Campus Visit...What's going to happen!?

[Carrot123]

Hi all, 

 

I am heading to a school that I have been "unofficially accepted" to, for a math phd program, next weekend and I feel so lost! 

 

Please help! What is going to happen during this weekend? What will the interviews be like/what should I be prepared to answer and ask? How can I talk to a professor about their research that is way over my head without sounding like a complete idiot? And finally, what's up with this "unofficially accepted" nonsense...is it possible that I will be retroactively rejected after this weekend?

 

Let me know what you think, please!

[braindump]

How do you know you're unofficially accepted? Was it a professor or the committee that told you this? I was unofficially accepted to a program, but within the next day I was officially accepted. I guess they just needed the official stamp of approval from the department head or something like that, but I didn't get invited to a visit weekend until after official acceptance. If it's been a while since they informed you of the unofficial acceptance, I would just call/email and ask. That way you'll know what position you're in. I wouldn't assume you're accepted until you get the official notification, so don't show up for the visit weekend and get hammered (though I wouldn't do that even if you are accepted, you still want to make a good impression).

 

As for the visit weekend, it really depends a lot on whether or not you're actually accepted. If you haven't been officially accepted by the time you visit, I would treat it as an interview weekend, where you're still trying to win over the school (for the most part, though they also try to win you over a bit, since they're obviously going to want a good portion of those visiting to attend their program). If you have been officially accepted, then I would treat it as a visit, where the school is basically just trying to win you over. I've had both types of visits, but the format has been generally the same. The interview weekend interviews actually felt like interviews, with professors asking me about my research, why I was interested in them, etc. Just be comfortable with what you've done in the past and what you'd like to do in the future; know what the professors are working on and how it relates to you. Generally speaking, I don't think they're expecting you to have an in-depth knowledge of their work, and I found that asking questions really got them going (i.e., made the interview go by very quickly). No one made me feel stupid when I asked questions, even if they probably were stupid, especially if it was in a topic I don't have a lot of experience in. I think it's also good to show curiosity in their work. Some of the interviews were more of a casual chat about my past work, what I'm interested in, and occasionally completely unrelated stuff. Visit weekend "interviews" felt less like interviews, and the professors mostly talked about upcoming projects and I had the chance to ask them questions about their lab, the program, etc. The rest of the weekend, we had a poster session, lab tours, campus tours, lunch/dinners with faculty and current students, and the last evening the grad students took us out to bars so we could see the nightlife. It was a bit hectic, but pretty fun meeting new people and getting to know the university/program. Just be yourself, be confident, don't drink too much, and try to enjoy yourself.

[MathCat]

Please help! What is going to happen during this weekend? What will the interviews be like/what should I be prepared to answer and ask? How can I talk to a professor about their research that is way over my head without sounding like a complete idiot? And finally, what's up with this "unofficially accepted" nonsense...is it possible that I will be retroactively rejected after this weekend?

I'm in pure math, and know very little applied, so take this with a grain of salt. I've also only visited as an officially accepted student (and like braindump said, all my unofficial acceptances became official within a week or so, it was just waiting on the grad school to stamp the paperwork). There were no interviews at my visit weekends, but there were some one-on-one meetings with professors I requested to talk to. Mostly professors just asked about my interests, discussed their research, and answered my questions. I think it's pretty much assumed that an undergrad in math knows nothing, really - they expect you not to understand their research, but they'll try to give you an idea what it's about. They may ask what you've taken so that they can explain it in a way you might understand. It's basically a conversation about your interests, their interests, and some small talk.

[Humulus_lupulus]

I got a schedule for my two visits. You can probably ask the person coordinating your visit if there is a schedule. Mine had me meet grad coordinators, department chairs, professors I had contacted specifically about graduate school, and a couple of other professors that I wasn't specifically interested in their research. I also had a chance to meet with students and get a campus tour.

 

Essentially, it's like a watered-down faculty interview and no matter what (I hadn't even applied when I went on visits) make sure you're giving them a good impression.