melek

Hi Bilal, Sure I will email you and feel free to send me your SOP.

I'm sure this has already been addressed somewhere on this forum but I can't find it: What should I expect from a campus visit to a school I've been accepted to? I'll be meeting with several professors and students, and I'm not sure what I should talk about or ask. I've pretty much decided on this school, but while I am waiting for decisions from other schools I thought I would visit this school before it's too late, since I'll be unable to travel for the last 2 weeks before April 15th. If someone can link me to a thread on this topic, specifically post-acceptance visits, that would be great!

I haven't received all of my decisions yet but this looked fun and I wanted to join in :) Acceptance Year: 2015 Test Used for Admittance: GRE Test Scores: 165 Verbal (90th percentile), 162 Quantitative (84th percentile) Undergrad GPA: 3.9 Graduate GPA: N/A Industry Experience: None Research Experience: 3 years undergrad research assistant, 2 years lab manager Concentration Applied To: Management (OB) Range of Schools Applied To: 15 total (3 in top 10, 9 in top 20 or 30, 3 in top 50) Final Results: 6 interviews, 2 offers in top 20, 1 waitlisted, 8 rejected, 4 still waiting to hear back from (2 post-interview) Final Remarks: I just wanted to note that I have no business background whatsoever. I majored in psychology and worked in 4 psych/neuro labs. I never took any business or math classes in college, and have no industry experience. I was initially worried that these things would keep me from getting into a program, but I realized it's more about your potential and desire to be in the field. So don't let lack of experience in these aspects discourage you from applying. Focus on your strengths :) I think it's important to have some specific research interests that you can talk about in your SOP and interviews. Even if you aren't 100% sure that's what you want to research, it helps show that you're knowledgeable about the topics and can articulate yourself well. I read a lot of papers before I figured out what I was interested in, and I think that's a good route to go. It also helps to be creative and think about what interests you in other domains. For example, I've always loved volunteering and finding new ways to help others in need, so I became interested in researching prosocial behavior, non-profits, etc. If you can turn something you're passionate about into a research idea, it will make things easier and more enjoyable. Also start as early as you can. I got the GRE/GMAT out of the way early before I started anything else and that helped me focus on applications a lot more. Give yourself time to talk to professors, make sure you will get good recommendations and also write and revise a strong SOP. If you can, try to practice interviewing with someone who is familiar with the process such as a professor or current grad student. I think the best time to do this is right after you finish your applications, before you actually start interviewing. Lastly, remember to stay positive and celebrate each achievement along the way. Celebrate finishing your GRE/GMAT, finishing applications, getting interview invites, getting offers, and making your decision. It will help keep you from getting overwhelmed or discouraged. These are all huge accomplishments and you should be proud of yourself! If you don't do as well as you wanted, you can always work on your application and try again next year. Many people apply several years until they get accepted. Sometimes that extra time helps you realize you want to study or do something else (in my case it made me realize I want to switch from psych to business) that works out better for you. Also, feel free to contact me if you need advice or anything. Good luck!

I live in Urbana-Champaign and I would highly recommend it. The economics program here is great as well. The weather here is really not that bad, when it snows the streets get plowed quickly and there is a great bus system so you don't have to worry about the cold. It's also a great place to raise families, especially if you live in Urbana. There are a lot of great parks and things like that for kids. Everyone is also super friendly and open-minded. I have been to many place in Tennessee, but only passed through Nashville once. Out of both places, I would prefer Urbana-Champaign even though Nashville may have a warmer climate. If you do choose UIUC, let me know and I can recommend some places to live and things to do! It's really a great town and I'll miss it when I leave.

So I have an interview coming up with a professor that I know pretty well and have had conversations about research, my background, etc. with in person. The school is a lot lower ranked than the other places I am applying to, but this professor encouraged me to apply and I did because his research was directly related to my interests. I'm also pretty sure he knows I've gotten interviews at much higher ranked schools (but no acceptances yet). However the good things about this program for me are the research fit and ideal location, so I would definitely be happy in the program. I'm wondering what I should talk about in the interview if he already knows everything about me and my research interests? Should I still give the same answers to questions or should I just talk about things I haven't told him yet? I'm not really sure how to treat this "interview."

