boomah

Hi everyone, I'm in the first year of a PhD program. Recently, I emailed a professor asking to meet to discuss research topics, noting that we have similar interests. This professor is in a different department, so I don't know him personally, but because our research aligns, he's a very potential member of my eventual dissertation committee. Now, the professor didn't respond to my email -- which is fine, I get it: professors are often busy and forget to respond to emails. Had it been any random professor I would have moved on. But since this is someone who could be very important for my future research, and thus someone I want to develop a good relationship with, I'm trying to think of the best way to follow up. Here are the possibilities I'm considering: 1. Follow up via email: this might be the simplest approach, but it seems somewhat awkward to double email, especially to someone who doesn't know me at all at this point. 2. I can try to find his office hours and go introduce myself then. But I'm afraid that might seem like I'm forcefully inviting myself after never having heard back. 3. I can meet him at a talk or event or workshop etc. This might be a good option but I don't want to seem like I'm cornering him in public and making him apologize in front of everyone else! 4. Wait long enough until he would have forgotten about the first email, and then email as if I'm emailing the first time. This would prevent any awkwardness, but there's the slight risk that he does in fact remember and that would be weird ? Okay I know I'm way overthinking this -- but that's why I thought it might be best to turn to you guys. Any thoughts or suggestions? Thank you very much in advance!

Still waiting for my schools! I hope to see some results later this week! Yeah the SoP is such a tricky genre--it's difficult to know which side to err on. Best of luck to you as well!

I did the same thing with my SOPs (they were about 1,200 words). I did ask the graduate adminstrator at each of my schools if that would be okay, and they all said yes. But your concern is making me also anxious now (since the admin doesn't sit on the admissions committee and I'm not sure if the committee would agree). I really hope it's not counted against us!

What's the current view on Berkeley? How is it doing in its various subfields?

I wonder if Berkeley might also release soon...

I'd say that Chicago is exceedingly likely, given past years' results... and Harvard is quite unlikely. They tend to release toward the end of February.

I was actually thinking the same: last year Berkeley admitted on January 31/February 1, Chicago on February 2, and Princeton on January 31. If they stick to the same schedule, we might be seeing results this week. Of course, they're not consistent: in the previous cycle, for example, Princeton admitted around February 9. So it's unclear if they'll actually release this week... but there's hope! Good luck to all!

In hindsight, you're probably right--it does seem to be a troll based on the style of the two acceptances. (One further indication: "Deparment Of Political Science"). Ahh all this waiting is making me jittery and overly gullible I think it's probably best practice that we don't check the results board until February, when the normal acceptances are out. No need feeding the trolls. Good luck everyone!

There's another Yale acceptance out, with a similar story. Good luck to all the Yale applicants!

Would anyone like to claim the Yale acceptance? The Harvard one seems off (MLK day); but I think the Yale one could be legit. Yale does have a new DGS this year, so it's not unreasonable that he's doing things different by notifying outstanding applicants early, as the poster said.

Hi everyone! I hope y'all are doing well with your applications I'm finishing up my SOPs and writing sample in preparation for the December 15 deadline, and I had a few quick questions: 1. Some of my schools have a 25 page word limit for the writing sample and others have 20. Mine is around 23 pages. Would it be okay if I slightly tweaked the font or margins to fit these 23 pages into 20 pages? (Currently it's Times New Roman, size 12, double spaced, one inch margins). 2. SOPs: double spaced, right? 3. When mentioning potential advisors in the SOP, how do you name them the first time? a) Professor John Ferguson b ) Professor Ferguson c) Dr. John Ferguson d) Dr. Ferguson (assuming they're the only Ferguson in the department). I know these are sort of silly things but I'd really appreciate any responses. Thank you!

Thank you all so much! All of your responses were really helpful, and I think I'm getting a sense now of how to approach and what to expect from an email conversation

Hi ltr, thank you so much for the response! I'm so glad to hear it's been going well for you. And I should have clarified that I am applying to PhD programs. I guess my concern is that my emailing will come across as unnecessary and therefore annoying. Especially at the more well-known universities, I'm worried that the professors receive a ton of email and thus all the prospective students' emails might come across as pesky, and these professors would much rather people just apply directly. I remember a friend of mine applying to anthropology doctoral programs reached out to POIs, and at one school he got a response saying that they don't really discuss much before the admissions are out so as to not give an unfair advantage to anyone. So I guess I don't want to come across as doing that. But I think you're right that the potential benefits outweigh the negatives. Thank you so much for your response, and I'd love to hear from more people who've had good/bad experiences

Hi everyone, I know there are mixed feelings on this forum about emailing POIs. I was wondering about the experiences of those of you applying this year, or recent applications such as last year's etc. Did you get in touch with POIs beforehand? Why or why not? For those who did, I'm wondering how the responses were and whether or not you'd recommend it. I'm quite on the fence about reaching out to professors and would love to hear some recent experiences to help me decide Thank you! Edit: I'm applying to PhD programs

What would you guys say are the best programs in intellectual history in the UK? Specifically to do a master's... So far I've got Cambridge's MPhil program and the University of London's MA program (with Quentin Skinner et al.). I'd appreciate any other suggestions!