Visiting a school I might not end up going to

[CeciN'estPasUnePipe]

Should I visit even though I'm not sure I'm going to this particular school? I got in, but I don't know for sure yet if I'll end up there. What are the drawbacks to not visiting?

[fuzzylogician]

You should visit if there is a chance you'll want to attend. (Assuming they are covering your expenses.) You'll meet POIs, get to see the place, talk to students, it'll make for a more informed decision at the end of the day. If you don't go, you'll miss out on all that. You don't need to know you'll attend, just as long as you haven't already decided you won't. 

[kseeful]

Huge bonus to get to know the campus and compare it to the place that's on the top of your list. Also - applicants treat interviews like an opportunity to show the schools "I'm who I say I am and I'm really neat so please accept me" (as they should) but schools use interviews as "We know you haven't made your decision but let us show you why you should come here". So you'll learn a lot and be able to ask questions at your top choice that you wouldn't have otherwise thought about. And if the PI you want to work with at your top choice dies suddenly or moves to a different university in BumFuckNowhere between now and April, you'll have another option.

TD;LR: I'd definitely, definitely go.

[rising_star]

The drawbacks are that you may find that you're in a position where accepting that school's offer makes sense but you're hesitant because you've never seen the campus, met the people, etc. If they're covering most or all of your expenses, you should definitely visit.

[Eigen]

On February 5, 2017 at 4:19 PM, CeciN'estPasUnePipe said:

Should I visit even though I'm not sure I'm going to this particular school? I got in, but I don't know for sure yet if I'll end up there. What are the drawbacks to not visiting?

In my experience, sometimes what you think about schools drastically changes post visit. In my visiting times, back in the dark ages, my order of interest in schools flipped entirely pre-visit to post-visit. The school that looked amazing on paper was filled with depressed people who didn't enjoy their lives, and didn't really get excited about the research. My last choice school (relatively low ranked) had amazing faculty that were really well connected and really passionate about their work. I ended up choosing a school that I wasn't serious about before, and rejecting a school that I was exceptionally excited about. 

I encourage all of my students to visit any school that is paying, that they are not completely sure they wouldn't go to. An interview is largely a chance for the school to sell you on why they're the best choice for you, while at the same time being a chance for you to sell yourself to them.

When we were doing graduate admissions work when I was in grad school, I know we'd have wanted someone to come even if they weren't sure- it was our chance to convince them, and we couldn't do that if they didn't come. This is completely separate from someone being absolutely sure they weren't going to come, and visiting for a free trip. 

[racecar1]

How would I know if a school was paying for a visit? I just got into my first school today (woo!), but it's on the far side of the country and plane tickets to get there for the admitted student day are pretty brutal (~$400). They didn't mention anything in the admit email about paying for the visit, just gave a link to the visitor info page. Is that something that I should ask the grad student office about? (University of Washington MSAA, the link they gave was http://www.aa.washington.edu/admissions/grad/visitday2017)

[rising_star]

@racecar1, email or call them and ask if there's funding available to assist with your visit. It's really that simple.