Interview Weekend - Advice?

[ghanablackstar8]

Hello fellow applicants,

Hope you are all well and receiving positive feedback from your prospective schools. I've been invited to an all-expenses covered, recruitment weekend for early February. The email suggested that there will be an opportunity to meet current grad students, faculty/staff, and look over the campus and facilities. I don't really know what to expect in terms of the things I should bring (clothes - formal/casual/etc), questions to ask/expect to answer? I want to showcase myself in the best possible way and allow the committee to see my strengths. Any advice or past experiences from others would be so helpful and appreciated!!

Thanks!!!

[hip2btriangle]

Hello fellow applicants,

Hope you are all well and receiving positive feedback from your prospective schools. I've been invited to an all-expenses covered, recruitment weekend for early February. The email suggested that there will be an opportunity to meet current grad students, faculty/staff, and look over the campus and facilities. I don't really know what to expect in terms of the things I should bring (clothes - formal/casual/etc), questions to ask/expect to answer? I want to showcase myself in the best possible way and allow the committee to see my strengths. Any advice or past experiences from others would be so helpful and appreciated!!

Thanks!!!

hey gbs8,

would you be able to post your update to the results page? would love to know if schools we have applied to are doing outreach of any kind!

from a welcome weekend i went to last year (it wasn't an interview weekend; we had already been admitted), i brought business/casual clothes and had read a bulk of the recent research by any faculty there that i had an interest in working with. i really found this to be a great way to organize my conversations, and was able to ask questions about their research as it related to potential ideas i had for my own.

i'd really encourage, particularly because it's an interview weekend, to be prepared to be a little assertive. i was definitely nervous, but i remember some people trying to talk over others and get more attention from profs than the other admits. know that you've got great ideas, and that you're interested in these professors' work, too -- and ask them about it! even if you're nervous. you were invited for a reason.

[ineedcaffeine]

What the above said is kinda true. I was invited to 2 visiting weekends a few years ago and it was similar to a "mock" interview. One of them implicitly "quizzed" me on the literature to see if I am familiar with what I intend to study. Others want to know who I plan to study with and if I am able to talk about how my interest matched with the faculty members. It was a little intense but really fun. The grad students would take you out and visit the city etc. Just remember to do your homework first.

[ENOON]

Could you tell us which school it is? Emory?

btw, good luck!

[socphd82]

hey g8!

Good luck on your weekend! That's pretty exciting! I have an informal visit scheduled in two weeks. Yikes, coming from california, I'm going to be super cold so be prepared for the weather as well =P As for me, I'm re-reading some of the scholarship that this professor wrote, as well as articles written by other faculty members. From my correspondence, this potential advisor said many faculty would be interested in what I want to study and so I'm going to review other faculty's work and hopefully speak to as many of them as possible. I also plan on discussing her research with an emphasis on how it informed my own interests. Lastly, I want to engage in a dialogue surrounding current theoretical debates on sexuality. homework homework homework =)

Best Wishes!

[ghanablackstar8]

Thanks for the positive replies all. I'll start looking at various research/publications of the dept. more in depth. I'm both excited and intrigued by what lay ahead!!

Edited January 16, 2010 by ghanablackstar8