Thread by @GarretsonAlexis

I missed some red flags when I interviewed for my first grad program a few years ago, so here are some questions I think are worth asking during PhD interviews, a #Thread

#AcademicChatter #PhDLife #AcademicTwitter

1. Ask about housing. Availability, pricing, distance, quality. Worth it.

2. Ask students whether they have friends, and whether their friends are mostly in their program or something else.

3. Ask whether anyone has ever left the program during their time there, and why. Ask for their email if you're bold and ask them why they left.

4. Straight up ask them if they're happy. (Seriously. And listen if they say no).

5. Ask about the mental health support and health care from the school and in the area.

6. Ask about whether any students have started families and what that process was like.

Even if you don't have plans to start a family, it can give you some insights into work life balance and medical support and support for caregivers.

7. If you're #Disabled like me, ask about access to healthcare and the quality of the health insurance. This is also going to be your job for up to nearly a decade. You could also become disabled during that time and it's something to be aware of.

PhD interviews tend to emphasize the research and the world environment (which is also important) but you also have to live there, build community there, and you're often relocating for often quite a while.

You can ask questions about life, especially when interviews are online.