How do you make the most of open houses?
Posted: Fri Feb 25, 2022 8:06 pm
I have some virtual and in-person open houses coming up soon, and I was wondering if anyone has any tips in getting the most information from them?
for current and prospective graduate students in mathematics
https://mathematicsgre.com/
I am preparing the same, as some of my admitted students events involve one-on-ones with POIs.ijustwanttodomath wrote: ↑Sat Feb 26, 2022 2:57 pmI'm still waiting to go to the virtual open houses for the schools I got into, so I'm not the too educated on this yet, but I'm planning on having my list of questions for the faculty (and any grad students that will hopefully be present) ready to go before the event. I also did the same when interviewing or meeting with graduate coordinators and potential advisors.
I think it is perfectly acceptable to keep it surface-level. I have not taken any graduate courses (my undergrad uni does not have any), and all of my conversations with professors have been good. As long as you demonstrate that you are passionate about their research, you should be fine. If a professor dislikes you because you don't understand everything they say, you probably wouldn't have a great time working with them, anyway.olyoly wrote: ↑Mon Feb 28, 2022 2:36 pmI am preparing the same, as some of my admitted students events involve one-on-ones with POIs.ijustwanttodomath wrote: ↑Sat Feb 26, 2022 2:57 pmI'm still waiting to go to the virtual open houses for the schools I got into, so I'm not the too educated on this yet, but I'm planning on having my list of questions for the faculty (and any grad students that will hopefully be present) ready to go before the event. I also did the same when interviewing or meeting with graduate coordinators and potential advisors.
I am struggling with the following, though; how do you pose meaningful research-related questions to your POIs? I'd like to say that I have a deep enough understanding of their work to come up with meaningful questions, but that's just not the case. Any advice on asking these questions without sounding like a fool? Or is it acceptable to avoid the specifics related to a prof's work, and keep the conversation more behavioral/surface-level?
I agree with this. Realistically most faculty (or at least the ones worth working with) realize only a handful of people in the world will truly have a comprehensive knowledge of their research and that will likely only be their graduate students and other faculty who specialize in that subfield. Every conversation I've had so far has been at the surface level, although when asked about my previous research experiences (I already have an M.S. in math), I happily go a bit deeper depending on the context. Good researchers learn how to communicate their work to a variety of audiences, including undergraduates; if they aren't able to converse with you about their work without using a ton of jargon or condescending language, then that would be a red flag in my opinion.coolar wrote: ↑Mon Feb 28, 2022 3:11 pmI think it is perfectly acceptable to keep it surface-level. I have not taken any graduate courses (my undergrad uni does not have any), and all of my conversations with professors have been good. As long as you demonstrate that you are passionate about their research, you should be fine. If a professor dislikes you because you don't understand everything they say, you probably wouldn't have a great time working with them, anyway.olyoly wrote: ↑Mon Feb 28, 2022 2:36 pmI am preparing the same, as some of my admitted students events involve one-on-ones with POIs.ijustwanttodomath wrote: ↑Sat Feb 26, 2022 2:57 pmI'm still waiting to go to the virtual open houses for the schools I got into, so I'm not the too educated on this yet, but I'm planning on having my list of questions for the faculty (and any grad students that will hopefully be present) ready to go before the event. I also did the same when interviewing or meeting with graduate coordinators and potential advisors.
I am struggling with the following, though; how do you pose meaningful research-related questions to your POIs? I'd like to say that I have a deep enough understanding of their work to come up with meaningful questions, but that's just not the case. Any advice on asking these questions without sounding like a fool? Or is it acceptable to avoid the specifics related to a prof's work, and keep the conversation more behavioral/surface-level?