Campus Visit & the Inevitable "Do you have any questions?"

[käntekst]

Hi all!  I have a question to hopefully ease my nerves...  I've been accepted to my first program, and they've invited me to visit this week to meet the faculty and students to encourage me to accept their offer.  I'm still waiting to hear from other programs, but I really like this program so it will not take much convincing.  My problem is that I have spent so much time researching this school and talking to my POI that I feel fairly well-informed about the program.  I know when I go to visit, though, that many of the people I meet with will ask me if I have any questions.  I want to prepare ahead of time so I don't run out of things to ask or keep asking the same questions, so...

 

What questions would you want answered from a program before you accepted their offer?  Anyone already in a PhD program - what are you glad you asked or what do you wish you had asked?

 

I know this can vary across disciplines, but I'm sure there are some general types of questions too.  I just want to go in with some ideas without looking like I have no questions or worse, that I don't care.

 

If this is already addressed in another thread that I couldn't find, I'd be happy to have a link to it instead!

[ginagirl]

I sometimes asked "What do you feel sets your program apart from others in the field?". Even with extensive research sometimes it is interesting to hear the faculty member's own perspective on things. 

[fuzzylogician]

What questions would you want answered from a program before you accepted their offer?  Anyone already in a PhD program - what are you glad you asked or what do you wish you had asked?

 

- What makes someone successful in this program? (What are the characteristics of a successful student who works with YOU (ask your potential advisor)?) 

- What do students do after they graduate? Do they get jobs in [good universities / companies that you might want to work for]?

- Do you tend to collaborate with students? Do you encourage collaborations with other students/faculty?

- What is the travel funding like? If I use all the money, is it possible to apply for additional funding? 

- Do students ever get the chance to spend a semester away as a visiting student at another university?

- Is there a policy on changing advisors, in case something goes wrong with my first-choice advisor (ask the DGS, not the potential advisor! also ask students if/how often this happens)

- How many students start the program in an average year, and how many of those graduate? What are the main reasons people drop out? (ask both faculty and students)

- What is the average time to completion of the PhD? What happens if someone doesn't graduate on time? Is there extra funding?

 

- (ask students): Do you like it here? Do you like your advisor? What is the one thing you would change about the program? Does your stipend suffice? Where do students tend to live? Do you need a car? How much do you spend on [groceries/transportation/utilities/rent]? Do you feel that the program does a good job preparing you for the job market? 

 

If relevant:

- Are there opportunities for additional summer funding (for programs that do 9-month funding packages)? 

- Are there opportunities to do internships? collaborations with other labs/departments/universities?

- If I got interested in [using expensive equipment that only exists in another department on campus], would I be able to have access to [the equipment]? 

[djh101]

I've been working on a few questions for the open houses.

 

For Faculty/Professors:

• Where do grad students tend to go after graduation?
• What are you currently researching?
• What are some open questions that would make good dissertation topics (maybe open house is a little early to be asking this)?
• What equipment does University X have (particle accelerators, mass spectrometers, etc.)?
• What sets University X apart from other universities (if you've been accepted to multiple schools, you're now in a buyer's market)?
• General questions about the city (weather, commuting, restaurants, etc.).

 

For Graduate Students:

• Why did you choose University X?
• How would you describe your experience at University X and in research group Y?
• What are living expenses like relative to your stipend?

 

Even if you've already researched one particular question, an actual professor or graduate student might be able to give you more insight than you were able to get from simply looking up the answer. For instance, I can easily look up the research of any professor at any school, read through their publications, etc. but it might still be helpful to hear from the professors themselves what it is they're working on.

Edited February 10, 2015 by djh101

[TXInstrument11]

I've been working on a few questions for the open houses.

 

For Faculty/Professors:

• Where do grad students tend to go after graduation?
• What are you currently researching?
• What are some open questions that would make good dissertation topics (maybe open house is a little early to be asking this)?
• What equipment does University X have (particle accelerators, mass spectrometers, etc.)?
• What sets University X apart from other universities (if you've been accepted to multiple schools, you're now in a buyer's market)?
• General questions about the city (weather, commuting, restaurants, etc.).

