There are a few parts of an interview for graduate school that I want to discuss, so that you know what you might expect, but also why some of these things are done.
Pause
I was admitted to three graduate programs, but one doesn't count (it was on April 14, the day before commitments had to be made and I had already committed to going to UC Berkeley). So, I was admitted to two programs - UC Berkeley and the University of Illinois. Didn't interview at either of them. So, I might be the last person to give advice about how to interview for grad school. But that's not what this post is about. This post is about what to expect during an interview. At Brown, we have been interviewing our graduate applicants for the past 21 years, so I've been on the other end of the desk for a while now.
Pause again.
I told my wife that I was writing this post (she has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, and is a professor at another University, and interviews students all the time. She also interviewed for her graduate program). And she thought I was writing about what to do on an interview. She immediately said two things:
(a) if someone offers you a glass of water, accept. and (b) don't touch your face.
The face thing I understood (basically, a subtle tic human beings do is touch their face when they are exaggerating). Clinicians are trained to spot this (it's like a tell in poker).
The water thing I didn't understand. She explained that it has to do with self-worth. Accepting the water communicates that you think you are worth the interviewer (a person in power) giving you something and that you think you are worth hydrating yourself. Apparently, this is something that clinical psychologists do as a way of measuring interviewees.
(I asked what if you are offered coffee or some other beverage you don't drink. She told me that water will always be an option, and just go for the water).
One more pause.
There's something to know about interviews, which is really hard to assess. Some graduate programs interview about double the number of candidates they are going to admit. So, if you get an interview, the probability that you will be admitted is ~50%. Other programs are more selective initially, so that probability might be higher (that is, they interview fewer people). In person interviews cost money and are complicated to arrange, so if a program is inviting you to campus, it means you're probably at the last stage of the process. Zoom interviews, now, are much more common. Don't make any inferences if a program just offers to Zoom interview you or has a Zoom day. Moreover, some programs do both - Zoom interviews and an invitation to campus for an in-person day. This is something you can be aware of, and sometimes programs will tell you what they are doing. But I would not recommend asking about it. Just go with it.
What's an in-person day like?
Usually, when you interview, it means that you have been brought in to the campus to meet with a group of faculty members and students. Usually, there will be an information session (remember, they are assessing you, but also, you are assessing them. Once decisions are made, you have to chose whether to accept). And there will be individual meetings with faculty members (sometimes as few as 2, sometimes as many as 6-7). And there will be meetings with students, both students supervised by the person you are applying to work with as well as other students in the area/program.
What do I wear?
Clothes.
Oh, you want something more specific. OK - Business causal. There will be someone interviewing in a suit. There will be someone interviewing in shorts and a t-shirt. If you are going to err, err on the side of more formal than less.
BTW, while I didn't interview, I did go to both schools I was admitted to for a "recruiting day". I discovered when I arrived in California that I didn't bring shoes, only a pair of sandals (which is what I had worn on the plane). And it was really cold. So, my first meeting with my advisor was in sandals and socks.
Interviewing with faculty
If you know which faculty you are going to meet with, you want to prepare yourself for a 30 minute conversation with each of those people. That means reading (and taking notes) on at least one of their recent publications. The notes here are really important - you want to be able to ask questions. Most faculty members have a set of questions they ask on an interview, but they almost always end an interview by asking whether the student has questions. It is OK to say that all of your questions were covered earlier in the discussion or earlier in the day, but it's usually a good idea to have questions, particularly for the proposed mentor(s).
I usually ask students to tell me about themselves and how they got to applying to Brown.
I've talked to colleagues about this. Something we all agree on is that when students ask "good questions",. it's seen as favorable. But what constitutes a good question? Well, I can only give my opinion (and opinions vary!). For me, any question about extensions to the research I'm doing is a good question. Remember, on an interview, faculty are assessing whether they want to supervise you for the next 5 years - asking questions about what kind of research you would do is a good way to start. Other questions that are good are specific questions about the program, such as "How many of your students go on in academia and can I talk with them? (usually a good idea - it's good to get a sense of students who have navigated through the program under the supervision of the mentor)" or "How do you see moving through the structure of the program?" (again, good idea to get a sense of how an advisor conceptualizes graduate training).
What I personally am not a fan of is open-ended questions like "What is your advising style?" or "What do you look for in an applicant?" Open-ended questions typically have no good answers and result in pointless conversations. And while the former question about advising might give you some information, the latter is akin to asking "Am I going to get in?" (not a good look).
Also, let me stress something. 30 minutes can be a long time. If you are not bringing much to the conversation, and there is a sense that the conversation is dragging, that can be challenging for you.
Some faculty, by the way, will ask you to read a particular article before you meet with them. If they do that, do it! Being prepared to talk about it helps a great deal.
Meeting with students
Note that I called this "meeting" and not "interviewing", but really, it's like an interview. Just more informal. Most faculty will ask their students for thoughts about candidates. When you meet with students, they will tell you about the program, but it's also a place to ask questions. You want to get information about the environs (what's it like to live there), but also about the communication and advising you get from faculty, the requirements of the program, and about how students generally feel about being in the program. Student morale is often a sign of a good or bad experience, and students usually don't hide morale concerns. Students tend to tell you more than faculty, so they are your best resource.
Final thought
All interview days are exhausting. They are exhausting for candidates. They are also exhausting for faculty and students. Pace yourself. Keep hydrated (that is, accept the water if offered). And keep perspective. Remember also that as much as you are being evaluated, you are also evaluating the program and the people you meet. You have to figure out if this is a program you want to be at for the next five years. I'll write more about that in another entry, but it's an important thing to keep in mind. Applying to a program up until this point has been theoretical. Interviews give you a sense of the environs and a sense of what it is like to be a graduate student there.
This is a good post for questions. If you email me to ask, I'll probably wind up updating this post.