Many Princeton students dream of attending graduate school, but don't really know much virtually the process, or what graduate school visits are like. Unlike schoolhouse visits for prospective undergraduates, graduate school visits typically occur afterwards yous've applied just before yous've been accepted into a graduate school program. Interviews and visits for graduate school happen simultaneously: if a schoolhouse is interested in accepting you, you'll be invited to a "prospective pupil weekend" where yous'll visit the campus while likewise interviewing for the program. I've spent a good portion of this semester visiting graduate schools around the country and have developed a list of helpful things to know earlier embarking on your start graduate school visit!

Graduate school visits typically happen after you've applied to but before you've been accepted to a program.
Graduate schoolhouse visits typically happen after y'all've practical to but before y'all've been accepted to a program.

Prior To The Visit:

Logistics: Later applying to many psychology graduate programs and receiving invitations to their prospective educatee weekends, I immediately began to coordinate the logistics of my visit with the departments. Would they pay for my flight to and from the school? If not, was there a manner for me to become reimbursed? Where would I stay during my visit? The answers to these questions and many others typically vary from school to school, but most of the programs I visited reimbursed me for my travel expenses and arranged for me to stay with a graduate student or at a hotel for the weekend. Once all of those details are squared away, you can motility on to the next part of grooming: packing.

Packing: One of the biggest challenges I faced while trying to pack for graduate school visits was figuring out how many business organization casual and plain coincidental outfits to bring. Typically, the university will ship y'all an itinerary of your weekend events about a calendar week prior to your visit so that y'all can pack appropriately. It's also helpful to bring at least ii pairs of shoes: ane to match your business casual outfit (but are even so comfortable to spend all day walking around in, such every bit blackness flats or oxfords) and one to wearable with your casual attire (similar dainty boots). Weather is also something to pay attention to, so make sure you take into consideration the time of twelvemonth that you'll be visiting and check the forecast for the weekend correct before you exit. Having the advisable attire (including coats) can have a huge issue on how much yous savour your visit!

Preparation: Preparation is essential for your sanity during graduate school visits, peculiarly when you have many visits back to back. In order to set, it's a skillful idea to develop a "spiel" for how yous would similar to describe your inquiry experiences and research interests to the graduate students and faculty members that you will be meeting with. If y'all know who yous'll be interviewing with in accelerate, it's too a neat idea to await them up beforehand and read well-nigh their inquiry.

During The Visit:

Traveling: I downloaded the NJ Transit app to brand sure I stayed up to appointment with railroad train schedules for the day of my visit. I also tried to arrive to the airport around 2 hours earlier my flight; while it may sound excessive, it was extremely advantageous in the cases where my original flight was delayed. Unfortunately, many schools don't comprehend or reimburse food purchases during travel, so it'due south also important to ensure you either save some coin to consume at the airdrome or eat earlier leaving schoolhouse. In addition, information technology's important to accept a clear understanding of how you will exist getting from the aerodrome to the school's campus. In some cases, a graduate student will pick you lot upwards, but in other's school will arrange a cab for y'all or expect you to get one yourself and volition reimburse you afterwards.

The NJ Transit app is extremely helpful for figuring out railroad train schedules.

Attention Events: As previously mentioned, almost departments arrange an assortment of events for y'all to attend during the interview weekend. Here is a breakdown of some of the well-nigh common interview weekend events, forth with some pointers for each i:

– Graduate Student Dinner/Reception : This is typically the first event yous will attend, and it is a keen time to meet current graduate students as well as other prospective students. The dress lawmaking is usually coincidental. Be prepared to repeat the same spiel to many people telling them where you're from and what type of enquiry you're interested in.

– Interview Twenty-four hours: This is the twenty-four hour period you've been waiting for! Many programs provide breakfast for prospective students on this day, too equally give various talks throughout the day nigh the program and kinesthesia research. The dress code is generally business casual, with many people wearing a dainty sweater or blazer and slacks. In add-on to acing the interviews and being engaged during the presentations, nevertheless, it tin can besides exist helpful to get to know the administrative personnel of the department. Non merely could they put in a good discussion about you lot to the faculty, but they tin can also give yous a sense of what the section is like!

– Faculty dinner parties: Many departments make arrangements for prospective students to visit the house of a faculty fellow member for a departmental dinner party. This, by far, has been 1 of my favorite parts of my graduate school visits. These events, which are likewise typically business concern causal, allow you to come across how close-knit a department actually is.

– Sightseeing: Many schools will also include visits to their cities most famous or interesting landmarks; while I was in Chicago, for instance, we visited the Art Institute of Chicago. It'due south a bang-up idea to learn every bit much equally you tin about the city the school is in to figure out if you could run into yourself living there long-term. The dress lawmaking for these events is typically casual.

After The Visit:

Cheers letters: After your visit, it's important to thank your potential advisers for meeting with you lot and remind them of the not bad chat that the two of y'all had.

Comparing Programs: In one case your visit is over, it'due south of import to write downward what you learned nigh the program then that you can compare it to the other programs you visit. Exist sure to include all of the variables that could influence your concluding decision, similar stipend amount and location desirability.

It may be helpful to create an excel spreadsheet to compare schools!
It may be helpful to create an excel spreadsheet to compare schools!

My experience attending graduate school visits has been nothing short of fantastic, and I'm excited to announce that I've officially accepted an offer of admission to the Psychology PhD program at the University of Chicago! Hopefully this blog post will be helpful to you every bit you endeavor to discover which school is correct for you lot as well 🙂

— Jalisha Braxton, Natural Sciences Correspondent