what to accept when visiting schools?

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aby
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Sep 30, 2011 6:41 am

what to accept when visiting schools?

Post by aby » Mon Jan 30, 2012 4:40 pm

i'm an international student considering pursuing an advanced degree probably at schools at the California region. i started checking schools online for sept 2013 enrollment. anyway, i'm traveling next week to the u.s for business purposes, and want to visit some of the schools i'm interested in. i saw that many of the schools offer a tour of the campus, but as i understand the tour doesn't offer much in terms of seeing labs etc.

do you guys know if there are other options to get information on the individual physics programs? is there such a thing as a consulting appointment for prospective students with a member of the faculty or an administrative member? anyone in specific i should contact with? other suggestions?
as the business trip was unplanned, i don't have much time to get organized, so pls any help would be greatly appreciated.

btw i already finished my b.sc and did the pgre

negru
Posts: 307
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2010 3:49 pm

Re: what to accept when visiting schools?

Post by negru » Mon Jan 30, 2012 4:55 pm

Yeah lol this can be very confusing sometimes, so many people you could email....profs, biochem majors, the janitor, even the cafeteria lady! Who knows which of these people generally manage prospective student visits?? Your best shot would be contacting the President of Physics and see what he says.

negru
Posts: 307
Joined: Wed Oct 13, 2010 3:49 pm

Re: what to accept when visiting schools?

Post by negru » Mon Jan 30, 2012 4:57 pm

Here is his number +91 9811656773 btw

aby
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Sep 30, 2011 6:41 am

Re: what to accept when visiting schools?

Post by aby » Mon Jan 30, 2012 8:25 pm

@negru lol, +1 man , so funny. really, a good one.
my undergrad school only provides the option to q&a at the open house, so i think it is reasonable to not knowing who to contact, especially when the visitor centers only provide with a general info about the campus.

to all other who would like to help: as i was saying, i'm really short on time, i even have yet to book inland flights, and i'm arriving in 4 days.

TakeruK
Posts: 941
Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2012 3:05 pm

Re: what to accept when visiting schools?

Post by TakeruK » Tue Jan 31, 2012 12:48 am

Many schools I applied to said explicitly that they don't have time/staff to provide counseling/advice for those who are interested in applying. So part of the reason why it might be hard to find such a person is that the position doesn't exist.

You could try emailing profs you'd like to work with directly and ask if they have time to talk to you. You can then probably get them to introduce you to a few grad students who are around and those students can show you the lab/department.

But it might be hard with many people busy with admissions for this coming Fall. An alternative is to email the admissions assistant/secretary or an administrative assistant in the department and explain that you are in town and are interested in applying for Fall 2013. You can then ask them to send an email to graduate students in the department asking to meet with whoever's interested and they can show you around. I'd recommend that you say something like you're looking for 1-2 students to give you a tour and that you'll buy them lunch/dinner/beer etc.

kangaroo
Posts: 130
Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2012 5:31 am

Re: what to accept when visiting schools?

Post by kangaroo » Tue Jan 31, 2012 1:27 am

Four days? Seriously? This is not like having impromptu sex with a hooker!

astroprof
Posts: 114
Joined: Fri Feb 15, 2008 4:47 pm

Re: what to accept when visiting schools?

Post by astroprof » Tue Jan 31, 2012 9:47 am

aby - ignore the replies from the trolls. It is very reasonable to e-mail
specific professors in the departments with whom you may have overlapping
research interests to request an opportunity to speak with them. Explain
that you are in town on business, are interested in their graduate program
for fall 2013, and that you would like to meet people in the program if possible.
You may get pushed off to a graduate student host, but that is actually exactly
who you want to speak with to get a feel for the department. Don't expect
to get reimbursed for the trip, don't expect to get many hours of time with a
professor, but do expect to get a good feel for the department and campus.
Such visits can be invaluable in creating your short list of schools, and you
are to be commended for realizing that you have this opportunity (even with
short notice).

kangaroo
Posts: 130
Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2012 5:31 am

Re: what to accept when visiting schools?

Post by kangaroo » Tue Jan 31, 2012 12:17 pm

astroprof wrote:aby - ignore the replies from the trolls. It is very reasonable to e-mail
specific professors in the departments with whom you may have overlapping
research interests to request an opportunity to speak with them. Explain
that you are in town on business, are interested in their graduate program
for fall 2013, and that you would like to meet people in the program if possible.
You may get pushed off to a graduate student host, but that is actually exactly
who you want to speak with to get a feel for the department. Don't expect
to get reimbursed for the trip, don't expect to get many hours of time with a
professor, but do expect to get a good feel for the department and campus.
Such visits can be invaluable in creating your short list of schools, and you
are to be commended for realizing that you have this opportunity (even with
short notice).
Erm sure, when basically you gave a very long-winded and watered down version of mine. The reality is it's just a huge inconvenience for the person at such a short notice.
Last edited by kangaroo on Wed Feb 01, 2012 12:02 am, edited 1 time in total.

aby
Posts: 9
Joined: Fri Sep 30, 2011 6:41 am

Re: what to accept when visiting schools?

Post by aby » Tue Jan 31, 2012 1:27 pm

many thanks for the advice. yeah i really am going to be getting there at a bad time, i saw that many schools conduct their admission interviews and committees this coming month.
regarding contact profs i'm interested in, that's a whole lot of a different problem, as i'm still considering which specific area i want to advance in,currently i have it narrowed to quantum computing or nanomedicine, but i keep changing my mind every month or so.
i guess my best option is really to try and contact an administrative staff member.
since i'm really not interested in just a tour around the campus, i guess that if i won't be able to get in touch with anyone it will be a waste of time and money to travel to cali (as my business is done at the east coast)



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