lemur

I assume you're asking because you're going through this yourself this year. I'm not sure if it helps, but I can say that all of my visits were about the schools trying to convince me theirs was the right choice for me. There was nothing to stress about and no technical questions. Just a lot of free flights, hotels and food. The only sense in which they were interviews was as me interviewing them (with the exception of maybe one or two professors) Good luck.

I know nothing about Applied Math, but based on USNWR rankings alone, UMN is definitely a better program for math than CMU. But... No... they're ranked 12th.

That's the funny thing. They got accepted (with full PhD funding) at Berkeley and Stanford. It's not a matter of them having trouble getting in anywhere.

I know of at least one person at my school who received a full funding offer from CMU ECE over e-mail. However, once the FedEx letters were sent out, his letter said he was admitted conditionally upon receiving an external fellowship. They're now telling him they're sorry for the clerical mistake... This story is almost unbelievable to me. How could they screw something up that badly? Has this happened to anyone else?

Whether or not you should do this has been discussed a few times already in this forum--this very thread, in fact. The short answer is, "It depends." Your qualifications, their school, the professor you want to work with. As far as who you should contact, I would start with a short e-mail to the professor you want to work with. Introduce yourself, say why you're interested in their work, mention that you'd like to visit their campus, and ask if you can schedule a meeting with them while you're there. To be sure, if you aren't invited, don't expect them to pay for anything.

I would think the most you can do is to apply to schools where you both fall into the "obvious admit" pile.

My wife and I (who met in Davis) found these statements were silly. Davis is a socially liberal place. Sure, you'll have to drive an hour to the Castro Street Fair, but I can't imagine your sexuality ever being an issue there. If you want gay bars, you'll have to go to Sacramento or San Francisco, but if you're happy drinking with straight people, you'll be fine. It's a non-issue.

Hah. I can't wait to get out of Berkeley. No fall, no winter... The bay area weather is nice, but boring beyond all belief. Of course, when you live in Soda Hall, weather doesn't matter anyway.

It's a good idea to contact them, but why not be more direct. Tell them you're going to be in the area and would appreciate the chance to meet with them. It's simple, honest, and non-presumptuous. I've done this and it's worked out to my benefit.

Checking out housing prices, etc. is probably a good idea. I'd assume the chances of your being accepted are high, so you may as well inform yourself as best you can. If you get rejected...deal with it then. ::shrug::

I just thought I'd mention that I just got back from my visit. I received an e-mail from one of their professors saying they really hope I'll choose their school. So...even though it isn't formalized (no official letter of acceptance), I think it's safe to say this visit was an indication of my acceptance.

I have the same reaction to one of my colleagues. He's got perfect stats at a top-3 school, so he's getting in everywhere he applies. One announcement isn't such a big deal, but when he announces each one (along with funding info), it comes across as bragging.

Be glad you only do it 10 times a day. I know that aside from the one I'm visiting next week, most of my schools won't start sending out notifications till next week at the earliest, but still I keep checking.

The best I can do is tell you their US News CS Rankings: UT Dallas: 72 SMU: unranked

Yes.

Name drop shamelessly. I absolutely agree, and it's equally applicable in Computer Engineering, which leads me to believe that it applies to every field.

Definitely not the case everywhere. I got an invite from a school where my application was a couple weeks late. It can depend on the department and the school, but I seriously doubt five or six days will matter much. If you're really concerned, you could always e-mail the grad admissions secretary, but I'd think you'd be better off just getting your app in.

I actually think this is a really good idea. I've met with two professors so far. The first one was before my application was complete. I actually e-mailed the professor back in October saying I'd be in his area over the break and would like to meet with him. We met, and it ended with him saying that said if I were serious about his school, he could "short-circuit" the admissions process for me. Probably a good thing... The other one was at a campus I was visiting the other day on my own. I knew the name of a professor in my field there and thought, "What the hell?" Without any prior arrangements, I walked into his assistant's office, introduced myself, and asked if I could just say hi. He let me in, and we ended up talking for an hour. The conversation ended with him verifying that I'd submitted my application and saying that he'd take a look at it. He has a good position in the department, so again, it's probably a good thing... I'm from a good undergraduate school, and I always make sure to use my campus e-mail address when e-mailing professors. That helps, as does the fact that the second professor also went to my school for undergrad. Still, the e-mails/visits helped, and I wasn't really risking anything if they hadn't worked out.

One of my schools is flying me out for a visit, everything paid for. I haven't been accepted yet, and I'm not sure what this trip means. From some of the other posts, it seems like these visits usually come after acceptances. The e-mail says they're very impressed... blah, blah, blah, and that it will give us a chance to get to know one another better. Any insight into what this visit means? If it's just an interview, why not call it that?