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.

Apply and wait for acceptance, there are no interviews. They consider grades and research experience

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.