Is the department visitation important?

[llwang]

I got a invitation letter from the department of a university that I applied for to meet with the faculty and also to the open-house with paid air tickets and hotels. Is the invitation important or just a random choice of applicants? Does anyone has experience on it? What should I dress and do I need to contact the professor of interest before I arrive? I am not the U.S. citizen but are currently studying for the M.S. program in US. I have no idea what to do about this.Thanks.

[Faraday]

Typically there are two types of visiting weekends: recruitment weekends, and interview weekends. In the case of the former, you've already been accepted and they are inviting you to learn more about their program so hopefully they can convince you to attend there in the fall (i.e. they intend to wine and dine you). Sometimes these weekends also have interviews with faculty, but those interviews are supposed to help you get a feel for the department and the research happening there that might interest you. That said the professors will still be “watching” you… In the case of the latter, they are inviting you and a select group of other applicants to interview for acceptance (i.e. they only have so many spots and they want to talk to you in person to better evaluate your potential as a graduate student). The interview weekends help them select the final list of accepted students out of the strong potential applicants they narrow the field down to. So take that as you will with regards to your specific situation...

[dazedandbemused]

I've heard many people stress the importance of visit weekends in your decision-making process. A surprising number of people told me last year that the school that had been their first choice before visits suddenly dropped to third or fourth because of how impressed they were by some of their other schools once they'd seen them and had a chance to interact with the people there. It's almost like buying a house; you wouldn't pay for something you hadn't seen!

[scofield24]

I got recruiting weekend invite first, but the official offer already came and I haven't even went to the recruiting weekend yet. So yes, if it's a paid visitation weekend, you are most likely in. 

[llwang]

Typically there are two types of visiting weekends: recruitment weekends, and interview weekends. In the case of the former, you've already been accepted and they are inviting you to learn more about their program so hopefully they can convince you to attend there in the fall (i.e. they intend to wine and dine you). Sometimes these weekends also have interviews with faculty, but those interviews are supposed to help you get a feel for the department and the research happening there that might interest you. That said the professors will still be “watching” you… In the case of the latter, they are inviting you and a select group of other applicants to interview for acceptance (i.e. they only have so many spots and they want to talk to you in person to better evaluate your potential as a graduate student). The interview weekends help them select the final list of accepted students out of the strong potential applicants they narrow the field down to. So take that as you will with regards to your specific situation...

Thank you but how could you tell from recruitment weekend and interview weekend? They only say it is annul grad applicants visit session. Does that mean it is an interview weekend or neither of them?

[dazedandbemused]

If you haven't been officially accepted yet, it's probably an interview/finalist weekend. Invitation to recruitment weekends rarely (if ever) go out before official acceptances.

[rising_star]

Are they important? Yes. Visiting lets you know if what was a good fit on paper/internet is a good fit in reality. In my case, I was able to quickly eliminate PhD programs that seemed like a perfect fit for me by visiting them. In two cases, I knew by the time I went to bed my first night there, which was helpful for the overall  decision-making process.

 

As for what to wear, there are extensive threads under "Interviews and Visits" (subforum under Applications) about what to wear. In general, business casual by day and something decent at night, though jeans are acceptable. But, this varies based on the schedule of the visit and the activities they have planned.

[giovanniclean]

So you are saying that if they specifically refer to the weekend as a RECRUITING weekend (i.e. that is the title of the invitation, there is only a small time slotted for meeting with POI, most of the weekend is tours, drinks with grad students, dinners, and they paid for flights and hotel) that I am most likely accepted?

[Faraday]

So you are saying that if they specifically refer to the weekend as a RECRUITING weekend (i.e. that is the title of the invitation, there is only a small time slotted for meeting with POI, most of the weekend is tours, drinks with grad students, dinners, and they paid for flights and hotel) that I am most likely accepted?

 

It sounds like that is the case, but you should still be prepared to remind them why they should accept you.

[ShortLong]

I was invited to two recruitment weekends before I was officially accepted, but both acceptances came in before the visits. But, I was accepted at one school before I was invited to the weekend. It depends on the department. I haven't gone on any visits yet, but I am going to put a lot of emphasis on those visits to help me determined my final decision. Especially as a girl in engineering, I do not want to be in a "bro" environment. Also, I want to make sure the current grad students are happy, as well as enjoy the campus and department in general.

[hiroshiman]

So you are saying that if they specifically refer to the weekend as a RECRUITING weekend (i.e. that is the title of the invitation, there is only a small time slotted for meeting with POI, most of the weekend is tours, drinks with grad students, dinners, and they paid for flights and hotel) that I am most likely accepted?

I just attended a weekend like this, but there are still only 2 spots for 4 of us there for my degree program. So I'd say it's pretty important.

Edited February 17, 2013 by hiroshiman

[ak48]

I would say department visitations are very important for YOU. As in, it will give you the best information as to whether you'll be happy in that environment.

Whether you'll be successful in your research is impossible to tell (obviously, nobody can predict the future), but there are very many things you can still glean:

The attitude/personality of potential advisors - EXTREMELY important, in my opinion. Will they be good mentors for you academically, professionally, personally?

The lab environment - look at your fellow graduate students. Do they seem to be happy? Why/why not? Do you see yourself getting along with such people?

The area/neighborhood - Will 5-6 years living in this place be doable?

Edited February 20, 2013 by ak48

[pears]

this might not be the right post to ask this question, but instead of starting a whole new thread for it, i figured i'd ask here-

 

how typical is it for terminal MA programs (or programs that offer a terminal MA separate from their PhD programs) to have visiting weekends for accepted students? 

 

simply put, i've never been to the town or even the state one of my top choices is in. i don't have the money or the vacation time to go on my own, but it would be totally doable if i got a travel stipend, as my boss as said they're more than happy to give me time off as needed to visit schools. i haven't gotten the impression that MA programs have the funding to pay for visit weekends, though, so i'm not getting my hopes up.