留学面试是每个留学生在留学这条漫漫长路上的必经关卡，它也是决定你能否拿到梦校Offer前的最后一关，那究竟留学面试要怎么准备呢？下面就来为大家贡献出大批干货，希望能帮助你们顺利通过网申结束后这个最重要的环节。

一般来申请Ph.D.和文商科的同学

基本都需要经过面试才能拿到offer

现在甚至有一些理工科MS Program也需要面试。

一般来说我们把面试分为两种：onsite和online面试。

对于国际学生来说online是比较常见的形式，一般会使用skype进行（因为onsite面的话学校一般会cover一些差旅费，所以都是发给个别学生，也算是变相争取生源，毕竟申请是个双向选择的过程）。

可能有18Fall的小伙伴已经收到一些面试了，但还有一大部分通知会在1月1号之后开始陆续发出。所以这篇文章就主要小伙伴们说下，该如何准备面试：

1. 首先说下面试的重要性吧：

Some schools invite applicants to a series of on-campus interviews, while some gives phone interviews as the final step in the screening process. Some schools don't conduct interviews, but if they do and you're invited, you'll know that things are going well. Essentially, the school is telling you: "Look, we like you on paper. But we want to meet you in person to make sure that your marbles are in order before making a decision." Therefore，it's mean,” Your grad school interview can make or break your application”.

可见，能拿到面试的同学背景条件应该都非常不错，已经通过了初选 ，而接下来便是“成也面试，败也面试”了。

2. 那么面试都会考些什么呢？

 Unlike the rest of the graduate admissions process, interviews don't follow a rule book. You won't really know what to expect, but there is something we do know： There are three features the faculties are looking for：

• Your answer
• How well you can organize your thinking
• How well you express yourself

所以说，面试虽然没有固定的大纲，但是这里提到的三要素却很关键

3. 针对以上feature总结的小tips

→Your Answer

Your answer是面试中的核心部分，所以基本上大家都会通过各种渠道尽可能的整理出question list，毕竟Preparing will help you look like less of a dunce.

所以小编这里也帮大家列出了10类常见问题：

① "Tell Me About Yourself" 自我介绍

This open-ended question has the potential to cause you to trip and plummet into a bottomless chasm. With spikes on the bottom. So don't take this four words question lightly. A strong answer establishes your status as a talented, motivated, and intriguing individual at the personal, academic, and extracurricular levels. You could start by explaining where you're from, where you grew up, and any interesting personal circumstances. Then talk about your undergraduate university, what you majored and minored in, and why you made those choices. Finally, close by talking about your extracurricular achievements – both in school and outside. Everything you say should build toward the idea that your life has naturally led you to apply to graduate school. Your answer should be a concise, one to two minutes’ response, demonstrating your ability to synthesize and structure your thoughts.

② "Why Are You interested in This Field?"为什么喜欢这个专业/方向

If you haven't figured this out in your personal statement, you should go back to the drawing board. Basically, restate what you've written in your personal statement, but go deeper and broader. By deeper, we mean explaining in more detail those factors and motivations that you mentioned in your personal statement. By broader, we mean all the stuff you couldn't fit in the statement. A good answer shows both depth and breadth. If we had to pick one, we'd say to focus on breadth and let the interviewer guide you on what topics to go into more depth.

③ "Why Are You Interested in Our School?" 为什么选择我们学校？

Why not? List all the reasons why the school is the single most perfect choice for the field that you're studying. Discuss its faculty, facilities, theoretical approach, course offering, student activities, job placement record, location, and any and all reasons that demonstrate a deliberate choice on your part. Your goal is conveying your belief that the school is a highly compelling choice for you, if not your first choice.

④ "What Are You Going to Research?" 你的研究计划

You might be thinking, "How the hell am I supposed to know?" And, frankly, this is somewhat of an unfair question. The faculty is not so much interested in a precise answer as much as they are in establishing your interest level, that you have an understanding of the discipline, and have formed some preliminary ideas. You can disclose that your ideas are preliminary (it's mature), but be sure to have one or two ideas for what you could research, and why. Explain what you might want to prove and how it would contribute to the treatment of that topic in your field.

⑤ "What Are Your Strengths and Weaknesses?"  你的优缺点

Nobody likes answering this question, but it comes up. Describing your strengths should be straightforward. Pick two or three qualities that you possess and which are relevant to your field. For example, if you're applying to an engineering program, you might discuss your advanced knowledge of math, creative mind, and detail-orientation, backing each claim with examples. Talking about your weaknesses is another story. The general rule is to pick weaknesses that are really "weaknesses turning into strengths". You might say, for instance, that you only earned "B" in math, but that you earned an "A" in your last semester after deciding to do something about it. Or that you're not assertive enough, but have been practicing speaking up in recent months and are getting better at it.

