Interviewing for a program you actually want

Three things, mostly: can you talk about your own work clearly, will you be pleasant to work alongside for a summer, and do you actually want this — or does it just look good on paper.

Everything else — technical depth, specific answers, name-dropping — is downstream of those three. If you nail those, small stumbles won't matter.

'Walk me through this project on your CV.' Pick your favorite one and be ready to talk for two minutes: what you were trying to figure out, what you actually did, what surprised you, what you'd do differently.

'Why this program, and why now?' Answer with something only true of them. A mentor's specific work, a past cohort project, the format itself.

'Tell me about a time something didn't work.' They want to see how you think about failure, not that you've never failed. Pick a real story, be brief about the failure, spend most of the answer on what you learned.

'What are you curious about right now?' The trap here is naming something you think sounds impressive. Name what you actually read about last week.

'What does a typical week look like for a student in this program?' — tells you if it's structured or sink-or-swim.

'What have past participants gone on to do that surprised you?' — softer than 'placement rates' and more revealing.

'What kind of student thrives here, and what kind struggles?' — a mentor who can answer this honestly is a mentor worth having.

Skip questions whose answer is on the front page of their website. It signals you didn't look.

Re-read your application. Interviewers often ask about specific lines. Sleep more than you think you need. Wear something you feel like yourself in.

Test your camera, mic, and internet an hour early. Have a glass of water and a printed copy of your CV in front of you. That's it — you're ready.