visiting phd chemistry program

[bardo-being]

Hello,

So, I will be visiting the PhD program in chemistry that I have been admitted to and talking with some of the professors there. I am just wondering how I should go about preparing for the interviews with the professors, and what type of questions/answers I should be thinking about to prepare myself.

Any tips/help is appreciate,

thanks!

[Eigen]

Depends how many prof's you're meeting with, but I'm a fan of "read their papers from the last 5-10 years", so you can be up on their work.

Then ask about the current directions of their projects- remember that the publications that are out are things that are in the past, they'll be taking that work past that stage already.

Then ask where they want to take the projects next- what spots they have that you could fit into, what directions you could move in. At this stage, you'll want to be familiar enough with their work to give ideas/discuss possible future directions if asked.

I think it's really important when looking at any group to think about what portion of their research interests you, and what you would like to do in that area, how you would like to make it your own. These kinds of ideas/motivation can be really attractive to the faculty as well.

Just a few suggestions.