Taking a trip to the schools under consideration can be a
valuable experience in your application process. Flexible in their
aims, these visits can be completed to good effect either before,
during, or after the application season. Whether your intent is to
learn more about the "feel" of the school, speak with
current students, or discuss your qualifications with program
administrators, a school visit aids your admissions process
immeasurably.
One of these immeasurable gains is in learning more about the
school. By doing so, of course, you will be helping to improve the
focus and specificity of your application, but more importantly
you will get a sense on how you might fit in with this program and
this campus. Sitting in the library stacks, watching interactions
across the quadrangle, reading the school newspaper, and
overhearing student conversations are all nonobtrusive means to
gauging the ephemeral "quality of social life." Less
timid graduate school hopefuls might also attempt something known
as "actually talking with someone" for the same effect.
In any event, you should leave the school with a much better sense
of the school's intellectual and social climate.
If you decide to interview (these are generally optional),
follow all those standard rules about eye contact, conservative
dress, self-confident presentation, and so forth. Know the
specifics about the program in which you are interested, read the
school paper for up-to-date news, and be prepared with intelligent
questions to ask. Interviews which are not mandatory for the
admissions process are generally quite less rigorous than
ordinary, and often turn into a sort of mutual question-and-answer
session. Regardless of this informality, your interpersonal
skills, maturity, professionalism, and ability to communicate
effectively should permeate the interview. If you are terrible at
interviewing, don't be afraid to shy away from such meetings
(sickness and travel costs are two perennial excuses that work),
or to practice your skills with some lower ranked schools before
approaching your top choices. If you are great in person, greet
the opportunity to interview with open arms and a ready smile.
It's usually not a deciding factor, but every little bit counts.
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