⑥"Why Should We Accept You?" 我们为什么要录取你？（你对Program的贡献）

Why not? Describe in modest and balanced terms why you are eminently qualified for the program. Talk about your personal, academic, and extracurricular accomplishments and how they make you a strong candidate for the program. Discuss your long range plans and how you will make full use of the university's resources to accomplish your goals. While may sound selfish, you're really telling the school that they won't be wasting an admissions spot with you.

⑦ "What Are Your Career Goals?"  你的职业目标

You might not have a clue, but it's important to have a preliminary idea of your career goals. Perhaps you want to become a professor, or use your graduate degree to conduct advanced work in another type of organization. Whatever the case, sketch your plans and make it clear how the program that you're applying to is an integral stepping stone. It's okay to have more than one career goal, so long as your goals are all relevant and show that you're planning to apply the knowledge you'll acquire. Whatever you say, don't say you want to make money.

⑧ "Where Else Are You Applying?" 你还申请了其他那些Program?

This is a delicate question. If you answer, you're admitting that you're interested in more than one school. If you don't, you risk coming across as defensive and combative. One way to deal with this question is to say that you've applied to a few other schools whose programs correspond with your research interests, career goals, and other criteria. But that their school is really an excellent fit and that you'd love to be considered for the entering class. This is somewhat evasive, but doesn't force a direct comparison between their school and other schools. Another option is to disclose everything, particularly if you have other offers. This shows that you're an attractive candidate and it may help you get admitted. Which approach to take is up to you.

⑨ "What Have You Read Recently?" 你最近在读/关注什么？

Don't answer the latest New York Times Bestseller. The interviewer is a faculty member who is interested in establishing your intellectual quality and curiosity. Ideally, your library will consist of books and academic journals packed with articles from the same field to which you're applying. This demonstrates that your interest is genuine, maybe even indicative of a passion. You can also mention wider reading, to show that you're well rounded, but start with material that's closer to your interviewer's heart.

⑩ "What Questions Do You Have For Me?" 你有什么问题吗？

You're almost guaranteed to have this in your grad school interview questions. So prepare a list of five or more questions. The best questions demonstrate that you've research your field and the school's faculty members in depth. For example, you can ask the interviewer to talk more about his or her research: "I read your article on _______, which is a topic that corresponds with my own interests, can you tell me more about it?" You can also discuss specific aspects of the school's department, facilities, courses, or other peculiarities that show that you're a serious applicant. So have your own list of grad school interview questions in your back pocket.

 ——以上节选自【grad school heaven】

→How well you can organize your thinking

针对这个feature，希望大家可以做到下面几点：

① 听清面试官的问题再回答

 整个面试过程中要注意聆听，认真理解面试官的问题后再作答，如果觉得没听清，一定要再问清楚（do you mind saying it again? or are you asking me....)。很多人有误区，觉得没听懂，让面试官再解释会对结果有不好的影响，其实没听懂，答非所问浪费对方时间才更容易留下不好的印象。

② 学会使用1st, 2nd, 3rd

语音沟通的特点注定使得面试者在回答问题的时候难免会让对方听着没有逻辑，或没有结构。学会用 1st, 2nd, 3rd 来组织你的答案，比如：I would like to answer this question from three aspects, 1st, 2nd, 3rd. 这样面试官比较容易抓住你回答的要点。

举个例子吧，以生物医学为例：

比如面试教授的实验室的一个研究方向是白血病的靶向治疗，你就可以说 I am confident that I will be able to make contributions and add values to the team immediately for three reasons:

1st, my previous clinical rotational experience in hematology allowed me to…..;

2nd, technical skills and knowledge that I developed from my research projects on xxx can be easily applied/transferred to your proposed project;

3rd, my previous cross-functional work experience will allow me to team up with others and get into my role rapidly。

③ 学会听关键词，串进去你自己准备好的答案

这一点其实是承接上一个section的。因为在准备面试的时候，大家都会做一些最basic的research，比如面试官的背景，发表文章，他的团队，课题兴趣，他们正在找什么样的人等等。其中，了解对方需要什么样的人是最关键的，因为这样你就可以在面试中表现出你自己就是他需要的人。「为什么是我？我可以为这个团队带来什么价值？」当你把这两个问题想清楚，在面试过程中，就可以适时的在一些问题中强调你的这些优势特点，给面试者加深印象。

