Interview Day

First of all, thanks so much to everyone who was thinking about me and wished me well for my interview on Friday. It helped me to know so many people were cheering me on! Thanks for the encouragement.

Man, it was a long day. I was just exhausted by the end of it. And of course, I didn't sleep very well the night before. Actually, the whole Interview Day ordeal started on Thursday night with a reception for the applicants, hosted by the current grad students, at a local bar. I went and spent the two-hour reception mingling with everyone. At the beginning, it was really calming my nerves and boosting my confidence. I seemed to be one of only a very few who already had a Master's degree and/or any work experience in my chosen field. Many of the other applicants were coming in straight from undergrad. And, everyone was very nervous too, of course, so that was helpful to see. But, as the night went on and I talked to more of the current students about the professors I would be interviewing with, I started to get nervous again. By the time I got home I was pretty freaked out. Eric did his best to calm me down, including having beautiful red roses waiting for me when I got home. But I couldn't help but be nervous anyway.

On Friday I got to the school around 8:50 a.m., checked in and helped myself to some breakfast. I found a table to sit at with other Experimental program applicants. Interview Day was for both the Clinical and Experimental applicants (I'm Experimental), but the Clinical kids had a much lighter interview schedule than the Experimentals (they only had 4 or 5 interviews instead of 9). There were also a lot more of them - there were probably 30-35 Clinical applicants, and only 9 Experimental applicants.

The program started with a brief welcome by the Directors of Clinical and Experimental Training, and other Officers & Chairs of the Psychology program. Then they went through the faculty, with each one coming up and introducing themselves and describing their research interests. That was when I really started to get excited about the program. There are so many ongoing research projects that sound interesting, that I would love to be involved with!

After the introductions they split up the Experimental and Clinical groups. The Experimentals went to a classroom for a brief Q&A session with the Director of Experimental Training. This was a good chance for me to learn a little more about the program, the requirements, etc., as well as the financial aspects. I won't go too into detail because I'm not sure it's that interesting to everyone, but it just all really sounds wonderful. This was the point that I really started to realized that I will be sad if I don't get in. My "give it a shot and just see what happens" mentality has totally gone out the window. I want in.

And then the interviews began. My first one was actually with the Director of Experimental Training, so I followed her to her office and got things underway. She was very friendly and easy to talk to, so she put me at ease quite a bit. I was glad for that! My next two interviews went well too.

After my third interview they gathered all the Experimental applicants together again for Q&A with the current students, with the assumption that we could speak more candidly with the students and get answers to questions we may not want to ask in front of the Big Shots. So, that was really nice too. I learned more interesting things about the program. For example: I would be able to take classes not only at John Jay, but at any school in the CUNY (City University of New York) system. I can also take two consortium classes at other NY schools, like NYU, Columbia, or Fordham. That sounds so interesting, and a great way to be exposed to other teaching styles, theoretical backgrounds, etc.

Then it was time for lunch, a.k.a. more mingling and trying to impress people. Then the afternoon interviews began. I had six more that afternoon. My first one went very well - they even had to interrupt it and tell me it was time for my next one, because that professor and I were just chatting it up. She was so nice and was telling me about a grant she has that is right up my alley, so hopefully she is now thinking of me as a great fit for it.

My afternoon interviews included some of the "big fish" - the very well known faculty, and the ones I am particularly interested in working with. Surprisingly, the interview I felt most relaxed about beforehand felt like it went the worst of all of them! So that was a little unnerving. But, on the other hand, the one I was most anxious about was actually one of my favorites. It was with a very well-known jury researcher, who has a reputation for being just brilliant. He was very friendly and down-to-earth, and I really enjoyed talking to him. He's the one I would most like to work with, so hopefully he enjoyed the interview as well!

Finally the interviews were over! They gave us a tour of the campus, then brought us back to the main room for another reception with the faculty and Clinical applicants as well. Then it was time for dinner. All the Experimental applicants, faculty and several of the current students walked to a local Greek restaurant and had dinner and some wine. I ended up sitting near the professor that I thought was my worst interview, so hopefully over the course of dinner I improved his impression of me.

After dinner the current students and some of the applicants went on to a local Mexican restaurant for margaritas, so I went along for a while, until I started to feel like I might fall asleep at the table. Then I said my good-byes and hope-to-see-you-again-soons and headed home. At last. At 8:30p.m. After nearly 12 hours of interviewing. Wow.

But, leave it to Eric to steal my thunder. I had such a long, stressful day...so he made sure he had an even longer and more stressful one! He ended up being stuck at work until past midnight! Can you believe it? I mean, I guess he didn't do it on purpose. But geez.

So, on the whole I felt like the whole interview day went pretty well. From what I hear, of the nine applicants, they will likely accept 4 or 5. So really, my odds aren't bad. I don't know when I'll find out if I got in, but some of the current students seemed to think it would be within a month or so. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Changing the subject...did everyone have a nice Valentine's Day? Eric and I had a very mellow and relaxing day. We played some Rock Band, did some shopping, and then tried a BBQ restaurant Eric had heard was so good called Daisy May's. It's pretty close to our apartment and it was very good! They even have sweet tea, served in a mason jar. Many of you know that whenever we come home we always go right to Sonny's for some BBQ, because we love it and have just never been able to find any BBQ as good in our northern cities. But, Daisy May's was really pretty good! Hooray for some good pulled pork!

Eric drinking his sweet tea, with some yummy pulled pork, baked beans and mashed sweet potatoes in front of him. Mmm, mmm!

We spent the rest of the night relaxing at home. We watched our wedding DVD and reminisced, then just watched SNL and called it a night. Quiet but very nice.

Eric doesn't have to work tomorrow, so we're enjoying our long weekend together. Not sure what else is in store for the next two days but I'm just looking forward to the time with Eric!

Hope you all are having a good weekend, and thanks again for thinking of me!