(I couldn't wait to check out Elfreth's Alley when I had some free time before visiting Penn!)
I’ve talked a little bit about my experience
attending graduate school preview sessions after having been accepted to a
particular program. However, the info sessions prospective students may wish to
attend in the fall are an equally important step of the process. After all,
this will likely be your first interaction with a particular institution and/or
program, and first impressions (both yours and the school’s!) do matter. Here
are a few tips on navigating the process.
Record
and write: Writing down information during info sessions is
useful, but it can get tiring. While attending info sessions, I often opted to
use the recording function on my iPhone in order to capture every piece of
advice without running out of steam. You can also use the camera on your phone
to take pictures of PowerPoint slides and other relevant information. These
resources will come in handy down the road as you work on your application and
personal statement. Just make sure to oblige if an admissions official requests
that all phones be put away for a particular segment.
Prioritize:
I
remember noticing that a few of the schools in which I was interested were
holding their fall open houses on the same weekend. Even if you can’t attend a
program’s designated visiting weekend, it’s likely you’ll be able to arrange to
make a visit another time. If you have a whole weekend to devote to a visit, it
may make more sense to visit the school that’s farther away from home and
devote a day trip to the school that’s more nearby, assuming you’re equally
interested in both schools.
Be
on your best behavior: It sounds like simple advice, but
you really never know who you’re going to meet while you’re visiting a grad
school (or, for that matter, who you’ll run into at another event!). One girl
who I had spoken with at an open house in November was also at an accepted
students’ weekend for a different program halfway across the country in
February!
Get
to know the area: If you have time, explore the
surrounding city—it may just become your new home in a matter of months! If you
have friends in the area, odds are they’d love to meet up for a meal or even
host you for a night—this will help you cut back on travel expenses and get to know the area from an
insider’s perspective. Keep in mind, however, that you’ll ultimately want to
select the program that’s the best fit for you rather than enroll in a school
that’s near your friends but may not be a great match otherwise.
If you have some time to explore the area on your
own, grab a snack in a student center on campus or check out another part of
town. Even taking public transportation in a new city or figuring out the route
from campus to where I was staying on my own helped me feel more like a local.
Network:
Maybe one of your former college classmates or colleagues is currently enrolled
in a program at the school you’re visiting (or maybe they’re even a student in
the exact program to which you plan to apply!). It doesn’t hurt to reach out to
this individual to see if they’re free during your visit day. It’s likely they
would be more than happy to meet up for coffee or introduce you to some of
their classmates. Hearing about a program from current students who are free to
be as candid with you as they wish is never a bad idea.
These are just a few tips, and while attending info
sessions isn’t mandatory, I’m definitely glad that I was able to go to a few
last fall to make the whole graduate school experience seem a little more “real.”
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