④ 控制好回答时间

要控制回答每个问题的时间，在回答中注意观察面试官的肢体语言，如果对方表现出些许不耐烦，就应该尽快收尾；如果对方有想要提问的表现，就一定要停顿，问是否有问题要问，或者 Do you want me to elaborate on this？

→How well you express yourself

这个feature其实是大多数同学最担心的，一方面本身英语不是我们的母语，使得用英语面试时本身就会比较紧张，再加上面试时无法预知面试官的提问，所以全靠临场发挥，有太多的不确定性。所以面试现场的表现就变得非常重要，下面是给大家总结的几点注意事项：

① 面试的理想状态是感觉像聊天

很多同学都把面试当做一个考试，好像都是对方问什么你答什么，一定要背出一个标准的答案来。但其实面试是一个你跟他的交流过程。你不是在单纯地答题，你是在跟对方聊天。让对方先喜欢上你，最后打分才会高。

在面试的对话中，60%是情绪，40%是内容，所以如果能做好美国那种smile talk ，把幽默展示出来，对你的录取是非常有效的。当然如果缺乏幽默感的同学只要自信大方地回答出问题就好，不要刻意幽默，成了“强撩”。

② 第一印象很重要

说说最基本的第一印象，无论是电话网络面试，还是面对面面试，基本的语音语调，行为举止都是要注意的。衣着要简单正式；始终保持面带微笑，自信放松（反复的练习后是可以做到的）；语音语调保持平稳，不要表现过于情绪化；保持眼神的交流，适时点头表示认同。

③ 利用自我介绍hold住全场

一般来说，面试开始会让你简要介绍一下自己（有些老板由于时间有限可能会略过），一定要言简意赅，重点突出，想做到这点，需要对自己有足够的了解，和写简历类似，需要花一定的时间整理思路，回顾过去的经历，和每段经历中的里程碑。

比如可以先说 I would like to go through my resume in three-fold: 1st, medical school study; 2nd, clinical experience at xx hospital; 3rd, research work on xx project. 然后再展开介绍每段经历。

对于你认为与申请最相关，面试者可能最感兴趣的部分或课题可以多展开说。这样就等于整个面试是你在lead话题，而不用随时戒备着面试官会不会问一些你不懂的问题。

④ 对自己的简历一定要了如指掌

很多时候，面试者都会就你简历中的经历来问问题，所以一定要做到非常熟悉简历的每一处细节。如何回答类似问题，切记回答你的每一个经历都要表达一个完整的故事，就是在回答每一个点的时候都尽量能够表达「STAR」 故事，即简单扼要涵盖背景、职责、执行和结果四个方面，而不是单纯的罗列事实，我做过这个做过那个。

这其中以执行和结果尤为重要。在回答的时候要突出你在整个课题中的角色，更重要的是要提到你所做的产生的意义/价值，还是用简历帖子里的那个例子，当你说你做了什么的时候，「collected blood samples for assays.....」后面就可以接 leading to two publications in peer reviewed journals or contributing to grant/fund approval。

切记你所做的产生的意义是最重要的，也是面试官需要看到的。如前面提到的，在提及所产生的意义时，可以适时强调你的优势。如果是问失败的经历，关键则在于你从中学到的经验总结，你的成长。

如果你能按照上面说的三点来准备，相信已经能拥有一个不错的面试经历，但是在面试即将结束以及结束之后，还有一些后续工作可以对你的面试和申请产生有利的帮助：

1. 你的问题

一般在面试的最后，面试官都会问你有什么问题，很多人不是很重视这个环节，其实这是一个特别好的强调自己优势、体现自己对项目的了解的机会，这个环节我在第一部分也解释过了，这里再举一个问后续结果通知的例子：

With my clinical and research experience and strong knowledge in this field, I believe I am a good match to this program and truly look forward to having the opp to add values to your team as well as advance my understanding of ....... So do you mind me asking when I should be expecting to hear from you?

2. 关于感谢信

在面试结束后，是一定要尽快地写一封感谢邮件的，一来出于基本的礼貌，二来也可以加深面试者对你的印象，三来可以再次强调自己的优势及对申请学校/职位的兴趣。如果可以在邮件中简单总结你面试的体会印象，会更加分。

说了这么多，相信大家对于即将到来的面试应该都心里有底了。希望大家能结合自己的实际情况好好准备，也祝各位都能拿到心仪的offer : )