Visit Days?

[Defenestration a la Mode]

I was wondering if someone could enlighten me to what visitation days entail for Sociology programs (PhD). I know one program I have applied for invites people to their visit day pending their admission decision (and to the best of my understanding that typically means you're in unless you're not who you said you are), I just am not sure if that's common or not. Do some schools have visit days after you're already accepted? And do all schools typically have visit days?

 

Thanks.

[SocInTheCity]

I'm curious about the timing of the visit days, as well as which schools do them and which schools don't. They don't usually list this on the website. Anyone admitted Fall 2013 who can shed some light on this?

[Maleficent999]

One of the schools I applied to has a visit day in March (or they did last year). I looked at the itenerary because I'm creepy and it looks like they had a few presentations, some tours of campus, some meet and greets, and some other social/tour of the city events. Seemed like it would be pretty enjoyable actually.

[Marcone]

As far as I can tell, and I'm sure I'm missing some here, Rice, Virginia, Notre Dame, and UC - Boulder do interviews/visit days. I also know that being invited for interview/visit days is a good sign but it doesn't mean you're a lock. 

[SheWrote]

As far as I can tell, and I'm sure I'm missing some here, Rice, Virginia, Notre Dame, and UC - Boulder do interviews/visit days. I also know that being invited for interview/visit days is a good sign but it doesn't mean you're a lock. 

 

Yeah, that is the vibe I get. I was invited to interview weekends at Rice and Notre Dame and while it seems that they like me, I don't get the vibe that there are any guarantees. 

[surefire]

My experience with admittance to Canadian Soc programs and visit days (in 2012) was quite different to what I see described above. (Though I didn't apply to a wide swath of programs, so this may not be generalizable to all Canadian programs/institutions).

 

I attended visit days for Soc programs at both York and the University of Toronto. Both had the following in common:

- Invitations were extended to first-round picks who had offers of admission in hand.

- The visits took place shortly before the deadlines by which we were asked to accept/decline the offer of admission (U of T sent first-round offers in mid-Feb., held their visit day in Mid-March and requested a decision by end of March, York sent their offers in early March, held their visit in mid-March, and requested a decision by early April).

 

Beyond that, the structure of the visit days had distinctly different vibes.

-York arranged to have both a student rep and two prospective supervisors e-mail me before the event to answer questions and arrange meetings with them. The actual event was scheduled to co-incide with a small grad conference that the program was holding, so we got to see a lot of the current students' projects on display. Beyond that, it was quite informal, and we were largely left to our own devices to mingle. Aside from the offer time-line being more compressed than U of T's, the event was palpably "low pressure".

- U of T was a more structured affair. All first-round prospects were flown in and put up in hotels for the duration (I didn't ascertain if similar measures were taken at York). There was a strict schedule, including breakfast, speeches from the graduate chairs, Union reps, and head administrators, tours of the campus, lunch, sessions where each faculty member presented on their current projects, an "open-door" session with faculty/grad students in their offices where you could wander in and talk, dinner at the chair's house, and a pub night. 

[amlobo]

Most schools will invite you for a visit day after you are accepted.  March is the prime time for admitted student visits; when you get your acceptance, the school will probably include information on the dates of the visit and how much of a travel stipend they will give you.  Visits generally have scheduled activities, with presentations on the program, dinners with faculty/current students, and time to meet with specific professors.  It's really a time for you to get to know the program better and have all of your questions answered.  I thought the best part was meeting with current students and professors; it really helped solidify my decision as to which school to attend.  The visits were laid-back and enjoyable - plus, free trips!  

 

Rice, Notre Dame, and Emory are the only schools I know of who have "interviews".  So, when you are invited to those interview visits, you are basically on a "short list" of applicants, and the interviews help them make their final decisions.  

[gilbertrollins]

Visit days a great time.  Some schools will even do some recruiting calls.  In my experience, faculty are more than happy to help you decide where to go, and to discuss in a really beneficent manner the comparative advantages of their program relative to where else you got in.  I visited all 5 schools I got in to (which is rare because I didn't know much about the field and was desperate for info).  Absolutely nobody put any pressure on me to attend their program.  

 

Ultimately in this situation, you're the one with more bargaining power and it's a great opportunity to network and get information about your prospective programs.  Also, pay close attention to the graduate students who take you out for drinks and dinners -- peer effects are incredibly important in graduate school -- can't stress that enough.  

[entdeckung]

I recently was accepted somewhere and the acceptance email gave the dates for the visit days but didn't mention a travel stipend.

 

When emailing with the administrator about travel arrangements, is it impolite to ask about the availability of a stipend (especially since I'm coming from the opposite coast and don't think I can afford to attend otherwise)? I know people have been saying that the school usually proactively mentions the stipend in the inital email so I didn't know the etiquette for asking if they don't bring it up themselves.

 

Thanks for any info from those who went on visits last year!

[Maleficent999]

I recently was accepted somewhere and the acceptance email gave the dates for the visit days but didn't mention a travel stipend.

 

When emailing with the administrator about travel arrangements, is it impolite to ask about the availability of a stipend (especially since I'm coming from the opposite coast and don't think I can afford to attend otherwise)? I know people have been saying that the school usually proactively mentions the stipend in the inital email so I didn't know the etiquette for asking if they don't bring it up themselves.

 

Thanks for any info from those who went on visits last year!

 

Poke around on the program's website or FAQ page. I've found the answer to this question on most schools' website. If not, I don't think it's rude to ask. Just explain your situation...you'd really like to attend but monetarily aren't sure if you'd be able to. Is a stipend or some kind of travel arrangement available. They might not pay for a flight but might help you find a student to stay with for free. One of my schools pays 50% of travel expenses.

[amlobo]

Every school is different, and some might give info on the stipend in a later email.  But, I agree with Maleficent - it's perfectly fine to just ask.  I visited a few schools last year, and each one had a different amount/arrangement - some provided accommodations, while some didn't and just gave a higher stipend.

[gretagarbo]

Poke around on the program's website or FAQ page. I've found the answer to this question on most schools' website. If not, I don't think it's rude to ask. Just explain your situation...you'd really like to attend but monetarily aren't sure if you'd be able to. Is a stipend or some kind of travel arrangement available. They might not pay for a flight but might help you find a student to stay with for free. One of my schools pays 50% of travel expenses.

would they also pay for international flights? 

[amlobo]

would they also pay for international flights? 

The ones I visited had a set "ceiling" on the amount they would pay.  It would probably depend on the school's protocol; I'd ask any program where you get admitted.