, your faculty are very friendly and interviews will feel like a fun conversation about science.
To be honest, it's kind of difficult to feel out the vibe of the school virtually so I'm really paying attention to subtleties in how the current students talk about their experiences. Hopefully, you're meeting with faculty who have labs you'd be interested in joining, because this is a great time to feel out if you would enjoy their lab. You should choose a grad school that has options for you, so if you find out you're not really vibin with some faculty that were once interested in, take note. 
Finally, if there's anyone you didn't get to talk to during the actual interview dates, the program will absolutely coordinate a meeting for you. 
Feel free to reach out to me if you wanna talk about anything more specific, I'm happy to do so.

I would dress in business attire: blazer + blouse/shirt and tie. Interviews are not very formal but it can't hurt to dress professionally.
How to stand out: show your personality and passion for science! Interviews can range from you talking about your work for 20 minutes straight to very casual conversations about science and doing research. Interviewers want to see that you will complete a PhD. That means showing that you love science, showing you are not blindly following the instructions of a superior, and frankly that you can handle the workload. If you haven't done an independent project, be prepared to justify how you will be able to work on your own/without guidance. You will probably also be asked if you could continue working on your current project for 1 more year, what you would do.
Also, there will be a portion where the interviewers tell you about their work. Look interested and ask questions. I read a couple papers of each of my interviewers before going in. I don't think it was necessary but did help me.
Finally, you will be asked pretty often what you want to do in grad school. It doesn't have to be specific, but dream big. It would help to know a couple of techniques you're interested in learning and the subfield you want to explore. Example: "I'm really interested in addiction and drug use and would love to learn some molecular techniques to study opioid receptors as well as do fMRI studies in patients..." etc. It doesn't have to be perfect.
Overall, schools are also adjusting to online interviews and recognize the challenge. They are also trying to convince you to go to their school, so they are also working very hard to show the culture and value of their program. If you have multiple interviews lined up, you should also be feeling out the school and seeing how well you connect with the program! I also get nervous about online meetings but it's a two way street - everyone is very understanding of that and some difficulties are expected. 
In short: 
-practice talking about your research clearly and concisely
-know who you're interviewing with
-say a bit about what you dream of doing in grad school
-relax, you'll do fine if you like science
-take note of how much you like the school
Hope that helps, feel free to reach out to me if you have any other questions.
 

Duke Neurobio mass email for interview! Feb 11 or 12