Contacting POIs-When? How?

[jamc8383]

I looked through old forums to see if I could come across an answer for this but came up a bit empty-handed and could use some input.  I will be preparing phD applications this fall and have already chosen the programs I'd like to attend, and the professors that I feel would be ideal research matches for me but am unsure about when and how to go about contacting them.

 

I am curious about others' experiences.  When do you feel is the best time to contact POIs/when might they be most receptive?  Is there any language that you have used in your emails that you found to be effective, in terms of getting a response from your POIs?  Is it enough to introduce yourself and your interests and simply ask if they'll be available/willing to work with students beginning Fall 2014?

 

If it helps (and in the event that anyone else has experience applying to these programs), I will be applying to: Princeton, Yale, UChicago, UW-Madison, U Toronto, U British Columbia.  My research interest is in late-nineteenth-, early-twentieth-century French history with a focus on urban culture in the interwar period.

[jmu]

Some schools I just sent them an email telling them I was interested in the program and would like to work with them. I told them what I wanted to research to see if they were interested. This was more for people who had related, but not identical, research interests. If their interests were really close to mine (one school had two people studying the same thing in different regions) I never contacted them and just mentioned them in my SOP. In the case of the school I had to best contact with the POI I wasn't accepted (but I have a good relationship with him now), one school that I didn't contact anyone I was accepted.

[esgalerin]

I don't have any concrete advice to give, as I'm going to be applying this fall myself. I just wanted to say that I've been wondering the same thing myself lately.

 

On one hand, it's summer vacation right now. Maybe professors won't be as eager to hear from prospective students so early in the season. And if they just get a quick email now, they might not remember by the time applications come around.

On the other hand, if I do email them in September like I originally planned to, they'll probably be inundated with similar emails as well as work emails as the academic year starts up. =/

 

I was also thinking that grad students doing research related to what I want to do might be more inclined to reply on account of having gone through this process more recently than their professors have and probably not being quite as busy. Is it standard practice to email grad students directly, though?

 

I'm guessing that a lot of it just depends on the individual, but it'd be nice to have a few guidelines about what's acceptable.

[mandarin.orange]

There are indeed some back-posts on this, at least ones I know I've participated in. I like to link to a prof's blog for this, b/c I think she breaks down the faculty perspective quite well, so you'll see that. 

 

 

went in the direction of disciplinary differences -- in some fields, identifying an advisor is an essential part of the process, for others, the convention is just to admit students based on overall academic record and these emails are seen as rather bothersome. Making contact pre-admission is beneficial and expected in my field, so the latter was news to me!

 

It's summer, so you may not get much response. Try end-of-summer/fall for best timing. 

[TMP]

I wrote up this post some time ago:

http://tmphistoryphd.wordpress.com/2012/09/09/hello-professors-making-the-first-contact/

 

Mid-October is an ideal time- professors will have settled in the semester and can think about next year's admissions (though in reality most don't *really* want to until the application files get dumped on their computers).

[jamc8383]

I wrote up this post some time ago:

http://tmphistoryphd.wordpress.com/2012/09/09/hello-professors-making-the-first-contact/

 

Mid-October is an ideal time- professors will have settled in the semester and can think about next year's admissions (though in reality most don't *really* want to until the application files get dumped on their computers).

 

TMP,

Super-helpful article.  Definitely the type of advice I was aiming to get.  m.o., I will make a point to check out the linked forum, as well.  Thanks for your help, all!

[erikmoorelaw]

I just went through the application process, and I think reaching out to potential advisors is really important. I emailed people I thought I would be working with should I be admitted, and I started with a limited list of schools. I introduced myself, my background, my MA advisor, and my research interests, and I asked if they thought I could be a good fit for that particular department and whether that particular professor would be willing to serve as a primary advisor. I received some responses that brushed me off and asked for more specific information, which I think comes from too many people sending out generic emails to the most popular programs. My responses to them showed that I was in fact serious about applying and had given it some though. I received a bunch of responses that told me the department was not likely a good fit, and a few responeses from professors who told me they were not in a position to take on more graduate students. I also received great recommendations of other programs, some of which I had not yet considered. A couple of these responses were very surprising because the situations seemed perfect to me, but there are many factors involved in finding a goodd match. I also received many enthusiastic responses encouraging me to apply, some of which turned into multiple email exchanges about the application process, research, or graduate student life in general. I was surprised at the number of times I was told to mention their name and my contact with them in my personal statement. I don't know what significance that has in the application package, but it was significant enough for people to tell me to do it. I was also surprised by the number of responses that discouraged me from applying. Whatever their reason for doing so did not much matter to me. It saved me an application fee and the trouble of applying to a program I had little shot at being admitted to. My communication with POIs started in late August, and, as my list of schools expanded based on responses I received and recommendations of other schools, I continued to reach out to people until early October. If these communications provide an applicant anything, they at least provide some peace of mind that you have some chance of being admitted. I don't think these communications were key to any offers of admission for me, but it was nice to hear back from and learn about programs I was excited about. However, POIs will probably remember if an applicant is not professional in the way they approach these pre-application communications.

[Bactrian]

I just went through the application process as well and I came away with mixed feelings about contacting professors. I waited until the beginning of November to send out my emails (Nov. 1 I think I sent them out) and that seemed to go over fine. I got many lovely responses from faculty and had several long exchanges. But out of the three offers I received two were from schools where the faculty never responded to my initial emails (both later interviewed me so I did eventually speak with them). Based on my own experiences I don't think emailing will greatly affect your chances of success.

But I think it's still worth doing if only because you might save yourself some time and money. One faculty member I emailed said that while he thought my work was interesting he wasn't sure I'd fit well into the department as a whole and therefore didn't have a good chance of being accepted. That saved me more than $100. Plus, in my case, the sub-sub-field (heh) I reside in is very small so the exercise also got my name out there among the people who define my field.