vegetarian diet during interview weekends?

[Owlet]

Hi~ I was wondering if you guys have any advice for a vegetarian during school interviews? Especially for situations like (1) applicants are hosted by current grad students, (2) social dinners, and (3) parties.

[St Andrews Lynx]

Tell the graduate/interview weekend coordinator that you have a dietary requirement. Do it by email well in advance (ideally when they're in the process of giving you information about the weekend), and just make it a polite 1-2 sentence statement. There will almost certainly honour the request if given enough time. 

 

Vegetarianism is widely-accepted in the States, so I don't think there will be a problem supplying you with food to eat. For most social events & parties there will be a couple of vegetarian options anyway - most hosts include some meat-free dishes just for the variety. Likewise, in most restaurants you go to there will be at least 1 vegetarian option on the menu (it might not be the most inspiring or tasty dish, but it will be there). When in doubt if a dish is meat-free, just ask the host/waiter. 

[TakeruK]

Most of the schools that hosted me asked about any dietary requirements right when they invited me to visit. I think some places will be very open and be very conscious of different diets while others will not be. At one school, I would say that over 60% of the grad students were vegetarian (in a very "hippie" city). At other places, vegetarian diets might not be as common, so you might only have one or two choices. But hopefully, if you tell them well in advance, they won't schedule a social event at a BBQ restaurant (or catered by a BBQ place), for example, since some cuisines are just naturally less vegetarian friendly!

[rising_star]

This shouldn't be a problem. I have two rather weird food allergies that were always accommodated on visits. They almost always ask if you have any dietary requirements when they're planning things. If they don't then you can definitely mention it when corresponding about the arrangements for your visit.

[gliaful]

I was asked about it by all of my schools, and I just said something like, "I'm a vegan, thank you for your consideration/thoughtfulness/accommodation".

If you aren't asked about it, maybe you could ask them if vegetarian options will be available.

[drownsoda]

I would just contact one of the organizers there who is in charge of the visitations and interviews and inquire about the meals, explaining your restrictions. We vegetarians are a rare breed, but we're not THAT rare.

 

As an undergrad I went to a really liberal university and remember them having vegetarian lunch options during my orientation day. We actually had a cafe on campus that served 100% vegan food as well, so I was always taken care of in that regard.

 

Since vegetarianism is fairly common (and since colleges tend to be fairly liberal places overall), I think most universities would accommodate this. I've been a vegetarian for eleven years and have seen the prevalence of vegetarian dishes in social settings grow significantly. It really wouldn't be that strange of a request anyway.

[Owlet]

Thanks for all your answers!!

I finally plucked up the courage to ask. They quickly replied it would not be a problem, and in fact, that they have lots of vegetarians and vegans.