taurenchieftain Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Sorry for double posting it here and on the bus-forum. But I thought this may be something a lot fellow applicants this year what to know as well. Since I think the Admit Days are coming up next week and the weeks after, I thought it will be helpful to gather some advice from people who have gone through it. In your experience, what have been the things that you were glad you asked or you wished you have asked on the Admit Day. What is the proper dress code? Is it ok to arrive late and/or leave early because of conflicts (exams/jobs)? What have you done your self on Admit Day to get a better knowledge of the university (local resturants? theaters?). Please share your story with the soon-to-be first year PhDs to help us (at least me) out. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lucette Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 "What have been the things that you were glad you asked or you wished you have asked on the Admit Day?" Make sure you are crystal clear about your funding package, and first-year requirements (eg. what happens if you fail one of your quals, etc). Ask to see recent placement lists, and ask advanced students about the quality of advising. What is the proper dress code? Whatever you like, just not too scrubby! Most people had on jeans. Is it ok to arrive late and/or leave early because of conflicts (exams/jobs)? Sure, people came late and left early during mine. Visiting days are for you to gather info... they don't take attendance or anything ;) What have you done your self on Admit Day to get a better knowledge of the university (local resturants? theaters?). I just tagged along wherever my hostess took me (parties, art museum, etc), and poked around campus by myself for a little while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asquare Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 \ In your experience, what have been the things that you were glad you asked or you wished you have asked on the Admit Day. I first wrote up this list of questions several years ago, and I'm pasting it with some additions here. (I've omitted standard questions about placements and prelim pass rates; I think those questions are if anything over emphasized on TM so I'm sure no one will forget to ask them!) How easy or hard is it for you to get face time with your advisor? Which professors are more and less available and helpful as advisors? Is it difficult to get funding for research needs, like data, software, travel? What is the funding situation like for upper year graduate students? Do students need to do extra work beyond a standard TA or RA job to earn money? Do you have opportunities to present your research? How often? Who gives you feedback? Do faculty members co-author with students? Which faculty members? How well are first and second year students integrated into the department? How/by whom are they advised before they have committees? How are you expected to learn the "tools" of research like STATA, MATLAB, and other programs if you don't know them already? Are there any fields where the professors are really helpful to grad students? Where the professors are particularly bad about helping grad students? What fields are perceived as "strong" or "weak" within the department? Are any faculty members planning to leave soon? (Also -- if you know you want to work with one specific person, it is ok to ask about that person, how he is with grad students, etc.) How often are classes canceled/not offered for lack of enrollment or lack of faculty? Can students take field classes in the business school, if they are offered there? What resources/opportunities outside of the econ department do students take advantage of? What are some examples of research that current students are working on? Do students talk to each other about research? Are students competitive with each other? Do grades matter? Are students ever required to repeat core classes? What are the requirements for reaching candidacy? Do students who leave the program because they don't pass prelims get master's degrees? How many years does it usually take for students to graduate? If students stay for 6 years instead of 5, are they able to get funding in their 6th year? What did you do the summer after first year/second year? When do most students start working seriously on research? When is the first major research paper required, and how is it evaluated? What is your usual schedule? How many hours a day do you spend at school? Weekends? How social is the department? Do people hang out together outside of school? Where do first year students study? Do they have offices? What are the first year classes like? Are they well taught? Do they turn out to be useful? Basically, you want to get a sense of what your life would be like if you were a grad student at _____ University. Try to get a sense of the department as a community, and figure out where you'd fit in to that community. Remember that while first year classes and prelims are highly salient now, they are not the most important part of graduate school. Most of your education will be training in how to do and discuss research. Try to get a sense of how successful a department is in training researchers, and whether the department's culture is a good match for your interests and personality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SASsy Posted March 8, 2011 Share Posted March 8, 2011 ... Basically, you want to get a sense of what your life would be like if you were a grad student at _____ University. Try to get a sense of the department as a community, and figure out where you'd fit in to that community. Remember that while first year classes and prelims are highly salient now, they are not the most important part of graduate school. Most of your education will be training in how to do and discuss research. Try to get a sense of how successful a department is in training researchers, and whether the department's culture is a good match for your interests and personality. Thanks asquare! Your list is super helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claphands Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 A question, if you are meeting with faculty at a prospective school, are there any questions that make a lot of sense to ask? I.e. is this an appropriate moment to talk about your research and economics with the faculty members? Wouldn't want to sound like an idiot or that I wasn't familiar with faculty research already... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliephant Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 ^ If you have something intelligent to say, this can make for interesting and informative (for you, that is) conversation. I found that asking specific questions about a given faculty member's papers, or the trends/holes in the literature, made for particularly engaging discussions. It's also perfectly okay to not be well versed in the research of every single faculty member you speak to; it's not like they expect you to be an expert at this stage. Finally, keep in mind that research is not the only acceptable topic of conversation. Other questions about the programme, the department, resources available to students, etc. are also fair game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fp3690 Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Someone wrote a couple of years ago that two admitted students that visited his department hooked up. Might not wanna do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thesparky Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 edit: serves me right for posting tired Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fp3690 Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 U(love) ≥ U(x) ∀x edit: depending on what you mean by "hooked up". substitute the appropriate term! Yeah, I don't think it's love when you have sex with a person you just met. Apparently neither of them ended up there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeno Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 Yeah, I don't think it's love when you have sex with a person you just met. As economists say: De utilitus non est disputandum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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