As your interview wraps up, your interviewers will ask if you have any questions. You must have them. Being interested and thoughtful demonstrates your commitment to the program. Perhaps you've visited this school before your interview day or spoken to current or past students. Terrific. But if everything you know about a program came from their website, this is your chance to find out more. You should be open to every school you're applying to—so this is about engaging, not interrogating. This Q&A flip is also a chance to show that you've done your due diligence. Be precise instead of broad. A weak question such as "What research opportunities are currently available?" will require your interviewer to launch into 1,000 things, most of which won't apply to you—oh, and that you could have read about on their website.
You should also keep your focus on the program. Asking an interviewing physician: "What made you choose your field?" is something you do at a lunch mixer. The questions you ask during an interview session should relate to how you and the school will fit together. If you're going to ask three questions, ask at least two meaty ones. You want to include details in your questions that show that you've done your homework on the school. After your third program-related question, close out by asking if you can contact them with other questions in the future. And if the school is your top choice, tell them right now. As we cover elsewhere in this guide, schools want to accept students who will definitely attend.
Check back throughout the week, we’ll provide sample interview questions that you can use to engage your faculty and student interviewers.