The Campus Visit: Six Tips

1. Dress Appropriately.  Guys - wear a dry cleaned shirt and a pair of ironed khakis.  Ladies - look professional.  If you have tattoos and piercing that you can easily cover - it might be a smart idea to cover them up.  One of us has a couple of tattoos - and they fit in just fine in the humanities - but at conferences and interviews we typically cover them up.  

2. Be ready to speak cordially about the other programs to which you've been admitted.  If you've been admitted to Harvard to work with Prof. Famous Scholar don't be afraid to tell your potential advisor at Yale if the subject comes up.  You never know when you'll hear, "Oh, I worked with Famous Scholar on a book some years ago - here are my thoughts . . ." This could lead to an incredibly useful conversation.

3. Be honest about the status of your other applications.  Most of us applied to a lot of programs and were admitted to a handful of them.  Rejection is a part of the process.  I can't repeat this enough - there is no such thing as a safety school for many graduate programs.  It is more about "fit" than your 4.0 GPA and perfect GRE scores.  Your potential advisor likes your writing sample - really wants you in the program and has some sway over the admissions committee - you're into our program.  If nobody cares about your research topic, good luck - even if you graduated from the University of Chicago with a 4.0 and have numerous publications.  A gracious way to say this would be, "I applied to seven schools, but have only had a chance to visit four - and so far I've been admitted to . . ." 

4. Research the department/program website before visiting. Who are the major scholars working in the department you'll be visiting.  Try to get some idea of who the scholars outside of your specific field are - but don't stress over memorizing names.  

5. Take a look at some maps of the area. One of us had an experience where we were taken out to eat by a group of graduate students just a couple of blocks away from campus - but became so engrossed in conversation, we had no idea how to get back to our hotel.  This isn't a huge deal, but take a quick look at a map before you visit.  If the program is in a cool region, schedule a bit of extra time to travel around if you can. 

6. Don't just speak with faculty, try to speak with a couple of graduate students.  Go out for coffee with a few graduate students and let them dish about the program.  Tell them about your interests and ask them what they are working on - pretend to be interested, even if you're not. Ask them about funding in the department and at the school itself.  Ask about how well the faculty get along.  Where do they live in the area?  

Acing the Graduate Admissions Interview

Tip #1 - Dress like a graduate student.  This sounds a bit superficial and silly, but it is important. If you show up to your interview wearing a baseball hat, ripped up jeans and a backpack - you probably won't be taken very seriously.  Wear a shoulder bag or carry a briefcase.  If you're a woman, wear nice pants and a professional shirt.  For guys, wear khakis and a pressed shirt (by that I mean recently dry cleaned fellas).  Cover up easily concealable tattoos.  

Tip #2 - Be professional, yet also enthusiastic and friendly. Don't, under any circumstances, be condescending to anyone.  If you meet with other graduate students, be friendly, and try to mimic their behavior.  If you've been invited with them out to dinner at the end of the day and they get a beer or glass of wine, that is the signal that it's alright for you to do the same.  Depending on the graduate student and advisor, we often have the ear of the faculty and are asked for our opinion on students or potential faculty.  So be nice and professional, but try not to come off as overly serious.  Ask other students and faculty about their current research and ask a friendly follow up question.  

Tip #3 - Listen.  Obviously, you want to impress whomever you meet with at Berkeley, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Chicago or whatever - but make sure you listen to what they tell you about the program.  You'll want as much information as possible if you are asked to chose between more than one program.  

Tip #4 - Be ready with a few basic questions.   Nearly every interview comes to a conclusion with, "So, do you have any questions for us?"  Be ready with a few basic questions for your audience.  If you are speaking to a group of other grad students - go for the quality of life questions - "Are graduate students here happy?" or "So where do most grad students find housing?  Where do you guys live?".  With a group of faculty, you might ask basic questions about the program or "Would it be possible to speak to a couple of current graduate students?" Either way, just be ready for this question.  

Tip #5 - Prepare a 3/4 sentence description of what interests you, but be prepared to talk about it on a deeper level.  Graduate admissions committees are typically made up of faculty from a number of different subfields.  If you are put in a situation where you are meeting with someone in your general field, but in a different subfield, you'll want to provide a basic description of what you're interested in studying while in graduate school - but don't wax on for days about your topic.  Instead, save that for the people you will meet with in your specific subfield.  Often, academics ask other scholars about their research just to be friendly and make conversation - not because they are really interested in your topic.  Be polite, explain what direction you are hoping to go with your topic, but don't over do it when in mixed company.