Self-Scheduled Visits

[bugabooo]

I've scheduled visits to two campuses in the same area. One has already accepted me but hasn't made any funding decisions yet. The other hasn't even finished processing my application, because they have a ridiculously late deadline (like not until early summer). Both contacts have enthusiastically agreed to my proposed visits.

So, now what? I feel like the dog that just caught her own tail: I didn't think I'd get this far... now what?

My SO and a close friend are coming with me for my 4-day trip, and we're staying really close to each campus (switching hotels partway through).

I want to open up a thread for discussion about visits that are not interviews. I'd really love advice or just to learn about the experiences that others have had. 

[TakeruK]

Congrats! I did something very similar when applying to Masters programs in Canada (where we all have to do a Masters first then a 3 year PhD). I had a two week break in February because my school was closed for the 2010 Olympics so I decided to visit some schools I had applied to. One school was a post-acceptance invited visit, one school was a post-acceptance self-scheduled visit (they invited me to visit in March but I asked to visit in February) and one school was a self-scheduled visit before the application deadline, like in your situation. Also, like you, I visited with my SO and a close friend as well (SO was moving with me so it was important for them to see the city and the close friend wanted to go on the trip). 

I spent 3 days visiting each of the 3 schools, one day meeting with faculty on the campus, one day visiting the city itself and one day for travel between places. For the campus visit day, my SO and our friend would come to campus with me and they would walk around the campus and see the surrounding area while I spoke with faculty members and students. At some places, the faculty invited us (all three of us) to have dinner with them too. The second day was purely for my SO and I to see what the city had to offer and decide if we wanted to live there. We also did fun things like the touristy stuff. 

I don't really have a lot of advice. I think my visits were a little atypical, but I've found that for my field, in Canada, the visits are very different than the "prospective student days" in the US. For example, it's rare to have a huge group visit at once---most people will visit one at a time and I feel the visits are meant to create a personal connection between the applicant and the group/lab they've been accepted to, while in the US, it seems more like an introduction to the program/department as a whole.

I'd advise to stay in contact with each school so that your schedules are lined up. For example if they know when you are available to visit the program itself, they can schedule meetings for you. It would be unfortunate if there was a misunderstanding between your availabilities, such as you were planning to do something touristy at a certain time but the program thought you would be available for meetings. 

Another good piece of advice is that if they are not paying for the travel costs, ask if the school has any promotional rates for things like hotels etc. and ask if you can use them. 

And finally, make sure you take the time to evaluate both the academic program / school and also how much you like the city. It's okay to combine a mini vacation with the school visit, but when you are visiting the program itself, be sure to devote your full attention to the school and don't appear as if you are just visiting while on a vacation. Personally, I did this by separating the two visit days as one for purely work and one for purely personal stuff. Do whatever works for you!

[rising_star]

So I set up my own post-acceptance visits for several schools (that is, they said I should visit, asked me for dates, and then I came). In most cases, my POI took the lead on planning the visit, including time for me to meet with current grad students, with faculty, and to see the facilities. Usually a current grad student would take me on a tour of the building and related facilities (e.g., libraries) I'd be using, which was nice. I think a couple of times I sat in on a grad seminar though this wasn't the norm. Really it was a lot of meeting with students at various stages in the PhD program and with faculty who I'd mentioned in my SOP or who I had shared interests with. Often I was asked to provide a list of faculty I wanted to meet with to help them plan. 

Once you're there, be yourself and gather as much information as you can. Take the chance to ask grad students about the cost of living. If possible, get someone to show you where (neighborhoods) grad students live and about the day-to-day life of a student in the program. 

[bugabooo]

Wow, thank you for your replies. 

@TakeruK: Good idea on what my SO and our friend could do while I'm busy. I have a tour scheduled for the three of us through the university, but I'm also going to be meeting with the program director, the founder of the program (thank you, connections), and a current student or two. It'll be at least a half day on campus, but no other activities have been offered or brought up.
I've been a bit lost on what my friend and SO should do during that time. We'll be in downtown Chicago for the first two and a half days and my SO has never been there before, so hopefully our friend can take the lead on activities without me-- and then we'll check out the museum and aquarium and fun touristy stuff! 
I have amazing rates at both hotels I have booked, but I hadn't thought of asking about student or university discounts at local attractions! Thanks!

@rising_star: My contact for the school with late admissions is actually the assistant director of admissions at that school. He said he'd personally give me a tour of campus and set up a meeting with a current grad student in my program. Like the first school, that's the extent of the plan for now. 

I haven't specifically mentioned my two-person fan club that will be with me, because I don't know how to bring it up without it being really weird .
Cost of living is going to be higher than I'm used to at either school because both are in the Chicago area. I'm planning on asking for advice on that while visiting, especially from current students, because neither school assists students with off-campus housing and my SO would hopefully be moving with me. 

[TakeruK]

7 minutes ago, bugabooo said:

I have amazing rates at both hotels I have booked, but I hadn't thought of asking about student or university discounts at local attractions! Thanks!

[...]

I haven't specifically mentioned my two-person fan club that will be with me, because I don't know how to bring it up without it being really weird .
Cost of living is going to be higher than I'm used to at either school because both are in the Chicago area. I'm planning on asking for advice on that while visiting, especially from current students, because neither school assists students with off-campus housing and my SO would hopefully be moving with me. 

Oh, I did mean asking for University rates on hotels, but I guess you already have it sorted out! I am not sure if you should ask the University about local attractions (instead, just figure out if you can use your current student status at your own school to get the discounted price). I only brought up the hotels thing because most schools often bring in visitors and so they usually have a good price negotiated with a local hotel. 

It's up to you whether you want to mention your "fan club". You say you have about a half-day of meetings planned but these visits could go one of two ways: 1) it's completely self scheduled and you basically just set up your own appointments and you come and go as you wish or 2) you might have self-scheduled the dates but when you arrive at 8am, the admin staff is going to hand you a full day schedule with meetings scheduled all day, lunch, and dinner and maybe even an after-dinner social event. This is what I meant earlier by staying in contact with the school / communicating clearly. Both visit types are great, but it would be super awkward if you weren't on the same page as the admin staff!

I think if it's the first type, then you don't need to tell them about your SO if you don't want to. You can just do your appointments and then leave. Maybe during the individual meeting themselves, you can bring it up to the people you meet (as in "my SO will be moving with me, and they are currently visiting the town too"). Sometimes good things can come out of this. I've had faculty try to help my SO find work through their in-town connections (my SO isn't an academic). And, if your SO is interested in meeting people from your program, maybe bringing them up (as appropriate) during the faculty or student meetings might get them invited to dinner or a coffee or something. My spouse and I often meet with prospective students with partners because we often share some of the same concerns (e.g. where to find an off-campus place to live [most new students at my school live on campus], how difficult is it for the partner to find work, how to balance work and life etc.)

On the other hand, if it's the second type of visit, then you may have a bit of a dilemma. If you tell them about your SO, then they might include your SO in the planning. They will likely be part of any group dinners, and they might even offer your SO a desk to sit at (and do work/check email etc) while you are in meetings, or maybe they will also have other students meet your SO, show them around etc. But if this happens, it's unlikely that they will also want to include your friend as well, so then you are kind of leaving this person out. For my PhD program visits, one school was the second type and it was just my spouse visiting with me, so that worked out well.