How important is the social setting when deciding between schools?

[MidwesternAloha]

Should that be a factor? - for example, one school has students that generally go out together every weekend, whereas another is more independent and students generally do their own thing.

[TakeruK]

It should be a factor if it matters to you. To me, this is really important. Not because I want to go out every week (I actually probably go out a little bit less than average) but because I want to be part of a department where the environment is collegial and friendly. I would not be happy in a place where everyone only talks to each other during the workday or are so independent that you never talk to some people. Or even worse, I would not want to be in a place where students are actively competing against each other! To me, it's really important to have friends in grad school that I want to hang out with outside of school/work and talk about things that are not school/work.

 

I definitely assessed and considered the social setting and social dynamics between students when visiting schools and making my decision. I found that smaller departments (20-30 students) where we are all on one floor or in a few "big" offices tend to have the environment I'm looking for. I found that I didn't really like the environment in departments where it's 2-3 students per office, with maybe 2-3 offices per floor spread over many floors in one (or multiple) buildings. I did more social things when I first started to get to know more people and I think that's good. It seems like there will be a large group gathering/get-together on average 2-3 times per month, usually because it's someone's birthday, a holiday party, or just a party because it's been awhile since the last party.

[GJA]

I totally agree that it is a personal preference. 

 

My wife is a PhD student, and her cohort is very tight, and will hang out every other weekend. Likewise, they became good friends with the cohort after theirs. 

 

If nothing else, my wife has a really good support system of friends who she can rely on, vent to, and study with. In my option, this is extremely invaluable.

 

On the flip side, my experience as a Masters student was very different. My cohort was very large (around 35 students), and the majority were international students from China and Korea, so I was the outsider. Unfortunately, I didn't make many friends, and I was only one of a few who did the thesis option. But it would have been awesome if I had a few people I could vent to during the many "lows" of the graduate experience. 

 

Obviously since you were able to distinguish the social setting between the two schools, it makes it easier. 

[Cheshire_Cat]

Your cohort and the school spirit really does make a difference.  It is a lot easier to do things when you feel like you are part of a team and can share your struggles and achievements.  That doesn't mean you have to go out every weekend, but having friends in the program helps.

[GeoDUDE!]

The social dynamic of the entire era should probably be the most important thing, in my opinion. If you cannot be happy socially, your work will suffer, no matter how prestigious of a place it is. Some people can fit in more places, so while its important, its also very easy to fulfill, do not confuse my statement of "most important", "difficulty of gaining".  I personally would never go to any place where I thought I wouldn't fit in socially. 

 

If you like one way more, thats a big thing. Remember, these are your colleagues. One day they might be on a hiring committee, or you might be on a hiring committee for them. Another thing, making friends outside of your department will be harder than you think. I'm someone who is very social (I got out 2-4 times a week depending), and it still took me a few months to find people I regularly hang out with outside of my department.

 

You will interact with students much more than faculty, at a certain point, they are the most important people to the program, not the faculty itself. 

[MathCat]

I think this is probably my top concern, since there is no clear academic quality difference between the schools I'm considering. I'm moving somewhere where I will know literally nobody. If I can't have a reasonably good social experience in the program, I might end up very isolated - a recipe for disaster in a graduate program (for most). Somebody more outgoing than me might not need as much within the department, if they can make friends easily elsewhere.

[MidwesternAloha]

I really, really appreciate the insight on this. The whole grad school environment is a vast new world to me and it's very helpful to have this feedback. The school I like best (academically) has the miniscule, independent cohort (only matriculating 5 students on average per year), but the other is a big umbrella program with a lot more people.

[Sigaba]

Please keep in mind that no matter how conducive an environment, the chemistry/collegiality/cohesiveness among graduate students can vary greatly from cohort to cohort.

 

Year X's cohort could mesh together like red beans and rice to the delight and enrichment of the entire program. Year X-1's cohort may be a collection of strangers with little in common and even less desire to build relationships. (I was in cohort X-1 and I can say that we were neither jealous nor envious nor bitter...  )

[Cheshire_Cat]

5 would be a huge cohort for my field, unless you are a really big school like UT Austin.  My cohort is unusually big at 4.  Usually schools only accept 1 or 2 per year.

[TakeruK]

I really, really appreciate the insight on this. The whole grad school environment is a vast new world to me and it's very helpful to have this feedback. The school I like best (academically) has the miniscule, independent cohort (only matriculating 5 students on average per year), but the other is a big umbrella program with a lot more people.

[hikarizx]

I'm currently applying to grad programs, and I assume you're looking for information from people who have already experienced this, but: my opinion is that it's really up to you. If it's important to you to be part of a certain type of community, then I think you should take it into consideration. You're going to living there for a certain number of years and you don't want to be unhappy.

[MidwesternAloha]

5 is the typical number for us too. 5 students/year * 5 years to degree = roughly 25 grad students in the department. I like this number because when we throw a party we can invite the whole department (not everyone will come but we won't have room anyways) instead of having to only invite certain people and worry about who to invite/not invite. Bigger student populations means more clustering and smaller populations (my previous school had about 12 students total) means that you might invite everyone but only have 3 or 4 show up. Personally, I feel 20-30 is just right.

