Too many campus visits! How many should I actually go on?

[misslitty]

I've been accepted to 5 programs so far, and all have invited me to their grad student visit days.  I have crossed one, a school whose offer I won't be accepting, off my list.  With the other 4, I just don't know which I'll accept yet, they all have their benefits.  I am still in school and my research lab, however, and I don't want to miss that much time to go on visits.  I truly don't know how to prioritize which program visits I should attend.  Any advice is much appreciated!

[OBforme]

35 minutes ago, misslitty said:

I've been accepted to 5 programs so far, and all have invited me to their grad student visit days.  I have crossed one, a school whose offer I won't be accepting, off my list.  With the other 4, I just don't know which I'll accept yet, they all have their benefits.  I am still in school and my research lab, however, and I don't want to miss that much time to go on visits.  I truly don't know how to prioritize which program visits I should attend.  Any advice is much appreciated!

I'm not at that point, however I would approach this based on the programs that were my top choices or I'm the most excited about working with my POIs, then pair that by funding offered from each.

[Sigaba]

Make a list in a spreadsheet of what you want and what you don't want to gain from your graduate school experience. The list should be comprehensive but not exhaustive.

After you make the list, rank all of the issues from most important to least important. After you've done the ranking, add another column which you will use to categorize each item as "town" or as "gown" (alternatively, off-campus and on-campus). If he "gown" items are more important than the "town" items, you should prioritize visiting the schools with stronger programs and better resources.

If the "town" issues are more important, you should prioritize visiting schools that are in areas/regions that may be out of your comfort area/experience.

When you make your list, be careful not to underestimate how "town" issues can impact your ability to do well in class. If you're not used to the cold and you go to Boston, you may be miserable for months at a time. If you don't like rainy weather and you go to the PNW, you may experience depression. 

ICYMI, this forum has information that may help you in developing your list. https://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/18-city-guide/

5 minutes ago, OBforme said:

I'm not at that point, however I would approach this based on the programs that were my top choices or I'm the most excited about working with my POIs, then pair that by funding offered from each.

1

I would caution against putting too much emphasis on the bolded metric. Within five minutes of your first class with a POI (or a semester of working with someone else), one can come to understand that Professor Moneypenny is not the person for you. 

[OBforme]

Just now, Sigaba said:

Make a list in a spreadsheet of what you want and what you don't want to gain from your graduate school experience. The list should be comprehensive but not exhaustive.

After you make the list, rank all of the issues from most important to least important. After you've done the ranking, add another column which you will use to categorize each item as "town" or as "gown" (alternatively, off-campus and on-campus). If he "gown" items are more important than the "town" items, you should prioritize visiting the schools with stronger programs and better resources.

If the "town" issues are more important, you should prioritize visiting schools that are in areas/regions that may be out of your comfort area/experience.

When you make your list, be careful not to underestimate how "town" issues can impact your ability to do well in class. If you're not used to the cold and you go to Boston, you may be miserable for months at a time. If you don't like rainy weather and you go to the PNW, you may experience depression. 

ICYMI, this forum has information that may help you in developing your list. https://forum.thegradcafe.com/forum/18-city-guide/

I would caution against putting too much emphasis on the bolded metric. Within five minutes of your first class with a POI (or a semester of working with someone else), one can come to understand that Professor Moneypenny is not the person for you. 

That's a good point - thanks for sharing.