Deciding between two schools - what do I ask at open houses?

[Vulpix]

Hi y'all,

I was hoping for some general advice on strong questions I can ask to current students and faculty in order to choose between my top two schools.  I am currently quite torn (and still up in the air pending scholarships/financial aid) between Penn & Harvard and will be visiting both admitted students events on back-to-back days.  I want to make sure I find a way to figure out key differences between the schools.

Do you think it's OK to directly ask students (or even faculty) about what makes your school different from ____?  Is it rude to bring this up? (Especially to faculty, I probably wouldn't, but maybe to current students?)  Is it OK to ask students what other schools they were accepted to, and how they chose?  Should this question only be asked privately in one-on-one conversations, and not let's say in front of a whole group Q&A?  What are the best questions I can ask during a Q&A with either students or faculty?

Thanks!!

[pro Augustis]

If it's not too late, I would say that asking some variant of "why did you choose to come here?" to present grad students is a good idea. I did, and everyone seemed happy to share their thought process. I don't think it's the kind of question that needs to be asked one on one in hushed tones, but the group Q&A might not be the proper place for it. As for other questions, it really depends on what factors are important to you in your decision. Maybe you could ask about how your potential advisors are to work with, what teaching responsibilities or examinations are like, or what classes are to be taught in the near future. 

[rising_star]

I would rephrase some of your questions. For example, I'd ask "What makes your program different from others in the field?" rather than asking them to compare themselves to a particular department/school. That question is one you could ask in the general Q&A because it would benefit everyone in the room to hear their response to this. I also think it's acceptable to ask graduate students why they chose that program and the factors they considered, though I wouldn't ask them where else they were admitted because that's really personal. Because this question is more personal, I would ask it one-on-one, rather than in a group setting.

[TakeruK]

I think asking "What makes your school different from X" is a bad question. It's a little off-putting but you are talking to people who work at a different school---how do they really know what X is like? If you asked me that about any school then I wouldn't know what to say since I don't want to misrepresent the other program.

Instead, I would second the other suggestions to ask things like "What makes this program different from others in the field?". It's also fine to ask students where else they were deciding between and why they chose their school instead of the other ones. These questions do not need to be private one-on-one questions, it's fine to ask them in a small groups. Large groups aren't very helpful since it takes a long time to through each person to answer each question. In general, I feel like large groups (maybe 8 or more other people) aren't very good environments for asking questions about grad school since most of the group will be doing nothing while 1 or 2 people speak. These big groups are better for just social interactions and getting a feel for what the students are like.

[Vulpix]

Thanks for all the advice!  My visits are this coming weekend so I will take all your suggestions into account!

[AP]

Good post. I've learned this when I was already in coursework, but good questions speak about the type of scholar you want to be. So I applaud your initiative to think them through. For @Black5tar, it depends upon your situation and what you are looking for. I didn't attend my recruitment weekend, but I think I would have loved the international community within the department and that would have been a plus.

I strongly suggest you skim for the atmosphere. That tells you a lot about how things are. If you directly ask "do you get along?" everybody is going to say yes. But if you notice that grad students barely talk to each other or can't wait to leave after lunch or dinner events, that's a tell on how they get along. You may be ok with it.

The questions I asked to grad students over e-mail was if stipend was enough to get by, if there were other sources of funding, and how long it took people to finish. There are some programs in my field known for restraining students as students for 8+ years. I have a friend in one of these schools.

To faculty, you may ask them to navigate you through the program. In general, this is online, but if you ask them you'll get a sense of how aware they are of requirements. Also, if they mention what grants you should be applying when, it tells you they are thinking beyond requirements. At each stage I have this conversation with my advisor and it always surprises me his priorities. He is OK with requirements, but he pushes me to go past them and seize other opportunities such as grants within the Graduate School and a specialized certificate.

Finally, I would ask about what other departments they collaborate with. Or something along those lines.