All of the interviews I've had so far have been over Skype and one was on the phone and I am a domestic OB applicant. I've heard the same thing from all the international business PhD students I know while they were interviewing. My follow-up interviews have also been over Skype. I think most initial interviews would be conducted over Skype to give everyone a fair opportunity. So if it were me, I wouldn't inform adcoms that you will be in the US for interviews. They probably don't fly people out anyway, and it might not put you in the best light. However, if you are admitted, some schools hold admitted student days where you can visit the campus, but this usually happens at least a couple of weeks after the Skype interview. So maybe you can fly out to the US for those, but I wouldn't go out of your way just for interviews because it's very unlikely they will call you into campus. Congrats on the interviews btw!

My interests are also within POB and POS so I heavily researched the programs involved in those. So some good schools for you to apply to would be UMichigan (POS Center), Nebraska-Lincoln (Founder of POB), Case Western (They have an appreciate inquiry focus, which is related to POS), Stanford (Altruism and Compassion Center), UChicago (New Paths to Purpose Initiative), UPenn (there is a Positive Psychology Center), Berkeley (Greater Good Center), and some other schools in California, which I didn't really look into because I'm not applying anywhere in California. Also, POS and POB encompass a very wide range of subjects. I would spend some time to figure out what your specific research interests are in these categories if you haven't already. If you can, try to work on research with someone who is also doing POB/POS, it will help your applications a lot. But I think you have a good chance overall to get into one of these programs.Best of luck!

Thank you :) I'm really not sure if they sent them out to 12 people at once. My interview was scheduled 2 weeks after the date of notification, though, if that helps. The time slots were also pretty limited. I hope that helps somewhat!

Continuing with the post interview theme, I had a couple questions.. At the end of the interview, if they say something like "we hope we were able to convince you" or "we hope that we get to work with you" what does that mean? Is this something they say to every interviewee? Also, what does it mean if they send you a list of contact information of alumni and current students after the interview? I contacted them out of courtesy and asked about their perspectives (I already know if I want to attend the program), but is there something I should be doing after this?

I have another question if anyone can offer ideas. When you're informed that the people interviewing you are professors who you have not mentioned in your SOP, but are professors in your department, are they the ones that are interested in working with you? Or do you still mention that you would like to work with the professors you mentioned in your SOP?

A few hours ago... Institution Name: Wharton Concentration: Management Notification: Skype Interview Posted on GradCafe?: No Comments: Still in shock. This would be a dream come true. Also, they are interviewing 12 other people. On another note, I got my first rejection today (from Case Western OB), which didn't feel so bad after the Wharton news :)

Thanks for all of your feedback, it looks like there are a lot of strong opinions about this topic. I definitely won't lie, but I don't think I will mention it unless it somehow comes up. I also agree that it's different if you are a wife or a husband, because women are usually the ones to take on more of the work when it comes to the home and children (if there are or will be any) and a male being married might mean that since he has a wife, he will have help with housework, whereas a woman might have an increased workload at home. So I don't think it's as risky for men to mention that they have a wife as it is for women to say they have a husband. Not necessarily because of discrimination, but I think people automatically make assumptions that influence how they view the applicant.

Thank you both! I think a lot of people don't really know what completing a PhD entails and they are trying to figure out if the applicant does. My husband (in addition to all of our friends) is a PhD student in business and I have been helping him every step of the way. This has actually been a huge factor for me in deciding to apply, but is it something I should mention? I also work in a lab with a bunch of PhD students (in neuroscience, not business), and I feel like I'm used to the atmosphere they work in. Again, I don't know if that's worth mentioning. Your feedback is really helpful!

This is awesome, thank you! I'm having trouble with the "Why a PhD" question. I don't have any kind of unique answer, it's just that I enjoy research and want to become a professor. What kinds of details would they be looking for?

Thank you XanthusARES and AppInfo! I'm nervous but also really excited!