Second POI Email

[rems]

Does anyone have any advice on the SECOND email you send a POI? Like, if they write back saying, "Hey, you should apply. You seem interested. I can answer any questions you have." Now what? Does one ask ALL the obnoxious questions s/he has in one go (kidding, I know I would at least be tactful about it), or is it more customary to just say "thanks" and leave it at that?

Just wondering if anyone's been in this situation before, and how they went about it.

Thanks!

[Stately Plump]

I haven't been in that situation, but I wouldn't ask any obvious questions, especially if the answer might be found elsewhere. You don't want to come off as naive or unprofessional, which would be devastating to your chances of being accepted.

The only questions I would ask at this point would be about specific research interests. I would probably be more inclined to just say "thanks" and leave it at that. But then again, I didn't contact POIs beforehand.

[ghijklmn]

I've been dealing with the second e-mail a lot lately. It's definitely a lot harder than the initial one! In several cases, I've asked more questions, but in general I just said thank you and that I hoped we'd be able to work together in the future.

[ProfLorax]

Hi rems! I had a great experience talking with POI's about aspects of the program that are not included on the department's website: grad student culture, collaboration opportunities with faculty and other students, attitude towards interdisciplinary research, etc. While I doubt it will have any effect on my chances of getting in (which is fine because that wasn't my motivation), it certainly helped me narrow down my list of schools.

Here are some tips from my own experience. First, I always followed the POI's lead in terms of tone. If the professor was friendly and casual, so was I (of course, I don't mean "u R so gr8 for talking 2 me!!" casual). If the professor signed the email with his/her title and full time ("Sincerely, Dr. Professor Pants"), I replied in a more formal tone.

Like Stately Plump suggests, don't ask questions that are easily answered on the website. If you find that you do have a ton of questions, and the POI seems eager to help, ask him/her if s/he would prefer to talk via email or phone during office hours. I talked with one POI over phone and another over Skype, and both chats were really productive, and probably less time-consuming for them than me emailing a list of questions. A note: another one of my POI's is deaf, and I am not quite fluent at ASL or TTY technology, so we kept our communication to email.

Lastly, it's important to remember that these emails will most likely not affect your chances of getting in (unless someone really does write ""u R so gr8 for talking 2 me!!" I can't imagine that would go well). These POI's are professors who work with students, and you are a student. They communicate with students all the time! This is a big part of their gig. S/he responded because s/he wants to meet you, not judge you. (This was my mantra.) You'll be fine.

Edited September 7, 2012 by proflorax

[rems]

Thank you all so much for your advice!

I'm thinking about replying with the "thanks for your time and advice." I can't immediately think of any specific questions that would be not obvious at the moment anyway, and am having second-date jitters of coming off as stupid :/

You do have a good point, proflorax, that emailing doesn't really help your chances of getting into a program, but it is an important step in narrowing down your options... I think. Plus I wanted to list this professor in my SOP and have heard that that's a bad idea if you haven't contacted them first.

And just FYI for anyone else reading this thread, I spoke with the graduate director of my program yesterday about the etiquette of these emails and he said the most important thing is to come off as professional. AKA -- don't "bother" them and don't wax poetic about your studies, interests, dog, etc. He did suggest contacting POI's AND whoever is in charge of graduate studies there. Apparently, they can answer more questions than a POI can and it's more of their "job" to answer those types of questions.

I had thought of contacting some directors, but then chickened out and thought not to. However, now I think that might be a good idea too. My director also pointed out that you can tell a lot about the department based on the attitude of the graduate director. If s/he seems like a jerk (he sighted Princeton as a specific example -- sorry to any Princeton people who disagree with this!), then the rest of the program might follow suit. But that all depends on what you "kind" of program you're looking for.

Thanks, again, everyone! Your advice is much appreciated!

Edited September 8, 2012 by rems