So, I think my first round of interviews went well. But perhaps I should start at the beginning...Mom and I drove separately to Madison, where we parked my car at the airport so it would be safe while we were in Illinois. There were a few...trials during this trip. My windshield washer fluid was frozen (again) and then one of my windshield wipers broke. Mom and I stopped to get new windshield wipers, but couldn't figure out how to get the old ones off, much less how to get the new ones on (not exactly a sign of good things to come).
It wasn't a bad drive to Illinois, especially with such good company. Mom and I rocked out to some good music, had a little dance party, etc. It was easy to find our hotel and all that. Then I drove to the student center and had dinner at a deli with other prospective and current students. It was a little awkward, really, but not too bad. After that, we all carpooled to the house of a faculty member for a reception. I had a really good time at the reception. Mostly we all just talked to people about our interests and their interests, as well as where we were all from. The current students made sure that I met faculty who shared my interests, which was really nice and incredibly helpful.
Interviews started the next day, and it all went pretty well. I had a lot of fun overall, so hopefully that is a good sign. I had 5 different interviews at ISU, and when I had free time, I hung out with current and potential students. I made a lot of friends, which is good because I want to like people that I might be taking classes with. It was wonderful to meet with faculty--they were all so encouraging and flattering. I guess I hadn't really believed that my resume, experiences, education, etc. would honestly be comparable to the other students applying. But it was made clear to me that I do, in fact, have very good qualifications (and chances of getting in). It was very reassuring. Although, I did learn that ISU can probably only accept 6 or 7 of the 13 that interviewed. That's about half...and there were some great people there. I guess I'll know in about a month.
After all of my interviews at ISU, Mom and I drove to Madison. I met Missy at Caribou, had dinner at BWW, went grocery shopping, and then just hung out with Missy. I probably could have used some more sleep, but I had fun. I woke up before my alarm on Friday, probably because I was back to worrying about the interviews. But really, the interviews were just a chance for faculty to get to know us, and try to determine if we would be a "good fit" for their program. At Madison, I had 3 group interviews and 1 one-on-one interview. I had fun, though probably not as much fun as I had in Illinois. I had many more chances to interact with faculty at ISU, so I feel confident that I was able to make a good impression. I think that they will definitely remember me. I think I also made a good impression on the faculty at Madison (at least I hope ) but I didn't have enough one-on-one time. I tried to get in some good conversations when I had the opportunity, but I don't know that they will really remember me as well at Madison. On the bright side (or maybe not) I should hear from Madison in about a week. Madison can accept 10-12 students out of the 30-some that applied...so, we'll see.
I think it's a little bit scarier now, when all I can do is wait and hope that they liked me. As they said, it's no longer about the credentials and all that--all applicants who were invited to interview had outstanding resumes and experiences. Now, it's about determine whether the program and applicant are a good match.
Honestly, interviews were nothing like what I expected. I printed out 30 potential questions that I answered; I printed out information about the theoretical orientation of each program; I printed out information about all of the faculty. And yet, between the three days of interviewing, I think I was only asked one relevant question OTHER than "what are your research interests?" and it made me laugh. I was so worried that I wouldn't be prepared, and now I feel like I was slightly over-prepared. But it wasn't bad--they could have asked me questions and I would have been ready. But instead, it was just an opportunity to chat with faculty about things that interested both of us.
For the rest of the weekend, I am relaxing (finally) and then moving back into Ripon. I'll have a roomie this semester, and I'm SO excited. I really cannot wait for the semester to start (although I'm sure I'll be wishing it was still break in just a few weeks). This semester looks like it'll be a lot of work, but work that I am interested in. Let's be real, I like school. I might get stressed about trying to get everything done, but I'll enjoy doing it. I can't honestly complain :)
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