Approaching faculty after applying: good or bad idea?

[Guest bubuli]

Hi,

I'm an international student applying to an MFA program in Studio Art at the same university where my husband is pursuing his PhD in engineering.

I am deliberating whether I should go and meet with the professor of my interest now that I have applied to the program.

Do you think it's a good idea to approach the faculty after my application has been submitted (deadline was Feb 1)?

I know I was SO naive that the thought of going to the professors or visiting their classes never crossed my mind. All this time I had the chance to do it - we live close to the school - but I was not aware of it due to my lack of knowledge. I just found out about people applying to the same school that went as far as asking for and getting recommendation letters from the professors they want to work with. All I did was just meeting with the Graduate Program Director and that was also the day before the application deadline. (I'm not sure if program directors are in the admissions committee. Are they usually involved in making admission decisions?)

Anyway, is it too late now to introduce myself, visit their classes, show my work, etc to appeal for admission to their program? Would this be a positive or negative effect to my application? I really want to get into their program.

Any opinion or advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Ludwig von Dracula]

Try doing a search on this topic. There have been a few recent threads (possibly in the applications folder? I can't remember) and the overwhelming consensus has been that it's a BAD idea to make your initial contact with a professor after you've already submitted your application.