How long does it take to receive POI's responses?

[JoyJoy]

I sent out emails to POIs that I'm interested in working with last night, it's nerve-wrecking to wait! 

I wonder how long does it take on average for you guys to receive a replay from POIs?

 

Thank you!!

[PsychApplicantFall2019]

From the people I have contacted, there has been a bit of variance between about a day to a week. I have had people not respond.

[PsycUndergrad]

There’s no way of knowing. Some respond immediately, some will take days or weeks, many won’t respond at all. 

[ResilientDreams]

I received responses from all mine within a few days and only had one that never responded.

[PokePsych]

For me it was anywhere within a few hours to never

[loffire]

4 hours ago, Psygeek said:

For me it was anywhere within a few hours to never

Same here. Generally 2-3days average. But i it varied from few hrs to never. Emailing the grad advisor 3weeks later helped remind those who didnt reply. But despite that, still some never replied

[PsyDuck90]

You also have to examine what it is you wrote. If you have a specific, pointed question regarding their research and current projects, you are more likely to elicit a response. If you're asking a basic question with an answer that is already on the website or just stating your interest in applying to work with them, they are less likely to respond. 

[JoyJoy]

I've sent out three emails last week, it has been 4 days, no reply... Probably because of the long weekend (The Thanksgiving holiday in Canada). In my emails, I expressed my strong interest to work with the professor, briefly stated why I'm interested in applying and attached my CV, I honestly didn't have any questions. I just said something like look forward to hearing back from you....

So, does it sound like the prof may not respond to me because there is no specific question?

Edited October 9, 2018 by JoyJoy

[PsyDuck90]

That is highly likely. Faculty are getting swarmed with emails from prospective students right now. Not to mention, they're all in the middle of the semester and all the work associated with that. There's always the chance of a PI responding, but that possibility increases when there is a specific question and purpose to the email (they'll see your CV and application once it's submitted). 

Look at it from their prospective. What are they supposed to say when they read your email?

[ResilientDreams]

This is why I sent all my emails really early, over the summer. 

[JoyJoy]

48 minutes ago, ResilientDreams said:

This is why I sent all my emails really early, over the summer. 

Good idea, but some profs may take the summer off......anyway I guess it won't affect much of my application