Excellent advice from surefire and Usmivka. As one who assists with the coordination of our graduate recruitment weekend (GRW), when we invite 'prospies' to visit, we have graduate students who also contact prospies within a week of their invitation. I highly encourage contact between current grad students and the prospies. With our program, if you receive an invitation to visit during the GRW, consider this an honor! Unfortunately, it's a very competitive program for you AND us! We spare nothing when it comes to our GRW weekend and are often told it's the best they've attended. The evenings are fun-filled and a lot of time is spent with current grad students and faculty.
We have one full day for interviews (back-to-back) and half-day the next, when needed, and it can be very exhausting. Be prepared when you're meeting with the faculty - ALL of them. Ask questions and stay alert! At the same time, try to relax, smile and be yourself. In some cases you may have interviews with faculty you didn't request but be aware these are just as important as the others. Reasons for this might be they're part of the selection committee, other people you requested are on sabbatical or unavailable, or the faculty may be interested in what they saw on your app as a good match for their lab.
One last thing, if you're invited to several of these events and some fall on the same weekend, don't be afraid to request an alternate weekend! Most will accommodate you if they're interested in you (which they obviously are since you received the invitation!). In a few cases, they'll say no - which would make me wonder whether or not I'd want to even go there. Just be aware if you're attending an alternate visit, you're missing out on the best experience by not being able to meet all faculty and grad students for the planned events.
Good luck!
