Emailing POI?

[IO-hopeful]

I am currently applying to I/O Psychology PhD Programs for the Fall of 2012. I was curious about emailing POI beforehand. I have heard mixed things from several graduate students. Would it be beneficial to contact them beforehand, hoping that they remember me when the application process comes around, or is this just bothersome to professors ?

Perhaps some current graduate student could chime in here. Did you/did you not contact them before applying? Do you feel it benefitted you? etc etc etc . . . .

Thanks for the advice everyone!

[Zencarrot]

Your response from the POI is going to be hit or miss. I have always emailed them prior to (or at least during) my application process. Responses ranged from short and dubious replies, in some cases telling me to "Contact me again when you're admitted", to very welcoming emails which in some cases were followed up with a phone conversation. In some cases I have also received no reply at all. I think it's safe to assume that all three outcomes are rather common.

I would always email or call your POI. Worst case scenario is they say they cannot talk to you. It definitely will not HURT your chances.

In my experience, calling/emailing beforehand really helped me get in to my M.Sc. I developed a relationship with my POI prior to enrollment and actually landed a letter of reference and paid research experience out of it. It did not help so much in getting admitted to a PhD program, but like I said - the outcome is going to vary.

Hope that helps. Give it a shot - you've nothing to lose.

[Scalia]

When would you consider contacting POI's. I'm torn between doing it during the summer or in early fall yet both times seem less than ideal for obvious reasons: in the summer lots of faculty are on quasi-vacation, and in the fall there is always the madness of classes starting etc. Thoughts?

[neuropsych76]

When would you consider contacting POI's. I'm torn between doing it during the summer or in early fall yet both times seem less than ideal for obvious reasons: in the summer lots of faculty are on quasi-vacation, and in the fall there is always the madness of classes starting etc. Thoughts?

I'd shoot for September/early October. You want to try to get them early enough in the school year but late enough so that they know if they are taking a student for next fall.

But as long as you keep the email brief and to the point most seem to reply.

[carlyhylton]

Your response from the POI is going to be hit or miss. I have always emailed them prior to (or at least during) my application process. Responses ranged from short and dubious replies, in some cases telling me to "Contact me again when you're admitted", to very welcoming emails which in some cases were followed up with a phone conversation. In some cases I have also received no reply at all. I think it's safe to assume that all three outcomes are rather common.

I would always email or call your POI. Worst case scenario is they say they cannot talk to you. It definitely will not HURT your chances.

In my experience, calling/emailing beforehand really helped me get in to my M.Sc. I developed a relationship with my POI prior to enrollment and actually landed a letter of reference and paid research experience out of it. It did not help so much in getting admitted to a PhD program, but like I said - the outcome is going to vary.

Hope that helps. Give it a shot - you've nothing to lose.

Would you recommend calling them or emailing them?

[gellert]

^^Emailing, because that gives you greater control over what you say, and more time to think about your choice of words. Just don't overthink it.

[neuropsych76]

^^Emailing, because that gives you greater control over what you say, and more time to think about your choice of words. Just don't overthink it.

I agree But if they offer to talk on the phone after your email, I would definitely say yes. Even if you don't end up applying to that school, it's still great practice for interviews and experience for talking to people in academia outside of your college.

[cogneuroforfun]

Email is the way to go. I think I emailed mine earlier than you guys are recommending, like July-ish. It is true that their funding situation in a year may not be set in stone, but I wanted to give myself time to hear back from professors and ask questions before committing myself to writing an SoP or application for any given program. A few programs I knew I would apply to, whether I heard back from profs or not. But for most of them, I ended up applying because I was interested and the PI(s) I emailed also seemed interested. I actually only had one program/PI out of ten that I did not hear back from via email, which I still can't believe!

[Zencarrot]

Yeah. Emailing first is an easier way to break the ice. There is always a chance that you will reach them at a very bad time with a phone call and you will be dismissed immediately.

Aside from that, email seems to be the preferred mode of communication for many academics (at least in my experience). I have had a few awkward phone conversations where I have been forced to carry the conversation entirely on my own.

