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What to do on a campus visit
Typically when students tell me that they want to come for a campus visit, we try to work to make sure that they have a robust experience. In general, we work with our faculty so that visitors could sit-in on a class or two. This can be a great way to see what the SI classes might feel like, and what types of materials are being covered. You can get a good feel for the size of classes, and how interactive various classes might be.
Another thing that many visiting students do is connect to a current student for a tour of SI facilities and the UM campus, as well as to ask questions about what the student's SI experiences are. This can be such an opportunity to hear what classes a student has taken and really liked, what they may have done for a summer internship, how they are balancing their work/school/life responsibilities, and what they think about SI. We generally try to match students up by specialization interest, although that isn't always possible.
In addition to visiting with a current student, we also encourage visitors to look online to see what events are happening at SI during their visit. We publish a full listing of SI events on our Web site for you to check out. You can think about going to a seminar speaker, or something more casual like a reception. Both will be great opportunities to meet people with similar interests to you. You may also want to check out the individual links for the SI Student Groups. The student group events are typically listed on the SI Events page, but you may find one or two events they are hosting on their pages directly.
Finally, I would also encourage you to set up a visit with me, or another member of the admissions team. We can often answer any questions you might be having about the application, admission, or funding process, and are here to help.
So, how do you arrange this visit to SI? Just email us, and let us know you are interested in coming! We will work with you to help you find a date that will work best for you, and to connect you to classes, current students, events, and an appointment with me, or someone from the admissions team. We hope to hear that you are coming for a visit soon!
Posted by lauramb on October 27, 2006 at 11:45 AM | Comments (0)
To visit, or not to visit?
Many students that I talk to ask me whether a visit to the school is something they should consider. I can't stress enough how important a visit can be in choosing a graduate school. It's an opportunity to learn more about the culture of a program, to get a better picture of what you have been reading about, and to connect with some current students and faculty. In general, you can visit at any point, but the two most popular points are sometime during the fall term as you are choosing which graduate schools to apply to, and sometime in the spring as you are choosing which graduate school to attend. At both points in the school year, most campuses will have some sort of organized visit that you can sign up for.
Here at SI, we have an open house event in the fall term for prospective students called Connect with SI. This year, we will host Connect with SI on two dates; one on Sunday, Oct. 22, and the other on Saturday, Nov. 11. Both events are the same, so either one you attend will be helpful. At both events, you will have a chance to meet in small groups with faculty and current students. This will provide an opportunity to ask questions and get a feel for the culture of a program and the curriculum. Culture of a program may refer to the involvement of the faculty with the students, the community feel of the student body, or the types of classes offered in the curriculum. The more questions that you ask about these types of things, the more you will know about a school's culture. If you can't make Connect with SI, you can always schedule an individual visit to campus by emailing si.admissions@umich.edu. What should you do at an individual visit? More about that in my next entry...
Posted by lauramb on October 12, 2006 at 04:42 PM | Comments (0)
Dealing with the Application Deadlines
As we've been coming up on the Winter term early application deadline, I've been getting a lot of questions about how the deadline process works. In general, you should try to have your entire application package turned in by the deadline you are trying to make. This would include any test scores such as the GRE or TOEFL that you will be submitting as well. You can strategize about making this happen by working to turn in each of the pieces that you are can pretty early in the process. For pieces that you don't turn in directly (like letters of recommendation, transcripts, test scores, etc.), I would recommend requesting those pieces fairly early as well. When you apply to SI, we will send you a personalized URL within a few days of receiving your application. In this URL, you will be able to see which pieces we have received for your application, and which pieces are still missing. This will allow you to keep an eye on the progress of your application as the deadline approaches.
What to do if your application will NOT be complete by the deadline?
Here at SI, we try to work with each individual applicant to help them through this process. Although we want to encourage everyone to try to meet the deadlines, we understand that there are times where this is impossible. When this comes up, feel free to email us as quickly as possible, and tell us about your needs. We will work with you to come up with a plan for your situation. In general, staying in contact with us for any questions that you have is a good way to feel confident about the application package you are submitting.
Good luck in your application!
Posted by lauramb on October 02, 2006 at 11:10 AM | Comments (0)