 

 

- What makes someone successful in this program? (What are the characteristics of a successful student who works with YOU (ask your potential advisor)?) 

- What do students do after they graduate? Do they get jobs in [good universities / companies that you might want to work for]?

- Do you tend to collaborate with students? Do you encourage collaborations with other students/faculty?

- What is the travel funding like? If I use all the money, is it possible to apply for additional funding? 

- Do students ever get the chance to spend a semester away as a visiting student at another university?

- Is there a policy on changing advisors, in case something goes wrong with my first-choice advisor (ask the DGS, not the potential advisor! also ask students if/how often this happens)

- How many students start the program in an average year, and how many of those graduate? What are the main reasons people drop out? (ask both faculty and students)

- What is the average time to completion of the PhD? What happens if someone doesn't graduate on time? Is there extra funding?

What do you do if your advisor is brand new though? If it's their first or second year, I don't think they'd really be able to answer these questions with confidence. 

 

A lot of my POIs are really young. Somebody leaning over my shoulder in my lab one time asked, "Oh, so you're contacting grad students?" when I was checking out the page of one of my POIs. Even my family has gone in on this, saying "Wow, they look so young! Have they even hit 30?" when I showed them another POI's page. 

[fuzzylogician]

What do you do if your advisor is brand new though? If it's their first or second year, I don't think they'd really be able to answer these questions with confidence. 

 

Then you ask more open ended questions, e.g.:  

 

- Do you plan to collaborate with students? 

- (For grant based fields:) Are you applying for grants / what is your next grant going to be? 

- Tell me about your advising experience; this may include asking about how they were mentored, what they liked about it, what they would like to change. 

- How often would you want to meet with students? 

- (If the conversation is going well and you feel like being a little blunt:) How do you plan to balance your own need to publish/get tenure with my needs as a student? Is there an advising component to your tenure case -- are you expected to graduate a student before you can go up for tenure (should give you a timeline and some idea of what's at stake for them). 

[käntekst]

These are great suggestions, everyone - thanks!  One program I'm looking at has a young/new POI as well, so these are good thoughts for later interactions with that program, if I get the opportunity...

[TXInstrument11]

Then you ask more open ended questions, e.g.:  

 

- Do you plan to collaborate with students? 

- (For grant based fields:) Are you applying for grants / what is your next grant going to be? 

- Tell me about your advising experience; this may include asking about how they were mentored, what they liked about it, what they would like to change. 

- How often would you want to meet with students? 

- (If the conversation is going well and you feel like being a little blunt:) How do you plan to balance your own need to publish/get tenure with my needs as a student? Is there an advising component to your tenure case -- are you expected to graduate a student before you can go up for tenure (should give you a timeline and some idea of what's at stake for them). 

Thanks. Those are great questions, especially for a POI I have who is literally fresh out of grad school/post-doc. 

[thr0waway]

For grad students:

What do you wish you had known coming into grad school?  (both in general, and about your program specifically)

What do people need to do to succeed here?

[MrWizard454]

As a random question semi-related to this, if you're accepted to a school and go for a campus visit, has it ever happened where your admissions can be retroactively taken away? I would think no, but say on the off chance if you don't feel that you put your best foot forward during the visit? In a similar boat to the OP, and want to make sure that I ask all the appropriate questions. 

[Cheshire_Cat]

I don't believe they can because their offer constitutes a contract on their side, however, it is best to get along with the people you plan on working with for the next 4-5 years of your life.

Good luck.  I'm meeting with my POI and several students for lunch this afternoon.  I've been accepted into the program, but it's still nerve wracking.

[grad_wannabe]

thanks for these questions, guys! I used a couple in an interview yesterday, literally got a "great question!" response from the committee. 

[grad_wannabe]

As a random question semi-related to this, if you're accepted to a school and go for a campus visit, has it ever happened where your admissions can be retroactively taken away? I would think no, but say on the off chance if you don't feel that you put your best foot forward during the visit? In a similar boat to the OP, and want to make sure that I ask all the appropriate questions. 

 

If you're already accepted I think you'd have to do something REALLY horrific to have that revoked. I wouldn't worry too much. When in doubt, listen more than you speak.