Hello everyone! I wanted to recap my experience at the Mayo Clinic for graduate school interviews while it was fresh on my mind. I went to the Mayo on February 6th through the 9th for interviews with the hope of getting into their Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program. Here's what happened.
I've always wanted to go to the Mayo Clinic for graduate studies. In fact one of my best friends and I used to say in high school that "Mayo is goals". The Mayo Clinic has a stellar reputation for being excellent in the sciences and being a medically inclined program. Given that they're attached to a hospital this totally makes sense.
So when I got the email that said they wanted me to interview, I was beyond excited. I jumped up and down, ran around the room, and called all of my family and friends to let them know.
When it came to actual interview weekend, I was very nervous. I knew that being an undergraduate student meant I was already behind all the other applicants who were masters students. I tried not to be nervous and went into the experience hopeful that it would work out.
When I got to the Mayo we had a social hour in the hotel conference area. It was very different from my first interview at UCONN. There was definitely an air of professionalism which made the whole experience more formal. This was neither bad nor good.
After the social hour finished, we had a dinner with the graduate students which was super delicious. The graduate students talked to us about what to expect at the interviews the following day. It felt very much like a pep talk and left most of us nervous when they told us that there were 30 applicants for 10 spots. Yikes.
6:30 bright and early on interview day, I got up and got ready. A 7:30 breakfast was waiting for us in the conference room. This time the room was filled with faculty and I ended up sitting next to the Dean of the graduate program. He gave a brief introduction and then we had a small informational session about the specific programs we applied to. Everyone seemed very nice at this point and I was excited for my interviews.
I had a total of 6 interviews that day. 3 in the morning and 3 after lunch. My morning interviews went fabulously. The first professor told me that I seemed like an excellent fit for the program. The second rapid fired questions at me which I felt I handled very well. I left my second interview feeling like I'd rocked it. My third interview went just as well.
There was a speaker during lunch who was great. He gave us all realistic expectations about graduate school and I was very excited to have my interview with him later in the afternoon.
My afternoon interviews went less than swimmingly. I guess everyone was in an afternoon slump? Post food coma maybe? I'm not sure. Either way, my first 2 interviews of the afternoon were alright. My last interview of the day went very well. The professor even showed me his lab which I took as a good sign.
The evening followed with another social hour and dinner. Dinner was delicious again and the students I met were great company. I was feeling very good at this point of the interview.
That evening we went out for drinks, ending the evening around 11 pm. I was exhausted to say the least.
Fast forward to tomorrow and the early mornings were kicking my butt. I woke up at 6:45 and had breakfast again with the students. After which we listened to people talk about resources for graduate students and mental health and well being at the mayo.
Next there was a poster session where I walked around and listened to the students talk about their research. I was very excited to see research that I found extremely interesting. This took up several hours of the morning and lunch followed directly after.
Afternoon activities consisted of yoga, playing games, or bowling. I opted to play games and was very excited to see therapy dogs in the room when we arrived. We tried to play clue but the board was missing (can't really play without the board). My group played Katan instead and took periodic breaks to pet the dogs.
Finally dinner rolled around and you could tell everyone was tired. We ate dinner and then everyone went out for drinks again. I was happen when a friend and I turned in around 9:45. I immediately went to bed.
I was very happy that Saturday was the last day of the interview weekend. I didn't have to check out until 12 am which was great because I got to sleep in. And of course there was a snow storm (because Minnesota) so I went to breakfast and had a delicious eggs benedict.
The students at Mayo were AMAZING, some of the friendliest graduate students I had ever met.
Thanks for reading about my time at the Mayo Clinic for graduate school interviews. One more interview weekend to write about and then I'll reveal my graduate school choice.
Saren
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