How informal is an informal meeting with POI?

[music]

I am just making initial contact with POIs to begin studying in September 2014. I sent out some emails explaining a short amount about my background and research interests, and have been invited to meet with various faculty members and head of graduate studies at some top schools - some of the meetings are in London when the faculty happen to be visiting, some are over the summer break when I visit the US. I am kind of surprised that faculty would take time out of their schedule when they are travelling/on vacation to meet with me. It raised the question...just how informal are these informal meetings?? I am starting to think they're likely to be a lot more important than I first thought...?

[ak48]

I'd say this is a fairly unusual (in a great way) occurrence.

 

Obivously, the point of the meeting is for both of you to evaluate each other, but I doubt that the PI will "grill" you. Be prepared to talk about your research, your future goals, but I'd also try to tell him what I do outside of school, what hobbies are, what kind of person you are, etc.