By SHBT alumna Courtney Lane
Where can I stay while I’m interviewing?
Cara Stepp (cstepp@mit.edu) can arrange for you to stay with a student at his or her house while you are here. We believe that staying with a student is invaluable because you get to talk one-on-one in an informal setting. Feel free to pump this student for information! Also, please let your host know when you will be arriving and leaving, so he or she can make sure to be available for your entire stay.
Can I be reimbursed for my interview trip?
Yes. You will be reimbursed up to $750 of your travel expenses. This amount covers your plane ticket and cab fare to and from the airport.
How do I get around the Boston area?
The most common way for us poor students to get around is to take the T (Boston’s way of saying “subway”). Most of the places that you will need to know about are on the T. The airport is on the Blue Line, Airport stop. On the Redline, MIT is at the Kendall/MIT stop, the Mass. Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI) is at the Charles/MGH stop, and Harvard is at the Harvard Square stop. See http://www.mbta.com . Also, you can take a cab, although it’s a bit more expensive.
What is the purpose of the interviews?
The interviews (which will last pretty much the whole day) are to both recruit you and to determine if you are a good match for the program. In keeping with this idea, there may be some fun events that you can attend, including a dinner with current students on Friday night.
Why do I keep hearing about the MEEI? What is the MEEI? And what is EPL? And what is RLE? And why are there so many acronyms? And why do the buildings at MIT have numbers instead of names?
The MEEI is the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, and it’s where a large chunk of Speech and Hearing faculty and students have their labs and do their research. There are two big labs at MEEI: EPL and CIRL. EPL is the Eaton-Peabody Lab of Auditory Physiology and CIRL is the Cochlear Implant Research Lab. Many of your interviews will be held at the MEEI, which is not on the MIT campus. You have to take the T one stop to get to the MEEI, and you will probably have breakfast there the morning of your interview.
The rest of the interviews will take place at MIT, probably in Building 36. This is one of the EE buildings, and the SHBT researchers there belong to the Research Lab of Electronics (RLE), which has almost nothing to do with electronics. Groups in RLE that have Speech and Hearing faculty and students include Speech Communication, Sensory Communication, and Auditory Physiology.
The buildings are numbered because it’s MIT. And no, the numbers have no particular significance except for some esoteric something about the odd numbers are on one side and the evens on the other side, and they switch on Sundays (just kidding about the last part). Everybody has to have acronyms.
What should I see while I’m in Boston?
I really don’t know—it depends on your interests! Attending the student dinner will allow you to go out with several SHBT students and to see some cool parts of Boston. Some of my favorite things are wandering around Harvard Square and having a cup of tea at Lulu’s Tealuxe, or a beer and meatloaf at John Harvard’s, strolling down Newbury and Boylston Streets (Green Line, near the Arlington stop) to look at the fancy people; or visiting the Museum of Fine Arts or the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Green Line, Museum stop). Of course, there are all those plays, symphonies, and sporting events, but chances are there won’t be much time for that this time around.
How’s the weather?
Who knows how it will be when you come! It could be 6 or 60 degrees—check the forecast. When I came up from Houston in March to interview long ago, I forgot my coat—I nearly froze to death. Do not forget your coat!
What’s the dress code?
I recommend business attire for the interviews. I have seen interviewees in jeans, but I would not recommend the casual look. I think dressing professionally makes you look and feel more confident. The dinners with the students are casual, and jeans are entirely appropriate (although if you don’t have time to change, everyone will certainly understand). The HST dinner will be more formal—a tie for men and a skirt/slacks for women.
Can I see a lab while I’m visiting?
Of course. You are encouraged to contact faculty members to schedule appointments to talk to them. In fact, it’s an excellent idea and shows that you are really interested in the program. This sort of interest is something that the admission committee appreciates.
Do I need to bring my papers, thesis, resume, etc.?
If any of these were attached with your application, then the members of the admissions committee already have them. As for your thesis, it’s unlikely anyone will have the time to read it. If you have a paper that was not attached to your application, then you can bring along a copy if you wish. What I recommend is that you bring a couple of figures from your research to aid you in explaining the work you did. It’ll help us understand your work in the interview and give you something to get the words flowing.
