What to bring to visit days

[hopefulastro]

I’ve been accepted to various Astronomy PhD programs and will be going to some of these prospective grad student open houses for the department. These will consist of a full day or two on campus - touring the campus and department, meeting with many faculty, eating meals with grad students and faculty, attending research meetings, etc. 

 

What should one bring to these visit days? Do people typically carry around a backpack or larger bag during the day with their laptop, notepad, etc? Or just something small instead? The main thing is I’m unsure if I should bring my laptop or not (I will bring it during my travels, but not sure if I should be carrying it around with me during the visit days). I will definitely at least carry a small bag with a notebook and pen, water bottle, my wallet, and some snacks. Any thoughts?

[PsyDuck90]

I'm in a different field, so this may vary. However, the question I would ask is what do you think you may need your laptop for during the visit day? My assumption is that you will most likely not be pulling it out for any reason during the visit. The only reason I could think of is if you don't have anywhere you feel comfortable leaving it (like if staying with a student host instead of a hotel or something).