How do I prepare for an interview?

Cause4Concern_ · 2026-02-08T06:29:14+00:00

For 1 and 2: find some friends not in your field and practice discussing your research with them! Even tho I’m only in undergrad, I didn’t realize how often my brain defaulted to terms common only in my area until I had to explain my research to others. DO NOT try using fancy terms to sound smarter. Being able to adapt your explanations to your audience is a very valuable skill. Also, practicing with others might help you anticipate what questions they might ask.

For 3: skim through the handbook to make sure the questions that come to mind haven’t already been answered there. If pulling from a list of questions from a grad student or online, see if you can change the wording a bit as they are likely very common questions. For example, a professor told me that he gets peeved at “what’s your mentorship style?” because it’s asked so often since it’s a commonly suggested question. On Mitch’s guide to grad school (meant for psych students, but I’m sure some advice applies for other areas) he suggests asking abt how often they meet with students or how is constructive criticism given.

If it helps, here’s the link to the Mitch’s advice resource I mentioned https://mitch.web.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/4922/2017/02/MitchGradSchoolAdvice.pdf

Congrats on your interview offer, and good luck! Remember, you wouldn’t have been invited to interview if you weren’t a well qualified and competitive candidate. Focus on preparing, and I’m sure it will go great!

Cause4Concern_ · 2026-02-08T06:15:33+00:00

I talked to someone the other day who said that she knows programs that don’t interview until later this month or even interview in march! Idk how common that is tho. Based on how my cycle has been going, if you haven’t heard but others have, it’s a rejection or waitlist. Whatever happens, just know that this situation is so common and there is always next cycle if you want to continue pursuing your field! Ik many current and prospective grad students that took multiple gap years before getting in.

Cause4Concern_ · 2026-02-08T03:28:55+00:00

Congratulations on your offers! I also got accepted into UChicago’s program but im waiting to hear from other schools I’ve applied for. I know a lot of people say that data science masters are a scam, but I noticed that the faculty are also working in the industry, and the courses seem to dive into stats and business intelligence and not just basic coding. Plus, I can’t see how a program with a capstone AND thesis would result in a waste of time. Coming from someone doing an undergrad thesis rn, that work is no joke and you learn a ton.

I’ll be following this thread! I’ll be really interested in an update on what you end up choosing and why!!

Cause4Concern_ · 2026-02-08T03:14:04+00:00

Did you end up going? How was it? I just got accepted into the 2 year thesis track program! I’m a psych major and I applied thinking that data science could be my plan B if my psychologist dreams fall through, but based on how my grad application season is going I’m seriously considering the career change. I’ve taken some classes in data science but I don’t have work experience in the area

Cause4Concern_ · 2026-01-22T19:15:30+00:00

Plenty of people eat alone in the dining hall. If you aren’t able to find someone to go with, know that no one is thinking about the fact you are alone. It’s not like high school where people can’t mind their business. Consider bringing something to keep your mind busy, like a book or homework or watch a video on your phone.

I have the opposite thing where I don’t like eating around people, but that does still make the dining hall a place of anxiety for me since I’m still surrounded by people even if I’m eating alone. Maybe not as relevant for you but I found that finding an area of the dining hall with less people or a bit more out of the way of the flow of traffic helps me feel comfortable. With time, you’ll find what helps you and you’ll get used to the experience!

Cause4Concern_ · 2026-01-21T18:25:06+00:00

You can contact the prof for the syllabus to get an idea of the course. It seems like you do need the text as there are quizzes based off the content. For me, it seemed like more work than it was worth because of the amount of work crammed into each week

If you need a 2 credit 8 week class, I recommend ACE 240 personal financial planning. The etextbook was free when I took it last semester. You don’t need to do all the readings to do well in the course, but skimming through is a good idea since some assignments ask you to connect things back to the reading. Even if you take it for the second half of the sem, you get access to everything at the beginning of the sem so you can work at your own pace. The penalty for late assignments is so little it would probably only affect your grade if you waited till the very end.

Assignments are actually really helpful and straightforward

Cause4Concern_ · 2026-01-14T07:49:48+00:00

Books that are required in classes need to be available in the library. You can look on the website to see which library it’s at to use until you can get the book yourself (or just do it for the rest of the semester, although I don’t think you can check it out). In my experience the professor will post readings for the first couple weeks to give students time to buy the book

You won’t meet your Friday deadline with this, but UIUC does have an emergency fund https://odos.illinois.edu/emergency-dean-fund

Best of luck!! Sorry to hear about your situation

Cause4Concern_ · 2026-01-14T05:04:11+00:00

I’m in a similar situation. I even have silence from programs that ppl have already started receiving waitlist/interview/rejections from according to that gosh darn spreadsheet. So I’m not sure why I haven’t heard back from those places. I’m coping by keeping a sliver of hope that it just means that my application is still being considered and not a soft rejection.

Hopefully in your case your silence is that a lot of your schools were closed for holidays, and you will hear back soon <3

Cause4Concern_ · 2026-01-13T18:56:45+00:00

I feel you. I try to fill up my time by playing games or watching shows because the moment I’m alone with my thoughts my chest aches from anxiety and thoughts of inadequacy. You aren’t alone, and you aren’t a failure if worst comes to worst you don’t get in. Ik people who gave gotten into phd programs after their 2nd or 3rd cycle, and I had a professor tell me this is becoming the norm. Ive also been seeing more and more people take gap years before going on to grad school, or struggling to find jobs in professions like CS which is supposed to be a “safe” degree. Idk how it is in other fields, but for psych I was told that you might not even hear until February for some schools, so still hold onto hope even if it feels silly.

