Reimbursement for Travel

[Ryggy]

Hey all,

Earlier today I received conformation from a POI that I have been invited to a recruitment weekend at the end of January. I will receive an official invitation in the next few days from someone else in the department, which may address some of the following concerns. I felt it inappropriate to immediately ask if I would be reimbursed in any way. Do programs typically offer reimbursements for flights/lodging during recruitment weekends or will I be expected to foot the bill?

Thanks!

Edited January 7, 2016 by Igyhypo

[fuzzylogician]

Usually there will be some reimbursement but I also had one school invite me to visit and not offer any reimbursement at all. If I remember correctly, the schools I visited would cover something like up to $350 for domestic students and $500 for international students (or maybe a bit more), and they'd put prospective students up with a current student, so there were no hotel costs. In my case, coming from overseas, it was clear that it wouldn't be feasible for me to go on separate visits, but it'd make sense to combine them all into one longer trip. I was able to get several schools to contribute and together cover the cost of all my travel (international flight plus several domestic flights and trains). I was up front with all the schools I visited about how much they all were covering and what my expenses were. I think you just have to do it, there is no way around it. I also think it's a perfectly legitimate question and not one you should be afraid to ask. I'd wait for the official invitation to arrive, and if it doesn't mention anything about reimbursement and lodging, you should email your POI to ask. 

[Ryggy]

Thank you! I received the official conformation today. Domestic travel expenses and associated costs will be reimbursed. Lodging is with a current student. Thanks again, I was a little impatient.

[TakeruK]

In most of my visits, there is usually a 15 minute block in my visit schedule to meet with the admin staff in order to process the reimbursement paperwork. They usually get information like your address and such, and I had some extra forms because I was not a US citizen. At this time, they also often offer to collect receipts (or you can wait and mail everything at once) and answer any questions. If you are not a citizen, bring your passport to this meeting.

Some tips if you haven't worked with reimbursement for schools before. Policies vary wildly from one place to the next! But for a school that I am visiting for the first time, where I'm not familiar with their policies, I would recommend collecting the maximum documentation possible. This means:

1. Keeping a copy of your boarding pass (if you use mobile boarding passes, when you check in online, get the system to email you a regular pass to print too, or get the kiosk at the airport to print an extra copy for you). Some schools want to see the boarding pass as proof you actually took the flight.

2. For all meals that you pay for, ask for the itemized receipt. Many schools need the itemized receipt as well as the payment receipt (e.g. the credit card slip that just shows how much you paid and tipped). Sometimes this is just extra red tape policies, and others it's because some things like tips or alcohol are not reimbursable. This may not be an issue because someone else may accompany and pay for all your meals while visiting in town and the school may not cover meals in-transit. Since I had long travel days, most schools did pay for me to eat something on my 16 hour trip though.

3. If you are booking things on your own, ask if there are preferred providers that offer a discounted rate. Usually the school staff will tell you which providers to use if this is the case, often in the official invitation that you will receive in a few days. Also, if you're staying an extra day for your own visit to the city, maybe there is a special rate the school has with some local hotels or motels that you can stay at (you'll pay out of pocket for that of course, but you can save yourself a bit of money!).