Have you or are you having contact with the faculty in the programs you are applying to?

[avee]

I've had contact with faculty at each program I am applying to, but have only met with one professor in person. What about everyone else?

[panasic]

I've made contact, but haven't had in-depth contact with professors. Many programs understand that pre-application interviews initiated by the student may be attempts to gain favor and discourage their professors from engaging too much. They just say they can answer specific questions, but each student will be accepted on their own merits. Hope this helps. They at least may remember your name and be curious what you're about.

[avee]

I've actually been told this is a good thing to do, as many programs accept from within the university. It's also good for professors to put a face to your application. What it all boils down to is whether they think you will be a good fit for the program--and by 'fit,' this means being able to form a dissertation committee by having similar research interests with the faculty. Some programs will reject you just based on not having enough research interests in line with their faculty.

[avee]

Panasic, what programs are you applying to?

[RefurbedScientist]

I've tried to reach out to one professor in each program, which is not to say I'm only interested in one. I just don't have time to send very personalized emails to 3 professors at each school. My ostensible objective was to ask if they would mind if I mentioned their name in my statement of purpose. My ulterior motive is of course to ingratiate myself in case the admissions committee comes asking questions.

What are your views on mentioning specific professors in your statement of purpose without first being touch with them?

[avee]

Every single SoP I have written talks specifically about the professors I want to work with. You need to make sure you cover that area in this essay.

[Palito]

I did extensive research into the interests of, and theoretical foundations espoused by professors I am interested in working with. More than anything else, this served as criteria for my selection of programs. Like Avee, I made it a priority to discuss my fit with faculty in my SOPs. However, I haven't really reached out to any professors. I guess I just have a lot of anxiety about it and am unsure of how to initiate contact in a meaningful way; i.e., I have an issue with contacting them about information about the program, or his or her current research when I just spent 10 months piecing together that information myself. But I can't help but feel that I'm just not recognizing some simple way to make contact.

What kind of questions have people asked when reaching out to complete strangers that may have the power and desire to help steer your trajectory in life toward a program of study that you believe to be perfect for you? Does anyone think it's not too late for me to try?

Edited November 17, 2011 by Palito

[Karlito]

It's not too late. I would even say it is the perfect time. The way I do it now is contacting potential supervisors (and it feels pretty weird to see "Re: about supervision" from one of your intellectual hero in your inbox) to ask them if they still take students in your area of interest. Research agendas change and you better make sure that all this information you have researched is just not a waste of time and money (ie there is no point in applying if you know you POI is now doing something else).

I am much more skeptical about the benefits for your application about contacting POIs, I do not see them sponsoring your app or anything. The main benefit of getting in touch is to know if they are still doing what you think (and hope) they are doing.

[avee]

I agree with Karlito, though my thoughts are slightly differing. Don't e-mail professors asking about the program. Ask them about their research. I have met in person with two professors from contacting them via e-mail. One professor even set up a time for us to chat on the phone about research. Beside meeting in person, other professors have corresponded with me about research. And so, I don't believe that contacting them will give you an advantage, per se, but there are instances where faculty will put their vote in for you being accepted. My advisor, for instance, almost did not get into UVA if it weren't for a professor she met and clicked with beforehand. I personally just feel it's a good idea--it's not as though you are trying to get them to see who you are. No, no, no. It's about you getting a feel for the program as much as you want them to get a feel for you. If you are e-mailing professors at a particular program (and ONLY talking about current/future research) and no one responds, do you really want to apply there? Do you think these professors will be interested in being on your dissertation committee? This is something to consider.

Palito: You are overthinking it. E-mail them, tell them about your research interests and any kind of research you have done for your master's or whatnot, and then do a one liner about their research. "I know that you do research in ___________. What kind of research are you currently doing or plan to do in the near future?"

Something like that. Don't overwhelm them with a long e-mail. They are professors--they don't want to read a long e-mail by a random person.

[Palito]

I overcame my anxiety and took the leap. I have already received a very promising response from a professor whose work I find really inspiring! Guess I just needed a little nudge in the right direction. Thanks y'all.

[avee]

Good job!!!!!!!

[avee]

I am going to go ahead and speculate that having a professor e-mail you back (someone whose research you find inspiring), makes applying to that program even better!

[inwhatway]

I had a lot of anxiety about this, too. I'm a first-generation college/grad school student, so I wasn't certain if contacting prospective advisors was a good, or bad idea. After all, I didn't want to bother them so close to admissions season. But, this is one of those things that nearly all Ph.D. applicants do. It's a shrewd insider tipthat is so commonly done that it isn't even talked about, much like dropping by office hours to cultivate a relationship with a potential grad school reference or leveraging second- and third-choice financial aid packages to increase your first-choice school's initial offer.

