rrajiv wrote:
So did you guys
1.. visit all the schools that you were applying to?
2.. visit some of the schools that you were applying to? If so, how do you decide which you want to visit and which you don't?
The reason I ask is, I was planning to visit all the schools that I was going to apply to, but that seems like a lot of money. Do you think its worth spending all the money to go visit schools?
Thanks!
1. Didn't. I wasn't really together enough to make it happen, and I didn't decide where to apply to until the last possible minute. Actually, I visited more schools I DIDN'T apply to (berkeley and stanford) because I happened to be in the Bay Area over the summer when they were doing info sessions.
2. Did. I went to Cornell a year ago, 'cause they're up the hill. Didn't go to UNC and Duke until shortly after applying, and that was for the required interview. Will probably never go to Yale as I got dinged without an interview.
I think that visiting is a good idea. You want to know what the area is like, especially if you're relocating with significant other. Familiarity with the campus and program will definitely inform your essays. I don't think the canned info sessions are all that great, but student tours and adcom face time is very helpful. Visiting also shows that you're invested.
However, time and money are issues. Visiting is good, but I will leave it to Rhyme to propose the visiting-schools-ROI-decision-matrix.