Asking for a Professor's Opinion on Two Schools

[isitFriday?]

There's this one professor who was a member of the adcom of School X. I read his CV and it turns out he was previously part of School Y. So my question is, can I ask him about his opinion for both School X and Y, because I'm seriously considering both schools at this time? Or would he have a biased opinion and probably say more positive things on School X than School Y?

Thanks in advance! And I pressed enter too quickly when typing this topic. Hopefully no one else has read my nonsensical first posting.

Edited March 30, 2010 by isitFriday?

[profound_g]

Hmm. I guess you could say that since he is familiar with X too, you'd appreciate his opinion, and he probably wouldn't mind, but yes, he'd be biased. Still could offer useful information though.

[eucalyptus]

He's going to be biased, but he might still have an interesting perspective on this question. I think it's fair game to ask. I was very upfront with which other schools I was considering while I was on interviews, and I got a lot of (unsolicited) interesting inside information about the other programs, some of which really helped me make my decision. You do have to take it with a grain of salt though, especially if the prof in question wants you enough to be actively recruiting you.

[gsams]

Take it with a grain of salt, but don't be afraid to ask. I found out through being asked by one advisor at school A about school B that my potential advisor B may be looking for positions outside of school B. That was a part of my decision. My own undergrad institution heavily recruited one potential advisor at another school, so I was told by an advisor here not to rely on that person as they were looking elsewhere. Academia is a small world and you will be surprised what you find. I was particularly interested to know if people were planning on staying on for 5 years so that they could at least see me through.

[BioTurboNick]

I did it too. The professor was also very careful to preface what he said that it was his personal view, but I think as long as you recognize that there could be a bias, go for it.