Interviews and Visits

Interviews

Some schools may contact you for an interview as part of the graduate admissions process. These interviews may be by phone, or they may pay for you to come in person. If the interview is in-person, airfare, hotel room, and meals will be provided by the university.

There are many great resources online for acing graduate school interviews. University of Illinois, Springfield has a great guide, and the In the Dark astrophysics blog has a post about physics in particular. Some important things to keep in mind:

• Research the university and be prepared to explain why this program is right for you.

• Prepare a list of questions about the program- see "Questions to Ask When Visiting or Corresponding With a School" below and see North Central College's list of questions.

• Practice answering example questions with a classmate or friend.

• Prepare to speak clearly about your undergraduate research and goals — kind of like an interactive Statement of Purpose.

Some institutes (ex. UT Austin) have an interview process that doubles as a visit. In this case, you will be asked to interview before you are formally accepted. You will need to travel to the school (all will be paid for) and spend several days learning about the program. On the interview day, you will walk around, meeting various professors that are looking to hire graduate students. If you present yourself professionally and find a few professors that want to work with you, you will pass the interview.

While a few schools still have an interview process, many programs have phased out the graduate admissions interview. In Physics, there is a good chance that you will not have to do any interviews, so don't stress about interviews until you are actually asked to do one.

Visits

If you are accepted to a graduate program (congratulations!), you will generally be invited for an in-person visit. In-person visits should be entirely paid for by the school. You will usually have a budget that includes airfare and taxi/rideshares, and hotel room and meals will be provided by the school. If you need to extend that budget (say, you live far away from any airports and getting a ride puts you over budget), contact the school- they can usually fully cover you.

Since the cost is covered, you should visit all graduate programs that you are considering attending (you don't have to visit safety schools, etc. if you know you are unlikely to go). You can learn a lot about a graduate program by visiting in person, and you will also have a chance to connect with professors that you may want to work with. Visits typically include several of the following:

• Open hours for you to stop by and meet faculty that are looking to hire graduate students

• Poster presentations by current graduate students in the program

• Presentations about the research and academics in the program

• A formal lunch or dinner with faculty

• Lab/facility tours

• An extra day for underrepresented groups to learn about resources on campus

• A fun event (hike, bowling, ice cream, etc.) for prospective graduate students to meet current graduate students

Graduate visits are a great opportunity to talk to graduate students in the program about their experiences. It can be especially helpful to talk to current graduate students away from the school/professors. You should take advantage of this opportunity, and ask about graduate student life and how much support they have, if people have positive experiences with the professors you want to work with, etc.

While graduate visits are primarily meant to advertise a graduate program to you, they are also an opportunity to make a good impression on professors. If you have any professors in mind that you would like to work with, look at their websites and consider which projects interest you. You may want to practice discussing your undergraduate research and interests.

Astrobites has some great tips for visiting grad schools . IU Bloomington's Astronomy department has a helpful list of questions to ask when visiting.

COVID-19

Schools may not schedule in-person visits during the 2020-2021 application season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, you may have a virtual visit. There are tons of great articles about how to choose universities without visiting in person- here is one from Vanderbilt Business School.