Contacting POI before applying to a PhD program

[pohks]

Hi,

 

What is your experience regarding emailing potential advisors before applying to PhD programs in geography? I am aware that some programs require you to identify and contact a faculty member prior to applying; however, there are other programs that urge against it, and some programs do not specify whether a POI should be contacted or not. 

 

I have already contacted a couple of potential advisors in different programs. Nevertheless, there is one program that I am very interested in, and now I'm debating whether or not to email the professor I'd like to work with. I don't know what the professor in question thinks of prospective students who email him before applying, and I certainly don't want to come off annoying. If I don't contact him, though, are my chances to get accepted significantly worse?

 

I'd be grateful for any insight you may have. I'm an international applicant transitioning into geography, which is why I am not well-aware of the email-or-not-to-email practice in the field.

[ProfMoriarty]

I am only applying for Master's degrees, but even then I contacted some POI. I received very kind and informative responses from everyone I contacted in geography programs and some of the responses even gave me more enthusiasm to apply.

[pohks]

Hi,

 

Thanks for your reply! I've already contacted some POIs, too, and the responses I have received have generally been  encouraging. I was just wondering if it is the norm to write to POIs of geography programs before applying (in some fields this is considered inappropriate). 

 

I ended up contacting the POI in the program I mentioned in my first post, and received a really nice and thorough reply from him. This definitely increased my interest in the program and working with him. 

 

Wow, these are such stressful times. I'm pretty sure that by the end of December, I'll be a nervous wreck.

[med latte]

Congrats on the encouraging replies!  Can you tell us a bit about your original message / wording in your emails to the POIs, especially the ones you had not met before?

[pohks]

Congrats on the encouraging replies!  Can you tell us a bit about your original message / wording in your emails to the POIs, especially the ones you had not met before?

I basically told a little bit about myself, my background (which is not in geography) and my research interests. I tried to demonstrate that I was familiar with their research and had read their papers and then talked a little about how my research interests coincided with theirs. There were a couple of POIs whose research I found extremely interesting, and I have to admit that in these cases, my emails were longer than they should have been. I also asked if they were planning to take on new grad students next fall. 

[ProfMoriarty]

I basically told a little bit about myself, my background (which is not in geography) and my research interests. I tried to demonstrate that I was familiar with their research and had read their papers and then talked a little about how my research interests coincided with theirs. There were a couple of POIs whose research I found extremely interesting, and I have to admit that in these cases, my emails were longer than they should have been. I also asked if they were planning to take on new grad students next fall. 

 

I followed a similar route and asked if they were taking in new advisees and/or teaching assistants, and that I hoped they would consider taking me in should I get accepted into their program.

[med latte]

Thanks for the input!  I wasn't sure just how far to go in the emails.  That helps.

[obviousbicycle]

I'm applying for masters and I've also been sending out emails. So far so good, they are mostly positive responses.

[geographyrocks]

I'm jealous hearing about these positive responses.  I received 2 positive responses out of 5 emails.  My emails were extremely professional and detailed but not overly long.  I received no response on 2 other emails. One of my emails was met with a curt 1 sentence response about how they aren't looking for grad students.