Contacting professors

[marica]

I've had some recent email correspondence going with potential advisors. How much does this really help in the admissions process?

[eklavya]

I've had some recent email correspondence going with potential advisors. How much does this really help in the admissions process?

from my experience, it does help. not tremendously, but the profs, when come across your app materials, will be like 'oh, i know this kid'. and that's about it. you at least have some advantage above others in a sense that you are pseudo-familiar with the profs and vv. good luck!

[qbtacoma]

You can potentially get them excited about having you, as well as advice about how to best tailor your application. I've had replies from some very gracious professors who told me what the admissions committee looks for. In one case I actually had a professor tell me that his department was looking for people with x interest (which was one of the many research directions that I could be happy with), and that allowed me to write a really specific SOP.

However, you can also make an unprofessional impression. I did because I copy-pasted my "about me" blurb between emails and accidentally double posted the text of the first two sentences in one email. Not particularly bad, but...yeesh. I did feel stupid.

[natsteel]

I made and received contact with all my potential advisors, had a few phone conversations, am meeting one in person next week, and had a prof. from a top program ask to see my SOP and sent it back with comments on how to better tailor it for that school's admissions committee. I don't know how much of a difference any of it will make, but, the way I see it, it can't hurt.

[rsldonk]

The unfortunate truth is that sometimes this can make a huge difference and other times, none at all. Even if a professor wants to work with you, and you are the top applicant to a program, due to things beyond your or the professor's control (usually funding), you may get passed over for admission because it's not that professor's turn to have a new student or they are going on sabbatical next year so they aren't accepting new students, or any number of reasons. Yeah it sucks if this happens, but there are internal university and departmental politics working behind the scenes with all our applications that mean just as much, if not more, than our GRE scores and GPA.

[TMP]

The unfortunate truth is that sometimes this can make a huge difference and other times, none at all. Even if a professor wants to work with you, and you are the top applicant to a program, due to things beyond your or the professor's control (usually funding), you may get passed over for admission because it's not that professor's turn to have a new student or they are going on sabbatical next year so they aren't accepting new students, or any number of reasons. Yeah it sucks if this happens, but there are internal university and departmental politics working behind the scenes with all our applications that mean just as much, if not more, than our GRE scores and GPA.

This. This is exactly what happened with my waitlists and one of the rejections last year.

History, I think, is changing slowly the way it handles admissions process. It seems important to contact professors. Professors are usually happy to learn a bit about the potential applicant and look at these contacts as interviews. If you can manage to talk on the phone or meet in person, it's pretty easy for both of you to determine if you can stand each other for as long as it takes you to finish your PhD, which could be more than 6 years. Given the volume of applications, it can make the professor's job easier in determining whose application he wants (or not) to read. History has become a lot more collaborative than it used to be than other humanities fields, which actually discourage contacts.

[natsteel]

This. This is exactly what happened with my waitlists and one of the rejections last year.

History, I think, is changing slowly the way it handles admissions process. It seems important to contact professors. Professors are usually happy to learn a bit about the potential applicant and look at these contacts as interviews. If you can manage to talk on the phone or meet in person, it's pretty easy for both of you to determine if you can stand each other for as long as it takes you to finish your PhD, which could be more than 6 years. Given the volume of applications, it can make the professor's job easier in determining whose application he wants (or not) to read. History has become a lot more collaborative than it used to be than other humanities fields, which actually discourage contacts.

Very true. I've read on the CHE forums where English professors discourage making any kind of contact with prospective advisors. 20-30 years ago fit was not a major consideration as my 2 older mentors said that faculty/fit had nothing to do with grad admissions in the 70s. But now, when fit is one of the most important considerations on the part of adcoms and departments, it seems like it only makes sense that you would want to explore the possible fit by contacting professors during the application process. It seemed like it was a common thing for all the profs that I emailed.

[StrangeLight]

the 70s was 40 years ago.

[Eigen]

Technically, the 70s was from 32-41 years ago. Gotta count the s in there

I mean, so long as we're nitpicking

Edited January 13, 2011 by Eigen

[BadgerHopeful]

Technically, the 70s was from 32-41 years ago. Gotta count the s in there

I mean, so long as we're nitpicking

Love.

[StrangeLight]

Technically, the 70s was from 32-41 years ago. Gotta count the s in there

I mean, so long as we're nitpicking

i noted the s on 70s. did you note the "20" in "20-30 years ago"?

[natsteel]

the 70s was 40 years ago.

Technically, the 70s was from 32-41 years ago. Gotta count the s in there

I mean, so long as we're nitpicking

Love.

i noted the s on 70s. did you note the "20" in "20-30 years ago"?

Seriously?

[Eigen]

When you quote a line of jabs back and forth and ask "Seriously?", it leaves me confused

[natsteel]

When you quote a line of jabs back and forth and ask "Seriously?", it leaves me confused

As in "Are you all seriously arguing about something so trivial?" Then again, my post was trivial as well. So... nevermind, then.

[Eigen]

Oh, that's easy... We're bored!

And I don't think in any way serious