I am on the graduate admissions committee here at Northwestern. Unbeknownst to me when I signed up for the gig, this also involves helping to plan Northwestern’s recruiting event, a two-day affair here called “Sociology Days.”* Does anyone have any sense of what works with these sorts of events and what doesn’t? I guess by “works”, I could mean either (1) what is helpful for persuading students we’ve admitted to come here or at least (2) what is best for giving students what provides the grounds for the informed decision about how to spend the next 5-8 years of their lives?
Incidentally, I was talking last week to a friend at another university/department that interviews prospective students prior to admissions. He was talking about a couple of students who looked great on paper but then they come in and, for one reason or another, it was clear very soon into the interview that this was not someone the department wanted to admit. All I could say was that, by an large, the same phenomenon happens in sociology, only instead of at the “interview” this happens at the “orientation.”**
* My first suggestion to colleagues: How about we call it something other than ‘Sociology Days’? Whatever I might feel about the slogan “Make Every Day Earth Day,” I do feel like every day here in the sociology department is Sociology Day.
** Which is likely not just bad for departments but for those who are admitted themselves, but that’s a separate issue.
18 Comments
I went to a two-day recruitment for a university I ended up not choosing, but was almost swayed by their recruitment event. (The school was further away and much lower in rank than the one I eventually chose).
The things that made an impression on me:
1. Being housed with a current grad student for the overnight bit, so I already had a connection.
2. Having breakfast with the grad students on the first day, before the workshops, so I didn’t have to walk into a room full of strangers. And it might just be me, but I was impressed by the fact that the department handed over a credit card to foot the breakfast bill.
3. The workshops had assigned seating for the faculty, where people in similar interest groups sat at the same table. Students chose the table that best matched their interest.
4. There was a dinner party at the chair’s home, then the grad students took the recruits out to a bar later.
5. The grad students organized a house party one night, attended by students from all over the university.
So, basically, it was the social stuff. I barely remember what we did in the workshops. By the time I left the event, I felt like I already was friends with the other students, and had professors to work with. One professor offered to take me to a conference that summer, should I choose that school.
I have a few thoughts. I went through recruitment once before and I am going through it again (as I am in the process of moving to a new program). I would say that what works well depends on the student (shocking!), but for me the “hard sell” made by one prestigious department actually did a lot to dissuade me from attending. E-mails from big name faculty may seem like a good idea, especially if you have a number of them, but bashing other programs just makes you look mean.
Also, packing too much into the visiting days is very draining and can make it hard to get a picture of what a ‘normal’ day is like in the department. One of my visits last round was more informal - the department organized separate visits for each student, which was bad in that I only had a chance to meet 1-2 other prospective students, but I did get a much better feel for the department. At the prestigious university, all the prospective students attended the same weekend during a high profile conference. After 2 days of back to back meeting and watching conference presentations, I was convinced that I wanted to go home and go to sleep, and not much else.
I thinking having graduate students stay with other graduate students is mostly a good idea - it gives you a chance to talk in detail with 1 or 2 current students, get to know where they are coming from and what they really think of the department. I think also tasking a single faculty member with keeping tabs on the student might be the best way to go - perhaps a potentially compatible advisor for that student if you can.
If you are trying to advertise the area you live in, I think having some sort of tour - anything from having the current students show the prospectives around and take them to dinner, to a more formal event - makes a lot of sense. Also, at least for me, issues of housing and sort of lifestyle of the area were (are) very important, so it might be worth making sure your graduate students and faculty are ready and willing to talk about that.
Hmm. Perhaps that’s enough of my thoughts. As a final note, making sure the prospective student gets a chance to connect on a personal level with a few current students, faculty and other potential students is more important than planned presentations or high-profile events.
Funny, my immediate thought was to tell the story of an ill-fated city tour ending abruptly with a pair of locals in a beat up panel van trying to physically unstick the tour bus from a too-tight, too-steep corner, with their bodies and then their bumper … great billowing clouds of smoke of burning rubber and diesel … and a professor at the front of the bus determined to ignore our ill fate and continue on with his lecture and local demographics maps. It was definitely memorable, and also not the reason I did not attend that program.
I think Anomie’s and Dan’s ideas are basically on target. Things that were crucial to me in making my decision:
1. meeting other grad students (current more than prospective)
2. staying with a current student
3. a mingling event for faculty and students (dinner). Note: it is *VERY* BAD FORM if a rumor gets around that only certain current students were selected to be invited to the dinner, or if it becomes otherwise clear that the department is hesitant to let prospectives talk to any and all currents.
