So you’ve applied to several schools and you get a letter inviting you to an in-person interview. While some programs, particularly the science programs, will pay for your airfare and arrange lodging with a current grad student, most schools probably won’t do this. Regardless, you should try to attend because it indicates your interest in the program.

Before you leave, spend a few days researching the department and the faculty. Find out what their research interests are because you will be working under one of them. If you can weave their area of interest into your conversation, not only might the professors take up more of the interview time discussing their work but it also shows that you are serious about the school.

If you have some research experience yourself, be prepared to explain and defend your work. It really helps too if you can demonstrate how your research experience ties in with their program. Making a list of your academic and research interests and your graduate school goals and matching that list up with the program is often a good way of organizing your thoughts to the big question – “so why are you interested in our program?”

If your school has planned an entire weekend of activities for you, please be aware that every moment could possibly be part of the “interview”. You may not be taking to a professor, but even a friendly grad student who is buying you a drink at the bar may have something to contribute to the decision process. So be sure to watch how you act and what you say. (Don’t drink too much!) If you know ahead of time that there is going to be a formal dinner, brush up on your table etiquette too – know your bread knife from your regular knife, don’t take your neighbor’s water glass etc.

If you are asked to discuss an issue with some of your fellow applicants or grad students, remember not to monopolize the discussion even if you might have a lot to say. Let other people speak their turn, and if you must disagree with them, always acknowledge the person (preferably by name) and their opinion, before discussing yours. Always be conscious of your manner, particularly during the main interview. Some people have a tendency of raising their eyebrows or rolling their eyes that they may not even be aware of it. Others might have verbal tics, such as saying “like” or “um” frequently. Practicing taking a pause every time you catch yourself about to say that and it might help you say it less. You should also try to speak more slowly that you think is normal, because there is a tendency for people to rush what they are saying when they are nervous.

Finally, the interview is also your chance to interview them. Try not to ask questions that indicate that you haven’t done your research. Instead, ask about teaching opportunities during the program, frequency of publication, if there is a rotation program between professors and how that works, practical work opportunities, mentoring programs and job prospects.

I just graduated from college last year and during my “gap year”, I gave a lot of thought to what sort of grad program I wanted to pursue. I eventually decided on law school, but here are a few things my friends and I considered when we were making our decisions.

1. Do you want a professional degree?
In my case, I was pretty sure that I wanted to be a lawyer. I wasn’t sure I’d be any good at all the other things I wanted to be. My friend, on the other hand, took a long time deciding whether she wanted to go to med school or to do a phd in biology. Ultimately, she realized she liked research too much and chose to do a phd even though she had already spent time and money taking the MCATs. So while I’m sure a good number of you go through college thinking you want to be lawyers or doctors, keep an open mind to other grad school options too.

2. What are the faculty like and what are their research interests?
It’s always important to have responsive, helpful, flexible faculty that listens to feedback. Find out what research the faculty is involved in – if you’re not interested in what they are doing, you’re probably not going to benefit much from the program. You can also find out a great deal about the faculty during the interview. At an interview at an ivy league school, a friend of mine had one professor put his feet up on the table, and ask her disinterestedly about her research. She ended up rejecting them in favor of a lower ranked program because the head of that department personally emailed her with articles and shared research methodology with her.

3. What reputation does the program have?
Some schools have programs that are very well reputed locally but not regionally. Depending on what you want to do with your degree and where you want to work after you graduate, this might make a very big difference. Also, some programs can have a more “academic” reputation while others might be more suited to setting you up with a future job in industry.

4. What facilities does the department have?
To quote from a letter of acceptance that a friend received, the department had the “most advanced equipment available including a 7-axis robotic arm, four CNC mills, a multi-axis foam cutter, two 3-D plastic printers, a 3-D powder based printer, two 3-D laser scanner, six laser cutters, a 2-D plasma cutter, and a waterjet cutter” Especially if you are in the sciences, facilities are probably going to matter a lot.

5. What are the costs?
Unless you have a lot of money, it is really important to budget and consider tuition costs and costs of living. One friend decided not to pursue a program in Manhattan because she was not being offered a large enough stipend to offset the cost of living in Manhattan.

6. Do you like the people?
This last factor might not be important for some people, but bearing in mind that most grad programs take 2 to 5 years, you might want to make sure that you like the people you are going to be working with. I’ve had friends who visited their top-choice school, wanting very much to like it but found that they did not like their future classmates. Visit the school, talk to people and make sure they are people you can the next few years with.