Visiting schools in January--too late?

[tourist]

So I've been suggested that it would be wise to visit some of the schools I've applied to and talk to the professors I've begun some sort of 'dialogue' with. This, however, would have to be in the next few weeks and a little close to decisions time, which I assume will start in mid-February and last until late March. Do any of you think it would make a difference or would it be too late to make a good impression and to see for myself where exactly I've applied and could end up? Such a trip wasn't possible before the holidays because I was out of the country. Pros are talking to professors and seeing the places. Cons are time and money (11 schools spread out all over the country). What do you guys think? Worth it? I'd appreciate all kinds of advice, from those who've done it and from those who plan on doing it. Thanks in advance.

[rising_star]

Not worth it.

[Dirt]

I can't imagine that it would favorably influence the admissions process at this late date. Many programs will make initial decisions in the next six weeks, and I think it's a bit tacky to lobby people while they're reviewing applications.

However, you should definitely visit a school before you decide to attend there. When I did this last cycle, I visited the ones I could in the fall, then waited to see where else I got in before making a cross-country trip.

Bottom line: unless there's a program near you with a late application deadline, I would recommend waiting it out until you start to hear about decisions.

Edited January 4, 2010 by Dirt

[LateAntique]

I can't imagine that visiting this late in the game would help you in any way as far as the decision process goes. You can go just to see the campuses, but I'd save your money.

[Victorianna]

I agree. At this point in the process visits to faculty could appear as brown-nosing. I could be wrong, but the risk is enough to prohibit me from visiting. And the added cost...

[tourist]

Thanks for all the replies. I understand it would be seen as 'tacky' or 'brown-nosing' and everything else, but I was just going for the fact that they'd be able to associate a face to a name. It does seem too late to do anything right now, though. I was intending on visiting anyways, but only after (hopefully) receiving some favorable decisions. Good luck to everyone else!

[JerryLandis]

I'm planning on visiting places this month, but I don't think I'll actually speak to the faculty. I'm afraid I'd say something idiotic and ruin my chances, so I'd rather they just see me on paper and not in person. In any case though, I will be visiting so that I can get an idea of where I could be spending the next several years, if lucky.

[Dirt]

I'm planning on visiting places this month, but I don't think I'll actually speak to the faculty. I'm afraid I'd say something idiotic and ruin my chances, so I'd rather they just see me on paper and not in person. In any case though, I will be visiting so that I can get an idea of where I could be spending the next several years, if lucky.

Speaking with faculty is a crucial part of visiting a campus. There's nothing wrong with getting to know an area, but you also need to get to know the people you could be working with for the next five years (or more) of your life. I know the admissions process can make you feel entirely powerless, but you're not: you decide where you apply, and if you get an offer you'll decide whether or not to accept it. If you're lucky and/or really good, you may even get to choose between offers!

So don't cut yourself out of the process here. Make informed decisions. That's impossible without some familiarity with the people who will become vitally important to your career--both in graduate school and later when you go on the job market. This is perhaps the biggest component of the all-important "fit" factor.

[UnlikelyGrad]

I visited one school before they made a decision. One.

I visited because I was speaking at a (non-academic) conference nearby (the conf. paid my plane fare & hotel). My sister lived in the city where the university was located, taught at the school in fact; I planned to come down to visit her anyway, so figured I ought to kill 2 birds with one stone.

Note that when I came by the department, at least one of the faculty I spoke with double-checked my story as to why I was in town. We talked about the conference (his best friend's sister was one of the organizers) and about my sister (he made a note of her name & department so he could check my story).

I honestly feel that my visit was one of the reasons I ended up getting into the school--I made a very good impression on the guy who probably would have been my advisor. But I also believe that if I'd made the trip with the sole intent of visiting the chem department, my chances wouldn't have been so good.

[JerryLandis]

Thanks for the response, Dirt, but unfortunately I have a tendency to make horrible first impressions. I will either be very shy or very sarcastic when I first meet someone, neither of which is a good thing. I also tend to accidentally phrase things so it sounds like I'm making a really mean comment when that is not my actual intention. I don't want to do that around people who will be deciding on admissions! Anyways, I have such a slim chance of getting into 1 PhD program let alone enough to create the need to choose between places, that for me getting to know my potential advisors won't make much of a difference - I will take what I can get, because beggars can't be choosers! I mostly just want to visit places so I can get a rough idea of what they are like, so that if I do end up attending one of them, I have a general idea what to look forward to. They're close enough so it's not like I'm spending a lot of money on the journey.

[boxboss]

I visited a possible advisor just this Monday, and he said specifically that I was doing the exact right thing by trying to meet with professors. He said he was "astounded" that nobody else who was applying to work in his lab had tried to even set up a phone convsersation. As he put it, taking on a new graduate student is a huge responsibility and a huge risk, which he would be crazy to make without knowing who these people are.

That said, I know it's a lot different for the sciences than for the humanities.

[kahlan_amnell]

Unless you are going for an interview there is little reason to visit before you are accepted. You'll waste a lot of time and money if you try to visit all the places you applied, because most people don't get in everywhere. Wait till you have some acceptances, then go visit to talk to faculty and scope out the area.

Edited January 24, 2010 by kahlan_amnell