I followed my instincts and emailed faculty at each program -- all but one responded with enthusiasm. Two POIs set up "pre-applicant" interviews where I got a chance to ask questions that weren't directly addressed on the Schools' websites. Also, this step has the potential to change that magic sentence from "I would like to work with Dr. Smith" to "Dr. Smith has agreed to be my mentor."

[Darth.Vegan]

So I am applying next cycle, I plan to contact all the professors I would hope to work with at the schools I am applying to. I am also using this as an opportunity to take some schools off my list. If it is a school I am not sure about applying to, and potential advisers either don't write me back or don't seem interested I won't apply there. Now if it's one of my dream schools I will apply there even if they tell me I have no chance! haha.

[socihealth]

I have had brief email commutation with POIs at each school (just to see if they are taking students) and to introduce myself. Most responded positively. At one of my top choice programs I met the the POI in person in a meeting I asked for. I am glad I did, it was a good chance for me to meet.

[ThisSlumgullionIsSoVapid]

Out of 15 programs, I tried contacting about 7 of them and got good responses from 4 of them. Two of them I have had at length conversations with. One of them even forwarded our conversation to the graduate chair and then I proceeded to have an exchange with him. I'm really hoping this conversations help me out because it is at a university that, if I were accepted at, I would choose over most programs I applied to.

The other strong contact I made was at the ASA. It was a friend of my mentor that has similar research interests to me. I applied to his university and, while I would be a great fit with him, I wouldn't be so much for the whole program so we'll see how that one pans out.

[ThisSlumgullionIsSoVapid]

Oh, and it is really hit or miss with some people. I had a few people reply very apathetically "I don't have a say in admissions" (or something of that sort).

One of my professors at my current university told me that I could probably get a good feel for how working with certain people would be strictly off of how they are in e-mail exchanges (if they're willing to even reply/how they talk towards students/etc). The one that was most helpful and forwarded to the grad chair also sent me some articles he wrote in the past that are right up my ally.

So, anyways, to future readers just send them an e-mail and see what happens. I used the title "Research Fit" then I proceeded to let them know when I was applying, that I have read some of their research (listed the article/s that I read) and then shared my research interests and, to get some kind of response from them, I asked if they were accepting/working with students next year and if they felt we were a good fit.

[sciencegirl]

I agree here with @TSISoVapid... you can just send out some polite emails and see what happens... and don't read too much into it. One POI actually replied to me 3 months after I sent my e-mail -- when I first got no response, I had the standard thoughts of "this person must be terrible at working with graduates" and the also self-deprecating feeling of "I stink and sound so boring that my POI had no interest in writing back" -- then it turns out she actually just had a baby the week I wrote my e-mail and was off on sabbatical all year (but this was obviously not played up on the school's website). Oops. My bad. These professors have lives and it must be hard to write back to everyone who hounds then, even students who they think might be great to work with and have in their program.

[avee]

So just a quick note: I totally failed with my contacts at one of the programs I applied to (and I only applied to 7). The advisor for the program did not e-mail me back until Christmas Break, when I had e-mailed her in August. She said she found my e-mail in her spam box. Then, she told me that two of the 4 professors I listed in my SoP are RETIRED (not updated on their website). THEN, if things couldn't get worse, she said I should probably send in another SoP without their names mentioned so the committee doesn't think I'm a bad fit for the program.

Well. Sigh. Okay. I actually never sent in another SoP. Looks like that program is a bust. Oh well.

[Supernovasky]

Well, I emailed at least 12 professors today, 1-2 from each school I am going to. Just last night, 30 minutes after sending one, I got a reply! It was short and sweet, just her thanking me for emailing her and saying good luck and she'll be looking out for my application, but still... she really is a professor I could see myself working with!

[Chuck]

These professors have lives and it must be hard to write back to everyone who hounds then, even students who they think might be great to work with and have in their program.

Yes! Keep in mind that until a professor has all your application materials in front of them they're in no position to fully evaluate you as an applicant. I find this very reassuring. As long as you communicate in a professional and intelligent manner, the degree to which a POI is responsive to your initial inquiry as a prospective student is inherently not a referendum on you personally. A smart POI will not have entered the territory of truly judging your application until they've made a considered evaluation of your whole profile through your complete application materials. Then he/she will choose to contact you (or not) on the basis of an evaluation of your fit as a candidate. So go into your initial meetings with faculty with this in mind- you're both just trying, in good faith, to find the best graduate match.

[sciencegirl]

@Chuck.. agreed!

