socialpsych

I agree: yes. Visit the schools and talk to current grad students. The visit is not as useful if you do not get their perspective, face-to-face. They have the best view on what your experience at a given program would actually be like.

I agree. And I think the psych subject GRE is a REAL waste of time--I started studying for it and stopped when I realized it was not required at any of my schools. I'm glad so many schools make it optional.

"Holding on to all three offers until April 15th" might not be the most considerate thing to do...but those are three great schools in any field, and I'm sure someone who has an offer at all of them will want to think carefully before turning down opportunities. And thinking carefully can take time. I know someone who had offers from several of the top programs in his field and took until April 14th to respond. He wasn't lazy; he was just taking his time to figure it out. He was actively doing research about the schools and chatting with profs and students, not just sitting on the offers passively.

Get in touch with some grad students and have some long skype/email conversations. You can expect your life to look very similar to theirs if you attend that program. Profs may not give you all the information you need, because they lack the student's perspective and because they are trying to recruit you.

In that case, I agree, just go.

Can you cancel the flights/hotel in time to get a refund, so that neither you nor the school is paying (much)? I was in this position and I canceled the visit. As I see it, it's ruder to spend their money on a recruitment/interview visit, when they don't have a chance of getting you to come and could have spent the money on somebody more enthusiastic, than to decline and let them down. But if your main worry is about whether you will have to pay them back for travel/hotel--well, yes, I think you are right to be worried.

I have been accepted by three schools. One didn't have the information yet b/c they were waiting on a state budget; one gave the info upfront (in the acceptance email!); one did not say anything upfront, but I asked the grad program contact and he was happy to give me the details. Do you know when you expect to hear? It is totally appropriate to ask people in the program whether they know what funding will look like and/or when you can expect to learn more.

Sounds like it varies by school. One of mine has the same policy. Unfortunately it doesn't sound like the kind of thing they are likely to just "relax"--it's a schoolwide policy. Either it is or it isn't. Your best bet might be asking current grad students in the program you're looking at, if you really need to make sure.

From what I hear, somewhere between business casual and suit.

I doubt it. Unless your field is very different from mine, no one will expect you to have visited beforehand.

Me too. I like profs who set a regular meeting time with their students. I like profs who are good at listening to their students rather than just making students work on their (the profs') ideas. I like profs who have a sharp sense of what projects are likely to work and how to make smart decisions during the course of a project. I like profs who are conscious of the culture of academia and their profession and are willing to give their students professional/cultural advice, not just project advice. I plan to find out about potential advisors by asking their students -- I think I will get some honest answers. I have heard of people actually being discouraged from working with particular professors by those profs' current students.

Hey, if you're waiting for details on funding, I have heard that it is totally appropriate to call/email your contact person and ask. I was waiting for a funding offer in order to withdraw some applications, and with some encouragement from grad students, I just asked the prof in charge of the program whether he could give me any details. He gave me a call and ran me through the entire package. The official letter hasn't even been mailed yet. They mean it when they say you can contact them with any questions!

[quote name="Louiselab

Of course you need somewhere to stay. One of my schools sent a detailed policy regarding what would be acceptable use of their travel stipend. All of them have somewhere in particular they're expecting visiting students to stay--either with current students or in a particular hotel. If your program is not putting you up anywhere in particular, I'm sure it would be acceptable to ask.

Yeah, that's why you should ask. I have heard of people getting more funding after trying to negotiate, but at some programs I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way. The grad students will probably know what's up.

No, it does not mean you have been accepted, but you are on a short list. Congratulations!

You are probably not accepted yet, but this is a very good sign--your chances now are probably like 30-90% depending on how many people they have decided to interview. Congrats!

If you are in contact with any of the current grad students at State U, you might ask them for advice. They will probably be able to tell you whether anyone has been able to negotiate successfully or whether the package is fairly standard and therefore there is not much you can do.

I agree with the responses above. I don't know whether masters programs in general tend to pay, but they will tell you when they invite you, and if they don't tell you then you should definitely ask.

That is the royalest of royal pains I've ever heard of. :evil: :x :shock: Can they do this? I guess they can...my understanding was that most programs are fairly understanding about lost materials, but that is just evil.

Yeah, sorry, nothing here. Why is that?

I confess, I've been feeling really tempted to bake a bunch of cookies and go distribute them among the professors who just accepted me to my dream program. Apparently I am the clingy type. Actually, what I'm doing to celebrate is having various meals with various people in my life. Oh, and I've cried kind of a lot (happy tears!), which has surprised me.

Wow! Sounds like you have some great options there! I personally would go for San Diego, but warm weather matters a lot to me. It just makes people happier and life better...I don't know. After I got in to Chicago, people told me pretty uniformly that the city as a whole is great but the part of town that U Chicago is in (if that's where you're thinking of going) is crap--i.e. dangerous and not particularly accessible by public transportation. I consider the location to be pretty much at the bottom of my personal grad school list (which doesn't include most of the locations you listed). I think in NY it would totally depend on the funding/housing you are getting. With good funding it could be amazing, but otherwise, probably miserable. Have heard only great things about Seattle. Best of luck!

Ooohh I hear that. I kind of get mad when I get emails from campus group mailing lists I'm on, too.

So people are trying to make us anxious about nonexistent programs? :roll: Most pointless thing ever, maybe?