I frankly can't believe it has already been almost a year since I submitted my applications! I definitely still feel like I made the right choice, after all was said and done. But that's for a different post. This post is about one thing and one thing only....

Interviews!!

Now, I don't pretend to be an expert, but I like to think that I can help in the sense that I know what to expect when you go on an interview. I applied to 10 universities for PhD programs, was invited to interview at 8 of my 10 schools, interviewed at 6, and got into all 6 I interviewed at.  So, I can tell you about the different flavors of interview weekend, or at the very least what to expect.  

I originally tried to type this up as a single post about interviewing, but frankly, the thing was a BEAST!! Like, would've have easily been 4-5x longer than any other posts I've ever done! And I've done some doozies! What can I say? I'm kinda chatty! So - I've broken this sucker up into 3 parts! And because I'm totally not creative, they will be broken up into pre-, during, and post- interview topics! I'm gonna try my darndest to recap everything I can remember as far as pertinent interview subjects...so here goes nothing!!

PART 1 - Pre - interview!

You've just worked your tail off submitting your apps, harassing your letter writers, frantically tracking your GRE scores, etc. If you're like me you're quite high-strung! Having thoroughly freaked myself out on numerous occasions, I would like to say one thing. Relax! You're done! If you worked as hard as I did on your apps, then you've done all you can do.  Now, it's time for probably the least fun part of this whole process.  

The WAITING GAME!

What am I referring too? Well, hearing back from the schools you applied to! So, when should you expect to start hearing from schools? I started hearing back from schools two weeks after I submitted my applications, and had heard from all the school I got interviews at by early January, having submitted all 10 apps between Dec1st and Dec 15th.  So for about 3-4 weeks I was hearing back from schools.  I got phone calls and emails from schools to let me know that they wanted to invite me out for an interview. The phone calls are the really exciting ones!!! I personally didn't expect to hear anything via a phone call, and was out Christmas shopping when I got the call. Can you say ECSTATIC??  Depending upon the school, you may only hear from people via email. This does not mean anything about how much they want you! Different programs just recruit in different ways! So...now to the next chapter...

Travel arrangements, CONFLICTS, and ALREADY making tough choices. 

Now hopefully not long after they tell you they want to interview you, they will send you information about dates and who to contact to set up travel arrangements.  As these offers start rolling in, you'll probably notice that there are tons of conflicts! If you applied to more than, oh, let's say, 3 schools, it's entirely possible that some of your schools will have overlapping interview weekends, or potentially the exact same interview weekend! This sucks. I know. I swear, these schools plot against us so that we have to start making tought decisions before we've even experienced any aspect of what the school is really like. But, unfortunately, it's part of the process. 

You're probably going to have to eliminate some options right out of the gate because interviews conflict, but before you do that, let me tell you what I did!  After I got all my offers, I immediately scheduled the interviews for my top programs.  For these interviews that you absolutely know you won't pass up - the earlier the better! Also, you want to go to the earliest interview possible! If it's one of your topic choices, you schedule that sucker and you be there early! The sooner they get you on their radar, the more likely they'll be to try to snatch you up early! Early is good for the really competitive programs!  Once you've scheduled your top choices, CALL THE OTHER PROGRAM! I had TONS of conflicts in my interview schedule. So, I started making some calls, and, let me tell you - if they want you, they will do what they have to do to get you there! And, if they're not flexible, then oh well. You will inevitably have to start crossing some schools off your list, but if you really want to go to as many interviews as possible, like I did, make some calls! It doesn't hurt to ask!

Packing and INTERVIEW CLOTHES. 
This may not seem like a pre-interview kind of topic (or maybe it does...I don't know), but this is something you should start thinking about soon!  Building a professional wardrobe is surprisingly hard!  Especially because there is definitely a bit of confusion in how to dress. A lot of interview information I got said that the dress was "business casual," but everyone you talk to will probably tell you that it's better to look professional - more on the dressy business side. Personally, I wanted to look polished, but age appropriate - a style I wanted to maintain for the entire weekend, not just the interview day. I'm not a boring, neutral wardrobe kind of person! I like pops of color, even in my professional attire. So, what I did was to look for some basic staple pieces.  I stuck with very basic bottoms - khaki, black, gray slacks.  You also can't go wrong with a great pair of nice, dark washed jeans, which you could dress up with a blazer.  I got one skirt that hit me at the knee and was a very flattering cut on me (third image below). Then, I had a little bit more fun with tops. I love blazers, so I had a little bit too much fun with this. I got a gorgeous, fitted grey blazer (far right) an open-front black one (second image), a sort of cranberry colored blazer (first and third), and a teal blazer (not pictured).  I also got a few cardigans. Cardigans are great for a fun pop of color, which you can layer over a couple more basic pieces, like a black T and khakis/dark-wash jeans. I've posted a couple of (very crappy quality) pictures of interview outfits I put together for my own interviews.  The khakis aren't shown, but they were great and I paired them with the top pieces I wore in the first and third images, as well as the top in the fourth image.

I hope that helps for the actual interview clothes!  As for the other things that you should bring....

Please CHECK THE WEATHER BEFORE YOU GO!!  I was interviewing in the mid-west for a couple of my interviews, and in the south for a couple more. So, I bought clothing accordingly for my trips!  For my trips to the midwest, I bought a new, fitted black pea coat, brought gloves, a hat, and a scarf, and, probably the best purchase I made all season, a pair of black, waterproof, wedge-heeled, fleece-lined (or some other sort of warm soft-ness) boots with great tread for walking with my slightly-too-long dress pants in the snow! Those boots are the best and I got them at PAYLESS for like $20! STEAL!! For my warmer trips to the south, I bought a lighter, nicer, very professional looking hip-length trench coat, and brought a really light scarf and my trusty boots!

Since I love talking about my awesome boots, and because this really needs to be brought up, ladies please reconsider your foot-ware! This is not the time to bust out stilettos. Think practical and comfortable, because you're going to be doing a hell of a lot of walking, and depending upon where you're going, it might be in the snow! So, just think about that. Low heels, flat, or - if it's snowy, wear snowboots and bring flats! No one will judge you!

Planning ahead!
Last but not least, regarding pre-interview is this...plan ahead! I don't mean packing. We already talked about that. I mean planning ahead for the actual interviews. The time leading up to your interview is the time to think about formulating a response to what your interests are. It's okay if they're not well-formed! You're just starting off, and nobody seemed to mind my vague answers. But, you should definitely have some response in mind!
A few questions to think about ahead of time:
What are you interested in researching?
Why do you want to go to graduate school?
If you have research experience - Tell me about your research.  

Have some answers to these questions thought out ahead of time!  I'm going to talk more about the kind of answers I recommend, based on my experiences in the next segment of this topic. But, these are good places to start.
Another thing to do ahead of the interviews is to read up on the people you're interviewing with! I did read publications from the people I was interviewing with, but that ended up being overkill. Just be familiar with what they study, and maybe some general sub-projects. It is impressive to people that are interviewing you when you have done your homework!

Well - that's it for this first installment! I hope that was helpful, and if you'd like me to cover any additional thing that you have questions about prior to the actual interview, please don't hesitate to comment!

To continue the "Interview" series, see part 2, describing the actual interview weekend, and part 3, describing post interview, acceptance, and deciding.

Good Luck!!