Stanford discourages applicants from emailing AdCom members? Does mean POIs?

[NoSleepTilBreuckelen]

I noticed on the Stanford Anthropology website that it says: 

 

"The department faculty and their research interests are listed online at Anthropology Faculty. Please be advised, however, that in order to preserve the integrity of the admissions process, prospective graduate applicants are discouraged from contacting faculty members of the department admissions committee during a given graduate admission application season (from mid-September through April 15th) in order to retain the integrity of the department’s application review process."

 

Does this mean that should not contact my POI there? Or might my POI not be on the AdCom? Is there a way to tell?

[child of 2]

^{It's all bullshit if you ask me. The admin probably wants the professors not getting spammed by students, especially if it's inquiries about things they can find online. It's not like professors are told to not respond to emails. It can't hurt you. I saw the same thing on stanford's chem e website, but I emailed anyway, and the prof was direct and honest with me.}

 

 

^{I don't see how contacting professors can compromise integrity. Networking is part of everyday life. If they're really worried about being objective to all their applicants, they should just eliminate anyone in the application pool who's had any affiliation with them in the first place.}

Edited November 20, 2013 by child of 2

[TakeruK]

I think it's perfectly fine to contact your POI and discuss research interests in order to determine your fit. They might politely (or not so politely) tell you to talk to them only after you've been accepted (some profs replied in this manner) but I don't think there is a real problem with initiating the contact and letting the prof decide whether or not to proceed. I think that paragraph is mostly there to discourage people emailing solely for the reason of getting into someone's "good books" and increasing their chance of admission, and/or to discourage people from sending in CVs and other application materials and asking questions like "Would I get in?" etc.

[child of 2]

I think it's perfectly fine to contact your POI and discuss research interests in order to determine your fit. They might politely (or not so politely) tell you to talk to them only after you've been accepted (some profs replied in this manner) but I don't think there is a real problem with initiating the contact and letting the prof decide whether or not to proceed. I think that paragraph is mostly there to discourage people emailing solely for the reason of getting into someone's "good books" and increasing their chance of admission, and/or to discourage people from sending in CVs and other application materials and asking questions like "Would I get in?" etc.

 

I did that on my follow up, and got the straight up answer I was looking for. And attaching your CV seems like a no-brainer. It's really hard to get a response if the professor isn't even sure your research interest aligns with the group.

[TakeruK]

I did that on my follow up, and got the straight up answer I was looking for. And attaching your CV seems like a no-brainer. It's really hard to get a response if the professor isn't even sure your research interest aligns with the group.

 

I agree that these are great questions to ask on a follow-up email, once you have established some kind of communication with the prof and he/she has indicated they would be interested in learning more about your experience (or it is implied). But I think unsolicited emails containing a ton of application materials (CVs etc.) could be a nuisance and it will be hard for profs to find the time to review everyone's material closely enough to give a meaningful yes/no (that is what the admission committee is for!). But if you just introduce yourself and summarise your experience/interests in the first email, it gives the prof a chance to decide whether or not further contact is worth their time. I think that attaching a CV at "first contact" might seem too pushy and might lead to a higher chance of being ignored, especially if they see it at a time where they are too busy to be reading CVs.

[eidzmo]

Hi there, I realize I'm pretty late in my addition to this conversation, but I finally started on the actual online application for Stanford and they do ask you if you've been in contact with Faculty and the date of the correspondence... Does this mean that my chances are lower if I did not contact anyone? I was discouraged in the first place given that they stated not to contact faculty members during the admissions process. 

[bsharpe269]

I am confused by the schools that advise you not to contact professors and professors who dont respond.

 

I will be applying to departments because I want to work with someone specific who works there, not because of the department itself. If I am not able to speak to the professors to make sure that our personalities match up, that the lab is taking students, and that their future projects are in line with what I want to do then why would I apply to the program? Also, I wouldnt want to dedicicate 5+ years working with someone who cant take the time to answer some questions for me about their research. That gives me a very negative view of how they treat their students. I mean my contact emails arent generalized spam, they will detail my experience and how that experience is completely relevent to their lab.

 

Any advice/opinions on this? DId you guys apply to programs if your POI didnt respond?

Edited January 29, 2014 by bsharpe269

[dtpowis]

I emailed at least three profs in each department to which I applied, before I applied - the POI and two others. In each email, I said something along the lines of, "This is who I am, this is what I have done, this is what I want to do. Given your work on X, Y, and Z, I hope you're interested in working with me." Of the thirty or so that I sent out, about 20 replied. I applied to the three schools from which no one responded - Princeton, Stanford, and Berkeley - because I have friends in the graduate program at Berkeley and I know what their advisors are like: distant. They're doing a thousand things at once, and I am only surprised when they DO get back to me (like the other 20).

Some grad programs are built on philosophy of mentorship (e.g. WashU), some on independence (e.g. Berkeley), and some on a little of both (e.g. Brown). Whether they respond or not is probably a reflection of the type of program they have, so I certainly wouldn't take it personally or assume that those POIs must be difficult to work with.

[bsharpe269]

Some grad programs are built on philosophy of mentorship (e.g. WashU), some on independence (e.g. Berkeley), and some on a little of both (e.g. Brown). Whether they respond or not is probably a reflection of the type of program they have, so I certainly wouldn't take it personally or assume that those POIs must be difficult to work with.

 

Thanks for the informative response. It makes sense that each grad program has a mentorship philosophy. Just curious, how did you get that info on those programs and is that true across all departments or only in anthropology? I do not know too many people working on phds right now to get this sort of information but I am definitely interested in working with professors who do things like weekly group meetings and are very available to students. I do like some independence but I like them to be available for questions.

[HrdyWordy]

I am confused by the schools that advise you not to contact professors and professors who dont respond.

 

I will be applying to departments because I want to work with someone specific who works there, not because of the department itself. If I am not able to speak to the professors to make sure that our personalities match up, that the lab is taking students, and that their future projects are in line with what I want to do then why would I apply to the program? Also, I wouldnt want to dedicicate 5+ years working with someone who cant take the time to answer some questions for me about their research. That gives me a very negative view of how they treat their students. I mean my contact emails arent generalized spam, they will detail my experience and how that experience is completely relevent to their lab.

 

Any advice/opinions on this? DId you guys apply to programs if your POI didnt respond?

I wouldn't shy away from a professor who doesn't respond, but I would be more likely to accept an offer from a school where I had a strong POI and a building relationship with that POI. I can't imagine working with someone for 6+ years without knowing that we would at least tolerate each other!

[dtpowis]

Thanks for the informative response. It makes sense that each grad program has a mentorship philosophy. Just curious, how did you get that info on those programs and is that true across all departments or only in anthropology? I do not know too many people working on phds right now to get this sort of information but I am definitely interested in working with professors who do things like weekly group meetings and are very available to students. I do like some independence but I like them to be available for questions.

 

I know from researching their websites, fora, conferences, symposia, and I've reached out to people who would know (faculty, staff, alumni, grad students, undergrads). I doubt that it's just anthropology, but I don't know, because that's all I've ever been concerned with.