Admitted student visit

[2bphd]

Hi,

I have some doubts about admitted students visitations to grad schools. I have a couple of them coming. What is the purpose for these visits? Are they trying to convince us to accept their offer.

They also arrange meetings with faculty. one possible reason is that it might help the faculty to decide on potential research assistants in their labs. as funding decisions are will be made after the visitations. If that is the case, shud I go their to impress the faculty or just have fun and visit. How should I talk to faculty and how to prepare for such visits.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thank you.

[Brussell Sprouts]

Hi,

I have some doubts about admitted students visitations to grad schools. I have a couple of them coming. What is the purpose for these visits? Are they trying to convince us to accept their offer.

They also arrange meetings with faculty. one possible reason is that it might help the faculty to decide on potential research assistants in their labs. as funding decisions are will be made after the visitations. If that is the case, shud I go their to impress the faculty or just have fun and visit. How should I talk to faculty and how to prepare for such visits.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Thank you.

I just had one of these visits a couple weeks ago. I still dressed nicely, but not overly formal (nice top and some dark blue jeans). I think that in a way it is to impress YOU, vs. you trying to impress them. They want to show off their campus and let you know why they are better than the other places essentially. Also, I dont know about yours, but mine they invited all of the admitted students, and it was a way to get to know the potential cohort group you might be with. So for me, I didnt get along with the other admitted students and that really turned me off of the school.

As for the faculty, I just went into mine with a carefree, informal attitude and asked them a LOT of questions. Since you have already been accepted, its your decision to go there or not, so you need to get as much info of the place as possible. Since you are already accepted, you know you WILL get one of the faculty no matter what, so if it is not that big a deal to you, just get a feel for who you gravitate towards.

Hope this helps some. If you have any more questions just ask!

[pea-jay]

One of mine has a visiting day, the other doesnt mention one. I've both schools I have been accepted to on a pre-application basis, but for the school that doesnt have one, I'd feel a lot more comfortable if I visited anyway--they shouldnt have any issue with that right?

[conan33]

I just had one of these visits a couple weeks ago. I still dressed nicely, but not overly formal (nice top and some dark blue jeans). I think that in a way it is to impress YOU, vs. you trying to impress them. They want to show off their campus and let you know why they are better than the other places essentially. Also, I dont know about yours, but mine they invited all of the admitted students, and it was a way to get to know the potential cohort group you might be with. So for me, I didnt get along with the other admitted students and that really turned me off of the school.

As for the faculty, I just went into mine with a carefree, informal attitude and asked them a LOT of questions. Since you have already been accepted, its your decision to go there or not, so you need to get as much info of the place as possible. Since you are already accepted, you know you WILL get one of the faculty no matter what, so if it is not that big a deal to you, just get a feel for who you gravitate towards.

Hope this helps some. If you have any more questions just ask!

Hi Brussell Sprouts,

I am also going to visit a couple of departments I was admitted to. What did you ask to faculty during your visit?

Thanks.

[Brussell Sprouts]

Hi Brussell Sprouts,

I am also going to visit a couple of departments I was admitted to. What did you ask to faculty during your visit?

Thanks.

I am going into counseling psychology so I did ask the basic questions about research, qualifying exams, and internships. I dont know what you are going into, but those should be the basic questions (i.e. what do the next X number of years look like for me?). Also I asked about the city, what there was to do, what does student fees cover, where are good places to eat/study/drink coffee/exercise on campus, how are classes arranged (block schedule? everyday? this school that i visited didnt have friday classes, so that was interesting), what TA/RA-ships are available, am I able to teach courses, how are classes taught (for this school they focused more on papers and presentations instead of exams), what kind of resources does their library have, etc., etc., etc.

Hope this helps a little!

[Bumblebee]

One of mine has a visiting day, the other doesnt mention one. I've both schools I have been accepted to on a pre-application basis, but for the school that doesnt have one, I'd feel a lot more comfortable if I visited anyway--they shouldnt have any issue with that right?

After I got admitted in IUB I contacted the department asking them whether I could visit the campus (they didn't invite me to any visiting day). The professor I talked to was really happy to hear of my intention of going and told me it was very normal for students to visit the campus. I'm leaving on Wednesday for Indiana and I should receive my final visit schedule by mail today or tomorrow. I will meet with the Graduate Studies director and two professors I asked to meet with. I will also attend one lesson, have lunch with current graduate students and have a campus tour.

So, no, I would say they shouldn't have any issue with that. I would even assume that it would actually make them happy, since it shows that you're still considering them as an option.