Following up initial e-mail to a POI

[thedig13]

I have a question about how to follow up your initial contact e-mail with a POI. I've already sent out introductory e-mails to my POIs, and have gotten some responses back. However, I am left wondering how extensively should I communicate with a POI throughout the application process.

 

For instance, in response to my introduction e-mail, most replies run along the lines of "Thanks for your interest; let me know if you have any further questions about our program." Although I am extremely proud of my strong introductory e-mail, I have to wonder if such a brief back-and-forth is enough to make an impression.

 

So, long story short, my question is this: How much contact should a prospective applicant have with a POI during the application process, and, if the answer is "more than just 2 or 3 e-mails," what can I say, ask, or do to keep the dialogue running while making a strong impression?

[Bactrian]

When I went through this process I paid very close attention to the exact wording and tone of the responses I received. Some were easy to read in that they were either quite cold (no follow up from me) or asked me detailed questions about my background and interests (which, of course, I responded to). For the cases like those you highlighted I only wrote back if I really, truly had some questions about the program. I had put my most important question in my initial email (if that faculty member would be taking new students) but I sometimes had others.

 

I'd also like to take a second to point out that, in my experience, this kind of stuff doesn't seem to have a great deal of sway over the process. I was accepted at schools where I never got a response to my initial emails and was rejected at schools where I had relatively long periods of correspondence.

[ToomuchLes]

I sent my POI an email 2 weeks and never got a reply =X I realize the semester just started, so Im not expecting a reply in a day; however, when do I sent a follow-up email asking if he received my original?

[Bactrian]

I sent my POI an email 2 weeks and never got a reply =X I realize the semester just started, so Im not expecting a reply in a day; however, when do I sent a follow-up email asking if he received my original?

 

Did you have an actual question that you would like a real answer to? (Something like "Will you be taking new students next year?") If so, then maybe give it a few more weeks and try again. But I definitely would not just resend my original email or a second one only asking if he or she had received the first. Some faculty members consciously choose to not respond to these things.

 

Just to reiterate: I was accepted to multiple (prestigious) schools where my initial email went unacknowledged. Not hearing back does not automatically mean you are out of the running.