Jump to content

Wait-listed and contacting professors?


zblaesi

Recommended Posts

I'm still wait-listed and hoping for the best. I've been considering contacting some professors in my areas of interest, since I imagine it can't hurt to start building relationships with professors you might end up working with, but I worry that this might be too risky. What do you guys think? What has your approach been?
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was wondering about this, too. From talking to a couple of professors and from giving it some thought myself, my feeling is that that, unless you're right at the top of the wait list and so your chances of an offer are very high indeed, it's generally better to wait until you receive an offer to contact faculty with whom you'd like to work. But I could be wrong -- maybe it would even help your chances to go ahead and contact faculty while wait listed. Hard to tell. Some of it might depend on the specific context, consisting in factors such as whether you've contacted those faculty members *before* applying. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was wondering about this, too. From talking to a couple of professors and from giving it some thought myself, my feeling is that that, unless you're right at the top of the wait list and so your chances of an offer are very high indeed, it's generally better to wait until you receive an offer to contact faculty with whom you'd like to work. But I could be wrong -- maybe it would even help your chances to go ahead and contact faculty while wait listed. Hard to tell. Some of it might depend on the specific context, consisting in factors such as whether you've contacted those faculty members *before* applying. 

 

I am supposedly close to top for both programs, so maybe it'd make sense in my case. But I don't even know how to approach it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't see what you stand to gain by reaching out to them via e-mail before your acceptance. It seems like it could only work against you. I would just wait until you hear more news, and keep your contact limited to the DGS for now. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't see what you stand to gain by reaching out to them via e-mail before your acceptance. It seems like it could only work against you. I would just wait until you hear more news, and keep your contact limited to the DGS for now. 

I'm pretty sure Matt's right. It's not going to help you, and you'll have plenty of time afterwards to talk to faculty about whatever.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Of course, if these professors are people you got in touch with prior to the application season, then it might not be so bad to reengage with them. At one of the schools I was wait-listed at, I shot an e-mail off to one of the professors I am interested in working with, informing them that I was on the wait-list, and then asked a couple questions.

 

Now, the e-mail that I received informing me that I was on the waitlist at this school explicitly stated that we could feel free to get in touch with any member of the faculty we liked. Whether such contact is taboo or not, it was in writing, I had already been in touch with this person, so I though fuck it, I'll e-mail them. The first line in this professor's response e-mail to me was that they were "very happy" to see me on the wait-list. Obviously they had remembered our correspondence in the fall. Furthermore, saying they were happy to see me waitlisted indicated to me that this person probably had a strong say in my making it through the cuts and getting on the waitlist in the first place, and told me that, if it comes down to a few people later on in the process (like, now-ish) it looks like this professor is willing to go to bat for me, and their words could be what get me in. 

 

Again, I have voiced this opinion countless times on this forum, and I'll do it again. IT IS FINE TO CONTACT PEOPLE AT THE DEPARTMENTS TO WHICH YOU APPLIED BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION AND AFTER HEARING FROM THEM ABOUT YOUR ADMISSIONS STATUS. Just don't do it during the presumed review process is all.

 

Seriously. I do not understand how so many can worry about the impropriety of such behavior. We do not live in Victorian England, some of you need to let go of such rigid rules of etiquette. 

Edited by objectivityofcontradiction
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Seriously. I do not understand how so many can worry about the impropriety of such behavior. We do not live in Victorian England, some of you need to let go of such rigid rules of etiquette. 

We DON'T?!

 

I don't think people here are worried about the "impropriety" of doing these things - just about whether or not it would be worthwhile. I just don't see the point in e-mailing the faculty before receiving official word. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thnk objectivitycontradiction and MattDest are both right. Contacting POI's while wait-listed will not help (and if you come across the wrong way, could hurt) your chances. However, there are situations in which it is still very worthwhile to do. Specifically, if the DGS/DGA told you it's ok AND you think it would help you make your decision to talk to your potential professors, then you should do so. But it's something that will help you make a decision, not something that should be done to try to move yourself up a wait-list (get your professors to try to do that, if anything).

 

Edit: I think what I'm really recommending is that one should contact their POI's at a school where he or she is wait-listed iff 1) you are weighing that wait-list against other offers and 2) subsequently, you feel like it won't be the end of the world if that wait-list doesn't work out because of something you might have done in communication with your POI.

 

If either 1 or 2 is false, then you still have something to lose by doing so.

 

Edit 2: (My thoughts are not so organized today). In regards to OP's situation, I would refrain from attempting to build relationships at this point; it will come off as though you're trying to up your spot. This seems particularly unwise at Wisonsin where, if I recall correctly from other posts, you are in the first quintuplet of the wait-list, which I would read as meaning the top student in your area, broadly construed.

 

What I would do is try to get just as much information as you need to figure out if you'd prefer an offer from Texas or Wisconsin if both were made, such that, if, say, Texas calls you on the 15th and makes you an offer, you know right away whether you can say yes immediately or whether you'd want to say "let me get back to you by the end of the day" and then frantically start calling people at Wisconsin.

Edited by perpetualapplicant
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ask your letter writers who they know at Texas, and see if they'll call or email one of those people to sing your praises.

 

In your situation, I'd only do this for Texas. If I understand the Wisconsin wait-list correctly from other posters, 'being in the top 5, which are unranked' means being the top student in your area, broadly construed. Say they categorized you as a LEMMing. Your admission is then entirely dependent on whether a LEMMing holding an offer turns down his or her offer. You can't go up on the list--the person above you is holding an offer, and they are contractually obligated not to revoke it until April 15--but pestering could, in theory, move you down.

 

Edit: Good luck!

Edited by perpetualapplicant
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can you elaborate on what you have in mind?

One of my letter writers knows Tim O'Keefe, and so when I told my writer I was waitlisted, he contacted Dr. O'Keefe on my behalf to talk about my situation and chances of getting in. At the very least, it shows that your letter writer is willing to stick his/her neck out on your behalf, which says something about you as a student.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My experience shows it is more risky to email the department before you are offered admission. It cannot move you up, but could move you down. I had made email contacts with 3 director of programs, but it turns out I was rejected from ALL of them. 

 

Edit: but my cases may not apply to others. I did hear that some people contacted POIs and got in. So it really depends on many factors. 

Edited by Platonist
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I generally agree with what's been said here, but I thought I'd add what my experience has been so far.

 

I contacted the head of the adcom at Wisconsin, and said that I am still very much interested in the program (though truthfully speaking even if I got in I might go to Penn instead) and that I would like to visit, if possible.  My reasoning is that if I were to get in off the waitlist very last minute, I would need to make an informed decision. I mentioned very briefly that I had mulitiple offers out there and wanted as much information as possbile. The adcom responded that it would be fine if I were to come and visit, and that I could sit in on a class or two if I wanted, but he said to wait to come until April. That way, he said they'd have (hopefully) a better picture of my chances of getting slot.

 

I definitely would not email people outside of the adcom because, let's face it, they're busy! They are probably writing, and teaching, and doing all sorts of other things and probably don't have time to deal with people who aren't in the program. But for those on the committee, presumabley they've allocated a certain amount of their time to dealing with all issues related to admission, so I think it's reasonable to contact them to reiterate your interest.

 

Anyway, that's my take. Good luck to all waitlisted folks out there!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use