Affirming interest to POI?

[warrigan]

So I applied to four schools, was waitlisted (but "unlikely" to be accepted) at one, and haven't heard from the other three.

In December, I had a phone call with my POI at one of the schools (not a formal interview) and we seemed to get along well; she seemed the most interested in me as a candidate.  I'd love to work with her (and any of the POIs at the other schools) but with every day that passes I get more and more concerned.

Should I write to my POI to reiterate my interest in working with her?  My general sense is that unless you have another offer on the table, it's better to wait until they've contacted you.  But I'm worried that since I had some issues with late submissions of my letters of reference (mainly on the letter writers' part, though I was a bit on the late side for sending the requests), it makes it very easy for them to reject me.

Overall I would say I'm a decent applicant- at least my stats are decent enough that I don't think I would have gone in the automatic reject pile, but I'm also not necessarily a cream of the crop candidate.  If late submissions from my letter writers would count against me (which is completely understandable), I feel I might want to write to my POI to express my continued interest and to also let her know about a course I'm taking in my free time.  I wouldn't be writing to find out my status, just to let her know I'm still enthusiastic about her work and her school.  I'm worried that not contacting her and not seeming keen could tip the scales towards rejecting me, though I don't even know how much say she has in these decisions (she is a new prof, fwiw).

I'm in geology, and as far as I can tell, decisions time is far from over, especially for the schools I applied to, so I don't want to jump the gun but I do want to write soon if I decide to send an e-mail.  Should I write to her to stress my continued interest or should I just let things take their course?

[TakeruK]

I think you should just let things take their course. I don't think your restated interest in their program will make a difference in the final decision. But one never knows for sure. If you want to write a quick message, it probably won't do any harm.

1 hour ago, warrigan said:

though I don't even know how much say she has in these decisions (she is a new prof, fwiw).

In planetary science, it seems like most often new profs are on admissions or other graduate student related committees. These are the least controversial (i.e. you won't have to be butting heads against established tenured profs about dept policies and most useful to a new prof as they would be seeking students). 

[goosejuice]

Since the last time you spoke to her was in December, I don't see how it could hurt to follow up with an email at this time. Especially if it wasn't an official interview. It would show that you are still interested. Also, schools know that students have deadlines to meet, so you are allowed to inquire the department about their decision process at the very least.

If it makes you feel any better about your applications in general, I applied to 8 schools (mix of earth and planetary) and I've heard from almost half so far. A few rejections and one invitation to visit which went fairly well (even though they still haven't sent out decisions). A few of my planetary friends are in the same boat--still haven't heard from a lot of programs. If I still don't hear back within another week I'll probably start reaching out again.