Inquiry emails to POI

[falernian]

So I've been dragging my heels on reaching out to a few graduate advisors and programs. I have everything drafted and ready to send, my concern is that this is the last week of classes for a lot of schools and I might (rightfully) come off as inconsiderate for reaching out now. Should I wait a week or so? For my discipline, most of the applications are due in early January. Is there a better time between now and then to communicate, or is it all just busy time from here on out?

 

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

[roguesenna]

in the same boat. I'd love to hear what people have to say.

[Sigaba]

IMO (and it is worth exactly what you're paying for it), you should not wait any longer to concat potential POIs. I do think that you might be well served to call first, have a very short chat on the phone (or even better, talk to the POI in person), and then send the e-mail. The purpose of the call is to let the POI put a voice to the email message and, more importantly, to let the POI set the time table ("I'll look at it in January...")

 

Here's the thing, you may have waited a bit too long to initiate this type of communication and it is possible that the email is not going to get the close attention it may merit now or a couple of weeks from now. By getting the email to the POI sooner rather than later, you afford yourself the most time for her to look at it. (Or not.) In any case, I think you should manage your expectations.

 

Two questions (one is rhetorical). Why are you dragging your heels? (<--- Rhetorical: I know it can be very difficult to do such things.  )  Can you start building up the skills NOW so that you can get an ever earlier jump on such communications? If you commit to a more proactive approach, you may find that that it becomes second nature.

[SocGirl2013]

I second Sigaba in that I think you're better off sending it ASAP. Many have already contacted them from this cycle, some of whom they may already have a preference for/ built relationships with. I suggest that you go ahead and email them!

Edited December 2, 2013 by SocGirl2013

[roguesenna]

...

 

Two questions (one is rhetorical). Why are you dragging your heels? (<--- Rhetorical: I know it can be very difficult to do such things.  )  Can you start building up the skills NOW so that you can get an ever earlier jump on such communications? If you commit to a more proactive approach, you may find that that it becomes second nature.

 

don't know about the OP, but in my case I made the decision to apply kind of late, like in late august, early september. then I was scrambling to get everything done that I needed to for my apps, GREs, revise my writing samples, etc. plus I wasn't super familiar with the differences between applying to a PhD and applying to an MFA (my MFA process seemed like a cake walk in comparison). so I didn't know that contacting POIs was a thing. ALSO also, I am in theatre so I'm not sure the POI relationship is quite the same as it is in the natural sciences for example. so I decided to wait until I wasn't running around like a chicken with my head cut off on the apps.

 

not sure about the second question. you mean for next app season? if I don't get in for fall 2014, I'll definitely revise a few things.  

 

that said, I have reached out to 2 of my 4 schools and heard varying degrees of things back from them. one prof told me she only sort of teaches in my department which was disappointing, so I wanted to take a look and see if I could contact my secondary POI.

[falernian]

IMO (and it is worth exactly what you're paying for it), you should not wait any longer to concat potential POIs. I do think that you might be well served to call first, have a very short chat on the phone (or even better, talk to the POI in person), and then send the e-mail. The purpose of the call is to let the POI put a voice to the email message and, more importantly, to let the POI set the time table ("I'll look at it in January...")

 

Here's the thing, you may have waited a bit too long to initiate this type of communication and it is possible that the email is not going to get the close attention it may merit now or a couple of weeks from now. By getting the email to the POI sooner rather than later, you afford yourself the most time for her to look at it. (Or not.) In any case, I think you should manage your expectations.

 

Two questions (one is rhetorical). Why are you dragging your heels? (<--- Rhetorical: I know it can be very difficult to do such things.  )  Can you start building up the skills NOW so that you can get an ever earlier jump on such communications? If you commit to a more proactive approach, you may find that that it becomes second nature.

 

Sigaba, thanks for your response!

 

I actually have reached out already to the programs I'm most interested in... these are a few schools I just recently decided to apply to, and which are lower down on my list. I do have a few phonecalls lined up this week with POIs from other programs, which I'm feeling really hopeful about.

 

As for why I dragged my heels: like roguesenna, I also decided to apply in late August/early September, and along with working full time, it's been a real time crunch with the GRE prep, SOP writing, etc. That's my official reason . Realistically, I think a big part of it was a desire to make a good first impression, familiarize myself with their work, and really narrow down an interesting research topic. I kept not feeling ready enough to talk with them, so I kept delaying.

 

It might be worth mentioning that I'm applying to MA programs as opposed to PhD... I'm not sure how big of a difference that makes? In any case, I'll be sending all my emails today.