Interview

Recommendation : 【Studying Abroad】 2023-2024 Study Abroad Entrance Examination and Scholarship Arrangement

4. Visiting before admission: On-campus interview

1. Overview

⑴ Importance

① In the field of life science, most of the interviews are conducted : 98% (in this case, document dropout rate ↑) or 50%

② In the field of engineering, interviewed would be done to evaluate students between success and failure.

③ Even in the field of engineering that does not conduct many pre-interviews, post-interviews are conducted to determine professors after the admission.

⑵ Questions

① Introduction

○ Introducing a light concern.

○ It’s better to link it to the reason why you applied.

② How is your background?

○ Departments related to BI and CS often inquire a lot about your background: they prioritize what you have studied over research experience.

③ What kind of research have you done?

○ It’s advantageous to prepare 3-4 PowerPoint slides.

○ You may need to summarize the study for 1 to 3 minutes.

④ Who is the professor you want to work with?

⑤ Why do you want to do PhD?

⑥ Why did you choose this school?

⑦ What are you interested in?

⑧ Others

○ If you can’t hear English well, you can ask that question.

○ It’s better to be specific than asking for a question again.

⑶ Notes

① Informal conversations are advantageous.

② Avoid memorizing scripts.

③ Some professors only talk about their research.

④ Some professors only do free talk that is not related to research : It is exhausting to interview many applicants.

⑤ It’s better to actively ask questions that you’re curious about.

⑥ You may also ask the professor’s recent research directions.

⑦ You have to think about reactions to the professor who talks a lot.

⑷ Useful Websites

① https://www.thegradcafe.com/ : After applying, you can check if anyone is interviewing.

② https://climbtheladder.com/ : You can check the expected interview questions.

2. Pre-application contact meeting

3. Online Interview, virtual meeting [Table of contents]

⑴ Interview Notification

① 2 weeks to 2 months after application, i.e., from mid-December to the end of January

② Mainly concentrated just before Christmas and the end of the year holidays (mid-December) and immediately after the holidays (January 3rd to 4th).

③ The results of document process of Top Schools come out late : In many times at the end of January. Harvard and Stanford provide interview offers by early February at the latest.

④ The master process results later than the Ph.D. process.

⑤ Interviews are usually conducted with about 5-6 people, and they typically include PIs mentioned in your SOP.

⑵ The process is conducted through either an online interview or a pre-admission visit only.

⑶ Method

① Skype and zoom will be used in general.

② Video assay : Online interviews conducted especially to evaluate expertise in the CS field.

○ Video interviews usually take place at the time of application.

○ For example, you are given 3 questions and answer them for 3 minutes.

⑷ Reference

① Lillian - AlphaGenesis

② R3ciprocity Team

③ Navigating Academia

4. Visiting before admission: On-campus interview (in-person interview)

⑴ Overview

① Definition : Inviting successful applicants to introduce the school while interviewing students. Also known as “visiting”.

② Most schools offer accommodation and airfare.

③ 1 night 2 days ~ 2 nights 3 days.

④ Even during the fall admission cycle in 2022, it was conducted remotely due to COVID-19, and even if it was an on-campus, about 1.5 times more was invited.

⑤ In 2023 fall admission cycle, the on-campus is expected to expand, and this time the number of invitations is expected to increase.

⑥ Based on the fall admission in 2024, due to the COVID-19 situation, virtual meeting is mainly conducted instead of visiting before admission.

⑦ Most international students have virtual interviews, while domestic students have on-campus interviews.

⑧ Even if you are offered a non-face-to-face interview, you can request an on-campus interview.

⑨ From mid-January to early March

⑩ Interviews are usually conducted with about 5-6 people, and they typically include PIs mentioned in your SOP. However, you may also be asked to provide a list of interviewers separately.

⑪ The case of visiting before admission : Scripps Research, Georgia Tech Biomedical Engineering

⑫ Pre-entry Checklist

⑵ The process is conducted through either an online interview or a pre-admission visit only.

⑶ Format

① Talk to 4 to 8 people (average 6 people) for about 30 minutes on a one-on-one basis for each campus

② Research-related conversation : 10-15 minutes

③ Personal conversation : 10-15 minutes

④ Interviews are horizontal rather than vertical.

⑤ A freer western atmosphere : It’s like talking while drinking wine while standing up.

⑥ It is better to ask a lot of questions to indirectly reveal your interest in the department.

⑦ Conducts a few personality interview.

⑷ It is polite to send an e-mail after the interview.

⑸ Acceptance rate : Generally, 2 to 3 times more students are invited for interviews

① 20~ 25%

② 30%

③ 50%

④ 98%

5. Visiting after admission

⑴ Purpose

① Interviews will be conducted as a process of getting accepted and selecting professors.

② To promote the school by the admission coordinator, etc. so that potential successful applicants can apply to the school.

③ It’s common to be asked to provide a list of interviewers separately.

⑵ Normally held from early to mid-March

⑶ Gather.town can also be used when COVID-19 was prevalent.

⑷ Partial travel expenses coverage : UCLA provides about $600, and Sloan provides about $1000.

⑸ Not all schools are conducting visiting after admission (e.g., University of Michigan)

Input : October 1, 2022 23:34

2255