POIs?

[Imprint01]

I've read a bit about POIs but really want to know two things

 

1.) How does one go about finding a POI

 

2.) How necessary is a POI - unless they are on adcoms surely their purpose is purely advisory?

 

 

[Monochrome Spring]

You should be looking at faculty at the universities that you are thinking of applying to. You should be looking for similar research interests, where their previous students end up, funding, etc. This person will determine how your graduate program goes. You want to find one that is going to help you with research, provide a supporting environment, and have the resources for you to do well.

 

A POI, depending on your field, can make or break you. In some ecology programs, I'm finding that only students who have previously contacted a POI have their application looked at (at all!). Also, the POI is going to advocate for your funding, which can determine whether you are accepted to the program.

 

This isn't to say that every field needs previous POI contact. Some gradcafe'ers didn't contact professors and still got into great programs.

[Penelope Higgins]

I write this as a faculty member at a school that gets mentioned on here occasionally, in political science. Your admission depends, in part, on your ability to make the case that your interests fit well with those of some of the faculty at the department to which you are applying.

The 'POI' model from the natural sciences just doesn't apply. Generally you will work with a committee of several faculty rather than in a lab with a single advisor. Make sure you can make the case that your intellectual interests match those of some of the faculty. You do NOT need to have contact with faculty before applying. Nor does your funding come from a faculty member, with very rare exceptions. Your admission is determined by the department as a whole, or more accurately the representatives they choose, and funding comes from the department or university. You're applying to join a department not to work with an individual.

[Quigley]

I didn't contact professors prior to submitting my applications.  After reading on this site about others who had made contact with faculty, I sat down to draft something a few times.  In the end, I never sent the e-mail to anyone because it always felt overly contrived -- due to the fact that I was writing the e-mail for the sake of e-mailing them and not because I had anything particularly important to ask or say to them at that point in the process.  

 

I believe a post from Penelope Higgens (above) in another thread is what led me to my final decision that e-mailing "POIs" in political science didn't really seem necessary.  When talking with other applicants at the accepted students weekends in March, there seemed to be a pretty good mix of those who had e-mailed professors and those who had not.

 

That being said, an important part of your Statement of Purpose will be to identify professors with whom your research interests align and explain why you believe that working with them would be beneficial to you as a graduate student.  Among other things, this shows the admissions committee that you've given some consideration as to why you want to attend their program and why you would be a good fit in their department.