Admit Weekend: What to Ask?

[explodingstressball]

Hey everyone,

So, amazingly, I got into a program that I'm really excited about in the social sciences. I've been invited to an admit weekend coming up soon. What kinds of questions do you think a prospective student should ask of a program?

And for those of you already in a program, what do you wish you had asked or had clarified before beginning your current program?

[awvish]

Hi explodingstressball.

I'm in the life sciences, but here's a list of questions I asked at the interviews I had. Some of them (like research funding and equipment availability) are probably not as relevant, but some of them will, I hope, be helpful.

Do you have funding for ___(what you're interested in doing)___?

To what extent do your grad students find/bring their own funding?

Is funding for teaching assistants or research assistants?

What type of time commitment does TAing require? How often?

How long does a degree usually take?

What if it takes longer?

How big is your lab/how many students do you advise?

How many students would you like to advise/how many students are you looking for this year?

What is the mix (Masters/Ph.D but also in terms of cohort/timing)?

What percentage of your grad students get their intended degree?

Office space availability?

What's your management style? (Some people prefer to let students figure stuff out for themselves, others like to be more involved in the process. Which are you?) **NB This question should also be asked to grad students to get an idea of how the professor sees him/herself vs. how the students see the professor.

These are questions I ask to make the person a little bit uncomfortable (in the nicest possible way) less to get the answers than to (a.) see HOW they deal with answering and (b.) come across as really tough and intelligent.

What if a student wants to change projects/do a project that isn't directly in your line of expertise?

What are your program's strengths?

Weaknesses?

How social are the grad students in the department? University as a whole?

Do labs tend to collaborate, or are they more insular?

What types of lecture series/talks/seminars does the department sponsor? How often? What sort of talk?

Student housing?

How social is your lab?

Any questions I've forgotten? **NB Sometimes this one is great because it's like a write-your-own-short-answer-question question. And sometimes it's just really awkward.

Edited February 21, 2011 by awvish

[newms]

Hi explodingstressball.

I'm in the life sciences, but here's a list of questions I asked at the interviews I had. Some of them (like research funding and equipment availability) are probably not as relevant, but some of them will, I hope, be helpful.

Do you have funding for ___(what you're interested in doing)___?

To what extent do your grad students find/bring their own funding?

Is funding for teaching assistants or research assistants?

What type of time commitment does TAing require? How often?

How long does a degree usually take?

What if it takes longer?

How big is your lab/how many students do you advise?

How many students would you like to advise/how many students are you looking for this year?

What is the mix (Masters/Ph.D but also in terms of cohort/timing)?

What percentage of your grad students get their intended degree?

Office space availability?

What's your management style? (Some people prefer to let students figure stuff out for themselves, others like to be more involved in the process. Which are you?) **NB This question should also be asked to grad students to get an idea of how the professor sees him/herself vs. how the students see the professor.

These are questions I ask to make the person a little bit uncomfortable (in the nicest possible way) less to get the answers than to (a.) see HOW they deal with answering and (b.) come across as really tough and intelligent.

What if a student wants to change projects/do a project that isn't directly in your line of expertise?

What are your program's strengths?

Weaknesses?

How social are the grad students in the department? University as a whole?

Do labs tend to collaborate, or are they more insular?

What types of lecture series/talks/seminars does the department sponsor? How often? What sort of talk?

Student housing?

How social is your lab?

Any questions I've forgotten? **NB Sometimes this one is great because it's like a write-your-own-short-answer-question question. And sometimes it's just really awkward.

Those are excellent questions. I'm preparing for an admit weekend too as well, so I'm thinking about questions like this and I think you've come up with a very nice list. In addition to the excellent questions above, I'm thinking about also asking,

1) How's life in the city where the school is located?

2) Does the department tend to be collaborative or competitive?

3) How much departmental politics are involved and do grad students tend to be shielded from it?

4) Is it possible to switch advisors, once an advisor has been chosen?

5) I'd ask my POI if has plans to take a sabbatical or leave any time soon.

The first 2 or 3 would probably be best directed at grad students, while the rest would probably be best directed to the POI. Good luck and congrats!

Edited February 21, 2011 by newms

[diber]

Students can probably give you a more candid picture of department community/politics. That's a key area I try to feel out, bc no matter how prestigious programs/scholars are, if you get stuck in a bad situation, it sucks. I've had too many friends go through grad school nightmares bc of bad advisor situations. I would try to get a feel for who you would want to work with, and what is the success rate of students studying with this person? what is the average time students finish with different advisors? (sure, each student varies, but the profs do have a hand in guiding the process)

[pavloviandoggy]

Students can probably give you a more candid picture of department community/politics. That's a key area I try to feel out, bc no matter how prestigious programs/scholars are, if you get stuck in a bad situation, it sucks. I've had too many friends go through grad school nightmares bc of bad advisor situations. I would try to get a feel for who you would want to work with, and what is the success rate of students studying with this person? what is the average time students finish with different advisors? (sure, each student varies, but the profs do have a hand in guiding the process)

I'm going to an Open House this week and next week. I think this is key. I've been given the option of staying with a grad student, which already gives me a good vibe about the program. If the students are willing to play host, I'm guessing they're more collaborative than competitive.

[kateow]

I'm going to an Open House this week and next week. I think this is key. I've been given the option of staying with a grad student, which already gives me a good vibe about the program. If the students are willing to play host, I'm guessing they're more collaborative than competitive.

Not to say it isn't true, but I think grad students offering up couch space for visiting prospies is pretty normal. I wouldn't make any assumptions about the competitiveness (or politics) of the department based on that. Questions about funding can reveal competitiveness among students, as can asking for the other students' opinions of faculty members who *aren't* their advisors.