E-Mailing Current Graduate Students?

[Carly Rae Jepsen]

Hello everybody,

I was mainly looking to hear from current Ph.D. students if it's awkward when applicants or people who have already been accepted email you to ask about the program and life in town in general. I'm trying to write some emails to current graduate students but I don't want to come off as awkward, just trying to get an impression that will help me make a decision.

Thanks

[FishNerd]

I'm not currently a PhD student but I am applying for PhD programs for this fall and am currently finishing up my master's. I have been contacted by other students asking about coming to my current master's institution and it isn't awkward at all and I was happy to answer any questions they had.

I have also reached out to PhD students at all the schools I have applied to and they have all answered me super nicely and with a lot of detail when answering my questions. They all say they are super happy to answer questions and have been helpful with any follow up questions I have had since my initial email. They are busy though so some will answer quickly and others will take a bit to get back to you. My suggestion in your email is to be super polite and preemptively thank them for any input they have to your questions. Also one thing I included in my email was something like "If you have any other information outside of the questions I asked that would be helpful to an potential new student in your program I would love to hear what you have to say." Not everyone took me up on that but some did and expressed things that I would have never thought to ask about (like one student letting me know how the dating scene is in the area).

[TakeruK]

Not awkward at all. Our department often has the current students initiate the process: we get the list of who's accepted and we divide up the list and have 1-2 students contact the prospective student ahead of the visit so that we can answer any major questions and so that they feel like they "know" at least one person before arriving for the visit.

[ShewantsthePhD101]

Contacting people currently in their PhD is common practice. You're totally fine!

[Carly Rae Jepsen]

Thanks everybody! I went ahead and emailed a couple people and got pretty kind and detailed responses.

[deshypothequiez]

First of all @Carly Rae Jepsen I'm a huge fan 

I was put in contact with 3 grad students in one program through personal connections. I cold emailed another in a different program because our (somewhat niche) research interests were very similar, so I wanted to get a better sense of how I fit into the program given my field.

It's definitely worth doing also because I've found that students tend to be way more candid about the behind-the-scenes than faculty. I listened to a ton of gossip about the drama going on in both departments 

[abenz]

One thing I found most helpful when I was applying (note - I haven't gotten in anywhere) is to arrange a quick Skype call. You can type an email for 20 minutes and have not even scratched the surface, but if you can talk for 20 minutes, you can cover a lot of ground. If your grad students are amenable, that might be more helpful?

[TakeruK]

In addition to Skype or in-person conversations being more efficient at conveying information, it also allows for more candidness. I would certainly never lie to a prospective student over email, but I would also think carefully about how I phrase things since email is written info and once it's sent, it exists forever. I'm sure at many departments, there are things that students may want to tell you but may not feel comfortable doing so over email or any form of written communication.