Scheduling a Meeting

[farenheit451]

Hi

I'm currently in Germany, working on my Master's degree (Neural and Behavioral Sciences). I will be applying for Fall 2013 PhD programs.

My question is this: I'll be in New York for the month of August and was thinking of visiting Professors. Is that acceptable or just odd? How does one go about sending requests for this? I tried once, last year, and got the most annoyed response from a Professor who didn't seem to know why I would want a meeting.

I realize that I won't be applying to a specific Professor, but if I am applying to a specific program and hope to work with two or three specific Professors, doesn't it make sense to see if I actually like them and their research? I also would like to get a feel of what the University and it's Professors are like.

Thanks!

[3point14]

This is definitely acceptable! I did this for pretty much all the schools I applied to. I sent an initial email to professors expressing interest in their work/the program and asked if they would be accepting grad students for Fall 2012. If I got a generally positive response, I would follow up with something along the lines of "I'll be in [X City] between these dates, would it be possible to meet in person and talk about your work?" This worked really well for me, and I met with all of the professors I emailed (ironically, the only one I didn't meet with is the one whose program I'll be attending).

[Sigaba]

Keep in mind that professors are not necessarily people persons and that they can be busy and that they may see the summer months as their time.

Also, please consider the advantages of bringing something to the table in addition to your curiosity when you initiate communications with established academics. At the very least, I recommend that you find ways to demonstrate that you've done your due diligence as a potential applicant. Otherwise, you may well run the risk of coming across as someone on a fishing expedition.

Finally, please keep in mind that there's a big difference between "liking" a professor and respecting her and her work and that while what you think of her may be important to you, it is not as important as what she thinks of you.

HTH.

[ktel]

In my communications with professors, it was typically them who suggested setting up a meeting if at all possible. For the case of one school I actually just stopped in unannounced and mentioned to the department secretary that I was just looking at the building because I was thinking of applying there. Next thing I knew I was in the graduate director's office for over an hour and was then introduced to several profs. The common thread in all of my experiences is that they were happy and enthusiastic to speak with me, and I would not have pushed myself on them if they weren't. I also think it would be worthwhile to contact a department secretary or someone like that and mention that you would like to just take a tour of the building, and mention why. From this you can gauge their reaction and willingness to want to meet with you otherwise.

[TakeruK]

My experience is similar to ktel's -- for "uninvited visits/open houses" (that is, a visit that was initiated by me), I emailed the graduate coordinator (a prof) and/or an administrative staff member responsible for graduate admissions saying that I would be in town for these dates, that I would be interested in applying to their school and what my fields of interests are. Sometimes they would then ask me for some names and then everything else is set up by the department -- a complete schedule of activities and meetings. It would make way more sense for the department staff to handle the logistics of setting up meetings instead of you having to email each individual prof and try to make the schedules all work out.

For the schools I visited in this way (2 years ago, Canadian programs), I did this during my February reading break which was after I've already submitted my applications (due dates are Jan-March) but, with the exception of 1 school, before any decisions were actually made. So I guess I had the advantage of visiting close to their normal Open House dates and during admissions season, instead of the summer. As Sigaba said, from my interactions with faculty I know, summer does seem to be considered "their time" (i.e. they don't have to teach, sit on committees, etc. -- they can finally focus on their research and conference travel). So, when people ask me when to talk to profs about admissions, I usually advise them to wait until the fall / closer to application season. But I guess in your case, that might not be possible.

I also added a sentence in my original email asking if there was any funding available to support my visit, in an non-presumptuous way, and mentioned that I was actually combining 3 schools into one visit so the expenses would be pretty low. In the end, the trip was completely covered and they even paid for accommodations for the days where I wasn't visiting the school but just exploring the city. So, contacting the department for them to set things up turned out for the best! But it might also be better to save this question after the department has responded positively and invited you to visit.

[farenheit451]

Thank you for the responses! I emailed one Professor (at Rockefeller University, so it makes more sense) and two Coordinators. We will see what happens! Now it's all last minute, so I doubt I'll get much.