<p>Hello, everyone.Tomorrow, I will be interviewed by two professors from UCLA.There are 13 candidates, and 10 will be accepted to a summer research program. And I am getting nervous about this, because I have never been in an interview. I still don't know what is waiting for me.</p>
<p>Be yourself - show that you have the motivation to conduct research. Also, you should set clear objectives of what your work would be focusing on. Other than that, there should be no reason for you to panic, considering that a rate of 10/13 is high. Do you have any specific queries?</p>
<p>Let them guide the interview - they will ask what they want to know. Don’t babble, but give complete answers. Speak in complete sentences, avoid “yeah,” say “sir and ma’am.” I know these seem like obvious things, but you’d be shocked how many people forget them when they walk into an interview room.</p>
<p>Also, dress nicely. You don’t necessarily need to wear a suit, if that’s not you, but don’t look like you rolled out of bed either.</p>
<p>also ask questions about the science being told to you. Don’t overthink this, just ask questions you want to know the answers to-this can even be about how an experiment is actually performed. And as stated by others, just be your self.</p>
<p>Hello, the interview is over. I don’t know whether my performance is good. One of the interviewers keep asking very private questions, say, my parents’ jobs and my financial state, even my classmates’ financial state. I don’t know what is the point in such things when I apply for the program. When I mentioned I have done RT-PCR, he even asked me how to do it. I think these are rude and offensive questions. Whatever, I have finished this interview. The result is due in half a month. But now, because of such a interviewer, I think maybe this program is not that good.</p>
<p>Oulileo, was this a phone interview? I seem to remember that you are in China. If so, the financial questions may have been a necessity. The U.S. government tries to identify illegal immigrant risk factors – people who stay in the U.S. illegally after getting temporary visas – and one of those may be financial. For example, if your family is well off in your home country, you may be less likely to disappear into the realm of undocumented workers. I’m just guessing here, though.</p>
<p>I do know that international students who do not receive full funding for education, whether for undergraduate or graduate, cannot get student visas unless they can prove that their families can pay.</p>
<p>not exactly，two professors come to our school. But I don’t think financial state should be their concern, after all, this is not a visa interview. Moreover, he is trying to know the well-being of my classmates. It is strange, right? He simply asked me: Is there anybody in your class from the countryside? How do they make a living?
And I told him that my financial state is not that good, will it hurt my chance of getting acceptted?</p>
<p>I heard similar questions from other students, like “how much you spend in a month?”
A students even said: this guy is a freak.</p>
<p>If you are applying to a Phd program that takes graduate students to be RAs and work in labs etc. then it absolutely should not hurt your chances at UCLA that you don’t have the money on your own to finance your education (who does anyway?).</p>
<p>however, it is merely a summer program.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s a matter of paying for education, per se. They may have to fill out government forms that portray you as a low risk for staying once your visa expires.</p>
<p>The questions do sound strange.</p>
<p>The only question that sounds legitamate is asking you to explain how you did RT-PCR. Often students state they have experience with a technique or a research issue, but they are unable to explain it. That demonstrates that they were not really involved intellectually in their research experience. conversely, if the student explains that well, they will usually use that as a springboard to discuss research that interests them.</p>
<p>I think Mom is right in that they need to asses your home situation, though don’t most summer programs pay for everything anyway? Maybe he wanted to make sure your parents would be fine without you contributing money, or perhaps he was just curious. It is strange but don’t let it get you down because I am sure his interpretation of it was nothing like yours.</p>