Graduate school applicant visiting a department he has applied to - advantageous? I've applied to several graduate schools in the US for a physics PhD. As I currently have some free time, I'm willing to travel around and visit graduate schools that I've applied to. My current research advisor (who is also one of my letter writers) can possibly establish contact between me and some of the people I have expressed interest in at different schools. My question is that whether in your opinion this is something that can actually boost my chances of getting admitted (provided a meeting with a person of interest goes well). Could pursuing this plan be advantageous?
It may not give you an advantage at being admitted, but it could help in other ways.  I visited my first-choice program (also in physics) around Thanksgiving of my senior year, and scheduled meetings with two PIs I wanted to work with.  The first stood me up, but the second took several hours to meet with me and show me the lab, and at the end of the visit he told me "If you get in and want to start early, let me know and I could probably give you an RA for the summer".  This ended up being a big help -- the visit made clear who would be better to work with, and also helped me get started with research shortly after graduating.