Contacting POI at MA programs

[C&C]

Is it common to email professors before applying to terminal MA programs?

 

I know for the larger joint MA to PhD programs the protocol is to find professors who want to work with you, and their websites remind you multiple times how vital it is for admission. However, I haven't seen that anywhere on the websites for schools that only have the terminal MA programs. They just emphasize the LOR, SOP, etc. Maybe I just missed it?

 

Obviously, I've been writing my SOP tailored to each program, who I would like to work with, and why...so would that cover the emailing for the MA programs since they don't ask for prospective students to email POI? I feel like emailing would show initiative for the MA programs, but if it's not the norm I don't want to come across as annoying.

 

Thanks in advance! 

[CageFree]

I wouldn't contact them so much for admissions, but to confirm that people you want to work with will be available. You don't want to arrive for a MA program only to find that your POI is going on a two-year sabbatical.

[C&C]

Thank you!

[Beckert]

Yes, I am going to be emailing them to make sure they are avabile and at least get my name out there.  I figure if it does hurt my chances they are probably someone I do not want to work with in the first place.

[ToomuchLes]

I've sent out a few emails to professors at various schools; however I havent received a reply from one professor, whom Im very interested in working with. Its been a little over a week now, and I understand Fall semester just started, but Im curious, if you guys think I should send him another email asking if he received the original.

[CageFree]

I've sent out a few emails to professors at various schools; however I havent received a reply from one professor, whom Im very interested in working with. Its been a little over a week now, and I understand Fall semester just started, but Im curious, if you guys think I should send him another email asking if he received the original.

I would give it a couple of weeks. There's a fine line between eager and pushy, and the last thing you want is to irritate a POI.

[kdavid]

Didn't classes begin late August?

 

Also, I've emailed 8 POIs. I've yet to hear back from 3. I'll wait four weeks (from the sent date) before resending.

[architecture 604]

Hey! What do you guys say when you email them? What is the question that you usually ask? While I can usually include a few sentences about the research goals we have in common, I feel like I'm wasting their time if I just ask if they are taking students. 

[Professor Plum]

I feel like I'm wasting their time if I just ask if they are taking students. 

 

You're not. You're wasting a professor's time if you ask simple questions about the program that can be answered from the department's website. Asking whether a professor is taking new students is an excellent (and brief) question for a potential advisor.

[ToomuchLes]

I briefly introduced myself - name, major, present institution, and what I wish to pursue further. Afterward I discussed his present research, include his books, and how they correspond to my own. Finally in my concluding paragraph, I ask if hes accepting new grad students and if my research would fit in with the department. I've heard you should keep your intro letters relatively short, and never discuss the logistics of your application. As the name suggests, its an introduction.

 

@kdavid, for the University of California, class started less than a week ago. 

[kdavid]

 

@kdavid, for the University of California, class started less than a week ago.

 

Whoa. Okay. Guess I'll wait a bit longer....

[C&C]

Thanks for the outline LeventeL! I actually just wrote that outline down so I can model my own emails off it. 

 

I think I'm going to start by emailing the MA programs and then work up the courage to email the MA-->PhD programs. I also have a lot more experience with my POIs' work for the MA programs as they've spoken at my school, and I've read their work for class. I need to start reading more people's work so I have something to talk about!

[kdavid]

FYI:

 

I modeled my first emails to Profs using TMP's guidelines here.

[ToomuchLes]

I know CageFree said I should wait a few weeks for a reply from my POI but its been 2 weeks now, and Im kind of freaky out >.< I mean in all honesty, how hard is it to say "ok I read your email" or whatever. When should I send another email to my POI asking if he read my email?

 

@Calhoun&Caffeine,

Youre very welcome. If need be, I can send you my intro letter as a template. Nonetheless, TMP's guideline was tantamount to my own, which is very uplifting ^.^ 

[CageFree]

I would maybe resend the same email with a note saying that you sent that a few weeks ago and figure it probably got lost in the shuffle. Be very polite and understanding because frankly, they are busy people and responding to you is merely a courtesy. Although there is such a thing as common courtesy, you are not entitled to a response, not even an acknowledgement, given you are not their student. Your email should not ask if they "read" your email but simply whether they received it. Often, it simply gets lost among the many other emails. Sometimes, however, it's a sign that you should look elsewhere.

 

During my application season, I had a few instances of "no response." I found this past summer (from one of their former advisees) that one prof was going through a tragic personal situation at the time I applied (which explains why I got no response). Another, I found out, is known for never replying to emails because s/he doesn't think grad students are worthy of their time. I also had one prof who responded very enthusiastically right away, and then after a couple of emails (and an invitation to drive to the university to meet for coffee), communication stopped altogether. My adviser knows this prof and gave me a bit of insight on a personal situation that explained what happened. 

 

Some profs are very personable, others are not. It's like any other type of work. Some really try to recruit students, others don't seem to care, and yet others flat out scare students away. I had a really bad experience (via email) with a prof at a school I was strongly considering, and did not complete the application. Apparently that professor has never had a graduate student. EVER. 

 

In all of those cases, I took the silence coming from the other end as a sign to look elsewhere, and did not bother applying to any of those programs. 

 

This past summer there was one prof in my country of study I was hoping to talk to. I got her email address from a friend who has worked with her in the past, and apparently she told my friend that I should definitely write, that she would love to talk to me, etc. Two emails later, I still haven't gotten a response. It's been two months. People are weird like that, sometimes.

Edited October 7, 2013 by CageFree

[C&C]

All of your posts helped me to draft what I think is a pretty strong email to a poi at my top master's program...so thank you!

 

Oddly enough, I'm stumped on the most simple part....what do I title this email?!

"Prospective MA Student for Fall 2014" "Graduate School Advising Question"  "Prospective MA Student Inquiry"

Those all sound awful to me. I don't know why this is so hard. Maybe I'm stressing too much and over-thinking this process.