RaRa

Thanks so much Eager2010. thats a nice website, am checking it out. Though it would be great if people here also shared their real life experience and questions asked in interviews.

Anyone? Please? thanks! :-)

Thanks Piparoo - had two questions, are you already in a PhD program? Second, why is so wrong to mention that you like teaching? How can that harm you? thanks

Sorry to hear that! I believe you applied to the top10 schools, may be try appling to top 20 to top 40 instead. Are you an international or a domestic (US citizen, permanent resident) applicant?

Hello friends, I thought of starting a thread where people jot down an exhaustive list of the questions they were asked during their PhD admissions. It wd be great if they are from biological sciences, but other disciplines also welcome to write as I believe many questions will be generic to PhDs. Most helpful would be people who have already attended the interviews, but others who are yet to take their interviews may also write the types of questions they think might be asked. It would be great if you can write in this format: (for those who already attended) Program Name: PhD Development Biology Type of Student: Domestic/ International School Interviewed with: (#1) U Penn Type of interview: Phone/Skype/ Face-to-Face Questions Asked : (#2) Ohio State University Type of interview: Phone/Skype/ Face-to-Face Questions Asked : (#3) Cornell University Type of interview: Phone/Skype/ Face-to-Face Questions Asked : etc thanks a lot for your help!! http://forum.thegradcafe.com/public/style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif RaRa:watermelon:

I think its always good to contact faculty members expressing interest. That said there is no guarantee that that Professor will be a member of the Admissions Committee. Though if he/she has a lot of clout and really likes who he may suggest ur name to the Admissions Committee and that may have a favorable effect on you.

Thanks Eager2010, the Universities have promised to reimburse me some $200 to some $ 300.They do know that I am coming all the way from Asia and that $ 200 is merely 1/4th of the total airticket (not t mention the amount I will spend on visa fee etc). I wanted to know if you are an international student too or if you know of any other international student who DID accept reimbursement. I ask, as the US embassy Visa website clearly states that you can not get 'payment' when visiting US on a B1 or B2 visa. Thanks

Thank you Eage2010 for giving a detailed response to my questions. Just one clarification, I totally understand and am prepared to bear my own expenses. But the university offered to reimburse around $300, $ 400 etc + Hotel stay (just like they reimburse domestic applicants). So my question was - on a B1/B2 visa, am I allowed by US government to accept even part of reimbursement such as $ 300 or $ 400? - Second, what do you mean by B1/B2 visa ..isn't it either B1 OR B2 as they are two different type of visas, B1 is business, and B2 is Tourism. Thanks, RR

[quote= -Since I'm an older applicant (36) I was asked Why do you want to do a PhD now? I was also asked about my family and marital situation -I don't think that faculty mind if you can genuinely say, "I was reading your article on this and it got me thinking about some questions I'm interested in pursuing" -I developed stories for all of the interview questions I anticipated. - "One of my goals is to have X publications in A journals during my PhD program, do you think that sounds about right?" Good Luck! Thanks Piparoo, those are some really helpful tips. Had some questions, - What was your reply when they asked you what took u so long to decide to do a PhD? - Did your age have a negative or a positive impact on being a potential graduate student? - What advantage do you have on being a PhD students if you are married or single, have kids on don't? Can you please tell me if you were married and had kids? (Well ofcourse one should tell the truth, but I am just wondering how do the faculty think - whats going on their mind if they are trying to find if you are single or married with kids? As in, are they thinking (A) oh he has small kids, so he will not make a very dedicated PhD student OR (B) Hmm he/she already has small kids so she will not take any maternity time off and will devote all time to PhD or © OMG she is 36 and still single, may be she is not a likable person or if she decides to marry and have kids 'during' her PhD, that would be a waste of our time as she will be gone on maternity leave?? ) - You said you developed stories for all the interview questions - what exact did you mean by that? What type of stories? - To tell them that one should have X number of publications A journals seems a bit premature to me. How can you ask that? Thanks a lot in advance for your answers, Best regards, RR

Q-8, One more question to add, is health insurance a big factor when coming down to US for an interview (they did not mention in the letter that the school will pay for my health insurance for my interview visit)

Dear Friends, This is in regards to Cell and Molecular Biology PhD. Thank you in advance for answering my questions: Q1- If an international student gets a call for interview, how are they interviews? On Phone, on Skype or are they expected to travel to US? Q2-Do domestic students who can come for an in-person interview have an obvious advantage over international students who may only be interviewed over phone and Skype? (After all in-person interviews applicants often attend recruitment weekends, have lunch with faculty, hang out with grad students, and meet face-to-face with interviewing faculty, so get a bigger chance to make an impression on them) Q3- However if the above is true then "every time" a domestic applicant has an 'advantage' over an international phone applicant- and so the faculty MUST KNOW this by now factor the fact in that phone interviews candidates have a lesser chance of making an impression. Do you think the faculty factor these things in when comparing domestic vs international candidates? Q4- If the student himself wants to travel for an interview at his own expense what US VISA class is most appropriate to come to US for a few days for an interview? In my humble opinion, I see only the "Visitor Visa", i.e. B-1 or B-2 which 'may' be applicable, but those two categories also do not include "interview". Those two just mention "Business" or "Pleasure", so are you sure if that is the most appropriate Visa class to come to US for an interview? Q5- If indeed B-1 or B-2 are the Visa that would allow me to come to US for a school interview - can I be reimbursed some of the money (like the apprx $300-$500 that they reimburse domestic applicants?). I asked as many US visas do not allow $$ to be accepted. But can such a small reimbursement amount be accepted by an international applicant when visiting the US school on a B-1 visa? Q6- My above Q4 can be answered by answering this question - when international scientist come to US for big conferences for a few days what Visa do they come on? I believe that will be same visa that wd be appropriate for applicants coming for interviews? Q7- Similarly, if scientist who come to US for conferences get reimbursed by any US university, then it means that it is legal to get reimbursed travel expenses from US when you are on a B-1 visa. Thank you for answering my questions