First of all, congratulations on getting into your graduate program! Now, it is time to visit the prospective graduate school and determine if it is a good fit for you after all.

The things you learn during the visit will help you make an informed decision and set you up for success. You will get the spiel, but it is important to ask questions.

Ask Any and All of Your Questions Whenever You Get a Chance

Whether it is during the visit at the prospective graduate school, or in a follow-up email to a professor, admin, or graduate student, you should ask any questions you have about what you will be doing: classes, teaching, and research.

Make sure you understand what the expectations are regarding each of these three things.

• How many classes do you have to take? What are the core class requirements versus other electives you might have to take?
• What does it mean to “pass” the class? For me, “pass” meant I had to maintain a B+ average in my core classes.
• Is there going to be a qualifying exam? How would that work if there is one? How many exams, what do they cover? Can you take a qualifier to skip a class you are confident about?
• How much teaching do you have to do? What does a “recitation” mean? Do you have to teach just recitations, just labs, or both? Do you have to grade and how much?
• What are the requirements for passing candidacy or the prelim?
• What are the specific requirements for graduation with a Ph.D.?

For example, do you need a journal paper to graduate? Do you have to submit a paper to a journal, or does it need to be accepted as well?

Not saying it’s impossible to get a paper accepted – been there, done that. However, timelines for getting a paper submitted versus accepted to a journal are different, so you’d have to plan accordingly.

And, very importantly, ask questions regarding things that will affect you and your life every day, such as:

• Where do the graduate students recommend staying?
• What is the housing scene like?
• How much do they pay for rent?
• Do they bike to school?
• Are there buses?
• What is the weather like?
• What is parking like on campus? How much does parking cost?
• How is health insurance? Does it cover eye and dental? Does it cover physical therapy? Counseling?
• What do people do for fun at this place?

These questions will help you address how much you will love or hate your life while in that prospective graduate school. If you hate your life there, it will be a struggle to get through it.

Graduate school is a long commitment and you need to know your options for health-care, including eye and dental.

Doing a Ph.D. takes a toll on both mental and physical health. There better be excellent care for all the anxiety, depression, and back problems graduate school is about to cause.

If you hate cold weather, it is still not too late to back out of a place that gets eight months of winter. You can prevent future you from being miserable.

Does the prospective graduate school care about issues that are important to you? This could be something like increasing diversity and representation.

Most importantly, obtain answers to questions regarding success rates.

• What percentage of students leave after the first year?

• And, with a master’s degree?

• How many years do students spend in the program on average?

• What do students graduating from the program go on to do NEXT?

This is critical. You want to know if this program is setting you up for success or failure.

Is this graduate program going to help with your future goals or not? Figuring these out should greatly help you to narrow down your options.

Remember, not all that glitters is gold. By that, I mean not every well-reputed school is going to be looking out for you and giving you the support you need as a graduate student.

You need to stay clear of “weed-out” programs. Getting answers to the above-listed questions will inform your decision and increase your chances of choosing a school that will help you succeed.

Let me know any questions in the comments below!

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