Graduate Dept. Visits

Post Reply
User avatar
naseermk
Posts: 93
Joined: Sun Dec 14, 2008 8:47 pm

Graduate Dept. Visits

Post by naseermk » Mon Jan 05, 2009 4:34 pm

For those of us who have experience visiting their prospective depts. (on invitation), please do share your experiences here.

Share any tips/suggestions as well.

doom
Posts: 171
Joined: Tue Oct 23, 2007 6:42 pm

Re: Graduate Dept. Visits

Post by doom » Sat Jan 24, 2009 3:37 am

You might want to check out my blog in the blogs section on this site, with my experiences from last spring. I think zxcv has a few blog posts about visits as well.

User avatar
dlenmn
Posts: 578
Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2007 10:19 pm

Re: Graduate Dept. Visits

Post by dlenmn » Sat Jan 24, 2009 4:45 am

I second doom's blog -- it's very good.

Obviously, there are a lot of questions to ask during a visiting weekend. IMHO, learning about the grad student's experience is at least as important than learning about a professor's research. I think an important (but not often enough asked) question for professors you're interested in, is where their students end up. At one place, it sounded like most students ended up in finance. In another, they ended up in industry, government labs, and one even became a professor. Interpret and use that information as you will.

User avatar
twistor
Posts: 1529
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 2:47 pm

Re: Graduate Dept. Visits

Post by twistor » Sat Jan 24, 2009 1:25 pm

Talk to as many graduate students as you can, and do it as far away from the professors as possible.

Don't just ask them about the program. Ask about the campus. Ask about local crime. Ask when they started and when they think they're going to graduate. Ask about living conditions, transportation, and local dining.

All of these things and more factor into making a wise decision.



Post Reply