Masters Interview Tips - Any Advice?

[Sarahmarie]

So I have been invited to GWU for an interview for their Clinical Mental Health Counseling program and I am a little nervous. I am not sure what to expect. I have read a lot on this forum about doctoral interviews but not so much about master's program interviews. How are they similar? Different? Anyone have any hints or advice? Any help would be appreciated

[coonskee]

I interviewed for a Master's program in Pharmacology (phone interview), so I'm in a slightly different field. That being said, the format I had was generally similar to what I read for PhD interviews - perhaps just a little less "intense." I'm going on my first PhD interview soon, so I can't compare directly

Basically, we went over the "tell me about yourself question," about my research interests, about why I want to go into that program and why at that particular university, about previous lab experience, and any concerns (e.g. they noticed I had never taken a purely Molecular Biology class, so I explained a lot of the advanced classes in Bio that I took covered areas of it and I don't think I would be behind, but I would be happy to look at a textbook over the summer to get me up to speed if they felt that would help). Because it was a phone interview, I had a list of PIs and what they did in front of me just in case (I have a tendency to blank on names) and that definitely helped. I knew I would get into the program when the interviewer warned me that the interview would under no circumstances go over 30 min to be fair to all applicants, and we ended up talking for almost an hour

I think general tips would be to stay calm (easier said than done, right?), look presentable, know why you want to study Clinical Mental Health Counseling and why exactly you like GWU (and by that, I mean actually write your answers out or practice them out loud. It will REALLY help you figure out how to phrase everything). People with more experience in the area will be able to answer a little more specifically than I can of course.

Good luck!

[Sarahmarie]

Thanks! I plan on writing everything out and practicing on the plane! But then of course with my luck they won't ask anything I practiced...