4. my department funds a dinner party at the home of a current student (mine, actually). last year (1st time) was an unqualified success from the recruiting perspective, and also was a nice opportunity for all current students to get together without faculty (which in my program we don’t do much of).
Both of the previous commenters mentioned the usefulness of staying with current grad students on these type visits. My grad school department thought this sounded like such a good idea that in one of the last years I was there they tried to move in that direction…only very few grad students stepped up to make their place(s) available. This could say something about our department (I actually don’t think that was the issue), or it could simply say that you may have to incentivise it if you want it to actually happen. I guess my $0.02 is that this is not a bad idea, just probably easier to keep rolling (it was so nice when someone did this for me, sure I’ll pony up) than to start new (they want me to do what?).
All of the above comments are on target. However, in addition to meeting with graduate students, it’s critical to be sure the faculty are around those days and that potential students meet the professors who are in their fields of interest.
A thought on getting current grad students to let prospective students stay with them: If there is a graduate student on the admissions committee (and hopefully there is), let them be in charge of recruiting their fellow students to host. Second, offer an incentive. I think I got $25 worth of copying and a free dinner out with the prospective student when I hosted someone last year - it wasn’t a lot, but it certainly made the effort feel appreciated.
All of the schools I visited a few years ago put the prospective students up in hotels. Personally, I don’t think I would’ve really liked a weekend where I HAD to stay with a current grad student. After all, you want to feel comfortable and not like you’re always “on,” if that makes sense.
As far as what made me pick where I ended up, it really had a lot to do with meeting current graduate students. I had coffee/drinks with multiple students and attended a grad-student house party. Specifically, as noted above, I did not feel that there was any type of selection process happening to make sure I only talked to certain graduate students. So, the fact that nearly everyone was enthusiastic about the program made trust their judgments. And, now that I’m here, I don’t feel like they misled me.
Also, it was vitally important for me to feel like there was at least one faculty member with whom I could get along with/get good advice from immediately. So, it’s worth making the extra effort to pair students with approachable faculty members who share common interests with the student.
These recruitment stories are such news to me. I thought I was recruited, because I got a phone call from a grad student. Period.
I attended a few recruitment events when it was my time to pick a grad program. The one I eventually chose was the one that seemed most honest to me (among other selling points). By this I mean that it really wasn’t a recruitment/marketing event, with outlandish promises of fun and community. Rather, it was billed as an opportunity for both sides to get to know each other, and to assess fit. Indeed, the person that later ended up becoming my advisor took his time to discuss my application essay and suggested that the path I was envisioning for myself may be professionally hazardous. Indeed, if I really wanted to do what I alleged to be my goal at the time, I would risk unemployment. Caramba. The thing I remember about this conversation is that he seemed to take me and my future seriously.
As a former participant of Sociology Days (1994), what impressed me most was watching the colloquium series at work. Amy Binder gave a talk and it gave the prospective students (well, me, at any rate) a sense of the end point. Come to NU and we’ll turn you into confident scholar, ready for the job market, and ready to talk about your research in front of a serious crowd. The Q&A was thoughtful and tough, but there weren’t any obnoxious egos on display and none of Amy’s peers were trying to stump her. During that hour or so, I was flooded with favorable impressions of the department, its people, and what I could gain from joining the program. Not to sound like a hippy, but the colloquium left a good vibe about the entire department and program.
I stayed with an advanced graduate student. Without saying too much, it wasn’t exactly the high point of the trip. I would’ve rather stayed at a hotel . . . or perhaps with a sleeping bag in the back closet of 1812 . . . Wait! That’s it! You should have all the prospectives bring sleeping bags so that they can camp out and roast marshmallows in the grad student lounge, and you could rename it . . . Sociology Jamboree! Just think about it Jeremy . . .
I am helping to run our recruiting weekend at my university this year. Last year was the first year we housed prospective grad students with current ones, and the plan was met with tons of resistance that put a slightly negative spin on the whole event. I was worried that the negativity would carry over to this year, but it took me only a few days to find housing for all prospectives, and there has hardly been a hint of complaint. I housed two prospectives last year, and it has been great for pulling in the new cohort to the department.
As far as what we do over the weekend (about 36 hours, actually), we have sessions with the grad admissions and chair, lunch with current grad students, afternoon one-on-one meetings with faculty that the students choose, dinner with grad students and faculty, and optional socializing at a campus bar. It is jam-packed and exhausting but you have only a short time to sell your department to these people that you want.
Three quick notes
1) Worst thing to do is to rip into other schools. As others have said this only reveals that the school thinks it isn’t very good and often attack the schools they do think are good.
2) Give students the option. For some recruits staying with a current student may be incredibly intimidating, and it doesn’t ever give them a chance to relax to think about what happened during the day.
