Undergraduate research interview

[Lotus_73]

Hey guys,
I recently got invited to an interview to be part of a very well respected doctor's research. I am, however, very nervous about the interview itself. I've never had to go through an interview before (college didn't require interviews, nor have any of my extracurriculars). My strengths for this position would be my multiple EC's, most of which are centered on the same field that the research is based on. My gpa however, is quite lacking. While it's drastically increased in the last year, my sGPA is still under a 3.0. I'm worried this will hold me back from the position. I am aware that he will use the candidate that is most apt for this position, but seeing how this is a position I care greatly about, i'd like to present myself in the best way possible.
Does anyone have any tips for dealing with subpar grades during an interview? Any general tips to prepare myself?
All help is appreciated

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[plshelpvanxious]

Read recently published papers produced by the lab. The PI probably cares more about your background knowledge and interests rather that your grades.

 

[CyrilFiggis]

It's cool to have a great research position and I wish you luck, but can you effectively continue to raise your GPA to an acceptable level while taking on this new position?

 

[Lotus_73]

It's cool to have a great research position and I wish you luck, but can you effectively continue to raise your GPA to an acceptable level while taking on this new position?

Hello! My poor grades were due to a personal situation mixed in with just a hard time adapting to the shift from high school to college. Also, my coursework for my remaining semesters in college is lighter than it was at the beginning, and they're courses geared more towards what I want to ultimately work on.

 

[Lotus_73]

Read recently published papers produced by the lab. The PI probably cares more about your background knowledge and interests rather that your grades.

It seems like its a pretty new lab, there aren't really many papers I can find online. Any tips?

 

[plshelpvanxious]

It seems like its a pretty new lab, there aren't really many papers I can find online. Any tips?

If the lab is new try to look up papers published by the PI - like what work has led to him/her becoming a well respected doctor (I'm assuming this isn't their first research experience).
You can also look into what grants they were awarded on NIH and read related papers.
You don't need to be an expert in anything, but I always felt it helped to say "I want to join your lab because ______. I'm especially interested in your project investigating ______.

 

[masnerj]

Also, don't feel like you need to address your low GPA or bring it up and offer reasons/explanation. The fact that you got an interview (assuming the PI knows about your GPA) means that what you bring to the table is more than just your grades. Just make sure you read up on the background research of that lab/PI (going through his website, his grants, his old pubs/posters, etc) and just genuinely sound interested!

Also, asking intelligent questions about research and research design is something that PIs love during undergrad interviews for research. It shows that you were able to process information and ask relevant questions.

Just don't stress. Be confident and prepared and you'll be fine! Good luck!

 

[Lotus_73]

Also, don't feel like you need to address your low GPA or bring it up and offer reasons/explanation. The fact that you got an interview (assuming the PI knows about your GPA) means that what you bring to the table is more than just your grades. Just make sure you read up on the background research of that lab/PI (going through his website, his grants, his old pubs/posters, etc) and just genuinely sound interested!

Also, asking intelligent questions about research and research design is something that PIs love during undergrad interviews for research. It shows that you were able to process information and ask relevant questions.

Just don't stress. Be confident and prepared and you'll be fine! Good luck!

Thanks for the reply! My PI doesn't know what my grades are. He did not ask for them prior to setting up the meeting (Only asked me for my CV and a list of the courses i'd taken so far in undergrad). Hence, why i'm pretty sure it'll come up at some point or another.

 

[aldol16]

Don't bring it up unless the interviewer does and if that happens, then focus on any upward trends or improvements you have made or are making. The point of the research interview is mainly to figure out if you could thrive in the lab environment, which is surprisingly not very well correlated with how well you do in your science courses. Some people with 4.0s are terrible lab scientists whereas people with 3.0s can become great lab scientists. It's all about how you think. Plus, read up on the lab's most recent publications and know the kind of work you're going into. You want to have an idea about where you want to fit in in the lab, whether that's working on a specific project underway or coming in with your own idea(s) in the PI's field.