Campus Visit

[HumbabaRed]

I just received a generic email from one of the universities that accepted me inviting me to prospective student day. The problem is that the university is on the other side of the country and I can't afford to pay 500$+ for a trip to the West Coast and back. The email says nothing about reimbursement and I can not decide between universities without first visiting all my options. Is it ok for me to ask the department or the graduate college about possible reimbursements? What is usually the policy about this?

[fuzzylogician]

Yes, it's perfectly acceptable to inquire about reimbursement. The place to ask is the department that accepted you.

In my experience most universities offer some reimbursement, though not always enough. If you can combine your visit with visits to other universities in the same area, you are likelier to be reimbursed enough to cover the entire cost of the trip. In many departments it's customary for current graduate students to host prospective students, which is another great way to both save costs and get to see how students in the department live. You can inquire about that at the same time you ask about reimbursement.