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Contacted by a Prof. not Mentioned in SOP for Interview -- How to Prepare?


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Posted

Dear all,

Need your help! I was recently contacted by a professor via email to set up a time for a phone interview. The professor was not mentioned in my essay, nor is the prof. the program director/coordinator. In my SOP, I had mentioned broad areas of research without going into much specifics. Three questions:

1) What does it mean when a prof not mentioned in the essay contacts you for a phone interview? Does it mean that the prof is my prospective adviser (which is great because the reason I didn't mention the name earlier was because I thought the prof. was a big shot based on the profile! In retrospect, it seems to me like a silly reason)?

2) Am I taking a risk if I now say that, from among the broader interests mentioned in my essay, my specific interest lies within what the prof. is involved in. Coincidentally, it does! If I do that, what are the chances that the prof. may say, "In that case, why didn't you put my name in the SOP" or think that I don't know what I am talking about?

3) Any other tips? (Things not to say, questions not to ask, etc.)

Thanks a lot.

Posted

50_50,

This (sort of) happened to me a couple of times. I'm in a different field and still in the app process, but what I can tell you so far is that for all of my phone convos, I spoke with the professor about their lab and research interests. They didn't mention any other profs or ask about my interests that would be un-related to theirs. I don't think they'll wonder why you didn't list them in their SOP - if you didn't list anyone than obviously you were addressing the program as a whole and trying to be broad. Be honest about your interests, let them guide the conversation, and to prepare read his/her work and know what you like about the program as a whole. He/she will probably be happy to know that s/he was right in guessing your specific interests. Prepare questions about the lab and feel free to ask about how collaborative the program is (like if students work with multiple advisers) but I wouldn't ask specifically about another prof unless they bring it up. Good luck!!

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