Speaker 1: Thanks for checking out this video. Today I'm going to be sharing with you some of the questions that I was asked at my interviews for PhD programs in clinical psychology. Since interview season is approaching, the best thing to do is prepare potential answers to some of the common questions that you may be asked. So hopefully based on the ones that I share in this video, you can start thinking about how you might answer questions. After this intro, I will tell you one by one some of the questions that I was asked. Welcome to Grad Life Grind. If you're new to this channel, thank you for checking it out. And if you're already a subscriber, thanks for being back again. My name is Arielle and I'm a PhD student in clinical psychology. And in this channel, I bring you information about the mental health field and talk about my journey as a PhD student. So question number one is no surprise. It is tell me about yourself. And that's not really a question. It's more of a command. But that's probably one of the first things that you may be asked to do in a graduate interview. So you should prepare a little bit of an elevator pitch of how you would answer that question. The next question that is pretty common is if you had unlimited resources, what research project would you do? And there's a million ways to answer that, but you can start thinking about how you might approach that question. Another question that I was asked, which is pretty interesting, is if you could have dinner with any three people, who would they be and why? And if you want to know how I answered that question, just leave a comment and let me know. I can totally do another video explaining that. I can explain how I went about that and what my thought process was when I got that question. Another super common question is how did you get interested in psychology or why are you interested in psychology? And if you're not a psychology student or you're not pursuing the field of psychology, this is still a common question. So if you're pursuing a degree in another field of study, they may ask you why sociology or why chemistry? Why are you interested in this field? So you definitely need to have at least a few bullet points of why you want to pursue this, how you got interested in it, and what your introduction to that field was. Another question that I don't love but is kind of common is have you applied to other programs and which ones? Or some variation of that question. That's a hard question to answer because of course you probably are applying to more than one program because it's super competitive, at least in clinical psychology. But basically the program is trying to gauge how many programs have you applied to or where are we on your list? So this is a question where you'll want to be honest but also say something that's gonna make the interviewer know that that program is a high priority for you. I was also asked in a graduate interview if I have ever been in therapy because like I said, I'm in clinical psychology. So they asked me have you ever been to therapy and if so, what have you gained from that experience? So this is a pretty personal question and one of the things to do in interviews is showcase your personality and your skill set and your experience without oversharing. So this is kind of a little bit of a trick question because you want to show that of course if you have been to therapy you want to be honest about that and share something that you've learned but you don't want to like open a can of worms about your mental health struggles and stuff like that. So this is a tricky question, but a really good one and if you're applying to programs in psychology, they may ask you about your own self-care or your own introspection or insight into your own life, your own biases and stuff like that. In my graduate interviews, I was also asked a question about my values. I believe the question was what are three of your values and why or what do they mean to you? This is a question that gets at your personality, what you stand for, what's important to you. And I think in this question, they're looking at whether your values are in alignment with the mission of the program or of the university. So this is a way to showcase who you are in a way that's going to set you apart or showcase who you are beyond what you have sent them on paper. And with that being said, another question that I've also gotten is what is something that we wouldn't know about you based on your application materials? So this is a chance to share something unique about yourself, something like a hobby or an interest or a way that you spend your time. If you have children or something that you haven't mentioned on your application, this is a question that allows you to show a little bit of who you are beyond academics. A super common question is also where do you see yourself in X amount of years? That may be five years, ten years, and ten years. And this is a question, of course, that is asking about your long-term goals. And this is a place for you to talk about what you want to do in the future and how graduate school or a graduate degree is a part of that process. So at least in my opinion, this is a place to talk about how going to graduate school is a stepping stone for what you want to achieve. And they want to know what, how can we help you and where are you going and how can we help you? And interviewers want to know what are your plans, where are you going, and how is grad school a part of that? So that's a good question. That's the time to explain or describe where you see yourself in the future. For me, I saw myself in an academic position. I see myself doing research. I see myself teaching and having like a professor position. And now that I'm in a graduate program, I see myself doing so many other things. But that's what I try to focus on in my answer. You don't want to be too scattered and you definitely want to have at least some idea of what you want to do in the future. Even if you're not 100% sure. I personally don't think that an interview is the time to say, well, I think I might want to do this. Like pick something. And if you change your mind when you're in graduate school, that's okay. But this is the time to show that you're determined, that you're goal oriented. You may also be asked in graduate interviews a question like, tell us more about X experience on your CV. So for me, it was really common in my interviews to be asked about my undergraduate honors thesis. I did a project called Salsa for Schizophrenia. I think it's a buzz title where it's like, wait, salsa dancing for schizophrenia? So a lot of times interviewers would see that on my CV or on my application and be like, can you tell us more about this thesis that you did? And I was super excited to talk about it. So it worked out really well. But keep in mind that whatever you put on your application, you should be able to talk about it because you may be asked to explain more about what you did and what you learned from that. So just keep in mind that anything that you put on your application, you should be able to talk about. They might want to know what you learned from that experience. What you did. And you should be able to have a few talking points about each item. And the last question for today is why are you a good fit for this program? And that's a very, very common question for any graduate interviews, not just psychology programs. The most important thing often in PhD interviews and the admissions process is how well does this person, their experiences, their goals, their personality, how well do they fit with what we have to offer? And if you're applying to work with a specific faculty member, goodness of fit is one of the most important things because that faculty member is interviewing you and basically making a judgment of like, can I see myself working with this student for the next five years, maybe longer? So why are you a good fit? That's a question that you definitely need to have at least a few bullet points prepared about. And when I say that you should prepare your answers, I don't mean that you need to write out word for word. What you're going to say. But this is definitely a question that you have to be prepared to answer. So this has been 10, maybe 11 questions that I was asked in graduate interviews. I hope that you find this helpful. I hope that knowing the questions that I was asked helps you to prepare for your interviews. If you've already been offered an interview, congratulations and good luck. This is such a nerve wracking but exciting experience. I remember being in your shoes and I really hope that this video was useful to you. Feel free to let me know in the comments if you would like me to give you a sample answer or just more information of how I answered some of these questions in a future video. Let me know and I will do my best to provide what you are looking for. My goal is to inform you, to inspire you, to spark an interest in you and hopefully also entertain you. So I hope you'll check back in next time.