<p>Question about Grad admission; S1 is a senior and in the middle of waiting to find out. He was contacted by one of the schools he applied to and was asked to come to the school for a 4 day trip with an interview and a school visit (paid for by the school). Unfortunately they wanted him to come in the middle of the week. He is a TA for a class and midterms are coming up. He told them he just can’t leave for 4days right now. Did he shoot himself in the foot for that school? (They did instead setup a Skype Interview.) (I didn’t know they actually flew candidates out for interviews??)</p>
<p>I would think they would like somebody committed to what they are doing. I vote it won’ hurt at all.</p>
<p>As a grad student you’re going to be an employee of your advisor for the next 4-6 years, and they’ll be paying you in the same way any company would. It shouldn’t seem outrageous they want to make sure the person they’ll be investing half a million dollars in is worth hiring.</p>
<p>I think it would also be worth it for him to attend as many prospective student things as possible. I know I found being able to sit down and talk with my prospective advisors to be as useful as meeting my potential future classmates and colleagues.</p>
<p>excellent points, its been so long since I did grad school I tend to forget how costly it is now. We will encourage him to try attend if possible.</p>
<p>The teacher he is TAing for should be flexible about letting him go on interviews and allowing other TAs to cover his classes. For his own benefit it is good to see for himself whether the school feels like a good fit, and to talk to the students currently in the program about their experiences.</p>