If travel costs aren't reimbursed, should I be worried?

[jlt646]

Maybe the question says it all, but I've been invited to an admitted students weekend at one of my top choice PhD programs, and I'm psyched. I just found out, however, that travel isn't reimbursed. Am I right to feel kind of weird about that? I thought it was the norm for schools to pay for at least some of that cost, since they're attempting to lure you into the program.

[rising_star]

It really depends on the school. My PhD program didn't pay travel costs for admitted students but did welcome them to visit.

[jlt646]

@rising_star Thank you! I feel better knowing that reimbursement is not necessarily the standard. 

[iphi]

I was invited to a number of interviews and only one of them reimbursed travel expenses. When it came down to it that was the ONLY school which didn't have any funding for incoming students. Go figure!

[serenade]

Do you have any idea if any of the admitted students who are invited are getting their costs reimbursed? When this happened to me, I happened to know some of the admitted people who I'd met at other interviews. Those who did have their expenses reimbursed were ones getting funding. If you don't know any of the other admitted students, you could call the department secretary and inquire how many of those invited are getting costs reimbursed.