<p>I super-agree with gadad. I had a long discussion with the department head of a program I thought I wanted to do at a university I was quite interested in, and our conversation made me realize that the school and its program was not my first choice, but our interaction made me think really highly of the school and I would have been very excited to go there.</p>
<p>So it really helped two ways-- it helped me articulate what it was I wanted in a school and a program, and it made me excited about schools and programs in general.</p>