Previous advisors/mentors?

[Nytusse]

I am curious how often everyone keeps in touch with professors from undergrad or other programs, especially LOR writers. Do you update them once a year? Once a semester? Send cards over the holidays? I have no idea how much is too much, or how little is too little, especially with my Master's degree professors who are quite busy.

[fuzzylogician]

I guess the answer depends on the kind of relationship you have with your professors currently.

I keep active contact with some of my professors -- one or two will occasionally still ask me to read a manuscript for them and I'll ask for their advice too. Some I haven't spoken with since I left my university. I send them all Christmas cards in December (done it twice already, and I plan to do it again this year). I haven't seen any of them in conferences since I left, but I'm sure we would have coffee and catch up if I did. Once you have a network it's good practice to maintain it, even at a very basic level.

[Eigen]

I went to school where I grew up, so when I go back to town I usually make time to have coffee/chat with my old professors, and we see each other at conferences and such. If it's been a while, I'll send an e-mail every 3 mos or so to keep in touch. I've also been invited back to speak to the students considering grad school, etc.

I think keeping up close ties with old mentors is very important.

[TMP]

Agreed with fuzzy. It depends on your relationships with your professors. My undergraduate adviser's like my academic BFF so I e-mail her, maybe, once a month or something. Her colleague gets e-mails from me once or twice a year because we didn't get a chance to really develop our relationship after my class with him because he was on sabbatical for the rest of my undergraduate semesters. As for my MA program, I'm keeping in fairly frequent contact at the moment because of the application season but I would imagine that in the future, it might be more like once each season (holiday time, March/April, middle of summer, late September/October).

If you're not super close, then just keep it all professional and maybe after each semester and summer after your coursework and research projects are completed so you have something to talk about.

Professors, especially LOR writers, love to know what's going on with their students. I've asked my professors about their past students and they said, "Well, Sally left 2 or 3 years ago and got a job/accepted into Program Y and... I don't know. I heard anything." It'll go a very long way if you can keep in good contact, especially for networking and advice later on.

[StrangeLight]

i meet with all three of my LOR writers individually whenever i go back to the town where i got my undergrad degree, so maybe once a year (i have friends but not family there so i don't go as often as i like). my undergrad advisor is friends with my current advisor and another professor in our field in my current program, so i think she gets updated a bit. i do talk to her on occasion about work through email, but maybe only a few times a year. another of my LOR writers talks to me all the time. we skype. my best friend is currently working with him on his MA so we also talk through my friend.

they like to hear from you. even profs that didn't write your LORs like it. i've heard that prof. X got all excited when she heard i emailed and wanted to know what i was up to, and i didn't realize she even knew i went to grad school.