[honkycat1]

I have emailed some profs but to be quite honest, I think it made 0 difference in the outcomes of my applications. Most people will tell you differently but with I/O psych specifically, emailing POI is just not as important because I/O does not use a fellowship model in gradschool unlike ALL the other programs. You do NOT work with one prof specifically and you do not apply to work with one prof. Most I/O programs admit you into the program and work it out from there. Unlike cognitive psych or social psych where its important for your interest to mesh with one or two of the faculty, this is not expected in I/O, I think the interest requirement is MUCH more general in I/O than the other psych fields. So, will it hurt to email POIs? never, but will it increase your chances? I'd say its insignificant, now if you were applying to social psychology, then it would be a totally different story.

also, as previously mentioned, departments accept students into the program, so this is also different with other programs where your POI might not have enough funding for another grad student, you want to know before you apply. This, also, as far as I know, do not apply to I/O psychology because their model is different

Edited July 25, 2011 by donnyz89

[yubby]

i'm in the same boat as OP.

what should i include in the email?

is asking if they are accepting grad students enough?

[psychapplicant2011]

You definitely want to email POI to make sure he/she is excepting students. Keep the email brief, and only ask questions that are easily answerable with a yes or no. (Really, the only question you need to be asking at this point in time is if they are accepting new students next year ... )

When I emailed last year, I introduced myself (name), gave one or two brief sentences about my background, mentioned that I was interested in working with them next year as a PhD student (and very briefly why I was interested in working with them), and then asked if they would be accepting students. We are talking six total sentences with one simple question.

If you keep it simple, you are more likely to get a response.

[jynx]

I emailed everyone I applied to work with, and I don't think it made any difference in terms of getting accepted. But, as others have said, it certainly can't hurt, and it is a must if you're not sure if they're accepting students. Just make sure to keep it short.

[socialpsych]

I was accepted to several programs and did not email any of the profs beforehand. (I did email a lot of grad students, including, at one school, grad students who were part of the adcom. But that wasn't my intention when I emailed them.)

Personally I was advised (by professors) that it is annoying to receive email from applicants. But I know a lot of people do it. I think it's defensible either way and comes down to what feels most comfortable to you. I did not feel comfortable cold-emailing professors so I didn't. And things turned out fine for me.

However, I would strongly advise against telephone cold-calls. Profs may or may not be annoyed by unsolicited emails but I'm pretty sure they'd be annoyed by unsolicited phone calls. Profs are very busy, and a ringing telephone is more disruptive than an email -- even if your intentions are good it may come off as presumptuous. However, if a prof offers via email to speak to you on the phone, by all means do it.

[Scalia]

Just an update on how emailing profs has gone for me.

I have emailed 7 prospective profs at programs I'm interested in and it's been only 24 hours and I've already received 4 responses:

• One sent me a really detailed message on what she's working on and offered to exchange articles that she's interested in.
  
• One thanked me for my inquiry but stated that they weren't sure if they would be excepting grad students because they were the newly announced department chair
  
• One very briefly stated that they would be accepting grad students
  
• The last one said they would be accepting grad students and would be looking for my application (they know my undergraduate advisor
  

So overall it has been fairly successful I think. One note; I did follow the introduce yourself, state your interest in working with them, ask if they were taking grad students formula described in a post earlier in this thread.

[Zencarrot]

Just an update on how emailing profs has gone for me.

I have emailed 7 prospective profs at programs I'm interested in and it's been only 24 hours and I've already received 4 responses:

• One sent me a really detailed message on what she's working on and offered to exchange articles that she's interested in.
  
• One thanked me for my inquiry but stated that they weren't sure if they would be excepting grad students because they were the newly announced department chair
  
• One very briefly stated that they would be accepting grad students
  
• The last one said they would be accepting grad students and would be looking for my application (they know my undergraduate advisor
  

So overall it has been fairly successful I think. One note; I did follow the introduce yourself, state your interest in working with them, ask if they were taking grad students formula described in a post earlier in this thread.

Awesome news! Glad it has gone so well for you!

[carlyhylton]

There has been some disagreement on whether this is SUCH a good idea or not... I'm wondering, might this vary by program?