My guess, is that if I was a professor, I would kindly write back quickly to as many people who write to me with helpful information if I could, but not engage too deeply (or a long back and forth e-mail thread) with a student until I had a lot more information about that student. Unless you do what some professors do (M. Waters at Harvard has a gentle "I can not respond to admissions e-mails" notice), you probably try to respond quickly and politely, but not give favoritism until the entire review process begins with all the materials in hand. It makes sense - someone who sounds completely coherent over e-mail might be a terrible academic writer, but only evident in their writing sample.

Probably the most helpful thing about contacting departments though is what @avee experienced. Although, as I mentioned before, contacting graduate students might be a good way to get that type of information (who is retiring, who doesn't work with students, who is great with graduate students, etc).

[Chuck]

I find the courtship dance of building a relationship with prospective faculty prior to admission to be somewhat necessary but inherently problematic. Personally, I talked one or several POI's at almost every program I applied to (but not all). These were short informational conversations to confirm the relevant information for someone at that stage in the application process: Are you accepting students? What direction is your research going? Are you interested in pursuing this particular thematic overlap with my proposed topic of research? After a conversation that would last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, I had all the information I needed as a prospective applicant to the program. I honestly think that these sessions were much more valuable to me as an applicant than they could have been for the professors. Sure, I was on my best behavior and basically treated the conversation as I would a job interview. But the interaction was more about me getting information from them than the other way around. I told them enough about myself so as to pique their interest - and later thanked them for their time and referred them to my completed application. Only rarely did a professor ask me evaluative questions about myself as an applicant (and, totally wierdly, the question was about my GRE scores! Who does that?! Needless to say, I did not pursue working with this particular person. My GRE scores happen to be great, but I am hardly impressed by someone who sees them as the first thing they need to know about me. Boo!).

But here's where it gets problematic. I don't understand this idea among many of my colleagues that they should somehow be pursuing a full-fledged relationship with prospective PhD advisors. At best, this seems like a net waste of time for both advisor and student. Why begin a working relationship (which requires time, effort, and other investments) prior to admission (the formal process that protects the interests of both student and professor prior to the investment of time, work, etc)? At worst it's disingenuous, and potentially compromises the purpose of a "fair" admissions process. I can't tell you how many times my MS advisor laughed out loud at smarmy "Dear professor, I want to work with you so much" e-mails. Though some smarm+charm unfortunately does seem to get some people the leg-up. There are a number of departments out there which are notorious for allowing applicants to sidestep an honest formal evaluation. A few professors I talked to mentioned that they had "already identified" the applicants they would be accepting for the following year. Shocked, I asked how this could be possible, since the final submission deadline was then still months away. I never received what I felt was a satisfactory answer.

[Darth.Vegan]

Chuck,

I feel like you sort of answered your own inquiry here, which might of been the point.

The reality is that rarely is a "fair admissions process" an actual reality. I have talked to numerous

advisers all of which have encouraged me to reach to potential advisers as much as possible. While

a potential adviser taking an interest in a potential grad student does not ensure one will get into a program, it certainly can help.

[msafiri]

But here's where it gets problematic. I don't understand this idea among many of my colleagues that they should somehow be pursuing a full-fledged relationship with prospective PhD advisors. At best, this seems like a net waste of time for both advisor and student. Why begin a working relationship (which requires time, effort, and other investments) prior to admission (the formal process that protects the interests of both student and professor prior to the investment of time, work, etc)? At worst it's disingenuous, and potentially compromises the purpose of a "fair" admissions process. I can't tell you how many times my MS advisor laughed out loud at smarmy "Dear professor, I want to work with you so much" e-mails. Though some smarm+charm unfortunately does seem to get some people the leg-up.

Here's the thing: It's not necessarily a waste of time. When I applied to MA programs, I was in close contact with a few professors. One of those became my MA advisor. Another is now a mentor and external member of my dissertation committee. That relationship began years ago and has continued to be a useful professional relationship for me over the past several years. So, that's why it can make sense to try to develop a good relationship. Even if you don't go to that school, that person can still be a mentor, advisor, and useful contact in the future.

There are a number of departments out there which are notorious for allowing applicants to sidestep an honest formal evaluation. A few professors I talked to mentioned that they had "already identified" the applicants they would be accepting for the following year. Shocked, I asked how this could be possible, since the final submission deadline was then still months away. I never received what I felt was a satisfactory answer.

Can you explain this a bit further? I've never heard of this kind of thing. I know that professors will be on the look out for particular applications, which may not entirely be the applicant's fault. When I applied to PhD programs, one of my recommenders knew a bunch of the people I was applying to work with and, apparently, told them that I was applying and to keep an eye out for my application, which ended up working out really well for me. That said, I did not ask him to do this so it wasn't like I was trying to sidestep the formal process by any means.