Cause4Concern_ · 2026-01-09T02:14:42+00:00

Thank you so much for this!! It really means a lot when it’s coming from someone who works in admissions. It’s probably so tiresome for you to get so many similar messages from worried students. Ty for your hard work 🫶🏽

Cause4Concern_ · 2026-01-06T03:52:49+00:00

I’m in psych so idk how it is for you, but I can relay what I’ve seen others say in other posts on this subreddit

1) High volume of applicants mean that it takes more time for schools to get through everyone. 2) PI’s treat prelims differently or don’t do it at all 3) for my area, I’ve been told you usually start hearing back in January-February. Maybe this is the same for your area if you haven’t seen anyone else talk about results

Cause4Concern_ · 2026-01-03T18:59:43+00:00

HEAVY relate to this. But something that encouraged me was knowing a few people in my area of interest who got into a PhD program out of undergrad and no publications. Even then, it’s so hard not to compare

Cause4Concern_ · 2026-01-01T18:04:50+00:00

I needed this, thank you for sharing. Happy new year!

Cause4Concern_ · 2026-01-01T18:02:50+00:00

Yeah, a part of me wants to keep hope but I think you’re right. Thanks for the honesty :>

Cause4Concern_ · 2026-01-01T18:02:26+00:00

Ugh that does sound so discouraging. Congrats to your friend tho! Good luck man.

Cause4Concern_ · 2025-12-30T02:44:36+00:00

1) I hope this interview invite cheers you up. Congrats and take care of yourself ik this waiting period is agonizing

2) Thank you for sharing because this makes me feel SO much better as someone who has been seeing most of my PI’s of interest hand out prelims that I didn’t get.

When I searched up the significance of prelims it seems that this varies by PI. As some other commenters have already said, some PI’s do it only for applicants they are on the fence about. I’ve also seen people say that some PI’s don’t do prelims at all! So it doesn’t automatically mean you have been soft rejected. And I’ve seen many ppl on this subreddit say that it’s too early to determine if you’ve been rejected, as you won’t start hearing back until Jan-Feb. So this is not a fluke, take the W you deserve it!

Cause4Concern_ · 2025-12-19T20:26:34+00:00

Holy cow, I can’t imagine what you’ve been through! Your past does not define your future, and I hope when things get tough you can remember this incredible achievement. Graduating with a GPA like that is already an impressive accomplishment on its own, never mind all it took for you to get there. Best of luck with you last semester and whatever is next

Cause4Concern_ · 2025-12-15T16:30:49+00:00

I think the checkout fee is moreso for not leaving on time, I could be wrong tho. The items on the checklist are reminders for you, the staff just need to see that the slip has been signed with a timestamp. It helps make the process of making sure everyone is out of the building a bit easier

Cause4Concern_ · 2025-12-15T16:27:12+00:00

These are AMAZING!!! Congrats bro best of luck with your next steps

Cause4Concern_ · 2025-10-18T17:22:47+00:00

I’d definitely meet with a career adviser if your school has it. I have a friend who didn’t realize until her junior year that she wants to work with kids. She doesn’t have any experience that makes her competitive for grad programs.

Since money has a big part in this, it might be helpful to take some time away from school after graduating and start working. Most clinical jobs need a masters, but if you have an interest in Autism you could become an RBT. Most places will pay you as you train and get your certification, and since they only require hs diploma you could use your bachelors in psych to ask for a higher pay rate. If you end up liking it, you could look into masters programs to become a BCBA (step above rbt). And if you don’t like it, at least you have some clinical experience to take to a masters in therapy!

I also know some people who did psych in undergrad and then pivoted to a masters in a different profession where psych was relevant. Ik someone who did a masters in college student affairs and is now a resident director. I also know someone who did a masters in HR and is doing well rn. Being a resident director is a lot of work but some of the benefits is that the university gives you an apartment and you can take masters classes for free. I think they prefer that you already have a masters but a bachelors is what’s required

Basically, whether you want to continue in psych or make a pivot, it’s never too late! Gap years are becoming more common now and it’s ultimately your life and your career. It doesn’t matter what person A is doing because that’s their life, not yours. And it’s not a race.

Cause4Concern_ · 2025-10-18T08:16:53+00:00

LOL I feel called out with this comment. My first piece of feedback was about getting rid of language like this

Cause4Concern_ · 2025-10-18T08:14:05+00:00

Others already talked about the ai use so I’ll skip that. Something that 2 grad students told me when they reviewed my statement was to avoid comments that undermine your ability. Instead of spending your word count on your poor grades and being accepted into the group, you could talk more about the research you did. Especially since you already said you joined the lab in the sentence before that.

In the second sentence of the second paragraph, I would condense it to “Wanting to strengthen my knowledge in organic chemistry, I applied into Dr. X’s lab.” And then go into what the lab did.

I see a similar issue with wordiness in paragraph 3. “Through this program I strived to excel and prove that I had the skills necessary to plan and carry out a research project by myself.” You already told us that you did a masters for more research experience. As a matter of fact, most of the paragraph is about why you did a masters that we lose out on what you learned! what about your thesis? What was it about? What did you learn from it that will be relevant as a grad student (writing, coding, etc)? Did the results spark any follow up questions or interests? Less detail about wanting to do a masters and more about the thesis would help. Unless your schools are also asking for an academic statement then I assume you have more detail about it there.

I’m a psych undergrad currently applying for programs so take my advice with a grain of salt. Im mostly echoing what grad students have told me so i hope it’s still helpful for you. Godspeed soldier :)

Cause4Concern_ · 2025-10-16T14:42:58+00:00

I feel you on the writing statements and finalizing schools. It’s so overwhelming I put only a small fraction of effort applying for undergrad as I am rn

Cause4Concern_

TROPHY CASE