Should I contact Two Prof in similar field in the same school at the same time?

[OliverXu]

So, I was in touch with the program director in Boston University aiming to join his group aroun three months ago. We had some email connections but not too positive. All he said was looking forward to read my application and happy to see my updates (my GPA).

Surprisingly, when I was discussing with a new faculty in my department,  he said someone he knew well was asking for students and I should mention his name when I contact this group.

Question: should I contact? Should I tell the previous professor? Will this hurt my application? Everyone please tell me what you think! I am super anxious!

[Teaching Faculty Wannabe]

1 hour ago, OliverXu said:

So, I was in touch with the program director in Boston University aiming to join his group aroun three months ago. We had some email connections but not too positive. All he said was looking forward to read my application and happy to see my updates (my GPA).

Surprisingly, when I was discussing with a new faculty in my department,  he said someone he knew well was asking for students and I should mention his name when I contact this group.

Question: should I contact? Should I tell the previous professor? Will this hurt my application? Everyone please tell me what you think! I am super anxious!

I don’t think it is wrong to contact another professor. It’s good to have your options open when trying to figure out who you want to work with. It doesn’t seem like you made a commitment to the other professor either, and I see no reason to contact the professor until you know for sure who you want to work with. 

I hope this helps! Good luck! 

[OliverXu]

Thank you!

is it okay even I expressed huge interest to the previous professor? I just didn’t anticipate this happening.

[Teaching Faculty Wannabe]

2 hours ago, OliverXu said:

Thank you!

is it okay even I expressed huge interest to the previous professor? I just didn’t anticipate this happening.

Yeah, I think so. I feel like professors should know that students are trying to figure out who they want to work with. 

For one of the schools I applied to, I talked to someone who contacted me and wanted me to work in their lab. Their research is really cool, so I thought it was a good fit. I then got contacted by another professor and talked to them. The second professor was a way better fit for me. The thing with this program is that I had to choose an advisor before my application could be reviewed. So, I had to let the first professor know that I had chosen someone else and they seemed understanding. Stuff like this happens, so I feel like professors should be prepared. This process is a two way street. Professor choose you, but you also choose them.