one small step forward....

I had my 2nd interview for School A-1 today. It was a face-to-face meeting, lasting about 30 mins. Basically, the issues that were raised during the 1st phone interview were being brought up again. Why were your grades like this? How's your commitment? Why PhD? etc. The Prof was as nice and friendly in person as she was on email.

When it was time for me to ask questions, I asked THE question: So, what's my chance? It was good to hear that I'm pretty high on the shortlist, but ultimately, I'm not in until I'm in. I also find out more about the school and program. It sounds like a nice place to get the PhD - although the program is pretty demanding and the school would not hesitate to drop you if you don't clear the comps.

Generally, things sound positive for me. It is getting exciting....

2nd interview completed

Had a nice conversation with the Prof. Nice and friendly, with some laughing sprinkled here and there. But after putting the phone down, I couldn't laugh much.

Broadly, the conversation covered some issues - 3, to be precise. The first is that because of my undergraduate major, it is unlikely that the PhD Director would allow me to take a particular track/discipline, should I get in. So I need to explore and consider whether I am game/suited to take another track.

The second issue came in the form of a very frank question: "What happened to your (undergraduate) grades? (laughters followed....)" I had a C and a D in my undergraduate transcript. Prof said that people who do PhDs have more of As and Bs (or did she say "more of As than Bs"... anyway....). So I tried to give a short explanation without sounding that I'm justifying too much.

The third issue has to do with how serious they think I am in getting into academia. They have this concern because of my current work. I shared with the Prof my plans and how my work would be useful for research. And this issue is the major bomb. Near the end of the discussion, I asked what was the main weakness of my application, and the Prof said that this was it - how serious am I? The school wants to train researchers who are very keen in pursuing academic careers.

Basically, I think I'm in the shortlist - otherwise, I would not have this conversation with the Prof. But the challenge is on how convinced the ad comm is of my seriousness.

2nd interview invite

Just received an email from a Tier-A school for a discussion (via phone) tomorrow. I have had a good email correspondence with a prof from this school. But it will be a different prof whom I would be talking to tomorrow. Exciting...

1st interviewed completed

Just completed a phone discussion with a Prof from UT @ Austin (B-1). The discussion was a friendly one, centered around our respective research interests. I can see some relevance and match between our interests. I was also briefed about the application, funding and assistantship process, as well as the research culture in the school.

Overall, it was a good discussion and ended quite positively. The information gathered in today's session would be brought up to the ad comm. I still have to wait a few weeks before I get to hear the final decision. But it is good to know that I'm at least on the shortlist.

1st interview invite

Just receive an email from a Prof at UT @ Austin (a Tier B school that I'm applying to). The Prof wishes to further discuss my application and interest. Cool...

Anyway, just to say something about my application for this school. I didn't make any contact with any prof from this school before/during my application. I didn't mention any prof's name in my SOP. I know no one or have no connection with anyone from this school. Yet I still get an interview.

So it challenges the conventional wisdom (which I used to have) that you must/should contact potential advisors or mention profs' names in SOP when applying. Should I get rejected, I believe it has nothing to do with what I didn't do in my application but more with how the school assesses my research potential.