Graduate School - You've been accepted...now what?

Congratulations! If you have been in accepted into one or more programs, you should feel extremely proud. It is an accomplishment. When you go to visit a school and are trying to make a decision, you need to be thorough in your review of each program that you consider. I've worked with Rob Harvey (YCP Alum and current graduate student at Penn State) to think about questions you should ask faculty and current graduate students. You may need to ask some of these questions on a visit before you are accepted.

Faculty/Possible mentors

• What is the potential for funding for research? Are there scholarships/grants/fellowships available? Is there a teaching requirement/opportunity?

• How are Masters/PhD students funded during their time in the program? Is there a limit for how long a student can be funded? Are there ways to receive extended funding?

• Does summer pay come from the program, the faculty mentor, or are you expected to find your own funding during summer months?

• How are students assigned to a lab/mentor? (what is the selection process?)

• How long do students take to complete this program?

• Where are recent alumni employed? What do most graduates do after graduation?

• Is there collaboration among faculty/students across labs?

• Do you like to work one-on-one with your students, or do you guide their work as they work individually?

• Do incoming students work on projects that have already been developed, or do they create an individual project?

• Do you/program fund travel to meetings? How does the department assist, if at all, for students to travel?

• What are the course requirements for the program?

Graduate students currently in the program

• How easy is it to work with your professor? Does he/she work with you through the steps of research, or does he/she allow you to work on your research individually? What is their mentoring style?

• Do you work on projects that have already been developed, or do you create one of your own individually?

• Are you happy in this program? What are the factors that contribute to your happiness or dissatisfaction?

• Is there a feeling of community among graduate students? Is there a student run club/organization for the department? Do you have regular social events? Are they well attended?

• Where do students live? Is it expensive? How close do you live to campus?

• Do you think students are prepared well for a PhD program or next step in their career? Do you know what other graduates are doing now?

• Do you have everything you need to complete your research? Are the labs well equipped? Are there any professors that have consistently “poor” (no travel money, have to compromise on supplies, etc) labs? Are there any labs that seem to have consistently sufficient money?

• Is there collaboration among faculty/students across labs?

• If you could choose a graduate program again, would you still choose this one?

• Do you receive funding? Is it enough to live on? Did you have to take out student loans? Do you have/get to TA classes? What is the duration of departmental funding (if any)? How easy it is to get external funding?

• How are you paid in the summer?

• How often do you travel to meetings? Do you ever have to pay out of pocket/not get reimbursed?

• If you do travel to a meeting, does your PI/mentor go? If so, do they advocate for you? If your PI/mentor does not go to the meeting, is there someone else who advocates for students while at the meeting?

• Overall do the faculty seem interested/engaged, or unattached and distant?

• What is the atmosphere around the department? Do you enjoy working in the building? Does there seem to be a lot of “drama” in the department?

• Were you satisfied with the department’s curriculum? Too many classes/too little classes? Did you take anything out of the classes, or were they a waste of time? Do the faculty care about their class, or treat it as an afterthought?

• How many hours do you work in the lab on projects that are not yours, but assigned by the PI?

• How do the faculty treat the staff?

• How often do students travel to meetings? What is the breakdown between national and regional? Are there labs that consistently send students, any that consistently don’t? Do you have to pay anything out of pocket? Does the department help fund travel? Do you have an advocate/mentor at the meeting, or are you on your own?