Caltech geophysics PhD candidate 
environmental seismologist she/her opinions only my own puns only my worst
Voit lisätä twiitteihisi sijainnin, esimerkiksi kaupungin tai tarkemman paikan, verkosta ja kolmannen osapuolen sovellusten kautta. Halutessasi voit poistaa twiittisi sijaintihistorian myöhemmin. Lue lisää
Since many grad programs will likely start virtual "visits" soon, a reminder for prospective students: absolutely do NOT trust an institution to fully and accurately inform you of what kind of place it is for students.
Talk directly with current students, without faculty present. If there aren't sufficient opportunities for that built into the visit schedule, contact students to set it up yourself. Seriously, just cold-email them; it's not too awkward.
Ask specifically about negative experiences that might get glossed over otherwise, not just positive stuff. The question "what's the worst part about going here?" can get the ball rolling and work wonders.
Prompting them with categories can help, too. Have they had problems with faculty? Administration? Other students? Lab safety? Field safety? Funding? Research resources? Harassment? Discrimination? Disability accommodation? Housing? Healthcare? Childcare? etc.
Finding out if and why any students have recently left the program prematurely is also a good idea. Major red flags include high number of students burning out under an advisor, failing out at qualifying exams, etc.
It's a good idea to have multiple chats with different students, since everyone's experience is unique, and any one student probably won't be able to speak to every aspect of your potential experience.
When a program wants you to attend, they've determined that you'll likely be good for them, regardless of whether they'll be best for you. Picking a school is a big decision, and you deserve ALL the info you need to make it, not just what's cherry-picked by the institution.
Thank you, I needed this so much 
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Compare how your current undergrad / grad school is promoting themselves online with the reality that you know from experience. Assume that others are putting the same, lets say, spin, on themselves. Make judgements and ask questions accordingly.
Yes! My kid’s grad school visits were... astonishing. The dysfunction level at some schools was crazy. This thread has great advice!
This is all great. One strategy I had was to ask faculty and students both about grad student life and happiness, livability of the stipend, etc. It was a major tell for me if faculty's responses didn't align with anything the students said.
Twitter saattaa olla ruuhkautunut tai ongelma on muuten hetkellinen. Yritä uudelleen tai käy Twitterin tilasivulla saadaksesi lisätietoja.
