What are your thoughts on visiting schools before being accepted

[cyborg213]

I'm a current graduate student and we've received a number of prospective students visiting, sitting in on classes, and requesting meetings with faculty members prior to admission results. I know this is a fairly common practice, but for some reason I have mixed feelings about it (I didn't visit any schools while I was applying, mostly because I didn't have any money but also because I was never sure if it would actually help). I think, on the one hand, that it is a pretty privileged practice—and hence an unfair one—but on the other, as some colleagues have told me, it might be a decisive one, especially when it comes to getting an offer from a top tier programs. Any thoughts? 

[politics 'n prose]

Yikes, I’d hate to think my odds of admission were in some way contingent upon my ability to visit campus as an applicant (and not even an accepted applicant, at that!). I agree with you entirely that this sounds like the purview of the privileged few—it reeks of “old boys’ club” nonsense to me.

For what it’s worth, I don’t believe this is a common—or even desired—practice across the board. In fact, most of the schools I applied to had FAQ pages that directly addressed the “Can I schedule a campus visit prior to receiving an admissions decision?” question with a resounding “NOPE.”  Designated visit days seem relatively common for accepted students, but my sense is that most English departments are too strapped for resources and time to accommodate a sea of pre-admit applicants flooding campus.

Edited December 27, 2019 by politics 'n prose

[WildeThing]

I totally agree with both of you: I don’t like it and/because it seems unfair and just another edge wealthier candidates can have. I don’t think it’s a major issue, never really heard of many people visiting campuses before admissions, much less as an arranged visit. Personally if I were faculty I would resent jumping through hoops for someone who hasn’t even been accepted. I feel like making an informal visit by stopping by if you live nearby and talking to a student or two would be fine, but anything arranged I would dislike as a student, faculty, administrator or fellow prospective. There might be some exceptions but generally it comes off as entitled (I do understand wanting to know what you’re getting into but there is sufficient information online as it is).