Recruit/welcome weekends

[cokohlik]

Is it a bad sign if you don't get an invitation to a recruiting or welcome weekend, especially if you're unsure if programs you've applied to even host such a thing? (And of course, by 'you' I mean 'me', but I'm hoping that there are other 'yous' out there wondering the same thing ) I don't want to be more worried than I already am by this, but I'll probably be exponentially more worried if it is a bad sign. Boo.

[Gunner24]

I don't think there's any way it can be a good sign...most programs do host such a thing. However, programs hold them at different times and have different ways of spreadin' the word about them So don't worry...yet. For my programs, the only invites I've received are for schools to which I've been accepted.

Good luck. Hope you get those invites soon!

[diber]

Yea, in my experience, this happens after acceptance, so they would contact about acceptance and then visiting.

[barricades]

Getting an invite is most likely a positive sign, but there are some schools where it doesn't really mean much. I've heard stories of NYU sending out invites and then rejecting people and, on the other hand, I didn't get an invite at all and was accepted. So who knows?

[cokohlik]

Oh dear... What I really wish, is that schools would skip the welcome weekend invites altogether and just let me - and the rest of us - know either way! Suspense is not good for my soul. Although I do admit that the idea of going to a welcome weekend sounds totally AWESOME... Like an undergrad Orientation Week times a billion. Hee!

[ShaEnYsi]

Getting an invite is most likely a positive sign, but there are some schools where it doesn't really mean much. I've heard stories of NYU sending out invites and then rejecting people and, on the other hand, I didn't get an invite at all and was accepted. So who knows?

I think it would depend on the department. The only recruiting invitation I received was after admissions decisions had been made (was a Fall 2010 NYU applicant) and the event was a way of trying to entice newly admitted students. There are several forms of orientation/recruiting events, each one varied from school to school. Prior to admissions decisions, some schools/departments may host an open house event - in which any prospective applicant can attend. Usually, it's a great way to meet the department, current students and faculty, as well as see the school you'll potentially be going to. It's also a great way to score some free food

[newms]

It really depends on the department - some departments might not invite international applicants to a recruitment event due to the costs involved.

[MadameNon]

Is it a bad sign if you don't get an invitation to a recruiting or welcome weekend, especially if you're unsure if programs you've applied to even host such a thing? (And of course, by 'you' I mean 'me', but I'm hoping that there are other 'yous' out there wondering the same thing ) I don't want to be more worried than I already am by this, but I'll probably be exponentially more worried if it is a bad sign. Boo.

I would say, and I'm sorry to, that in most cases it's a bad sign. Michigan, for example, even invited some waitlisters to their recruitment weekend a few years ago, when admitted students couldn't attend for whatever reason.

[rising_star]

I don't think there's any way it can be a good sign...most programs do host such a thing. However, programs hold them at different times and have different ways of spreadin' the word about them So don't worry...yet. For my programs, the only invites I've received are for schools to which I've been accepted.

Good luck. Hope you get those invites soon!

Neither my current nor my former graduate program hosts an accepted students weekend or recruitment event. In fact, I can only think of 2-3 departments in my discipline that do. So, I would say that the very existence of them is dependent on the department and the university. Plus, in these budgetary times, such events are likely being reduced or eliminated so the money can be rerouted elsewhere.