Queries about the Pardee RAND Informational Interview 2021

[bensaul]

Hello,

I have an informational interview with RAND in a couple of days, and have a few questions that I'd be grateful for guidance on:

Q1) I've been scheduled to speak with a faculty member rather than an alumnus of the program. Can someone who's previously interviewed with faculty or admissions at RAND share their experience and any advice on how to proceed? Looking through this forum, I found a few replies discussing their experiences of interviews with alumni, but not with others.

Q2) Since the interview is with faculty, what sort of questions may be asked? For instance, I'm applying for the Tech stream and mentioned in my essays that I was interested in exploring topics in AI and Machine Learning during the Tech Lab residency. Might the interviewer try to probe my knowledge of the area, or just ask about how it relates to my interests, goals etc.?

Q3) Does the interview have any impact on decisions? The emails I've received in reference to this were pretty emphatic that this is voluntary and that applications are being reviewed with decisions being released by Feb 24.

Thank you.

[ajak568]

I guess I'm a little late to this (you probably already had your informational interview by now, I hope it went well!). I don't have any insight since I'm also applying the same cycle (for the Research, Analysis and Design stream), but wanted to share that I'm in a similar situation. I had my informational interview with a faculty member a few days ago. The researcher I talked to was incredibly personable. I'm unsure on how RAND uses these interviews in admissions--I'm sure there must be some conversation that happens with admissions on the backend--but in any case, I had a really positive experience in my interview. I could see my interviewer as a potential thesis advisor, and even if I don't end up at RAND, I definitely see myself reaching out to her going forward. Good luck on your application! Feb 24 will be here before we know it.

Edited February 3, 2021 by ajak568

[bensaul]

On 2/4/2021 at 1:27 AM, ajak568 said:

I guess I'm a little late to this (you probably already had your informational interview by now, I hope it went well!). I don't have any insight since I'm also applying the same cycle (for the Research, Analysis and Design stream), but wanted to share that I'm in a similar situation. I had my informational interview with a faculty member a few days ago. The researcher I talked to was incredibly personable. I'm unsure on how RAND uses these interviews in admissions--I'm sure there must be some conversation that happens with admissions on the backend--but in any case, I had a really positive experience in my interview. I could see my interviewer as a potential thesis advisor, and even if I don't end up at RAND, I definitely see myself reaching out to her going forward. Good luck on your application! Feb 24 will be here before we know it.

Hi, thank you and likewise best of luck! I had a similar experience, it was a really nice chat and I really enjoyed it. Just wish Feb 24th would roll around sooner haha.

Edited February 6, 2021 by bensaul

[Scorpion]

Guys, how did your decisions come out to be?

[bensaul]

51 minutes ago, Scorpion said:

Guys, how did your decisions come out to be?

Hi, I was admitted and accepted the offer of admission.

[Scorpion]

Congratulations!! That’s a great news for you.

 

I, on the other hand, have been waitlisted. So just waiting out!

[bensaul]

12 minutes ago, Scorpion said:

Congratulations!! That’s a great news for you.

 

I, on the other hand, have been waitlisted. So just waiting out!

Thank you! Wishing you the best of luck.

[Scorpion]

Thanks a lot, need more of that!

[ajak568]

Admitted. I'm still making a decision about whether to accept!

[Scorpion]

2 minutes ago, ajak568 said:

Admitted. I'm still making a decision about whether to accept!

Which policy stream are you in? Thanks for dropping in.

[ajak568]

5 minutes ago, Scorpion said:

Which policy stream are you in? Thanks for dropping in.

I'm Research and Design stream.