It's Interview Season - Part 3...
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! :-)
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! :-)
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