Having met POIs in person - does it make a difference?

[smmmu]

This is probably a stupid question, but still:

Do any of you have any thoughts / experiences as to whether it makes a difference if one has met potential supervisors in person before, say at a conference?

I've just seen that a conference in early January in the field I'm interested in is still accepting registrations, and there would be several faculty members of my top choice departments giving talks there. So I'm thinking about whether that alone would make it worth it going there (I'd likely have to pay for it myself, hence my hesitation). My gut feeling is that it can't hurt to say Hi and maybe mention that I'm applying to their programme, so at least they would know that my application is coming and could put a face to the name when they read it.

On a related note, does simply attending a relevant conference/workshop count for anything? I've seen things like "attended ABCD '10" on people's CVs (without any talk / paper / poster), but it seems to me that just going there isn't much of an achievement.

[dat_nerd]

I met with several POIs prior to applying. It made a complete difference. For one, I realized that the professors I thought I would like to work with weren't good personality matches for me. When I met a professor who was a great personality and research match, we were able to discuss potential projects that we would both be interested in.

At the very least, meeting with your POIs can't hurt. Hopefully it would also give you some recognition when they see your application, while also helping you decide whether they would be a good advisor to work with.

[kaister]

I think it can definitely help. What I would do is email these people and seeing if they're open to meeting you, even just for a brief, 10 minute meeting, at the conference. If you could get some of them to agree to this, it would totally be worth it. They might just say, you can come say hi after my talk, which is also another opportunity to introduce yourself. If enough of your POI's are attending and seem receptive to meeting you at the conference, I'd say its worth it. I say, to email them first, because that way they'll know beforehand to expect and remember who you are. At conferences, professors are meeting so many old and new people, they may easily forget who you are.

[smmmu]

Hrm, I think emailing them beforehand isn't so much of an option as the conference is after the respective application deadlines. If I've already applied (and hence made up my mind about their programme), what would be a valid reason to request a meeting with them? I think it might even come across as attention-whoring (which it is, of course...), wouldn't it?

If anything, my angle would be to discuss something about their respective talks for instance, and then only casually mention that I've just submitted an application to their programme. Although that might be a bit transparent as well, I guess.

Any thoughts on whether attending a conference per se would be viewed particularly favourable by admissions committees?

[kaister]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't see anything wrong with this. Otherwise you're going to the conference only in the hopes you'd get to talk to them. Have you spoke to these POIs via email before applying? Especially if you've already made contact, just mention in an email to them that you'll be in attendance of this conference, and you're looking forward to their talk and introducing yourself. You have to be an advocate for yourself, and I don't think that's attention-whoring.

[kaputzing]

Yes, it does make a difference, sometimes negative, sometimes positive. I know someone who says that his advisor told him he was accepted specifically because they met, so he had someone to bat for him during admissions, which is a huge plus. Of course, then you get people who decide they're not interested in working with you after having met you, so something to keep in mind.

I do think you should go for it if possible, even if you've already sent in your application. Just send them another email asking them if they're attending, and if they are, would they mind setting aside a few minutes to speak with you, but be sure to have relevant questions/discussion points ofc.

[TakeruK]

Meeting POIs before applying is a great thing, if you make a good impression. It probably would not necessarily mean direct benefits (i.e. don't expect the prof to fight for you during the admissions committee meetings) but it's a good way for you to establish a relationship. In addition, you might learn more about the school and it might motivate you to work even harder on your application or you might discover that the school isn't a good fit after all.

I did this for some of my POIs. I emailed them beforehand and we kind of set up a time to meet. Some of the POIs weren't there but they told me to talk to their postdocs or senior grad students. I definitely found the experience helpful!

To your second question, I think putting "attended conference ABCD 2010" is not very useful on a CV, unless you haven't presented at any conference before.

[rising_star]

Yes and no. I don't really see the point of going to a conference on your own dime if you have no research to present. Huge expense with likely minimal payoff.

That said, there's a yes about meeting people first. I met my advisor before I applied because he came to my MA university to give a talk as part of the speaker's series. We went out for drinks with other faculty and that's how I got to know him, which was actually before I'd even considered applying to my current PhD university. But, the flipside is that a couple of years ago, a student that had already applied met my advisor and he was thoroughly unimpressed by her, uninterested in her research ideas, and basically killed her application to our program by saying that he wouldn't work with her and didn't think anyone should. She did not get admitted.

[smmmu]

Thanks everyone for your comments, I appreciate it.

I've given it a lot of thought as well, and I now lean towards not going. Aside from the expense (and at second look, it would be considerable), the conference is in a slightly different field than what I am currently working on, so I'd risk being a bit out of place more than anything else I think. Plus, I really need a break...