 

 

Definitely agree with this. My advice is to put more weight on the other prospectives visiting with you rather than the older students. Sure, the older students "set the tone" but some of them might be gone with you get there and others will be gone a few years later. Also, you will see/bond with your incoming class the most because you will take courses together, write papers together, do problem sets together, study for quals/exams together etc. When I visited, I kept in touch with others who visited with me and updated each other on our choices.

 

Do you have any advice for finding out who else might be in your cohort/matriculating?  Would it be weird to contact the program director and ask?  I interviewed on an alternate occasion due to a conflict with another interview, so that's partially why I am struggling to see the big picture.

[TakeruK]

Do you have any advice for finding out who else might be in your cohort/matriculating?  Would it be weird to contact the program director and ask?  I interviewed on an alternate occasion due to a conflict with another interview, so that's partially why I am struggling to see the big picture.

 

That does make it tougher. One of your cohort-mates might be weirded out if someone they never met before contacted them out of the blue. Also, I'm not sure getting in touch would really provide that much useful information since you didn't get to know them that well so knowing if they are attending or not wouldn't make a huge difference? In your case, I would probably say to base your evaluation of community based on the current students since those are the ones you've met. 

 

I would guess that at smaller programs, the sense of community will be strong so that it will stay mostly intact from year to year. Prospective students will see that the current students are a certain way and choose to attend or not based on how well they would fit in, so that from one year to the next, the overall dynamic should change only slowly. In bigger programs, there could be more changes from year to year, but at the same time, more people means it is more likely you will find at least one person you can bond with. 

 

To answer your question directly, I think it would be weird to ask the program director for things like contact information and decision status of the others in your cohort at this point. However, asking for general things like the total # of people with an offer, the ratio of women to men (more important in some fields than others), the split between research interests/subfields, etc. should be okay. This was all information provided to us at the visits though, for visits on the main visiting dates as well as visits on alternate dates. At one school, they used to take headshots of us as soon as we arrived and post them online / flyers around the department so that current members know that we are visiting. After my year though, they stopped putting them online (I think headshots for internal distribution was fine and although I didn't say anything, I was a little uncomfortable that they were online too, but all's well that ends well, I guess).

 

In many science fields, some cohorts can be predominantly male (I know one recent incoming class in another department had only 2 women out of 20 students that chose to attend). So I think if you are seriously considering a school and it's closer to the deadline, it is perfectly fine to ask the program director (or other equivalent person) for some updated numbers like how many students have already accepted and how many of them are X where X can be gender, research speciality etc. If you really want to get in touch with the people that have accepted, one possible way is to ask the program director to forward your email address onto the students that have already accepted the school's offer and let them reach out to you if they are comfortable.

[MidwesternAloha]

That does make it tougher. One of your cohort-mates might be weirded out if someone they never met before contacted them out of the blue. Also, I'm not sure getting in touch would really provide that much useful information since you didn't get to know them that well so knowing if they are attending or not wouldn't make a huge difference? In your case, I would probably say to base your evaluation of community based on the current students since those are the ones you've met. 

 

I would guess that at smaller programs, the sense of community will be strong so that it will stay mostly intact from year to year. Prospective students will see that the current students are a certain way and choose to attend or not based on how well they would fit in, so that from one year to the next, the overall dynamic should change only slowly. In bigger programs, there could be more changes from year to year, but at the same time, more people means it is more likely you will find at least one person you can bond with. 

 

To answer your question directly, I think it would be weird to ask the program director for things like contact information and decision status of the others in your cohort at this point. However, asking for general things like the total # of people with an offer, the ratio of women to men (more important in some fields than others), the split between research interests/subfields, etc. should be okay. This was all information provided to us at the visits though, for visits on the main visiting dates as well as visits on alternate dates. At one school, they used to take headshots of us as soon as we arrived and post them online / flyers around the department so that current members know that we are visiting. After my year though, they stopped putting them online (I think headshots for internal distribution was fine and although I didn't say anything, I was a little uncomfortable that they were online too, but all's well that ends well, I guess).

 

In many science fields, some cohorts can be predominantly male (I know one recent incoming class in another department had only 2 women out of 20 students that chose to attend). So I think if you are seriously considering a school and it's closer to the deadline, it is perfectly fine to ask the program director (or other equivalent person) for some updated numbers like how many students have already accepted and how many of them are X where X can be gender, research speciality etc. If you really want to get in touch with the people that have accepted, one possible way is to ask the program director to forward your email address onto the students that have already accepted the school's offer and let them reach out to you if they are comfortable.

 

That is fabulous advice.  I cannot thank you enough!

[Marst]

It was definitely a factor for me in deciding where to go for masters. I went for a place with many international students, a close-knit living community and a very lifely student town. I am rather introverted, so the more 'natural' socializing the better. It has worked out perfectly so far. It is very easy to meet people at the department, my building, but also in lots of societies. I could not wish for a more sociable place.

 

I am staying for a PhD at my current institution and was very happy to learn that as soon as I got accepted my supervisor involved me in the research group and its social activities, even though I will not start for another six months.

Edited February 26, 2015 by Marst