I applied in-person. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Penn State (State College, PA) in Jul 2011
Interview
Had to request an interview with the specific professor I wanted as an advisor. There wasn't any formal interview process, but I was expressing interest in the program, and they seemed to appreciate my willingness to come talk about possible opportunities. We mostly discussed my class and research background and how I might fit into the research projects ongoing at the lab.
I applied online. The process took 3 days. I interviewed at Penn State (State College, PA)
Interview
Included a phone interview then in-person interviews at Penn State (with a little bit of money to help with the travel, but not fully covered). The in-person interview was 3 nights and 2 days, with the first day being casual, and the second day full of one-on-one or group-on-one interviews with faculty members. I left feeling like I only had a little time to really chat with my person of interest, but ultimately the in-person is not about assessing your skills and more about assessing your personality and your inter-personal fit with the community that's already there.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Mostly they wanted to hear about research and what I want to study. Other times it was tough to get a word in because the faculty member would spend a lot of the (relatively little) time talking about her or his own research, so in those cases it was better to just ask an insightful question or end with a suggestion for future research.
I applied online. I interviewed at Penn State (State College, PA) in Apr 2013
Interview
I emailed my potential advisor (one of the top people in my subfield) after I applied and he replied within eight minutes! We spoke twice on Skype and he was very interested and supportive of my plans. Later that month, I sneaked out on my lunch break and talked to the department chair and other faculty members, who were also very interested in my research and teaching plans. Later that week, I got an offer with a 15,000/year assistant-ship and $750 entrance scholarship. Several days later, I received confirmation that I would have a federal grant worth $20,000/year with $2,000 in conference travel, 1,000 in book allowance, and $600 in book allowance. Later that year, my advisor offered me $2,500 in summer teaching. Therefore, my total compensation is the same as when I was teaching prekindergarten in the South: 42,500.