Recruitment Day informal group interviews - help!

[Heather Hoffman]

Anyone got experience with informal group interviews? I just got the agenda for the PhD Comp Lit program Recruitment Day, and the group of applicants (some of whom already have offers of acceptance) will be attending talks by different faculty in the conference room all day, so I'm not sure if I will have a lot of one on one time with professors, and I also am not sure what's expected of me in this situation. I've been prepping like crazy by reading profs' research that's related to my research, but now I'm starting to wonder if I will have the chance to talk to them about their specific work, as the majority of them aren't even on the agenda.

Note: I did email the school to ask if the 2 profs whose work I know are part of the faculty participating in recruitment day, I haven't heard back yet.

Also, it's important to note that the agenda does say that "candidates meet and talk with faculty" but it doesn't say which faculty, just gives an hour in the conference room. Perhaps we're breaking off into little groups all over the room? Going off into different rooms?

Here's the agenda. All of these things are group activities:

1. Welcome and introduction with recruitment advisor and other faculty

2. Welcome and introduction with dept chair and other faculty

3. Talk with grad students only

4. lunch with faculty and grad students

5. walk about comp lit program with grad director

6. talk about comp lit program with asian studies program director

7. tea with grad students and faculty

8. tour library with grad students

9. Stay for discussion, or attend Sci-Fi talk with Sci-Fi director

10. Attend sci-fi talk (for the people who attended discussion)

Any insight or advice would be helpful, this school is my only shot, the other ones are most likely rejections.