[waiting123]

When I applied I emailed professors first. I don't think it made much of a difference. It's nice to hear if they won't be accepting new students so that you don't waste money on an application. Some of the professors would respond in confusing ways. Like, "yes, the department will be accepting new students". Well I was asking about you personally, not the department... So that probably just caused more frustration for me.

[gellert]

There has been some disagreement on whether this is SUCH a good idea or not... I'm wondering, might this vary by program?

General consensus from what I hear is that yes, 9 times out of 10 it's a very good idea. For the profs who don't like being contacted, it will generally say so on the website. If not and it's a personal thing for them, worst that can happen is ... absolutely nothing. They just won't read it. They're not sitting around vindictively taking names of students who contact them like "muhahahaha this student did something that vaguely annoyed me but is typical of the field! I shall be sure not to accept her, regardless of how well-qualified her application is! muhahahaha!" ...You know?

[ILuvPsych2013]

I have heard conflicting reports and have ultimately decided that how a professor responds to your inquiry just plain and simply depends on the professor. Some view it as applicants trying to get an "unfair advantage" in the process. Others view it favorably as a sign of initiative. ULTIMATELY, here's what one of my profs told me: "If a prof takes issue with you being interested in working with them, you probably wouldn't want to work with them anyway."

[maristman]

I have a question that I was hoping you could help me think through: It's now mid-Feb and after having a successful interview, a series of very positive emails with my POI, waiting to hear my fate is so painful! I'm pretty sure the admissions committee has already met. Do you think I could inquire to my professor of interest whether or not I have been admitted -- or take the silence in stride and wait for the grad school to send their notice? There are no dates listed for receiving decision news for my program in GradCafe...

[watson]

I have a question that I was hoping you could help me think through: It's now mid-Feb and after having a successful interview, a series of very positive emails with my POI, waiting to hear my fate is so painful! I'm pretty sure the admissions committee has already met. Do you think I could inquire to my professor of interest whether or not I have been admitted -- or take the silence in stride and wait for the grad school to send their notice? There are no dates listed for receiving decision news for my program in GradCafe...

You can email and say how much you enjoyed the interview and casually state "I hope to hear back from you and the committee soon", and if it is your first choice you can emphasize that. POIs will take the hint and fill you in on whether or not the committee has met yet, and may cough up more details but you can't push them too much

[maristman]

Thanks. I did write such an email immediately following our interview (which was about 3 weeks ago). I am wondering if I could send a follow-up to that email asking if they have made a decision yet. The program reports to the Graduate School, which relays the information to the applicants so there is some lag time. The more I think about it, the more I think that patience should be a virtue in this instance.

[omigoshlolz]

How do you guys feel about emailing after applying? I emailed previously to introduce myself and ask if they were taking students. They replied with yes, they were accepting. Now my applications are in and I'm sure they're in the middle of the decision process. Do I email them again, reminding them who I am? I applied to all Master's programs and only Temple and Adler have interviews, which I have been scheduled to attend in March. But what about those without interviews? Should I email?

I never really thought of it before, but just recently started contemplating as I saw a post on it somewhere around here. I'm not exactly comfortable with it...I don't know, I hate appearing annoying (lol!), but on the other hand, I still want them to know I'm interested! Help?

[kaister]

How do you guys feel about emailing after applying? I emailed previously to introduce myself and ask if they were taking students. They replied with yes, they were accepting. Now my applications are in and I'm sure they're in the middle of the decision process. Do I email them again, reminding them who I am? I applied to all Master's programs and only Temple and Adler have interviews, which I have been scheduled to attend in March. But what about those without interviews? Should I email?

I never really thought of it before, but just recently started contemplating as I saw a post on it somewhere around here. I'm not exactly comfortable with it...I don't know, I hate appearing annoying (lol!), but on the other hand, I still want them to know I'm interested! Help?

I did this before. I just emailed and asked about what research they're doing currently and what they think they may be working on in the future and if they can recommend any reading that is relevant to their research. Just anything about their research I think would be safe to message them about. It shows interest and hopefully reminds them about you.