I'll preface this post by acknowledging that I am chronically impatient and perhaps just a little neurotic but the waiting for results is seriously agonizing. I've applied for admission to the Scottish History MscR program at the University of Edinburgh, and despite previous assurances from the post-graduate program secretary, I've yet to receive word on any kind of decision. Having thus already contacted the secretary once, I don't want to do so again lest I come across as one of those 'high maintenance' students and leave a bad impression.
The general mental discomfort of not knowing is compounded, too, by the fact that I live in the U.S. and have had long-standing plans to visit Europe in the first two weeks of June. Thinking I'd know the results of my application by then, I decided to tack on a couple of days in Edinburgh to the end of my trip to visit the campus and possibly meet up with the faculty member with whom I'd corresponded about research during the application process. Should I be accepted, this person would most likely be my first supervisor.
However, the fact that I'm still in existential limbo, as it were, is making me reluctant to email said professor to suggest a meeting because I don't know how appropriate it would be to do so. For my part, even if I am not accepted to the program, I'd still like to meet this person if for no other reason than to convey my thanks for his/her help and encouragement (s/he was good enough to review the drafs of my research proposal and make comments, as well as solicit feedback from his/her colleagues in the department on my behalf) in person and to have an opportunity to discuss his/her research which I find profoundly fascinating. That said, I'm unsure, like I said, if this would be considered a strange or inappropriate request from an applicant or if it might prove awkward for him/her, especially if s/he has foreknowledge of the school's decision and it was unfavorable.
So, may I ask for some thoughts on this? Did you meet with potential supervisors/advisers even before knowing if you'd be accepted to the program? Basically, any advice would be immensely helpful. I should also note that because of the time constraints (my trip is already planned and booked and has been for over six months), I feel like the very latest I could send my request would be this weekend because any later would feel like a rude presumption upon the person's time, implying, among other things, that s/he couldn't possibly have anything better to do and should just be indiscriminately available. Or maybe I'm just being even more neurotic than usual.