invited to visit -- how to ask about travel funding?

[fall-11]

I got an email from a school I really want to attend saying they really liked my application, and that they hope to be able to make a funded offer soon. So it's not an acceptance, but more like being high up on the waitlist. In the mean time, they've invited me to their prospective student visiting day. They didn't mention anything about helping with the cost of travel -- should I just assume that means they're not going to help with that? Or is there a way to tactfully ask? They seem pretty interested in me and the DGS will be calling me tomorrow, not for an interview per se, but just to chat and answer any questions I might have, etc. I'm assuming it would be tacky to ask about travel funding unless they offer it themselves, but I'm just wondering what other folks have done in this situation. I'm going to attend the visiting day anyway, despite the cost (about $400 in airfare) since I'm really interested in the school, but yeah, it's a bit of a strain on my budget. Thanks for any advice!

[Gunner24]

It wouldn't hurt to ask...but my assumption would be that if it doesn't mention covering travel expenses, then they're probably not planning on it...especially since you haven't even been officially accepted. But worst that could happen is they say "no, it's not in our budget". Who knows, maybe they like you enough to pay for you to go :)I'm jealous, I have to get myself to two recruiting weekends! Best of luck!

[fall-11]

It wouldn't hurt to ask...but my assumption would be that if it doesn't mention covering travel expenses, then they're probably not planning on it...especially since you haven't even been officially accepted. But worst that could happen is they say "no, it's not in our budget". Who knows, maybe they like you enough to pay for you to go :)I'm jealous, I have to get myself to two recruiting weekends! Best of luck!

Thanks for the reply, and no need to be jealous! I doubt it'll actually happen, because I'm too timid to actually ask about it. I don't want to push it or seem presumptuous. I'll just talk on the phone tomorrow and see if she herself mentions anything, otherwise I'll just pay out of pocket and hope they accept me, so that it's worthwhile in the end. Fingers crossed, and good luck with your visits as well!

[dendrogirl]

Thanks for the reply, and no need to be jealous! I doubt it'll actually happen, because I'm too timid to actually ask about it. I don't want to push it or seem presumptuous. I'll just talk on the phone tomorrow and see if she herself mentions anything, otherwise I'll just pay out of pocket and hope they accept me, so that it's worthwhile in the end. Fingers crossed, and good luck with your visits as well!

ASK!! I don't think its tacky to ask. They said that they would like to send you a funded offer soon, plus they called you to tell you they liked your app. I'm reading this as: "we really like you, we want you to know right away so you don't say yes to another program before we send you an offer, and we're still ironing out the details of our budget"

I would say something like: I'm really looking forward to the visit. Does the department offer assistance with transportation costs for students flying in from out of state?

I'm not sure what field you're in, but in the math/sciences I think departments usually pay for their students to come visit.

[TransnationalHistory]

Thanks for the reply, and no need to be jealous! I doubt it'll actually happen, because I'm too timid to actually ask about it. I don't want to push it or seem presumptuous. I'll just talk on the phone tomorrow and see if she herself mentions anything, otherwise I'll just pay out of pocket and hope they accept me, so that it's worthwhile in the end. Fingers crossed, and good luck with your visits as well!

No, seriously do ask. One of the schools that I got into did not explain if or not travel expenses were covered until I asked....and they were covered. It's a busy time for grad school administration, so it's possible they just forgot to let you know. Do ask, nobody will think less of you.

[fall-11]

Thanks for your input, dendro and Transnational. As it turns out, I had a very nice conversation with the DGS, but since I'm not even accepted yet, I chickened out of asking about travel funding... However, if I do get accepted and attend their TA training at the end of the spring, she said she'll try to get that trip covered. So I think if she had funds for the visiting day, she probably would have offered it herself. English depts probably don't have a whole lot of money anyway, and it's okay actually -- I'll think of it as an investment, and hopefully the payoff will be getting into a great program, which will make the $400 in airfare seem totally insignificant. Keeping my fingers crossed, and good luck to you guys as well!