How many POIs?

[printscreen]

Just out of curiosity....

How many POIs did you contact before getting in?

Were they all great fits on paper AND in person, or did the conversation determine more about the overall "fit"?

Are phone conversations as good as in person?

How much information is best to include in the introductory email.

Insider's Guide has a sample email, but it seems a bit artificial-- plunging right in and attempting to discuss study design, etc...

I've just introduced myself and stated interest and requested a visit.

Is this sufficient?

Are 14 POIs- one per school-- enough? How did this work out in your experiences?

[lewin]

I have to say, I've heard mixed opinions about contacting POI's. These are a few:

1. It's probably okay to contact POI's via email to introduce yourself and draw attention to your application. Keep it simple: "Hi, I am so-and-so. I liked your work on X and am considering applying with you to graduate school beginning Y. Are you taking students? I am interested in working on Z." Study design sounds way too presumptuous.

2. Some profs dislike students contacting them because they think it's circumventing the application process.

3. I would discourage phone calls and in-person visits. Phone calls are intrusive and they'll invite people they want to visit. Email is a better way of initiating contact.

4. In all cases, if the prof has instructions on his/her website, follow those.

ETA: The person I ended up working with--he and I talked on the phone once, after he made the offer, to arrange a visit. Before that one email like point (1) above.

Edited August 20, 2012 by lewin00

[PsychGirl1]

I agree with lewin00.

[ILuvPsych2013]

I also agree with lewin00. A couple more tidbits that I have heard from advisers, faculty, etc...

• Yes, some profs do not want to be contacted. If someone is going to get upset about the fact that you are interested in working with them, you probably do not want to work with them anyway.
  
• Some professors will ONLY look further at applications from people they have had contact with.
  
• Do not limit yourself to one POI from each school. For one, there are plenty of horror stories out there about PhD students getting left in the dust when the one faculty member they applied to work with leaves the university for another position. Secondly, you will need more than one person on your dissertation committee so it is good to start building those relationships early.
  

Bets of luck!

[lewin]

Some professors will ONLY look further at applications from people they have had contact with.

In my opinion this is worse than the profs who don't like being contacted. Universities have standard application procedures for a reason and--unless they encourage making email contact--then applying should be enough to get full consideration. There shouldn't be extra, unwritten requirements. (I'm not blaming you for this, ILuvPsych, I'm sure it happens. But it's a shitty thing for a prof to do.)

It might be curmudgenly, but my prof who doesn't like emails from potential students is right. It has become tolerated because everybody does it, but let's not kid ourselves about what the emailers are trying to accomplish: They are trying to get an advantage over other appilcants. I did it too! So avoid any whiff of this in your emails if you can.

Caveat: Emailing to ask whether a prof is taking students, unless that's posted somewhere, should always be acceptable.

[ILuvPsych2013]

I hear you lewin00. I also get frustrated with all of these "unwritten" rules and requests. It seems like such a crapshoot some days!

[stereopticons]

So, what do you do if you already know for certain that a POI doesn't know if they are taking students. For instance, I emailed one POI at a school that I want to apply to a received a reply that said that they, as a faculty, do not decide who is taking students until January. Do I email the rest of my POIs at that school (2 others, I think) and pretend that I don't know that in order to make contact with them? Do I email and say, I know you don't know if you're taking students, but I'm interested? Or do I not bother?

I don't want to lie, in case they talk to each other about it, but at the same time, it seems weird and like I'm trying to circumvent application process if I email and say I already know they don't know who is taking students.

Have you guys encountered this before?

[PsychGirl1]

My opinion- I think that if you hear from word of mouth that someone isn't taking students (ex. your friend or someone in your lab tells you mr. x isn't taking students), I'd go ahead and email them anyway to double check plus get some name recognition. But if you email a faculty at a school and they reply that they don't decide until january, I definitely would not email other people in the same department at the same school asking the same question. Sounds like you will probably apply to that school anyway, since there are multiple people with interesting research interests, and by the time they are looking at applications in December or January, I doubt they will remember one specific person who emailed them 4 months ago. But they would remember if they somehow found out you did that- for example, if a PI responded "We don't decide as a faculty until January, but you might also want to check out the reserach of mr x and mrs y" and CC'ed those other profs you had already gotten answers from. It just seems pointless and not worth the risk/potentially weird situation. Contacting POIs isn't a mandatory part of the process, and I think it should only be used when needed (ex. deciding what schools to apply to).

[MJordano]

How many POIs did you contact before getting in:

I'm just now contacting POIs. I'm sticking to 1-3 per school and only 3 if they are professors with similar interests and who maybe work together in labs.

Were they all great fits on paper AND in person, or did the conversation determine more about the overall "fit":

I've just been reading their past work, looking at the grant money they receive and reading their webpages.

Are phone conversations as good as in person?

I've heard email is best. They are busy people and phone calls may get annoying. If they are really interested they'll initiate a phone conversation or interview you after your application is in. Or they may request a CV or writing sample before the applications are officially due.

How much information is best to include in the introductory email.

I've been keeping mine short. Something along the lines of: Hello, my name is ______ and I'm a current senior and biology/psychology double major at ______ University. I'm interested in the topics of __________ and _________

and I was wondering if you were taking any students Fall of 2013 to work in your ____________ lab? I definitely include

a clear subject line with my name included.

Insider's Guide has a sample email, but it seems a bit artificial-- plunging right in and attempting to discuss study design, etc...

I've heard that long emails discussing a professor's past work, study designs, etc are discouraged. The professors probably get

a ton of emails and well-written and concise emails are probably perferred. I think if you are working on a thesis or working

with a professor in a lab you could mention the topics of those projects, just so they get an quick idea of your research experience and interest areas.

Like the others have said, if the professor posts specific instructions on their webpages, follow them!

[kaister]

What about POI's who don't respond to "are you accepting grad students this year?" And there is no information listed on the websites. Do you think it's worth risking and applying? I just really don't want to waste $100 bucks when it turns out they're not accepting students. I also don't feel like pestering them with multiple emails, but it's coming down to the crunch time, so I need to make some decisions and cuts to my school list.

[PsychGirl1]

Yes, apply. It's not mandatory they respond to you- it's not like, a part of the official application process. And in my mind, they are more likely to respond if they aren't taking students. If you honestly want to work with them, apply. Maybe it's their way of weeding out the people who seriously want to work with them versus not. And you never know, even in the small chance they're not taking students, maybe you will catch the eye of someone else at the school. Honestly, if you're borderline about the profs to begin with, don't apply. If you love their research, apply.

[kaister]

Yes, that's what I was thinking. Honestly, it's a good way to weed out the schools I'm not as interested. It just feels so much nicer when they reply and say, yes I'm taking students, I'll look for your application! Haha.