Pre-Admission Visit Invitation: a Good Sign?

[controlc]

Hey all,

 

Would you consider an email concerning an invitation to a pre-admission visit a sign of a high probability of acceptance? I just received an email from one of my top choice schools inviting me to a 3 day visit there. Without getting too optimistic, I'm trying to gauge whether this is an indication of a likely admit. In the email, it mentions that this visit is intended to introduce "...our most promising applicants to the department."

 

Thanks

Edited January 23, 2015 by controlc

[orangeglacier]

I had one of these visits and then wasn't admitted even though I was the only applicant to a particular professor.  I would avoid it, no point in having a chance of somehow leaving a bad impression.  (When I emailed the coordinator later, they said that they wouldn't reject people just because they didn't go to the visit, so basically there's no point in risking your enrollment)

[pascal_barbots_wager]

I had one of these visits and then wasn't admitted even though I was the only applicant to a particular professor.  I would avoid it, no point in having a chance of somehow leaving a bad impression.  (When I emailed the coordinator later, they said that they wouldn't reject people just because they didn't go to the visit, so basically there's no point in risking your enrollment)

 

Of course it would suck to go to one of these, get even more hyped on the school, and then get rejected in the end, but I'm not sure that's enough of a reason to avoid going entirely. The coordinator may say that not going won't hurt you, but I have to believe putting an actual person to the name is a good thing more often than not. At the very least I think it's a positive sign. They wouldn't invite you and pay for hosting you if they weren't thinking of accepting you.

[thr0waway]

I had one of these visits and then wasn't admitted even though I was the only applicant to a particular professor.  I would avoid it, no point in having a chance of somehow leaving a bad impression.  (When I emailed the coordinator later, they said that they wouldn't reject people just because they didn't go to the visit, so basically there's no point in risking your enrollment)

 

it's better than having the prof turn against you after you've already decided to go to the school

 

if the prof and you don't get along it's better to find out sooner than later so you can explore other options.  you may find out the prof is a jerk in which case you dodged a bullet

[mlbro15]

Was it Duke? If so, I'll see you there

[controlc]

Thanks for the replies everyone^. I've decided to go, although I still haven't heard back from the program.

 

Was it Duke? If so, I'll see you there

 

Yep it was! Have you heard back from them concerning admission results at all? My POI contacted me and said he was looking forward to meeting but other than that I haven't received anything.

[mlbro15]

Thanks for the replies everyone^. I've decided to go, although I still haven't heard back from the program.

 

 

Yep it was! Have you heard back from them concerning admission results at all? My POI contacted me and said he was looking forward to meeting but other than that I haven't received anything.

 

No, I haven't heard anything either. And I don't really see any reason why the visit being pre-admission should scare you away. I see it as an opportunity to make a good impression and show interest in the program.

 

Out of curiosity, what area are you looking to do research in? I'm in machine learning.

[controlc]

No, I haven't heard anything either. And I don't really see any reason why the visit being pre-admission should scare you away. I see it as an opportunity to make a good impression and show interest in the program.

 

Out of curiosity, what area are you looking to do research in? I'm in machine learning.

 

Just to clarify: I don't have any qualms about visiting Duke and never did. I was just trying to gauge whether an invitation to visit Duke was an indicator of a high probability of admission, but I guess the thread got derailed a little bit.

 

I applied for AI, so it seems that I'll definitely see you around in related presentations during the visit

[Loser777]

Is there a reason Duke is one of your top choices (especially given your current offers)?

[controlc]

Is there a reason Duke is one of your top choices (especially given your current offers)?

 

Frankly, I made the thread before I heard back from *any* schools so I hadn't received such fortunate offers at the time. You could say that I had considered Duke as a "realistic top choice". Besides, my POI at Duke has research interests that align really well with mine, so Duke isn't out of the consideration yet and I'll definitely visit there.

Edited February 9, 2015 by controlc