PART 3 - POST INTERVIEW

See also part 1 and part 2 of the interview series...

...Where will you end up?So needless to say, you've kicked ass at your interviews, am I right? You let your personality shine through, and you were friendly and engaging, while maintaining a professional and intelligent demeanor. So, now you're done! And now, you're waiting on...

...Hearing back from schools...!

Unfortunately, now it's another waiting game!  I don't know what I can say to put your mind at ease and not stress about this. We all have our different ways of coping with this kind of uncertainty. But, what I can do is give you the timeline that I experienced. Redundant...I know. But, it's the only thing I know!
I started hearing back from schools very soon after interviews. The first school I interviewed at called me 2 weeks after my interview. I missed the call because I was on a flight to me third interview, and I was absolutely giddy when I landed on the tarmack and was waiting to de-board the plane.  That same moment that I'd listened to the voicemail from school #1 telling me of my acceptance, I got a phone call from interview #2 accepting me to their program as well! (...and I'd gotten upgraded to first class on this flight. It was a good day!)The results of my interviews rolled in consistently from that point on.  Basically, I progressively heard back from schools within a couple weeks of actually interviewing with everyone, and had heard back from everyone by Mid-March (my last interview was the first week of March).
So, you might be thinking...."I got into my top choice! So, I should cancel the rest of my interviews, right?" WRONG! I highly advise against doing this!! I lucked out, in a sense, because I couldn't even go to the interview for my first choice school until 3 weeks into my interviewing process. By this time, I had really already fallen in love with another program. And frankly, as good of a program as it was, I didn't like it there! I didn't get along with my prospective classmates. I didn't enjoy the demeanor of many of the PIs I met with. It really just wasn't for me! After interviewing at all 6 places, I found that the school that would've been my top-choice ended up being third in my personal rankings, just based on how well I felt the program and the people fit my personality.  You really never know how you're going to fit into a program, so don't base your decision solely on rankings or pre-conceived notions about a school or a program. 

Which brings me to the final part of my interview series...



....Decisions, decisions, decisions!!I hinted at this above...but, the biggest point I want to make here is that your decision about where you go to graduate school should not be as simple as "oh, this program is ranked higher."  There are so many things to consider here!  My full on ranked the schools I'd been accepted into using the following criteria...
1) Ranking - Yes, this should factor into your decision...but it shouldn't be the thing that makes the decision for you...
2) Funding... A lot of the schools I interviewed at flaunted information about how much NIH funding they received as a department. This should definitely factor into your decision, because the presence or absence of funding in a department will directly influence who even has the money to take you on as a graduate student...
3) Time to degree...This is a big one! A PhD is a big commitment, and would you rather spend 7 years or 5 completing it? Some schools have longer times to graduation, and that is something you need to consider...
4) Program...This factored into my decision personally because I was looking at programs that were immunology, microbiology, and infectious disease-based. What's the difference, you might ask? Well, I'm personally interested in the host-pathogen interaction, but more from the angle of the microorganism, not the host. Some of the programs took more of a host-angled approach...so whether or not their program meshed with my interests was something to consider...
5) Research...Does the research that's going on in the department match your research interests? I really hope that you looked into this before you applied to a given program...but anyways, find a program that has research that you're interested. Some will have research that better suits your interests than other programs, so score the programs accordingly.  
6) Location...Location was a big one for me! Could I see myself living in a big city, like Chicago, coming from the small town that I spent the last 6 years living and working in. Could I do another college town?  Location was huge for me...because you really need to be comfortable in the environment you're living in, because you'll have enough new things to cope with. This also encompasses how far you want to move away from your family. I love my family dearly, but I wanted to really dive head first into a new place and a new experience, so places that were too close to home were negatively impacted in this category.  
7) Other perks...Are there advantages to the program that you won't get anywhere else? Like, for example, the one of the programs had close affiliations with a health organization which would have opened doors. Another had the opportunity for pursuing a dual degree which would allow me to simultaneously pursue my interest in public health.  
8) Students...How much did you enjoy the current and prospective students from your interview weekend? This is something you should consider because these people will be your cohort, your friends, your mentors, and it's important to be surrounded by good people who will get you through the tough times!
9) Faculty...How much did you enjoy the faculty you met? A good mentor is a really important thing in graduate school, and if you only met faculty members who seemed irritated by you, why would you want to join that department? Were the faculty friendly? Did they seem positive and excited about you coming to the program?  It's definitely something important to consider...could you see yourself working with any of the faculty you met?
10) Overall gut feeling...You may laugh, but this was one of my ranking categories. I had some overall gut feelings about places I interviewed, and how much I would actually enjoy studying and living in these different conditions. How much did I enjoy the interview experience? Yes, this really was a category for me. I think it tells you a lot about how well you'll fit into a given department.  Like I mentioned, I really didn't have a good-feeling about the school that started being my #1 choice. I had similar feelings about other programs.  You need to take these gut feelings into consideration.  


If you're struggling making a choice, email the professors you're interested in working with at the different schools to make sure they are actually planning on taking students. This is a good thing to check on in advance anyway! The last thing you want to do is choose a program where all the faculty you want to work with have no money, or have a full lab, and you have to settle for a lab you didn't want to be in.  

Bottom line - don't choose based on rankings or research fit! Graduate school is a tough, long road, especially if you're going into a PhD program. And there are going to be times when research isn't going well, and life is hell, and if you aren't in a place you enjoy with great people around you to pick you back up, then your graduate school experience is going to suck...and you may get fed up and not finish. So, choose a place that FEELS RIGHT!

Why did I choose the school I chose?
For me, the school I chose boiled down to a gut-feeling. I loved my interview here! The program was established and successful, at a great schoo, with great opportunities, the people were great, friendly, excited, and accepted me with open arms from the get-go. The prospective students were fun people, and the current students in the department were fantastic and friendly. They're proven to be even more so since I've gotten here. Location was also a big deal for me! I almost went to Northwestern (Chicago campus), but decided that I couldn't see myself moving from my small little cow-town to downtown Chicago! Bottom line - my heart told me that this was the right place! And I've been exceedingly happy with my choice ever since I arrived here in July!

I really hope that this series of posts has helped! If you have any other questions for me about interviews or applications, please do not hesitate to ask! I really want to help if I can! :-)

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!!