Contact Faculty?

[remyxomatosis]

Hello everybody,

I discovered this discussion forum recently, and it really helped me out (partly because now I feel I am not alone with all my questions).

My question may be slightly off-topic, however i believe it fits best into this subforum.

I am a chemistry student in Vienna, Austria (finished my MSc in June 2010) and have applied for a PhD in Materials Science at the following schools: Columbia, UCSB, Northwestern, Pen State and to the University of North Carolina.

Since I am a Fulbright Scholar, most of the application process is handled by the Institute of International Education (IIE). They strictly told me that I should not interfere with their negotiations, especially financial aspects (RAs, TAs,...). However, I heard that it is quite usual in the US to introduce oneself at the Universities one has applied for. Is this really the case? Do I need to visit the Schools prior to the application decisions?

When searching around I could only find information from Northwestern. They explicitly write in their FAQs NOT to contact any faculty prior to the admission decission. But what about the other schools? Can someone tell me if I should catch a flight and visit the faculties there?

In the european university system you would never do that, if you are not invited to. Thats why it took me by surprise when I heard about this.

I hope that someone can help me with my question,

thank you

remyxomatosis

[neuropsych76]

Hello everybody,

I discovered this discussion forum recently, and it really helped me out (partly because now I feel I am not alone with all my questions).

My question may be slightly off-topic, however i believe it fits best into this subforum.

I am a chemistry student in Vienna, Austria (finished my MSc in June 2010) and have applied for a PhD in Materials Science at the following schools: Columbia, UCSB, Northwestern, Pen State and to the University of North Carolina.

Since I am a Fulbright Scholar, most of the application process is handled by the Institute of International Education (IIE). They strictly told me that I should not interfere with their negotiations, especially financial aspects (RAs, TAs,...). However, I heard that it is quite usual in the US to introduce oneself at the Universities one has applied for. Is this really the case? Do I need to visit the Schools prior to the application decisions?

When searching around I could only find information from Northwestern. They explicitly write in their FAQs NOT to contact any faculty prior to the admission decission. But what about the other schools? Can someone tell me if I should catch a flight and visit the faculties there?

In the european university system you would never do that, if you are not invited to. Thats why it took me by surprise when I heard about this.

I hope that someone can help me with my question,

thank you

remyxomatosis

Welcome to the forums!!

I think (and I may be wrong) but most prospective graduate only contact professors to see if they are accepting students for the upcoming year. If the schools you are applying to do lab rotations (which i think is common in chemistry) than its not really a big deal.

I'm in psychology (cognitive neuroscience) so I had to make sure the professors I wanted to work with were accepting students so I emailed them and talked to a few of them on the phone before I applied. After you send in your application however, there is no real need to contact them.

Good luck!

[Langoustine]

I second neuropsych76, I am coming from Biology and while I had to contact faculty prior to applying (to see if they were taking graduate students-very common in sciences), basically once your application is in you do not contact faculty anymore. If they do interview visits and you are invited well then there is your chance to interact with them! But until then just relax!

[remyxomatosis]

Thank you for your answers neuropsych76 and Langoustine!

To be honest, I never considered that some gradschools wont take new students every year. Anyways, I figure since the IIE went along with my applications that I am going to be fine. Now I really need to relax...

Thank you again,

Remyxomatosis

[looking!]

Given its Northwestern, they take their words seriously. But try asking if they are taking students. They wont entertain anything more than that.

Hello everybody,

I discovered this discussion forum recently, and it really helped me out (partly because now I feel I am not alone with all my questions).

My question may be slightly off-topic, however i believe it fits best into this subforum.

I am a chemistry student in Vienna, Austria (finished my MSc in June 2010) and have applied for a PhD in Materials Science at the following schools: Columbia, UCSB, Northwestern, Pen State and to the University of North Carolina.

Since I am a Fulbright Scholar, most of the application process is handled by the Institute of International Education (IIE). They strictly told me that I should not interfere with their negotiations, especially financial aspects (RAs, TAs,...). However, I heard that it is quite usual in the US to introduce oneself at the Universities one has applied for. Is this really the case? Do I need to visit the Schools prior to the application decisions?

When searching around I could only find information from Northwestern. They explicitly write in their FAQs NOT to contact any faculty prior to the admission decission. But what about the other schools? Can someone tell me if I should catch a flight and visit the faculties there?

In the european university system you would never do that, if you are not invited to. Thats why it took me by surprise when I heard about this.

I hope that someone can help me with my question,

thank you

remyxomatosis