« Dealing with the Application Deadlines | Main | What to do on a campus visit »
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 at October 12, 2006 04:42 PM
