When to Contact?

[cliopatra]

Hello everyone,

Please forgive me if this post belongs somewhere else (I'm new to the site).

I just finished year 1 of my MA and plan on doing a PhD afterward. I have already researched potential schools/supervisor for fall 2011. Now when should I be contacting them? Is this summer too early? Or would early Fall (say September) be more reasonable?

Also, some people might disagree, but I am very interested in continuing at my current institution for my PhD. I would love to continue working with my supervisor. The problem is I mentioned something very briefly to him about doing a PhD earlier this month and he said something along the lines of "don't get too ahead of yourself, I would worry about finishing this year first." I finished strongly so my performance is not an issue. Why would he be trying to deter me from this conversation? How and when should I approach him for this conversation, and what sort of reactions should I be looking for?

Thank you for your support!

Clio

[DariaIRL]

I just finished year 1 of my MA and plan on doing a PhD afterward. I have already researched potential schools/supervisor for fall 2011. Now when should I be contacting them? Is this summer too early? Or would early Fall (say September) be more reasonable?

It depends on when the application deadlines are. For instance, if the app deadline is within December 2010 for consideration the following September 2011, they will likely be updating info/processes during the summer 2010. In which case, you can write in summer to see if it's too early to apply / have they completed updates for the next admissions cycle.

[conan33]

Hi there!

That's an interesting topic, thank you for posting.

I was wondering the same for my girlfriend who is going to apply for fall 2011, the deadline is going to be early Jan.

I myself applied this year and got admitted for fall 2010. I am an international student and I contacted professors by email at the end of October.

However, she is coming with me this summer and it would be an excellent opportunity to meet potential advisors while she is in the US.

But is it too early to meet profs at the end of August if the deadline for applications is early Jan?

Thanks for any advice!

To clio: maybe your advisor at this time of the year cannot assure you he will have funding to support you as a research assistant, I would try to talk him again this summer!

[mmm35]

I visited the school that I will attend in August last year. I e-mailed the department grad coordinator because I had a day off work and he said to stop by. They were very nice about it and I met with several professors and grad students and loved the place. Now I am attending in the fall (and I think that meeting them all in person probably helped my application, and meeting with them in August showed that I was really interested in the school and was thinking ahead).

So tell your girlfriend to try to set up appointments in August. The worst case is that the professors will be busy and say no, but I don't think it could possibly harm her chances of admittance.

[DariaIRL]

Agreed w/ watergirl...have your gf set up appointments to meet with profs while she's here for the summer. Depending on if the school is on semesters or quarters, some faculty may be on summer vacation and unavailable.