ACM88

@uromastyx: Why do you say that? And what if students aren't given free time? I know that for one of my visits, the itinerary currently does not leave space for students to roam on their own and I can't afford to stay in the area for an extra day.

Great! I'm looking forward to these visits and so I'm happy to know that I'll be able to bring something back for my family to see too.

@Vader Was Framed: I can't say that I know a whole lot about the process, despite all I've tried to do to get information on it. I contacted my POI back in November and expressed interest in his lab group, which led to an informal phone call and an invitation to visit the campus and his lab. He is the one who told me that FES doesn't do formal interviews. I did take a trip out there for 3 days in December and had a good time mingling with others in the department and speaking to my POI and his students. Overall, it was very amicable and enjoyable. I don't know if my visiting is something that will bring favorable opinions during the admissions process, but I'm hoping it does. I don't know all that much about the process, but I'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best. Good luck to you too! Let me know if you have any more questions, since TGC is a great distraction from this whole thing.

maple syrup

I don't know if there are a lot of people on TGC who have applied to Yale's Forestry and Environmental Studies department, but I thought I'd check and see. Is anyone else waiting to hear back and nervous about their admissions? I visited back in December and have pretty strong support from a professor in the department, which is really exciting, but I'm not sure how much influence that has on admissions decisions. I was feeling pretty good about my chances until the other day when I watched a video on the FES webpage where the Chair of Graduate Studies said that they typically accept less than 10% of the applicants to the program. So...now I'm not feeling too good about it. Anyone else in the same boat? I'm hoping the results come out soon, but it's so hard to know how strong your application is relative to others. *fingers crossed*

Thanks! I've done one visit already, but I was the only student there and my hosts were very amicable and had no problem with me taking the occasional photo. I just worry about the potential for taking photos to reflect poorly upon me as a candidate, especially during group settings like campus tours. I would never take pictures during times when my full attention was required, but I'm hoping that during tours, it's acceptable. Many of the places I'm visiting my family has never seen before and I want to take good photos not just for my own memories in case I don't go there, but also to share with my family. I don't think it will be a problem since I have no intention of bringing a huge SLR camera, but I do have a nice pocket-sized digital camera that I was hoping would get some action. I'll just have to wait and see what the atmosphere is like while I'm there. Thank you all for your reponses! Keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes well.

Dragon's breath

That's a relief! Thanks.

I think it might depend on the program you're applying for. I've submitted applications to Yale and Columbia for their Environmental Studies or Ecology departments. I know that at Yale and Columbia, these departments don't interview candidates, but my POI at Yale said they hope to have admissions decisions made by early February. And as far as I can tell from past admissions submissions on this site, Columbia doesn't make their decisions until mid/late February and March. I hope this helps!

Hi everyone! I have a few campus visits and interviews coming up next month and I have a question about etiquette. Would it be inappropriate to take pictures of the campus during tours and other activities? For some of the visits, there will likely only be a handful of students, but for others I believe there were mass-invititatons. My worry is that it would seem rude, distracting, or make me look/feel like a tourist if I take photos during the trip. Has anyone had any ideas about this or dealt with it yet themselves? Thank you in advance for your feedback!