3) Meeting with Grad students and faculty is great, but it has its limits. When I was visiting I went to a party where several of the faculty were drunk before we got to the party…it was great for getting the hidden secrets about the department, but when some of the faculty started hitting on the recruits that is pretty bad form. Also, at a grad student party everyone got so drunk that no one could take the recruits home (by the way the recruits didn’t drink at either of the two parties—yes both were at the same school—because they still trying to gather information and had to be ready for the long next day). In the end I had to think that if the students and faculty had to drink so much to survive—as many of the students said it was a 3-4 times a week occurrence for them—do I really want to go there?
To follow up on bandeiras…I agree that alcohol and recruitment can be both a positive and negative combination. Its nice to see a looser side of the department community, but not so nice to see alcohol-induced inappropriate behavior. As a recruitment coordinator, I would make sure you hand-pick some responsible grad students to make sure everyone gets home safely. Also, the message needs to be: “put the needs of recruits over your needs for socializing”. Over my years of recruitment participation I’ve seen the Prof in charge of the event mass e-mail everyone and say “Hey grad students, don’t drink so much during recruitment”. This comes off as paternalistic and demeaning, and turns potential volunteers away if they feel they’re being treated like children (even if some of them need to hear it!!)
Nice to hear all these good things about graduate student meetings, but I have to throw in one wrench — be careful who the students are. I vividly remember when I was a student and I was out to dinner with some current and some prospective students and about 3 of the current grad students took the opportunity to vent. I was completely embarrassed, and tried to lighten things a bit, but no luck.
on my visit day for grad school, i wasn’t old enough to get into the bar where one of the two main events was held. i also think department-sponsored alcohol can be iffy, depending on the background of recruits. i’ve met a couple of students who were put off by it (this surprised me). it also makes it harder to control the problematic/pissed students (while there isn’t much you can do about them in the first place, you can avoid getting them drunk). the grad students will usually take care of the booze during their events, there isn’t much reason to pile on.
i second the ripping on other schools — it sounds terrible and it often only reinforces a reputation for being cut-throat, not supportive, etc. there are ways to acknowledge the strengths of others while showing off what you have to offer.
i was sold by the mini-workshops by area group model. that said, those mini-workshops need to be related to reality. nothing induces bitterness in the first year cohort more than realizing that the “show” put on at visit day isn’t related to day-to-day life, that the professor who talked about ‘all of us working together’ is never around, or that the grads who showed up to the brownbag on visit day don’t actually show up any other time.
I know that I am really late to this conversation - but I want to mention one thing. When I was participating in recruitment, I spent part of the time in a hotel and the other part at a grad student’s apartment.
Anyway, as gradytripp mentioned - it induced a feeling that I didn’t get to relax when I was staying with the grad student because I didn’t want to sound stupid.
But, more importantly was the fact that I slept on his couch. While being uncomfortable in a social situation can be dealt with - nothing can be done to make up for the fact that a couch is both too small and too uncomfortable to get a good night’s sleep, especially when it is already an anxiety-ridden situation.
This is only a slightly related point (and more a question for the authors): how do you suggest navigating conversations about funding during the recruitment process? Specifically, I’ve been accepted to a number of programs, similar in topic to sociology but more in public health and policy schools, and my financial packages are woefully inadequate. I know this varies a lot by school, but do you have any suggestions for gentle yet effective ways of broaching the money conversation with professors?
There is rarely anything the faculty can do about the financial packages. There is no particular need to be gentle and no particular way to be “effective” in most cases, although it is possible to sound ignorant and unserious. The school has probably made you its best offer and bargaining probably will not help. However, in case they really want you and happen to have a recruiting slush fund (my school has no such fund), the way to bring it up is to say: “I really like your program, but I’m not sure I can afford to attend it. X is offering me much more.” If they have anything to work with, this should elicit the offer.
What you will probably get in response is a lecture about why it is really short-sighted to look at how much money you are going to earn as a graduate student versus the value of the program to your long term prospects, and possibly a complaint “We have been telling our administration this, but so far we have not been successful.” Most programs pay close attention to what the competition is offering students, and if their offers are not competitive, they know it and are frustrated by their inability to adjust to the market.
A great danger in focusing too much on stipend levels is that you will sound not serious as an academic if you think how much you earn in graduate school is the most important thing. Not infrequently, less prestigious programs pay better, and you may be a hot recruit at a lower ranked program that is willing to pull out the stops for you, but only in the middle of the pack at a more highly ranked program. You may have to make these tradeoffs. If you are trying to match offers with different programs that have higher stipend levels, you may be told that you have to choose between program area and money.