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Graduate Dept. Visits

Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 4:34 pm
by naseermk
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.

Re: Graduate Dept. Visits

Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 3:37 am
by doom
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.

Re: Graduate Dept. Visits

Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 4:45 am
by dlenmn
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.

Re: Graduate Dept. Visits

Posted: Sat Jan 24, 2009 1:25 pm
by twistor
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.