Campus Visit Stays

[JennyFieldsOriginal]

So I've been invited to an admitted students day for and English PhD program.

I'm going to have to pay a decent amount to fly out there and get a cab to the school, and the travel allotment the university is offering isn't going to cover me staying in a hotel (Naturally I'm happy they're paying anything for me to go).

They have offered to set admits up with graduate students to stay with, but is that a super inconvenient pain in the neck for the student in question? It would basically be a night of crashing on their couch and I'd bring a little thank you gift, but I'm not sure if the offer made by the university was something anybody is expected to take them up on or what.

If anyone has thoughts or experience I'd love to hear about it.

Thanks!

[mitzydoodle]

My guess is, if they offered, they mean it. I'm sure they are used to dealing with students' limited budgets, and the current grads will be sympathetic as well (and may have also done it themselves last year). Besides, what better way to see what grad life is like at that institution than to live with a current grad, if only for a few days?

[fuzzylogician]

It's very common. You are hosted by grads when you visit, and then you host prospectives later on when you're a grad yourself. Don't worry about inconveniencing anyone.

Edited February 11, 2010 by fuzzylogician

[socialpsych]

It's very common, and it's also a great way to get some extra time to talk about the student's perspective on that program. I recommend it.

[rising_star]

It is super common. Current grad students stayed with grad students when they visited. Wherever you attend, you'll be asked (and expected) to host prospective graduate students. So no, it's not weird at all. Just be polite.

[sciencegal]

Super common. The grad students that can't do it for whatever reason (like myself) simply don't volunteer. Those that agree to host typically like it. =)

[UnlikelyGrad]

I thought it was a valuable experience, even after spending one night on a particularly uncomfortable couch.

I got more juicy gossip from my hostess when we were off campus, chillin' in her living room, than I did from all the other grad students combined throughout the rest of the visit. It helped that she worked for one of the people I was considering as an advisor.