Emailing current grad students BEFORE the interview?

[deactivated]

Hi everyone. I have an interview at my first choice school in about 2 weeks for a PhD in clinical psychology. I'm wondering how weird it would be to email the current students in my POI's lab, just to introduce myself and ask basic questions before I arrive on campus. I feel like I should be as involved in the interview process as possible since this is my first choice school, but I feel strange about emailing them since I know I'll see them in 2 weeks and I can ask all my questions then. However, AFAIK there's only 2 students in my POI's lab, and I think at least one (if not both) are on pre-doctoral internship. So I don't know if either of them will be there in 2 weeks to do student interviews. BUT if that's the case then I don't know how emailing them will help me because if they're not there, they may not be a integral part of the interview process.

Sorry for the rant, but if anyone can help me sort out this situation I'd be very grateful.

[TakeruK]

Well, you would email them to get to know them and find out more about the school, not because you think it will somehow help your chances. 

I don't know if the culture in your field is to email the students or not. But I would say it's pretty common in my field (we don't really do interviews though) for prospective students to reach out to current students to ask any questions they might have. 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.

So, if you want to email them, you could say that you are excited to interview with this school and that you would be interested in working in their prof's lab. Say that you hope to meet them at the interview or something like that. If you have some questions you can ask them I guess or you can wait and see whether they say they will be at your interview: if yes, then you could say you'll ask them some questions about grad student life when you're there, and if not, you could ask them if they would be willing to skype/chat with you via email (if this is what you want?)

[Adelaide9216]

I have reached out multiple times to current students for advice when applying to programs. Never had an issue. Some of them even gave me their phone number so we could talk about it on the phone. ( I'm in the social sciences.) But maybe it depends on the field. 

Also, my university has a reddit online forum and it's pretty active. Maybe it's the case of your prospective uni. You could ask questions there too. 

Edited February 4, 2018 by Adelaide9216

[deactivated]

46 minutes ago, TakeruK said:

Well, you would email them to get to know them and find out more about the school, not because you think it will somehow help your chances. 

I do have lots of questions--so many questions--but it feels a little redundant to ask these questions now over email, instead of waiting 2 weeks. I feel like being an active applicant might increase my chances of them remembering me, since I know that current grad students' opinions do matter (although to a rather small extent), so that's how I'm thinking that it might increase my chances. I think I might send an email to the student that I know is on internship, since I likely won't be able to meet that student during the interview weekend.

[timetobegin]

I've always reached out to students in the program during the application process, both when applying for my Masters and my PhD (two separate schools/fields of study). I'd usually email 2-3 students with a few questions about the program, keeping it short and sweet.

The reply really depends on the person: some students never responded to me. One wrote me a vague one-line reply of 'good luck', but didn't answer any of my questions. But there was always at least one that wrote me back, and they were pivotal in helping me better understand how the program works and the environment. One even talked to me about my research interests and what I want to do with the degree, and gave great feedback on how to better frame my research question for the SoP.

My main advice would be not to e-mail them because you think it'll give you an In (ie, they'll tell your POI how involved and active you are in applying, and advocate for you). They won't. But if you choose to e-mail them, limit your questions, and make sure you're asking them something that you can't necessarily find on Google or on the website. Ask them how the interview process went for them, if they're willing to share. Ask about the lab environment, the community, the type of work or worth ethic - maybe this will help you phrase your questions and responses for the interview. 

 

 

 

 

[Carly Rae Jepsen]

I asked a current student about what the visit day would be like so I could prepare myself better, and he kindly told me about it. I'm not referring to maybe "what can I do to be accepted?" but rather "What is it like?" so I can feel more calm and prepared that day.

[pnguyen540]

I made sure that I emailed the professor ahead of time to get to know him/her briefly. Then I contact his/her graduate students. By doing so, I avoid going the shortcut - which is a huge no no. 

It is really a hit or miss, since some will be cautious and seek for their professor’s advice before responding to you.